He Made a Difference
By Alyce Park Breshears
Published by Fideli Publishing, Inc.
Smashwords ebook edition
©Copyright 2010 Alyce Park Breshears
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ISBN: 978-1-60414-310-2
PROLOGUE:
To know H.K. Park, you must understand he lived, fought, and escaped during the years of being under occupied forces in Korea.
Some men never know what it is to live for a purpose or a final goal of completion. He believed with all his heart that Sygman Rhee was the man to lead Korea out of being occupied by Japan. This drove him to finish the job of making sure Rhee became that person to lead the country into democracy. H.K.'s family came second. The small steps, the nature of the cause were, the forces that kept him going.
We are what we are, and a part of our past is within each of us. History shows us our mistakes that need to be corrected, and also the good that was to be improved to be better.
For H.K., he lived for a time he would know Korea was free.
He made a difference.
This man was my father.
CHAPTER 1
1921 H.K. PARK, AGE 36
The beginning of a new life. That's the way he looked at it. The end of an old life that was getting dangerously close and the edge he had of escaping the enemy of occupied forces was becoming too risky.
If he was to continue to be of service to Rhee he had to get out of the country. In the past, he has been Rhee's bodyguard and valet. Now Rhee was in the U.S.
H.K. had to make a new life, start a family and hope for the best America offered him. He thought this very optimistic because he had to.
This man spoke three languages fluently: Cantonese, Japanese, and Korean. He had been in and out of China, Japan and Korea. He was lucky. At 36 he was still alive. And better yet, no price had been placed for his head. He had come from Seoul and went south to Pusan. H.K. was getting married.
Where was that marriage broker? Was she here?
He had chosen a bride to go with him to America. He picked the one with the largest eyes from the picture he had been shown. He hoped she would give him strong sons. He, himself, was strong, stocky and unafraid of the enemy. He chuckled to himself. What would he teach them? He was an assassin and guerilla fighter. He knew how to survive.
A Fanatic? Yes, when it came to the goal of keeping one man alive. That man was Sygman Rhee. He knew if the moment ever came about, he would give his life for this man. H. K. was growing impatient. Also he was always ready for the unexpected. Where in the hell was that marriage broker?
Across the room behind a door, sat a young woman, shaking from fear of the unknown. She was 16, independent, and from wealth. She had made up her mind she was going to America. Her hair was a dark brown with red highlights. She was rather tall for a young woman of her country. She had seen too much and her hatred of the occupied forces was fierce. She was determined to leave. She would not stay here and see anymore of her relatives and friends physically tortured by the enemy.
Her young cousin, a male, had been taken to the secret police office. There they had interrogated him with the usual vicious tools they had at their disposal. They finally did the worst. They had inserted an electric prod into his penis. Her cousin had recently been married. After this ugly method of torture, he would not have any sons or daughters.
No by heaven, they would not take her away and commit the atrocities she had heard about. She would not become their whore, or Comfort Women the enemy had the audacity to call these victims. She would not die here or in some other part of their occupied territories.
The Marriage Broker finally arrived. He was sweating. He knew the young woman was strong willed and determined to leave, but she had seven brothers. Also the man waiting for him was secretive and a dangerous man to be reckoned with if the wedding did not go through. He had not told H. K. of the seven brothers. Obviously, he valued his life.
He was shaking like a rabbit when he told the groom to come out. Then he went to the woman.
The broker said to him self, "It's time. The sooner the better. I wish to be rid of these two." Who to fear most, the seven brothers or the secret police? He had a gut feeling the groom was an assassin, but unknown by face by the enemy, at least not yet.
As he put on his most genuine false smile, he went to the bride. She had been peeking through the cracks in the door.
She literally pounced upon him and almost shrieked, "You told me he had hair! He's almost bald! You lied!"
The Broker quieted her the best he could, and tried to get control of the situation. He asked her, "Do you want to go or not?"
She looked again at the groom and thought, "I must do this." She nodded yes.
The marriage broker almost fainted from relief. Then he took her hand and led her out to the groom. She was shaking, so hard she thought, "I'll drop the tea cup".
The groom was pleased. Her hair was not black, but he could live with that. He stood straight and looked right into her eyes. She was slight of build, but had an air of dignity.
The marriage broker was shaking as badly as the bride. He could tell the groom was carrying a weapon. He would be a fool to go anywhere without it. The marriage took place. The marriage broker was so relieved. He hadn't realized he held his breath during the ceremony. The little weasel almost did faint.
She said to herself, "He is my way to America. I can speak my language when and where I want. Freedom!"
He said to himself, "She is my new start. It is a new life. No more running or hiding. We will be free. I will have a family."
CHAPTER 2
THE JOURNEY BY SEA: 1921
They came by ship. The husband decided to take an American name, Harry, to be able to assimilate easily into America. The wife, of course, need not worry about that. She was to be wife and mother.
She was deathly sick during the voyage, partly due to fear of her husband and the rolling of the ship. They had almost been stopped before boarding the ship. Her seven brothers did not take kindly to this 36 year-old man taking their sister away, let alone to America. On the other hand, her mother took a different attitude. She decided to talk to a fortuneteller. He looked at the bride. Her hands, her feet, and then felt the bones in her arms. He said, "If she stays here in our country, she will die young. If she goes away with this man, she will live a hard; I stress hard, difficult life. But she will live a long time. A very long time."