Last Stop: Pyongyang

Worrying presentiments

Sang-wan had been begging his foster parents for weeks to prevent his engagement to Min-ju, who was still called Jae-hui at the time. A relationship with a woman from Pyongyang's elite was prestigious - but highly dangerous, especially for someone with secrets as damning as his. After all, Jae-hui was related to the ruling family!

Nevertheless, his engagement was a done deal. It was a great honor, so he could not back out - unless he was prepared to accept severe punishment. A relative of the president was not dumped without consequence.

The twenty-one-year-old bride was beautiful and highly educated. With her thick black hair, her fair skin and her slim figure, Min-ju was a real eye-catcher. Many men had envied Sang-wan for this match that was advantageous in more than one way.

Still, he had only reluctantly accepted the course of things. In the first few years of their marriage, he did not trust his wife at all and constantly expected her to denounce him. Sang-wan was always on guard.

But nothing bad happened. On the contrary, his wife seemed to support him sincerely.

Having lived in Seoul for a year – Sang-wan was well aware that he owed this stationing not only to his outstanding abilities, but above all to his wife, who was considered particularly reliable due to her family background - Sang-wan finally confided in her. He revealed his false identity and his true family background. Min-ju / Jae-hui was heavily pregnant with Yu-ja at the time.

Sang-wan's impression that his wife was making up her own mind and not just parroting p********a grew stronger. In that respect, he had completely underestimated her. Although she had grown up in Pyongyang, she knew more about the situation in the country than he had imagined. And she disagreed with many things that were going on there.

Min-ju really was his rock. Sang-wan could no longer imagine a life without her.

He smiled to himself. When this was over, he would spend a romantic weekend with her in some wellness hotel. She truly deserved it.

***

The next day, several neighbors came by to ask about last night’s commotion. Sang-wan and Min-ju told them all the same story, pretending to be outraged and stunned. They got woken up in the middle of the night because Inspector Nöckler's drunken son had accused Yu-ja of overpowering and beating not just him, but also his friends! Yu-ja of all people, who probably couldn't even keep up with one of them! What a strange thing to think of! Yu-ja was still completely disturbed by the accusations and couldn't understand why anyone would tell such a lie about her.

As Armin and his friends were known for their laziness and lack of character, the Chos were met with plenty of understanding.

What a shame that the children of such respected parents were no good at all! A stricter upbringing would certainly have prevented this, but these kids had never been set any boundaries. The Chos could only agree with this assessment.

The next few weeks passed without any noticeable incident. Nevertheless, the whole Cho family was particularly vigilant. Tak and Daniel completed their internship at the nearby hospital as planned. This was compulsory for medical students and had to be done before starting their studies. In case the internship was not finished, they would inevitably run into scheduling problems later.

Due to the circumstances, the Chos decided for Tak and Yu-ja to accompany Daniel and his family to Vietnam. Daniel was delighted, but the Chos had other reasons in mind. The sooner the matter with Yu-ja was forgotten, the better.

Tak and Yu-ja enjoyed their three and a half weeks with the Nguyens in Hanoi to the fullest.

University of Jena. Six months later.

"So, let’s take a look at some of the exhibits from our anatomical collection." Professor Dr. Metzger, whose name meant butcher in German and always got him a laugh, led his students through the building and gave them an overview of what to expect during their first semester. Tak took a curious glance at the cross-section of a kidney right in front of him. He looked closely at the organ with its numerous blood vessels. This was going to be interesting.

As expected, Tak's outstanding result in the TNS exam had secured him a spot at university. The fact that he was going to study in Jena of all places was a godsend! He would be able to commute every day, even though this meant spending a lot of time on the road. His parents could easily have afforded the rent for a small student room in the city, but everyone felt better now that he continued living at home for the time being.

Things hadn't been easy for Daniel though. His work as a paramedic was credited to him, but he was supposed to attend med school in Rostock. His parents were unable to fork out the money for his move and accommodation, so with a heavy heart they suggested that Daniel give up the place. However, he didn't even contemplate their suggestion and immediately started looking online for people willing to swap. Thuringia didn't seem to be very popular with his fellow students. All the better - after all, he really wanted to go there!

In the end, things worked out as intended - Daniel swapped places with a student whose aunt lived in Rostock, so that she could stay with her while studying. But that wasn't the end of it - after what felt like endless administrative issues, Daniel could not only study medicine with Tak in Jena, but also carpool with him. He was so glad that he didn't have to bury his dream!

An unpleasant-looking, bald man joined the group and took over for the professor. His gaze immediately fell on Tak and Daniel. He literally looked them down. "Ah, two Asians. It must be quite nice to be able to communicate in your own language,” he said dismissively.

Daniel giggled, but Tak rolled his eyes in annoyance. What a stupid man! How could he teach them anything of value? Finally, Daniel took pity on him and explained that his parents came from Vietnam and Tak‘s from Korea. They didn't have much of a common language, let alone the different alphabets. The man blushed and quickly continued talking, without bothering to answer.

In the evening, they drove back to Bavaria. Daniel felt even sorrier that he didn't have a car of his own. He didn't want to take advantage of Tak, so they had agreed that Tak would be driving in the mornings and Daniel in the evenings. That way, the passenger could rest or take a nap. Since Daniel had a regular income from his paramedic work, he contributed to the petrol costs, too. Tak hadn't wanted to accept his friend’s money at first, but Daniel insisted.

Daniel left the motorway and drove the car towards Grünau-Waldheide. Man, it had really gotten late today! The sun was already setting. Luckily, thing would be different tomorrow. They had received their schedule - twice a week, they would be home before four in the afternoon, and on one day, they didn't have to leave until ten in the morning. Still, it was going to be pretty stressful.

With foresight, Daniel had reduced his shifts as a paramedic - in his first semester, he would only work twelve hours a week. After that, they would have to wait and see.

It was a good thing that there were two of them... having someone who could support you when it came down to it was always an advantage.

Daniel accelerated even more. The landscape flew past him.

Suddenly, a strange reddish light in the forest ahead of him caught his attention. There were no houses in the area, with little going on in general. Daniel's curiosity got the better of him. He drove straight towards the shimmering light. When he had reached his destination, he pulled up and turned off the ignition. Tak, who had just woken up, looked around in surprise. "Something‘s over there," said Daniel, pointing to the reflection. "I'll take a look." Tak also unfastened his seat belt and followed his friend outside.

After walking about fifty meters, they had reached the forest. A shimmering red ball gown with a sequined one-shoulder top and a wide tulle skirt hung in the upper branches of a tall linden tree. In the midst of the green foliage, the scene looked like a work of art. The two of them looked up, perplexed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Daniel murmured in astonishment. Tak shrugged his shoulders. This was weird. The dress was hanging far too high for anyone to have hung it there. Had it been blown up? Tak couldn't imagine, not even with the best will in the world, that someone had climbed up that high into the treetop.

“Amelie was wearing a dress just like that,” Tak suddenly recalled. “At the prom.” Now Daniel remembered, too. “That’s right, the thing is unmistakable. She boasted about it being tailor-made. Isn’t she doing a year of voluntary work in South America?” Tak contemplated the issue for a moment. “Not quite,” he finally replied. “ Guatemala. That‘s what she told me.” “Nerd!” Daniel called out, laughing. “But seriously, why is her dress out here?”

“It can’t have been up there for too long. Someone would have noticed.” Tak couldn’t make sense of it. He thought about it again and decided that he didn’t want to let this matter rest. “We could quickly drive by Amelie’s parents and ask if they’re missing the dress. Let the Traunbergers see how they can get it down. They have enough money to pay someone for it.”

Daniel found that too much of a good thing, but Tak always behaved in a very correct manner. Well, so he would accompany him.