A/N: The Japanese occupation of Korea, which lasted from 1910 to 1945, gets referenced heavily in this chapter.

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Young-ja was excited to be free of her younger brother, if only for a few minutes. The lack of space and fresh air inside the tram was suffocating, and she couldn't wait to get off one stop early to visit one of her favorite places in the city.

As for Ki-jung, he was old enough to walk home by himself, and she figured that their mother wouldn't be too bothered by her leaving him behind. He was approaching the age of ten, and it was about time that he started depending on her less.

With this train of thought, she drove the last inkling of doubt from her mind and act according to her own desires. As the tram driver brought the vehicle to a stop, she laid both eyes upon the nearby doors, and the moment they opened up, leaped on to the road without hesitation before charging towards her destination.

A wizened and bespectacled old Japanese man had managed this bookshop during the occupation, and since then, ownership had fallen into the hands of a local couple about the same age as her own parents.

She slowed down to a brisk walk before entering the store and immediately feeling amazed at how cool it was inside. She sighed in relief and spent a few moments observing her surroundings and recalling the many changes that had occurred over the years.

The most significant difference was perhaps the absence of the Rising Sun Flag that had once hung behind the counter. Its exact fate was unknown, but one could conclude that it had been destroyed like many other remnants of Japanese rule.

It was undoubtedly a good thing that her countrymen had been eager to reclaim their Korean identity, but the systemic changes that had taken place since then had brought a child like her much struggle and confusion.

She'd spent her first few years at school learning and communicating almost entirely in Japanese, to the point that hearing her parents and grandparents speak their native language at home had been a jarring experience.

Even now, she sometimes found the sound of her birth name odd. Many of her former teachers had addressed her as 'Hideko-chan,' and she had to admit that it was a slightly more endearing moniker.

Still, she knew that it wasn't right for somebody as young as her to dwell so much on the past. She needed to look to the future once more and consider the benefits of being well-versed in two languages.

In fact, the current state of affairs in the nation had also recently inspired her to pursue a new aspiration, which was to learn English.

She'd spent the past few months borrowing money from her brother Young-sik and saving up to buy a dictionary. If she was lucky, then today would be the fateful day. She needed only to browse the right part of the store, select something affordable, and then make her purchase at the counter.

Afterward, she would study hard every day until she became a master, no matter how long it took. A smile spread across her face, and excitement rose inside of her, reaching it's peak before an inopportune interruption caused her hopes to come crashing back down.

"Young-ja!" Ki-jung's voice sounded deafeningly behind her. "The ice cream man's outside! Come on!"