The Line Between Us: Part II

Chapter 3: The Han River Bridge Disaster

Out on the street, surrounded by the weeping crowds, Kyung-ja stood anxiously, tears streaming down her face as she waited for Sun-hee to return.

Sun-hee walked along the side of the road, her steps heavy and her eyes hollow. The tears had dried on her cheeks, leaving only a trace of salt and sorrow.

As she finally made her way back into the crowd, her mother spotted her at once.

"선희야!"
("Sun-hee-ya!")

Kyung-ja rushed to her and wrapped her in a tight, trembling embrace, sobbing into her shoulder.

After a long moment, she pulled back and cupped Sun-hee's face in both hands, searching her daughter's eyes in desperation.

"네 동생을 어디로 데려갔니?"
("Where did they take your brother?")

"몰라요, 어머니... 하지만... 그냥 둘 수 없어요. 군인들을 믿을 수 없으니까요..."
("I don't know, Eomoni... But... I can't just leave him. I don't trust the soldiers with him...")

Sun-hee gripped her mother's hands, holding them tight.

"어머니... 저는 서울에 남아야 해요."
("Eomoni... I have to stay in Seoul.")

"무슨 생각이니, 얘야?"
("What are you planning, my child?") her mother asked, voice thick with worry.

"저, 군인으로 자원할 거예요."
("I'm going to volunteer as a soldier.")

Her mother stared at her in disbelief.

"얘야, 제정신이니?! 그게 가능하다고 생각하니? 남자만 받는다잖아!"
("Are you out of your mind?! How can you do that? They only accept men!")

Sun-hee took a breath, her decision firm and unshakeable.

"남자로 위장할 거예요... 그렇게 해야만 군에 들어갈 수 있어요."
("I'll disguise myself as a man... That's the only way I can join the military.") she said quietly, her voice leaving no room for argument.

No one-not even her own mother-could stop her now.

In the next early morning haze, inside an abandoned warehouse-the building made of stone, cluttered and littered, every wall covered in graffiti-shafts of sunlight streamed through the large windows on all sides.

Sun-hee leaped up to the steel railing. Her hands gripped the cold metal. She pulled herself up, arms trembling but determined-not stopping until her chin was over the bar. She wore only a pair of old cargo pants, boots, and a black crop tank that revealed her toned stomach. Her abs glistened with sweat.

A while later, she hooked her feet over the rail, hung upside down, and forced herself through sit-up after sit-up, sweat rolling down her face.

Afterwards, she dropped to the ground and began to do push-ups-at first using both hands, then shifting to her right hand alone while her left rested behind her back, before switching and pushing up with her left hand next.

Sweat-soaked and breathing hard, she made her way to the washroom-the only light in the cramped space filtering through a small window near the ceiling. Sun-hee stood in front of the mirror, scissors in hand. One by one, long strands of hair fell onto the muddy tiles at her feet as she sheared away the last traces of her old self. With each cut, her hair grew shorter-until all that remained was a rough, boyish crop.

She set the scissors down on the edge of the cracked sink and stared at her reflection. The girl she once was had vanished, replaced by a stranger with sharp features and fierce eyes.
Handsome. Unrecognizable. No one would ever suspect she was a woman.