EPISODE 2

A huge sign with the words “Pork Skins Galore” shone in the dark.

The pork skin restaurant, located on the outskirts of town and displaying literary and emotional potential with its name, didn't seem to be faring well. Miso looked around to find the interior much shabbier than when she'd visited it last. She smiled brightly at her two older sisters, seated around a makeshift table made out of an empty drum can, and told them to tuck in.

“Go on and eat, girls.”

“Thanks, Miso.”

“You eat as well, Miso.”

“I’m good. Neither of you look too good. Have you been skipping meals? Are things still tough for you?”

The two older sisters, born within a year of each other, looked much seedier than they had at Lunar New Year earlier that year. They also both looked dead tired.

Miso's oldest sister, Pil-nam, was a very thin woman of small stature who wore glasses with lenses so thick, it looked like her eyeballs were rolling about inside them. She was very easily hurt and always quick to apologize. She worked at a regional university hospital as a full-time anesthesiologist, having graduated from the university of the same hospital.

“I was off yesterday, so I worked a part-time job last night. I didn't get any sleep...”

“Oh, sis. You’re already busy and tired with your studies. You should be getting rest. Why do such a thing?”

“I thought I should save up some money so I could help out when Mal-heui opens her store...”

A look of pity crossed Miso's face as Pil-nam tiredly picked up a piece of meat and placed it in her mouth.

“Sis! There's no need to tell Miso that!”

When her other sister, Mal-heui, hissed, the owner of the restaurant flinched as he was preparing some pork skin.

Mal-heui, short and stout, was also a doctor. The difficult family finances had forced her to give up on learning to become a full-time doctor, and she was now working as a salaried doctor at a regional hospital.

“Don’t pay that any mind, Miso. We’re going to cover for ourselves from now on. There’s no need for you to worry about anything anymore. Now, eat up. I’m buying today, so eat as much as you like. Hey, sir! Can I add a single serving?”

Miso looked at Mal-heui, acting even more timid than Pil-nam after that confident statement, with eyes full of pity. She corrected the order.

“Can we have two more servings of pig skin and two servings of skirtmeat? Give us a bottle of coke with that.”

The table was silent until the newly ordered food was brought.

“I’m sorry, Miso. I'm the oldest, and yet I was too caught up with doing what I wanted, without a thought for you two...I’ve been a terrible sister...”

Pil-nam burst into plaintive tears, and Mal-heui also lowered her head and mumbled tearfully.

“No, sis. If I hadn't taken another year to study for the national exam, Miso wouldn't have had to get a job and pay for my schooling. She was the smartest of us three...”

“I’m sorry. I'm so sorry, Miso.”

Perhaps the sight of her sister crying thus was too much for her; her nose turned a bright red, and she remained silent as she fought to control her emotions. After a long time, her smile finally returned.

“It’s alright. You worked hard to pay me back, and at least you didn’t make a big mess like Dad did.”

Their eyes grew round at this.

“What? A mess?”

“Yes. I didn’t tell you, so you probably didn’t know. He piled up some private loans early this year. He tried to keep it to himself, unable to tell us.”

The sisters stared at each other in shock, unable to close their wide-open mouths.

“Loans? How much?”

“A little over 30 million won.”

“Whaaat? 30 million? Why didn’t you tell us?”

“You’d have worried unnecessarily. Pil-nam, you’re always busy at your hospital, and Mal-heui was doing part-time jobs because her hospital suddenly closed down.”

“Ah...”

The shocking words had rendered her sisters mute. Miso was still smiling, however.

“I had just paid off some of Pil-nam’s debts then, and I had no money to spare. It was a pretty tough spot. Ho ho ho.”

“Did you take care of it somehow?”

“Yes. I sold my car. I had just enough afterward.”

“A car? What car? You had a car?”

“Yes. I was late ten minutes once because I missed the bus, and the vice-chairman bought me one to commute in. I drove it for one week before I had to sell it. Darn, if I’d known, I wouldn’t have paid for that expensive window coating! After I paid off Dad’s debt, I had 103,000 won left. Would you believe it! I gave Dad 100,000 won to pay for his fare back home, and I bought tteokbokki at the bus terminal with the remaining 3,000 won because I was starving.”

It was so unreal, and yet even here, her sensibility shone.

“Ah...”

“Anyhow, that’s all in the past. Thanks to all your hard work, there’s almost no more debt to pay off now. You took the rest of the debt yourselves last month, and Dad looks like he's all set. I have nothing more to worry about, and I couldn't be feeling any better right now. So stop saying you’re sorry, alright?”

Miso picked up the cooked meat and pig skin, distributed it to her sisters’ plates, and put some mushrooms and roasted garlic on her own.

“You should eat some meat too, sniff.”

“Yes. You should eat up, Miso. You’re way too thin!”

“I'm on a diet these days. When I go to parties and meetings with the vice-chairman, there’s always food that packs hefty calories despite its tiny size. I can gain weight like it's nothing. It’s the most frightening thing. I’ve gained 500 grams already. I can’t possibly stand gaining any more weight. Ho ho ho.”

As if her tall frame wasn't enough to rouse envy, she was so slender from head to toe. With the exception of her extremely full bust and hips, she didn’t look like she had a single gram of spare fat in her body; and here she was, going on about a diet. About how she couldn’t possibly stand gaining any more weight. Those were words that could have annoyed anyone, said with her characteristic smile. A plaintive shadow crossed the faces of Pil-nam and Mal-heui as they looked down at Miso’s flat belly.

She’d changed over the past nine years, working for Yooil Group. She'd grown a lot cheekier. It was as if she’d caught it from someone.

Mal-heui, who’d put on far more kilograms than Miso's idea of “any more than this,” suddenly sucked on the end of her chopstick with a queer expression.

“I’ve always wondered, but do you follow your boss to parties as well?”

Miso had been struggling to decide whether she should eat the tiny piece of roasted mushroom that lay on her dish. She shut her eyes, gulped down some water, and nodded.

“Yes. Some occasions require a partner. You could say I go with him, instead of following him.”

“A partner?”

Partner...that couldn't mean what it sounded like, could it? Pil-nam and Mal-heui gave each other a sidelong glance, and their faces grew dark.

“Oh, right! Before I forget, here!”

Miso handed the two shopping bags she’d brought with her to her sisters.

“What is this?”

Inside were various boxes from expensive designer brands. Judging from their size, they were probably expensive perfume, cosmetics, wallets, and the like.

“I got those from the vice-chairman. You can share those.”

“Lee Youngjun bought all this for you?”

Pil-nam had finally worked up the courage to ask this question. Miso blinked, unsure of how to respond.

Whenever Youngjun had to buy a gift for someone, he handed Miso a credit card and a shopping list. Every time, he also had her buy anything she wanted for herself, on the side.

Of course, things hadn't been like that at first. Miso had served Youngjun for a long time, always with a smile on her face. She'd lost her temper with him only twice, and the second time had given rise to this useful habit of Youngjun’s.

She’d gotten a nosebleed from a business trip, overtime work, and weekend work combined. She also happened to be on her period, and had been about to faint from dizziness.

Miso had placed a box of caramels in her desk drawer as an emergency snack, but was having trouble finding it. That was when Youngjun had appeared, smelling of that very box of caramels, and asked her to go buy a gift for an acquaintance.

She snapped that day. He had no idea, of course, that her beastly, primordial growls were on account of a measly box of caramels, and since then had told her to buy whatever she wanted for herself whenever he needed to have something bought.

“Well, it’s a long story. Anyhow... Yeah. He bought them for me.”

The sisters’ faces had gone dark, full of suspicion, but Miso beamed and whispered as if telling them an amazing secret.

“I’ve been selling them off second-hand for cash, but I don't have to do that anymore. So you two can have them. They’re very expensive and nice items.”

Pil-nam and Mal-heui scrutinized their sister’s face with a very complicated expression on their faces.

“Why are both of you being so quiet?”

“Miso, you can't be...”

Miso’s smile disappeared. She hesitated for a while before saying in a sad voice, “Are you still in a bad spot? Should... should I not quit right now?”

“What? You’re quitting your job?”

“Yes. I told him yesterday. The ads for a new secretary are going up tomorrow. I've been working for nine years already. It's a bit sad, I guess.”

At those words, the two sisters brightened.

“You know what, that’s great. You did good. You've been through so much on our account.”

They lowered their heads again, and Miso added in her laughing voice, “No. Not at all. I was lucky. I mean, how else would I be treated like an executive manager of a huge corporation at this age, with my credentials? The work was hard, but it was fulfilling, and working for a talented person did help me improve in some ways. Frankly, I don’t really want to quit yet, but...”

“Why are you suddenly quitting, then?”

“The job is pretty busy, and I don’t think I’ll ever get another chance to leave.” Miso grinned to see that her sisters hadn’t understood a word. She added, “You’ve both had boyfriends for a long time.”

“Of course.”

“I should start dating and get married too, you know. Before it's too late.”

“Huh?”

Well-meaning words and encouragement were called for at this juncture, but Pil-nam and Mal-heui's faces grew very confused indeed. The situation was so suspicious, and yet Miso was much too pure and innocent. What was this feeling?

“What’s wrong?”

“Uh, Miso. You wouldn't be, by any chance...”

As Mal-heui was about to ask her question, Miso’s phone began to vibrate on the table. The screen showed in clear lettering, “Vice-chairman.”

“Huh? Why so late... Is he asking me to drive for him again?”

Miso looked up at the clock, which indicated that it was 11 PM. She picked up with an anxious expression.

“Yes, Vice-Chairman.”

Oh, of course he is. Miso let out a deep sigh, but soon enough resumed smiling.

“I'm sorry, but I'm rather occupied tonight. Couldn’t you just call Driver Han instead? Oh, okay, alright! Yes, yes. Alright, of course! I knew you’d refuse.

“In that case, Vice-Chairman, I’m sorry to ask this, but can't you sleep with that woman just for one night? Aren't you tired? Must you go home today? Let’s see, today's Thursday, which means you’re with Oh Ji-ran. She’s certainly an attractive...yelp! Alright, alright! I get it, please don't shout so suddenly! You gave me a scare!”

Miso plastered her smiling face to the phone and continued talking in a subdued tone.

“But you know, Vice-Chairman, frankly speaking, it’s not like anybody's waiting for you at home. No one's nagging at you to come home, either. Why are you so obsessed with getting home? There’s nothing wrong with sleeping somewhere else every now and then. No one’s telling you off for sleeping out...”

At that moment, Miso grimaced and held her phone far away from her ear. On the other side of the speaker, Lee Youngjun’s roars resembled those of a lion.

Miso trembled and glared at the phone for what seemed like a long time. When he quieted down a bit, she sighed, resumed smiling, and continued her conversation.

“I’ll take a taxi there right away, so please wait just a little bit. Don't drink any more, alright?”

Miso hung up and stood. Pil-nam and Mal-heui, who’d been looking at her silently, looked even more baffled than before.

“I'm sorry girls. Go home without me. I’ll drive the vice-chairman home and join you right away. The key...oh! I don't have time to be dropping my key right now!”

Miso bent down to pick up the key she’d dropped from her bag, but suddenly flinched and scrambled backward.

“Eeeek! Spider!”

Pil-nam and Mal-heui jumped to where she’d been looking and killed the spider.

“Miso, you still have your fear of spiders?”

Miso had been trembling a way off, the color gone from her face. She gazed vacantly at her sisters and asked a perplexing question.

“Did I really never lose my way once, when I was little? Around four or five?”

“There she goes again. I'm telling you, no such thing happened.”

Miso lapsed into deep thought with a vacuous look; she then laughed brightly, waved, and left.

Pil-nam gazed at Miso’s back as she disappeared from view, and finally opened her mouth after a long period of silence.

“Hey, Kim Mal-heui.”

“What?”

“What do you think about those two? Miso and Lee Youngjun.”

“The same thing you’re thinking.”

“I know, right? How do I put it...”

“It’s ambiguous, isn’t it? Their relationship.”

“At first I thought they were sleeping together. Of course, she’s got a celebrity’s looks and figure, but she got hired with no credentials and only a high school diploma. She's at his side every single day, and she’s been working like that for nine years. And the way he buys her all those expensive gifts and even a car, it's pretty suspicious...”

“But it doesn’t seem that way when you listen to her.”

“Exactly.”

“It’s so strange.”

“You know, Mal-heui. Something came to mind when I heard her talking on the phone with him.”

“You too?”

“Yes.”

The two looked at each other and shouted simultaneously.

“A couple in their 50s, married 30 years!”

“A weary married couple in their 50s!”

***

With the exception of the rumbling of the engine, the car was completely silent.

Youngjun had kept his eyes closed while lying back in the passenger seat. He slowly opened his eyes and asked, “What were you doing?”

“Oh, you’re awake?”

Miso lowered the turn signal lever, and the rhythmic clicking of the blinkers filled the car. Miso turned toward the window, and Youngjun, finding the sight of the back of her head oddly unfamiliar, repeated his question.

“Who were you with?”

“Well, is that important?”

Miso playfully evaded the question, and Youngjun glared distastefully. He spat, “Have you decided where to go after you quit?”

“You mean work?”

“Yes.”

“Not yet.”

“You’re staying in Seoul?”

“I don't know that yet, either.”

“Why are you quitting, if you don't even have such basic things planned out?”

Miso briefly gazed at the road in front of her, and then turned her smiling face toward him.

“I’ll have to start living my own life now.”

A heavier silence descended inside the car.

It was interminable silence. Youngjun looked mystified, and his voice expressed the same quality.

“What rubbish is this, all of a sudden?”

“Oh? That's not a nice thing to say.”

“What about me?”

“What about you? What does this have to do with you?”

***

Oct. 26th, 5:00 AM, Youngjun's house.

As dawn began to break, a loud alarm began to ring in the bedroom. It was the butler waking him up.

Today, however, for some mysterious reason, the bed was clean and empty. Instead, the shape of a man cast a long shadow in front of the front-facing windows. Youngjun would usually pick up his phone right about now in a groggy voice, still in bed.

“Why? I don't understand...”

The phone had been ringing for a while now, but he did not move a muscle, glaring at the calendar clock. He mumbled like a man possessed.

“Strange. Why can’t I sleep?”