The Crowned Clown: Episode 6

by mary

The longer our clown pretends to be king, the less it feels like an act. When he gets the chance to do something good for the people, he tries his hardest to make the right decision even in the face of powerful opposition. But he can’t forget that this is only temporary, no matter how much he’s starting to love being king, and all that that implies.

 
EPISODE 6 RECAP

When So-woon finds Ha Sun asleep in the library, she sits beside him and confesses that after all these years, she’s fallen in love with him. She leans down to kiss him, and his eyes fly open in shock. When she sees him staring at her, she jumps to her feet shyly, and after a long, tense pause, Ha Sun hiccups. LOL.

He tries to say he’s fine, but it comes out, “I’m ~hic~ okay, I’m o~hic~kay.” They go back to his chambers, where he hiccups miserably as Eunuch Jo gives him useless advice (“Grab your tongue and hold your breath! Lie on your back and hug your legs!”). So-woon looks like she’s about to bust out laughing, PFFT.

So-woon wants to call the royal physician, genuinely worried, but also looking a little pleased that her kiss caused this reaction in Ha Sun. He says it’s probably just the cold weather, and he sends her on to bed so he can relax. As soon as she’s gone, the hiccups stop.

On her way back to her rooms, So-woon finally cracks a smile. She drags her feet, telling Ae-young dreamily that the moon and stars seem brighter tonight (Ae-young: “But it’s cloudy tonight…” hee).

An assassin delivers the mathematician Ho-geol’s identification plate to Yi-geom and gets paid for his work. Yi-geom runs into his father and apologizes for getting rid of Ho-geol without permission. Minister Shin asks if the plate is proof that Ho-geol is dead, and when Yi-geom says it is, he’s slapped to the ground for paying the assassin without seeing a body.

The next day, Ha Sun paces outside, hearing So-woon’s voice in an endless loop, saying that she’s in love with him. He gets frustrated and calls himself a disgraceful ass, then has to backpedal when Eunuch Jo thinks he means him, ha.

He catches his reflection in the pond and asks Eunuch Jo if he and Yi Heon really look that much alike. Eunuch Jo says that they do, so much that he even gets confused occasionally. It saddens Ha Sun to realize that So-woon believes that he’s Yi Heon, and has no idea that he even exists.

He goes for a walk and ends up near the queen’s quarters, then flails in panic when So-woon comes their way. She looks happy to see them, then grows concerned that he looks unrested. Her beautiful, worried face gives him brain freeze, but he eventually stammers that the hiccups stopped after she left.

So-woon offers to make him ginger tea to fend off more hiccups, and because she remembers that he likes ginger. Ha Sun says he has to be somewhere, then nearly walks purposefully right into her wing before whipping around to go the opposite direction, HA.

Following his father’s advice, Yi-geom asks to see Ho-geol’s body. It’s definitely him, and Yi-geom grins with satisfaction.

Minister Shin goes over the preparations for tomorrow’s court assembly with his people. They say that there are no errors in the handover documents (errors would indicate embezzlement), so they plan to dismiss Lord Lee, the Minister of Taxation, and prevent him re-enacting the rice payment law. Their only concern is that Ho-geol will be able to find proof of the country magistrates’ embezzlement, but Minister Shin assures them that won’t happen.

While returning to his chambers that evening, Ha Sun sees So-woon being turned away by Court Lady Kim. She leaves behind the ginger tea she promised him, but Ha Sun tells Eunuch Jo sadly that he can’t eat ginger — he had it once as a child, and it made him very sick.