Yom Sang-seop - Three Generations

Not knowing when his house might be searched, Jang Hun took the coat and shoes home and used them himself, but the weapon he kept hidden somewhere.

“But why did he have to beat a person to the brink of death?” Gyeong-ae still had her doubts.

“Before I left, Jang Hun quietly warned me to watch my back because his men might get carried away.”

“You’re so naïve! He could’ve easily talked his underlings out of mugging you.”

“And the others might have thought that the two of us had cooked up a scheme to share the funds. Jang Hun’s influence over his subordinates only goes so far. Besides, he was itching to have a full-fledged fight with me so he could let the world know that we had parted ways once and for all. Only then could we carry out our work comfortably. Things could be worse. Of course, it wasn’t so good for you and Pil-sun’s father.”

“Wasn’t so good? Luckily for you, I’m not the one with the broken rib.” An angry flame darted from Gyeong-ae’s eyes. “I’ve never been handled so roughly in my life. But even so, what kind of fool would stroll down a pitch black road at night in such circumstances?”

“I was actually thinking of turning back when I stumbled upon those drunkards. I actually never imagined that Jang Hun had made them do it. Only later at Samcheong-dong did I discover that he was behind it!”

Gyeong-ae erupted. “I don’t want to hear any more! Stop talking such nonsense and wake up! You’ve been tricked by Jang Hun once, but who’s to say he won’t deceive you again? Do you think you’ll be so lucky the second time around?”

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why? It’s clear that he’s just making something up so he can get all the credit. Can’t you see he wants to have his cake and eat it, too?”

“I don’t think so.” Byeong-hwa looked up at the ceiling.

“For all we know, Pi-hyeok could be half dead, lying in some jail cell groaning with pain. This Chiang Kai-shek could have pocketed a considerable amount by now.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“Your not believing it might get you killed! Before the night is over, a motorcycle gang will burst in on us, trust me!”

“That won’t happen,” Byeong-hwa tried not to waver.

Gyeong-ae paid no attention. “Let’s not stay here tonight.”

“That’s crazy. If you’re so worried, why don’t you just go home?”

“If we’re in danger, at least we’d be together if I stay. We’d still be in danger if I went home.” The telephone rang.

“It could be the hospital,” Gyeong-ae said, but her heart shuddered, as if she were alone in the dark after listening to ghost stories.

“Is Kin-san there?” The caller sounded Japanese. Gyeong-ae blanched.

“Who is this? Why are you calling?” Gyeong-ae replied stiffly.

“This is Geumcheon.” Gyeong-ae had met this man several times since the store opened. Lacking the composure to exchange greetings with him, she put down the receiver and rushed over to Byeong-hwa.

“Who? Geumcheon?” Byeong-hwa asked, still horizontal.

“What do you want me to say? Should I say you’re not in?” Gyeong-ae tried to hide her fear.

“I’ll take it.” Byeong-hwa grunted with pain as he raised himself.

Gyeong-ae changed her mind and thought it would be useless to say Byeong-hwa was out.

“It’s surprising you’ve already heard of — Yes, I have a little cut on the back of my hand. Well, they were drunk. If secret funds were so easy to come by, I’d be grateful for a small share of them.”

Gyeong-ae, standing beside Byeong-hwa, could hear Geumcheon laughing along with Byeong-hwa. Her face brightened, and she smiled, too.

“At nine o’clock tomorrow morning? I’ll be there. But there’s no reason to make them sleep there, is there? Please send them home tonight. Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night.”

As soon as Byeong-hwa got off the phone, Gyeong-ae grabbed his good hand, and asked, “Do they want you to report there tomorrow?”

“Yes. The drunkards have been arrested.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. The guy was making fun of me. He said I should have thrown a party instead of pocketing all the money myself. He asked me why I beat them up, saying I behaved like someone who not only refuses to give a beggar money, but breaks his bowl as well.”

“So they talked about the secret funds at the police station?”

“I’m not surprised. They could have said anything in their state. They’re being kept there overnight.”

“Good!” But Gyeong-ae wasn’t as delighted as she sounded.

It was almost midnight when Deok-gi called from the hospital to say that the operation had gone well and that he had decided to go home. At dawn, Byeong-hwa went to the hospital, leaving Gyeong-ae alone at the store. He felt obliged to visit the patient, and the bandage on the back of his hand needed changing; more importantly, he had to be at the police station at nine o’clock.

They didn’t open the store. Byeong-hwa wasn’t able to remove the plank door by himself, for his hand was throbbing even more violently than the night before.

On his way to the hospital, Byeong-hwa ran into Pil-sun on the street and told her to take the day off, but she opened the store in a hurry as soon as she got there. She had agreed with her mother to take turns minding it. Gyeong-ae rolled up her sleeves and did her share.

“How can we not open? We have regular customers. We’d better do what we are supposed to do, especially at a time like this.” Gyeong-ae cast a grateful, admiring glance toward Pil-sun.

“I can watch the store by myself if I can practice for an hour. Just tell me how much things cost and then go on to the hospital,” Gyeong-ae offered.

“I don’t know many of the prices myself.”

The two women, their worries forgotten, worked together in easy companionship. After a while, Won-sam trudged in. Byeong-hwa had gone to see him on his way to the hospital and had asked him to help out for the day. As soon as he arrived, he got straight down to business.

“You might not guess it from looking at me, but I can do anything. I can cook rice, I can boil soup, and I can even ride a bike if you want me to make deliveries. But I don’t know how to go around beating people up, like the master does.” Amid the young women’s laughter, Won-sam picked up a broom and busied himself.

After a flurry of morning customers, Gyeong-ae briefly left the store to check on her daughter and mother at home. As soon as she returned, Pil-sun rushed over to the hospital to relieve her mother.

Byeong-hwa still hadn’t returned from the police station.

At the hospital, Pil-sun stayed by her father’s bed until he fell into a deep slumber. Only then did she slip quietly from the room and gaze at the streets through the picture window in the corridor. Gwanghwamun loomed in front of her, standing tall in the mist of the field on the other side of the stream. The overcast day weighed heavily on Pil-sun, making her feel even more exhausted than she already was.

She noticed a few people flying kites on the frozen stream. Young children frolicked around them.

Today was still part of the long New Year’s holidays, Pil-sun realized. Until tomorrow they’ll be flying kites and bouncing on seesaws. She couldn’t remember the last time she had heard the creak of a seesaw. Unlike most young women her age, she’d grown up totally isolated from other girls and had never worn a New Year’s outfit or gone out to play during the first two weeks of the new year. For a long time, she stood listlessly at the window, melancholy rising within her. Sadness held a part of her while anticipation tugged at another. Her moods fluctuated like passing shadows or the drowsiness that invades you on a warm spring day. She felt like crying and laughing at once, as if she had just set her wedding date. Drifting through a fog, no particular thought remained in her head for long.