I handed out the quota for today and we all went to work. During my inspection rounds, I was again relieved to see everybody work harder than I had ever seen them work before… even when Mr. Ma was in charge.
On a full stomach, I could also work harder. The magic water did its part as well… as always. I didn’t talk to Nari for the rest of the day, but as usual - and without getting a single thank you - I had to fill the part of her quota she couldn’t do herself. Luckily, I managed to negotiate a lower quota for myself with Chul since I had my duties as the leader now… Chul also knew about the arrangement I had with Nari.
I hated every moment I was forced to talk to Chul, which in my new role as the work unit leader was several times a day. No matter how guilty he looked every time we were face to face, or how much he seemed like an innocent little boy who was completely out of place, I forced myself to savor the images of him being crushed by the large cogwheels in the watermill or slowly drowning in the river under the enormous waterwheel. Luckily, his constant reminders to also fulfill my duties as an informant - which, supposedly, should be easier in my new position - helped fuel my hatred.
I spent the lunch break with Jun Ha as far away from Nari as possible - but still keeping her in my sight, just to make sure she didn’t get into any trouble with the others. He told me again what a good job I had done the night before and asked me how I felt.
“Is Hana… always like that?” I asked him instead of answering.
He laughed.
“Basically… yes,” he said. “But you also have to understand how devastated she was when Hyuk got her best friend killed and took over the gang she had created with her brother. Now that she’s back… all thanks to you, I might add,” he winked at me, “she wants to make sure there is no uncertainty about who is in charge… so she’s overdoing it a bit.”
I could relate to that, but it didn’t make me like her any better.
After having finished my soup - which today didn’t contain more flavor than warm water - I conducted another round and went to the guardhouse to give Chul the half-day report. Walking along the sidewall, I heard voices and laughter from the road around the corner. I swallowed, feeling my breathing becoming shallow, but continued forward. All of a sudden, I heard them mention Nari’s name. I froze, pressing myself against the ragged wooden wall as if that would make me invisible.
“Hey, Chul… isn’t it time you do a reprise of your recent conquest?” one of the voices said. “That Nari girl was pretty compliant, wasn’t she? I should have tapped that when I had the chance.”
They all laughed.
“Nah,” I heard Chul say. “It took me a month to heal after the last time.”
Another outburst of laughter.
“Well… maybe next time you don’t get wasted and try with a taekwondo master… there’s no need to show off, you know… just go directly for the weak ones like the rest of us.”
I recognized this voice as well - it was Chang Min - and it ignited another round of laughter.
I was burning up inside as the scenes they were talking about played before me in my mind.
“So what do you say, Chul… will you have another go at her?”
“Nah… honestly speaking, she’s too ugly. Next time, I want a real fox… maybe one of those girls working at the Chrysanthemum Garden.”
“Oooh… you’re brave,” another guard said. “I think all of them are spoken for by one of the higher-ups… so you’d better be careful.”
Another round of laughter.
“Okay, let’s go back to work,” Chang Min said after a moment of silence. “Anyway, all I hear from you guys is a whole lot of talking… but I don’t see a whole lot of action.”
“Well, we can’t all be studs like you, Chang Min,” they laughed as they walked off in different directions.
I ran and hid behind the opposite corner before one of them would spot me, panting from rage and adrenaline.
I waited several minutes, breathing deeply and slowly to regain control over myself before going into the house like nothing had happened. Even though I tried to keep a straight face, Chul was utterly shocked to see me. I knew he wondered if I heard what they had talked about, but I didn’t let anything on. Even if it wasn’t much, it gave me a sense of satisfaction to see the sweat pearling on his forehead.
You’re going to pay, you bastard… soon you’re going to pay!
CHAPTER 43
The fragrance of sweet, newly-harvested corn was in the air, and since the whole work unit had worked harder than usual, we finished well ahead of time… and that was despite several workers having to stop to kick a pestering Lucky out of the field no less than three times. I felt relieved to finally have something positive to report, and was in a fairly good mood as I set off to find Chul, even though I could not block out the jokes and laughter about his exploits over my baby sister only a few hours earlier.
Now is not the time… he will pay soon enough!
Halfway to the guardhouse, Hana intercepted me from the main road. She looked more relaxed than usual and her eyes were not as intimidatingly large as most times she looked at me. She even smiled.
“Hey, Areum… how are you doing?”
“I’m okay,” I lied, steaming from the re-emerging memory of last night when she had pushed me into the fighting ring and then prompted me to take Dong Suk’s life.
“Good to hear. And how are your workers behaving today? No more problems, right?”
“No… they’re all afraid… and they’re working harder than I’ve ever seen them before… they have already finished for today, actually, so I’m heading over to Chul to report the good news.”
“That’s great, Areum… good job! But don’t do that.”
Once again I became flustered with anger.
What is she up to this time?
“I mean… it’s truly great what you have accomplished, but you shouldn’t let Chul know… he’ll be forced to give you a higher quota for tomorrow… or expect you to perform like this every day… and then you’ll have another problem on your hands.”
I nodded, even angrier since I knew she was right.
“So go back to the workers and tell them to pretend to work for another hour… and that from tomorrow, they should fill the quota by the set time, not sooner and not later. That should make them happy and your life easier… and Chul will still consider it a success when you come and report in an hour… okay?”
“Okay,” I nodded, increasingly annoyed by the fact that every part of my life lately seemed to be dictated by this tall girl with large penetrating eyes.
“Great,” Hana winked at me and turned around to leave. “I have to go up to the cave… apparently something has happened…”
“Hey… Hana,” I called out to her.
She turned around, surprised. I wasn’t sure how to phrase it, so I just blurted it out.
“H-how much power do the Dragons have in here?”
Hana was amused by my question and walked back to me.
“Now that I’m back in charge, I can do almost anything I want,” she whispered. “What did you have in mind?”
I looked at her smug face, which reconfirmed the impression I had gotten the night before. I leaned over to her.
“Can you also… get somebody out?” I asked in a barely audible whisper, looking her straight in the eyes.
All her smugness washed away in an instant.
“No,” she answered flatly, “and get those stupid ideas out of your head… that’s something that can really get us into trouble.”
“Okay… I’m sorry… I just thought I’d ask,” I mumbled, disillusioned.
At least now I know her powers have limits…
I went back to instruct the work unit, and they didn’t protest. Hana had been right… again.
Nari gave me a judgmental look - she had seen me talking to the girl who had tried to turn me into a murderer - but then looked away. I didn’t pay her any attention. As the o
thers in my unit pretended to work, I strolled around in that tall, unharvested part of the field, letting the large, soft corn leaves caress my face. I didn’t know how long the peace would last… how long they would continue to be afraid of me and the Dragons… and not even what Hana was planning for me - but I was no longer afraid. The sun, for once, felt good on my bruised face, although my cracked lip and eyebrow stung slightly. The images of the killed newborn baby being tossed like garbage, and my mother, naked in the arms of General Roh tried to enter my mind, but I managed to gently block them out.
I deserve at least one brief moment of peace… just one… for all I know, this could be the calm before the storm…
One hour later, with the evening sun commencing its descent behind the mountain ridge, I went to the guardhouse to report the complete fulfillment of the quotas. Chul was extremely pleased.
”Good job, Areum!” he said. “I knew you could do it.”
To my horror, there was a warm feeling spreading through my body despite the fact that the praise came from Chul. I fought it tooth and nail. I mumbled thank you and stormed out of the guardhouse as quickly as I could, barely hearing Chul once more reminding me I had yet to inform on anyone this week. Outside, I almost crashed with Hana. She looked flustered, her eyes under the long straight bangs were again bulging.
“Come,” she said. “We have an emergency… you have to come with me to the cave.”
“What happened?” I asked as I rushed after her without protesting. I had to struggle to keep up with her fast pace - my whole body was still aching from last night’s fight.
“It’s one of our guys… Ho Jin… he got sick… we need to help him.”
“Okay,” I panted, “but I don’t think there’s anything I can do about it… I’m not a doctor.”
“We’ll see… let’s talk about it when we get to the cave.”
I was angry she again withheld information from me, but I followed her nonetheless.
She’s the one pulling all the strings now…
The cave smelled of disease and loud coughing echoed against the uneven stone walls. A fire crackled in the middle of the main cave room. I saw the same faces as I had seen the other night when I fought against Hyuk and his posse, out of which only his girlfriend - Yo Suk - had left with him. I hadn’t heard anything about them since. Jun Ha was also there. He was kneeling over an older boy around Hana’s age who was lying on a blanket next to the fire. He looked pale and was sweating and coughing, holding a large piece of cloth over his mouth.
“How are you doing?” Hana asked.
“The infection is getting worse,” Ho Jin said before being interrupted by another intense cough attack.
“He says he needs antibiotics,” Jun Ha looked up at us.
“What’s that?” Hana asked.
“Some kind of medicine… it fights infection,” he said, and after seeing the confusion on my face, he added, “His parents were both doctors… and Ho Jin himself did one year at a medical university before ending up here… so he knows what he’s talking about.”
I nodded that I understood, but then reflected over what Jun Ha just had said.
“Medicine?” I said. “There’s no medicine here… at all. I’ve been in the so-called hospital… there’s nothing there… absolutely nothing.”
“There’s nothing for us,” Hana corrected me, “but trust me… they take care of their own. This… anti-stuff… does it work?”
“Works every time,” Ho Jin panted from the ground. “I’m certain the guards have it… at least the officers must have it.”
He was interrupted by another cough attack.
“Ho Jin told me he’s seen some shipments coming in that he thought were medical supplies,” Jun Ha said.
“That’s great news… so, where do they keep it?” Hana asked.
“In the… other hospital,” Ho Jin panted in between gasping for air.
“What other hospital?” I furrowed my brow. “I’ve never heard of another hospital… or another doctor, for that matter.”
“It’s the same doctor,” Hana said. “He has another facility in the Chrysanthemum Garden… for the officers, in case they get sick… they must keep some medicine there.”
She turned to Ho Jin, waiting for his current cough attack to finish.
“What are your chances without the medicine?”
“Zero, I’m afraid,” Ho Jin panted.
Hana nodded.
“And… how much time do you have… you think?” she asked.
“Not long. Maybe until tomorrow… if I’m lucky,” Ho Jin said. “The infection is spreading fast.”
“Okay,” Hana nodded and turned to me. “Areum… you’re our best shot… and you have already broken into the Chrysanthemum Garden once. You will have to go and get that medicine… the anti… anti—”
“Antibiotics,” Jun Ha helped her.
“Right… the antibiotics,” Hana’s face was slightly flushed.
Stunned, I looked around the room at all the other able-bodied, young people there.
“Why me?” I asked. “I’m far from being the biggest or the strongest person here.”
“We don’t need big and strong,” Hana said. “We need somebody who has been there before, and who is stealthy and limber… you’re a professional athlete, right?” I nodded, painfully remembering the distant tryouts for the Great General’s National Gymnastics Team… that Su Mi had helped me cheat in. “And you’re a taekwondo master as well, right?”
“Not a master,” I shook my head, almost laughing. “I mean… I have competed in it, but—”
“I have seen what you can do,” Hana said. “When you fought Chul and Chang Min… how you fought Dong Suk yesterday… and when you stole the rice from the heavily guarded granary… if you wouldn’t have made that last tiny mistake, it would have been a perfect crime.”
“That last tiny mistake made the whole guard force chase me up the mountains,” I reminded her. “If you wouldn’t have come along, I would be dead now.”
“Mistakes are what we learn from,” Hana smirked at me and tapped my shoulder. “Next time you simply won’t make them. But you’re absolutely right… I did save your life that time… I advise you not to forget that.”
My heart pounded furiously in my chest. She had saved my life that time… but it doesn’t make up for not saving Nari from being raped. I frantically looked around the cave room. Everybody’s eyes were fixed on me.
“Hana… can I talk to you… er… alone… outside?”
Hana didn’t look pleased, but she nodded and took the lead walking out of the cave into the cool evening air. The pale crescent moon glowed softly behind the light clouds above us. She gave me a serious look.
“Areum… I know you are new to this… that’s why I’m going to let this slide… just this once.” I looked at her without understanding. “You can tell me whatever you want when we’re alone… but when we’re in front of other people… the only thing you will give me from this moment on is absolute loyalty and obedience. Is that understood?”
“Is what understood?” I scoffed. “You don’t tell me anything… you pushed me into a fight yesterday… now you drag me into a cave and tell me to break into the Chrysanthemum Garden again. And what do the Dragons even do? I have no idea what you expect from me… am I like a normal member now, or—?”
“You’re not just a normal member,” Hana put her hand on my shoulder. “You’re my right-hand girl… I need you… and I need your absolute loyalty.”
I crossed my arms and glared at her.
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll work on keeping you in the loop better… but I’ve only been back a couple of days, you know… it’s been kind of crazy for me too.”
I bit my lip. Hana had some uncanny ability to make it impossible for me to stay angry at her for long.
“And how about your part of the deal?” I asked.
“You mean—?”
“Chul. When are we going to ta
ke care of Chul? I don’t see anything happening with that.”
Hana sighed and took a step back.
“It takes time, you know… I just regained my power… and Hyuk’s out there lurking… and there are still some doubtful looks around… people waiting to see if I will slip up and make a mistake… we have to let it settle a bit first, that’s all.”
“No, we don’t,” I said firmly. “I need this to happen now. He needs to pay for this now!”
“Well, you’ll just have to wait… be patient… and for now, let’s go in there and plan how we can steal those anti… anti… whatever they’re called.”
She turned her back to me and headed for the entrance of the cave, but I didn’t move.
“Ho Jin is dying,” I said. Hana stopped dead in her tracks and turned back around to me. “If I don’t do this, he will die.”
“What are you implying?” Hana scanned my face.
“I’m just saying… that saving Ho Jin is very urgent… and taking care of Chul is also very urgent… for me and my sister.” Hana took a menacing step toward me, her intense eyes fixed on mine. “I just want you to promise me that we’ll take care of Chul… soon… and if you do that, I’ll run off to save Ho Jin right away.”
My whole body was burning up inside and I felt my face twitching as Hana’s face hovered mere inches from mine.
“I don’t like being threatened,” she spat.
“I-it’s not a threat,” I said. “It’s our agreement… I helped you because you made a promise… now you need to deliver on that promise.”
“Be careful, Areum… be very careful.”
“So… do we have an… agreement?” I asked, unable to turn away from her hypnotic gaze.
“We’ll start putting the wheels in motion next week,” Hana said. “Good enough?”
I couldn’t help but sigh with relief, and I didn’t care that she noticed.
“Yes… that works for me,” I said with a slight tremble in my voice from the adrenaline. “Thank you.”
The Weeping Masses: A Young Adult Dystopian Survival Saga (Juche - Part 3) Page 38
