Beast, Blue Blood - Chapter 75

Chapter 75

“I immediately recognized who it was when it was human.”

Myung-jin said.  

“Surprisingly, he appeared in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty.”  

Ha-yeon raised an eyebrow.  

“In the annals?”  

Myung-jin nodded.  

“Of course, assuming it’s the same person, but given that it was early Joseon and he was from a noble family, it seems like the same person.”  

Then Myung-jin pointed to the wall.  

“Anyway, look. Volume 71 of the Annals of King Seongjong, the fourth entry for September 24, 7th year of King Seongjong’s reign.”  

The text appeared on the wall.  

<The Ministry of Rites reported that “The crime of the officer, Gap-sa Chu Si-woo, who clashed with the ritual, falls under the penal code.” The order was given to reduce the death sentence.>  

Ha-yeon waited a bit longer and, seeing no additional text, looked at Myung-jin.  

“Is that all?”  

Myung-jin nodded.  

“That’s all.”  

“What is Gap-sa?”  

“It’s a soldier belonging to the Owi, specifically the Iheungwi, who were selected from among the well-off noble youths for their good looks and martial skills, and were responsible for guarding Seoul and the central region’ (Standard Korean Dictionary)…… So, according to the dictionary, they were special forces soldiers of that time.”  

“Then why did they clash with the ritual?”  

Myung-jin shrugged.  

“Who knows? But the annals mention him once more. In an entry from the 9th year of King Seongjong’s reign, which is 2 years after the previous record. It says, ‘Chu Si-woo is already dead.’ So, it seems he died between the first and second records. If this Gap-sa Chu Si-woo is the same person as the ISLE’s CEO, then he would have been infected.”  

Then Myung-jin added.  

“However, this ‘Gap-sa Chu Si-woo’ is related to an event that happened in the 9th year of King Seongjong’s reign. It’s the ‘Woman’s Corpse Incident.’”  

Ha-yeon turned to Myung-jin, surprised by the unexpected story.  

“The Woman’s Corpse Incident?”  

“To put it simply, on January 11th of the 9th year of King Seongjong’s reign, a woman’s corpse with severe facial damage was found outside the city walls, and ‘Changwon-gun Lee Seong’ was identified as the culprit.”  

“Isn’t he the king’s son?”  

At Ha-yeon’s question, Myung-jin nodded.  

“He was the illegitimate son of the king. King Seongjong was a little father figure to him who was the reigning king at that time. However, Changwon-gun Lee Seong denied having committed the crime. Eventually, it was revealed that he was the true culprit, but being of royal blood, he lived well without facing any punishment, which is a typical story of hereditary immunity.”  

Ha-yeon pondered for a moment and then asked.  

“Who was the victim?”  

“A servant from the Changwon-gun’s household.”  

Ha-yeon frowned at that.  

“So, he killed someone who worked in his household?”  

“Yes. It seems Changwon-gun had some personal feelings towards this servant. One day, the servant said in a dream that she saw another man, and Changwon-gun, overcome with jealousy, went mad, hung the servant from the eaves, and hacked her to death before throwing the body outside the city walls. That’s what is recorded in history.”  

Ha-yeon frowned.  

“Is Si-woo related to such an incident?”

“As I mentioned, this is under the assumption that Gap-sa Chu Si-woo is the same person……. From the start, Changwon-gun Lee Seong was a problematic individual. Do you want to see what the court historian wrote when Changwon-gun died?”  

As Myung-jin spoke, the text appeared.

<His character was dissipated, disregarding propriety and frequently violating national laws…… He was arrogant, brutal, and lewd, treating his father-in-law like a servant, and even displayed violence in public, discrediting the prime minister. Queen Jeonghui frequently reprimanded him, but he did not repent…….> Volume 169 of the Annals of King Seongjong, August 16, 15th year of King Seongjong’s reign, 1st entry of Gyeong-Oh.

It seemed the court historian had recorded this without much choice of words, leaving no clearer depiction of Changwon-gun’s character.

Myung-jin continued.

“Anyway, it is said that Gap-sa Chu Si-woo was the only person who knew the identity of the deceased…….”  

“Identity?”  

Ha-yeon asked. Myung-jin nodded.  

“The murdered servant. Her name was Go Eop-ji.”  

Ha-yeon looked back at the text on the screen.

<“Chu Si-woo knew the identity of Go Eop-ji, but Changwon-gun firmly concealed it and refused to admit it. Now that Chu Si-woo is already dead, there is no one left to question.” And, Milseong-gun Lee Chim discussed, “Since it is not a crime related to Jongmyo and Sajik, it is inappropriate to inquire personally. As Chu Si-woo is already dead, it is difficult to expose the scandal.”> Volume 89 of the Annals of King Seongjong, February 17, 9th year of King Seongjong’s reign, 2nd entry of Gyeong-Sul.

By the time Ha-yeon finished reading the text, Myung-jin spoke again.  

“It seems ‘identity’ here refers to the person’s name. It appears that Gap-sa Chu Si-woo was someone who could reveal the identity of the woman’s corpse.”  

Then he added,  

“A maid who was a distant relative of Go Eop-ji had already confirmed that the body was indeed Go Eop-ji. But it was just the maid’s statement. Given that the suspect was a member of the royal family, it seems they thought one maid’s testimony was insufficient. They kept searching for a ‘reliable’ person to confirm whether the corpse was really Go Eop-ji.”  

“And?”  

Myung-jin shrugged.  

“But no one came forward. Changwon-gun continued to deny knowing Go Eop-ji, as if he had something to rely on.”  

While Ha-yeon was staring at the text, Myung-jin continued,  

“There is no record of what kind of relationship Gap-sa Chu Si-woo had with Go Eop-ji. However, since it is mentioned that ‘there is no one left to question as Chu Si-woo is dead,’ he must have been quite an important figure in solving the case. At this point, don’t you think you can guess who might have been responsible for Chu Si-woo’s death, even if you don’t enjoy detective novels?”  

Ha-yeon looked back and asked.

“What happened to Changwon-gun?”  

“He also died early. But the annals only mention that he died at the age of 27.”  

Then Myung-jin waved her hand.  

“There is no record of how Changwon-gun died or if there was anything unusual about his death. Only the historian’s scathing criticism of how bad a person he was. I suspect the historian might have waited until Changwon-gun’s death to record it.”  

“When did Changwon-gun die?”  

“15th year of King Seongjong’s reign. That’s 6 years after the incident with the servant.”

While Ha-yeon was deep in thought, Myung-jin, who had been waiting, asked quietly.

“If Gap-sa Chu Si-woo is the same person as him…… and if Gap-sa Chu Si-woo was killed and became a vampire, do you think he would have killed Changwon-gun?”  

Ha-yeon slightly shook her head.  

“This Gap-sa Chu Si-woo gives a completely different impression from the Si-woo I know. I’m not sure.”  

Then she turned to Myung-jin.  

“Also, it took 6 years for Changwon-gun to die after Gap-sa Chu Si-woo’s death. Why would a vampire wait for 6 years?”  

As if waiting for that comment, Myung-jin made a finger gun gesture.  

“That’s something I’m curious about too. And there’s another question. If Changwon-gun was a royal family member, then he was human. The circumstances suggest that Changwon-gun was the one who killed Gap-sa Chu Si-woo, so who could have infected Chu Si-woo?”  

Then he propped his chin and muttered,  

“There are a lot of questions. Isn’t it better to just ask the CEO directly?”  

“If he was the type to answer questions, you wouldn’t have to sift through the trash.”  

Ha-yeon gestured to the back. The desk was piled high with trash. Myung-jin shrugged.  

The trash room in the highly secured building was inaccessible to outsiders, but Ha-yeon had given her the key.  

Ha-yeon stood up.  

“Got it. Thanks for now. I’ll look into it further to see what else comes up.”  

Myung-jin nodded. Then she said to Ha-yeon, who was picking up her backpack from the sofa.

“And it’s Yuhan-Kimberly.”  

“What?”  

Ha-yeon turned back, not understanding what she meant. Myung-jin lifted a torn plastic bag from the cluttered desk.  

“The tissue brand. I thought someone running a company like that would use gold-plated tissues, but it turns out they use the same stuff as us.”  

The plastic bag used to wrap rolls of tissue had the Yuhan-Kimberly mark. Seeing it, Ha-yeon smirked.  

“You know the tissue brand comment was a joke, right?”  

“I aim to meet the customer’s wishes as much as possible. It was a joke, and I just found it while rummaging through other things.”  

Suddenly, Ha-yeon crossed her arms and looked at Myung-jin. Feeling the gaze, Myung-jin turned and asked.

“What’s wrong?”  

“Well, it’s a bit unsettling to see another woman going through Si-woo’s trash, even though it was my request.”  

Myung-jin looked incredulous.  

“You really are something else.”  

Ha-yeon waved her hand as if to dismiss the comment and slung her backpack over her shoulder.  

“Where are you going?”  

Myung-jin asked.  

“To my uncle’s house. There’s a family gathering.”  

Ha-yeon answered and went up the stairs.

* * *

“Did you come?”  

Ha-yeon said indifferently as usual and passed by. Si-woo glanced at her briefly from behind.  

“Did you come?”  

Yeon-ha, who approached, asked. Si-woo responded with a smile.  

“Yes.”  

“I’m sorry for making you come when you must be busy.”  

“It’s fine. I should come. We’re family.”

Yeon-ha smiled. She liked that clan members considered the clan as family. She wished that her only nephew, Ha-yeon, shared that sentiment, but Ha-yeon seemed unwilling to let go of the idea that clan members were, after all, ‘strangers.’

“Let’s go inside. Dinner is all ready.”

Yeon-ha said, and they both went to the kitchen. An enormous feast was laid out in the kitchen where everyone had gathered.

“Has the CEO arrived?”  

Emily, carrying a salad plate, greeted them. Si-woo replied.

“You must have worked hard preparing everything.”  

“It’s my job.”

Emily said with a smile and passed by to set the plate down.

“Please have a seat.”

Yeon-ha said, going to her own place.  

Ha-yeon sat diagonally opposite Si-woo. However, she said nothing while Si-woo greeted her with a nod and took his seat.

After the meal, everyone gathered in the living room.  

[Hi everyone~!]  

Kyu-hwa greeted cheerfully over the panel.

Ha-yeon’s parents, Alex and Kyu-hwa, were too far away and couldn’t come to Korea before the birthday party due to work, so they joined online. Even Alex couldn’t participate.

Yeon-ha asked.

“Since Ha-yeon’s birthday is coming up, is there anything you want to do?”  

Everyone turned to look at Ha-yeon.

Today’s gathering was a pre-birthday party event. It was to discuss what to do for the birthday party, and it was a long-standing tradition in the Ivanov family for the birthday person to decide the party’s concept. Generally, any concept would be accommodated.

Ha-yeon seemed to be thinking for a moment, then looked at Si-woo. Though she quickly averted her gaze, Si-woo felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

“How about dressing in attire from your era?”  

As expected, Ha-yeon said.

* * *

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