Yom Sang-seop - Three Generations

“Aren’t you having anything? After all, you did take the trouble to pawn the coat to come here,” Gyeong-ae commented to break the lull in their conversation.

“Of course I will. It’s my treat today.”

“I can’t drink today.”

“Why?”

“I have to go somewhere.”

“Where? If it’s a nice place, can I come along?” Byeong-hwa’s smile was disarming. Gyeong-ae returned the smile but shook her head regally.

His mind leapt to Sang-hun. To his astonishment, he was consumed with jealousy and was determined not to let her get away.

Gyeong-ae decided to sip a drink to kill time. Byeong-hwa didn’t try to discourage her, hoping that she wouldn’t leave if she got drunk.

Byeong-hwa told her how he’d made the manservant take off his coat, and they laughed together.

“Though threadbare, it must have brought honor to his entire clan. I did something inexcusable. He must have gone out to the avenue and shown it off to his friends. Maybe even danced around with joy. What a shame.”

“Then why don’t you recover the pawned coat and return this one to him? I’ll buy you drinks, as many as you want.”

“I’ve been thinking of doing just that, but actually I didn’t come here because I was dying to drink.”

“Then what are you dying for?”

Sensing he was being mocked, Byeong-hwa changed the subject and resumed questioning her about Deok-gi and his father.

She wouldn’t offer any explanation and just said, “You’ll know soon enough. I’ll tell you when the time is right. I need to get to know you better first.”

“What do you mean? Do you want to make sure I’m the kind of person who’d keep your secrets? Is that it?”

“That’s part of it. ”

This woman was a riddle. Is she educated? Is her consciousness elevated enough to become my colleague? Is she merely interested in me sexually? Or does she want to use me as a way to get to Sang-hun, believing that I’m one of his or Deok-gi’s lackeys? She has nothing to gain from me, so why is she acting this way? Most women would sulk after learning that I’m the kind of person who takes an overcoat off a manservant’s back. She’s so different from other women.

“Don’t you need to get going?” It was Byeong-hwa who finally brought it up.

“Eventually. But won’t you come along with me?” Gyeong-ae seemed a bit inebriated now.

“Where? Count me in if it’s a nice place.”

“Why would I be going if it weren’t a nice place?”

“Is it out of the way?” Byeong-hwa asked lightly.

“It’s out of the way, all right.” Gyeong-ae smiled.

“Only you and me?”

“Of course, only you and me.”

“Who are you going to meet?”

“Whoever.”

“This doesn’t make any sense.”

“Stop talking. You can tag along if you want to. It ’s a great place.”

“Now that I’ve come to know you, I see you’re quite a delinquent, aren’t you?”

“Yes, yes, a delinquent. A serious delinquent.” She laughed and disappeared into a back room.

All the guests had left the bar. Byeong-hwa poured himself a drink as if he were enjoying himself. Gyeong-ae took a long time to change her clothes before she reappeared.

She approached Byeong-hwa and sighed, “There’s not a delinquent worse than me, going around drinking when her child has to fight for breath.”

“Child? You have a child?”

“The Virgin Mary gave birth. Why shouldn’t I have a child just because I’m single? It’s more difficult and modern to make a baby alone than when two people do it together.” Gyeong-ae loved to mock Christianity whenever she had the chance.

“It must be difficult, but if you want to be modern, the child’s father should wash diapers, while the mother goes barhopping. That’s the way it should be. But what was this about the child being ill?”

“Yes, she’s ill.” Gyeong-ae pulled out a Western medicine bag from her coat pocket, her face suddenly plaintive. “I carry this medicine with me.”

“Where’s the child? How can it be that you don’t have time to give her medicine? Let’s go to the child first thing. I’d like to take a look at the child’s father, too.”

Inwardly, Gyeong-ae was amused; Byeong-hwa had no idea they already were on their way to have a look at the child’s father.

Out in the street, Byeong-hwa kept going on about the medicine, but Gyeong-ae sped ahead of him, and told him to shut up.

As he tagged along, his first thought was that she was on her way to meet Sang-hun. But then why would she want to drag him along? Had she made an appointment with Sang-hun while drunk? Following her might not be a good idea in that case.

When they arrived at K Hotel, Gyeong-ae told him to wait outside a minute and ran into the building.

Byeong-hwa wondered if she was pulling his leg. Were they actually there by themselves? In that case, he was ashamed to enter the hotel the way he looked. The thought that Gyeong-ae frequented a place like this filled him with contempt for her. Although he imagined that modern girls behaved this way, it was disenchanting to think that Gyeong-ae was no better than the average. But if there wasn’t anyone waiting for her, Sang-hun or no Sang-hun, why had she been in such a hurry? Then again, why should he care? As he watched, Gyeong-ae, who had gone into the office, came out to the edge of the veranda with a maid and motioned to Byeong-hwa, who was standing in the dark, to come in.

As Byeong-hwa took off his worn-out shoes, he thought he should have shined them before leaving home. Like a hapless hick, he followed the two women into a secluded hallway with butterflies in his stomach.

The maid stopped in front of a Western-style door at the end of the hall. A pair of slippers was lined up neatly, toes facing them. It came as a surprise, as if he had been lied to. Byeong-hwa was about to say something to Gyeong-ae, but before he had a chance she turned the doorknob and flung open the door. He wasn’t prepared to see a Korean wall screen in the room; it felt as though he had stepped into a strange dream.

As he peered into the room from behind Gyeong-ae, Sang-hun’s flushed, smiling face came into view. His smile promptly dropped from his face, and his eyes flashed with menace, which he quickly masked with a wide smile.

“Welcome. Come in.”

What humiliation! I shouldn’t have come! thought Byeong-hwa. But he entered the room with his head held high and burst out laughing. Why should I be humiliated? He’s the one who should be ashamed of himself!

Byeong-hwa said, “It’s as if you duplicated your room at home. It’s really cozy, and it looks like a perfect place to drink with a beautiful woman in your arms!”

“That’s why I invited her.” Choking down his embarrassment and fury, Sang-hun let out an empty laugh, steeped in bravado.

“Now that I’ve brought you a drinking companion, I’m leaving,” said Gyeong-ae.

Sang-hun didn’t know what was going on. Byeong-hwa found himself in an even more difficult position.

He said, “You brought me here without a word. What am I supposed to do if you leave? It was ridiculous of me to have followed you without knowing that you two were meeting here. Please don’t go. I’m going to leave soon.” He held on to her.

“Who says I’m leaving because of you? I need to bring the medicine home.” For the benefit of Sang-hun’s ears, Gyeong-ae spat out, “Do you think I’d sit here with a drunk when my child is gasping for breath?”

“Then why did you bring me here? Please sit down. If you just tell me where you live, I’ll deliver the medicine on my way home.”

“Thank you, but why would you want to go there? You said you wanted to take a look at the child’s father, didn’t you? Then take a good look at him and keep him company for me while he drinks.” A grin crept across her face; she seemed to be making fun of both men.