That night was one of the best nights in Park Bom’s life. Never before had she gone frolicking around the city with a man on her arm. The feeling of joy and excitement was so intoxicating that she did not want it to end. As a matter of fact, she even forgot about her curfew.

            “Hey, should we frolic around some more?” she asked Stephen.

            “I don’t know. It might be time for me to go home.” he said with disappointment. He too did not want the night to end. He was having way too much fun.

            “Why? I thought you could always sneak in?” Bom asked.

            “I can. But right now wouldn’t be the best time do so.” Stephen replied. The two walked back to the district where they started out, looking for Bom’s home.

            “So where exactly do you live?” he asked.

            “I live in a brothel, with 10 other girls and Madame.”

            “You live with Madame?”

            “Yes. We are all cramped in a single apartment. We all live together but I talk to none of them, unless they talk to me.”

            “You don’t have any siblings.”

            “No. One died in still birth.” Bom sadly recalled.

            “I’m very sorry for that.” Stephen said.

            “That was a very long time ago.” Bom replied.

            “So where is this brothel that you live in?” asked the soldier, willingly walking her to her home.

            “It’s a few blocks away from here. I know where it is exactly.”

            “Lead the way!” Stephen followed Bom, walking forward in a fast pace, worriedly hurrying. She knew she could face flogging if the Madame found out that she was late and disobeyed her curfew.

            In the brothel, Madame was getting seriously worried when she couldn’t find Bom, her prized girl amongst the roster of women she kept in the brothel.

            “Bom. Bommie, dear. Where are you?” she asked, tempted to grab the bullwhip incase the young maiden had snuck out or went past her curfew. 

            “I think she’s looking for me now...” Bom nervously said the moment she and Stephen  reached the facade of the building.

            “You better get home.” Stephen worriedly said. Bom rushed up the stairs and was really trying to make her steps as small as possible so as not to make noise. When she reached the back door of the brothel, she dashed to its side and placed her ear next to the door, trying to listen in on the situation in the room.

            Damn, I have to get in! Bom panicked inside. She reached for the knob and twisted it slowly so as not to make a lot of noise. Upon opening, she crawled hastily inside and shut the door. Bom crawled her way to the room which she belonged to and saw her unoccupied bunk.

            “Bommie dear, where are you?”Bom heard Madame’s voice and hastily climbed on the lower bunk and pulled her sheets over her body. Madame entered the room where Bom and 3 other girls stayed in and the closer Madame got, the greater the anxiety level. She could hear her heart racing. When Madame pulled the sheets off of Bom, she saw the beautiful singer sleeping like a child.

            “Oh. No wonder you haven’t been answering my calls.” Madame said to herself. “You’ve been in a deep sleep.” Madame smirked at her paranoia and silently, calmly left the room. When Bom sensed that Madame had left the room, she resurfaced from the covers and stared at the backside of the upper bunk.

            Today was one of the best days in my life. thought Bom. A smile of delight and satisfaction, as well as longing crept on her face. Maybe I do need to live a little differently sometimes. The sweet and fun moments she shared with Stephen stayed with her until she fell into a deep slumber.

            Stephen had managed to sneak back into the army camp without being detected by anyone, so he thought. He was already at the grounds when an enemy spotted him-his own enemy.

            “Stephen Jones?” tried to recognize him by calling his name out loud. Stephen whipped around and angrily tried to shush the noisy soldier.

            “Shut up, you douchebag! You’re doing it on purpose!”

            “Stephen Jones! What are you doing up so early? Are you trying to practice shooting?!” arched his eyebrow cockily and evilly, as though he was showing Stephen that he was doing it on purpose to get him in trouble.

            “Shut the up, you son of a ! I’m going to maul you to death!” Stephen threatened as he lunged towards his fellow soldier with his fist tightly clenched, ready to mug the arrogant private’s face. Unfortunately for the bullying victim, the Commander General caught him in a very unlikely and awkward position that put him in a not so good light.

            “PRIVATE JONES!!!!” bellowed the Commander from behind. Stephen was startled and abruptly released . fell hard on the floor.

            “Sir, this man was taunting me!”  Stephen told the truth. “Harassment and unjust harm is not permitted.”

            “Unjust harm my , private!” the Commander General yelled at Stephen’s face. The Commander General had a reputation for having favoritism amongst his soldiers and right now his favorite private was Private , meaning Stephen was really in a bad position and should’ve known better than to threaten the Commander’s favorite Private.

            “Sir, he was taunting me!”

            “Private Hoffman, is this true?!” called the Commander General. The dashing blonde GI was a good actor and lied his way to the Commander’s heart.

            “No sir. I would never taunt Stephen. I was just surprised that he was up so early so I asked him what he was doing. But he snapped like a madman and tried to attack me!” This statement made the Commander General’s blood boil as he turned towards Stephen.

            “I was just asking him why he was up early. Or why he got back so late...” smirked evilly at Stephen. Stephen could do nothing but furiously glint his eyes.

            “PRIVATE JONES! You have been reprimanded several times for several different offenses. One more offense and you’re out of the battalion! Do you hear me?!”

            “Sir, yes sir.” said Stephen unenergetically.

            “WHAT’S THAT?!”

            “SIR, YES SIR!” Stephen stood straight as a post and saluted. The Commander General did not want to seem unfair so he turned to his favorite private, tapped him on the shoulder and brought him closer.

            “Next time, son, watch your words. I know you don’t like Private Jones here but the war is between us and the men from Pyeongyang. Work together, harder next time.” he tapped the Private’s shoulder once again and left. Once the Commander General left, Private was back to his old ways-like a douchebag. He grabbed the smaller Stephen by the collar and pulled him close.

            “NEXT TIME YOU LUNGE AT ME LIKE THAT AND THREATEN TO BREAK MY BONES, I SWEAR JONES I WILL BEAT YOU TIL YOU ARE INCAPACITATED AND CASTRATE YOU, FEED YOUR DING-DONG TO STARVING LIONS.” threatened Stephen with gritted teeth. Stephen was brave enough to face his number one enemy.

            “Well I suggest you stop being a douchebag so I can start treating you better. You see, I return more than twice of what you give, Hoffman. If you’re nice to me, I’ll be thrice as nice but if you’re a dickhead, I can be an even bigger one. 10 ING INCHES OF BADASS DICKHEADNESS.” Stephen retorted. “So if you want me to not be mean to you so you can save yourself the time and effort of having to act so poor and pitiful in front of the Commander, try being nice.” was sort of taken aback by what Stephen said but the latter was not yet done. put Stephen down very slowly and properly, not tossing him like a rag doll.

            “Your name suits you well, .” Stephen said. “Not only are you one, you kinda look like one, too.” frustratingly left the spot, with Stephen crossing his arms in victory.

            “ALRIGHT SOLDIERS, FALL IN LINE! WE GOT A COUNTRY TO SAVE AND ANOTHER TO OCCUPY!” the Commander yelled. All the soldiers were up and started to stretch and get into their fatigue fighting jumpsuits. Stephen went back to his tent and dug through his bag to fish his clothes. Upon taking them out of his duffel bag, he spotted a small golden chain that was buried underneath a sack of other things.

            Hello, what’s this? Stephen pulled the gold chain out and behold a dog tag. He tried to remember where he got the dog tag then he remembered his father’s experience in the Holocaust.

            They classified us by religion... rang his father’s voice through his head. It scared him that his father was put through such horrible suffering. Supressed from the world he knew, stripped of any form of freedom. Stephen was fighting for freedom because he knew that nobody had the right to feel oppressed or conquered or abused. In honor of his great father who passed away shortly after giving him the dogtag, he wore it around his neck and swore to himself,

            Father, in your honor. I shall fight with dignity for the sake of man. For the sake of freedom. Stephen bravely stepped out of his tent with the dogtag and made his way to the line of soldiers that were to go to battle. All of them, dashing and brave, were handed weapons by the other generals. When the weapon was given to Stephen, he thought once more of his mother back home. He thought of his younger sister who idolized him so much. But most importantly, he thought of Bom. The beautiful singer whom he just spent the entire night with last night and the woman who gave him the feeling that only love could give.

            I wonder if I will ever see her again...but what if I don’t? was always his thoughts when he would go to battle.

            “FORWARD! MARCH!” said the Commander General. The soldiers fell in line and altogether marched forth to North Korea. The cadence of their boots was the hymn of bravery.

            When the unexpected happened...

            Turns out North troops were hiding behind the bushes and in the woods, attacked them out of the blue with their guns. Bullets flew from left to right, injuring and badly wounding some 10 American soldiers. The alert ones, Stephen being one of them, aimed their guns at the bushes, restlessly moving them. Another rain of bullets came and this time, emerged the soldiers sent by the North. Their angry faces matched with their ruthless lust to annihilate the American forces made the sight an even scarier one.

            Stephen, who was extremely skilled in the field of weaponry, came face to face with a brutal North soldier who singlehandedly shot a huge number of soldiers, wounding and killing some.

            “You want this, you want this?!” Stephen taunted as he pointed his gun and aimed at the North soldiers. The North soldier that was in front of him was holding a bayonet and in turn aimed at him.

            “WELL GET A LOAD OF THIS, YOU YELLOW BASTARD!” before the North soldier could even fire his bayonet, Stephen used him as a target range, raining bullets through his body, drilling them in him and making blood spill. The North soldier was dead with 59 shot wounds, falling to the ground. Stephen felt powerful and won the respect of his fellow soldiers who looked on as he continued his remarkable feat.

[IN THE BROTHEL]

            All the ladies had woken up, including Bom and went to the dining table for a very meagre breakfast. Bom, who had no appetite, sat on the couch and just slept.

            “No breakfast for you, my dear?” asked Madame.

            “No.” replied Bom. “I have no appetite.” she was still high strung from being with Stephen the night before.

            “I could use some tea, though.” she followed up.

            “Well, I wouldn’t conform to that.” said Madame.

            “Why?”

            “You in particular have a very special day ahead of you.” Bom suddenly snapped out of her stupor when Madame said this. She stood up and inquired Madame about it.

            “Special day? Wh-what’s going on?” usually if the Madame was happy, it wasn’t a good deal for Bom.

            “Come here, my dear. I shall explain to you.” Bom followed the Madame to a smaller table known as the tea table where private conversations were held. Bom nervously wrung her fingers as the Madame excitedly sat down and broke the news to her.

            “While you were singing at the club last night, a young man noticed your performance. He came to me, sensing that I was your manager and asked me about you. I told him everything about you as he seemed interested. He wants to meet you “off-stage” so I arranged a date for the two of you today.”

            “WHAT??!?!” Bom shrieked in horror. She grasped the side of her seat and seemed to move away from Madame. She couldn’t and didn’t want to see another man because she was in love with Stephen and he was the only man that she was interested in.

            “Relax. It’s a blind date and he’s a very decent young man. Educated, rich and a military genius.”

            “The only military genius I want is Stephen Jones!” protested Bom. The Madame was appalled with her words.

            “You would rather go out with that penniless American soldier?!”

            “He is not a penniless American soldier. He is brave and golden-hearted!”

            “I know but I don’t want this man that you’re forcing upon me! I will not go!” Bom stayed in her seat and crossed her arms.

            “You will not disappoint me, child. Come!” Madame tugged at her arm, forcing her to get up but Bom remained as sturdy and unmoved as a stone.

            “You will not make me go to him, Madame. I don’t care what you do or say. Tell him that I am not interested though I have not met him.”

            “I’m doing this for your own good!”

            “YOU JUST WANT TO SELL ME TO HIM BECAUSE YOU WANT TO MAKE EASY BUCKS WITH ME! WELL IT ISN’T HAPPENING, MADAME! I AM NOT GOING TO LET YOU SELL ME TO A RICH PLAYBOY AND HAVE YOU GET HIS DADDY’S MONEY!” Bom retorted furiously. Her face was red with humiliation and anger and her tears were threatening to spill from her eyes. Madame did not have pity in her heart for the young lady.

            “Alright.” said Madame calmly. “If you will not go, I guess you leave me no choice.” Madame stood up and walked away from Bom, leaving her in the tea room alone. Bom rested on the chair, her arms wrapped around her body and her face wet with tears. She had already started to cry.

            A few minutes later, Madame returned to the tea room. Bom looked her way and was scared to see Madame holding a bullwhip in her hands. The very bullwhip that she used to discipline her other es. Bom stood from the chair and backed up against the wall.

            “Are you still going to defy my rules, child?” asked Madame. Bom refused to answer and when Madame did not hear her voice, she cracked the whip, making Bom shriek and cry.

            “Madame, please. Don’t do this!” Without a word, Madame moved forward and cracked the whip at Bom, hitting her feet and the base of her legs.

            “What’ll you do, huh? Still run away with that American boy!” Madame cracked the whip once more and this time it hit Bom’s arm and thigh. “When someone presents you an opportunity to get money, you get the opportunity and get the money!” Madame cracked the whip, aiming for Bom’s back which she did. Bom fell on the floor, wounded.

            “MADAME PLEASE! STOP!” cried the young lady. Madame dropped the whip and went closer to Bom, grabbing her by the hair and banging her head against the wall. No matter how loudly Bom cried, Madame did not stop.

            The other girls who were outside heard the commotion and altogether ran to the tea room not to help but to listen in on what was going on. They all clustered against the door and placed their ears on the wood, listening to Bom’s screams and Madame’s whip. They had no intention of coming to Bom’s aid though they wanted to so badly because they were just too afraid of Madame’s cruelty.

            Bom tried to fight back to defend herself. She struggled to get up by grabbing on to the side table. Madame saw this act of recovery and countered it by flogging Bom once more, making her fall back on the floor flat on her chest. The vase that was on the side table was threatening to fall on her but she wasn’t about to let that harm her. Bom struggled to get up and quickly grabbed the vase.

            “So you’re trying to fight back, huh? ARE YOU!?” bellowed Madame. With the vase in her hands, Bom mustered all her remaining strength to carry it and toss it towards her cruel master. Bom threw the vase and it hit Madame in the arm, making her bleed.

            “Aah. Aaahhh.” cried Madame. She twisted from side to side with her hand clamping her arm that was in intense pain. Wounded and a bit bloodied, Bom got up and went near Madame. She looked at Madame with both regret and anger.

            “Sorry, but I had to.” she muttered. Just when she thought that Madame was knocked out, the cruel lady grabbed on to her ankle and threatened to trip her over. Good thing, though, Bom saw the lamp and swiftly grabbed it and smashed it on Madame’s head. She saw the bullwhip in Madame’s hand and knew she had to get a hold of it if she wanted to avoid getting flogged again. Now it was Bom’s turn to be cruel. She walked over to the right side and stepped on Madame’s hand, making Madame screech in pain.

            “Shut up, .” Bom angrily said as she bent down to grab the whip. Cracking it, she tried to give Madame a taste of her own medicine.

            “I’m done with this.” Bom said as she flogged her unconscious ex-boss.

            The other girls were getting worried about Bom. Bom opened the door and emerged from the tea room wounded and bloodied but still alive.

            “Where’s Madame?!” asked the girls, squabbling and shaking in fear.

            “Unconscious. Now get out of here before she gets out of there.” Bom urged. She went back to her room and packed her things.

            “Where are you going?”asked one of the girls. Bom continued to pack her things without even bothering to look back at them.

            “I’m getting out of this place!” Bom cried as she carried her bag on her shoulder and walked away and out of the house. The girls could not blame her for deciding to leave. Even they weren’t strangers to the hell that was the brothel.

            Bom was walking down the street, eyes full of tears and a heavy heart. Her problem wasn’t really Madame but the job that she was going to take up next. She had no formal education and could not pursue a career and only had a chance in the field of entertainment.

            I think it’s back to my roots. said Bom. In this situation, I’ll busk if I have to. However, not being in the situation to do so, Bom just continued walking and right now thought of where she could spend the night. Some place safe.

            After the war, Stephen and the other soldiers retired for the night. They were all tried and wounded and weary. The nurses that were stationed at their camp hurriedly tended to the badly injured soldiers. Being in tip top shape and having no scars on him, Stephen preferred to stay away from the hurt ones and spend some time alone, sitting beside himself.

            “JONES!” called the Commander General. Stephen whipped around and saw his boss towering above him. The Commander General had his hands on his hips, a serious, no-nonsense expression on his face. Stephen gulped, fearing that his superior would scold him or worse, kick him out of the army.

            “Yes sir?” Stephen stood up, nervously saluting him. To his surprise, the Commander General put a hand on his shoulder and smiled slightly.

            “Job well done. You did good out there. That was very brave of you.”

            “Thank you sir.”

            “Don’t let it get to your head, though.” the Commander General joked and patted Stephen’s chest. Stephen laughed a little and watched as the Commander General walked past him. A satisfied smile came on his face, knowing that he had served his purpose as a soldier well.