Summary

Many days go by with no news of Hyeonseo's father. Two weeks after his disappearance, Hyeonseo's father is released to the Hyesan hospital but the investigation into him is ongoing. He is accused of bribery and abuse of position but "a more likely reason [for the investigation] was that he had fallen out of political favor" (67). He spends six weeks in the hospital, suffering from depression, before passing away.

Hyesonseo immediately regrets the resentment she nurtured toward him and realizes how much he must have loved her to accept her as his daughter. She also realizes how much she loved him in return. The family receives another shock when they learn that their father's death was ruled a suicide. Suicide is taboo in Korea because the regime regards it as a form of defection. Any children left behind by a suicidal...