Whispers of Refuge Box Set

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 20

“Get up. Now.” The proprietor barely managed to fit his girth through the width of Sun’s door. Mee-Kyong felt a chill on the base of her neck as he summoned the girl.

Sun glanced up tentatively toward Mee-Kyong, who gave her hand a pat. “Go on, little cousin. I’ll be here waiting for you.” Sun followed Mr. Lee out into the hallway, looking back once at Mee-Kyong. For the next thirty minutes, Mee-Kyong paced back and forth, her eyes continually darting toward the closed door. Why had Mr. Lee called her? Was he upset with her performance? Were her customers unhappy?

Mee-Kyong kneaded her abdomen. Two weeks after the delivery, she was now able to stand up tall without hunching over from the pain. Her breasts felt a little heavier than normal but didn’t ache like they had with her initial engorgement. She was tired, but that had as much to do with her schedule at the Round Robin as it did with the delivery. She should rest before her shift started, but that would be impossible while she waited for Sun to return. Besides, the scant sleep she could find these days was muddled with dreams of Pang. The method of the murder in her nightmares varied considerably, from drowning to strangulation to shooting. What stayed the same was that he always woke up right before she killed him. She was lucky if she got two hours of sleep at a time. It didn’t matter. Conditions had been worse in the gulag. Much worse.

She eventually stopped her pacing and sat on the bed, fidgeting with her sash and staring at the door. Would things be much different if Pang were still alive? Probably not. Her setting would change; she could go from place to place, but her work at the Round Robin was a lot like her life with the former National Security officer.

She jumped off the bed at the sound of the door’s soft creak and was halfway to Sun before the girl even entered the room. “What is it? What did Mr. Lee want?”

Sun’s lip quivered. Mee-Kyong shut the door behind her. When she brushed Sun’s shoulder, she felt the small shudder from the girl’s fragile figure.

Sun didn’t raise her eyes. “Mr. Lee says I’m to be married.”

Married. The word sat in Mee-Kyong’s gut like a rock. “What happened?” She took the girl by the shoulders and scanned her for signs of bruises or tears or trauma. Sun smelled of cheap perfume too liberally applied. Her hair had been done up already, and she had on more make-up than usual.

Sun’s right eye twitched. “There’s a rich businessman with a grown son. He came here tonight and made Mr. Lee an offer.”

“It must have been a pretty good offer.” Mee-Kyong hadn’t meant to speak the words out loud, but for a proprietor like Mr. Lee to even consider selling one of his star attractions would require an inconceivable amount of money. Sun had only been working in the Round Robin for two weeks, but she had already become the most sought-after of all the girls.

Sun bit her lip, but Mee-Kyong saw that it was still trembling. “I’m supposed to get myself ready.”

“You’re leaving tonight?” Mee-Kyong wanted to sweep aside the clump of overgrown black bangs that hung in front of Sun’s face, but she kept her hands on the girl’s shoulders as if she might hold her down indefinitely.

“Not yet. The father wants to make sure ... He wants proof that I’ll be ... adequate.”

Mee-Kyong bit the inside of her cheek to make sure her sense of repulsion didn’t creep into her expression. After a moment, Sun’s shoulders relaxed just a little. Mee-Kyong took a deep breath. “He must be very rich.”

Sun didn’t reply.

Mee-Kyong spoke slowly, examining the girl out of the corner of her eye to gauge her reaction. “And with all that money, he could probably do a better job than Mr. Lee taking care of you.” She waited for the girl’s muscles to ease up again before she continued. “A husband like that usually likes to buy his wife lots of pretty things. New clothes. Jewelry.”

“The son is already married,” Sun whined. “I would just be the little wife.”

Mee-Kyong made her voice sound as soothing as possible, the same tone she once used to assure Pang that she forgave him for his numerous outbursts. “Even so, it might be kind of nice to only have one man to entertain every night.”

Sun lowered her head. Cautiously, Mee-Kyong reached out and patted her back. She didn’t pull away. “I’m too young to marry.” Sun’s voice was choppy. “I’m too young to have a husband.”

You’re also too young to be working in the Round Robin. This time, Mee-Kyong kept the thought to herself. “What’s so bad about marrying, as long as he’s rich and can take care of you?” She crossed her arms. “It couldn’t be worse than it is here, could it?”

Sun’s shoulders shook. She didn’t look up. Mee-Kyong couldn’t understand what the girl was whispering. Sun had to repeat herself several times until finally Mee-Kyong made out the word baby.

“You don’t want to have a baby?” Mee-Kyong balked. “But you could already ...” She shut her mouth. Now it made sense. The poor girl didn’t even know. “You don’t want to get married because you don’t want to end up pregnant, is that it?”

Sun nodded. Mee-Kyong took a deep breath. “Listen, there’s something about what we’re doing here, about the work Mr. Lee has us do that you should know.” Sun wiped her tears with her tiny hand and blinked up at Mee-Kyong. “You say you don’t want to end up pregnant. But what you need to realize is that ...” She stopped herself once more. What could her words do besides pile yet another burden on Sun’s petite shoulders? Mee-Kyong stared past the girl’s ear. “You need to realize that marriage isn’t all that bad. Even if you end up having kids. When you’re with child, you know, your husband might not want you as often.”

“They say it hurts.”

Mee-Kyong shrugged. “What? Having babies? Old women just tell young girls that to scare them. It’s not actually true, you know.”

“Really?”

Mee-Kyong pretended to laugh. “Of course! Think about it. If delivering babies hurts so bad, why do so many women have more than one child?”

“But they say it’s worse than your introduction. And messier.”

“Who says that?” Mee-Kyong tossed her hair over her shoulder with the flick of her hand.

Sun hung her head. “Some of the other girls here.”

“Pffft.” Mee-Kyong forced a chuckle. “What do these silly inn workers know? They’ve probably lived in this hotel for years, most of them. They’ve never been married, have they? Have they ever had babies themselves?”

“No.” Sun looked up slowly, raising her eyes until they met Mee-Kyong’s. “Have you?”

Mee-Kyong tilted up her chin. When she noted how carefully Sun was studying her features, she made herself grin again and relaxed her posture. “I know enough to understand marriage isn’t all that bad. Especially if your husband is wealthy.”

“Mr. Lee said the father is very particular. He wants me to make sure he enjoys himself, no matter what he asks.” Mee-Kyong reached out to wipe a stray tear from Sun’s red-tinged cheek. “If I don’t do it right, Mr. Lee will take away all my pay, the money I was saving to send home to my family.”

Mee-Kyong took a deep breath. “If you do what Mr. Lee tells you, then you wouldn’t ever have to work at a place like this again.”

Sun hugged her arms around herself. “I’m not old enough to have children. I want to go home. I want my mother.”

Mee-Kyong tried to recall her own mother’s face, but it blended in her memory with all the other resigned and miserable middle-aged ghosts from Camp 22. She kept her hands on Sun’s shoulders until the girl met her gaze again. “Your life might be a lot better there than it is here, little cousin. You’re sure you don’t want to leave with this man? Get out of this place?”

“I saw him. He’s old. And fat. Almost as fat as Mr. Lee.”

Mee-Kyong tried one last time. “That probably means you’d be well fed.”

Sun tilted her chin up. The gesture reminded Mee-Kyong of herself. “I want to stay here. And when I’ve earned enough money to make Mr. Lee happy, I’m going back home to my family.”

“So you’re positive you don’t want to escape with him?”

“Yes.” Sun’s voice was so low, Mee-Kyong hardly heard her. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to leave you here by yourself.”

Mee-Kyong knew she should throw Sun out the door. She should tie her up and force her to marry the wealthy heir. But she looked at Sun trembling on the bed. The silly girl didn’t know what a good chance she was missing out on. She was probably so scared she’d mess things up with the potential father-in-law anyway. Mee-Kyong fingered Sun’s red dress, the same one she wore on the first night they arrived at the Round Robin. Only one man a night, and a rich man at that ... She held the dress up by one strap.

“If you really don’t want to go with him, I may be able to help you.”

***

Sun buttoned the top of her nightgown, her fingers trembling. She couldn’t believe this was really happening. “Are you sure this will work? What if someone notices you’re not me?” She turned to Mee-Kyong, who struggled to squeeze herself into the tiny red dress.

“If you want to get married, hurry up and get ready,” Mee-Kyong hissed as she zipped herself up in the back. Sun lowered her eyes. “If not, you’ll do as I say and sneak over to my room. Then wait there. No matter what happens. Just wait there.”

Sun looked at Mee-Kyong. Her broad shoulders barely squeezed into the dress. She looked beautiful, so grown-up and mature, just the kind of girl Sun imagined her brother Jae would fall in love with. “Thank you for doing this for me.”

Mee-Kyong narrowed her eyes. “Get out of here.”

Sun tried to convince herself that Mee-Kyong was just feeling rushed; she wasn’t really angry. A knock sounded on the door. Sun froze and turned to Mee-Kyong. What should they do now? Without warning, Mee-Kyong shoved her down and pushed her under the bed. “Stay there. And don’t come out.” Sun had never seen anyone else when they were with a customer. She covered her face with her arms and wrapped her body into as small of a ball as she could.

She heard the door swing open and felt the small vibrations as the knob hit the adjoining wall. “And this must be the illustrious Sun. I’ve heard so much about you.” The voice came out in a strong baritone and reverberated against the walls. The rich inspector’s heavy footsteps caused the floor to tremble ominously. “My son is going to be so pleased to make your acquaintance, I have no doubt.”