Slave Again

by Alana Terry

  Jae shone his flashlight around the room, looking for any clues. On the floor against the far wall he noticed a pool of blood, nearly dried but not quite. Next to it was a bundle wrapped up in some kind of cloth and propped up in the corner. Jae clenched his fist, strode toward the object, and turned down the top of the rag.

  Less than a minute later, he was back in the police car, swallowing down his bile as he raced back home. He couldn’t focus on anything but the two bodies from the broker’s cabin. Whenever he tried to think about anything else, his mind conjured up the grotesque images with merciless clarity. The drive back to Chongsong gave Jae time to make sense of what he saw. No matter how hard he tried to explain things, there was only one conclusion. It nauseated him even more than the carnage he witnessed.

  Sun had deceived them all. She wasn’t the innocent, pristine little sister he had set out to rescue. The dead baby bore witness. If the child was Sun’s, she had been carousing around behind her family’s back long before the broker found her in the park. She hadn’t been kidnapped or coerced away at all. Jae clenched his fists and remembered the infant’s pale blue skin.

  Sun had conceived a child.

  Jae hadn’t recognized the dead man on the bed. Was he the one who convinced Sun to leave with the broker? Was he the one who ruined his sister’s honor? His throat was clenched, ready to let out the roar that any moment might well up from deep within. However the scenario had played itself out, Sun wasn’t victimized. She willingly left with the broker. She wanted to leave with him.

  It was still dark when he arrived back in Chongsong. Jae parked the car behind the police building and had no problem returning the keys to the captain’s office. Once he got home, he spent a quarter of an hour washing himself. When his arms and hands were numb with cold, he leaned over and rinsed out his mouth. Could he ever bear the taste of food again? He spit the water out, leaned over, and retched. His baby sister ... pregnant? She was only a child herself, just beginning to mature. He thought about Sun’s apparent coming of age over the past several months, the budding figure, the developing confidence.

  Now he could explain it.

  And what about the broker? Jae had planned to seek him out, to punish him for deceiving his little sister and threatening her purity. He spat on the floor. What purity? His sister had already experienced the ways of lust and passion before she met with that acne-covered trash in the park. She was already corrupted, already pregnant, already living a lie and hiding her shame from the family that cherished her. And when she found out she couldn’t keep living under her parents’ roof without exposing that lie? She sought out a broker and arranged to escape.

  Something in the plans went wrong, though. Jae recalled the bloody corpse on the bed, the mangled chest that probably knew the softness of his little sister’s hair as she embraced her lover in the dark. Who had killed him? Perhaps the broker, driven by lust, had wanted Sun for himself. Jae rinsed his mouth out one last time. He recalled his mother’s tears when Sun first disappeared. Had the harlot even thought about what shame her behavior would bring to her family? Mother already toiled relentlessly to feed everyone. How could she be expected to carry the additional burden of her daughter’s shame?

  Jae glared down at the water bucket. He remembered last spring when he rescued Sun from the thawing creek. He should have let the river sweep her away to her death.

  Jae didn’t care what future Sun chose. With her lover dead, she would have no respectable way to provide for herself. So be it. Girls like that deserved far worse than a brothel. She could rot away in some shabby Chinese inn until she died, and Jae wouldn’t shed a single tear on her behalf. She was no sister of his. Jae heaved the water bucket outside.

  “Sun?”

  Jae unclenched his fists and took several breaths to calm himself as he approached Mother’s bedside. “No, it’s me.” He gripped the hand that reached out toward him.

  “Did you find your sister?”

  Jae swallowed down the pain in his throat and hid his sister’s shoe under his mattress. “Sun is dead.”

  CHAPTER 10

  “I’m so glad you’re home tonight. Do you know where Sun is?” Jae glared down at his sister’s schoolmate who stood outside his front door chattering like a squirrel in springtime. “They say she’s been taken across the border. Kidnapped.”

  Jae set his jaw. “You should know better than to go around spreading rumors.”

  She didn’t flinch. “You have to find her. You have to get her out of there and bring her back home.” She lowered her voice. “Some of my friends told me what kinds of things happen over there. What they make the girls do.”

  Jae stepped outside and scowled down. “Shouldn’t you be getting home before curfew?”

  She shook her head. “Sun’s so naïve. She’s ... inexperienced.” The girl flushed. “If what the other kids are saying is true, she won’t know how to defend herself. She’s ...” Sun’s friend covered her red cheeks with her hands. “She’s young.”

  Jae cleared his throat. “You don’t need to worry about Sun anymore.” He slammed the door and strode to his bed, digging his fingernails into the flesh of his palms. He swallowed down a furious growl and resisted the urge to tug out his hair by the roots. No sister of his would play the part of an innocent, loving child while hiding a shameful pregnancy from her family and her friends.

  Jae pictured the man in the cabin. The corpse lay with his eyes open, his expression indecipherable, neither anguished nor at rest. Was he the one who stole her away from her home and threatened to drown her family in shame? Jae regretted the man was already dead. If Jae had reached him first, it wouldn’t just be his torso that ended up butchered. Jae clenched his teeth. What had the smooth-complexioned, muscular man said to entice his sister to her ruin?

  He hung his head in his hands, sank down on Sun’s bed, and fingered her discarded shoe. Sun ... his own baby sister. His precious baby girl. How often had he sat up, telling her stories until she fell asleep? How often, during the worst of the famine so many years ago, did Jae whisper to Sun about the great life beyond, where happiness waited and feasts were held in abundance? They were lies, but they were merciful lies, and he fed Sun’s empty stomach with words and images of gluttonous plenty.

  Sun ... with that soft black hair, those unruly bangs, the rounded cheeks that remained plump even during the most extreme months of hunger. Sun didn’t know it, but Jae had twice risked his life by rushing over the frozen Tumen River into China to find food for her. Getting caught was a more bearable fate than watching his sister starve to death.

  He squeezed his eyes shut. How he had loved that child! He would have done anything for her, would have faced hunger or danger or even the gulags to ensure Sun’s protection. Didn’t she know Jae cherished her over anything else in the world? Didn’t she know it would kill Jae if she ever fell into harm? Could he really turn his back on her? Could he cut her out of his heart that flippantly? From her little corner in the cabin, Mother let out a pitiful moan.

  Jae threw his coat over his back. He would need it across the border.

  There was only one thought in Jae’s mind as he walked away from his parents’ home. He needed money. An awful lot of money. The captain at the police station was a rich man, probably the wealthiest in the entire village. Jae liked his boss, but he was on a nearly impossible mission. He couldn’t just walk across the border without a single won to his name and expect to find his sister. Waiting for complete darkness, he paced the woods near the captain’s house for what felt like hours. He didn’t know where the captain stored his cash, but he didn’t have the time to snoop around for a few days in hopes of catching him make a deposit. Sun and the broker already had a two-day lead on him. His sister wasn’t going to rescue herself while Jae sat around playing thief.

  When it finally grew dark, Jae pulled his hood over his hair and reached into his pocket for his makeshift mask. Whatever happened, he didn’t want to be recognized. He wasn’t sure
how much time he had left to reach his sister, but the night wouldn’t tarry forever, and neither could he.

  He lowered the mask over his face and crept through the window into the captain’s house. He made his way through the main living room, but by the time Jae realized the captain was waiting for him in the bedroom, it was too late. Jae grunted and stumbled as his boss’ ceramic jug cracked against his skull. A fist sped toward his head. Jae ducked. The captain reached for the mask but missed. Jae straightened up, flinging the full weight of his body against the captain’s shoulder. Both men fell to the ground, their mixes of curses and grunts awakening the captain’s wife and child. The woman held out her arms and called to her son. He scurried across the floor but Jae grabbed him before he reached his mother.

  The boy kicked and struggled in Jae’s arms. “Father!”

  The captain froze. His wife screamed again. In a swift motion, Jae pulled out the rope from his pocket and wrapped it around the boy’s neck. He kept it slack and put his lips close to the child’s ear. “Tell him I need two thousand won,” Jae whispered. The boy shuddered. “Tell him,” Jae repeated in a low snarl.

  “He wants two thousand won, Father.”

  The captain nodded at his wife. She scurried under the bed. Jae kept his eyes to the ground. A moment later, she emerged with a bundle of bills.

  “Count it out,” the captain demanded.

  CHAPTER 11

  No matter how bad it gets, it still beats life in the prison camp. The food was better, for one thing. Mee-Kyong didn’t have to eat bugs anymore. The pain sometimes threatened to knock her unconscious, but it probably wasn’t any worse than what Pang would have put her through if he were still alive.

  Why did it always come back to Pang? Why couldn’t she forget the soothing power of his voice or the silky touch of his skin? There was a time when his irresistible charm, even his possessive insanity, exhilarated her. When else in the gulag had she felt so alive? She couldn’t allow herself the luxury of missing him. He had been useful for one thing, and one thing only — survival. Pang’s extra rations got her through prison camp. And his jealous passion for her eventually got her out of it.

  Because of Pang, Mee-Kyong was free. At least, she would be once she found a way to leave the Round Robin. Having Sun there complicated things. Mee-Kyong couldn’t articulate why she cared about the unfortunate girl. If it weren’t for Sun, there was no way she would have agreed to work a double shift. And what good had it done? Sun would still have to go through her introduction as soon as Mr. Lee found a patron wealthy enough to purchase the child’s innocence.

  You should find a way to escape, fool, not waste your energy worrying about some pathetic child. Once she regained some of her strength, she could flee. But that would mean leaving Sun behind without anyone to stand between her and Mr. Lee’s hungry customers. Why do you care about her so much, anyway? Sun had never done anything for her. If Mr. Lee started working Sun right away like he initially planned, Mee-Kyong would only have half the customers to trouble over. Why should she worry so much about a little girl, a girl who had brought her nothing but torment?

  She couldn’t answer that question, even though it kept her awake at the end of each shift.

  One day you’ll thank me, little cousin.

  Mee-Kyong started to dress for the day but jumped up when Mr. Lee barged into her room. Red splotches stained his fleshy face, and drops of sweat beaded on his bulging forehead. “I hope your friend is worth ten thousand yuan.”

  She forced all emotion out of her expression. “So your little bidding war worked out in your favor?” Mee-Kyong spoke slowly and tied her bathrobe around her waist.

  Mr. Lee ignored the question. “She’s been adequately prepared, I assume?”

  Mee-Kyong fingered the nylon sash of her robe. “She’ll be ready in a few more days.”

  “She’ll be ready this afternoon.”

  She reached over for her comb and brushed her hair, taking pride in the way she could deliberately keep her hands from trembling. How many times had she lied to Pang? This would be no different. “You should let me have a little time with her first.”

  Mr. Lee chuckled mirthlessly. His entire midsection jiggled, and his lungs wheezed with the effort. “I gave you two whole days.”

  She shrugged. “Two days or two weeks, she’s still only a child.”

  “What do you think I’m getting paid for? An old hag dripping blood?”

  Mee-Kyong ignored the insult and fidgeted with her collar. “She’ll be nervous. She might make a mistake.”

  “That would not be so fortunate for you, Teacher.” Mr. Lee spat out the last word like a curse.

  Mee-Kyong imagined the expression on his adipose face if she plunged a knife into his heart. “Of course, I’ll continue to coach her so she’ll be ready for her meeting.”

  “Good,” Mr. Lee grunted, passing gas as he maneuvered his overburdened frame out the door. “I just hope her customers are more satisfied than yours.”

  Mee-Kyong lost track of how long she spent vacillating between her bed and the door once Mr. Lee left. What good had she done by giving Sun extra time before her introduction? None at all. Two days. A mere two extra days of childhood, but her fate was still the same. Mr. Lee was the only one who benefitted at all from Mee-Kyong’s plan, which gave him extra time to find the highest bidder.

  Her legs were as stiff as a statue of the Dear Leader himself, and just as heavy, as she made her way to Sun’s room, liquor flask in hand, sick with the realization that she had no way to help Sun escape. She couldn’t even help herself. In better health, she could probably sneak past Mr. Lee’s guards, but she wasn’t strong enough yet. She couldn’t run, and she certainly couldn’t fight her way out. One kick to the abdomen would drop her in an instant. In a month or two, she could run away. But what about Sun? The girl was nothing more than a child. She was a head shorter than Mee-Kyong, and just as skinny and malnourished as the sickliest of girls from the gulag. Mee-Kyong was only a few years older, but when it came to life experience, the difference could have been measured in decades.

  She couldn’t get Sun out, not yet anyway. The child would have to go through with her introduction. She eyed the small flask in her hand. At least she could help Sun forget for a few hours. But Mr. Lee would get his money’s worth out of the child after all. There was no other choice. At least not with Mee-Kyong still so weak from the delivery. She took a deep breath. She hadn’t told Sun anything yet. She had tried once or twice but always changed her mind out of pity. The girl had no idea what was about to happen to her. Mee-Kyong had been waiting, refusing to squelch Sun’s enthusiasm and naiveté until the very last moment.

  That moment was here.

  Her hand felt like it was weighed down with an iron chain as she lifted it to Sun’s door. She knocked even more loudly when there was no response. The poor soul was probably taking a nap, oblivious to her danger, dreaming about home and all the money she’d bring back to her adoring family.

  Go in there and get this over with, you stupid coward. Mee-Kyong couldn’t wait any longer. In just a short time, Mr. Lee’s bidder would come and claim his prize. There was no way to spare Sun from the fear and the pain, but at least Mee-Kyong could tell her the truth. The child deserved that much. She deserved to know what was about to happen to her. And the liquor could help her relax. Would Sun hate her after tonight? Mee-Kyong took a deep breath and lifted her chin. It was time to tell her everything. Beyond that, there was nothing else she could do. Not yet, at least. She cracked the door open and heard the child’s stifled sobs.

  She was too late.

  CHAPTER 12

  Sun curled up on the mattress and bit her lip to keep from crying out loud. The bitter drink Mr. Lee had given her made her legs heavy. Her head was spinning. How could this have happened to her? How could she have let everyone deceive her? It had only been two days since she crossed the border with Min-Ho. Two days waiting in a filthy hotel room, eating no better
than she had at her parents’ home. Two days spent locked up because her fat and blotchy new boss told her it wasn’t safe to venture out until he got her the appropriate identification papers. She had been so eager to start earning money to help her family back home. Then tonight Mr. Lee sauntered in, heaving around his enormous swell of a belly, and told her everything was in order. She was now a working woman.

  Sun scratched her cheeks until her fingernails were bloody. Maybe if she were disfigured ...

  “Horrible, isn’t it?”

  Sun jumped. She hadn’t heard Mee-Kyong enter. Before tonight, she had wondered why Mr. Lee gave them each their own room when they easily could have shared one large bed. Now she understood.

  “Mr. Lee told me you were starting.” Mee-Kyong covered Sun up with a heavy blanket but didn’t actually touch her. “It won’t always hurt that bad.” The words were so quiet Sun could barely hear them. She shut her eyes. She didn’t want to look at anyone. She didn’t want to face another human being for the rest of her life. Mee-Kyong lowered her face closer to Sun’s. “I got my bath tub ready for you. I thought you might want to wash yourself off.” She handed Sun a small flask. The acrid drink brought stinging tears to her eyes.

  Sun swallowed. Mee-Kyong reached out her hand, but Sun didn’t take it. Clutching the blanket around her shoulders, she staggered on uneven legs, certain a bath would never wash away her filth.

  ***

  Mee-Kyong knocked softly on the bathroom door as her mind blared accusations. It’s your fault she wasn’t prepared for this. You should have at least warned her. For a moment, she felt like she was at one of the nightly self-criticism sessions back at Camp 22. When there was no answer, Mee-Kyong considered just walking in. After all, privacy wasn’t a luxury Mr. Lee granted to his workers. Sun knew that now. Before long, anyone with money to spare could see her nakedness. Why should it matter if Mee-Kyong beheld the same?