“It’s too bad we weren’t friends back then. I would’ve beat down every one of them.” Jeong-il narrowed his eyes at me as if he were looking at something bright and said, “You know what? You did.” We looked at each other and let out a sheepish laugh. “It’s for kids like me that we need organized religion,” Jeong-il continued matter-of-factly. “I’m going to study hard at a Japanese university and come back with the proper knowledge the kids coming up after us will need to break out into the wider world. I want to give them the courage that you guys gave me. I’m going to tell them about you, too.
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