CHAPTER 5

1930

Gyeongseong

“Is Miss Jiwon your mom?” the boy asked Seungwan as they stepped out of Jiwon’s house.

“No, but she was close with my mom,” Seungwan explained.

“Was?” the boy looked at her, curious.

“My mom died when I was little,” Seungwan answered. She never had the luxury of telling that to people on her own. At school, the other kids all bullied her and just called her a hostage and an orphan. Taehyung, she felt, never really listened to her. Meanwhile, adults – at least her father’s friends – already knew what happened with her.

“I’m sorry,” the boy said sadly.

“It’s okay, it was a long time ago,” Seungwan gave him a small smile. “What’s your name, by the way? I’m Hana.” Seungwan remembered her father insisting that she only tell her Japanese name to other people – it was just easier. Her name was quite uncommon for a female, and it might be a giveaway. She just followed her father, no matter how much she wanted to tell her real name to the boy.

The boy hesitated. His parents warned him against telling his Korean name to anyone – especially since they were paranoid about being associated with the rebellion. But more than that, he knew that their family was a known noble family, and he didn’t want to be treated differently.

“I really want to tell you, but I can’t,” the boy sighed. “My parents told me never to tell my name to people I don’t know yet.”

“What about your Japanese name, then?” Seungwan asked.

“I know, you can just call me… ppang,[i]” the boy said.

“What?!” Seungwan asked, unsure if she heard the boy correctly.

“What? It’s my favorite food. Bread!” The boy laughed at how ridiculous it sounded. But he did want to be friends with the girl – it was just the first thing that came into his head.

“Ok,ppang,” Seungwan said, chuckling.

“Where do you go to school?” he asked Seungwan.

“Oh, I go to the one in the complex,” Seungwan answered, sighing. She didn’t like that she went to that school. The boy understood what school she meant and suddenly panicked. He was growing paranoid.

“You’re Japanese?!” he asked, shocked.

“I’m not! I’m a full-blooded Korean and proud of it!” Seungwan suddenly exclaimed. She didn’t realize how freeing saying that was. Seungwan is Korean, and she was proud of it.

“But… why?” the boy asked, still confused.

“My father works at the complex,” Seungwan confessed. “But he’s not Japanese. They’re just forcing him to work there.”

“Like a lot of Koreans,” the boy added.

“Yep,” Seungwan answered as they continued walking. She didn’t know why she was so forthcoming with the boy. She just instantly felt comfortable with him; she felt that she could tell anything and everything to him. Or maybe it was his connection with Jiwon – she felt safe with him.

“What’s it like there? In your school?” the boy asked, curious.

“Well, I’m one of the two Koreans,” she sighed. “It’s stupid. They just tease me all day with it. But it doesn’t bother me.”

“Good,” the boy said.

“How old are you, anyway?” Seungwan asked.

“I’m turning thirteen soon, you?”

“Eleven,” Seungwan answered.

“Well, what do you want to explore?” he asked Seungwan.

“I’m not really sure. I just figured I would walk around and see something,” she confessed.

“We can go to the market? The ahjummas there love me and give me free treats,” he smiled proudly.

“Let’s go!”

On the way to the nearby market, Seungwan saw the trains again after such a long time.

“The last time I saw a train was around five years ago, when we went here,” Seungwan said.

“Really? I actually haven’t even ridden in one!” the boy confessed. “What’s it like?”

“Bumpy. I got a bit dizzy at some point,” she shrugged.

Once they got to the small town market, the boy led her around the stalls. The ladies selling rice, sweets, and more all adored the boy. They had no idea who he was, all they knew was that the boy was constantly pleasant to them, which made them like him – thus the free treats he got.

“This is my new friend!” he smiled at the vendors. Seungwan said hi and was her usual polite self.

“Oh my, such a pretty girl!” almost all the stall owners told Seungwan when they dropped by their stalls to take a look at the stuff they were selling.

“The ahjummas love you already,” Ppang teased Seungwan.

“I know, they’ve given me so much free food!” Seungwan said in amazement. The ahjummas did love her and her new friend Ppang.