The Pulse of a New Joseon
We've come this far. "Everything here's great, but don't you miss having some cola?"
"?!"
"Shh. Keep it down. There are eyes everywhere."
"……!"
I glanced at the Crown Prince just in case. He met my eyes and nodded, confirming my suspicions.
"Mm. You're right on the money."
They were ordinary-looking men in their thirties or forties, dressed in official robes with tired faces. These were the key players who had transformed Joseon alongside the Crown Prince.
"Ah, hello. I'm Idle Captain Kim Si-jin."
My heart pounded as I greeted them and tried to strike up a conversation. Or at least, I wanted to.
"I'm Professor Yi Sun-ji. I work at Jip-hyeon-jeon. Nice meeting you, but I've got to head out. Still got work piling up. I'll take my leave, Your Highness."
"I-I'm Professor Jeon Nae-heon! A patient's just woken up! If you want to chat, come by the medical academy later! Y-Your Highness! Take care!"
"If anyone's abusing power for money—especially some high-ranking yangban—come to me. I'm Treasury Councilor Hwang Chi-sin. I'll be going now, Your Highness. If you're gonna drag me here just to say hi, at least give me more budget...!"
"I'm Choe Gong-son, Senior Counselor of the Military Armory! Nice to meet you! I've heard so much about y— Wh-what the! Hey! What the hell's that?! I-I'll be off, Your Highness!"
I didn't even get a chance to talk. Professor Yi Sun-ji bolted the moment we exchanged words. Professor Jeon Nae-heon got picked up by someone on horseback. Hwang Chi-sin shot the Crown Prince a glare before leaving. And Senior Counselor Choe Gong-son ran off toward some smoke rising in the distance.
By the time I came to my senses, only one modern reincarnator remained besides the Crown Prince.
"Your Highness?"
"Ahem! Ahem! There's still one left! Go on, introduce yourself!"
"Greetings. I'm Chief Inventor Jang Yong-sil of the Ministry of Military Affairs."
The lone remaining Jang Yong-sil shook my hand once more. I noticed his beard was singed in spots and asked, "Aren't you leaving too, sir?"
"I came all the way from afar just to make time, so unlike the others, I've got nowhere to run off to. And you."
"Yes, sir."
"……."
He called me but just stared intently without saying a word. He furrowed his brow slightly, as if puzzled, before finally speaking.
"You're really Kim Si-jin, right?"
"Yes. That's me. Want to see my ID tag?"
"You're smaller than I expected."
If I drop my pants, I'm bigger than you. I wasn't even small for my age, but everyone said the same damn thing. It was awkward to argue, so I changed the subject.
"Everyone seems really busy, huh? Working even on a Sunday."
"Sunday?"
"Hm? Work?"
The Crown Prince and Jang Yong-sil both turned to me. They looked utterly baffled, like they had no clue what I'd just said.
"Si-jin, anyone hearing that would think Sundays are off days."
"You. Sundays are workdays. Don't tell me you didn't know that?"
What? Weren't Sundays for resting originally? We exchanged confused looks, unable to understand each other.
Then the Crown Prince stepped forward first and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"You'll end up like this soon enough."
"?!"
"Ahahaha! Scare him a bit more and he'll have a fit!"
The Crown Prince burst out laughing at my startled reaction. He quickly calmed down and patted my shoulder reassuringly.
"Relax. It's not like there are no days off at all. And they all came voluntarily. Even if I told them not to, they'd show up."
"His Highness is right. Overtime on holidays pays 1.5 times the salary. It's a shame we can't work every Sunday. Heh heh heh. They even take turns fighting over shifts."
Jang Yong-sil chuckled heartily in agreement. But he approached from the other side and clapped my shoulder too, so my guard stayed up.
"We're short on people anyway. Time to get going."
The Crown Prince spoke without removing his hand from my shoulder.
I instinctively shrank back and asked, "Wh-where to...?"
"Where else? To see what we've accomplished in Joseon so far. We can talk about the future on the way."
"What if I don't wanna go...?"
"Heh heh. Si-jin, you think you have a choice?"
Squeeze. Jang Yong-sil and the Crown Prince took turns gripping my shoulders tight.
Damn it.
"Fine. I'll go."
They clutched me like they wouldn't let go no matter what, so I gave up on escaping. Instead, I hoped for a last-meal grace like a condemned prisoner.
"Your Highness. If we're going, at least let me say goodbye to my fiancée."
"Hm? It's not like you can't see her. I'll send you back before dinner."
"I still need to tell her to head home first."
"Mm. Fair enough. Hey, you there!"
"No, Your Highness. I'll handle it myself."
Eori wasn't my subordinate; I couldn't just send someone to tell her to go ahead. I slipped free of the Crown Prince and Jang Yong-sil's grasp and dashed to the tent.
"Eori!"
"Eh? My lord? You're here now?"
Eori was chatting with the palace maids right by the tent entrance.
"Oh my, is that him...!"
"Kyaa...!"
"I'm so jealous...!"
The maids' stares were a bit intense, but I couldn't keep the Crown Prince waiting, so I got straight to it.
"Eori. I'm heading out with His Highness the Crown Prince, so it'll take a while. Go on home first."
"My lord!"
Her face filled with dissatisfaction as she protested. I knew exactly why and quickly kissed my fingertip, then pressed it to her lips.
"?!"
Eori's face turned beet red from the fingertip kiss. The maids erupted in cheers too. Ignoring my own heating face, I said, "We'll talk more inside."
"Y-yes, my lord...!"
Eori beamed, her face still flushed. I savored the sight for a moment before hurrying out of the tent.
"Sorry! Did I keep you waiting long?"
"Mm. No. But what were you doing in there? Your face is all red."
"Just ran here, Your Highness."
"Heh heh, sure. Let's call it that."
If it's not the case, then it's not—why pretend otherwise? And what's with this guy?
"Something wrong, sir? Jang Yong-sil?"
He was staring at me intently, just like when we first met. He glanced at the tent I'd come from and asked, "Are you the type who's more devoted to family than work?"
"Pardon? Ah, yes. Work's all for making a living, right?"
"Hahat, exactly. It's all for putting food on the table."
He grinned, not wrong at all, flashing white teeth through his singed beard. As he walked out with the Crown Prince, he said, "Let's go. I'll show you how we'll make our living from here on."
We left Gyeongbok Palace, boarded a carriage the Crown Prince had summoned, and rode for a good while. Even after leaving the city streets, we went through several identity checks before arriving. Finally, I could hear the heartbeat of Joseon.
Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!
"Hahat! What do you think! It's fifty years ahead of schedule—two hundred and fifty years early! Hahaha!"
A massive machine roared like a beast inside the huge warehouse, pistons thrusting endlessly and spewing steam. I lost myself in the sight.
"Whoaaa...!"
A steam engine. The driving force of the Industrial Revolution, the heart of modernization. And it was beating right in the middle of Joseon.
"Hahahat! Seeing this in Incheon would blow your mind!"
"What?! There's one in Incheon too?!"
"Yep! Twice as big, and twice as many! Hahahat! Let's check 'em all out!"
Thrilled, Jang Yong-sil dragged me out of the warehouse—no, the factory.
Outside, the Crown Prince had waited, refusing to enter lest he dirty his clothes.
"Si-jin. What'd you think?"
I couldn't answer right away. The only words that came to mind watching that earth-shaking steam engine were:
"It was incredible, Your Highness."
"Hahahat! 'Incredible' for just that? You've gone full Joseon now, huh?"
"Then there's something even greater?"
"Follow me. I'll show you Joseon's future."
The Crown Prince nodded ahead and led the way. Seeing Jang Yong-sil and me follow, he spoke softly without breaking stride.
"Do you know how long it took us to get here?"
He continued without pause.
"Twenty whole years. At first, we had nothing. Just the knowledge in our heads. But we focused on the fact that we'd come here, that I was born as the Crown Prince, and we began the great undertaking."
I'd been thrown into the heart of the possession story from birth, but the Crown Prince and the others had started from absolute zero. I couldn't even imagine the intensity of those years.
"When I secured a forge, Jang Yong-sil hammered iron. When we got funds, Choe Gong-son developed gunpowder. When we earned trust, Hwang Chi-sin gathered investors. Yi Sun-ji's connections and Jeon Nae-heon's medicine filled the gaps."
The Crown Prince chuckled, reminiscing about those days of building together. Then, arriving at a shabby warehouse, he turned to me with a more serious expression than when we'd first met.
"Of course, it wasn't easy. We had knowledge, but no practical experience, no proper equipment. Still, we didn't stop and made it this far."
He paused, pulling a key from his bosom.
"Twenty years of fruits lie inside here. Want to see for yourself? Or head back to your daily life?"
"...Can I go?"
"Like I'd let you."
Thwack!
"Ow."
The Crown Prince lightly bonked my head with the key and unlocked the warehouse padlock. Jang Yong-sil and I opened the creaky door, revealing the rundown interior.
The inside was as shabby as the outside. Cracks marred the walls, dust coated the shelves and boxes, and a musty smell assaulted my nose.
"Eugh, dusty. Light it up."
"Right."
With no one watching, the Crown Prince casually entered. Jang Yong-sil nodded vaguely and flipped the switch by the door.
Click!
Bright light burst from the ceiling. The steady glow came from incandescent bulbs.
"We've come this far."
Jang Yong-sil smirked at my stunned expression. Then they began pulling out items one by one to show me.
"Here, syringe. Careful—it's glass."
"This is sulfanilamide. Antibiotic before penicillin."
"Know what morphine is? Refined from opium."
"Check this out. Modified matchlock. Open the breech here, load brass cartridges. You have a matchlock too, right? I'll mod yours later."
"These go in that gun. See? Primer was a bitch to make."
Each dusty box revealed things utterly out of place in Joseon.
Syringes. Antibiotics. Anesthetics. Breech-loading rifles. Modern ammo. Hair clippers. Emergency rations. Razors. Condoms. Wait, condoms?
"Why's this here?"
I held up a condom, rolled like a ring without packaging.
The Crown Prince and Jang Yong-sil stared blankly at each other, then grinned lecherously.
"Why? Wanna use it?"
"Made from chitosan extracted from squid guts. Want some? Take 'em. Burn after use."
"N-no, that's not—!"
"It's fine. Put it back. Put it back."
"Go on, we won't look. Grab a few condoms."
"I was just asking why it's here!"
They turned around and covered their eyes. I snatched a fistful and stuffed them in my pocket.
"Why are you guys like this!"
Pretending to be offended, I pushed past them. I ignored the laughter from behind.
And that wasn't all. A mortar barrel in the corner. A machine gun on a tripod. Stacks of rounded helmets.
"Ah. That?"
Even playing dumb, the Crown Prince caught where my eyes lingered. He brushed past me to the machine gun, slung an arm over it, and said with a wry smile,
"Wars breaking out in possession stories is a cliché, right?"