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The Children of 敢@
jade
jade
Looking back on my sweet sixteen...
I lived no less than an hour away from my school. and had to go through the agony of keeping up in the jam-packed bus every morning. After shool, I used to sit at the rear 'cause my house was near the end of the bus line. One day two elementary schoold kids sat next to me. I thought to myself they were brother and sister on their way home from school. After a while, my ears pricked up with surprise on hearing their Chinese! They were speaking Chinese! Actually, being stuck in Chelsia Chan, I had been in a wild rampage to learn Chinese, and right next to me had they just appeared even as I was reading the lyrics of 伏凋岻高 there! I couldn't help asking them how to accurately pronounce a few words in the song. But they didn't seem to be easily led to answer. just looking at my script, giggling with a shy smile between themselves. They might have thought that I was so weird to show interest in their culture and language. I remember, when I was young decades from now, such things seemed by no means common.
Afterwords, I happened to bump into them a couple of times more, and got to know them better. The children turned out to be students at h廓鯖波富W in Myeong-dong, whose parents were running 敢@ in the neighbor of the three-way junction not far from my home. I kept thinking of taking time off for a day to visit the restaurant, and put into practice at last. 敢@ was written on the signboard all in Chinese Characters. The place was small and a bit shabby as I had heard. I stepped in there with a beating heart, and the two rejoiced to see me and yelled with delight. Their parents and even grandparents gave me a hearty welcome. It was happy to hear that my little friends had told their family a lot about me all along. So they treated me as an old aquaintance of their own. How wonderful it was for me to see the real Chinese people! They were using only Chinese among themselves, and spoke in poor Korean while talking to me.
This good beginning led to another, and then I went there from time to time. When my visit happened to fall on their family's mealtime, they even took me to their table at their home near 敢@ . I had lucky chances to experience their homemade dinners, exotic taste of teas, red drawings, and the statue of 嚼 enshrined in the porch. All those inspired curiosity in me which had been a major thread running through my youger days' tapestry. Besides, there in the family was a high school student boy of my my age. Once he saw me, he vanished right away from sight with a bashful smile. Maybe he was at an awkward age.
On the eve of 拍櫓 that year, my family was as busy as a bee preparing food for the big holiday, then I was told there was someone looking for me outside. Wondering who it was, I opened the door and saw him standing with a red box in his arms. For pity's sake, he immediately whisked out of sight right after saying that his parents had sent it by him.
I carried it to my father in his room. and he opened the red box. Mooncakes! Chinese people celebrate 嶄拍 like we do 拍櫓 on the same date. The 敢@ family must've cooked Mooncake for the holiday, and how kind of them to send us some of their traditional cakes! My family was in a happy bustle with inexpressible feelings, and filled the room with laugher, biting off the cakes to taste. Father said that just receiving is not good enough, and willingly packed a bundle of gift in return. I carried it to the Blooming Spring Garden that night.. After that, my family went out to eat there.The boss welcomed us with a big smile, speaking in poor Korean. He was a bulky guy who had a real Shaolin Temple Shef look. The scene and good moment of that day is deeply inscribed in my memory.
Later, I even went all the way to their school just to see the children. What kind of nerve I had! I still wouldn't know where it came from. But the good time didn't last long. Soon came the moment to close the little book of our stoy when their family decided to emigrate to America. It was their careful decision for the chilren's future. Korea was the only country where the overseas Chinese weren't able to easily gain a toehold and settle. It was because the government then put severe restrictions on them. If not, we could've shared the storybook which ends with 'they lived happily ever after.'
I still live around where they lived. With newly-built high rise buildings and luxurious stores, the three way juction became business quarters. Who'd know my precious reminiscence the place is hiding? People are just living today. But whenever I see there, vanished 敢@ and the family hovers before my eyes like a mirage, and I'm always warmly welcomed by them.
Aug. 02. 2002
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