Summary: The first time Ri Jeong Hyeok kisses Yoon Se-ri, they are hardly more than strangers.
But after the first time, well, they discover themselves to be the protagonists of an impossible love story.
To Kiss a Soldier Goodbye
one.
The first time Ri Jeong Hyeok kisses Yoon Se-ri, they are hardly more than strangers.
Literally strangers. A few minutes before his lips catch hers in startled surprise they hadn't even known each other's names.
Now, they are meeting again in a desperate and rather awkward embrace. The South Koren woman is scratching his scalp with shaking hands, while the captain balances himself precariously on top of her.
The smell of fish and seawater is overwhelming, and Jeong Hyeok is perfectly aware of the scandalized audience watching their performance, but for a second he can't help but wish that they would slow down for a moment so that he could taste her lips properly.
Even before they separate, the army officer feels alarmed at the unbidden desire, and forces himself to purge such thoughts from his mind.
As they present their excuses to the Chief Coast Guard and Jeong Hyeok impatiently stops Se-ri from doing something foolish, he wonders at his current situation.
The North Korean army officer knew the danger he was putting himself and his men in by aiding the South Korean businesswoman, but faced with the choice between securing an innocent's safe return home after a terrible accident, or handing her over to be brutally interrogated – if not worse – with no guarantee that she would be freed afterwards, the Captain of the 5th Company felt there was only one alternative he was willing to entertain.
Jeong Hyeok is a privileged man. He's had the chance to live experiences and see places most of his compatriots cannot even dream about. During his studies overseas, he expanded his horizons and broadened his comprehension of the world.
After the untimely death of his brother, Jeong Hyeok became painfully aware of how unfair the world can be. How the most horrible things can befall the kindest people, while some of the villest individuals are born into the most blessed conditions.
And so, the last son of the Ri family gave up his greatest passion in life – for if his brother had sacrificed his very life so Jeong Hyeok could enjoy the sweetest years of his, then it was only fair that he dedicated the rest of his time on Earth to repay him.
Mu Hyeok had been a good officer, and Jeong Hyeok could only hope to be half the man his brother was. Therefore, to honor his memory, the Captain of 5th Company fought to combat all the injustices he bore witness to, even if it meant standing up to his superiors or slightly bending the rules to benefit someone who had been wronged.
The South Korean woman who had practically crash landed on his arms is a victim of the circumstances. She is alone and vulnerable, and if he doesn't help her, no one else will.
And if, as the time went by and they got to know each other, Jeong Hyeok found himself going further and further beyond in his endeavors to care for his unconventional guest, he dismissed his behavior as fruit of the instinct to protect someone helpless.
Now, however, standing on an empty pier, taking part in one of the most bizarre conversations he's ever had (which begins with Se-ri's anecdote about being lost and ends with her coffee order) Ri Jeong Hyeok starts to question if there isn't something special about this intriguing woman that pushes him to act in such an uncharacteristic manner and not even feel bothered about it.
two.
The second time Ri Jeong Hyeok kisses Yoon Se-ri, they have just saved each other's lives.
The night is cold and smells of rain and antiseptic. The Captain of the 5th Company stands on wavering legs due to equal parts the fact that he has just woken up from general anesthesia and the fact that he is getting to experience the one sensation he had resigned himself never to know again: the feeling of deeply caring and being cared for by someone.
Once again, Jeong Hyeok's lips meet Se-ri's in startled surprise. However, instead of embarrassment and awkwardness, there is relief and affection and – yes, Se-ri is right – wistfulness between them.
But when the South Korean woman pointed out how wistful his eyes appeared when he looked at her, she didn't seem to realize that her own eyes and her own voice carried that very same emotion.
Days before, when they sat side by side in one of the best restaurants in Pyongyang watching the first snowfall, Jeong Hyeok was able to see their reflection on the glass windows and so he caught the wistfulness in Se-ri's expression as she let her head rest on his shoulder.
The army officer tried to ignore whatever it was that was growing between them. Every moment spent together and every word exchanged was a risk. Their mere acquaintance was a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment and forced labor – if not death –, let alone that warm, precious and fragile thing they shared.
Jeong Hyeok could admit to himself that he enjoyed Se-ri's company. He admired her resilience, determination and strong will. He found himself constantly dumbstruck by her ability to turn even the most adverse situation or conversation in her favor. He was amazed at the honesty with which she expressed her feelings and emotions. He appreciated her genuineness and generosity when she dealt with others, especially his men. He wondered at the playfulness and boldness she showed when dealing with him, for it was like she could see beyond the neutral and composed persona he always put forth and find the eager but scarred man behind it.
What the captain could not admit, however, was that all these impressions and feelings coalesced into something incredibly simple and true. Even now, Jeong Hyeok refuses to put a name to it.
And so, when he woke up on the hospital bed, resigned to the fact that he would never see Yoon Se-ri's face again, and instead found her swollen-eyed by his side, he had not been able to stifle the explosion of conflicting emotions that sprung forth in his chest.
The army officer was frustrated that after all his efforts and all the risks he and his men took they hadn't managed to send the South Korean woman home. He was worried about what would happen to her and to his men if she was discovered in North Korean soil.
But at the same time, Jeong Hyeok felt angry with himself for being happy at the chance of spending one more day – one more hour even – in Se-ri's company. It was incredibly selfish and irresponsible of him to feel this way, and he loathed himself for it.
These were the emotions that caused him to lash out unthinkingly to push the businesswoman away.
Later, however, as his doctor and nurse recounted Se-ri's actions and stressed how they were fundamental to saving his life, the captain was able to look beyond his recriminations and appreciate just how much the woman had sacrificed for him, when she was under no obligation to do so.
She had given up her best chance of going home, of saving herself, in order to give him a better chance of pulling through, with no guarantee it would work.
Such act spoke of selflessness and profound affection, betraying that Ri Jeong Hyeok had come to matter to Yoon Se-ri just as much as she mattered to him.
And so, despite his misgivings and fears, the captain rose from the sickbed and went in search of his savior, determined to do something about the unrest eating at his heart. He hadn't known what, exactly, he would say when he came face to face with her.
Nevertheless, as he was met with Se-ri's candid tears and open concern there was nothing Jeong Hyeok could do but to lean down and kiss her.
When they finally pull apart, the army officer finds that tiny droplets cling to her dark eyelashes. Gently, he brushes them away and allows his hand to cup her cheek for a moment.
"Ri Jeong Hyeok…?" Se-ri trails off uncertainly, looking up at him, voice still wavering.
"Yoon Se-ri," he replies, when it appears she's out of words.
Hearing her name seems to startle the businesswoman from her reverie, for she quickly brushes the rest of the tears from her face and moves to take her companion's arm, tugging him back to the hospital's entrance.
"You shouldn't remain standing for such long periods of time," she scolds. "The doctor said you have to take it easy if you want to regain your strength. What a silly idea, coming all the way over here. I'd have gone back eventually, you know."
Jeong Hyeok smiles softly, and allows himself to be manhandled by her gentle hands.
"If you don't want me to tire myself by looking for you then you should simply remain in my sight," he retorts seriously, for he knows she'll catch the hidden cheekiness behind his words.
Se-ri playfully slaps at him.
"You wish, Ri Jeong Hyeok," she answers, grinning and dry-eyed.
And, oh, he does.
three.
The third time Ri Jeong Hyeok kisses Yoon Se-ri, they are aware will be the last – or so they believe.
When you join the military personel of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea one of the most important lessons ingrained in you during training is that to step one foot outside the borders of your country without previous authorization is the worst crime a soldier can commit.
The Captain of the 5th Company knows this as he knows the blue of the sky, as he knows the words to the Patriotic Song, as he knows the 88 keys of a piano.
But still, it's the easiest choice in the world to condemn himself by crossing the military demarcation line if it means kissing Yoon Se-ri one last time.
As he spins her around and captures her lips in a passionate embrace, Jeong Hyeok fervently wishes he had been born in any other country in the world, he wishes Se-ri was North Korean too, he wishes for a miraculous reunification of their nations, he wishes the wars had never happened and that Korea was never split in two.
Jeong Hyeok wishes that dawn would never come so that he could spend eternity wrapped around her. He wishes they could run away to Switzerland and forget about the rest of the world. He wishes he could defect, abandoning his men and his family to pledge his allegiance to the Republic of Korea.
For a split second of insanity, Jeong Hyeok is the most selfish man who has ever been born, and he wishes Se-ri would give up her life and her company and her freedom to stay by his side.
But soon he comes back to his senses and ceases to wishful-think about what could never be, reminding himself to appreciate and be grateful for the blessings already bestowed upon him.
The previous days had been both hellish and extraordinary.
Stupidly allowing himself to be incarcerated and thus powerless to help Se-ri would always be one of the greatest regrets of his life. Fortunately, she'd been safe in the end, but if things had gone differently… It does not bear thinking.
The hours he spent uncertain of her fate, with only her last desperate words to haunt him
(I love you)
tore his heart to pieces and robbed him of air.
The army officer thought he knew pain and dread, but he'd been willfully mistaken, for he discovered there was nothing worse than the possibility of existing in a world in which Yoon Se-ri no longer drew breath.
And to think that seven years before such possibility had come dangerously close to becoming reality. It was only due to destiny's interference that the worst hadn't come to pass.
Jeong Hyeok could scarcely believe that the South Korean woman had been present, half a world away, in the exact location, at the exact minute he played for the first and last time his brother's song.
It brought him indescribable joy and relief to know that his love for Mu Hyeok expressed in fermatas and crotchets had managed to reach Se-ri in her darkest moment and pull her back into the light.
Nevertheless, it saddened him to know that she'd had been alone to the point that the sole comfort she managed to find was an anonymous song.
Jeong Hyeok had never met a person more deserving of happiness and companionship, and it was unimaginable to him that the people in her life did not cherish and care for her enough to realize how unhappy and lost and in need of help she'd been.
"She loves you, you know," the captain suddenly remembers his mother saying the day before, when they were still in Seojaegol.
They had been in the kitchen alone, waiting for water to boil to serve tea. It was the first opportunity Kim Yun Hui had to speak with her son in private. Se-ri had been shown to a bathing room so that she could refresh after more than 24 hours of incarceration, while Ri Chung Ryeol had closed himself off in his office. The servants had been dismissed for the rest of the day.
"She also said that her feelings were unreciprocated," the elder continued, attentive to Jeong Hyeok's reaction.
The young man had scoffed slightly, even as his stomach twisted at the possibility that the businesswoman had not realized how much he cared about her.
"I thought so," Yun Hui said with a nod and a discreet smile. "She was quite adamant about protecting you," his mother commented innocently, causing Jeong Hyeok to smile, satisfied. Then she turned somber. "If she wasn't from where she is- if being with her didn't put you in so much danger, I promise I would give you my blessing, son."
Quietly, the pianist-turned-soldier had reached to take his mother's hand in his. He squeezed once, but remained silent. They hadn't spoken of the matter again.
As the first rays of sunshine reach the very core of the DMZ through leaves and branches, a North Korean soldier and South Korean CEO pull away from each other. Se-ri's eyes are wet from unshed tears and her mouth is red and swollen from their kissing and Jeong Hyeok has never seen a more beautiful, tragic sight.
He wishes he was as brave as the woman in front of him. If he was, then maybe he would be able to tell her that he had never loved someone as sincerely he loved her, and that knowing that she loved him too, if only for that moment, made up for the lifetime of longing he's sure to face after their impending separation.
Instead, Ri Jeong Hyeok remains silent and motionless as he watches Yoon Se-ri quietly disappear from his life.
four.
The last time Ri Jeong Hyeok kisses Yoon Se-ri does not feel like it will be the last.
The businesswoman has recently woken up in Taeheung Hospital after recklessly taking a bullet that was meant for the North Korean captain. She's still weak and in a considerable amount of pain and Jeong Hyeok is hesitant to leave her side again.
On top of everything else that's happening, Se-ri has just become aware of her mother's true feelings in regards to what happened between them when she was but a child.
When the army officer comes back inside the room to check on her, the CEO masterfully changes directions in the subject, claiming to be frustrated about no longer being able to wear a bikini due to the gunshot scar.
Jeong Hyeok plays along, using the opportunity to reassure the bedridden woman that whatever marks are left in her skin shouldn't overly bother her. After getting her suitably distracted from her misgivings, he takes advantage of how Se-ri's attention is solely focused on him to get her to caress him a little.
Her hands are warm and gentle where they touch him, her breath is hot against his face, her skin has regained some color, her lips are no longer deadly pale and her eyes are open and alert.
Yoon Se-ri is alive.
Jeong Hyeok has never been more grateful in his life. To hold her cold, motionless body as her blood soaked his hands had been the most nightmarish experience of his life. He'll forever be haunted by the feeling of absolute dread and hopelessness what suffocated him as he waited for her to regain consciousness.
To both reassure himself and celebrate the fact that the woman he loves is okay, the North Korean infiltrator closes the short distance that separates them to place a tender kiss on her lips.
It is a sweet, innocent affair. It feels like they are not on the edge of something great and terrible. They are not running against the clock. They are not the protagonists of a forbidden romance that can sparkle a dangerous political conflict. They are not the impossible come true.
They are just Ri Jeong Hyeok and Yoon Se-ri, two people who love each other more than life itself.
The kiss they share does not feel like goodbye. It does not feel rushed or desperate or wistful even. It's a gesture of affection that you show someone you expect to see the next day, and the day after, and the following day even. And the knowledge does not make such gesture less important or meaningful. Instead, it allows you to savor the moment with tranquility and peace.
As they part ways, Se-ri's eyes seem to be questioning
Just what exactly are we playing at, Ri Jeong Hyeok? Can this end in anything other than heartache?
While his answering smile reassures
It is enough to be here with you in this moment, Yoon Se-ri. Can we not worry about everything else just for a bit?
Before she has a chance to reply, they are interrupted by the men of his company, together with Jung Man Bok.
As the Captain of the 5th Company makes himself presentable again – the embarrassment at being caught in such compromising position is not enough to make him regret his actions, not when they yielded such sweet caresses – he remembers with bittersweet fondness the moments he spent with the loveliest entrepreneur of South Korea the past few days.
It had been captivating to learn about Se-ri's world and lifestyle. After she left DPRK he kept wondering about her home, the clothes she liked to wear, the foods she favored, the company she kept, her daily routines and habits. Jeong Hyeok never thought he would have the opportunity to find the answers to the thousand questions he hadn't had a chance to ask, so he treasured each and every new information presented to him.
The army man was quite troubled by some of the conclusions he had come to after exploring the CEO's luxurious apartment. Although Se-ri did not lack suitable clothing and shelter, she appeared to suffer from a worrying case of insomnia, if the numerous sleeping pills by her king size bed were any indication. Her boasts of infinite sources of money notwithstanding, there wasn't a single gram of rice to be found in her kitchen, betraying how unhealthy her diet must be. Despite her many admirers, ex-boyfriends, dedicated employees, satisfied customers and internet followers, Se-ri led a painfully lonely life, as the lack of personal calls, pictures and mementos showed.
(She'd been declared dead after being missing for almost a month, it was inconceivable to think that, except for a few members of her questionable family, the only ones who seemed to care were the people who worked for her.)
Jeong Hyeok had done what he could to gently nudge Se-ri towards taking better care of herself, but he feared it would not be enough.
To see her fall to pieces on her birthday, as she arrived home and found herself apparently alone once again, had been heartwrenching. He worried how she would fare after they parted ways for good.
Oh, the businesswoman would surely continue to grow professionally. Her 14 branches were certain to multiply, her sales increase, the value of her company grow off the charts. She would keep dating men, he supposed, only famous actors and talented musicians. She would remain beautiful, eating just enough as not to become overly thin.
However, all this success would not bring her true happiness and satisfaction, it would only hide and postergate her desire to "quietly disappear", as she had confided. If Yoon Se-ri did not find ways to connect with other people, to allow herself to be cared for, nothing would stop her from wanting to end it all again in the future.
And this time, they might not be able to count on destiny to put Ri Jeong Hyeok on her path once more.
As the most unlikely of couples sat side by side on a CEO's living-room floor – three bottles of soju between them – a pianist-turned-soldier-turned-(pretend)-bodyguarallowed unspeakable words to rise from his chest and spill through his lips.
In a rare moment of respite, Jeong Hyeok allowed his voice to break and his eyes to swell as he confessed to Yoon Se-ri that he wished he could stay with her, marry her, raise children together, watch her grow silver and wrinkled with age.
He had promised himself he would never say such things out loud, for they were impossibilities that would bring nothing but sorrow. Nonetheless, after witnessing firsthand just how much Se-ri would suffer with his departure, the army officer felt it was only just to share how their separation would affect him as well.
As he watches the love of his life warmly smile and laugh in the company of his most trusted comrades, Ri Jeong Hyeok prays that a few weeks worth of precious memories, the recording of Se-ri's no-longer-mysterious song and a matching set of golden rings will be enough.
With the taste of her lips still on his, he can almost believe it will.
.
Then, Cho Cheol Gang dies, the NIS captures them all, Jeong Hyeok nearly succeeds in breaking Se-ri's heart and they almost spark the start of an interborder Korean shooting.
"Are you crying?" The Director of the General Political Bureau will ask, uncomfortable though not unkind, as he sits besides his only remaining son after having timely saved the lives of six innocent men.
Ri Jeong Hyeok won't answer, for he has just realized that the tender kiss he shared in a hospital in Seoul with the woman he left behind a yellow line misleadingly marked with the word 'peace' may very well be their last.
.
five.
The fifth time Ri Jeong Hyeok kisses Yoon Se-ri carries the promise of being the first of many, many more.
They meet in Switzerland again, due to unrelenting efforts as well as destiny's interference.
As the Ex-Captain of the 5th Company watches the president of Se-ri's Choice crash land just a few meters away from him, he thinks it's both the most astonishing and the most befitting manner of reunion.
I've missed you does little to express the feeling of living with a dark hole in the place of his heart, but even a thousand of mournful, bittersweet words combined would not be able to describe what being away from Yoon Se-ri meant for Ri Jeong Hyeok.
When their lips meet, they speak of coming home, of not giving up hope, of faith in each other. As the kiss deepens and they pull one another even closer, they speak of acceptance and forgiveness for the years spent apart, they speak of hopeful longing for the future.
Se-ri's mouth tastes even sweeter than what Jeong Hyeok remembers, and wordlessly they speak of treasuring that singular, wonderful moment – not as consolation for what could not have been before, but as a blessing in itself.
A North Korean soldier-turned-pianist and a South Korean CEO stand wrapped around each other in a beautiful mountain range in Switzerland. Two protagonists of an unlikely love story that couldn't possibly end happily.
And indeed, it's not the end, merely a new, bright chapter.