Min Lee - Pachinko

Yangjin turned back, and Isak walked beside her.

After Isak finished the letter to his brother, he rose from the low table and opened the narrow window in the front room. Isak pulled the crisp air deep into his lungs. His chest didn’t hurt. Throughout his life, everyone around him had talked about his early death as a certainty. He had been sick as an infant and throughout his youth with serious ailments in his chest, heart, and stomach. Consequently, little had been expected of his future. When Isak graduated from seminary, even he had been surprised that he was alive to see such a day. Oddly enough, all the talk of his inevitable death hadn’t discouraged him. He had become almost inured to death; his frailty had reinforced his conviction that he must do something of consequence while he had the time.

His brother Samoel, the eldest son, was never ill, but he had died young. He had been beaten badly by the colonial police after a protest and did not survive the arrest. Isak decided then that he would live a braver life. He had spent his youth indoors with his family and tutors, and the healthiest he had ever been was when he attended seminary while working as a lay pastor for his church back home. While alive, Samoel had been a shining light at the seminary and their home church, and Isak believed that his deceased brother was carrying him now, no different than how he had done so physically when Isak was a boy.

The middle Baek brother, Yoseb, wasn’t religious like Samoel or Isak. He had never liked school, and at the first opportunity, he had struck out for Japan in search of a different life. He had taught himself to be a machinist and now worked as a foreman of a factory in Osaka. He had sent for Kyunghee, the beloved daughter of a family friend, and they were married in Japan. They didn’t have any children. It had been Yoseb’s idea for Isak to come to Osaka, and he had found him the job at the church. Isak felt certain that Yoseb would understand his decision to ask Sunja to marry him. Yoseb was an open-minded person with a generous nature. Isak addressed the envelope and put on his coat.

He picked up his tea tray and brought it to the threshold of the kitchen. He had been reminded numerous times that there was no need for him to bring his tray to the kitchen, where men were not supposed to enter, but Isak wanted to do something for the women, who were always working. Near the stove, Sunja was peeling radishes. She was wearing her white muslin hanbok beneath a dark quilted vest. She looked even younger than her age, and he thought she looked lovely as she focused on her task. He couldn’t tell if she was pregnant in her full-bodied chima . It was hard to imagine a woman’s body changing. He had never been with a woman.

Sunja rushed to get his tray.

“Here, please let me take that.”

He handed the tray to her and opened his mouth to say something but wasn’t sure how.

She looked at him. “Do you need something, sir?”

“I was hoping to go into town today. To see someone.”

Sunja nodded like she understood.

“Mr. Jun, the coal man, is down the street and will be headed to town. Do you want me to ask him to take you?”

Isak smiled. He had been planning on asking her to accompany him, but he lost his courage suddenly. “Yes. If Mr. Jun’s schedule permits it. Thank you.”

Sunja rushed outside to get him.

The church building had been repurposed from an abandoned wood-frame schoolhouse. It was located behind the post office. The coal man pointed it out to him and promised to take him back to the boardinghouse later.

“I have to run some errands. And I’ll mail your letter.”

“Do you know Pastor Shin? Would you like to meet him?”

Jun laughed. “I’ve been to a church once. That was plenty.”

Jun didn’t like going to places that asked for money. He didn’t like monks who collected alms, either. As far as he was concerned, the whole religion thing was a racket for overeducated men who didn’t want to do real work. The young pastor from Pyongyang didn’t seem lazy, and he had never asked Jun for anything, so he was fine enough. That said, Jun liked the idea of having someone pray for him.

“Thank you for bringing me here.”

“It’s nothing. Don’t be mad because I don’t want to be a Christian. You see, Pastor Baek, I’m not a good man, but I’m not a bad one, either.”

“Mr. Jun, you’re a very good man. It was you who led me to the boardinghouse on the night when I was lost. I was so dizzy that evening, I could barely say my own name. You’ve done nothing but help me.”

The coal man grinned. He wasn’t used to being complimented.

“Well, if you say so.” He laughed again. “When you’re done, I’ll be waiting for you across the street at the dumpling stand by the post office. I’ll meet you over there after I finish with my errands.”

The servant of the church was wearing a patched men’s overcoat that was far too large for her tiny body. She was a deaf-mute, and she swayed gently while sweeping the chapel floor. At the vibration of Isak’s step, she stopped what she was doing with a jolt and turned. Her worn-down broom grazed her stocking feet, and she clutched on to its handle in surprise. She said something, but Isak couldn’t make out what she was saying.

“Hello, I’m here to see Pastor Shin.” He smiled at her.

The servant scampered to the rear of the church, and Pastor Shin came out of his office at once. He was in his early fifties. Thick glasses covered his deep-set brown eyes. His hair was still black and he kept it short. His white shirt and gray trousers were well pressed. Everything about him seemed controlled and restrained.

“Welcome.” Pastor Shin smiled at the nice-looking young man in the Western-style suit. “What may I do for you?”

“My name is Baek Isak. My teachers at the seminary have written to you, I think.”

“Pastor Baek! You’re finally here! I thought you’d be here months ago. I’m so pleased to see you. Come, my study is in the back. It’s a bit warmer there.” He asked the servant to bring them tea.

“How long have you been in Busan? We’ve been wondering when you’d stop by. You’re headed to our sister church in Osaka?”

There was hardly any chance to reply to all his questions. The elder pastor spoke rapidly without pausing to hear Isak’s reply. Pastor Shin had attended the seminary in Pyongyang near the time of its founding, and he was delighted to see a recent graduate. Friends who had been at the seminary with him had been Isak’s professors.

“Do you have a place to stay? We could fix a room for you here. Where are your things?” Shin felt gleeful. It had been a long time since they’d had a new pastor stop by. Many of the Western missionaries had left the country due to the colonial government’s crackdown, and fewer young men were joining the ministry. Lately, Shin had been feeling lonesome. “I hope you will stay awhile.”

Isak smiled.

“I apologize for not calling on you sooner. I’d intended to come by, but I was very ill, and I’ve been recuperating at a boardinghouse in Yeongdo. The widow of Kim Hoonie and her daughter have been taking care of me. The boardinghouse is closer to the beach than the ferry. Do you know them?”

Pastor Shin cocked his head.

“No, I don’t know many people on Yeongdo Island. I shall come see you there soon. You look well. A bit thin, but everyone is not eating enough lately, it seems. Have you eaten? We have food to share.”

“I’ve eaten already, sir. Thank you.”

When the tea was brought in, the men held hands and prayed, giving thanks for Isak’s safe arrival.

“You’re preparing to go to Osaka soon?”