Episode 2: The Beggar Boy's Identity (1)
"Please, help me."
With the last of my strength, I ran out into the middle of the street and begged a middle-aged Western woman passing by in a palanquin. I had finally gained knowledge of the future, yet at this rate I would starve to death like a wretched brat before even reaching adulthood, or else get beaten to death. Fortunately, thanks to my future knowledge, I could speak English, so I was able to approach the Western woman.
"Oh my. Did that child just speak English? Did that little one really speak English?"
Realizing the middle-aged woman was using American English, I shouted again loudly in American English.
"Please, help me. I haven't eaten anything since yesterday. I'm so hungry I feel like I'm going to die."
A young man wearing a small gat, walking alongside the palanquin carrying the Western woman, approached me and spoke in Korean.
"Where did this beggar brat suddenly pop out from? You damn beggar brat, get the hell out of here right now. What the hell do you think you're doing, jumping out here?"
The man took me for a little beggar trying to latch onto a Westerner to beg and tried to throw me out. I had a straw mat I'd picked up while fleeing wrapped around my body, so it was only natural the man mistook me for a beggar.
Seeing the man about to kick me, the woman cried out urgently.
"Don't hit that child. I have something to ask him."
A middle-aged man wearing a large gat, presumed to be the interpreter walking beside and following the woman, shouted at the man about to kick me.
"Stop. The lady says she has something to ask that child. Don't chase him off; bring him here."
"If you get close to a beggar brat like this, you'll catch lice."
"That child spoke in English just now. It's too strange that such a little one can speak English. Stop talking nonsense and bring him here."
The man grabbed the back of my neck as if grasping something filthy and dragged me before the palanquin.
The middle-aged man in the large gat, who appeared to be the interpreter, spoke.
"What is your name? Whose family's son are you, that you've learned English at such a young age?"
I couldn't tell them my real name. Moreover, there was no way I could tell the truth about suddenly having future knowledge enter my head and being able to use English because of it. I needed to make up some kind of lie, but I was so frightened that I couldn't think of any excuse I'd prepared.
"I, I..."
Seeing me hesitate, frozen in fear and unable to answer, the Western woman in the palanquin spoke.
"The child is frightened. So let me ask instead."
"Where did you learn English? And why are you begging here?"
The woman's voice was very gentle, and the excuse I'd thought up in advance came to mind.
"My father was an interpreter, so I had the opportunity to learn English. But both my parents passed away, and with no relatives to speak of, I became a beggar. And since begging hasn't worked since yesterday, I haven't eaten anything."
"Hmm, you seem like a smart child; how pitiful. How old are you now?"
"I am six years old, Madam."
"Oh my, it seems you've been taught manners properly too."
While we were talking, a woman who had been riding in another palanquin dismounted and approached. With her appearance suggesting a slight mixture of Black blood and her attire, she seemed to be this lady's maid.
"Madam, why have we stopped here?"
"Dorothy, well, this child spoke to me in English. He says his father was an interpreter and that he became an orphan and then a beggar when his parents passed away."
Dorothy looked me over briefly and said.
"It would be best to toss him some money and leave. If you take pity on him and bring him along, the master might get angry."
The man who had been interpreting shook his head vigorously upon hearing Dorothy's words and interjected.
"Giving him food and sending him off at once would be one thing, but you must not give him money. A child like that holding money would not only have it stolen by adults but might come to other harm as well. It would be better to take him along, feed him something, and then send him off after speaking to the master."
"That would be best. But the child is still young and looks weak; can he keep up with us? May we put him in the palanquin here?"
Dorothy interjected again.
"No, Madam. That child might have lice or fleas on his body, so he must not ride beside you. Rather, put him in my palanquin and I shall walk."
The middle-aged man grabbed me, parted my hair, ripped away the straw mat draped outside, and turned my clothes this way and that. He made a slightly surprised expression, seemed to think about something, and then spoke.
"There don't seem to be any lice or fleas, but his clothes are filthy. If he rides beside Madam, something might get on her clothes. It would be best to do as Miss Dorothy says."
I was put in Dorothy's palanquin, and the middle-aged man lowered the palanquin's curtain and said.
"It would not be good for others to see us carrying a beggar brat in a palanquin."
I somehow sensed from the man's tone that he was trying to protect me, and I wondered if he had caught on to my identity and was acting accordingly. Though I was covering my body with a straw mat, the clothes underneath were made of quite high-quality material. It seemed the man had noticed that and was acting because of it.
There was a slight wrangle with the Japanese proprietor in front of the hotel in Incheon where the lady was staying, as he said he couldn't allow a filthy beggar brat inside, but eventually I entered the hotel, had a meal and a bath, obtained a set of clean clothes, and fell into a deep sleep.
*
English interpreter Seo Changhui gazed at the child lying in bed in a deep sleep and thought.
Could this child in beggar's clothes really be the child he was thinking of? If among the people with them someone else had the same thought as him, wouldn't it be better to grab this child right now and report him to the magistrate's office?
Seo Changhui shook his head inwardly. If that child was indeed the one he thought, he had to save him no matter what. Even if someone noticed and denounced him, if he played dumb completely, the disaster would not reach him.
While Seo Changhui was watching the sleeping child and lost in deep thought, Mr. John Ford, who had gone sightseeing separately from his wife, returned.
Having heard the circumstances from his wife and Dorothy, John Ford entered the room, looked at the sleeping child, and said.
"Mr. Seo, what kind of child does this little one seem to be?"
Honestly, Seo Changhui thought it would be best if Mr. Ford took this child abroad, but he wondered if it was appropriate to explain the circumstances and ask a favor of someone he had met only three days prior.
While Seo Changhui was worrying over what to say, Mrs. Ford and Dorothy entered the room.
"We didn't know because he was wrapped in a straw mat, but the clothes underneath were made of quite high-quality material. Not only does such a young child speak English fluently, but he's also disguised as a beggar despite wearing fine clothes underneath. He doesn't seem to be a child of ordinary background."
Dorothy also nodded at the lady's words and said.
"When I bathed him earlier, he had no lice or fleas and his body was very clean. He really doesn't seem to be an ordinary child at all. Seeing him sleep like this, he's truly adorable. With his hair braided so long, he looks just like a girl. I think he's the most handsome Asian child I've ever seen."
Mr. Ford also looked at the sleeping child and said.
"I thought he was a girl from his hair and the way he sleeps, but I suppose he's a boy?"
Dorothy replied exclamatorily.
"If I hadn't bathed him myself, I would have mistaken him for a girl. Joseon people grow boys' hair long like this too, so it's easy to mistake them for girls. It's truly a pity that such a cute child had to suffer like that."
As Mr. Ford nodded at Dorothy's words, Mrs. Ford held out a pocket watch and spoke.
"John, look at this watch. It came out when I undressed him to bathe him. It looks like quite an expensive watch to me; what do you think?"
"Breguet? This is truly a high-end Swiss watch, and both the watch and chain are made of platinum. This is a very expensive item; a child possessing such a thing really doesn't seem to be ordinary."
Seeing Mr. and Mrs. Ford showing affection for the child, Seo Changhui finally made up his mind and spoke.
"What do you think of this boy?"
Mr. Ford said, slightly puzzled.
"His clothes and this watch suggest a child of some background, but it's difficult for us who know nothing of Joseon affairs to guess his identity. Do you have an idea, Mr. Seo?"
"Don't you think this child's English is far too fluent for his age?"
The Fords and Dorothy nodded simultaneously.
"In Joseon today, even professional interpreter-officials rarely speak English this fluently. Yet this young child not only uses fluent English but also has proper manners. This child is truly unusual."
John Ford nodded, then suddenly had a question and asked.
"Could it be that you can guess this child's identity, Mr. Seo?"
Seo Changhui nodded and said.
"You already know the news that a coup took place in Joseon a few days ago and many people died? Isn't that why you abandoned plans to go to Seoul and decided only to tour the nearby areas before returning?"
John Ford nodded and said.
"I heard that many people died, including the Prime Minister, who was well-versed in foreign affairs. Then do you think this child is a surviving member of their family?"
"I heard the Prime Minister was beaten to death in the streets and his wife took her own life, but that their youngest son's whereabouts are unknown. I heard that the Prime Minister's wife had strangled her child to death and then hanged herself beside him, but the servants could not bear to watch and left. When they returned, the child who had been lying dead had disappeared. I suspect this child may be the young son of the Prime Minister whose whereabouts are unknown."
"Is there any evidence that this child is the Prime Minister's son?"
"The Prime Minister was famous as Joseon's foremost expert in foreign affairs, but he was also renowned from olden days for his competence and brilliant mind. Seeing that this child possesses fluent English skills and is familiar with Western manners, he is clearly not merely a child who speaks English well, but a very intelligent one. And decisively, I had occasion to frequent the Prime Minister's residence in the past, and this child greatly resembles the Prime Minister's wife. Moreover, the watch this child had—only someone like the Prime Minister or perhaps royalty would possess such a watch."
Hearing Seo Changhui's words, the Fords and Dorothy all opened their mouths in astonishment. No matter how small a country stuck in a corner of East Asia, a Prime Minister of a nation with a population exceeding ten million was no ordinary status. If he was the son of such a man, this was absolutely not a matter to be overlooked.
John Ford calmed his surprised heart and asked Seo Changhui.
"Then what do you think I should do?"
"If this child remains in Joseon, he will die immediately. The Prime Minister was a man who received much support from the people, but he also had many political enemies. Moreover, the anger over the assassination of the Queen and the Haircut Decree has not subsided in the least, so there will be people who wish to wipe out the Prime Minister's bloodline using this opportunity. This child's only path to survival is to leave for a foreign country. If you cannot take him in, Mr. Ford, you might ask an acquaintance of the Prime Minister in Japan or America. The Prime Minister was a foreign affairs expert and had many acquaintances abroad; there will certainly be someone who will take this child in."
Mrs. Ford interjected.
"Percy once said he was close with Joseon's Prime Minister. Percy might take this child in. And if Percy won't, we can. We cannot leave such a cute and clever child to die."
Dorothy also interjected.
"Yes, if we leave such a small and pitiful child to die, God will not forgive us. Please, Master, take this child in."
John Ford asked Seo Changhui.
"If I am to help this child now, what must I do first?"
Seo Changhui answered.
"Joseon is too dangerous a land for this child right now. Among the people who saw us today, there may be someone who noticed the child's identity and reported him to the magistrate's office. We never know when government officials might come bursting in. The most urgent matter in saving this child is to take him and leave this country as quickly as possible, without a moment's delay."