Yom Sang-seop - Three Generations

As for his relationship with Byeong-hwa, Deok-gi reiterated what he had stated from the start. He said frankly that his actions were based on friendship; he wanted to help his longtime friend, who’d been hungry and roaming around town after leaving his parents’ house. Deok-gi also had hoped to draw Byeong-hwa away from his radicalism. But the detectives weren’t ready to accept his explanation, given the plethora of leftist literature found in his Kyoto boardinghouse. They wouldn’t swallow his explanation that he had read them as part of his economics studies. That day, they didn’t pay much attention to Deok-gi, who lay down in the duty room and fell asleep.

Geumcheon believed that the way to get to the bottom of the poisoning case was to hand over the Suwon woman and her cohorts to the Judiciary Police for further questioning. As for the matter of Byeong-hwa and Gyeong-ae, he was sure that something was bound to come out if he pressed Gyeong-ae’s mother.

“My daughter must have met Byeong-hwa at the bar. I’m disgusted that he dragged me into all this. Do you think my daughter is stupid enough to get involved with someone of his ilk? He’s so full of himself! Please release my daughter and lock him up for ten years.” As Geumcheon proceeded, he grew more skeptical when he learned that her husband had been a notorious independence movement leader. Besides, she was Christian, not an old-fashioned woman who couldn’t comprehend his questions. Geumcheon braced himself for more denials.

When the conversation shifted to her family, she mentioned that her brother had fled to Shanghai and hadn’t been heard from since, which increased the detective’s doubts. He was circling, waiting for his chance to pounce.

“What’s your brother’s name?”

“K___. He deserves to be killed.”

Geumcheon’s eyes bulged out of their sockets. He hadn’t given Gyeong-ae a thorough going-over yet. He had been so busy asking about her relationship with Byeong-hwa that he had no idea what her family background was. He felt sure that it had influenced her actions.

“What about the individual who visited a while ago? Is this person still staying with you?” asked Geumcheon, assuming a sweet expression, as if he were inquiring about a friend of his.

“Who? My sister-in-law? She’s still with us.” It was true that one of the cousins on her husband’s side had been staying with her for some time.

“No, the fellow your brother sent.”

“Do you expect a thief to suddenly change his mind and send someone? He earned money and used it just for himself. He hasn’t sent a penny in ten years, even while his family was starving. He’s a good-for-nothing who ran away with my money, the money I got from selling my house.” She feigned absolute ignorance.

He, of course, had phrased his questions to see how she would react, but his suspicions grew when she sounded too collected, though her reply was plausible enough.

“Where’s your brother’s family?”

“They live in Hyeonjeo-dong, but I’ve never been there.”

“I don’t know how much of your money he took, but a brother and sister shouldn’t cut ties because of that, should they?” Geumcheon surmised in his impeccable Korean, grinning.

“So you must have nephews.”

“Two.”

“Are they old enough to make a living?” One might think he was genuinely concerned.

“Yes. The older one is already nineteen, and the younger one is sixteen or seventeen.”

Detective Geumcheon would bring them in for questioning.

A man, clad in Korean clothes and a winter hat, interrupted them. “Are you busy? It’s rather urgent.”

“I took them to three different places for appraisals, and they all had exactly the same response.”

“Yes?”

“That they’re foreign made, but are neither from Shanghai nor from the United States.”

“Then where are they from?”

“From Russia, of course.”

“Where did you put them?”

“Here.” The man glanced at Gyeong-ae’s mother, seated across from Geumcheon. She could see that the newcomer was concealing something beneath his overcoat, but she was unable to follow their Japanese.

Geumcheon felt no need to keep it under wraps. “Let me take a look.” Extending his hand, he shot Gyeong-ae’s mother a quick glance. When Gyeong-ae’s mother saw the pair of worn-out shoes he pulled out, her head jolted back in astonishment. The detectives exchanged a glance, overjoyed. Gyeong-ae’s mother now knew that they had her cornered. She felt dizzy but fought to stay alert.

“You recognize these shoes.” Geumcheon took on a menacing expression. “Whose are they?”

“What are you talking about?”

The underling charged toward her and grabbed her by the shoulders. She was thrown to the floor, moaning; he kicked her a few times for good measure.

Jang Hun had been under surveillance, and as he was higher in the group’s hierarchy, he was brought to the station a day after Byeong-hwa. After the recent melee between Jang Hun and Byeong-hwa, Geumcheon had noticed an unfamiliar pair of shoes under the outer quarters’ side veranda at Jang Hun’s. He had been visiting the house frequently, as part of his rounds, so it was strange to find these old shoes lying around, though there hadn’t been any recent visitors. Furthermore, Jang Hun was never seen wearing them. Soon after his arrest, the shoes were taken to several haberdasheries for examination.

The detective had already searched the house. Ready to charge both Chiang Kai-shek’s and Kim Byeong-hwa’s factions with anything he could come up with, he knew that he must seize this opportunity to root out both bands of radicals. Geumcheon found it odd that in the aftermath of the recent fight, the two groups showed no outward signs of hostility. They do say that people grow closer after a quarrel.

“You called Jang Hun and Kim Byeong-hwa to your house so they could meet the visitor from Russia, didn’t you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why are you doing this to a foolish old woman? I know nothing.” Gyeong-ae’s mother pleaded desperately.

“I don’t mean that you did,” he thundered. “Your daughter did!”

“My daughter wears makeup and perfume and wanders around at night as if it’s broad daylight. That’s all she ever does.” Gyeong-ae’s mother was used to these investigations because of her husband, and she deliberately made her voice shake. She wasn’t actually ruffled, but those damn shoes had made her flinch.

That fool! Why didn’t he just put them in the trash if he didn’t want to wear them? Why did he have to bring us all this grief?

“Then why does your daughter live with someone like Kim Byeong-hwa? Does he sell face powder? Or perfume?”

“How would I know? She must have followed him around blindly because he’s handsome and tall. How would I know if that good-for-nothing is made of horse bones or ox bones?”

“You’re quite the orator, aren’t you? You must have learned that from your husband, the esteemed Mr. Hong, no?” But then Geumcheon lost his mocking tone: “You recognize these shoes, don’t you?”

“If I did, I would tell you. Why would I lie?”

“Perhaps you’re right.” Geumcheon looked to his subordinate, who barked, “Stand up!”

Gyeong-ae’s mother sprang to her feet, trembling all over.

“You’d better confess the truth if you want to be treated well,” said the underling under his breath.

Ten years ago, she had suffered such indignities several times because of her husband. Now her knees buckled and her legs trembled violently with the sudden fear that she was being dragged away to undergo the same humiliation. But what could she do? If she told them what she knew, her daughter would fall into a living hell. The mother braced herself, vowing that she would never allow her Gyeong-ae to wither away in prison for years, even if she had to die on the spot.