By Aji Kang

Once there were two siblings, for whom the meaning of being a child differed. The older one was a mathematician with a refined cultural taste; to be a child was to bring home the spoils of his career as an intellectual and cultural tourist, and gain connections with many of the most distinguished people of his time. The younger one was a politically involved writer with a refined perception of human psychology; to be a child was to console her parents while she pursued dangerous work so that the truth may enter her body. A war broke out, and cut the siblings in half; the war marked the end of the apprenticeship of the older one, and it marked the end of the life of the younger one.

Both of the siblings were stubborn. The older sibling wanted nothing more than to keep the future of mathematics alive, but was mandated to serve in the military when war broke out. He resolved not to serve, and was imprisoned for his choice.…