Van’s Grief and Renewed Attachment

Van’s bereavement remains unresolved even as Yuna and the Oki household draw him back into affection, responsibility, and the possibility of a future.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Family He Lost

A Life Emptied by Loss Wife and son remembered Van carries the deaths of his wife and child as a wound that makes ordinary life seem meaningless. In war, he expects to spend his remaining life for his comrades. Death as a chosen horizon The Lone Antlers’ vow gives his despair a public purpose. He can face battle because he believes it may carry him toward his lost family.

Yuna in His Arms

Tenderness Returns A living child After finding Yuna beside her dead mother, Van cleans and feeds her. Her warmth makes the corpse-filled kitchen feel briefly inhabited by life. Grief remains present Yuna does not replace the child Van lost. Instead, her dependence awakens an affection that exists alongside old sorrow, giving him a new responsibility without erasing the past.

The Wish to Watch Her Grow

A Future Becomes Desirable Attachment deepens Van watches Yuna grow from toddlerhood and recognizes that he wants to see her become an adult and a mother. The desire surprises and frightens him because it reverses his old expectation of death. Roots without cure Life with the Oki gives Van peace, but it does not heal his bereavement. Love becomes a reason to continue, not a substitute for what was lost.

Before Van’s capture

After the mine escape

During the second autumn in Oki