CHAPTER 35-1
333 Words
CHAPTER 35
“May I borrow a needle and thread?” Mee-Kyong hated asking Mrs. Stern for anything, but she forced herself to look into the American’s eyes.
Mrs. Stern stood up from her computer desk. “Of course. Is there something you need help with? Do Kennedy’s clothes need some more adjusting?”
Mee-Kyong wasn’t worried about her wardrobe right now. “They still work fine. If you don’t mind, I just need to fix something up.”
“Of course.” Mrs. Stern’s expression was duly curious, but she adjusted her glasses and backed away from the computer. “Is there a certain color thread you’d like?”
“Red,” Mee-Kyong answered. “If you have any.”
Once she was alone again in her room, she took Sun’s torn dress down from its hanger. She fingered the clingy nylon, toying with the lacy hem at the bottom. It wouldn’t fit her anymore. Even on near-starvation rations at the Round Robin, she had barely managed to squeeze herself into it. The dress had been made for someone much smaller.
Mee-Kyong threaded the needle. She had only been trying to help Sun. She hadn’t planned to make Mr. Lee so angry. The child didn’t want to get married. What was wrong with manipulating the situation? Everyone could have had their way ... Everyone. She tied the thread in a knot at the bottom. This is the perfect time to get sentimental. You’re the one who stood by and let that man slaughter Sun right in front of your own eyes. Mee-Kyong clutched at the torn section of fabric. She had tried. No one could accuse her of not trying.
Could they?
She stabbed the material and yanked the needle through the blood-red cloth. Stupid dress. She pulled the thread through until the end nearly snapped, and then she pierced the fabric once again. Stupid hotel. She closed up the knife tear with one tight jerk after another. The stitches were uneven, obvious, ugly. Stupid, stupid girl.
Half an hour later, Mee-Kyong sat hunched over the torn fabric, crying like a baby stolen from its mother.
***
- Writer
