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CHAPTER 6: 1948
At sixteen, Hyerin decided to stop denying her feelings for Jaehyung.
It was logical, wasn’t it? She’d known him all her life and he’d matured into a handsome and intelligent young man. He even had hopes of becoming a lawyer after he’d finished with school.
A lawyer!
Hyerin, on the other hand, had hopes of becoming a lawyer’s wife.
She watched him pace around the bank of the stream, hands and mouth all moving in a very animated fashion. Though she didn’t love the smooth deep sound of his voice, she, first, didn’t care for what he was talking about and, second, didn't have any idea why it made him so angry.
“He just gave up!” Jaehyung raged, throwing his hands up. “He’s a coward!”
The “he” that Jaehyung was talking about was Japan’s emperor Hirohito, the World War II leader, who had surrendered to the allied forces.
Thus, Hyerin thought it was ridiculous for him to be so angry. It wasn’t like Hirohito was the leader of Korea anymore. Maybe they could actually have a little peace for once.
Jaehyung dropped to his knees in front of her and crawled closer. He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before kissing her forehead.
“Hyerin,” he began softly, staring past her in thought, “Never give up. I’ve learned that, giving up is weakness, no man that gives up dies with honour.”
She learned forward and kissed him softly “What do I have to give up, Jaehyung?”
With a smile, he cupped her face with both hands, “Start with us, okay? Don’t give up on me or you or us”
Again, she began laughing. Softly and more ladylike, but she always found herself laughing when he wanted to be serious. “What are you doing? You sound like you’re asking me to marry you.”
He laughed nervously and sat back to kneel in front of her. With that he dug in his pocket and produced a thin gold band with a small sparkling diamond set on top.
Just as softly as when he first spoke to her, he said, “Maybe I am.”
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