Ky was a soldier for the North Vietnamese Army who crossed paths with Kien at the very beginning of the war. At the time, Kien was frantically looking for Phuong. The other men in Ky’s unit teased him by claiming that she was off having sex with other soldiers. Kien was so enraged that he pulled a gun on the man who made this joke and then ran off in search of Phuong. Ky and Kien encountered each other later in the war, but Kien didn’t recognize Ky, and Ky didn’t want to shake his focus by mentioning anything about their last meeting. Later, though, Ky wrote to him and informed him that Phuong had come looking for him shortly after Kien ran off. His letter brought Kien great hope for reuniting with Phuong after the war.