Putting A Bell on A Tiger’s Neck

A Korea where the imperial family still stood. Only those called “Muhwa” were able to bear the emperor’s child. Regardless of gender, age, or education, there was only one requirement to become a Muhwa: to be a patient of the “flowering sickness.” The emperor could have children only through a Muhwa, and unless a Muhwa received the emperor’s favor, there was no way to cure the illness.

The moment the seventh emperor, Lee Limbeom, appeared at his coronation ceremony, every spotlight turned toward him. At the same time, on a dimly shadowed side of the world, the impoverished Ha Ryeonsol contracted the flowering sickness. Lee Limbeom ascended to the highest position, while Ha Ryeonsol lost his sight.

Overnight, Ha Ryeonsol, a fine young man of the nation, became the emperor’s concubine and an imperial-owned Muhwa. Everyone pitied him, but the onset of the illness was merely the mildest of the trials his life had faced.

“Me, entering the imperial palace and becoming a concubine…?!”

Then he would at least have a place to lie down, food to fill his stomach, and money under the pretense of maintaining proper dignity. Ha Ryeonsol looked forward to a life of being crushed into a corner of the imperial palace, idly living as an unemployed loafer who simply siphoned off taxes….

“Hyung, so, you really couldn’t see anything at all.”

Into the pitch-dark field of vision of the fringe-dwelling freeloader, the emperor’s face suddenly appeared.

Genre: Contemporary novel

Keywords: Gentle Top, Handsome Top, Emperor Top, Sneaky Top, Younger Top, Beautiful Bottom, Sickly Bottom, Cheerful Bottom, Clumsy Bottom, Soft Outside Strong Inside Bottom, Older Bottom, Has Second Male Lead Top, Palace Setting, First Love, Reunion, Status Gap, Salvation, Harley King ^[1]

Top: Lee Limbeom. 189 cm, 27 years old. The seventh emperor of Korea. With a dazzling face, an outstanding physique, and innate charisma, he became a beloved emperor the moment he ascended the throne. However, to Limbeom, the imperial family was nothing more than a prison and a minefield covered in dark memories, and he constantly yearned for deviation. It was then that the poorest concubine of Munjeong Palace, Ha Ryeonsol, approached him. …Holding out a single piece of yakgwa^[2] sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Bottom: Ha Ryeonsol. 178 cm, 29 years old. A patient who, after developing Flowering Sickness at a late age, suffers from symptoms of losing his eyesight. Though he had lived a life accompanied by poverty, misfortune, and curses, he was kind and clear-hearted by nature, a Muhwa with less desire than anyone else within the imperial palace.

His goal was simple: to scrape by as an overlooked, fringe concubine. He was fully confident that he would live his entire life flattened low, never once receiving the Emperor’s favor—until the emperor suddenly leaned his face right into his sightless field of view.

Recommended For: When you want to see the process by which two men who have lived entirely different lives, their diverging paths, come together as one.

Quote:

“I didn’t know, even while longing for you all this time…. That I was living your time, hyung.”

TL’s note:
The title Putting a Bell on a Tiger’s Neck comes from two well-known idioms with similar imagery.

One is inspired by Aesop’s fable, often expressed as “hanging a bell around a cat’s neck” or “Belling the Cat.” It refers to a situation where everyone agrees on a good idea, but no one wants to actually carry it out because it’s too risky. The solution is obvious; the problem is having the courage to do it.

The other comes from a Chinese idiom that can be summed up as “The one who tied the bell on the tiger must be the one to take it off.” This saying focuses on responsibility—if you created a dangerous or complicated situation, you’re the one who has to deal with the consequences.

Put together, the title reflects both sides of the story: the fear of taking action against something powerful and the inescapable responsibility that comes with being involved in the danger in the first place. The tiger represents an overwhelming presence, and the bell is a bold move that can’t be undone once it’s made.

I haven’t read very far into the novel yet, but this explanation should give you a good sense of what it’s like.

PS: The main story is 15+, but the side story is marked 19+.

Update Schedule:
Free: 2x a week (Tue & Sat) – Starting from 6/1. This week it will be just 1 ch.
Adv: Sporadic Mass Update within this month – I’ll update the advance chapter once I finish with another novel. For the time being, it will only have a regular free schedule.

Add this story to your reading list on NU or leave a comment, so I know you’re waiting for it, and I will work on this story sooner. ^^