The Sci-fi Hero of Our Dreams
2022; Volume: 15; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/aza.2022.0004
ISSN1944-6500
Autores Tópico(s)Bacillus and Francisella bacterial research
ResumoThe Sci-fi Hero of Our Dreams Han Junghyun (bio) Translated by Hoyoung Moon (bio) Wanna hear a fairytale? Sure. Does it have a princess and a witch and a prince? Does the prince save the princess? No. This story doesn't have a princess or a witch. A prince, not even a trace. Then who's in it? Someone with a face that's half woman, half man. Huh? The first person who told Mary this story was Yun Sŏnyŏng. It was 1985 when Sŏnyŏng first arrived in America. She met John at a children's shelter in Yongsan, Seoul. John was a volunteer there as an American soldier stationed in Korea, and he fell in love with Sŏnyŏng, who was a teacher at the facility, as soon as he saw her. But he kept his feelings to himself for a long time. He had a little girl back in the States, you see. When John finally proposed, Sŏnyŏng didn't say no. Instead, she asked, "I'm divorced. Do you still think I'm alright?" John couldn't ask what she meant by "alright." Sŏnyŏng was far beyond what he deserved, in his opinion. She was a graduate of the best women's college in Korea, summa cum laude in Biology. John didn't ask Sŏnyŏng why she hadn't continued her studies [End Page 63] after her marriage ended due to her ex-husband's violence. To be honest, John wasn't very interested in that. He just liked Sŏnyŏng, especially the way she loved children. He probably thought she would cherish his kid the same way. Sometimes I wonder: did John love Sŏnyŏng then, or was he looking for someone who would take good care of his child? Sŏnyŏng met John's daughter as soon as she arrived in America. Mary had just started taking their first steps. "My name is Sŏnyŏng," she told Mary, who couldn't talk yet. "I hope you'll tell me your name sometime too." Mary was bullied by the boys at school for being bigger than most kids their age. Mary knew early on that they wanted to have a man's body instead of a woman's, and that they loved women. But Mary was bullied for their appearance before they came to any awareness of that. The more time passed, the more grueling it became for Mary to go to school. But staying at home didn't offer much solace, either. John didn't understand why Mary wouldn't dress like a girl, or why they got into fistfights with the boys who made fun of them. Each time John became interrogative, Mary holed up in their room. That day, too, Mary would have meant to lock themself in, when Sŏnyŏng spoke to John in the living room. "When you love someone, you love the whole person as they are, not as you would like them to be." Yes, it's a line from Anna Karenina. After John went to his bedroom, Mary came out to the living room and fell asleep with their head nestled in Sŏnyŏng's lap. Mary remembers what Sŏnyŏng told them that day. "You are who you are. Not somebody's daughter or son, just you. The same way I'm your mother." When girls Mary's age were given dolls to play with, Sŏnyŏng gave Mary books like the illustrated guide to the human body. On days when John was away, Mary and Sŏnyŏng would get takeout pizza and go see baseball games. [End Page 64] "Sŏnyŏng, do you like men? Or women?" Mary asked one day. Why did Mary think Sŏnyŏng and John didn't love each other? On occasions like this, Sŏnyŏng would offer to tell Mary a fairytale. Yes, that story from earlier. "There was an animated movie with that story. Mazinger Z. There's a person with a face that's half-woman, half-man in it." "A person?" "Well, a long...
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