‘Hold on, just what the hell d’you think you’re doing?’
‘What, indeed? Hurry up and cut the deck.’
‘You switched cards!’
‘Ha, you’re crazy. Stop acting like a child, and let’s see your cards.’
The Baron angrily slammed his hand down to reveal the two maple cards. Bak grinned and slowly turned over his own hand: gwangddaeng. The big, round, white sun printed on each of the cards shone into the Baron’s eyes, prying them wide open. While the Baron was picking up the March sun card and the August sun card, trying to figure out which one had been switched, Bak stuck both arms out to rake in the pile of baduk stones. The Baron lost his temper and flipped the table. Hwatu cards and baduk stones and soju glasses and snacks went flying in all directions.
‘You no-good son of a bitch! Are you crazy? You wanna die?’
Of all the men there, Bak was the biggest bruiser and most ready for a fight. He grabbed the Baron by the collar, hoisted him up, and headbutted him in the face. The Baron fell on his bum, eyes spinning and seeing stars, blood running from both nostrils. He groped around on the floor and grabbed something and then, as he stood, he drove the object into Bak. Bak looked down glassy-eyed at the knife sticking out of his stomach. He looked around at everyone in the room, the look on his face seeming to say, How’d this knife get here? He grabbed the Baron and they fell to the floor together. The Baron’s upper body was drenched with blood spurting from Bak’s stomach. The other men hurriedly rolled Bak over and pulled him off the Baron.
The unit leaders from the Co-operative sector ran to the management office to summon an ambulance and call the police. The whole place filled with the loud wailing of sirens and flashing red lights of the arriving police car and ambulance. Bugeye’s mother missed all the commotion, but Bugeye and Baldspot squeezed through the crowd in time to see the Baron being stuffed into a police car in handcuffs. The spectacle drew not only the people who were outside drinking in the clearings throughout the shantytown, but even people who’d been fast asleep in their shacks. And yet, accidental deaths were not uncommon, and patrol cars screeching up because of some brawl was likewise commonplace, and so no one was very surprised. Few nights went by without at least a couple of people getting three sheets to the wind and throwing punches at each other.
The Baron had already been carted away by the time Bugeye’s mother heard the news from the woman next door, but all she did was stare down at the bridge that led to the riverside expressway and did not say a word. Worried, Bugeye pushed open the door to the Baron’s room to check on her, but she turned her back and quickly wiped her face.
‘It’s just as well,’ she said with a sigh. ‘He drinks too much, every single day, and when he isn’t fighting, he’s out somewhere gambling.’
Bugeye closed the door, but he could still hear his mother muttering to herself.
‘Aigo, I have the worst luck.’
Bugeye and Baldspot lay next to each other in the dark and didn’t speak. After a while, Baldspot exclaimed with a giggle, as if it had only just then occurred to him, ‘Dad got arrested!’
Bugeye was feeling sad for his mother, but Baldspot seemed almost gleeful that his own father had been taken away.
‘Does it make you that happy to see your father arrested?’
‘He’s a bad man. He is. My mum left, and then the next woman after her couldn’t take it and left, too. And now your poor mum … He’s bad. He hits me on the head every day.’
‘Did the other guy die?’
‘Probably. There was a ton of blood.’
Bugeye thought about his father. He did not know how long his father had to stay in that re-education camp or whatever it was, which claimed it turned people into new people before sending them back out into the world, but he thought about what it meant to become a new person. He’d wondered the same thing back when he first heard what happened to his father and had asked the mailman about it. The mailman said it meant following the straight and narrow. But what was the straight and narrow when you lived in a garbage dump? People bought things with money, did whatever they wanted with those things, and threw them away when they were no longer of use. Maybe folks like him had also been thrown away when they were no longer of use.
After a long silence, Baldspot swallowed hard and asked Bugeye, ‘Hyung, you get punished real bad for killing someone, right?’
‘Death penalty, I bet.’
‘What’s a death penalty?’
Bugeye shook his head in the dark and changed his answer.
‘That man wasn’t hurt that badly. He’ll get stitched up at the hospital and’ll be better in no time. Your dad will be back soon.’
Baldspot lay there quietly for a moment before rolling away from Bugeye. His constant sniffling started to bother Bugeye, so Bugeye asked him, ‘Are you crying?’
‘Yeah, I can’t stop thinking about my mum.’
Bugeye suddenly felt choked up. He rolled towards Baldspot and patted him on the shoulder.
‘Go to sleep now. It’ll all be better in the morning.’
The next morning at dawn, Bugeye awoke, got dressed for work, and waited outside for his mother, but the light stayed off in her room and she did not come out. Maybe she was still asleep or not feeling well. When he got to the sorting area, Hard Hat had the crew all gathered together.
‘Your mum’s not coming?’ he asked Bugeye.
‘She’s sick. Could I work on the first line in her place?’
‘No can do. You’re underage.’
Hard Hat was standing in as crew leader for the Baron, and as he glanced around, one of the women from the second line spoke up.
‘Of course she doesn’t have the heart to work today. I guess I’ll just have to take her place.’
‘What? Why do you get to? I’ve been here longer than you!’ said one of the men from the second line.
‘She and I are both women. That’s why.’
The other women from the second line started to raise a racket, but Hard Hat held up his hand and motioned for them to stop.
‘Enough! Knock it off, everyone! She can take the first line for today. Now, let’s get going. The trucks are coming in.’
Hard Hat jumped into the headlights of the oncoming line of trucks and ran ahead, shouting, ‘A little further, a little further!’
Bugeye’s mother didn’t show up for work until late in the afternoon. Her face looked haggard, but she was probably reluctant to miss out on the higher-priced items that came from the factories and construction sites, and decided to make a late run for those items at least. Bugeye watched her work: her back looked like it would break from the strain. Before, whenever her rake caught on some scrap metal or rusted rebar that refused to budge, the Baron would come running to help her free it. This time, Bugeye found himself rushing forward to help his mother, but before he could reach her, Hard Hat was already there, smoothly plucking out the piece of scrap iron that had stayed her rake and tossing it behind him. Bugeye picked it up and set it aside.
‘Did you hear?’ Hard Hat asked.
‘Hear what …’
‘The guy they took to the hospital, he’s not dead, but he lost his intestines. They’re calling it attempted murder, so our crew leader won’t be getting out any time soon.’
Bugeye’s mother raked away at the trash and did not respond. She fished out a scrap of vinyl and a plastic window frame, and tossed it behind her.
‘Maybe you should go visit him.’
Bugeye’s mother finally paused and stared at Hard Hat.
‘We’re not family, so how can I?’
‘What do you mean you’re not family?’ Hard Hat thoughtlessly said the first thing that came to his mind, ‘Just tell them you’re his sister, or his live-in girlfriend …’
As his voice trailed off, Bugeye’s mother replied calmly, ‘I m
ean we’re not legally family.’
Hard Hat sidled up closer to Bugeye’s mother, as if he’d liked the sound of her answer.
‘I hear he’s at the local police station. You should take the kids. Just tell them you live together, or that you have a—what’s it called?—common-law marriage? The cops know how it is out here, so they’ll let you see him.’
Bugeye’s mother dropped her rake and sank down into a squat. Hard Hat gestured sympathetically as he kept trying to explain.
‘Do you get what I’m trying to tell you? Think about it. Not to be blunt, but it’s not like you’ll be getting any sort of alimony or compensation. I bet he has money stashed somewhere. A cheque account, at least. If you look after him while he’s in jail, he’s bound to help you out in return when they throw him in prison for good.’
Bugeye’s mother looked up at Hard Hat.
‘Where do I go?’
‘You’ll have to go to the management office first and find out what’s going on, and then you’ll be able to take the boys with you to the police station. You should leave tomorrow morning.’
Bugeye listened to every word of their conversation. When they returned home late in the evening, his mother prepared dinner for Bugeye and Baldspot, but only ate a few bites herself.
‘Don’t go to work in the morning,’ she told Bugeye.
Bugeye already knew the plan, but he kept eating and didn’t respond.
‘You boys have to go into town with me tomorrow.’
‘Just take Baldspot,’ Bugeye said cautiously.
His mother thought it over for a moment and then turned and lay down without saying another word. Bugeye quietly cleared the table and took Baldspot into the other room. As soon as they sat down, Baldspot asked, ‘Hyung, why am I going into town?’
‘To see your father.’
‘I don’t want to. I’m not going.’
‘It’s going to be a long time before you see your father again, man. Is that what you want?’
‘I hope he never comes back.’
‘Well, Mum is taking you, so you better go with her.’
They spread out their blankets in the dark and lay down. Just like the day before, they were quiet for a long time.
‘Hyung, do you ever think about that place we went with the dokkaebi?’
Bugeye didn’t just think about it sometimes. Very often, while working away at the mounds of garbage, he would picture the scene by the riverside, and have to stop and look around, only to be scolded by his mother and the Baron to get his head out of the clouds.
‘I guess. Did we dream it?’
‘No, I spotted them a few times after that, as floating blue lights. Can’t we go live there?’
Bugeye felt a vague yet unmistakable stab of fear as he thought about how to answer Baldspot’s question.
‘We’re people, and they’re dokkaebi. That’s like asking why we can’t live with fish.’
Baldspot rolled over and let out a long, very unchildlike sigh.
‘I guess we have to keep living here with the trash then.’
The next morning, Bugeye’s mother brought buckets of water over and scrubbed herself clean, and then gave Baldspot a good scrubbing as well, changing the water in the basin twice before it ran clear. They both changed into their going-out clothes and headed to the management office so she could inform them that she was off to visit the Baron in jail. The employee gave her a pitying nod and asked, ‘Did you remember to bring your ID card?’
Bugeye’s mother kept opening her wallet and double-checking that her ID was inside, while the employee rummaged around in a desk drawer and pulled out a business card.
‘This is the detective in charge of the case. If you talk to him, he’ll arrange a visit.’
Bugeye’s mother took the business card, tucked it carefully into her wallet next to her ID, bowed deeply from the waist, and left the office looking much brighter and more confident than when they’d entered. She and Baldspot walked down the dusty unpaved road and across the bridge. They caught an intercity bus into town, where they found their way to the police station, asking for directions as they went. At the front door, she showed the detective’s card to the guard on duty.
‘I’m here to see this person.’
The young, uniformed guard checked the name on the business card and said, ‘Go to the security division.’
Bugeye’s mother wandered up and down the hallways swarming busily with people until she finally found the door marked Security Division and cautiously opened it. Another young man, a detective this time, dressed in a leather jacket, was sitting facing the door. He frowned and said, ‘What is it?’
‘I, uh …’
He took the business card from her and shouted over the partition behind him.
‘Detective Yi! Someone here to see you.’
A well-built middle-aged man in a shirt and tie appeared, and looked Bugeye’s mother and Baldspot up and down. He sniffed the air, as if to say he could tell who they were from the smell.
‘You’re from Flower Island? Come this way.’
Behind the partition was an ordinary office with desks and filing cabinets, but many of the seats were empty. There were only two other people there besides the detective. They looked over once, but didn’t interfere.
‘Sit down.’
Bugeye’s mother and Baldspot sat down timidly, perched right on the edge of the folding chairs, their heads hanging down. The detective mentioned the Baron’s name to the colleague sitting across from him.
‘Is that investigation still going?’
‘It just started. Probably three or four more days.’
‘What a pain in the arse …’
‘Stop complaining. That place is a gold mine.’
‘Yeah, a gold mine for trouble …’
Detective Yi turned back to Bugeye’s mother.
‘What’s your relation?’
‘I live with him. This is his son.’
Her voice was barely audible, but the detective seemed indifferent, as if he’d seen it all before.
‘Common-law marriage, you mean. Typical. I’m always warning you blue-collar types about that sort of rough living. That arsehole you’re with needs to grow up.’
He called someone in another department, and gave a long explanation. He sounded irritated as he said, ‘There’s only so much to investigate. We know the facts of the case, and we already have statements from the witnesses. He’ll change his tune once he meets the family. This is my jurisdiction, so that’s why I’m asking for your help.’
He stood with a grunt.
‘Come with me.’
He took them over to the holding cells, took Bugeye’s mother’s ID, and filled out a visitation form for her, handed it to the uniformed officer, and then explained to Bugeye’s mother: ‘Next time, this will all be automatic. You can come straight here and hand in one of these forms.’
As the detective turned to leave, he reached his hand out to pat Baldspot on the head, but the boy quickly ducked out of the way. The detective stood there a moment, his hand hovering in mid-air.
‘Why, you little—you’re as rotten as your father.’
Bugeye’s mother and Baldspot entered the visitation room. Since it was just a small county jail, the visitation room was nothing more than a table and four chairs in a glorified broom closet next to the holding cells. After a brief wait, the guard brought the Baron in, handcuffed, and looking very rumpled and ragged. They all sat down at the table.
‘You came to see me,’ he said to Baldspot, sounding entirely unlike his usual self.
Bugeye’s mother asked, ‘Are you okay?’
‘Yeah, sure, I guess. What’re you doing here?’
‘Don’t worry about things at home. I’ll look after the boy.’
‘Sorry.’<
br />
He sounded depressed, like he was already a changed man. They were both quiet for a moment, and then Bugeye’s mother spoke again.
‘Is there anything I can do for you? Maybe bring you some food …’
He chuckled.
‘The food here is actually pretty good. Don’t worry about that, but you could put some money in my commissary account. I left something at the office.’
‘What did you leave?’
‘My bankbook and my seal for signing papers. I’ll write you a letter of proxy so you can get it for me. And if I were you, I’d use this chance to pay the permit fee to move over to one of the private sectors.’
‘Thank you. But shouldn’t we hire a lawyer?’
For the first time, the Baron looked angry.
‘Goddammit, we don’t need those sharks. I got drunk and did a bad thing. Why complicate it?’
The guard, who had been taking notes the whole time, stood and said, ‘Visiting time’s over.’
As the Baron turned to leave, Baldspot burst into tears. The adults were startled by the boy’s reaction. His father stared down blankly at the boy for a moment, then said:
‘She’s your mama now. Be good …’
He left, and Bugeye’s mother tried to calm Baldspot down, but the boy’s shoulders shook from the force of his weeping.
5
Christmas was coming. The other kids Baldspot’s age were spending all of their time crowded into the church school, but for some reason or other Baldspot insisted on helping Bugeye with work. Kids weren’t officially allowed near the dumpsite, as it was too dangerous, but Baldspot stayed glued to Bugeye’s side anyway, from afternoon until late into the evening. The only shift he skipped was the early-morning one. He turned out to be quite adept at carrying baskets full of scavenged items, separating the items into different categories, and stuffing it all into sacks.
Familiar Things Page 11
