Seollal Inquisitions and Bloodline Secrets
The Hyoryeong Grand Prince faction. New Year's Day had arrived before I knew it. I'd planned to head down the night before Seollal, but things got tangled up at the hospital. I had no obligation to stay, but there were too few residents and interns to handle the patients. Inevitably, I ended up helping out and couldn't make it home. That Seollal morning, I drove my domestic midsize sedan—not some foreign sports car—down to my family's house in Cheonan. It was just past lunchtime.
Fortunately or unfortunately, our house hadn't ballooned into a massive mansion or a luxury villa, so I had no trouble finding it. My mother, CEO of a company with 500 billion won in sales, greeted me at the door.
"You're here? Have you eaten?"
"I grabbed something on the way."
"Then sit down. I've prepared a lot."
I sat at the table with my father and mother. Dad spoke up.
"You're in your third year now, right?"
"Yeah, third year starting in March. It's coming up soon."
"Keep at it diligently and steadily, then."
My father, a high school history teacher, wasn't one for many words. Mom was the opposite. I still couldn't figure out how they'd stayed together for over thirty years.
After the meal, Mom handed me a can.
"Do-yoon, it's Seollal, so have a drink of this."
On the table sat the white cans I'd first seen last month. White cans stamped with the Cheonan Foods logo. Chojung-ri Heuksansu. Oh, and the ondol jar illustration was a bonus.
As I chugged the Chojung-ri Heuksansu, Mom asked, her eyes different from usual. I knew that look. The one they call the interrogator's gaze.
"How's Seo-yeon doing?"
"She's good."
"Did you see her during this holiday?"
"We met before Seollal."
"What do Seo-yeon's parents do?"
"Her dad's a career soldier, and her mom's an elementary school teacher."
Suddenly, Dad's eyes lit up as he jumped into the conversation about his future in-laws.
"The father-in-law—what's his rank?"
It was getting more intense by the minute. Father-in-law, already... Mom shot Dad a look. He averted his eyes. This wasn't our usual vibe... Had it changed because Mom was now CEO of a 500-billion-won company?
"I don't know that much."
"Where's their house?"
"Seoul."
"Do-yoon, all of Seoul isn't like Seo-yeon's place, right?"
"Cheongdam-dong."
"Cheongdam-dong—nice neighborhood. Owned or rented?"
"No idea."
Mom paused, then switched tactics.
"Do-yoon, when are you getting your specialist certification?"
"Around this time two years from now."
"So when are you getting married?"
Here it came.
"No plans?"
"Not that, but we're both so busy."
Dad set down his spoon mid-soup. He'd sensed that my mother, Lady Jeon Young-sook, was launching a full-scale Young-sook Uprising. I was Kim Jong-seo, and Mom was Prince Suyang, wielding the rod.
"Do-yoon, you're an only child, and so am I... Who's going to inherit the family business?"
"Mom, I'm a doctor."
"That's my point. Why'd you go to med school? Our maternal line is the greatest medical family of the Korean people, and you're a direct descendant of the top physician. It makes my stomach explode!"
?
"Top physician?"
"Our Cheonan Jeon clan is a medical family. Don't you know the great master Jeon Sun-ui?"
Jeon Sun-ui was from the Cheonan Jeon clan... I knew him. Very well. I'd even found a common trait with Mom: persistence. When I'd told Munjong to eat oysters, he'd filled three meals a day with them. Not enough—he'd even layered baby oyster jeotgal in the side dishes. The infamous Jeon Sun-ui Oyster Party incident. Mocheong was the same. I'd told the royal kitchen to add it to every soup and stew.
"Mom, Joseon's greatest physician is Heo Jun."
Mom gave me a baffled look.
"Why bring up Heo Jun? Master Jeon Sun-ui was a hundred years ahead of him. Have you ever seen Heo Jun on a general knowledge exam? And Heo Jun's Donguibogam was all referenced from Uibang Yuchwi."
I felt sorry for Heo Jun inwardly. I'd have to pore over the History of Joseon Medicine soon. I didn't know how it'd changed, but back in college, Heo Jun was definitely on the exams. If there was a butterfly effect, my classmates might remember Jeon Sun-ui instead.
"Does Grandpa or your uncle have a copy of Uibang Yuchwi?"
"The Japanese stole it during the Imjin War—it's in Japan now."
Mom continued.
"Anyway, our family's black garlic water recipe has been passed down for generations. When we went to Cheongju and signed the deal for Chojung-ri carbonated water, that's how Chojung-ri Heuksansu was born. In our family, like cola companies, no two people who know the recipe can ever board the same plane. I never even went overseas with your grandpa... We give our partner factories the concentrate we make, but never the formula."
Dad quietly sipped his Chojung-ri Heuksansu. Did he know too?
"So my point is, it's great you went to med school, but someone has to take over Cheonan Foods. If not you, then at least Seo-yeon."
"Seo-yeon?"
"Seo-yeon's smart. She works at a company, right? She has experience, and she's a good person. She seems perfect to me."
"Mom, why burden her like that?"
"Burden? Becoming CEO of a 500-billion-won company is a burden?"
I was speechless for a moment.
"So if Seo-yeon and I get married and she inherits your company... our last overseas trip would be the honeymoon?"
"Exactly."
Mom said it proudly. Before leaving home, I stopped by Dad's study. He was organizing books—history ones everywhere.
"Dad, do we have a family registry?"
He turned to me.
"Family registry? Out of the blue?"
He eyed me curiously. An enigmatic gaze, like he knew something—or nothing.
"What wind blew this interest in your ancestors? As a kid, you'd throw a fit if I tried to show you."
"Just curious. We're Jeonju Yi clan, right?"
"Jeonju Yi, Hyoryeong Grand Prince branch."
"Hyoryeong Grand Prince?"
Dad pulled an old book from the bottom shelf. Our family registry, it seemed.
"Among King Sejong's brothers was Prince Hyoryeong. We're his descendants. The main line is separate; we're a branch, technically."
"What branch are Sejong or Munjong's descendants?"
"A key principle of the Jeonju Yi clan is je wang bul gam jo gi jo—emperors cannot be clan progenitors. The king is parent to all the people, so no single family can claim him as ancestor. All Jeonju Yi branches take princes—grand princes or lords—as their progenitors."
Dad slid the registry back.
"Studying history, you sometimes notice uncanny things. Like family traits passed down. Anyway, do well in your third-year residency. Ignore your mom's talk—do what you want. And don't tell her I said this..."
According to Dad, he was the 22nd generation of the Hyoryeong Grand Prince branch, making me the 23rd. Hyoryeong was Munjong's uncle, so in family terms, Munjong and I were connected through Gatong across twenty generations.
Prince Hyoryeong. Sejong's younger brother. Munjong's great-uncle. If memory served, he was the longest-lived grand prince in Joseon history—outliving even King Yeongjo, the longest-reigning king. He'd lived from Emperor Taejo's reign to King Seongjong's. So in 1452, the year of the dragon, he was still alive in Joseon.
If he'd become king instead of Sejong, his lifespan would've halved. Kingship really is an extreme job.
I said goodbye to my parents and headed back to Seoul since I had work tomorrow. Maybe because so many had done ancestral rites and started heading home, the roads were surprisingly congested.
A text from Seo-yeon popped up.
Why?
I got grilled too.
Your dad's rank, if your parents' place is owned or rented... stuff like that.
Driving me crazy. My mom asked when I'm getting certified. Almost spilled it.
She said get certified then marry. Our promise.
Truth be told, last Christmas event I'd prepared was a proposal-not-proposal. I'd get certified on the first try, so wait two years; I love you. And I'd do a real proposal later. But tell that to parents?
Let's talk next Seollal. The inquisition gets worse with marriage talk.
I couldn't bring myself to tell Seo-yeon that if we married and she inherited Cheonan Foods from Mom, our honeymoon would be our last overseas trip. I'd never lied to Seo-yeon. But I hadn't told her everything, either. Thanking Munjong, who was protecting my identity from Prince Anpyeong the same way, I replied.
"Yeah, you too."
After texting Seo-yeon, I slumped on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling. Descendant of Prince Hyoryeong. Direct descendant of Jeon Sun-ui. I'd wondered from the start why Gatong connected to me. Was the answer here? Fine, that explained the connection. But who linked Munjong and me through Gatong? Prince Hyoryeong, grieving his nephew's fate? Jeon Sun-ui, regretting he couldn't protect the king after taking office? No clue.
Feeling stifled, I opened the fridge for soju. The usually empty fridge was packed with Mom's care package: braised short ribs, jeon, kimchi, and of course, my favorite eobyeong stir-fry.
Googling Prince Hyoryeong over soju, then Jeon Sun-ui over more soju, I got tipsy before I knew it.
Work tomorrow—bedtime.
After brushing, I spotted another gift from Mom piled at the entrance. Ten whole boxes. Too much—I'll distribute at the hospital after the holidays... Chojung-ri Heuksansu.