March 8, 1919:

There was a loud crash as the doors to the jewelry shop, Rose Noble, was ambushed by the Japanese Imperial Army and Police. The officers raided the shop, searching for the freedom fighters that were reported to have had their private meetings within the secret walls of the shop. Banging open the secret door that was hidden away in the far corner of the store, the soldiers opened fire at the independence movement leaders, showing no mercy to the traitorous second-class citizens. Members of the Rose Noble, scrambled to fight them off, others trying to get away to inform other independence organizations of the raid.

Min Hae-eun, the fiancé of the leader of the organization, Yi Woon, quickly gathered any documents that the imperial army would find and hid them within the cavity of one of the walls, her gold coin pendant swinging side to side, glimmering in the dim light. The pendant was given to her when Woon had proposed to her during their trip in Shanghai.

Swiftly opening the hidden cavity, she stuffed the documents in there, not being noticed in all of the mayhem. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest. Just how did they find out about their organization? There was no way the Imperial Army would know about them unless someone involved in the movement had ratted them out. She grabbed a nearby stick and used it to wield it against the officers who were cornering the members.

Hae-eun gritted her teeth as she dodged the bullets being fired as her comrades fought back against the soldiers. It had been a week since they, amongst other activists, had managed to gather at Pagoda Park to read out the Declaration of Independence for Joseon*. They had been successful with their first protests against the Japanese Empire, which were still ongoing.

Looking around for her fiancé, she found him shooting at the officers behind a bookshelf. Hae-eun locked eyes with Woon as he quickly ran up to her, grabbing her by the wrist. He led her to the cellar, protecting her from harm as the other members formed a human shield in front of them. Confused, she looked up at Woon as he pushed her down to the cellar. What was going on?

“Woon...? What are you guys planning? Let me out!” she shouted, panicked as she tried to climb back up.

“Hae-eun! Listen to me! Survive. No matter what, you must survive to accomplish our goal for liberation and democracy! Go!” he shouted at her, pushing her back down.

Hae-eun looked on in horror as he was shot multiple times in the back while he guarded the cellar doors, his last attempt in trying to protect his beloved. Hot blood oozed out of his mouth, as he struggled to not cough up blood in front of her.

“Go… Don’t worry about us. I love you… You know that, right? Promise me that you will survive! And I promise that I’ll come find you. Now go!”

Woon threw in the key to the cellar, as he locked the doors from the outside, trapping Hae-eun. He didn’t budge from his spot, coughing up blood, as he heard her sobs through the door. He closed his eyes as tears spilled down his cheeks. He slowly turned around to see his comrades on the ground, blood pooling beneath them. A soldier pointed a gun at him, motioning to Woon to hold his hands up. Woon reluctantly stood up, casting one last glance behind him before he was taken into custody.

Hae-eun sobbed as she banged on the door to be let out, however, no one answered back. It was eerily quiet. Feeling sick to her stomach, Hae-eun ran towards the tunnel that led outside to the streets, hoping that she could bring back other liberation leaders to come help her comrades escape from this horrible nightmare.

Splashing through the dark and damp tunnel, Hae-eun’s breath started to labor. Suddenly, she felt dizzy and light-headed, as her pace slowed down. Struggling to breath, Hae-eun stumbled in the dark tunnel, unsure as to why she was feeling so weak all of a sudden. How strange, why do I feel so…, she collapsed onto the ground, trying not to hurl, when a bright light blinded her. The bright light engulfed her before she disappeared without a trace, leaving nothing behind to indicate that she was ever there.

~~~

The wails of sirens and cries of the Korean people being dragged on the streets by the Imperial Army echoed throughout the night. Months passed, as the Imperial Army attempted to wipe out or imprison anyone involved in any of these protests. They quelled the crowds by their use of brute force, finally bringing an end to the mayhem. However, amongst the hundreds of imprisoned activists, Min Hae-eun was never to be found again, not for another 100 years…

SIDE NOTE:

*Joseon: a Korean dynastic kingdom founded in 1392 and ended in 1897 with the establishment of the short-lived Korean Empire.

**NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**