I am Kangnam. A teenager who symbolises bravery and supremacy in my country, or so I was told. I am known by the soldiers as the Dreamstrike, the man who walks through fire and ice, Yasuo Namekawa. I was once a carefree Korean; now I am a merciless Japanese killing machine.

  

The story starts way back, when I was 14 years old.

 

A teenager who had not a damn for the world happening around him, except when he went to church and befriended classmates, thinking that he was the best in the whole world. The centre of the whole world. But I was proven wrong that very day. The day when the story began.

 

 

I had enrolled in the Joseon emperor's "programme", which was to find friends for his seven year old daughter, the notorious prodigy Lee Dabin. I had thought, why not give it a go? Nothing could go wrong with having a conversation with a child... or so I thought. Of course, I was a fool then.

 

 

I was ignorant to the princess' intellegence.

 

 

We had... a game of chess. A very special one. And also a very humiliating one.

 

 

She was sitting just in front of me, her eyes blinking like she was another innocent girl helping her mother do the washing. I thought she was just another easy toddler, another stupid royal. What I could not see was behind the cutesy face, the porcelain hands, she was actually calculating. This I could see now, as I recall that fateful afternoon.

 

 

"What was your name again?" She tilted her head.

 

 

"Kangnam." I replied with confidence. She seemed ordinary enough.

 

 

"Kangnam." She repeated. "I see." She placed another pawn on the board. "So you have taken part in my father's programme. I hate to say that I have absolutely no need for friends."

 

 

"Why?" I asked.

 

 

"Because all you get in life are feelings. Bliss, discontent, sorrow, calmness, satisfication. I hope to minimise every feeling of loss and anger, so I socially isolate myself. Only the foolish and deluded believe in friendship and... love." She wrinkled her nose. "Of course, you may lust for the opposite in puberty, but I shall refrain from doing so when I reach that age. I prefer to use my brilliant mind to think about useful subjects, instead of gossiping over some random guy with... what you citizens call... besties."

 

 

I was silent by this point. And to think that I could not even begin to argue. 

 

 

"As I point out, friends are for the delusional. They are like religions, when you have nothing to believe, you believe in fantasy and imagination." Dabin shook her head.

 

 

"No!" I argued. "We believe in God because we choose to, because he is real, as depicted in the ancient books. And friendship is intangible, you cannot determine whether it's useful or not. It's just... there, and it's up to people to choose to believe in it or not."

 

 

"Fine. You, my 'friend', are deluded like the rest. I will not waste my time talking to imbeciles like you. And for the record, religion is false. There are only clouds and air above us, and only rock and soil under our feet. Your so called God does not exist, and I might point out that I messed his altar once and he did not even care. Check." She landed her queen right above my king.

 

 

"No..." I felt like the world was being from my feet. I had believed in religion and friendship in all my life, but she, that devil spawn, had broke my view of the earth just in a few dialogues.

 

 

"Checkmate." Dabin announced, sliding my king out of the board.

 

 

I blinked away a few drops of water from my eyes, my belief shattered. Dabin sniggered, and motioned for guards to me out. My gosh, I was 14! Was I beaten by a child? And was my world toppled by the same girl? It certainly seemed so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later, I decided to travel.

 

Japan seemed like a very suitable place for me to stay, and maybe the foreign country would enlighten my senses after the devastation caused by Lee Dabin. My beliefs and opinions were shattered, and all I could do was live my days out and maybe survive till sixty.

 

I boarded a boat that belonged to a trade fleet, and I sniffed at the cracked and dusty jewelry and vases that littered the ship. I suspect it was because of the three year old toddler, Nancy, the daughter of the captain, that the cargo was in shambles. She kept on rambling about pandas, running about and tripping on things.

 

Were all children so... difficult?

 

I decided to visit the captain in his cabin. He was smoking, and the smell of tobacco filled the room. I stepped inside, and he brought a crate for me to sit on.

 

"You are Korean." He noted.

 

"Yes." I said. "Why do you ask?"

 

"Because I want to write a book about your country. Joseon. I want to earn more money." He said. "The Western monarchs want me to write a record of my travels. I've written about pretty much every country in the world. Arabia. Egypt. India. Thailand. China. Russia. Japan. But I have yet to write my most magnificent book, the book titled 'Joseon'! I shall be the most bestselling author! So, kid, tell me about your country, so that I can acquire fame and fortune."

 

"Oh." I could not even roll my eyes. He was so sincere, so serious, and I was forced to agree. But what he did not know was that I was about to mess him up.

 

I talked about Joseon in a very mythical way, when Taoist alchemists actually managed to turn lead into gold, and I spoke of the dynasty's bedtime stories, about dragons and phoenixes. I even pulled off some Buddhist myths.

 

"You have to know that," I continued, smiling internally, "our royal family is rich. They buy peacocks from foreigners, and they hire specialists to weave clothes suitable for the peacocks. They are very wealthy, yet they do not know how to use their wealth properly. Also, the king is a fair and handsome ruler, deeply loved by his citizens. he, along with his family, are draped in loincloths that make bedsheets pale in comparison. They are-" And that was when I realised that he was actually scribbling my nonsense all down.

 

"Perfect!" He beamed. "Thanks for your sharing. Oh, this shall be the most accurate book about Joseon."

 

"Wait, I..." I faltered, an uneasy feeling pooling in my stomach.

 

"No buts. I'll give you credit in my book." He chewed on his cigar.

 

"I prefer to remain anonymous." I finally choked out over the cigar smoke. That man had not an ounce of knowledge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I have said before, I am not the Kangnam years ago. That boy was naive, deluded and childish. I am a wholly different man.

 

I now tell the story of young Kangnam in Japan.

 

The ship arrived in Kyoto a few days later. The scenery was beautiful, and there were castles that stood as tall as the mountains. That boy, on the other hand, had no heart to admire this flowery capital.

 

With no target, he shuffled around the city like another drunkard. He drifted aimlessly into a casino, gambled all his money away in one game, and threw up on their wooden floor. 

 

"Kang Nam, you have no money left." The bartender sighed. "By the Emperor's laws, I forbid you to gamble for even one more game."

 

"Come on, man!" He shouted. "I'll borrow money from your damned shop."

 

"Are you serious, Kang Nam?" The bartender scoffed. "These people are masters at gambling. You wouldn't beat them anyday. Leave me and my money alone, and leave this casino immediately."

 

One of the gamblers laughed. "Saito-san, you are so humourous. This friend can borrow some of my money. In fact, I can lend him a hundred silver."

 

Kangnam nodded and took the money. He placed them all on the table. "Are we starting?"

 

"Yes." The man sneered. "What would happen if you lost to us in this game? You cannot pay us anymore, Kang Nam."

 

"I... I'd do anything you say!" Kangnam swallowed. He knew it would cost him pretty much everything, but he was hooked on now. Also, he thought that he had no objective except gambling. He was officially addicted. Even now, in the modern day, many people are like Kangnam. They approach gambling, and they cannot control themselves, especially at this young age. They then suffer great consequences, when they know of them, they still want to carry on gambling. It has become a great social problem, both in old and modern times.

 

"Another game of dice." The man announced. "I bet that a big number would come up."

 

"Fine." Kangnam stood up. "I bet small."

 

The man smirked and rattled the bucket with the dice. He opened the bucket.

 

Two sixes peeked out from the shadows.

 

"Looks like you lost, Kang Nam." The man coldly said. "I now hold the claim to your life and your property. Let's go. Saito-san, you did not see anything."

 

"Yes." Saito bowed, then exited the casino.

 

The man faced Kangnam again. "Let's go."

 

"To where?" Kangnam asked, uncertainty in his voice.

 

"My castle in Northern Japan. My stronghold, of which I train an elite batch of soldiers. You are to repay me for that silver. You, Kang Nam, are staying in Japan."

 

"I need to go back to Joseon, to my family." Kangnam replied.

 

"I promptly disagree." The man's voice was harsh. "Your life, worth 100 silver, now belongs to me. You must work for me and earn that sum of money in order for you to be free."

 

"No." Kangnam edged back. "What work? It'd better not be anything hard." 

 

"The ways of the most powerful force in the Japanese empire. Sneaking, assassinating, murdering, it's all in the programme." The man's face hardened. "The Ninja."