The stars seemed to align themselves in the Suwon woman’s favor. The day after Ui-gyeong’s arrival, Deok-gi’s mother ran to her son and complained to him, and the son listened with sympathy. The Suwon woman smiled inwardly and decided to bide her time. She was confident that her plan would work, and perhaps even earlier than expected. Ui-gyeong, after the first day, however, didn’t feel like returning to Sang-hun’s house. The Suwon woman and Maedang had to coax her and, in the end, sent her back to Hwagae-dong to turn up the pressure on Sang-hun’s wife. Though she had vowed to stay put for several days, Ui-gyeong had come back to Maedang on a whim.
“You can’t behave like this,” the Suwon woman scolded the pouting young woman. “Just consider it your house and don’t budge. Our plan won’t work if you scamper back the first moment something doesn’t go your way.”
The next morning, Sang-hun hoped to send Ui-gyeong away to Maedang’s house in order to avoid a confrontation with Gyeong-ae. Gyeong-ae arrived well before ten o’clock — given the short winter days, the sun hadn’t been up for very long. Although exhausted, she decided to pay him a visit. She would be careful not to give the impression that she was ready to break off ties with Sang-hun. If she did, she’d certainly come away with nothing and wouldn’t be able to save face. It would be wiser to make it seem that she had distanced herself because of Ui-gyeong.
Gyeong-ae went straight to the inner quarters. The face of the mistress flashed in the tiny windowpane of the main room. Won-sam’s wife, who was setting a breakfast tray in the kitchen, welcomed her. “What brings you here?”
Sang-hun’s wife bawled, “Mind your own business!” Still bilious, she refused to greet Gyeong-ae. To see this woman when her husband’s new mistress was at this very moment in the outer quarters added insult to injury. She didn’t want her daughter to lay eyes on either of them.
“I’m sorry to hear about the trouble you’re having. I happened to be in the neighborhood, so I stopped by to give your husband some advice.” Leaving her sympathetic words hanging in the air, Gyeong-ae breezed out to the veranda and tapped on the door. A hush fell, and Sang-hun came out. Standing before her, he was visibly embarrassed. With her back to the door, Ui-gyeong was parting her hair in front of a mirror, with a washbasin beside her. Sang-hun seemed groggy. Ui-gyeong’s startled expression shifted rapidly to one of feigned indifference. With a wooden smile on her lips, she continued to comb her hair.
“Are you enjoying your honeymoon? But what’s this? Bringing some good family’s precious daughter and making her live in a back room like this?” Gyeong-ae took a joking tone with him, and Sang-hun, without thinking, burst out laughing. Infected by the mood, Ui-gyeong turned around with a grin and nodded to Gyeong-ae.
Sang-hun was oddly taken aback that Gyeong-ae didn’t lash out at them. His wife’s incessant nagging was becoming unbearable, but Gyeong-ae’s glee, on the other hand, was evidence of her heartlessness.
“You shouldn’t have asked me to come until you had set up house properly. Or is it that you want to show off how much fun you’re having?” Gyeong-ae asked.
“Who says I’m going to set up house?” Sang-hun smiled sheepishly.
“There you go again, toying with people.” She turned toward Ui-gyeong. “Make sure you hold on to him tight. He often pretends he’s crazy when he does something stupid. Both you and I ended up like this out of bad luck, but you should live well, with no regrets and a strong heart.” She spoke earnestly, as if she were Sang-hun’s lawful wife.
Ui-gyeong pinned her hair up.
Gyeong-ae addressed Sang-hun, “Look at your gray hair in the mirror. You’re not getting any younger. Besides, whenever you spend money, it doesn’t just disappear. It comes back to you with the curses of others. Don’t you know that if you spend a hundred won, you earn a hundred curses, and if you spend a thousand won, you earn a thousand curses? Are you planning to go to the gates of Paradise and beg God to pull you up?”
“Will he even be able to make it that far when his sins are so heavy?” Ui-gyeong cut in, and they laughed together.
Sang-hun was miffed. Gyeong-ae’s attitude didn’t permit serious talk of any kind. I’d better give her up, he resolved. The more firmly he tried to cling to his decision, however, the more alluring he found her.
Ui-gyeong did nothing all day except eat, change clothes, and buy whatever frivolous thing that caught her fancy. When her indulgences were denied, her irritation was unremitting, and she took a sharp tone all day long. Sang-hun knew his interest in her would wane. Gyeong-ae, on the other hand, who was mature enough to supervise a household, seemed right for him, especially now that he was older. He sensed, though, that she belonged to someone else.
“Why was Byeong-hwa taken to the police yesterday?” Sang-hun finally managed to ask.
“Why are you so concerned about other people?” Gyeong-ae couldn’t stand to hear Byeong-hwa’s name uttered by Sang-hun. “Are you in any position to worry about others?”
“I’m not worrying about others. I’m just not sure whether someone is dragging him down or he’s dragging someone down with him. Either way, they’ll be in a hell of a mess one of these days.”
“It’s not that simple. But you know I could take over the shop fully if I return his money and send him away.”
“How much do you need?” Sang-hun perked up.
Ui-gyeong blinked her eyes several times.
“Between twenty-five hundred and three thousand won.”
Gyeong-ae and Sang-hun spoke no more.
The maidservant brought in a meal tray set for two.
“I haven’t even washed my face yet. What’s the hurry?”
As Gyeong-ae was about to leave, he asked her to stay, saying that the two women should eat together, that he’d eat later.
“Don’t you think someone will pout if I eat a meal reserved for the two of you?” Gyeong-ae was saying when the gate of the outer quarters rattled.
The maid went out to open it. Like an evangelical woman, Gyeong-ae’s mother held a black velvet bag, and a purple wool scarf covered her face up to her nose. The mother and daughter were startled to see each other, and Sang-hun looked on with an awkward smile.
Gyeong-ae tried to hasten her mother’s departure to prevent her from making a scene. If Sang-hun were provoked, he’d lose face and would likely change his mind about giving Gyeong-ae the money.
Despite Gyeong-ae’s calming efforts, the older woman poured out a stream of complaints and railed that if Sang-hun was unwilling to take in Gyeong-ae and his child, he’d better provide them with enough to last their lifetime. Otherwise, she’d drag him to court.
“I’ve heard of people sueing their own children, so what can prevent me from taking him to court, Gyeong-ae? Why are you following this lowlife around like a spineless fool? Are there no other men left in the world?”
Sang-hun was shocked; since when had this gentle woman’s mouth begun to spew such venom? Yet, he had to admit that he had also changed considerably since their church days.
There was a rumor going around that if Deok-gi didn’t quietly hand the rice refinery over to his father, Sang-hun would bring a lawsuit against his own son. The spinners of this rumor were Chang-hun and Clerk Choe; they felt there was nothing to gain from loyalty to Deok-gi, who lived by the book. When they sensed that Sang-hun was disgruntled at the frosty treatment he had received during the funeral, they whipped up the story, both to egg Sang-hun on and to flatter him. While they were at it, they also insinuated that Deok-gi should give up the house where he lived. They couldn’t touch the rice paddies and fields because the old man had transferred the deeds to Deok-gi, but the big house still had the same owner; the grandfather had merely written in the will that Deok-gi should stay there. If Sang-hun, the inheritor in the eyes of the law, claimed the house as his own, he might well be able to obtain it.