The Rising Sun & The Morning Calm - Epilogue

Sorry it's been years since I posted. I recently visited the site again and was surprised that people were still reading the story. I had thought about extending the arc, but it feels too forced. I actually had the epilogue written years ago, but for some reason never got around to publishing it. Maybe I didn't want to admit that the story was finished, but I guess there are always ways to add spin offs. In any case, thanks to all who read the story and left comments.

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Introducing Noboru to her extended family had been a source of extreme anxiety for a while, but Angela couldn't help but feel excited. Though they initially had reacted with some resistance when she announced her engagement to a Japanese man, the fact that he spoke fluent Korean as well as having paid for all of her family to be in Pusan for their wedding seemed to win them over just enough.

As Linnsa helped her get dressed, she complained, "I don't understand why we both couldn't get married the same day."

"[Halmuni] would be super pissed that you disrupted the natural order of things."

Smirking, Linnsa remarked, "Yeah, we needed to get the [ddong chah] out of the way first. Why the heck did you guys pick Pusan of all places? Most of our relatives live in Seoul."

"Noboru wanted it to be here. He said that he had a surprise for me."

Linnsa straightened her sister's veil and looked at their reflection in the mirror. "I guess it's time." She gave her a last hug before adding, "You look beautiful."

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halmuni: grandmother (Korean)

ddong chah: literally shit car, inferring an old junker blocking the roadway (Korean)

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After a simple wedding ceremony, everyone proceeded to the reception. As she went from table to table with her new husband, Angela was relieved that everyone was being very kind and welcoming towards him. They were all immensely appreciative of the fact that he spoke Korean so well, perhaps distracting them from his ancestry. She was most worried about introducing him to her 92-year old grandmother, who was old enough to remember the occupation as well as the indignity of losing her name and her language. Approaching her table, she introduced Noboru. "[Halmuni], I would like you to meet Noboru," she said in her best Korean. Noboru smiled inwardly at some of the grammatical errors she had made.

"So this is the [Ilbun sekki], is it?" she crowed.

Both of them looked shocked at her statement. "[Halmuni]! He can understand you! Don't be like that!"

"She loves you very much, your grand daughter," Noboru told her in Korean, bowing deeply.

"And she loves you a great deal as well," she replied to his surprise in Japanese. "Take good care of her, you hear me?" The guests all began laughing, not knowing who appeared more baffled, the bride or the groom, and they clapped delightedly as her grandmother took his hand in her gnarled one and pulled him to her side, cackling, "[Anguh, anguh!]" When she slapped him soundly on the leg chuckling, Angela knew that he was now without any doubt family. Thankfully her grandmother had a weakness for handsome men. Noboru attempted to keep from laughing as he gave her a what-have-I-gotten-myself-into look.

Linnsa giggled and hugged Genzo's arm. Dressed in a stylish black tuxedo, his hair sported a great deal more gray lately. Shinnosuke sauntered up to the couple and offered them both drinks. "[Donno] better throw me the gah-tuh belt-oh."

Genzo was about to tell him to take a number in line behind him when his thoughts were abruptly cut short as Linnsa dragged him over to her grandmother's table. "[Halmuni]!" she shouted, "you have to live long enough to see our wedding!" Unsure how to proceed, Genzo defaulted to a bow.

"Another good-looking one!" the elderly matron noted with a pleased smile. "How about next week?" she queried in Japanese. "The better to start making great grandbabies with."

Unable to help himself, Genzo burst out laughing. "With your approval, grandmother," he replied in kind.

Linnsa looked at him, perplexed. "What did she say?"

"She said we have to hurry."

"Time for dancing!" one of the uncles shouted. The clanging of traditional Korean drums brought everyone to their feet and arms outstretched, they danced jubilantly into the early evening.

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ilbun sekki: Japanese bastard (Korean)

anguh: colloquial way of saying sit down (Korean)

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Keeping the hem of her hanbok above the ground, Angela attempted to negotiate the sand with her rubber shoes as best she could, but the clumsy traditional socks she wore made each step a challenging one. Over the sea, the sun skimmed ever closer to the horizon, painting the sky a rich palette of warm colors. Noboru had asked her to trust him and simply arrive at the appointed place, but in twenty minutes or so, the fading twilight would be gone completely. Doing her best to hurry, she trudged onwards until she could make out a small woven straw mat with a small table in the center. Beside it, Noboru's figure was silhouetted in the waning light. Hearing her approach, he turned and as she neared him, she could see that he was wearing traditional japanese armor, his hair tied in a knot atop his head, his katana at his side. Seeing her, his face broke into a smile, but she couldn't place the emotion behind it. "What is this?"

It took him back centuries to see her like this, her hair in a simple braid, devoid of makeup, and attired in a simple cotton hanbok. As he walked towards her, the plates of his armor clacked together gently above the sound of the waves. "You may not remember it, but this is where we first met." Without her heels, he towered over her. "This was where the storm washed me ashore and you took me over there to safety." He pointed to a bare patch of sand.

"There's nothing there," Angela said, stating the obvious.

"Now there is nothing there, but it was where your house stood, many years ago."

She looked at the area, undeveloped despite the activity in the bustling port of Pusan. "It's kind of strange that this stretch of beach hasn't been built up."

Noboru took her hand. "It was not built up for a reason. I bought this property long ago, during the occupation actually, to keep it the way it was. When Korea was liberated, I had to purchase it again, but I couldn't bear the thought of someone changing it." Squeezing her hand, he added, "I had no idea I would be here with you again one day. Every few years, I would come here to remember you."

"Really?" Deep within her she felt a stirring of emotion, a strange sensation of familiarity mixed with both excitement and dread.

Walking her back to the straw mat, he mused, "Did you know that Pusan was a strategic point of occupation for the Japanese during the Imjin war?" When she nodded he continued, "Admiral Yi made a great many enemies for refusing to attack it. It almost cost him the command of his navy. You have no idea how often I thought of you in the years we fought to get it back under our control." He paused momentarily. "Do you know what today is?"

"My family told me that it's Citizen's Day".

"That is correct. It commemorates the death of Chung Oon during the battle to take back Pusan."

"What was he like?" she couldn't help asking.

"Stubborn enough to do even the most bull-headed Korean justice. But," he smiled, "a selfless leader who knew no fear and a good man to the end."

When he had seated her and taken his place across from hers, she noticed a traditional calligraphy brush and inkstone as well as a scroll of paper, partially unrolled. Taking the brush in hand, Noboru deftly wrote a series of Chinese characters and set the brush down neatly. "What does it say?"

Laughing fondly, he explained, "It was our first conversation."

"The first one is "big". I know that one at least," Angela noted. Arching a brow she joked, "What, did you show me your penis at the start of this conversation?"

Chuckling, he continued, "No, but it was a way for you to see if we could understand each other. You wrote the next word "storm" and I pointed outside. Then I asked you what country this was and you told me it was Chosun."

"You remember all this?" she asked with incredulity.

"As if it were yesterday. And four hundred years later, you fulfilled a promise. I asked you to return to Japan with me, and so you have."

The sun dipped below the horizon, drawing a curtain of darkness and the first stars began to show themselves. "This is all so beautiful."

Noboru smiled. Moving the table away, he sat beside her and put his arm around her shoulders. "I wanted us to begin our married life in the same place where our love began."

Happy tears slid down her cheeks as she pressed herself into his side. "[Sarang-hae], Nobu."

"[Sarang-hae, buhin]," he whispered, his chin atop her head. In the heavens above them, almost as if on cue, fireworks burst into the air and lit up the night sky in celebration.

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buhin: wife (old Korean form)

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