Soobin stepped onto the street. The streets, devoid of martial law troops, felt strangely unfamiliar. A man stood closest to the housing complex. He took a deep breath and then shouted.
"everyone!!"
It seems time to take up arms! I believe you saw it before! Those ruthless men who shoot pregnant women! They crush the skulls of grandmothers! They even kill strangers who try to move the fallen! How long will we stand by and watch them take the lives of our neighbors! Why are you all so silent? People are dead! Countless precious lives have been trampled to pieces! Brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers! Let us rise up! Let us take up arms together!!
Soobin swallowed. Then, pushing through the crowd of people who had gathered, he stood before the man first.
“That foreigner was my father.”
Soobin bowed her head for a moment. The man grabbed her shoulder. She raised her head again. The man was middle-aged, of average height and stocky build. He repeatedly patted Soobin's shoulder, as if trying to steady her. Yeonjun watched from behind.
“Come to think of it, I think I saw you on a wanted poster.”
“Ah…yes.”
“Don’t worry. No one here will report you.”
A crowd of people gathered around the man who introduced himself as Kim Bae-jong. Yeonjun also ran toward him. However, it wasn't to join the militia.
"don't do it."
Yeonjun approached Soobin, who was awkwardly loading the M1 carbine. Soobin turned to Yeonjun with a surprised expression. Yeonjun felt his mouth agape. After opening his mouth a few times, he looked down at the ground and spoke, his arms hanging limply.
“This is…this is not it.”
“……”
“We must continue…the peaceful protests.”
Of those people, those armed people, how many of them do you think will be alive when this crazy hell ends? No, let's just leave this story alone, let's leave it alone… Yeonjun, who had been rambling on, looked up at Soobin.
"don't do it."
“…”
"This is just another excuse to turn us into mobs. We're just doing whatever they want. Don't do it, Soobin. Okay? Don't do it...please."
Soobin put down his gun and moved closer to Yeonjun. They could feel each other's breathing and the subtle vibrations of their heartbeats, so Soobin spoke.
"brother."
“Everything will be okay.”
Soobin lowered his head.
“Should we go to the park? It’s been a while since we’ve seen martial law troops.”
“…Okay. See you later.”
Soobin sat down on the bench. The night sky was dark and gloomy. It was well past their agreed-upon time, but Yeonjun wasn't even visible. Of course, he'd normally be asleep. Thinking about the citizen's militia induction ceremony, which ended later than expected, Soobin smiled bitterly. Then, a pitch-black scooter, conspicuous even in the dark night, approached.
“I’m saying this because I feel like if I just sit still, I’ll just end up thinking too much. Want to go for a drive?”
Yeonjun held out his hand. Soobin gladly accepted it and climbed onto the scooter. "This is the only useful thing I brought with me to Gwangju. My beloved horse," Yeonjun said proudly.
“Then what about money?”
Soobin asked. Yeonjun started the car. He met Soobin's eyes, who was sitting behind him, and smiled.
“I got it from an ATM.”
The scooter shot off at a speed of 80 kilometers per hour. Yeonjun laughed loudly, letting the distance fade away. Soobin, mercilessly slapped at the corner of her eye, tears streaming down her face as she held onto Yeonjun tightly. If only I'd known this would happen, I should've learned how to ride a scooter. Aah, slow down!! Speed up!! Soobin screamed. She felt like she was about to cross the underworld.
“Hey, it’s just getting started.”
“No need, slow down!! Who are you hitting?!!”
"If you worry about everything like that, you'll end up doing nothing, Inma. Just wait, you'll get used to it."
Unlike Soobin, who was shedding tears freely, Yeonjun was smiling leisurely. Soobin squeezed her eyes shut tighter. And after a while, Soobin realized she could open her eyes. Slowly, she opened them. All the scenery scattered like the brushstrokes of an impressionist painter. She felt something inside her. Like any other young American, Soobin folded her middle and ring fingers on her right hand and raised them high into the air. Then she screamed loudly. Yeonjun, who had been looking at Soobin with wonder, also raised his right hand, folding his middle and ring fingers, and screamed in return. The wind still mercilessly struck Soobin's eyes, but no more tears came. The two of them screamed even louder.