The story of Alice Park and Park Shin Hye was the result of a romantic tragedy.  It began in January 10, 1932 in Sinhung, North Korea when the infamous No Kum-Sok was born.  He was a former Lieutenant of the North Korean Air Force.  A few weeks after the Korean War was over and at the age of 21 he defected to South Korea.  Early on the morning of September 21, 1953, he flew a Soviet MiG-15 toward South Korea, landing at the Kimpo Air Base.  He had crossed into South Korea and landed unchallenged because the US radar was down due to routine maintenance.

In 1954 he immigrated to the United States and changed his name to Kenneth Rowe.  His mother joined him in the US from South Korea.  She had been evacuated from North Korea in 1951.  He graduated from the University of Delaware with degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering.  He married an emigrant from North Korea and they raised two sons and a daughter.  He became an American citizen while working as an aeronautical engineer for some of the biggest names in the world including General Motors, Lockheed, DuPont, Boeing and many more. 

His life had turned out surprisingly well and in his book, A MiG-15 to Freedom, published in 1996 he talked of his experiences, his defection and previous life in North Korea.  He never revealed the part of his life he had promised himself would stay hidden forever – it was only a young man’s first love and he heard later she died at the hands of the North Koreans.  So he buried her name and his love deep in his heart.  He never knew another side to the story existed.  He never would.

Nue Tu He was 17 years-old the day she met Senior Lieutenant No Kim Sok.  She thought him handsome and he flirted with her.  It was a daring experience for her.  She dared to speak to him and agreed to meet him again.  So began a 6 month courtship that ended abruptly in August 1953.  She heard he had defected to South Korea delivering a Russian MiG-15 with him.  It became dangerous to have known him or to speak of his name.  North Korea executed those with only a slight connection to No Kim Sok; even distant cousins were not spared.  He was considered a traitor and a heavy price was placed on his head and the heads of anyone connected to him.  The North Koreans heard a rumor that Kim Sok had a girlfriend.  They searched for the girl friend to no avail.  Luckily they were discreet when they met and no one knew her name nor had anyone seen them together. 

Her world crashed and burned the day she found out she was pregnant.  She moved as close to the demilitarized zone as possible where she gave birth to a son in May 1954.  She named him Nue Man-Shik.  She could not give him his Father’s name but his name meant deeply rooted – the name to her meant deeply rooted in her love for Kim Sok.  It was a love that would never go beyond what had already blossomed and died.  He would never know of his son, Man Shik, but the worse was her son might never know of his father.

When Nue Man Shik was 5 years old his mother married a high level North Korean government bureaucrat.  Everyone believed her husband had died during the war.  Man Shik grew up believing in North Korea and all that his stepfather taught him.  He later became an agent of the North Korean government.  He was a highly trusted agent with a trusted stepfather so he ended up with a lucrative assignment.

He became part of an exchange program with the Kyung Sung Public Agricultural College in Seoul.  This college was renamed the University of Seoul in 1997.   Man Shik was a friendly guy and made friends easily.  One such friend was Lee Hon Mun.  They became fast friends.  Hon Mun always knew there was more to Man Shik than he told but liked him as they began a genuine friendship.  Hon Mun introduced him to his cousin Park Seon Yeon.  She was a beautiful girl with her dimples and warm personality.  She was the type of girl that drew people to her and made them like her.  She was a warm and happy person. A few months after Man Shik moved to Seoul and began his college life his mother was found dead while walking back from the market.  Man Shik was devastated and his relationship with Seon Yeon was a haven for him.  He slowly fell for her despite knowing he would have to return someday to North Korea.   

A series of small events happened that led the North Korean government to question Nue Man Shik’s loyalty.  He feared that anyone connected to him would suffer so he fled South Korea in 1989.  Unknowingly, he left behind a pregnant Seon Yeon.  Lee Hon Mun discovered Man Shik’s true identity and he feared for Seon Yeon.  When she told him she was pregnant he told her everything he knew about Man Shik.  They made a pact to never speak of Man Shik or his connection to them.  They feared for her child’s safety so she gave her baby her name and her cousin, Lee Hon Mun, worked diligently to hide her identity and her child away from the world.  Man Shik contacted Hon Mun one year after the birth of his child.  He didn’t know he was a father nor did Hon Mun tell him.  He had discovered he was on a North Korean hit list and feared for Seon Yeon’s safety should it become known they had a previous connection.  He worried Seon Yeon would be kidnapped and taken to North Korea or executed.  Meanwhile, Seon Yeon gave birth to a baby girl February 18, 1990 and named her Park Shin Hye.

At the age of two, Shin Hye was spirited away from South Korea when her mother died under mysterious circumstances.  Her mother was the picture of health but one day was found dead.  An autopsy revealed she had been injected with enough viper venom to stop an elephant.  Lee Hon Mun feared North Korean agents had executed her because of her connection to Man Shik.  Lee Hon Mun convinced Park Seon Yeon’s brother to pretend Shin Hye was his daughter.  Hon Mun spent a considerable amount of money destroying any evidence linking Shin Hye and Seon Yeon.  When Shin Hye was five her father, Man Shik, learned of her existence.  He had changed names and received reconstructive surgery two years after he left South Korea.  He was responsible for several major companies’ release of new agricultural products in the United States and he wanted to make sure Shin Hye would be taken care of even if she didn’t know him.  Because of his new wealth and his past secret, Shin Hye was given a dual identity and began training – learning to be two people at the same time.  She was a natural born actress and she learned her parts well.

Man Shik was alive and well but hidden within the spaciousness of the world.  Every 3 years he would move to make sure no one became interested in him.  He had one friend he trusted in the world and that was Lee Hon Mun.  He knew that Shin Hye aka Alice Park would be alright as long as Hon Mun was her guardian.  So he stayed in the background and watched her grow into a beautiful and talented young woman.

The development of the two distinct identities took time and money – lots of money.  Alice Park was a home tutored student with no need for attendance at a private or public school. Other than test score records filed with New York’s State Board of Education Alice did not need to participate in the school system.  It wasn’t hard to stage pictures and appearances once or twice a year. 

The development of Park Shin Hye’s identity required a bit more planning.  She attended public school and since she was in South Korea and not New York that part was easy.  She wanted to sing, dance and act from an early age so her training and subsequent schedules allowed her appearances to be planned.  When she became old enough to attend college in New York as Alice most of her work was received and submitted through the online function of the school.  She attended only those functions at Barnard College that she absolutely could not miss.  She used a proxy service for all testing and thus avoided having her pictures taken and published.  Her two identities had been a carefully thought out and executed plan.  She existed in two worlds as two different women.  It was the only assurance Nue Man-Shik and Lee Hon Mun had she would be safe in a world of political intrigue and revenge.

The only fly in the ointment turned out to be Lee Hon Mun’s cross to bear.  He had inadvertently turned his youngest son against Alice Park simply because of a few misplaced comments.  He didn’t owe Nue Man-Shik any loyalty but felt the loyalty of friendship.  He felt a feeling of guilt toward Shin Hye aka Alice because she was his favorite cousin’s daughter; a daughter who would not have Man-Shik as a father had he not introduced him to Seon Yeon.  So in his own way he felt he was repaying his cousin for her untimely death and the loss of her daughter.  The feeling of guilt he carried was his burden to bear; his feeling of friendship was his to cherish.  However, it was heart breaking to realize while being a loyal friend and kinsman he had all but lost his son.

Hon Mun had kept his friend and cousin’s secret well.  He had supervised and guided his young ward all her life.  He had a secret ambition in his heart.  His secret wish was for his son, Min Ho and his ward, Shin Hye aka Alice to fall in love and marry.  His pain was he had no way to encourage and push this through.  He would never be the kind of father that made his son part of a conglomerate deal and marry him off to the highest bidder.  He made a promise with himself as a young man when he saw the turmoil and sorrow caused by such marriages to friends and cousins.  So no matter how much he wished for a union between his son and ward he would never be party to underhand methods to accomplish a marriage. 

He was in his study brooding over these unseen turn of events when his phone rang and the caller ID displayed Alice Park.  

Earlier that day, Shin Hye had been tired but it wasn’t a physical tiredness it was a mental fugue she found herself in.  She was confused and hurt by Oppa’s absence, by his coldness toward her.  She had seen fan pictures of his flights to and from China and elsewhere in Asia.  She had seen his commercials and respective behind-the-scenes, she had seen fan accounts of his daily activities.  She left a total of fifteen messages and finally decided if he doesn’t want to talk to me how much more obvious can he be?

She was on the set of Royal Tailor and waiting for the crew to set the next scene.  She felt someone close and looked up to see Yeon Seok.  She had found him to be a serene person.  He knew what he wanted in life and was building toward that goal.  He was an easy person to talk to and had an obvious warmth and understanding to him. 

Yeon Seok was leery at first being paired with Shin Hye.  She had a reputation – a good one - he laughed to himself thinking how many ways that would be misinterpreted if said aloud.  She had a reputation as a goody two-shoes.  He had nothing against that and in fact he preferred women who didn’t put their all out for the world to see but he worried she wouldn’t be able to pull off a seducing scene and there were those scenes in the new movie.  Then his manager showed her Jambangee shoots and told him to watch Heirs, specifically episode 16.  He followed his manager’s suggestion plus he viewed more of her new commercial photo shoots.  All of them showed a mature, y, approachable yet hot woman.  He thought with this approach and her looks she could act the part with little effort.

He was walking by the small alcove and heard her sighing.  Perhaps she was rehearsing one of her scenes or trying to get into the mood for one of her scenes.  But something tugged at his emotions when he heard a small frail sob.  She never expresses that sort of emotion for anyone to see.  She always keeps her professional and personal issues separate so what is going on?  He was reluctant to push himself into a private moment but he heard her again and he stepped closer so she could either acknowledge him or ignore him.  It would let him know how to proceed.

She looked up and he saw tears.  She quickly wiped them away and smiled.  “My King, what are you doing here?”

He found it cute that she always called him ‘My King’.  Once she called him ‘My King, Oppa” much to the delight of the crew and cast.  He found her child-like innocence wrapped up in a gorgeously y woman appealing.  He had put a hold on any feelings he might develop for her because chemistry on set or not, he knew she was connected to Lee Min Ho.  In fact, everyone in the industry knew but no one knew how serious it was or if it was.  But beyond that he saw his co-star hurting and wanted to help.

“I’m sorry to intrude but ‘My Queen’ seems to need a King right now.  May I be of any assistance?  I am known for my ability to keep my mouth closed and if I may say so, for my common sense.  So I am available if you need a sounding board.”

Shin Hye was truly touched.  She had been blessed by Heaven to have been connected to so many wonderful sincere friends.  She looked at Yeon Seok a second before shaking her head.  “My King, Oppa,” giggled Shin Hye, “I appreciate it but I don’t know what is wrong with me lately, I seem to be worried but don’t know why.  Might I take a rain check on that talk though?  I need to learn my lines now and have been slacking off.”

Yeon Seok saw the need to talk in her eyes but understood the reluctance of trusting someone.  So he shook his head yes and told her he was available any time she needed a shoulder with no attachments to cry on.  She smiled a sorrowful smile and said, “It’s too obvious, right?”

He nodded yes and patted her shoulder.  “But, My Queen, things have a way of straightening themselves out.  My Grandfather gave me a bit of advice once that I have found useful. “The best way to fix a problem is to leave it alone because you’ve been alone all along and nothing changes so problems will work themselves out no matter what – just stay fast and hold true and truth will be bound to shine.”

Shin Hye gave him a puzzled look.  He laughed and said, “I don’t have a clue but when he said it I thought him the wisest of men.  And even today it sounds profound but has no meaning.  But what can I say?  I’m a er for meandering meaningful words strung together.”  She laughed with him at this tiny glimpse into his personality.  He was a nice man.  She decided she liked this person and wanted to be friends. 

She was rushing to make a scheduled appearance for Lotte Duty Free.  Min Ho would be there but they would appear on separate stages.  She was backstage when she saw him walking toward a room close to her.  She was hidden from his view but she felt the catch of her breath looking at him; she felt the quickening of her pulse when she watched him moving across the hall; she felt the fire in her veins and the desire in her soul.  She made an audible gasp as she realized how much she loved him and how far he had moved away from her.

His phone was ringing and he paused long enough to check the caller ID.  She heard him sigh and then answer the call.  He was rather abrupt and rude from the tone of his voice.  He disconnected the call and stood still with his eyes closed.  He stood silently with an expression of hurt and betrayal written plainly across his face.

She had no idea what had happened to make him look like he just lost something precious.  She forgot that he had been avoiding her and could only think he needed someone to give him encouragement.  She walked toward him and as she went to touch his arm to ask if he were OK, he opened his eyes and his eyes locked with her eyes.  He jerked his arm back.  The look in his eyes was indescribable.  He looked like someone had just hit him and hard. 

Shin Hye in a very soft and timid voice said, “Oppa?  Are you alright?”   She made the effort to touch his arm again.

Min Ho jerked his arm away from her while gruffly responding with an abrupt, “Don’t.  Just give me a moment.”

She gazed into those eyes that could destroy a woman’s resolve in seconds and found them to be hard, cold and shut-off.  He said, “I don’t want – No, I can’t talk to you at this moment. I feel like such a fool.  It was too easy wasn’t it – I’m a fool.”  And he turned and left with no words of apology or regrets.  He was punching numbers into his phone as he walked away. 

If what he had just heard turned out to be correct then he didn’t have a clue what he would do – in his acting career or in his private life.  He had held out all hope that he was wrong when questioning Shin Hye and Alice’s connection to each other and his Father.  But the information he just received had torn his heart out and stomped on it.  He felt betrayed – he felt so foolish. 

Shin Hye walked back toward her dressing room trying to sort through her weird conversation with Min Ho.  She couldn’t figure it out.  She knew he was Uncle’s son and as far as she knew he had no idea she was Alice.  Alice was not a threat or rival to Min Ho so what was up with him?  And why did he say and do those things?  She pulled her phone out to call Uncle.