CH 14.2

Kim Inja pulled on her clothes and walked outside. It was a fairly warm day, but with her skinny, aging body, she knew that if she were to take the cold air unprepared, she would be chilled to the bone.

Walking around the neighborhood at dusk was one of her few indulgences. Kim Inja walked slowly with her hands clasped behind her back.

The neighborhood was quiet. It made sense since she had lived in the neighborhood for a long time, but it might be a little spooky to those who were new to the area. It wasn’t a narrow alley or a poor hillside village with broken stairs per se, but the houses around the street were old and the cement brick walls spilled debris.

It had been more than 20 years since the city was promoted from district to city and the neighborhood from village to town. This neighborhood, away from the center of the city, had fallen behind. The commercial area was left undeveloped, and all the young people who were ready to get a job went elsewhere.

Growing old in the same place she was born and lived brought a bittersweet feeling. She did have nowhere to go, but at her age, it was unimaginable to think of moving somewhere else. Reminiscing about her life, she took a turn at a corner. Then, she saw a man standing in front of a blue gate of a house.

The man, dressed in a suit, gray coat, and unruffled hair, was looking at the house beyond the blue gate.

He looked lean, but because of his height and attire, he looked intimidating. Kim Inja wondered if he was a creditor. She was convinced of it because the man who lived in the house was a drunkard, a gambler, and a debt-ridden scumbag. However, it had been a while since the man had been home, so the creditor was apparently coming in vain.

Being older, it was tempting to meddle in. Kim Inja approached the man.

“Are you looking for the owner of this house?”

The man turned his head and looked down at Kim Inja. The first thing that caught her eyes was the fierce sanpaku eyes. Kim Inja clicked her tongue inside.

They were eyes of misfortune. But his face was too handsome to be judged by his eyes alone. He was attractive and handsome, but his eyes were the downside.

“Good evening. Do you know this family well?”

“Of course I do.”

“Do you also know about the son?”

“Jiho? Did you come to look for him?”

Oh, my. Did he get into a problem? Kim Inja recalled the sour and cold face of the little child after a long time.

“He’s been out of here a long time.”

“I know. I’m taking care of him.”

“Is that so?”

Kim Inja blinked. Taking care of him? She scanned the man from head to toe. She wondered if he was a man with a proper job. He looked fine and normal, but she couldn’t guess the reason he was taking care of that child.

As if he noticed her gaze, the man closed his eyes and smiled. He looked quite amiable when he smiled, making her think that he should always smile. The man took out his business card, and Kim Inja accepted it before she knew it.

“I can’t see the text.”

“I am Yeon Woojeong. A prosecutor.”

“A prosecutor? Mr. Prosecutor?”

“Haha. Yes.”

A prosecutor. He looked different after she heard that. Well, such a face with a strong impression should do that kind of work to cancel out his unlucky life.

“I have something to ask, ma’am. And if it’s fine with you, can I get some tea?”

“To me? Alright. Let’s go.”

Kim Inja led the man to a small store in the neighborhood. There was a wooden bench in front of the store, so it was perfect to sit and have a chat over a drink.

“Are we not going somewhere warm?”

“I feel comfortable here.”

The man bought warm ssanghwa tea and handed it over to Kim Inja. Kim Inja warmed her hands through the warm bottle and opened her mouth.

“Are you going to look for the child’s mother?”

“Is his mother here?”

“Not anymore. She left around the time he started middle school. But a couple of years ago, she came here.”

“… It must be when the child is no longer here.”

“Yes. She came quietly and asked where the child was. I told her it has been a long since the child left, and she cried her eyes out. Oh, I think she gave me her number back then…”

“Can you tell me her number?”

“I think I left it in a drawer. I’ll give it later to you. The child must be happy if he meets his mother.”

Kim Inja nodded, looking at the man who smiled tepidly. She was worried about the child disappearing like that, and sometimes, she couldn’t sleep when she thought about him. She felt so relieved that the child had met a prosecutor and was living well. The child would get in contact with his mother, and she felt that she could breathe easily now.

“I want to ask about the child’s father.”

“Hmm. About what?”

“Did the child’s father beat him often?”

“Augh, don’t even get me started.”

Kim Inja shook her hand. She told about how often she heard frightening noises at the front of the blue gate when she took a stroll at sunset. She shuddered as she recalled the small child, wondering if the father didn’t realize he was hitting his own child.

“But at first, he didn’t hit the child. He only beat his wife to death.”

“Did something happen?”

“A police car suddenly came over. Why would a police car come over to this small neighborhood? Everyone then went to take a look. It seemed that the child couldn’t hold on any longer and made a report. It was when he was so little. When he was in grade school. But what did the police know? “Please don’t do that, sir.” They only said that and left.”

Kim Inja clicked her tongue as she recalled that day. The eyes of the man who had cowered in front of the policemen changed as soon as the police car drove away. The look in those eyes still sent chills down her spine. 

After looking at the air for a while, Kim Inja turned her head to look at the man and was surprised. Looking at the face that perfectly turned cold made her think that he was really a prosecutor who caught bad people.

“Anyway, after that, the child’s mother left, and with those small hands, he took care of his food and did his laundry by himself. I felt very sorry for him, so sometimes, I would call him and give him some bread. He would look at me like this, say thank you, and run away quickly as if he was afraid I would take it back.”

Kim Inja was moved to tears because it still broke her heart to think about it. Both father and mother were cruel to the child. But the neighborhood was not rich in kindness, and there was not much the old granny could do, so all she could do was buy bread when she had a little extra money and give it to the child.

“Then there must be a lot of people who saw the child being beaten?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Do you know when the child left the home?”

“I know. I remember that day very clearly.”

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It was a winter day when the setting sun seemed to burn the sky and smeared it with blood. The child was squatting near the blue gate.

The small, skinny body was covered in bruises. It was said that his father went home drunk after an early morning rampage at the gambling site.

The child stared into space, his eyes out of focus. The corners of his mouth burst open, pooling with blood.

“Hey, Jiho.”

The child looked up. Kim Inja was sad that the child stayed like that at such a late hour, so she decided to meddle in further.

“Do you want to sleep in granny’s house today?”

It wasn’t hard to give away a small room. The child stared at Kim Inja, blinking slowly, then he wiped the corners of his lips with the back of his hand and stood up.

The child bowed his head roughly. He then turned around and walked away, staggering. That was the last time she saw him.

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“I’ve been thinking about it ever since. But I’m really glad that he met you, Mr. Prosecutor. He’s doing well, isn’t he?”

“… Yes. He’s doing well.”

“I see.”

The man, looking down, fiddled with his interlaced fingers. After a period of silence, he asked.

“Are there any gambling houses around here?”

“Huh? No. It’s not that kind of big place.”

She talked too much in front of the prosecutor. It was said people get silly as they grow old. Kim Inja took a sip of the ssanghwa tea and looked elsewhere. She didn’t want to make a scene in the neighborhood. 

“Is that so? I like to play hwatu, so I asked because I was intrigued.”

The man grinned. The man with a playful face looked somewhat young. He looked friendly when he made such a face. She wondered if her grandson was the same age as this man.

Kim Inja chattered as she found someone to talk with after a long time. The cold of winter couldn’t be felt in the warmth of a human being.