January 1951. He saved her life in a city torn apart by war during the Korean War.
December 1953. The soldier is reunited with the governor's daughter- souls scarred and bodies battered, seeking the second chance that Fate has dealt.
The noisy wet slurps of noodles came to a sudden halt, accompanied by the soft metallic clink of chopsticks against porcelain.
"Wait a minute...what are you doing here, woman?"
"Since when do I need your permission to come here, you sly cat?"
The bickering drew his attention quick enough— looking up from the pile of coins in front of him, Jeong Hyeok couldn't decide if he was more perplexed or amused by the menacing glares on the faces of a certain Pyo Chi Su and Yoon Seri.
"I am trying to have dinner without having to see your annoying face."
"No one is stopping you from gorging yourself to death." The governor's daughter replied with narrowed eyes, before walking ahead to stand in front of the noodle stall owner. "I am here to look for Captain Ri."
Somehow, he was surprised, yet not entirely.
Unlike the first time when she had looked him up at his apartment, dressed in an elegant Western dress befitting her upper class status, Seri looked like any other commoner girl this evening.
A very pretty commoner girl, the former captain subconsciously thought, taking in the view in front of his eyes.
Holding a rattan basket with her hair neatly tied in two braids, wearing a white cotton blouse and a soft pink floral skirt, no one would have guessed that this was the daughter of Seoul's governor.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Ha!" Pyo Chi Su sneered, lifting his chin challengingly in Seri's direction. "You speak as if our Captain wants to see you."
"Alright, that's enough." Jeong Hyeok's words were enough to stop the other man from escalating the argument, prompting Seri to throw an equally challenging smirk in retort. Rising to his full height in front of the governor's daughter, he asked in a gentle voice. "What is it that I can do for you, Miss Yoon?"
There was something about the way he painted their interactions as a favor done for her, but Seri decided against overthinking it.
"It is Sambok." She replied matter-of-factly, as if it was all the reason she needed to come looking for him.
Sambok, the traditional festival marking the hottest days of summer in Korea.
The last Sambok Jeong Hyeok had celebrated years ago had been spent with his brother in Seoul over piping hot bowls of ginseng chicken soup.
Living in Seoul away from their hometown hadn't been easy, but the boys always had each other, until...
Fighting the surging waves of sadness, Jeong Hyeok willed his mind to avoid images of Mu Hyeok's face.
The face in front of him was wearing a smile so angelic; it pained him to look at her.
There was something so pure about Yoon Seri, from the hope that always lingered in her voice, to the sparkle that shone in her clear eyes. It formed a stark contrast against his existence, one which had been and still was being ravaged by war and suffering.
