The two sat nestled together on the bed. The room was dimly lit and morning would come soon.
Kyong Soon held a bowl of rice in her hands as she fed a bite to Hawkeye, who certainly had no objections. He had his mind far, somewhere else, remembering earlier how he and Kyong Soon had danced to the violins and the rythm of their hearts.
He turned his attention back to her once again. " What does Kyong Soon mean? Does it have any sort of meaning?"
She smiled as she held the chopsticks to his mouth. "It means I'm right and obedient... but my father used to tease me... I'm not very obedient." She grinned and watched Hawkeye's tired face erupt into laughter. "So, what does 'Hawkeye' mean?"
"That's the name of a character in a book that my father likes." He shrugged. "It just means 'eye of the hawk'..."
"What is hawk?"
"It's sort of a cute vulture."
She raised her eyebrows and smiled. "And your father named you this?"
He laughed and returned the smile. "Birds like that are very big in our country. On Thanksgiving we eat turkey, which is kind of like a vulture with a double chin."
"We have Thanksgiving too." She smiled and took the chopsticks which she held up to his mouth again. "It's the autumn festive. On that day we travel to the graves of our ancestors and honor them with rice cake and rice wine. Do you have any custom for that day?"
"Our custom is to try and eat as much as possible, the turkey, the table, a couple of chairs..."
Kyong Soon giggled and nuzzled her head against his cheek. They closed their eyes and laid against each other for a few, silent minutes.
Silent until an old rooster crowed in the early morning darkness.
Hawkeye opened his eyes and sighed. "It's going to be light soon."
Kyong Soon lifted her head off his shoulder. "You have to go?"
He frowned. "Yeah, they told us to expect a lot casualties after dawn. I'll be back as soon as I can."
And then he went for it.
He quickly leaned in closer and kissed her soft, sweet lips. She too leaned in closer, not wanting the passionate moment to end.
He reluctantly pulled away, and gazed out the window where the slightest sliver of sunrise could be seen.
"I have to go now..."
But instead he leaned in and gently kissed her again.
"Goodbye..."
Kyong Soon smiled faintly. "Goodbye..."
"I have to leave..." he said as he kissed her again. "So long..."
"So long," she repeated.
"I'm getting in my Jeep and driving away now..." But he didn't... just one more kiss...
Then the rooster crowed again, and he pulled away from his last kiss.
"Alright, I'm going, I'm going!" He stood from the bed and collected his bags. He was at the door when he turned back to smile at her. "I'll come back soon..."
She smiled back and waved as he stepped out the door. She heard the roar of the engine as it started up and left the estate.
"So long..."