SILENCE. It surrounds them all, the only noise is the obnoxious rhythm of taps that Mi Ja makes with her heels. They all stand, circling each other, dressed in their outfits for the gala. Charlie, Min, and Roe all wear their suits with matching red ties and slick back hair. Mi Ja wears a tantalizing red dress that is just tight enough to show off her non-existent curves, her hair is perfectly straight—nearly too straight—with the precise amount of jewelry so that she doesn’t over shine. Mei wears her modern styled Hanbok, her hair pinned into a bun a top her head with the pin nestled near the bottom of it, for jewelry she only wears the necklace Lucca had given her a while back. Seeing as she’s not fond of wearing jewelry.

“Will you stop with that obnoxious tapping!” Roe sneers, scowling in Mi Ja’s direction.

“Grow a pair, and make me.” Mi Ja bites back with a cross of her arms. General Roe frowns, shifting his view away from her as if she’s the raining force that causes hatred in his body. Mei looks between the two adults with an annoyed feeling resonating in the pit of her stomach. She understands how the two may dislike one another; but, why do this now? This isn’t the time, nor place, for such bickering to happen. Thankfully, Mei doesn’t have to stay a word as Charlie takes the initiative to quiet everyone with a ‘sh’ before taking a step forward and facing them all.

“We all know what this gala means,” He begins, forcing everyone to pay attention, and—after a split second of rolling eyes—everyone seems too. “Li Xue, and Kai Sheng will be here—along with everyone and anyone entangled with them. Our jobs are to be focused, to keep peace and not cause trouble. By the end of the night, Mei,” He ticks his head a little to gaze at the finely dressed blonde girl. “You’ll be having a discussion with the present advisor where you’ll state your case. It’ll be you and you alone—we’re not permitted to be with you.” Mei can feel a trembling sensation in her fingers at the nervousness bubbling in her chest. She takes a huge gulp of air into as she shifts her hands behind her back to keep others from knowing she’s nervous.

Min takes a step forward, standing a few inches away from Charlie. “And me,” He looks in Mei’s direction, flashing a smile directly at her, before looking at everyone else. “Kai Zheng doesn’t know I’m alive, right? If things get sticky, all we have to do is admit who I really am—his anger will switch to Li Xue instead, right?”

“If it comes to that, yes.” General Roe murmurs with a nod.

Mi Ja wipes a hand across her forehead, brushing some of the strands of her red hair. “Let’s get on with it then, I’m tired of listening to the men speak.” The red headed woman loosely grabs a hold of Mei’s arm—pushing past Charlie and Min who block the way into the ballroom—and drags her into the large golden colored room. The room is a bit eccentric for Mei’s taste. Nearly every piece of furniture is a shade of gold, with whispers of whites and pleated with oranges. The floor is slick with patterns of squares wrapped into circles—golden, orange, and brown are the colors that show through. While the walls are a bright beige that is decorated with different pieces of artwork and structures. Three large bright white chandeliers hang from the ballrooms large ceilings across the entire room. The room would actually look quite huge if it wasn’t for the hundreds of finely dressed people dancing throughout the room.

“Champagne!” Mi Ja cheers as a waitress comes roaming by, holding a tray of flutes with bubbly golden fluid. Her red fingernail colored hands grab two glasses: she downs the first one rather quickly and sighs in bliss soon after. She goes to take a sip from the other glass; but, before she can—Mei takes it from her and passes it to another person. “Hey!” The woman cries, scowling in Mei’s direction.

All Mei does is look in the opposite direction, her eyes glancing over each and every person she can see. “Staying sober is also one of the rules—you go nuts when you drink.” Mi Ja scoffs, a hand coming up to stick to her waist.

“To think I’m being guided by a child.” A child? Mei? If anything, proved over time and time again, Mei was never truly a child. In the aspects of technicality, sure, between the ages of being an infant to eighteen she was a child. But in terms of anything but age—Mei was never a child. The fact that Mi Ja—whom doesn’t know her—has the audacity to assume Mei was ever a child based on her age, it frustrates her. It’s not like Mei has called the woman old and withering. Age is but a number; what really matters is what someone’s been through in life.

Mei disperses into the crowd of people, pulling herself away from the woman who has become more annoying and frustrating over time. Her hand curls into the skirt of her Hanbok, as she stumbles through the crowd of packed people. Some seem to recognize her, gasping her way before quickly gossiping to one of their friends. It merely makes Mei a nervous wreck. Gossiping has never been something she favored in life, when Jing Jing would do it in school, Mei would ignore her. “Ah, there you are.” A hand takes hold of Mei’s arm, pulling her around to face the voices direction.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Li Xue wears a simplistic looking peter-pan collared grey dress, three white buttons garner the front—directly below the collar—and she adorns it with an off white flat. Her cropped silver hair is adorned with a small dark colored bow that’s situated to the left side of her head and compliments the dress well. She holds a champagne in one hand as the other keeps its grip on Mei’s shoulder.  Her eyes cast over Mei’s body quickly; before, snapping back up to her face. “You look appropriate; I guess; Mi Ja does have some style.” The woman scoffs soon after commenting, as she wraps an arm with Mei’s. “Now, your father is further up ahead; but, why don’t you just talk to mom for a second, hmm?”

Mei’s mouth dips open, as if she’s going to say something, but—all she can do is close it and stand still, her head hitting her chest. It’s still too hard. She can’t form a sentence in front of the woman—nor her father. It’s scary. As if she’s worried she’ll say something wrong and get in trouble with it. Her mother, on the other hand, doesn’t seem too pleased with the fact that her daughter isn’t responding to her. “Fine, then just let me speak,” She pulls Mei over to the side of the room, leaning up against one of the golden slathered walls, and away from the floor full of dancing men and women. Momentarily, Mei looks over shoulder, only to find herself searching but not finding anyone and no one finding her. Li Xue, takes a sip from her champagne glass, dipping her head backward in response. Once done, she sets the empty glass on a nearby table before facing Mei again. “I’m only going to say this once; so, listen closely,” Mei can only tilt her head in slight wonder as she watches her mother shift a hand through the hair framing her face. “Mei Fen, you could have a true life here. Working diligently, and improving the country to something it never thought it could be. You’re strong willed, and intelligent; you have the ability to make a difference here.”

Mei can only shake her head, of course this is what her mother would talk about. She slowly cuts off her mother with a struggling sentence, “Do you really think that’s what I care for?” Li Xue, slightly surprised that Mei spoke, continues as if her words were expected.

“If you’re worried about settling down, there’s nothing to be worried about. Many men from here would die to marry you. They’ll line up for blocks when you decide that you want to get married. You can have children, as many as you want. You’ll live in a wonderful home—fit for a queen—and you’ll be a national treasure. The country already knows you well. I’m sure you’ve noticed the glances and whispers,” Li Xue points secretively across the room, forcing Mei to look around and find some party guest starring over at her. “They know you’re a prospective candidate for a high position in the government. A position that isn’t taken lightly; those who take a place in government are respected and treated like royalty. If you take it, your father will no longer hurt you, or look down on you; because, he’ll know that you’re truly strong.” Her mother sighs, running a hand down her dress, before she leans in close to Mei—keeping her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Your life will be set if you just say you’d take the position and live here. Not just that, but you’d be working side by side with me and your father. Working for the integrity of North Korea!”

A gulp rises in Mei’s throat, as she lightly nods her head in understanding. She doesn’t want to go against her mother, at least, not in person. And she doesn’t want to stand up for herself if in the end it’ll just get her hurt. She knows when to speak her mind, and when not to. Her mother, pleased with the nod, smiles and wraps an arm around Mei’s shoulder. “Good, let’s go see your father now.” With the arm wrapped around Mei’s shoulder, Li Xue begins dragging her across the ballroom—passing a few dancers, others who stare, and even some people who recognize Li Xue and immediately bow—to her father.

It’s easy to spot her father. He stands near the back, drinking a glass of red wine, and holding a neutral expression as someone chats fascinatedly into his ear. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that he isn’t interested in the conversation, not at all. Which is why, when he sees Li Xue in Mei, he easily removes himself from the conversation and walks quickly to them. Mei’s parents nod their heads at each other; before both of their gazes are on Mei. Her father speaks up first, “You look presentable, Mei Fen.”

“That’s what I said.” Li Xue comments, nodding her head in agreement.

Mei bites the end of her lip as she glances up at her father, “Mi Ja helped me pick it, you know her, right?” Her father’s eyes waver away from Mei and onto Li Xue instead. Li Xue whom seems angered by the innocent—yet not so innocent—comment. Even though Mi Ja didn’t help with picking out the dress, and hasn’t really been helpful in the long run, it’s still quite interesting to see the dynamic between her parents when she brings up Mi Ja’s name. Kai Zheng doesn’t seem pleased, from what Mei can see on his face.

“Mi Ja is here?” He asks; keeping his gaze on his wife.

Li Xue shrugs, “Do I look like I’d know where that is?” Her father’s hand comes up and grips tightly onto Li Xue’s forearm. Leaving her mother to scoff in his direction. “Still a little when it comes to her? I thought we were over this Kai Zheng. I’m your wife, she’s just a you slept with a few times.” The words are filled with the most venomous sound of emotion, she’s ever heard her mother say before. The speech sounds like something her mother’s said often to her father. Whether it was before, or after she left—Mei can’t be sure. Nevertheless, Mei takes this time to slip away from her parents—and into the crowd, as the two begin to argue in a passive aggressive tone. Her father being the more aggressive part as her mother slips passively sly comments.

The rest of the night seems to be a slow blur. As her mind focuses entirely on avoiding everyone who dares to try and speak to her; she remembers seeing people dancing so vividly in their gowns and tuxes—dresses flowing like they’re in the wind. People were chatting, laughing, arguing—yet, everyone seemed to be happy. Except her. It seems, in Mei’s mind, she’ll never be happy. At least, not while she’s stuck her. Sure, her mom put up a good fight—saying how her life will be set here, in North Korea. And yet, none of that compels her to want to stay. She’d rather have an unsure life, in the midst of a chaotic world; rather than a set one, in the midst of a chaotic country.

“How’s your night been?” Comes a soft voice from behind her.

She glances back, spotting Min who wears a smile, and holds a glass of champagne. Didn’t they all agree not to drink? To stay sober? “Fine, I guess; and yours?” He takes a step forward, coming to stand next to her, even offering her the champagne. Though, she declines with a look of distaste. He nods, as if he’s already assumed she wouldn’t drink it. Then, why would he offer it?

“I haven’t seen our parents, have you?” He asks, hesitantly this time.

Mei nods honestly, there’s no point in lying. Never is. Min seems to nod his head in understanding before he’s looking in multiple directions. As if he’s trying to spot them. “Why? Did you want him to know that you’re alive? That you never died? That she lied about your death?” Comes Mei’s conclusion; and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize her statements are correct. Mei can only let out a laughter in distaste. “Why? It’s better this way, imagine what he’ll do when he finds out. It’ll be bad, Min. Leave it be.”

Min seems to contemplate it, at least for a minute; before, he’s shaking his head in defiance. “I just want to have a conversation with him, at least once. Besides, don’t you think he deserves to know? I mean, Mei, I’m his son—the one he thought died.” Of course Mei can’t understand what he’s trying to convey to her. If she had a choice, she’d wish to never had met him. He’s a real psychopath. Beyond a psychopath, he’s plain crazy—a serial killer.

“Whatever, do what you want. Tomorrow we leave, right?” She murmurs to herself as she slides a hand through a few pieces of her hair. “Then, there’s no more of this.” Min silent agrees, before he’s off, disappearing into the busy crowd. Once again, Mei is alone. It’s actually quite funny. In a room filled with people, lively people: she feels lonely. Lonelier than she ever has before.

At some point, Mei leaves to the outside, needing fresh air. It’s like her mind was beginning to fog up as she forced herself the will to continue through the night. There’s just so much going on that she can’t believe how she’s managed to come this far. It’s, awe inspiring, almost. She made it through General Roe’s trap, even Mi Ja’s forest of hell. She’s found out more than she could’ve ever thought. What with all of her family problems. She never expected for it to turn out this way; and yet, it did. Thankfully, it’s going to come to an end. And no one’s going to die; because, Mei’s handling it. She’ll hold out until this is over. And, if someone’s going to die: it’ll be her. It has to be her. No one deserves to die over her mess. Her life.

“You seem scared kid,” Charlie waltzes out onto the back patio, some type of cheese and cracker pairing in his hand. “What’s up?” Just like her, he leans up against the rod iron fence, that blocks off a large garden decorated with a pond in the middle. One that’s full of ducks, and frogs, and wild plants. It’s beautiful. It seems just like the rest of the beautiful; yet, not what she expected, North Korea.

She shakes her head, “Nervous, not scared.”

“Same thing in my book,” He remarks, offering her a piece of the cheese and cracker. Just like with Min, she rejects the offer—and then turns her attention to somewhere else. Possibly the trees nearby that have birds nestled within them, but it’s more likely the view of the city that’s far beyond those trees. “It’s not bad to be nervous, or scared. It’s natural. You have no clue what’s going to happen next. Which, is fine. It’s understandable. But, you’ve made it this far. What’s stopping you from going further?”

Mei wants to laugh, that sounds exactly like what she just told herself. How is it that Charlie knows what she wants him to say? “I’m fine, just—I’m tired. Of everything.” He nods his head, glancing at Mei as she sighs wistfully and painfully continues to stare out at the things around her. “I feel ridiculous; you know? How the hell did I get wrapped into this? Why me?” She stops for a second, taking in a breath of air as her shoulders sag. “Why me?”

“Would you like to think it’s some type of bull destiny or fate?” Mei switches her gaze toward him and watches as he laughs, shaking his head as if he finds the way Mei’s thinking cynical. “Would that make you feel better?” She shrugs her shoulder. Sure, fate and destiny guiding her to this life would surely make her feel better. At least, in that sense, she was made for this life and wasn’t just…thrown into it. So, in a sense, yes. It would make her feel better. “Tomorrow, it’s all over.”

“We hope.”

At some point, Mei finds herself in front of a pair of golden doors. Decorated with white outlines of flowers and various shapes. On the other side she can hear two voices, one from a deep sounding man—he sounds like he’s in his late fifties—quaffing sounding. While the other sounds like a younger man, maybe late twenties early thirties. The sound like they’re arguing, and complaining over something. The older man certainly angrier than the younger. The younger almost sounds in pain. She’s not sure if she should knock, or maybe if she should just stay still and wait. She’s not even sure if she should leave or not. Things are just going crazy, really crazy. Somehow, the time of night ticked down until it wound up being the time to talk. To finish this. To end her life with North Korea.

As she takes in a deep breath, the golden doors open swiftly. She blinks a few times, as she tries to adjust to the sight of the man in front of her. It’s the younger man, and he looks rather odd. A busted lip, and a black eye—and, he strangely looks familiar. Yet, Mei can’t put her finger on where or how. “Excuse me.” He bows his head, not allowing Mei to get a good look at his face, before fleeing past her and far away. Her head twists around, to stare after the man—she even reaches out a hand.

“Zhao Mei Fen?” But the voice forces her to stop, and twist toward it. He’s an older man, with an overbite, and a quaff of brunette hair. He looks polished, and professional—beyond anyone else at the gala. He looks like a true business man. Mei, in response to his question, nods her head. “Please, come in.” She bows her head, being as respectful as she can, before she carefully heads inside.

The room is spacious, and colored in gold, beige, and red’s. The older man quickly urges her to take a seat on the golden couch, adorned with red throw pillows. As he quickly walks around a chestnut colored desk, and takes a seat in a beige office chair. “Now, you’re here to discuss…” The man reaches out onto the desk—Mei’s unsure of whether it is his or not—and ruffles threw a stack of papers. Until his hand lands on a certain embroidered one with a red seal down at the bottom. He glances over it, his eyes shifting through the black font, before he’s looking back at her. “Your affiliation with North Korea? Correct?”

She nods, “Yes sir, mister…” Mei trails off, waiting for the man to reply with his name. He doesn’t; but, instead points to a wooden name plate sat atop his desk, pointed in her direction. In bolded gold letters is the name “Won Byung Chul”. She can feel her heart lurch to , immediately. He was one of the three names on Charlie’s original list. She was wondering if she’d ever get to meet him. Now, here he is. “Retired Military Sergeant, Won Byung Chul. My father’s trainee, and good friend.” The man doesn’t respond, but nods in agreement to Mei’s words. This information was gladly given to her from one of the many talks with Mi Ja. Saying that the two are ‘closer than any’. Practically ‘brothers’.

He looks over the list, reading through all the words: once, twice, three times; before, he’s looking up at her. He almost looks disgusted at the fact they’re having this discussion. Maybe no one’s ever had the talk of choosing their own life or North Korea. Of course, North Korea isn’t well-known for their talking: rather for their attacking. “You have two decision Mei Fen,” He begins, clicking his tongue, as he places the paper back down on his desk. “The first is simple: to stay here, and have everything you need, provided for you. The second is not as simple: a congregate of government officials will come together to decide the punishment for abandoning your country. I urge you, to choose the former.”

Mei almost feels like laughing, ‘abandoning your country’. It’s never been her country and it never will be. That’s the most ridiculous statement she’s ever heard. It makes her want to gag. “I’m apologetic; but, I’ll have to go against with what you want.” The man’s head drops toward the table, his fingers drumming against it while Mei watches him.

“I thought so.” He reaches forward, pushing some objects and papers out of his way—to grab a dark colored flip phone. He presses one number, and then shifts it to his ear. His questioning gaze staying on Mei; who’s eyes don’t waver from his. “Call together the council, she’s chosen.” There’s chattering on the other side; but, he shuts the phone and places it on the desk. “You may leave; penance will be taken care of early in the morning—before you leave.”

She’s almost shocked at how simple it went. From everyone’s caution, it sounded like it would take hours—and it would involve constant pain. Yet, she feels almost freed after talking to Byung Chul. Tomorrow, despite the punishment, she’s truly free from North Korea. Fully, and honestly free from it all. It’s almost a miracle. She’s been fighting this sense the day she was born, and these last few months have been increasingly painful. Thoroughly painful. And now, it’s over. Truly, over.

She rises to her feet, nearly tripping because of the weight lifted off her shoulder—making her feel less than before. As she begins taking steps toward the door, leading to her exit, Byung Chul’s voice catches her. “You do realize, from this day forward, you’ll no longer be associated to your parents?”

Although her parents have always been monsters to her: she’s never imagined a life without them. And yet, when she thinks about it, a life without them isn’t so bad. She won’t have to be scared. She won’t have to constantly look over her shoulder to see if they’re there, waiting for her, and watching her. She can live a good life. A normal life.

“Good.”

N o v e m b e r  2 2
2 0 1 5
P y o n g y a n g,  N o r t h  K o r e a

SHE barely slept a wink. Her mind kept playing over last night’s conversation with Byung Chul. It’s crazy! As she laid in the hotel bed, she couldn’t help but let a smile grace her lips. It felt unusual, seeing as she doesn’t smile much; but, she liked it. The way her lips curled, and her teeth showed. The way her cheeks began to hurt from smiling for too long. The way her eyes crinkled in the corner for smiling too wide. It felt, nice, after a while. Enjoyable even. She could get used to smiling often. “Your face looks weird.” Comes Mi Ja’s comment, early in the morning when she finally wakes up—Mei had already been up for a while.

“Good morning to you too.” She responds, as she hands Mi Ja a cup of coffee.

The woman takes graciously, taking a sip, and humming in enjoyment soon after. “How did the discussion go?” Mi Ja, out of everyone—though not a big shock—didn’t wait around to hear what happened. Instead, she got drunk—beyond belief—and passed out, in front of their hotel room. Utterly ridiculous.

“Good, really good.” Mei responds; a small forming once more.

Mi Ja nods her head, “No wonder you’re so giddy.” The smile immediately drops from Mei’s face once Mi Ja points it out. It’s okay to smile in private; but, not in front of people that don’t deserve to see her smile. The red head swings her hair over her shoulder, and takes another swig of her coffee. “Let’s just leave as soon possible.” Mei nods her head in agreement, as she grabs for her bag—shoving her clothes, and bathroom necessities inside—before swinging it over her shoulders. She does the same thing with Mi Ja’s bag, letting the woman finish her coffee and slowly get dressed.

Thankfully—once Mi Ja is done applying her make-up and they get to the lobby of the hotel—Min, General Roe, and Charlie are all ready to leave. Mei almost feels compelled to ask Min if he talked to their dad; but, she’s sure she would’ve seen something last night if that happened. So, it probably didn’t. If it did happen, it wasn’t as big of an event as she thought it would be. “Is there anything we have to wait for?” Charlie asks, making Mei shrug.

“The soldiers.” General Roe states with a cross of his arms.

That’s right, they still have to be guided everywhere; sense they’re still in North Korea. “And, your case with my parents?” Mei asks, shifting her gaze toward Charlie. A sly grin shifts over his lips as he pulls an object, what looks like a recorder, out of his brown coat—passing it her way. She glances over the buttons: play, pause, fast forward, and rewind. She looks up at Charlie, who reaches over and presses the play button.

It’s her mother’s voice that come son the tape recorder. “News travels fast; when I heard my darling daughter was heading to North Korea, well, I needed to know why,” There’s a slight pause as there’s a ruffling of sounds on the other side. “But, I hope that you’re thinking of following your father and I’s footsteps. We’ve raised you to do so. Unfortunately, you disappeared before we could finish the full of your training.” Once more the tape pauses, ruffling sounds as what sounds like music plays in the background. “Your life will be set if you just say you’d take the position and live here. Not just that, but you’d be working side by side with me and your father. Working for the integrity of North Korea!” The tape stops, and Mei takes a moment to let the words roll over through her mind—before she looks toward Charlie shocked.

“She said those things to me, how did you get that?” She asks in awe.

He laughs, “I stayed close to you all night; not to mention this is just some information I’ve got, there’s hours of conversation on here. Enough to have the Chinese government come to an agreement with the North Korean government; to extradite them to China for a trial.” Mei states in amazement. All while she was worried and stressing, Charlie was getting information to finally finish his case and put her parents in jail—on to death row presumably.

“Wow, I-I can’t believe that.” She murmurs, passing the tape recorder back to him. “So, then, you’re heading back to Taiyuan to deal with this?” He nods, placing the tape recorder back into his coat pocket before looking up at her—his grin no longer there.

“I’ll be back to see you, at some point. Once the case is dealt with, you might have to be a witness; but, that’ll be dealt with once we get there.” He wraps his arm around her shoulders, and guides her into his side—side hugging her no less. She can’t help but roll her eyes, although, she goes along with it. Why not? Her life is finally on track. Finally, good.

The soldiers finally reach them—after a few minutes of standing around—although, this time, there’s only one soldier, and the Hanbok wearing woman. Mei doesn’t think much of it—the other soldier is probably busy. “Finally, we’ve been waiting forever.” Mi Ja snaps bitterly, as she slings her bag over her shoulder. General Roe, and Min follow closely after them. Charlie slowly following them, leaving Mei in the back—nearly all by herself. As if she’s never done it before, Mei takes a deep breath of fresh air in—and, she finds it pretty nice. Refreshing, even.

And yet, Mei still feels odd. Didn’t they say the punishment was going to begin today? And yet, they’re leaving. There’s no way that the North Korean government would just let her go. They find her to be liable for something; that she’s not innocent. Why are they letting her go? Especially after everything.

“I’m sorry.” Mei’s head shifts over her shoulder to spot a man quickly passing by her. It doesn’t take long to recognize who it is. It’s the man that was all beat-up from the night before—the conversation with Byung Chul. Her hand reaches out to grab for him, to ask what he means; but, before she can do so—something pulls her away from that, and forces her to scream in shock and terror.

A single gunshot rings throughout the empty courtyard. It’s a loud, and obnoxious bang. Many people aren’t affected by it. Mi Ja, and General Roe keep walking—oblivious to the sound. A select few are actually effected.  Min twists around, to the direction of the sound—his eyes wide, and looking for Mei. Mei covers her ears, dropping her bag before doing so, and clamps her eyes shut.

One-person gets shot.

He falls to the floor, like the waves hitting the beach. His body slamming against the concrete as blood slowly seeps out of the hole in the middle of his forehead. His eyes are wide open, no pain shown, just lifelessness. Mei learned once, that even when your heart stops, your brain continues thinking for seven more minutes. That means, for seven more excoriating minutes, he lies on the floor—technically alive. Mei’s trying to gather herself, screams leaving as Min flies to her—trying to find where the shooter is, as he wraps her in a hug.

She separates herself from him, immediately—flying to the body that lies on the concrete floor. She scrapes her knees when she kneels down. She doesn’t even bother to listen to General Roe, and Mi Ja who yell out telling her to keep cover. Thinking that the shooter will kill her. There’s only one thought that roams through her mind as she stares at the body.

He’s dead. This time, he’s dead.

She should’ve realized it. Earlier. She should’ve realized it earlier. That man, with the black eye and busted lip—whom was talking to Byung Chul the night before and muttered a ‘sorry’ to her right now—is the same soldier that guided her when she went shopping. The one whom asked her who she’s closest to. Charlie. And that’s why, that’s why he’s lying on the concrete floor…dead.

They killed Charlie; because of her.

And all she can do, through tears and a screams, is grab for the tape recorder in his coat pocket—before Min’s dragging her away. Tears continue to stream down her face, screams wreck her body, as she watches Charlie’s body stay still where it is. Dead. He’s truly dead.

Her punishment was his death.

Mi Ja, and General Roe promised that the North Koreans wouldn’t kill someone she loved. Yet, they did. And when Mi Ja tries to get her to calm down: to breath, and stop crying. All Mei can do is strike her across the face. Because, she lied; and look who died. Charlie. Charlie died.

Because of her.