Last Stop: Pyongyang

A new home

Grünau-Waldheide, Coburg district, near the former inner-German border. Ten years later.

"Hey, Tak!" Tak-yuen looked around and spotted his friend Daniel. Today was their last day at grammar school, which they had attended for the last eight years. "Wait a minute!" Tak slowed down until his panting friend caught up with him.

"Man, I'm so glad it's over! I really don't care about Saxe-Coburg‘s spheres of influence in the 19th century and all that crap. So, what are you up to?" asked Daniel, pushing his sunglasses into his shiny black hair. It was a warm spring day with summer temperatures.

Tak was momentarily confused. "At university?" "Noooo." Daniel rolled his eyes. "I know you've applied to Hochschulstart. Just like me. Although you're more likely to get admitted. Your grades are really great." Tak waved him off. "My grade is 1.4. To be precise, I don’t meet the NC requirements either."

Both Tak and Daniel aspired to study medicine, although the strict numerus clausus posed a problem to both of them. However, Tak had successfully taken the TMS medical exam and achieved an excellent result, so his chances of securing one of the much-sought-after study places were not too bad. Daniel, whose grades were fluctuating, had made other provisions. That was a wise decision - his final grade was 1.7, which made things almost hopeless. However, he had trained as a paramedic in his free time and had been driving in an ambulance since the age of sixteen, at first on a voluntary basis, later for pay. Hopefully, that would be sufficient.

But today, Daniel didn't bother. "I mean, what you're doing during the holidays? We're flying to Vietnam in August, for three weeks! I'm really looking forward to it. Hanoi, here we come!” Since Daniel’s younger siblings didn’t have time off until the end of the school year, his family had to wait for the summer holidays to visit their relatives.

“I don’t have anything planned yet,” Tak replied disinterestedly. “Come on, you can’t just study all the time,” Daniel patted Tak on his back and gave him an encouraging look. “Enjoy summer! If we’re really getting into med school, there are no more holidays for the time being!”

Daniel was much more relaxed than Tak and always up for a bit of fun, while Tak had a more sober and serious nature. Nevertheless, they got on well with each other. The fact that they were the only students with Asian roots in their class had connected them right from the start.

Tak-yuen’s family came from Korea and had settled in Grünau eight years ago. The Chos first landed in Frankfurt am Main, where many Koreans lived. Life had been all right, but they wanted to leave the big city behind.

In the long run, living a lie proved exhausting. Sang-wan, Min-ju and Tak-yuen coulnd’t afford making a single mistake and therefore always felt an underlying tension. Tak's younger sister Yu-ja, however, had been very young when leaving Korea, so she always had a good excuse for not knowing this or that.

Over the years, his father's home office hours increased. Now, he worked almost exclusively from home. With their house in the countryside, Tak's parents had fulfilled a dream of their own. Tak and Yu-ja also felt very comfortable here.

Tak's friend, Daniel Nguyen, came from a Vietnamese family that had migrated to Germany in the 1970s - as boat people. Daniel's parents, Minh and Hoa had been children at that time. Now they lived with their three kids - Daniel, thirteen-year-old Viola and eight-year-old Philip - in the neighboring district of Waldheide.

Grünau and Waldheide formed a joint administrative unit. The two districts stretched in a U-shape along a country road, which is why residents liked to take a shortcut through the forest to get from Grünau to Waldheide - or vice versa.

Tak and Daniel were now on their way home. Both had short, jet-black hair, although Daniel's was a little longer than Tak's, and a slim, athletic appearance. They usually wore dark trousers and a white T-shirt. You really look like twins. From a distance, I can't tell the two of you apart, a classmate had teased them. Today, however, Tak was wearing all black, while Daniel wore a blue, red and orange patterned shirt with jeans and a T-shirt.

"Why don't you ever visit your relatives in Korea? Don't you have any?" Daniel asked with interest. Tak was alarmed. He avoided Daniel's gaze and gritted his teeth. This was one of those moments when he had to be careful not to say anything wrong. As well as they got along, he had to keep this part of his life a secret from his best friend.

"No," was all he said. "As I already told you, my dad is an orphan and my mom's parents have passed away." "I know, and I'm really sorry about that," Daniel muttered contritely. "But hey, I was actually thinking about uncles, aunts and so on. Is there really no one?" You had to give Daniel credit for one thing. He could be damn stubborn.

"No," Tak growled and stared at the ground. "We don't have any relatives left at all." "In that case... why don't you join us? Come with us to Vietnam. My grandma will definitely take care of you," Daniel offered enthusiastically.

Sometimes Tak wished he could just confide in Daniel. He was a really nice guy and his good mood was contagious. But Tak was never allowed to completely drop his mask. His parents had impressed this on him from a young age.

Things were much easier for Yu-ja. Although she knew about her origins, she had only been five years old when she arrived in Germany. She hardly remembered Korea and had quickly settled in. She was the first one in the family to speak German fluently, which led to unexpected difficulties - especially in kindergarten, where she talked about her dad being a secret agent and a superhero who had saved her from the evil Kim. Her mother had the presence of mind to explain to the surprised teacher that she always read Korean comics to Yu-ja, which had helped her daughter develop a vivid imagination.

This made the teacher laugh. She calmed Min-ju down and explained that children at such a young age often made up stories. This was not unusual at all, and there was no reason to worry. Min-ju felt relieved that things had turned out so well.

Thinking about Yu-ja, a smile crept onto Tak's face. Yes, his little sister was terribly annoying, but he would defend her with his life.

Shortly afterward, the two turned into Daniel's street. Tak continued on his way to Grünau. "I have to go now," he called out and waved to his friend. "See you around, I'll text you," replied Daniel, who was being greeted by his siblings.

On his way home, Tak, took the shortcut through the forest. He was lost in thought when he strolled past the tall deciduous trees that gave him welcome shade.

Would he ever be able to tell Daniel the truth? He had never expected to find such a good friend. Daniel had literally overwhelmed him with his kindness and affection. Tak's life had become a lot more interesting thanks to him. Daniel dragged him along when he pursued his hobbies, showed him his favorite series and gave him music tips.

They had also spent several afternoons watching K-series. Daniel was now convinced that he had a good idea of ​​what Tak's home country looked like... if only he knew. Over the years, Tak had come to realize that there was much more to life than study and work.

Nevertheless, both the Chos and the Nguyens placed great importance on good grades. In both families, going to grammar school was a given and non-negotiable. Yu-ja and Daniel's sister Viola also attended grammar school; only Philip was still in elementary school. Otherwise, all hell would break loose, Tak thought amusedly. Yu-ja was even on her school's swim team. Every Wednesday, she had two hours of training after classes.

Hopefully, he managed to get into med school! Tak felt confident, but one could never know for certain... explaining to his parents that he had to bridge a full year, somehow, would be highly unpleasant. Those who got in were notified only shortly before the semester started, so there would be no certainty before autumn. Ideally, his university wasn‘t too far from home. He felt uncomfortable at the thought of moving away. The underlying threat was still there. Would the Chos be found out at some point? And what would happen then? They had to stick together.

These worries preoccupied Tak so much that he almost ran into a group of smoking boys. Judging by the disgusting smell, these were no ordinary cigarettes.

At 1.82 meters, Tak towered over all three. He knew none of them particularly well. They lived in the villa district on a hill above Waldheide, had attended middle school and were now each in temporary work programs with their wealthy parents because they weren't the smartest - which meant that they did practically nothing, if Tak remembered correctly.

"Watch out!" one of them scolded him. "I'm sorry," Tak replied disinterestedly and walked on.

Look at that. Lawyers', doctors' and policemen's sons have nothing better to do than loiter in the woods. All three wore expensive designer clothes, but looked as if they hadn't showered for days. The doctor's son in particular - Tak remembered that his name was Markus Friedmann - aroused his displeasure whenever he saw him. Bad behavior, vulgar language, severe obesity, no hint of discipline. Apparently he was just hanging out all day. At just under 1.65 meters, he was the smallest of the three. And his hair! Dyed peroxide blonde and shoulder-length. Amused, Tak imagined North Korean citizens with hairstyles like that taking part in a military parade of honor. The local elite would burst with rage! Tak couldn't help but grin, but immediately became serious again.

Why were they so sweaty and dirty? Had they been wallowing on the ground? Whatsoever. It was none of his business.

Armin, whose father Sebastian Nöckler was a police officer, had medium-length red hair, freckles and a stocky figure. This, too, was hard for the Chos to believe - a policeman who was incapable of raising his son!

Frederik Greifer, a lawyer’s son, was the only one tall and slim - just slightly shorter than Tak. As always, his black curls gave off a disgusting smell that made Tak wrinkle his nose as he passed by.

Markus and Armin usually hung out with Frederik, although Tak had the impression that the latter was the one calling the shots. They smoked, drank and generally liked to go overboard, which led to numerous complaints about them.

Better stay away, Tak thought as he continued on his way.