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Taeseok’s face was smeared in camouflage paint. A rifle hung over his shoulder, and his head was bowed low.
“You’ve been wearing that funeral face for days.”
Even in the middle of a battlefield, people still lived there. To ease the tension, idle chatter passed between them.
The man Taeseok had grabbed by the collar a few days ago approached him now with an easy smile.
“Got someone in Seoul, don’t you.”
Taeseok did not answer. The man clicked his tongue and sat down beside him.
“It’s alright, though. If you just stay alive till the end, you’ll meet whoever you’re meant to meet.”
Would that really be true? Taeseok didn’t want to hear comforting nonsense from someone who didn’t know a thing. His straight brows drew together.
“They say the rich folks all evacuated before the bombing ever hit Seoul. The guys working at the broadcasting station too. If you had even one connection, you were already in Daejeon the night before. And that Hanamura everyone in Busan used to talk about...? Ah, he changed to a Joseon name, what was it again. Anyway, that bastard too—”
“Did you say Hanamura?”
At the familiar name, Taeseok’s ears sharpened.
“Yeah! The guy who came from Jinhae, swallowed up Busan, then kept going back and forth to Seoul expanding his breweries—”
Boom!
A shell exploded. Thick smoke that made it impossible to see anything swallowed the two men whole.
Even in the height of war, the wealthy passed peaceful days.
Huijae and Taejin sat facing each other, lifting teacups. Taejin’s father and Hanamura shared the table with them.
“And once the wedding ceremony is concluded...”
Huijae did not hear Taejin’s voice. She only held the teacup to her lips blankly. It looked as if she were desperately thinking of someone. Her unfocused eyes wandered somewhere across the table.
They say there’s a large naval base in Jinhae. Then it should be safe, right? Maybe he crossed the sea and evacuated.... Or maybe—really, maybe—perhaps....
“Ahem.”
At Hanamura’s disapproving cough, Huijae quickly lifted her head. Warm brown eyes were looking at her. Taejin called her name as if to reassure her.
“Miss Huijae seems deeply versed in tea. The way you concentrate on the fragrance is quite lovely.”
A gentle man. The man who would now become her husband spoke without hesitation. Every word dripped ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ with affection.
He was so different from that boy. No... completely different from him. Out of habit, Huijae thought of Taeseok and nearly burst into tears. She wanted to cry loudly, without restraint.
“Thank you for seeing it that way.”
Taeseok.
“The two of them are already so close. There’s no need to worry about their harmony. Wouldn’t you agree, Mister Yeon?”
“Of course. For my daughter to gain such a fine man as a husband—she’s truly blessed.”
You’re alive, aren’t you....
“No, I’m the fortunate one. Miss Huijae is far more than I deserve.”
You’re alive....
* * *
Taeseok staggered through the middle of war, half-conscious, supporting a man who was barely able to stand. They had barely survived a place where even protecting oneself was difficult. Fellow soldiers caught them as they returned.
“Stay awake! Don’t close your eyes!”
“Bring disinfectant!”
Amid the chaos stained with screams and pain, Taeseok instinctively touched the back of his neck.
Nothing.
Huijae was not there.
“Hey! Where are you going!”
“Are you insane?! You crazy bastard!”
Ignoring the shouts trying to stop him, Taeseok ran. He plunged back into the heart of death.
Boom!
Huijae.
Boom!
Huijae.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
You’re alive.
In a place where shells exploded without pause, Taeseok disappeared from sight. Flames swallowed the boy.
* * *
The lady inside the black car had her face covered with a white veil. Dressed in a wedding gown, her lips painted with red rouge were tightly sealed.
The car moved forward smoothly. The place it reached was a lavish wedding hall from the very entrance. The hotel lobby where the ceremony would be held was filled with congratulatory wreaths from prominent figures in every field, blooming like a garden.
“Ahaha! Thank you kindly.”
Hanamura was smiling brightly, sincerely pleased.
It was not the driver who opened the back door of the car Huijae was in.
“Watch your step.”
A man with a flower pinned to his chest, smiling elegantly. Taejin.
White shoes stepped down slowly from the car. Then the hem of the wedding dress cascading over her slender ankles, the radiant bouquet in her hand, and then—
“Ah....”
What entered Huijae’s vision was her own name.
A large banner hung in front of the hotel lobby bore familiar characters.
Beneath the name of the groom, her name was written.
Eldest Daughter of Yeon Chisu, Yeon Huijae
Seeing her name written large with the character for joy instead of the character for woman, her tightly sealed lips parted.
“I know that someone already occupies your heart, Miss Huijae.”
The voice beside her was still warm. The only man who knew the true meaning of her name.
It was a gift he had prepared for her. Not just a woman, but joy that had fluttered in one day.
“I may not be a splendid husband, but I will strive to be a respectable one. So that Miss Huijae may be satisfied.... So that one day, you might grant me even a small corner of your heart.”
When Huijae turned to look at Taejin, her veil shifted slightly. Revealed beneath it was the face of a lady blooming like a lily. Huijae, fully grown.
“I will respect you as my wife and cherish you for life.”
There was embarrassment on the face of the man making a vow full of love. Taejin’s cheeks were flushed red like the bouquet in her hand, and the sight made Huijae smile faintly.
The bright screen from moments before turned dull in an instant.
A large hand lay sprawled on the dirt ground. In that hand was clutched a metal necklace. The hand was covered in wounds.
“Hanamura’s Korean name? I can’t quite remember....”
Click.
The young man opened the necklace on the ground. Inside his palm, the bob-haired girl appeared.
“They called him Mister Yeon. Yeon.”
Slowly, that hand lifted toward the sky.
“They say that family packed everything and evacuated before the Han River bridges even collapsed. Word spread fast—they were filthy rich.”
The face staring at the rusted necklace without even squinting in the bright sunlight was that of a man who had grown well.
“Yeon Huijae....”
Taejin had discovered that name instantly.
Taeseok learned it only with great difficulty.
But as if that alone was enough, a smile hung at the corner of his lips.
“Groom, enter—!”
Inside the palace-like hotel, black dress shoes crossed over white carpet amid everyone’s blessings. Ladies wearing gold and jade rings and gentlemen with thick gold watches clapped busily. Applause thundered.
“At 10 a.m. today, an armistice agreement was signed at Panmunjom between the United Nations forces and the communist forces. This agreement will take effect at 10 p.m. today, and all armed conflict will cease.”
“So this damned war’s really over?”
“Good heavens....”
Taeseok, who had been lying down, slowly rose with the sound of the radio. He removed the military cap from his head and brushed back his sweat-soaked short hair.
Stepping on the dirt floor in worn military boots, he walked somewhere.
“Bride, enter—.”
The massive hotel doors slid open.
At the same time, hands lifted the canvas flap of a military barracks.
The soldiers who should have rejoiced wore hollow expressions. Though this hell was over, they knew the weight of the lives they would now have to bear. With bandaged hands, they packed their belongings.
“Got somewhere to go?”
“Fuck.... My hometown burned down. Where the hell would I go?”
While soldiers spoke of a bleak tomorrow, wedding guests spoke of a rosy future.
“The two of them are going to America to start a new business, I hear.”
“The war delayed the ceremony so long.... But they look wonderful together.”
“Of course they do. There wasn’t anyone in Seoul who didn’t hear about Robert Lee’s devoted courtship. Look at him—smiling like he owns the whole world!”
Taeseok returned his uniform, his cap, even his M-1 Garand rifle. It was a complete discharge.
Like the other soldiers, he had nowhere to return. Yet his expression held something resolute. His eyes beneath his straight brows were vivid.
“Huijae, Yeon Huijae....”
As he left the base and walked, Taeseok repeated her name. As if regretting that he had never called it that day. Light settled onto the previously indifferent face of the young man.
In the wedding hall shining like heaven relocated to earth, Huijae walked out arm-in-arm with Hanamura. Step by step in elegant shoes....
In the middle of the white carpet, a stylish hand extended toward her.
“Shall we go, my joy.”
It was the hand of a man in a black tuxedo.
Huijae, wearing white gloves, quietly took that hand. Cheers erupted around them. Lavish music filled the hall.
The title written on the orchestra’s sheet music was Greetings of Love.
“Taeseok! Where are you going?”
Taeseok also took someone’s hand. It was the soldier who had told him Hanamura’s family name. As they shook hands in farewell, the soldier showed lingering regret.
Taeseok answered readily.
“To Seoul.”
“What are you going to do there?”
“...I’m going to become rich.”
He thought of the girl.
So that he would never lose her again—like when she had stood on tiptoe inside the wall to meet his eyes.... In his hands that had held nothing, he would grasp everything.
When they met again, he wouldn’t lash out foolishly like before. There were countless things he wanted to say. Have you been well? Weren’t you hurt? Did you, perhaps, wait for me?
From all those words, the one he chose was a greeting.
Hello.
“Congratulations—!”
“What a handsome groom and beautiful bride!”
Walking down the aisle holding Taejin’s hand, Huijae suddenly turned back for a moment. Her shimmering veil brushed her cheek, casting a faint glow.
As if she had left something behind. As if searching for something. Like someone who had not managed to say a final farewell.
She looked back at the path she had walked.
And swallowed the words she could not say.
Hello....
Their greetings, never reaching each other, crossed in opposite directions.
Dong. Dong. Dong.
Church bells rang nearby.
Far, far away.
Like the bells that had once echoed by the glittering sea that day.
* * *
“Is this some nationwide project to turn us all into lunatics??? Why were we the first victims??? ”
“Please... please... I can’t stop crying....”
“How can love end like this you bastard Sokhwan answer me you crazy son of a bitch”
Huijae left for the airport in her wedding car.
Taeseok received a business proposal. ƒreewebɳovel.com
Their first meeting had involved grabbing collars, but the soldier whose life Taeseok had saved came from a wealthy family in distribution.
“You said you’d become rich, didn’t you? Let’s do it together! I don’t know about anyone else, but you can do it! There’s no one as hardworking as you!”
Walking with the soldier who slung an arm over his shoulder, Taeseok looked toward tomorrow.
Like Huijae had once said, he would become rich, open a new shop in Jinhae, gather countless people....
Imagining it, he smiled.
Watching the plane carrying Huijae fly overhead, Taeseok smiled.
It was the smile of a young man who did not understand farewell, who believed that as long as you stayed alive, you would meet again.
Episode 4 of 〈The Great Garland〉 ended.
