Porn in the Palace
Do-yoon, what am I to do about this wild video?
I opened Gatong, but a bad feeling washed over me. Something had gone wrong again. I was about to reply to Munjong when I paused, finger hovering. Now that I thought about it, something was off. The chat room with Munjong had never had a '+' button for anything beyond text—until now. It was there, plain as day. Of course, with my modern friends, Gatong let me make calls, send photos, gifts, money transfers, share maps, files, contacts, you name it. Not with Munjong. That made sense. Texting a Joseon king was miracle enough.
But there it was, staring back at me: the '+' button. Curiosity outran reason. I forgot Munjong's message, my unease—everything. I tapped it. One option: 'File'.
'Send files to the Joseon era?'
I opened my cloud storage, picked the top file in the list, and hit send.
If he got it, Munjong would say something. Nothing. No reply.
No answer.
'He's in some urgent situation right now?'
Minutes passed. Tens of minutes. Still nothing from Munjong.
Munjong lay in his chambers, unable to sleep. He'd thought communication with Do-yoon via Gatong might soon end. Then light flared from the dressing table. And inside it, a figure moved.
It wasn't Munjong's reflection. To his eyes, the woman wore shockingly frivolous garb.
'A street scene I've never seen.'
About fifteen minutes in his reckoning, she entered a hotel.
'The bedchamber is not spacious, yet the bed is quite high. Sleep would be difficult.'
As Munjong thought, the woman couldn't sleep. Nor could he—thanks to, or because of, Prince Suyang. Munjong had no way of knowing.
Three days later.
Something felt wrong. More awkward than the very first day of Gatong. Then I remembered the new file-sharing feature.
I scrolled up the chat.
'Shit... I sent Munjong a porn video.'
A month ago, I'd downloaded it on a whim. The day my mom, during a Bosan-cheong butterfly-effect call, suggested Kang Seo-yeon do the four Bosinsijok exercises for pregnant women—specifically Kegels. A ten-year-old vid: Ferris wheel date to hotel finale. Man's and woman's "baseball game."
'I showed Munjong modern urban culture... This is bad.'
Three days ago, I couldn't have imagined files crossing to Joseon. But porn apparently did.
'Did it play on the dressing table...?'
My head throbbed. Munjong had seen it, no doubt. Explained his three-day silence.
'No—Jeon Gyun smashing the king's dressing table?'
I pulled up the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty and compared backups.
King Munjong 2nd Year, 4th Month, 20th Day (Gye-mi)
An earthquake struck, shaking all houses. The diviners said, "If the earth quakes with sound in the 4th month, the five grains will not ripen, and the people will starve greatly."
The king's bedchamber dressing table broke.
Two disasters in one day must have a cause. The Crown Prince's tent was below the threshold, where eunuch Eom Ja-chi stripped and had it folded, earning hatred for his stubborn arrogance.
Eunuch Ga-seon-da-bu Jeon Gyun left the palace and did not return. The throne ordered a search, but no trace was found.
The earthquake was original, but the dressing table's breakage and Jeon Gyun's disappearance were new. Eom Ja-chi folding the tent while Jeon Gyun watched from the threshold? Deleted.
Jeon Gyun: Second-rank merit in the Gyeyu Coup, aiding Sejo. Suyang behind it? Possible.
I shifted thoughts. 'Key point: Gatong persists despite new table. An upgrade, even. So the table's just a medium?'
Like OTT: Our messages as content, table as phone or TV platform.
'Munjong's like switching phones but keeping the service. Could we switch platforms to something else? We've just accepted Gatong. Time to probe it deeper.'
Changes, clearly. First time Munjong stuttered.
I couldn't know the interface. But no keyboard attached—it'd look ordinary to enter the bedchamber without suspicion.
I'd assumed his thoughts became text via the table. Seemed right.
I opened the maternity health project draft from a month ago. Too much modern med-speak; I quickly stripped medical terms from the Bosinsijok section, saved as new file, sent.
Minutes later:
I sent the full Bosinsijok. Capacity limit? First three forms: ~10KB. No megabytes, clearly.
'Porn's huge. Ended at intro/date/actor scene. Lucky.'
Hardest Gatong chats: Taesan-dang/Bosan-dang projects. Scaled up against butterflies, endless text. Hours typing. To counter smallpox cure/maternity concepts' effects, more knowledge needed. This update helps.
'Time to tell Munjong the truth?'
Munjong might've liked the porn. Test gradually.
Night deepened. I'd told Munjong to appoint Suyang as Head Supervisor of Ilyeongwon.
Advice done, I searched annals again.
King Munjong 2nd Year, 4th Month, 22nd Day (Eul-yu)
The king decreed: "As it is said, 'utilize for the people's welfare.' Establish Ilyeongwon to encourage farming and sericulture, prosper the six livestock (ox, horse, sheep, pig, dog, chicken), fully utilize fish and salt for ample livelihoods."
Appointed Grand Prince Suyang Yi Yu as Head Supervisor, Jipyeonjeon Scholar Kwon Ram as Langcheong of Ilyeongwon. Sent Kwon Ram to Hamgil-do to oversee Eojeonghwan production.
Suyang: Ilyeongwon Head. Kwon Ram: to Hamgil-do. Jeon Gyun: missing. Short changes, heavy weight.
Munjong drew Suyang in; he followed. No Gyeyu Coup now. Ilyeongwon work: grueling. Implementing modern knowledge leaves no room for schemes. As grand prince, resigning like Hwang Hui? Awkward. Spare time? Just order attendants for Eojeonghwan.
Truth to Munjong? Later. My residency year 3 starts. Next: year 4, specialist exam. Joseon too. Health central; rest secondary. Med knowledge/search sufficed. Now? Farming/livestock/logistics—clueless.
May next month. In 1452 May 14 annals, Munjong's death gone. From 14th, Danjong's entries fade, Munjong's fill. Pray they brim with abundance like Ilyeongwon's aims.