The new year

The matter was innocent enough at first, in the dance hall that was nothing more than a shed built between the ruined buildings in Seoul, and its lights were bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling, and the seats lined up around the walls, and there was a broken piano playing rock and roll tunes. Everyone was busy dancing, and each man in uniform with a slim Korean girl, most of whom wore liberated Western clothes, but some wore wide skirts and short vests specific to their local culture. He threw himself onto a seat that night, and told himself he would just watch. It was the last time he danced during his honeymoon, and Laura, his partner, in his arms, and they were closer to each other than ever before. Author: Pearl Buck Translator: Inas Al-Turki Number of pages: 353