Flowers of Andong [COMPLETED]

The Beginning of the Never Ending

It was two years after an armistice was called in 1951. It was two years later, on July 27, 1953, when the armistice agreement was officially signed and a demilitarized zone was established at the 38th parallel.

Even then, the Korean War has still not ended. It just went on to become the Forgotten War instead.

After the armistice, life was still difficult to resume. There had been a lot of soldier and civilian casualties, some 5 million lost their lives in the name of this war. When Jisoo returned to her aunt's home in Busan, she only received more bad news. Her grandmother was weakened and bedridden from another disease and Jisoo spent the next few weeks taking care of her.

One night, Jisoo was stirred awake in her sleep. She dreamt of Kiyong saying goodbye, a dream she often had but it was in a different location each time. She sat up in her bed, panting wildly at the thought of him. She reached for the necklace on the floor beside her and took a few calming breaths, pressing the pieces of metal against her chest.

"Jichu?" a weak and brittle voice called quietly.

"Yes, halmeoni?"

"Nightmare again, my dear?"

Jisoo panted and looked over to her grandmother laying beside her. "Yes."

She felt her grandmother's small and bony hands wrapping around hers for reassurance. It was a comforting and loving gesture.

"Jichu, does it hurt?"

Jisoo scrunched her brows, confused by the random question. "What do you mean, halmeoni?"

From the moonlight coming through the window, she watched as her grandmother lifted a hand and placed it over her heart. "Does it hurt in here?"

Jisoo looked down at herself, at her hand that still clutched the necklace close to her heart. She took a deep breath and opened her hand to look at the shiny metal tags.

"I've been keeping a lot from you, dear," her grandmother admitted. "A lot of pain."

Jisoo turned worried, "W-what do you mean? Are you hurting? What's wrong?"

Her grandmother smiled, "Not that kind of pain, Jichu-yah." She tapped her chest again, "I meant in here. I haven't told you the truth."

"What is it you haven't told me?"

After a deep breath, her grandmother began. "Your mother didn't die from an illness. She left. But not for the reason anyone could imagine. They said she'd be working in a factory, contributing to supplies for the army."

No, it couldn't be, Jisoo thought.

"I have no idea what happened to her because she never came back. I never heard from her again."

"Was this during the Japanese invasion?"

Her grandmother gave a knowing look a slow nod. "I didn't know what to believe. I didn't want to believe anything. It's not something a mother wants to imagine has happened to their precious daughter, may it be a daughter in law."

Jisoo's body became shaky and she shivered with such horrible thoughts. Just like the time she was talking with the old man she met at the hospital a few years ago, she felt devastated.

"And your father didn't really run away..."

Jisoo wiped her tears and continued to listen attentively. "Then...?"

"He chose to believe the truth. He tried to look for her but there was nothing to find in Korea. She wasn't in Korea anymore. The truth... drove your father insane. He left when you were three, to look for her, and I don't know if he'd gotten himself killed or if he took his own life but..." She trailed off. "The death of a loved one is hard to cope with and I honestly worry a lot for you, Jichu. I don't want you to end up like your father."

Jisoo swallowed thinking of the difficult days after she found out Kiyong was dead. It hurt her to remember the times she wanted to leave this world too but somebody was there to stop her.

"If that young man didn't fish you out from the river, surely you wouldn't be here right now."

Jisoo wore a guilty look and couldn't make eye contact. She knew her grandmother suffered from so much worry that her health has declined even more and that was the last time Jisoo tried to leave.

"He's been here for you for the last two years, taking care of you because I couldn't. I know it may seem like betrayal but don't grow old alone like me, Jichu-yah. Keep him by your side."

Jisoo nodded.

"People will age as they grow but love is resilient. The only reason it hurts in here..." her grandmother pointed to Jisoo's heart, "... it's how you know the love and the hurt is real. And like a mugunghwa, love always remains just as strong and beautiful no matter what conditions. No amount of heartbreak can change it. So let Kiyong be a love that hurts, but let Haein be a love that heals."

After the heartfelt words, her grandmother closed her eyes and laid in silence. She remained silent through the night, through the day, and eventually, through the week. And with her grandmother resting six feet below in the ground in front of her, Jisoo held Haein's hand and leaned into his shoulder, letting him become the love that would go on to heal her from the biggest heartbreak she'd ever experience.

•

Flowers of Andong

안
동
의

꽃

Thank you for reading