HLCOB C1

Chapter 1

 

On the day Jaheon, a young scholar of the late Han era, recalled the memories of living as a modern university student of Oriental Studies in 21st-century Korea, he lay stricken in bed for three days and nights.

It was not merely because the Jaheon of Korea had died in a sudden traffic accident and been reborn as the Jaheon of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

“No… that can’t be.”

Choseon.

Jaheon’s mind blazed with fury as he thought of the fate awaiting his younger sister, Lim Choseon, as written in the old histories.

No, he did not even know the full end with certainty. Choseon was reduced to nothing more than a pawn used to drive a wedge between Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu. Nothing more was told of her—her end was not even properly recorded.

“To be used up like that…?”

But Choseon was Jaheon’s one and only family.

“My Choseon? She’s supposed to just disappear like that?”

The thought of his sister’s tragic fate was intolerable. With a blood-drained face, Jaheon looked at his precious little sister and murmured with trembling lips:

“…Choseon.”

She was only thirteen. Though still so very young, her face was already without equal in beauty. Was it only her appearance?

“Yes, brother.”

At the mere age of thirteen, she had already mastered the Confucian classics. She was prodigiously gifted.

“My Choseon is growing so fine, so clever…!”

For that reason, Jaheon had raised her with utmost care.

It was never because her beauty could be “cultivated and then sold to a good household.” Never once had such a vile thought crossed him. He cherished her simply because of how radiant and brilliant she was, and he feared that such a tender existence might suffer harm. He believed if he treated her with reverence, then others would likewise treat her preciously too.

Yet to think that such an ending awaited her? He felt as though he might spit blood.

“I’ve worked so hard, just so no one could ever look upon her as some orphaned girl without standing!”

During the chaos of bandit uprisings in the waning Han, both their parents had perished. From then on, Choseon had been raised solely by Jaheon’s hands.

To do so, Jaheon had undertaken every possible task.

He had once served as an errand boy for noble ladies, labored as a porter, even conned men at gambling dens. Anything that might keep Choseon from feeling inferior in her upbringing, he had thrown himself into.

He never dared hope she would marry into some grand household.

The times were too perilous.

With brigands running rampant and the imperial court plagued by eunuchs, Jaheon’s wish was a modest one—that Choseon would wed a steady man who could protect her, so that she could simply live out a quiet, happy life.

He prayed that even if he himself were gone, Choseon would still find happiness.

In such a turbulent age, this dream was all he could hope for.

“And you tell me… not even that much was granted?”

It was unbearable.

His wish was not too grand. All he had hoped for was her happiness. That this child, who had stifled her tears even when she lost her parents, might live a life of warmth and joy. Not to serve as a disposable pawn in the twisted games of powerful men, then cast aside.

Jaheon wanted to deny it.

But whether dream or novel, everything inscribed within the “Three Kingdoms” was aligned with what lay before his eyes. And his sister, Choseon, stood living and breathing before him. This meant that her fate of being thrown into Wang Yun’s household and later used in the chain strategy known as the “beauty plan” was inevitable.

Jaheon’s chest seized.

His vision went white; it felt as though he would collapse.

“Brother?”

Choseon clutched him in alarm, steadying his tottering frame.

“I’m sorry.”

In her arms, Jaheon whispered faintly.

“…?”

Tears glistened at the edges of Jaheon’s reddened eyes. Looking at his sister, he choked out:

“I’m sorry that your brother has no strength.”

Just envisioning the fate awaiting her made Jaheon feel as if his entire world were crumbling. For the sake of the Han dynasty—did Choseon truly need to be sacrificed? His teeth ground in fury. Hugging her lithe shoulders tightly, he declared:

“But I swear this.”

Having glimpsed the future, Jaheon discarded the thought of merely hiding away and surviving in obscurity during these troubled times.

No—he had to cast it aside.

If he did not, then Choseon’s fate was already sealed. The fact that Wang Yun would take her in as an adopted daughter was proof enough: her beauty was such that it could never be hidden.

“This brother of yours will protect you, no matter what.”

Thus Jaheon knew he required power.

The kind of power that could destroy every last one of those who dared to use his sister.

Footnotes

1. Cao Cao (조조), Yuan Shao (원소), Xun Yu (순욱), Zhao Yun (조운): Historical figures from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, reinterpreted here as potential love interests (gong). 
2. Choseon (초선): Historically known as Diao Chan (貂蝉) in Chinese history/legends. She is often regarded as one of the Four Great Beauties of ancient China. According to lore, she was used in a political scheme called the Beauty Trap (연환계, chain strategy) to sow discord between the warlords Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu. Her ultimate fate remains ambiguous in classical texts. 
3. Wang Yun (왕윤): A Han dynasty official known for orchestrating the plot to use Diao Chan (Choseon) as bait against Dong Zhuo. 
4. Eunuch domination(The Eunuch Catastrophe) (십상시): Refers to the corruption by the “Ten Attendants,” a group of powerful eunuchs during the late Han dynasty who heavily influenced imperial politics. 
5. Sa-seo Samgyeong (사서삼경): The Four Books and the Three Classics, Confucian canon texts central to scholarly education in East Asia. 

 

 

Character Intro —

• Gong Characters: 

(Gong 1) Cao Cao: A pleasure-seeking young master of Luoyang who always got whatever he desired. Yet for the first time, he faced something he could not attain, no matter how hard he tried.

(Gong 2) Yuan Shao: Born a legitimate but neglected son of a noble family, who seemed to possess everything yet grasped nothing. Never having owned anything, he had no idea how to claim it.

(Gong 3) Xun Yu: The splendid young heir of a distinguished household. Only upon reaching adulthood did he realize that the fulfillment of ideals always comes at someone’s expense.

(Gong 4) Zhao Yun: A boy-soldier who lost his entire family amidst the twisted stream of history. But he realized he fought not for the peace of the realm, but because he cherished the person who had once saved him.

• Bottom: Lim Jaheon – A boy who plunged into a chaotic world in order to protect his younger sister, destined to become a sacrifice in the torrent of history. To create a world where she could realize her dreams, he resolved to grasp dominion under heaven.