Fallen

The Wrong Train

"No, not at all." He planted his feet firmly to the ground and pulled himself into a standing position from the wrought iron garden swing, bowing in greeting.

"May I join you?" Her presence was large despite the petit frame, commanding attention effortlessly. Jeong Hyeok hadn't been looking for companionship, but he wasn't looking to reject it either.

"Of course."

Gripping the bitterly cold ornate iron frame, he steadied the swing, allowing for the lady to seat herself in it.

A gentle pat on the space beside her was his invitation to join her on the swing.

"It has been awhile. Why are you out here, Captain Ri?" Seri asked, her rouged lips upturned at the edges. "Is the party not to your expectations?"

"Nothing of that sort, Miss Yoon. It is most generous and kind of the governor to host a party in our honor."

Her eyes twinkled with a light he hadn't seen in a long while-- not out there on the battlefield, and most certainly, not in the face staring back at him in the mirror.

"That doesn't answer my question."

That drew an inaudible chuckle from Jeong Hyeok in the form of a fleeting, misty cloud in the chilly air.

"I am here because I do not personally see a cause for celebration."

Same reasons, she quietly thought, prompting him to speak further with a warm nod.

"We didn't win. It is anything but victory." The Captain replied, wearing a wistful smile on his lips. "War, be it in the form of force, or intellectual domination, is barbaric. Especially when the motivation is greed, masked under the lofty ideas of principles and ideology."

The harsh truth rendered Seri silent; bloodchilling cries, endless suffering and the stench of death lurked like a dark cloud over the celebrations.

These celebrations were nothing more than what the rich and powerful used to fool themselves into thinking their cause was right, and that the blood-stained victory was sweet.

"What was obtained by force, has to be safeguarded by force. It is a never-ending cycle of antagonism. Everyone loses, Miss Yoon. Everyone."

She nodded in agreement. To be honest, as a civilian, Seri had no idea what the future now held for this country.

Korea was now split into two along the 38th parallel into the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK, in the north, and The Republic of Korea, or ROK, in the south.

But it wasn't peace that lingered in the hearts of the Korean citizens now that the Soviet Union had withdrawn its forces, and US troops were in the process of doing so. Attempts at administration by a US-Soviet Joint Commission had yielded limited success— riots, protests, boycotts had soon followed.

These foreign forces had the option to leave this mess behind, Seri thought bitterly. But what about the people of Korea?

The North was repeatedly dehumanized and debased in their eyes, shown to be barbarous and cruel. No one trusted anyone.

But both sides lost good people. Many, many good people.

All they had now, was war-ravaged land, festering social issues and an angry, raw wound to live with. Refugees were stranded on both sides of the constructed divide in what used to be one country, with families brutally torn apart.

"All I see for now, are broken people and broken dreams, Miss Yoon." Jeong Hyeok said ruefully.

Try as he might, he still couldn't come to terms with why he lived when so many other men died. He couldn't even speak the names, or visualize the smiles of his fallen friends without bracing his face to stiffness.