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Kansas.
I thought I would come back someday, but I could not stop trembling.
“We should have at least prepared some wedding gifts.”
“They said just come as we are.”
The senator has a son, so I am not exactly a live-in son-in-law, but it still feels like we are the ones being taken in.
I am fine with being a live-in son-in-law or a kept man.
Who would dislike getting things easily.
Forget all the complicated political talk about unity among minorities for now.
My mind was completely blank.
“Hyung.
How does it feel going to get married?”
“Uh… uh… I have no thoughts.
Because I have no thoughts…”
“He’s completely gone.”
Shut up.
Do you even know this feeling.
It feels good.
Really good.
But what if I end up as a well-pressed burger set in the trenches?
What if she gets pregnant and I get sunk by a U-boat crossing the Atlantic?
Come to think of it, I only met Dorothy briefly during breaks.
What if while I am away some handsome blond…
Anyway, when I expressed my anxiety, Dorothy looked at me like I was ridiculous.
“If you were afraid of that, you should not have gone to the academy.”
“…What?”
“Of course I am scared too.
I have heard many times how hard it is to live as a soldier’s wife.”
Bang.
She shot a distant deer with a Winchester rifle.
Do not shoot in the middle of a serious conversation.
I start imagining myself as that deer.
“If you want, I can ask my father to get you a desk job in Washington.
But the top you want cannot be reached that way.”
“That is true.”
“Then go.
And come back alive.
If you do not, I will mourn for five years.
After that… I do not know.”
“What do you mean you do not know?”
“If someone like you comes along, I might change my mind.
So do not come back in a coffin.”
Seeing her smile bitterly filled me with determination to survive.
The wedding was modest.
People from San Francisco came in groups, my whole family, Ahn Chang-ho and his followers.
And countless others came just to show their faces.
My hand swelled from shaking so many hands, but it was worth it.
Most of my classmates could not attend.
Especially those assigned near the Mexican border.
That is why I said “most.”
“Congratulations!”
“You actually made it?”
“They are all busy preparing for Mexico, but I am in the 21st Infantry.
I got leave.”
Washington State.
Far northwest.
“Used some connections to get here.”
Yes.
McNarney and a few others came.
“Congrats.”
“Bennion.”
“Get assigned and come quickly.”
It felt good seeing them.
I did not know how many I would see again in a few years.
After the wedding, we went to Washington D.C with Curtis and Dorothy Margaret Kim.
Before reporting to the War Department, I met Henry Ford and Curtis again.
“You want to go to war?”
“Yes.”
“I do not recommend it.”
“Worried your investment will die?”
Ford shook his head.
“That is not it.”
Curtis stayed silent.
“Your skin color is the problem.”
“…Again.”
“You knew this already.”
“What exactly is the problem?”
“You think white soldiers will obey you?”
“I will make them.”
“That will be difficult.”
Ford continued.
“If problems arise, racists will use it to remove you.”
So even inside the War Department, my situation was an issue.
“One wrong step and I am finished.”
“Yes.”
“So what is the solution?”
“First.
The Philippines.”
“…I see.”
Not a bad option.
But not what I wanted.
“You predicted the European war, so I knew you would not like it.”
“Second.
The Signal Corps Aviation Section.”
“What?”
“They are excited about your predictions.”
So I would become a pilot.
“Flying is risky.”
Curtis spoke.
“If you die, Dorothy will be sad.”
“…Yes.”
“If you make my daughter cry, I will kill you.”
“I will not go to aviation.”
Ford laughed.
“So you are already controlled.”
“I must live long.”
“Then the next option.”
“Ordnance and doctrine development—”
“No.”
“You did not even listen.”
“I am not an engineer.”
I refused.
“That was your best chance.”
“I will not go.”
Ford nodded.
“Then the last option.”
“This one is problematic.”
He hesitated.
“Some question your loyalty.”
“What?”
“They believe when nation and ethnicity conflict, you may not choose America.”
…
That came earlier than expected.
“If this becomes public, it will be a political issue.”
So I needed to prove loyalty first.
“So the assignment is…”
“Tokyo.”
Henry Ford sighed.
“It makes no sense for a new lieutenant.
But you are already an exception.
Choose one of the four.”