Disclaimer : This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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"Alright, Guys, for the next meeting please read page 307 to 373. We're going to talk about the Rise of Early Modern Individualism and how the Early Europeans develop their new ideas and faiths that lead to their journey to the New World. Write a minimum two thousand-word essay of what you've read and don't forget to put your insights into it, we'll discuss it together next week. And if you write the right thing, I'll probably tell you why this is my fave reading."
The students responded to her final statement with a variety of responses. Some nodded immediately with a 'yes, ma'am,' but she giggled at someone muttering 'seriously?' as holding their class' thousand-page textbook, as if she had just declared that a three-headed dog was a genuine monster, not a fantasy from a Harry Potter film. Jisoo cleaned her teaching equipment at the podium, placing her laptop in the satchel bag and responding some students' questions regarding one or two remarks she made during class. She made her exit soon after everyone had left.
A student from the university press media was waiting for her when she reached her office. She gave her the latest edition which covered her last speech at an international conference held by the Political Science and International Relations department last month. The university press was so eager to interview her after the speech since it was her first official appearance in front of the whole campus audience, plus the conference participants from all over the world since she got back from the US a year ago. And it was quite a talk, not because she was talking about the issues of moral rights through the Asian heritage or because she was practically the newly elected Head Deputy of the International Relations Office for the global university. The participants and additional invitees were crowding the auditorium hall because she spoke as the first professor of the Graduate School of Politics, Government, and Communication who specialized in contemporary political philosophy, ethics, and ancient Chinese philosophy, more to that, the youngest one in the history of Korean universities.
Jisoo thanked the third-year undergraduate Law student, who introduced her name as Gong Minji and invited her to come into her office to tell her about her article.
"We sold out this month's first edition for covering you as the face of the month, Professor. SNU and Yonsei had pre-ordered a hundred and fifty copies respectively since we posted the first sneak peek of your speech at the conference. We're currently printing five hundred more copies for the second edition to fill for KAIST, Hanyang, and Ehwa. We're so thankful for you, it officially broke the record of The Avengers: End Game." she told her excitedly.
"Good for you. You wrote a great article too, this is what you call an exemplary exemplification essay." she praised Minji's good work as she read the article the girl wrote about her.
The two-page article has one half-page picture of her delivering her speech and two other one-eight-page size pictures, one of which when she took a picture with all the conference committee after she got off the stage. The third picture caught her attention since it showed a scene where this certain audience was addressing his point of view toward the question before him. The picture was taken from the edge of the stage, so when it showed her from her side, it got a full front side of him.
Jisoo had no idea what made her lay her eyes on this particular man in the first place. Maybe it was because he sat next to Baekhyun, who had got her a mental breakdown after a shocking confession he told her before she got on stage. Like seriously, even right this second it's still hard to believe that Baekhyun would choose that exact moment when she was feeling highly nervous about the fact that she would be speaking in front of the high officials of the university, as well as the executive invitees and international audiences, to tell her that he was in the process of divorcing his veterinarian wife. She meant like, yes, she indeed still held that romantic feeling for him even though it was over for them as he decided to marry that girl when she was not in the country. And yes, she mostly failed to show that he was still that guy she had a crush on where she was supposed to get over him years ago. But Baekhyun was just a distraction, so yeah, maybe that's why she could spot that guy easily from where she stood.
Or maybe, it was because this particular man didn't make that face which the others would show when they heard about her education and career history. As the moderator recited her CV to the audience, she saw many heads turned to talk about it with the person sitting next to them, some of them cringed or showed an exaggerated muffled squeal to her summa cum laude on her double major degrees, but this guy was nodding his head listening to the moderator seriously with a small smile on his face. As if he mentally said that he was proud of her handful of achievements.
Their moment started when she was talking about the racial issues and cultural discrimination against Asians in the West while sharing an unhappy encounter she once experienced with a Trumpist coming from a racist background when she traveled to Singapore three years ago. One which involved hate speech towards a specific Chinese when she was Korean. On the question and answer session, one of her students from the International Relations department asked the first question.
"Professor Kim, I'm Kim Jongho from your Contemporary Law class, I hope you still remember me." she went from a nod to his introduction to scoff by the friendly address. It's nothing flirty though, or maybe it was, but she didn't take it too seriously.
Being a young professor on the campus had its perks in getting a friendlier relationship with her students, she was aware of how famous she was in this department. She was prominent in making a very boring class into some real fun, even the used-to-be unpopular class like the previous The Western Heritage subject managed to get a full house when she was in charge.
She had no idea if it was about her age or her method because all she did in the class was just have a discussion, tell stories, and make jokes with the students. But maybe those were exactly what made her likable when she tried to involve the students in every subject of the class and listened to them talk instead of the other way around. It felt like they were having a study group discussion among their peers.
"Your question, Kim Jongho?" she asked.
"Well, pardon me, Professor Kim. It's a little out of topic, but since we talked about the Chinese, I came to recall one of your lectures talking about Chinese democracy. So, why do you think China's government lets its students go abroad? Aren't they afraid they will come back as people prefer the freedom of information and democracy?"
She couldn't help to look at Baekhyun at the time. The man was smiling at the question and it was a coincidence since they had once discussed it when she wrote a paper on China's economic invasion of Asia early this year. She caught the look of the guy next to him, who showed a stoic face but seemed to wait for an answer from her.
"This question challenges the Western belief that democracy is the greatest treatment for everyone. I will even take it a step further; wouldn’t there be a brain drain if they found paradise and never wanted to go back? Humans are creatures of comfort and elsewhere who are always in need of cognitive resources and competence. It will take a day to discuss your question alone, but to answer it briefly, back in the old days of dynastic and feudal politics, particularly under the tyrannical and corrupt Qing which was seen as a foreign power, these people do go home with a revolution in mind. They follow distinct philosophies and are funded by several nations, including Japan; unusual bedfellows with varied motivations but some common aims. However, we must acknowledge that today's Chinese government is the outcome of a successful bottom-up revolution that overthrew the Nationalist government on the mainland. The Chinese people paid a high price for this, which spans five generations from the country's establishment as a republic. It considers itself the successor state to the whole history of the Central Plains. The question is whether it can carry out the Chinese people's mandate and restore China to its position as the apex of global civilization." she explained thoroughly. Baekhyun smiled wider at this.
"Sending students demonstrates faith in the system that these people will return, or will ultimately return, when the conditions are right. They appear to be highly confident in their ability to do this. We are not seeing an influx of political or economic refugees. Information restriction is only effective in closed societies when individuals are unaware of what is going on outside. It is self-defeating and fruitless if large numbers of people are continually on the move, traveling and settling outside the nation the majority of the time. A new metropolitan culture is emerging. If you don't speak or understand Mandarin, the lack of social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Google might limit your access to information. Within China, they have WeChat, Baidu, Weibo, and so on, which are as effective. They will be on a personal level. Personally, I do not believe that switching to Western-style politics would solve any of China's issues or accelerate their progress toward their goals. Chinese culture values the state's paternalistic role, which stems from their Confucian past. The Chinese's mobility opens up their intellect to many new ideas and direct exposure to various cultures, which may be preferable than relying solely on official sources of information, fake news, or rumor. For this reason, I think the question's central claim is false."
Jisoo ended her answer by gulping down a half bottle of water at the lectern. She saw how people were reacting to her long reply to the previous question. And she was about to cue the moderator to take more questions when the guy next to Baekhyun raised his hand. Jisoo nodded her head to invite him to speak.
"Hello, my name is Zhang Yixing." he said as he got the mic for himself, "And as you can see by my name, I'm Chinese." stating the obvious, which then invited people's laughter. "But I've been living here in Korea for about..." he paused to glance upwards, "A year and a half."
Jisoo raised her brow to his brief information, "For someone who has lived here for a year, your Korean is very fluent, Mr. Zhang. You might even speak better Korean than me." she joked, it's more directed to herself actually knowing that more than half of her life was spent outside the country, so she was quite surprised to see people laughed at it.
"You have no idea. I didn't get to sleep for six months to learn your language, Professor," he confessed stoically, and Jisoo couldn't help to chuckle. "Anyway, I'd like to address additional insights responding to your speech on discrimination and your student's question if I may?" Jisoo waved her hand to let him do so, and Yixing started to speak facing her and Kim Jongho alternately. 
"So, I believe I am the type of person you are talking about, Brother." he said to Kim Jongho, "I completed my BA and MBA from Harvard University, so I would speak for those going abroad to study and who can speak up for themselves. So, um, before I arrived to America, I did believe that the political model used by my country could effectively address the socioeconomic difficulties we face back home. However, after reading Yu Liu's book "Details of Democracy" and learning more about her works, I started to doubt what America had to say. This was especially true after I discovered that Yu Liu had a strong anti-establishment stance ever since returning from her doctorate in politics from Columbia University. Unlike prior materials I've read, she seeks to address large, abstract subjects like 'democracy' and 'freedom' through personal experiences and minor but vivid figures in daily life, which makes her argument much more compelling. I met and spoke with those from a variety of backgrounds throughout my five-year study in America. Sure, I'm moved by this country's variety and the peaceful coexistence of humanity. I also appreciate having unrestricted access to all accessible information. However, this does not detract from my growing distrust of the government's official claims. I'll tell you something: Chinese people have a romanticized picture of Western nations and people in general. And I believe that spending a few years living in a Western nation is the greatest "cure" for this romanticism."
By this moment, Jisoo was watching how all the heads now were directed to Yixing. He was the living proof of the answer they needed for Kim Jongho's question. And she couldn't help to be mesmerized by his charm as he delivered his speech. He was calm and collected, he knew exactly what he was saying. She had never seen him before, but she was sure, the way he brought himself to speak up publicly, she could see he had used to this. He's probably an advocate or an activist. And if it was any help at all, he was very good-looking.
"One of the reasons the Chinese regime is unconcerned about overseas students bringing home a positive portrayal of the Western world is that racial and cultural discrimination is still a major issue in the Western world, and the terrible experiences that Chinese students had during their studies may easily convince them that the West is riddled with various forms of discrimination. I’m not exaggerating here, and discrimination can take many forms. The waiters may not greet you as warmly compared to how they do Caucasian-looking customers; as an Asian, you are more likely to be shouted at by a drunk than if you are White-looking; among all tenants, you may be singled out and warned not to mess up the kitchen simply because you are Chinese, and Chinese have 'dirty cooking habits'. I believe that many Chinese students have had some of these experiences. Asians often face to such severe prejudice and injustice that some of the positive parts of their civilization are practically erased, leaving them with an awful memory of how they were treated. What justification do I have to give this nation a favorable grade if democracy and freedom have not improved my personal, day-to-day life in comparison to my home country?"
Jisoo couldn't hide her smile listening to him seconding her opinion. The fact that there was also a representative of the American embassy and some of the American participants in the room didn't stop him from exposing his thoughts on the issue just showed how critical his thinking was.
"Professor, I have a question for you." Yixing was back to her and proposed a new query. "It's also out of topic, but since we're talking about this Chinese issue, is there a possibility that you put your mind into consideration to be my mother's daughter-in-law? They said intelligent men owe their brains to their mothers, so I believe my mother would be happy to welcome you into the family."
While the audience started to buzz in laughter and the various reactions of disagreement came from some of her male students in the participants' crowd, she couldn't hold her chuckle at the out-of-nowhere question. She tried to hide her embarrassing feeling, acting like it was a normal question in front of hundreds of people in the hall. But she was sure, the blush on her face was unmaskedable. But for almost a minute she let the hall filled with the people's various reactions, Yixing, on the other hand, stood firmly facing her with a smile on his face, waiting for her turn to speak. She almost couldn't believe that even the rector applauded him for doing so. She heard her students squealed something like, 'No, don't answer that!' or someone else said, 'Get in line, Man!' as if the question was worth a serious reply, but Jisoo knew better. As the audience was calm enough, she was about to open her mouth to say something when Yixing held up his hand,
"Wait, stop. Don't say anything. I know what you're going to say, so please save the embarrassment for me this time." he said which reaped a lot of laughter. "It actually relates to the last point I previously stated. Indeed, I miss the days when I didn't have to use a VPN to access Google, and just because it was useful for my work. However, a VPN is not difficult to get your hands on, so there is no major concern here. Some argue that VPNs limit 'freedom of information', implying that China lacks such freedom. To those who believe this logic, I have a question for you. When was the last time you saw some good news about China in the mainstream media?" he paused for a moment or two to see people's reaction, which was more of turning heads and knowing smiles.
"The question may appear overly broad. Let me clarify. I've seen a lot of ludicrous and even amusing questions about China. Some are caused by trolls, while others are simply due to a lack of knowledge about the nation. They have some misconceptions about a nation that the majority of them have never visited. However, when they do visit the nation, they would often be amazed to learn that China is both secure and attractive, with spectacular railways and other infrastructure. And most AMAZINGLY," he emphasized, "The Chinese government allows its citizens to live freely, if not more freely than Westerners. There are various forums and movies on the internet, such as YouTube, where Western visitors express their opinions of China before and after their visit. Check it out and you'll know. Studying or living abroad does not qualify you to be an integral part of a free democracy, which I believe is a cliché concept. Did you hear me proposing to your beloved professor? I mentioned my mother TWICE in it, and it doesn't happen when you're a people who prefer the freedom of democracy." Yixing ended his speech with the audience's applause, it only died down after a full two-minute moment.
"Thank you, Mr. Zhang. That's an excellent insight." she proposed.
And as he returned the mic to the committee staff, he caught her gaze and threw her a wink for a response.
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*Another Disclaimer*
Racial issue and cultural discrimination is a sensitive case, all the mentioned materials above are written for fictional purposes only. I have no intention of making leading comments or offending any party involved in it. No hard feelings. *peace fingers*
I gather the materials for Jisoo and Yixing's speech by the academic experts from various places so some of the mentioned above are not mine, again, purely written for the fictional purpose only. Apart from this certain discussion, all written clause is mine.