| Call Me by Any Name (From Soo-Ah to Soo-Yun) (Part I)

[Chapter theme - "Departure to the West" - copy paste tinyurl.com/hofsotsound in the browser ]

After saying goodbye, sharing their provisions and parting ways with everything Soo-Ah'd known for the past seven autumns of her life, ahead came the unknown. The journey to the northern barracks would be the first road trip she ever took. Behind them, columns of smoke bid them farewell. With a bitter heart, Soo-Ah and her grandfather distanced themselves from the familiar village. Soo-Ah would miss the thatched roof houses that once sat peacefully in the shallow and rich valley, nurtured by the river, tucked away between the hills. Beyond the gentle mounds awaited anxiousness and awe.

And a child's eyes were inclined to dwell on the awe. From when she roamed around the fields near the manor, Soo-Ah had become familiar with the clumps of tall pinkish grass that colored the scenery around harvest. But she never saw waves upon waves, rolling over the terrain, a moving sea under the tranquil breeze.

"Look, Grandpa! Confession grass. I have never seen so much of it in one place. Can I go and run through it?"

"I am sorry, child, but ..." he wanted to say they could not as they were in a hurry, however, the disappointment on his granddaughter's face made him change his mind. Her blissful childhood was about to end. They could spend a couple of moments, stealing a little joyfulness. "Ah, alright. Go! I would come with you, but my old bones are not inclined to agree. Bring me a handful, will you?" He stopped the horse and kept his kind eyes on the girl.

Soo-Ah did not wait for her grandfather to say it twice. "I think this would be the perfect place for Pow-Pow. I am sure he would not like it where we are going." She clumsily unmounted, taking Pow-Pow's box from where it was hanging on the saddle and, giggling all the way, she kept running until only her little head could be seen in the sea of grass. She raised her hands high, caressing with her palms the masses of airy, loosely branched, colored blooms, immersing herself in a dream-like fairy tale. She and her grasshopper roamed through enchanted lands. It did not matter she was still wearing ash on her cheeks and her clothes were all stained and smelly. She was a princess, and this became her pink palace.

It took her grandfather calling her a couple of times for Soo-Ah to be convinced to leave behind her daydreaming. After she opened the wooden box and set her friend free, wishing him good fortune, she headed back but stopped midway. The grass her grandpa requested. She had forgotten about it. Soo-Ah returned in a hurry to pick some, attracting another exasperated call from the old man.

Then they were back on the road.

There was not a lot of distance to cover, but the terrain soon became rugged, and even sticking to the beaten path they were still slow to advance.

The harder their road turned out; the heavier Ming-Jun's thoughts became. He considered what Ho-Orabeoni had said about young girls not belonging to the army. It was entirely true. Even if she was related to him and he was The Great General. Min-Jun mused about the best approach to keep his granddaughter safe in this next stage of her life.

Sitting together on the saddle, the mare's movements swung them left and right as they made their way on the bumpy trail. The old general had a stroke of genius when he set the horses free, rescuing them from the calamity that befell his peaceful manor.

"How do you feel about this name, Soo-Yun?" he asked Soo-Ah as they were approaching a village appearing in the distance, with its fortified walls and houses clinging to the mountainside.

She pondered over her grandfather's question for a couple of moments. "Soo-Yun? Is he a boy I should know?" she asked, turning to face her grandfather, eyebrows like question marks on her young expressive face.

"I'd sure hope so. Let's make Soo-Yun be you if you were a boy," and he winked at the girl.

Soo-Ah twisted her mouth in a lopsided shape. "Grandpa, what do you mean?"

"Let's play a game, where you pretend to be a boy and your name is Soo-Yun. So, this is what I am going to call you from now on; Soo-Yun," he said looking straight into her eyes.

"But I like my name," Soo-Ah snapped, slouching in the saddle. "You've always called me Soo-Ah. If you wanted to call me a boy, you should have named me differently. Soo-Yun sounds funny. I don't like it. Why can't you call me Jung-In? Jung-In I like."

"Our Jung-In already has a claim to his name. You need to claim yours. Eventually, you will come to like it also. Am I right, Soo-Yun?"

Soo-Ah pouted and nodded begrudgingly. Soo-Ah was confused and this was an unsettling change. Her grandfather never acted so strangely before.

"Good. From now on, remember to answer every time anyone calls you by your new name," he instructed as they covered the distance, approaching their safe haven for the night.

The village totem guardians, representing an old man and a fat woman, greeted them before they passed the gate of the palisade wall. Soo-Ah commented in passing that the guardians of their village looked prettier.

It was a necessary stop since they had to restock on provisions and find a place to rest. As they climbed higher it got colder. Min-Jun had to employ his haggling skills for a set of boyish peasant clothes in addition to food and shelter.

It was pure luck that Han-Gyeol had been close to the master's study and had had the foresight to save the money coffer and a couple of precious items. But coins alone would not keep the hunger at bay, nor would the jewels keep warm in the night.

As her grandfather was keeping busy by the communal well, trading, Soo-Ah forgot about herself watching a couple of children playing in the dirt. How she wished she would join their game. Since Jung-In had left for the capital she'd cut all ties with the children from their village. They never got along too well because their teasing was cruel and inappropriate, far worse than Jung-In had thrown at her. But she missed the companionship of someone her age, badly. The children here knew nothing about her. She could pass for anyone. She could even pass for a boy.

Her daydream suddenly came to a halt when her grandfather shouted, "Soo-Yun!" and angrily shook her arm to make her turn to face him. He had been calling her for some time with no answer from the girl. "What did I tell you? You need to answer me when I call you by your name," he said with emphasis on the last word.

A couple of curious eyes were watching them, from the entrance of their old houses, which had vegetation clinging to the roofs made of old rotten straws. The old general needed no unwanted attention. It was not safe to reveal his identity yet. As for Soo-Ah, it was nature's lucky draw that her face could have passed for that of a fair boy, especially with her hair all messed up. But her girly-coloured clothes in contrast with the boy's name he just shouted were raising a couple of suspicious eyebrows.

He grabbed her hand and went to find lodgings. Before sunset, they headed for a barn that an elderly couple owned, settling in for the night. The few goats residing there would make for warming company until sunrise. And for fun partners for discussion for Soo-Ah, who amused herself trying to pick up on their animal language.

Ahead of having dinner, she was forced to wash down with a cloth dipped in warm water, and change into a peasant boyish attire, through whining, complaints and hassle. She was tired from sitting on the horse the entire day and worried the road would be even longer. And sleeping anywhere but on her bed was no recipe for a good night's rest. Too many changes, too quickly. The little joke about her playing a boy was becoming serious, Soo-Ah thought.

Her grandfather sensed her troubles. There was no right approach to make the child relax in these dire circumstances. But the truth was always the best path to follow. And sharing food for the body around a warm fire is an open invitation to soothe the mind.

"Now, now. If you keep pouting your face will become all wrinkled," he said trying to lighten the mood, before devouring the chicken leg he had in front of him.

But Soo-Ah was not falling for it, loathing her new plain clothes that looked strange in the dim light of the flames. "A boy's name. A boy's clothes. What is this, Grandpa? Did you always want to raise a boy, instead of me?" She asked, uncertain about everything.

The old man had to laugh a little at the girl's perplexed expression. "No, sweet child. It is not about that. Do you remember what Ho-Orabeoni said before we parted? About girls not belonging in a field camp. I am afraid he was right. And what we will face from now on will be very difficult. A military camp is a dangerous place, not only because of the fighting. Those are some harsh conditions to live in. And you will meet some strange and cruel people. It is better for them to think of you as a boy. Do you understand? This is the only reason I insist on wearing this disguise. It is for your safety."