Episode 3: The Beggar Boy’s Identity (2)
Father looked down at me and spoke.
“Your father dies today. Though it will be the people of Joseon who kill him, this is because your father’s crimes have incurred the wrath of the Joseon people. You must never harbor resentment toward the Joseon people who killed your father. Do you understand?”
I did not yet properly understand what death was, but I realized that something terrible was happening to my father, and crying, I tried to stop him from going outside before nodding my head.
“Though your father did not participate in the regicide of the Queen, as Prime Minister he failed to stop it and instead attempted to resolve the situation together with those who assassinated the Queen, so this is a death he deserves.”
I tried to say something, but my words were tangled with sobs and would not come out properly.
Some time after Father went outside, one of the household servants came with news of Father’s death. When he told us the whole gruesome story of how the body had been dismembered and dragged through the streets, Mother quietly went into the room and came out with a white silk cloth.
“No! Mom, don’t! Please don’t kill me.”
Seeing Mother approaching me with the white silk cloth, my body shook, and I woke from my sleep.
It was because Mrs. Ford and Dorothy, seeing me struggling terribly from the nightmare, had shaken me at the same time.
“Did you have a nightmare?”
“Having suffered such hardships at a young age, it’s only natural you would have nightmares.”
When I woke, I was on a ship sailing toward Japan. According to Dorothy’s explanation, an interpreter with the surname Seo had said that the longer I remained in this land, the more my life would be in danger, so Mr. Ford had hurriedly looked for a ship, and since there happened to be one leaving for Japan, he had boarded immediately with sleeping me in his arms.
Though I had woken from the nightmare, I could not erase the memory of Mother strangling my neck with the white silk cloth, and perhaps sensing my fear, Mrs. Ford and Dorothy took turns holding me, continuously patting and comforting me.
“It’s alright, it’s alright. No one can hurt you now.”
Hearing Mrs. Ford and Dorothy soothing me, Mr. Ford realized I was awake and entered the cabin.
“Oh, you’re awake.”
Mr. Ford sat by the bed and asked trivial things like how I was feeling and if there was anything I wanted to eat, and finally asked about my identity.
“Are you by any chance the son of the Prime Minister who met with misfortune this time?”
Since I had not heard the conversations people had while I was asleep, I was startled when Mr. Ford suddenly asked about my identity directly. And thinking about it, I recalled the interpreter’s actions in trying to protect me. It seemed there had likely been some serious conversation between that interpreter and Mr. Ford.
I was somewhat worried about revealing my identity to a Westerner whose true nature I did not know, but considering that I was on a ship bound for Japan, it was clear he had acted in haste to protect me.
“Yes, I am Gim Gyeong-hui, son of Gim Hong-jip, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Joseon. A British gentleman who visited our home in the past gave me the Western name Henry, so you may call me Henry.”
Mr. Ford smiled broadly at my polite revelation of my identity.
“What a polite child. That interpreter with the surname Seo informed me it would be dangerous if you remained in Joseon, so I hurriedly put you on the ship. I’m glad it wasn’t a mistake.”
“I am sorry I could not properly greet you after you saved me from danger. Thank you so much for rescuing me.”
Even by future standards, seeing such a young child, barely of elementary school age, speaking so politely, Mr. Ford, Mrs. Ford, and even Dorothy all thought that indeed, the son of a nation’s Prime Minister was somehow different.
Mrs. Ford and Dorothy took turns embracing me and said:
“To think such a pretty, good child went through such a frightening thing—it truly breaks our hearts. Don’t worry now. We will definitely keep you safe.”
Watching Mrs. Ford and Dorothy holding me, Mr. Ford said with a smile:
“I heard your father had many acquaintances in Japan. If you wish, I will find an acquaintance of your father’s in Japan who can take care of you. If you want America, I will take you there.”
No, why would I rot away in Japan when I could go to America?
I shook my head and said:
“I will not go to Japan. Father said that Japan pretending to be friendly with us was all in order to annex and devour our Joseon. He said that if you trace the cause of his death, it is because of Japan. The Japanese will certainly try to use me, the son of the former Prime Minister, politically. Please take me to America.”
“Did your father tell you that as well?”
“Yes. On the day he passed, as he left the house, Father told me again and again that I must never be used by the Japanese.”
Mr. Ford nodded, fell into thought for a moment, then said:
“I deeply felt that Japan is not a true friend of Joseon during the few days I was there. Certainly, if I entrust you to the Japanese, there is a high possibility you will be politically exploited by them, so it would be better to go to America with me. First, I shall look for someone to take care of you, and if that is not possible, I shall become your guardian.”
“Thank you so much. I shall never forget this grace.”
*
Because the ship was not very fast, it took three days just to reach Yokohama, where we could transfer to a ship heading west. During that time, Mrs. Ford, who had grown very close to me, took me ashore in Yokohama and bought clothes for me to wear and various other necessary items.
Mrs. Ford said she had never raised a child, but Dorothy had experience raising children and knew well what items they needed.
“Henry is on the docile side, but children dirty their clothes quickly, so he needs several changes of clothes.”
“A good hat as well.”
“Children grow fast, so you need to buy a slightly larger hat. A proper hat would be better bought in Europe than in Japan. So just buy a simple hunting cap and a sailor suit made for children. Look at this, the prices are too high for the quality. Even Singapore or India would be much better than here.”
There was a department store in Yokohama targeting Westerners visiting Japan, but just as Dorothy said, the selection was lacking and the prices looked expensive. Japanese-made goods did not seem to please the visitors, and imported Western goods were too expensive.
In the end, we only bought a few changes of immediate clothes and some simple stationery I would use when studying with Mr. Ford.
While waiting for the passenger ship heading west, we unpacked our luggage at a hotel in Yokohama.
Mr. Ford was a financier working in the financial sector in America. He had achieved quite a great feat last year and earned a special vacation, and taking that opportunity, he was on a round-the-world trip with his wife, Mrs. Ford, when they visited Korea.
The original plan had been to tour not only Incheon but also Seoul, but as soon as they visited Korea, the political situation was chaotic due to the recent turmoil, so they had only briefly looked around the Incheon area and were about to return when they met me.
Dorothy was a maid who had worked for Mrs. Ford’s family for generations, and after Mrs. Ford married Mr. Ford, she had moved to the Ford household and continued working there. Having been with Mr. and Mrs. Ford for so long, she was no different from family, and she had accompanied them on this round-the-world trip.
After spending a few days in Yokohama, Japan, we boarded a massive 20,000-ton passenger ship and headed west.
Usually when circumnavigating the world from New York, one travels from New York through Europe to Asia, but Mr. Ford was traveling in the opposite direction—crossing the American continent by railroad and taking a ship from San Francisco to Asia. He said this was not because of any special preference but because he had some brief business to take care of in San Francisco before beginning the circumnavigation.
The ship would pass through Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore, visit India, then go through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, and as I expected, it became quite a long journey.
Even in my faintly surfacing memories of a previous life, though there was air travel, there was no such leisurely sea voyage, so I was able to enjoy the trip thoroughly. At first, the deaths of my parents and Mother trying to kill me kept coming to mind, tormenting me greatly, but thanks to Mrs. Ford and Dorothy enveloping me in such warm care, I was able to adapt to the journey relatively quickly.
At first, Mr. Ford taught me writing and simple arithmetic to educate me, but seeing that I already possessed considerable writing skill and could perform calculations extremely quickly, he soon gave up.
“This is simply impossible for me to teach. I suppose we will have no choice but to find a competent private tutor when we arrive in America.”
Thanks to that, during the sea voyage, without being tormented by studies, I could spend my time running around the ship or reading books borrowed from the ship’s library.
And during that time, I grew very close to Mr. Ford’s party.
“Laura, Dorothy, it’s a killer whale, a killer whale! Come quickly and look!”
“Oh my, don’t run so fast—you might fall.”
“Madam Laura, look at that. It’s much bigger than the dolphins we’ve seen, and the color is completely different. Such a black body with such white eyes, it really looks strange.”
“It looks exactly like eyes, but the white parts aren’t all eyes. The eyes are at the ends.”
“Are dolphins and killer whales different?”
“Of course. Killer whales are much bigger and fiercer. Look at that big dorsal fin on its back. Much bigger than a shark’s.”
Dorothy said, somewhat fearfully:
“But the name ‘killer whale’ is a bit scary. It’s so big, and seeing how much bigger it is than sharks or dolphins, I suppose it eats people too?”
“No, it doesn’t eat people. Killer whales never attack people.”
Mrs. Ford Laura asked:
“Oh my, why is that? Do people taste bad?”
“No one knows. They’re called killer whales because they’re so fierce in the sea, but strangely, they never attack people.”
At some point, Mr. Ford—that is, John—came up beside me and asked:
“Henry, you really know a lot. Where did you learn that?”
“There were many guests who came to see Father, so I heard it from them. In Joseon, killer whales are called solpi, and in Japan, sachi, and there was a guest who told me in wonder that strangely, they never attack people.”
Since Father was a Prime Minister who had formed four cabinets, guests never stopped coming to our house, which was convenient for making excuses at times like this.
John shook his head and said:
“How is it that a six-year-old knows more than me? A regular private tutor really wouldn’t stand a chance.”
Laura laughed and teased John:
“That’s because you never read books, John. Who else is there to blame? Even since boarding this ship, Henry has read several times more books than you.”
“That’s right. The master reads far too few books. Seeing how he always reads the newspaper, it’s not that he dislikes reading, so I wonder why he never reads books.”
Under simultaneous attack from his wife and maid, John quickly picked me up and lifted me high above his head, saying:
“I may not read as many books as Henry, but I can still have fun with him like this.”
Seeing this, Laura and Dorothy shouted at the same time:
“Don’t even think about throwing the child. It’s too dangerous to throw a child here.”
“The child will be frightened. Be careful.”
John spun me around above his head a few times before putting me down and said:
“As if I would do something so dangerous.”
We had grown close enough to play such jokes on the ship, and John was already thinking of adopting me.
If I were adopted into the Ford family, I would become Henry Ford. I thought that having the same name as the future automobile king would not be bad at all.