Round 21: Time on Earth
Title: Time on Earth
Team: Future
Rating: PG
Fandom: KARA
Pairing: Gen, implied Gyuri/Seungyeon
Summary: On her deathbed Seungyeon is visited by a young woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to her former band member.
Warnings: Character death (of an old person).
Author's Note: Thank you A, B and C for beta reading and Team Future for the love and support.
Prompt Used: Ash Gray - Little Prince (lyrics)
The girl screamed as a vase crashed against the wall.
The room was in shock. Before they knew it, the old woman was yelling unintelligible phrases and the nurse was rushing to restrain her. Harry's mother called for more nurses to come, while Harry looked on in confusion.
The girl, the one at whom his grandmother had just thrown a vase, ducked out of the room. He watched her leave with an urgent curiosity, and seeing that his mother was now settled in attending to his grandmother, he followed her.
He found her in the corridor, looking embarrassed. She turned away, but he caught up with her.
"Wait, come back! Who are you?"
She turned around slowly, then said, "my name is Lillian Lee."
Harry could tell that she was shaken. "I'm very sorry that my grandmother attacked you. She has not been well recently, but to be honest, that was unexpected. Why did you come here? Do you know my grandmother?"
Lillian was silent for a moment, then she said, "I'm sorry. My Korean is not good... you speak too fast."
Harry smiled apologetically. "Where are you from?" he asked her in English.
"Toronto, Canada."
"My name is Yu Hae-il, but my English name is Harry." He put his hand out for her to shake.
"Han Seungyeon is your grandmother, is that right?"
"Yes."
Lillian pursed her lips, then looked behind her shoulder, down the hospital corridor. "Do you have time to talk? You might be able to help me."
Together they left the hospital and walked alongside each other on the street. They had made it all the way to the river before Lillian began to speak.
"This is the first time I've been overseas," she said. "I tried studying a bit of Korean before I got here, but I'm not as good as I thought. Everyone speaks too fast for me."
"Why did you come?"
"I came here looking for myself... well, for my family actually. It's funny isn't it? How important we consider our ancestors to be. People that we've never met, don't know anything about, but we share their blood, their DNA, so somehow they are a direct part of ourselves."
"Absolutely. Family is important." Harry paused to consider what she was saying. "Are you a distant relative of ours? Is that why you came looking for my grandmother?"
"No, not exactly. My mother left Korea at a young age, and I didn't know her well anyway. I don't know anything about my grandparents, only that my grandmother was a famous singer before the war."
Harry nodded. "Then our grandmother's probably knew each other."
"I was told they were in a girl group."
"Yes, they were called Kara. Is that all you wanted to know?" Before she could reply Harry was swept by sudden inspiration. "My grandmother's group has an exhibition in the city museum. Would you like to see it?"
Lillian nodded, and half-smiled. "Maybe. It's probably better than going back to see your grandmother again."
Harry chuckled. "Yes, I'm sorry about that."
He showed her the way to the museum, happy that he could be of help. But really, more than anything, Harry was curious about the horror that had overcome his grandmother just at the sight of Lillian, since he hated seeing his grandmother in such a state of agitation. He kept this thought to himself.
* * *
That afternoon the museum was quiet. A few people were clustered around various exhibitions on work and life from the early 21st century. A large photograph of the old Seoul was displayed behind the reception desk, the cold, grey city as it had been before the war. Harry took Lillian to the exhibition on Korean Wave. Their footsteps seemed to echo on the white marble.
Lillian looked around in fascination at the photos of the old k-pop singers, the peculiar relics that must have been music devices and articles of fashion. Harry spun around, trying to remember where he had seen the photograph of the young Han Seungyeon and her band.
He found it at last in a corner, a large photograph with a group of girls made up like dolls. The glass plaque next to the picture dated it circa 2009, with a paragraph about the portrayal of girls and women during this era (For a female idol, image was the most important aspect...)
Feeling his heart beat with excitement, Harry called Lillian to come over. He stepped back to take another look and suddenly a chill came over him. Lillian came to stand beside him, and he looked back and forth between her and the picture.
"It's you," he said. "You're in the picture!"
A funny, almost pained, expression came across Lillian's face.
Harry went on: "It's uncanny, the resemblance. She's definitely your grandmother."
Lillian nodded slowly. "Park Gyuri. Is my grandmother."
Harry was smiling, but he changed when he saw how pale Lillian had become. "Are you alright?" he asked her.
She nodded quickly. "It's a little stuffy in here. I think I need some fresh air."
"Of course, we can leave." Harry was still fascinated by the picture. When he turned back, he saw that Lillian had already started walking towards the entrance. He ran to catch up with her.
* * *
KARA, c. 2009
For a female idol, image was the most important aspect. An image would need to be carefully constructed and maintained, perpetuating the illusion of perfection. The taint of a scandal could damage a female idol's career, or end it entirely.
Such was the fate of a number of female idols during this era.
* * *
Harry and Lillian sat together at the cafe beside the museum. They were outside, overlooking the park, and sunshine had brought colour back to Lillian's face. She sipped her coffee calmly.
"That was a bit spooky," Harry said. He smiled, but Lillian did not.
"Yeah, I know people have said I look like my grandmother."
"It's true, what you said. Ancestors are a part of us."
They sat in silence for some time, and Lillian's face was marked by a pensive frown. There was tension in the silence, like a spring being compressed, then at last Lillian said:
"So why did your grandmother throw a vase at me?"
"I don't know. I was as shocked as you were."
"What did she say? She shouted something at me, but I couldn't understand it."
"Ah..." Harry scratched his chin as he tried to remember the words. None of it had made any sense to him at the time. "Something about... revenge, forgiveness? It was disjointed. I don't think she's in her right mind."
This information seemed to trouble Lilllian. "In the past did she ever tell you about my grandmother? About the group?"
"Come to think of it, she never did. I thought she might have been embarrassed about it, since if anyone tried to ask her about being a singer she would change the subject."
Lillian picked up her empty coffee cup and stared into it with her brow creased. "Something bad happened in the past."
"Perhaps..."
"Your grandmother didn't look surprised to see me, she looked terrified."
"Well, you look so much like Park Gyuri, she probably thought she was looking at a ghost."
"A vengeful ghost. She said revenge, didn't she?"
"Yes, but it might not mean anything..."
Lillian stared into space for a moment, then suddenly snapped out of it. "Will you be able to find out more for me?"
Harry nodded politely. "I'll keep in touch and tell you what I find."
* * *
Han Seungyeon's condition continued to worsen over the next few days. As her time on Earth came towards an end, she seemed even more plagued by pain and unrest. Harry and his mother often visited her bedside.
Back home, they had begun sorting out some of the possessions in the old family house.
Harry's mother sorted through a box of old photos, mechanically putting them into piles: wedding photos, baby photos and so on. It was unfashionable to keep physical copies of photos these days, so most of them would be thrown away.
Harry offered to help sort the photos out, and he took his opportunity to pour through anything that might be interesting. Most of them were not; Seungyeon herself did not appear in many photos. They were mainly of the children and the relatives. Seungyeon who had spent so much of her early life being photographed became averse to it as she grew old.
At last Harry found a photograph of a relatively young Seungyeon standing beside her friend - the one who looked like Lillian Lee. He asked his mother if he could keep it.
"I don't see why not," she said. "Why does it interest you?"
"I'm just curious about halmeoni's life before the war. I don't know much about her being a singer."
Harry's mother smiled. "Yes you do. You've read about it in articles."
"I know, but I've never heard about it from halmeoni herself."
His mother shrugged. "She could be evasive about it, but that was just her personality. She probably had nothing more to say about it, after all, most of her life back then was published and documented."
Harry showed her the photograph. "Did you ever meet her?"
"Park Gyuri? I don't think so. If I recall, her family emigrated after that scandal."
"Scandal?"
"Yes. I don't remember the details of it, it happened before I was born. It had something to do with a political figure, if I recall."
"They didn't stay in touch? Did halmeoni ever tell you about her?"
"I suppose she did. But they were just band members, their relationship would have been a professional one."
Harry nodded and did not ask anymore.
* * *
The president's scandal lingered in the memory of South Koreans for some time. Han Seungyeon was frequently asked about her involvement in the scandal, if she had known the truth about her own group member, Park Gyuri.
"I had no idea about it at all," she said. "We weren't close. She was my group member, not my friend."
* * *
When he was alone, Harry turned the photograph over in his hands. Curiosity tore through him like a forest fire, and he couldn't seem to think about anything else.
The photo had been taken with an old Polaroid camera, and it had become faded and yellow over time. The two women stood side by side, Gyuri with her arm around Seungyeon's shoulder. It was a friendly embrace, and they were both smiling, and yet there was something sad behind their eyes.
Harry turned it over again under his light, and this time he noticed that there was writing on the back. It had been faded, but he could just make out the words.
"You will always be my friend."
His heart thumped uncomfortably in his chest and he placed the photograph in a drawer, before turning to go to bed.
* * *
A few days later the family was gathered at Seungyeon's bedside. The doctors had told them that she was close to death, but she was not at peace. She was plagued by agitation as she turned her head and muttered. Harry and his mother looked on with discomfort.
Harry's heart jumped as he received a message.
"I'm at the hospital. You said you wanted me to come up?"
He excused himself from the room and returned to the main entrance to find Lillian. As he was about to bring her to the room, his mother stopped him.
"What are you doing? Why are you bringing this girl here? This is a time for our family's grief."
"But I think halmeoni would like to see her."
"She's not the one who caused commotion last week? Oh my god..."
Lillian had stepped out from behind Harry, and his mother stared at her in horror.
"Why, she looks exactly like..."
"I'm sorry," Lillian said, and then she said to Harry in English, "I don't want to impose on your family..."
Harry nodded, but his mother took Lillian's hand. "You can come in," she said.
Harry followed them back into his grandmother's room. Her agitation seemed to have reduced, she was sitting up but still breathing raggedly. When she looked at Lillian, there was no shock or anger in her eyes.
"Gyuri-yah..." she said. "I knew you would come back."
Harry looked between Seungyeon and Lillian, unsure if he should intervene. He thought Lillian would not understand what Seungyeon had said, and he wondered if he should say something, but the look in Lillian's eye frightened him. She looked oddly focused and determined.
"Seungyeon-ah," she said, and the room was completely still. "It doesn't matter anymore."
"What kind of prankster..." Harry mother whispered to him, but even her voice betrayed her doubt. Harry shook his head. The voice that came from Lillian was not her own; at least he had never heard her speaking Korean so fluently.
They watched in stunned silence as Lillian approached the bed, and she took hold of the old woman's hand. The agitation that had possessed her was now completely gone and a powerful sense of peace overcame everyone in the room.
* * *
After the funeral Harry never saw Lillian again. She returned to Canada, and they went on living separate lives.
His mother threw away most of the family photos but Harry kept the polaroid. He sometimes thought about these two people from another time and place, and a friendship that probably only they would have understood. It didn't feel sad to him anymore.
Poll
Team: Future
Rating: PG
Fandom: KARA
Pairing: Gen, implied Gyuri/Seungyeon
Summary: On her deathbed Seungyeon is visited by a young woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to her former band member.
Warnings: Character death (of an old person).
Author's Note: Thank you A, B and C for beta reading and Team Future for the love and support.
Prompt Used: Ash Gray - Little Prince (lyrics)
The girl screamed as a vase crashed against the wall.
The room was in shock. Before they knew it, the old woman was yelling unintelligible phrases and the nurse was rushing to restrain her. Harry's mother called for more nurses to come, while Harry looked on in confusion.
The girl, the one at whom his grandmother had just thrown a vase, ducked out of the room. He watched her leave with an urgent curiosity, and seeing that his mother was now settled in attending to his grandmother, he followed her.
He found her in the corridor, looking embarrassed. She turned away, but he caught up with her.
"Wait, come back! Who are you?"
She turned around slowly, then said, "my name is Lillian Lee."
Harry could tell that she was shaken. "I'm very sorry that my grandmother attacked you. She has not been well recently, but to be honest, that was unexpected. Why did you come here? Do you know my grandmother?"
Lillian was silent for a moment, then she said, "I'm sorry. My Korean is not good... you speak too fast."
Harry smiled apologetically. "Where are you from?" he asked her in English.
"Toronto, Canada."
"My name is Yu Hae-il, but my English name is Harry." He put his hand out for her to shake.
"Han Seungyeon is your grandmother, is that right?"
"Yes."
Lillian pursed her lips, then looked behind her shoulder, down the hospital corridor. "Do you have time to talk? You might be able to help me."
Together they left the hospital and walked alongside each other on the street. They had made it all the way to the river before Lillian began to speak.
"This is the first time I've been overseas," she said. "I tried studying a bit of Korean before I got here, but I'm not as good as I thought. Everyone speaks too fast for me."
"Why did you come?"
"I came here looking for myself... well, for my family actually. It's funny isn't it? How important we consider our ancestors to be. People that we've never met, don't know anything about, but we share their blood, their DNA, so somehow they are a direct part of ourselves."
"Absolutely. Family is important." Harry paused to consider what she was saying. "Are you a distant relative of ours? Is that why you came looking for my grandmother?"
"No, not exactly. My mother left Korea at a young age, and I didn't know her well anyway. I don't know anything about my grandparents, only that my grandmother was a famous singer before the war."
Harry nodded. "Then our grandmother's probably knew each other."
"I was told they were in a girl group."
"Yes, they were called Kara. Is that all you wanted to know?" Before she could reply Harry was swept by sudden inspiration. "My grandmother's group has an exhibition in the city museum. Would you like to see it?"
Lillian nodded, and half-smiled. "Maybe. It's probably better than going back to see your grandmother again."
Harry chuckled. "Yes, I'm sorry about that."
He showed her the way to the museum, happy that he could be of help. But really, more than anything, Harry was curious about the horror that had overcome his grandmother just at the sight of Lillian, since he hated seeing his grandmother in such a state of agitation. He kept this thought to himself.
* * *
That afternoon the museum was quiet. A few people were clustered around various exhibitions on work and life from the early 21st century. A large photograph of the old Seoul was displayed behind the reception desk, the cold, grey city as it had been before the war. Harry took Lillian to the exhibition on Korean Wave. Their footsteps seemed to echo on the white marble.
Lillian looked around in fascination at the photos of the old k-pop singers, the peculiar relics that must have been music devices and articles of fashion. Harry spun around, trying to remember where he had seen the photograph of the young Han Seungyeon and her band.
He found it at last in a corner, a large photograph with a group of girls made up like dolls. The glass plaque next to the picture dated it circa 2009, with a paragraph about the portrayal of girls and women during this era (For a female idol, image was the most important aspect...)
Feeling his heart beat with excitement, Harry called Lillian to come over. He stepped back to take another look and suddenly a chill came over him. Lillian came to stand beside him, and he looked back and forth between her and the picture.
"It's you," he said. "You're in the picture!"
A funny, almost pained, expression came across Lillian's face.
Harry went on: "It's uncanny, the resemblance. She's definitely your grandmother."
Lillian nodded slowly. "Park Gyuri. Is my grandmother."
Harry was smiling, but he changed when he saw how pale Lillian had become. "Are you alright?" he asked her.
She nodded quickly. "It's a little stuffy in here. I think I need some fresh air."
"Of course, we can leave." Harry was still fascinated by the picture. When he turned back, he saw that Lillian had already started walking towards the entrance. He ran to catch up with her.
* * *
KARA, c. 2009
For a female idol, image was the most important aspect. An image would need to be carefully constructed and maintained, perpetuating the illusion of perfection. The taint of a scandal could damage a female idol's career, or end it entirely.
Such was the fate of a number of female idols during this era.
* * *
Harry and Lillian sat together at the cafe beside the museum. They were outside, overlooking the park, and sunshine had brought colour back to Lillian's face. She sipped her coffee calmly.
"That was a bit spooky," Harry said. He smiled, but Lillian did not.
"Yeah, I know people have said I look like my grandmother."
"It's true, what you said. Ancestors are a part of us."
They sat in silence for some time, and Lillian's face was marked by a pensive frown. There was tension in the silence, like a spring being compressed, then at last Lillian said:
"So why did your grandmother throw a vase at me?"
"I don't know. I was as shocked as you were."
"What did she say? She shouted something at me, but I couldn't understand it."
"Ah..." Harry scratched his chin as he tried to remember the words. None of it had made any sense to him at the time. "Something about... revenge, forgiveness? It was disjointed. I don't think she's in her right mind."
This information seemed to trouble Lilllian. "In the past did she ever tell you about my grandmother? About the group?"
"Come to think of it, she never did. I thought she might have been embarrassed about it, since if anyone tried to ask her about being a singer she would change the subject."
Lillian picked up her empty coffee cup and stared into it with her brow creased. "Something bad happened in the past."
"Perhaps..."
"Your grandmother didn't look surprised to see me, she looked terrified."
"Well, you look so much like Park Gyuri, she probably thought she was looking at a ghost."
"A vengeful ghost. She said revenge, didn't she?"
"Yes, but it might not mean anything..."
Lillian stared into space for a moment, then suddenly snapped out of it. "Will you be able to find out more for me?"
Harry nodded politely. "I'll keep in touch and tell you what I find."
* * *
Han Seungyeon's condition continued to worsen over the next few days. As her time on Earth came towards an end, she seemed even more plagued by pain and unrest. Harry and his mother often visited her bedside.
Back home, they had begun sorting out some of the possessions in the old family house.
Harry's mother sorted through a box of old photos, mechanically putting them into piles: wedding photos, baby photos and so on. It was unfashionable to keep physical copies of photos these days, so most of them would be thrown away.
Harry offered to help sort the photos out, and he took his opportunity to pour through anything that might be interesting. Most of them were not; Seungyeon herself did not appear in many photos. They were mainly of the children and the relatives. Seungyeon who had spent so much of her early life being photographed became averse to it as she grew old.
At last Harry found a photograph of a relatively young Seungyeon standing beside her friend - the one who looked like Lillian Lee. He asked his mother if he could keep it.
"I don't see why not," she said. "Why does it interest you?"
"I'm just curious about halmeoni's life before the war. I don't know much about her being a singer."
Harry's mother smiled. "Yes you do. You've read about it in articles."
"I know, but I've never heard about it from halmeoni herself."
His mother shrugged. "She could be evasive about it, but that was just her personality. She probably had nothing more to say about it, after all, most of her life back then was published and documented."
Harry showed her the photograph. "Did you ever meet her?"
"Park Gyuri? I don't think so. If I recall, her family emigrated after that scandal."
"Scandal?"
"Yes. I don't remember the details of it, it happened before I was born. It had something to do with a political figure, if I recall."
"They didn't stay in touch? Did halmeoni ever tell you about her?"
"I suppose she did. But they were just band members, their relationship would have been a professional one."
Harry nodded and did not ask anymore.
* * *
The president's scandal lingered in the memory of South Koreans for some time. Han Seungyeon was frequently asked about her involvement in the scandal, if she had known the truth about her own group member, Park Gyuri.
"I had no idea about it at all," she said. "We weren't close. She was my group member, not my friend."
* * *
When he was alone, Harry turned the photograph over in his hands. Curiosity tore through him like a forest fire, and he couldn't seem to think about anything else.
The photo had been taken with an old Polaroid camera, and it had become faded and yellow over time. The two women stood side by side, Gyuri with her arm around Seungyeon's shoulder. It was a friendly embrace, and they were both smiling, and yet there was something sad behind their eyes.
Harry turned it over again under his light, and this time he noticed that there was writing on the back. It had been faded, but he could just make out the words.
"You will always be my friend."
His heart thumped uncomfortably in his chest and he placed the photograph in a drawer, before turning to go to bed.
* * *
A few days later the family was gathered at Seungyeon's bedside. The doctors had told them that she was close to death, but she was not at peace. She was plagued by agitation as she turned her head and muttered. Harry and his mother looked on with discomfort.
Harry's heart jumped as he received a message.
"I'm at the hospital. You said you wanted me to come up?"
He excused himself from the room and returned to the main entrance to find Lillian. As he was about to bring her to the room, his mother stopped him.
"What are you doing? Why are you bringing this girl here? This is a time for our family's grief."
"But I think halmeoni would like to see her."
"She's not the one who caused commotion last week? Oh my god..."
Lillian had stepped out from behind Harry, and his mother stared at her in horror.
"Why, she looks exactly like..."
"I'm sorry," Lillian said, and then she said to Harry in English, "I don't want to impose on your family..."
Harry nodded, but his mother took Lillian's hand. "You can come in," she said.
Harry followed them back into his grandmother's room. Her agitation seemed to have reduced, she was sitting up but still breathing raggedly. When she looked at Lillian, there was no shock or anger in her eyes.
"Gyuri-yah..." she said. "I knew you would come back."
Harry looked between Seungyeon and Lillian, unsure if he should intervene. He thought Lillian would not understand what Seungyeon had said, and he wondered if he should say something, but the look in Lillian's eye frightened him. She looked oddly focused and determined.
"Seungyeon-ah," she said, and the room was completely still. "It doesn't matter anymore."
"What kind of prankster..." Harry mother whispered to him, but even her voice betrayed her doubt. Harry shook his head. The voice that came from Lillian was not her own; at least he had never heard her speaking Korean so fluently.
They watched in stunned silence as Lillian approached the bed, and she took hold of the old woman's hand. The agitation that had possessed her was now completely gone and a powerful sense of peace overcame everyone in the room.
* * *
After the funeral Harry never saw Lillian again. She returned to Canada, and they went on living separate lives.
His mother threw away most of the family photos but Harry kept the polaroid. He sometimes thought about these two people from another time and place, and a friendship that probably only they would have understood. It didn't feel sad to him anymore.
Poll