Last Stop: Pyongyang

Happiness in a dark place

"Thank you for accompanying me. The atmosphere is always so depressing here." Tak and Monika stood in the cemetery in front of Amelie's grave, which was lovingly decorated. The headstone, however, seemed unpleasantly kitschy and tasteless to Tak. Especially the bright pink letters looked hideous! It was so... undignified. Undoubtedly, Amelie's parents were responsible for this.

Tears welled up in Monika’s eyes. My sister had such a good heart. She was always helpful and put her own needs last. To me, she was almost like my mom... She taught me so many things and took me to so many places. What am I going to do without her?" Monika's tears swelled into a stream.

Tak bit back an unfriendly remark. It was no secret that Sabine Traunberger did not take particularly good care of her children. Tak put his arm around his trembling companion a little awkwardly. Sobbing, she leaned against him.

"Let's take a few steps. I still have to pick up my car from Daniel’s house. Then I'll drive you home." Monika nodded gratefully.

"Tell me, Tak..." Monika had now stopped crying and grabbed his arm. He looked her straight in the eye. "Why don't you like me? Am I annoying you? Should I do something differently?"

Tak put his hands around her upper arms. "You're great, just the way you are." After contemplating for a moment, he continued. "But you're much younger than me. And I'm always busy. Studying is really hard. I always wonder what it's like for my sister. Daniel is not just a student, but also a paramedic. He has even less time, which must be hell for her."

"Don’t assume. Just ask her." Tak felt very stupid at that moment. Well, things could be so easy…

Monika didn't let go. She looked up at him trustingly. "If you give me a chance, I'll show you how well I will deal with it. It's not that difficult." They looked deep into each other's eyes. Tak, who had long lost control, leaned down and kissed her. First very gently, then more and more passionately.

"There you go. At long last," Monika laughed, relieved. The fact that Tak was finally giving her a chance was a ray of hope in this terrible time. She linked arms with him and accompanied him to Daniel, who was somewhat surprised that Tak's car was still standing in the driveway. When he spotted Tak with Monika in his arms, he grinned to himself and hurried back into the house. About time his best friend finally found a girlfriend!

***

Markus didn't show up again that evening. Angrily, Tak realized that there was no sign of a confession. Word would have spread in the small village long ago! He even casually asked his older neighbor across the street, who knew every little piece of gossip, for news. Unfortunately, he only found out about little Inga's flat bicycle tire and a family father’s driver's license suspension, as he had been drunk-driving.

Tak felt extremely disappointed. He started doubting his ability to read people. Facing Markus, Tak had been so sure that he was telling him the truth!

At dinner with his family and Daniel, Sang-wan consoled his son by saying that even he had been wrong about people’s intentions on various occasions. One could never know with absolute certainty what others were really thinking. Daniel added that you just couldn't see into other people's minds, so Tak shouldn't take things so seriously. Easier said than done...

In the days that followed, Markus didn’t show up again. His parents reported him missing. Tak, however, was convinced that Markus had deceived him. He had probably gotten cold feet and disappeared with the help of his wealthy father.

To distract himself from his frustration, Tak concentrated with all his strength on his studies, and on Monika. He had been so looking forward to telling her that Markus had confessed, so he felt hugely disappointed.

***

Three weeks after Tak's conversation with Markus, things took an unexpected turn. Markus' body was found during tree felling works in the residential area where he had lived. The work had to be carried out in March for nature conservation reasons, or so the Chos were told. They had learned from the news that Markus had clearly been murdered.

The media coverage of the murder was extremely cautious, considering the shocking details that quickly spread in town. Someone had smashed Markus Friedmann's skull with brute force. Even if he had been found immediately, he would probably have had little chance of survival; so severe were his injuries.

"Frederik must have done this," Min-ju shouted excitedly as she turned the radio down again. "We have to hunt him down! Otherwise, anyone could be next!" The Chos had their hands full calming the angry Min-ju, despite all of them being shaken to the core.

"The killer must have been in a real rage. Things can't be any other way," Tak said to his parents. "I hope Markus didn't tell the wrong people that he wanted to turn himself in. I have a feeling that his death is connected to his intended confession."

Tak approached the fireplace and stopped in front of it to get rid of the cold that was creeping into his body. While he had hardly noticed the fireplace before, he had lately become immensely grateful for the warmth it radiated.

Sang-wan and Min-ju were greatly dismayed. They vowed that Frederik would not get away with it this time - come what may.

Sang-wan and Min-ju were not too surprised that Markus‘ murder could not be linked to Frederik. At this point, they expected at all nothing from Germany’s judicial system. Frederik, of all people - the worst of all - remained at large!

As a precaution measure, Sang-wan monitored Frederik's cell phone, to prevent him from committing any more atrocities. Consequently, Sang-wan regularly hacked into the Greifers' surveillance camera, although he had to adapt his approach - the Greifers had changed their security system after the recording from their living room had been published. Several attempts later, Sang-wan managed to bypass these new installations as well. However, he could not find any evidence of further crimes.

Sang-wan was anything but satisfied. They had known about that violent trio’s criminal streak for almost a year and still, only one of them had been jailed! Not a good result at all, in Sang-wan's opinion.

Tak was deeply unhappy with the way things were going. He felt that he had only just missed his goal.

Despite his underlying frustration, Tak enjoyed his time with Monika. He went on day trips with her whenever he could, spending every free minute with his girlfriend.

How happy they were! Now, Tak had come to understand that keeping Monika waiting for so long had been very stupid. If only he had listened to Daniel sooner! His best friend had always teased him that Tak would wait until it was too late. Fortunately, things had turned out differently. Tak was really grateful for Monika’s patience!

Despite her grief, Monika became happier. Tak was happy to see his girlfriend smile more often, although the terrible circumstances had taken a heavy toll on her. Whenever he found the time, he distracted her with little activities.

Monika was looking forward to today's trip. The weather had improved, and the first trees were turning green, so they decided to take a day trip to the Rennsteig.

Tak and Monika drove through small towns with slate-clad facades and stone foundations that would probably last for the centuries to come. They explored the landscape in good spirits.

The two of them returned in the evening, exhausted but happy. They were just crossing the border into Bavaria when Monika asked Tak to stop - she urgently needed to pee.

"We're almost there," Tak interjected, but was interrupted by his girlfriend. "I can't hold out that long. If you don't want an accident, right here in your car, stop now." Judging by the tense expression on her face, it was in fact urgent. Sighing and smiling, Tak drove off the country road and turned onto a small forest path to allow for some privacy.

He also got out of the car and viewed his surroundings. Many of the bushes were already in full leaf, and the trees were gradually turning green. Each year, he was happy to see the signs of spring.

Tak was familiar with the area since he drove to Jena University almost every day. The shortcut across the country road saved him almost a quarter of an hour of driving time each way.

Tak's father had often taken him and Yu-ja on little excursions in the border region when they were still small. This place wasn't too far from Grünau-Waldheide. They would reach their home town within a few minutes.

When Monika came back, Tak hugged and kissed her. He buried his face in her thick hair. As always, he was taken away by her scent!

"What a shame that the day is already over," he sighed. Monika felt the same way. They kissed more passionately. Before they knew it, they had landed in the back seat of Tak‘s car and undressed each other. They didn't even notice that it was already getting dark outside.

Tak held Monika in his arms. He was now a little jealous of Daniel because he had already had a girlfriend before Yu-ja... so he was not as inexperienced as Tak had just felt. Monika hadn't had any similar experiences either - until now.

It had been great. On the back seat, they lay cuddled up close to each other, under a blanket that Tak always kept in his trunk. He had never needed it before, but Min-ju insisted that he keep it in the car; along with several bottles of water. What if there’s an accident and you're stuck in traffic overnight. Tak was infinitely grateful to his mother for her care, although she could be rather strict at times.

"We need more privacy," Monika said firmly, as she gently stroked Tak's cheek. "There's too much going on at my house."

Monika's parents were constantly getting visitors. Even after Amelie's death, this hadn't changed. In fact, it had gotten worse, which Monika found extremely distressing. Above all, the constant inquiries from complete strangers about Amelie were getting on her nerves. She just wanted to be left in peace!

Tak, who felt anything but welcome at the Traunbergers' house, immediately offered his girlfriend to stay overnight at his place from time to time. "My parents can't object. After all, Yu-ja sleeps at Daniel's, too," he said firmly.

Yu-ja was staying overnight with Daniel twice a week, while he slept at hers every Saturday. Sang-wan and Min-ju, who had initially been reluctant to accept the new circumstances, were now ready to permit it. So he could bring his girlfriend, too.