The end of the road.

by Han Yong-un · 2026-03-20

Bong-nim cleared his throat.

"But I want to close my eyes every time I pass by there. Because that place is always bustling with opium dens. They are busy buying opium or morphine. We somehow really dislike opium dens because we don't want to see such things. Don't you feel the same, Ah-woo?"

"Why wouldn't I dislike it? But even when we see those people, the first thought that comes to mind is pity."

"Ah, Ah-woo, you truly have become like a Buddha. With that, paradise or heaven is practically guaranteed for you. We dislike opium dens more than any other beggar. So even if a beggar comes, if we know they are from an opium den, we won't give them even a spoonful of rice or a penny. Thinking about how decent people end up like that after consuming opium makes me want to kill them for no reason. Well, they say that if you become an opium den owner, you even sell women..."

Bong-rim glared at Sun-young.

"But isn't that also a life? When it reaches that point, it is indeed pitiable. But go ahead and speak."

"Still, I try to close my eyes as I pass by there because I don't want to see them. But that day, just as I was passing by, I heard the door creak open, and out of reflex, I glanced inside, and there were opium den owners sitting in a row. I thought someone was going in to buy opium because the opium den owners were bustling about, but it turned out they were just sitting in order, called by name. But when I glanced in, oh my, it was astonishing."

Bong-rim stopped speaking and looked at Sun-young.

"What was so astonishing?"

Sun-young looked at Bong-rim with a blank expression, bewildered. "Well, look at this. Isn't it astonishing? I glanced and saw that Su-bok's father was sitting among them."

"Su-bok's father?" Sun-young exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes."

Bong-rim opened his mouth slightly, his tongue peeking out as he observed Sun-young's reaction.

"No, is he in the opium den? Is he working there?"

"What do you mean by working? I told you he was stuck in the opium den."

"What was his appearance like?"

"What good would it do to describe his appearance? He was wrapped in rags like the mist of Yongmun Mountain, and his face was so dry and yellowish, like mine, dripping with snot and in terrible condition. What good would it do to talk about it? How could I not have seen the opium den where people go to beg?"

"..........."

"Wouldn't it be the same?"

Bong-rim spoke as if he were excited, but Sun-young's heart raced, and her complexion grew pale.

"So, what happened?"

Sun-young's voice clearly showed her effort to keep from trembling.

"What do you mean, what happened? I also didn't recognize him at first. He seemed familiar when I saw him, but after thinking it over, I realized it was that person. So from then on, I think I intentionally avoided looking closely. I saw all sorts of strange things. If he was in the opium den, a person who used to walk around with his eyes closed was startled by him. So from then on, I decided to pay attention, and sometimes that person would catch my eye."

"No matter how you look at it, it's Su-bok's father. What's even more certain is that once he saw me, he quickly turned his head and ran away. So what does that mean?"

Bong-rim paused his speech,

"But there are many people in the world who are the same, so who knows. But that person couldn't have changed so much, right, brother?"

and lowered her spirits.

Sun-young wasn't silent because she didn't want to speak, but because she couldn't, and after a while,

"There might be similar people, but you must have seen it clearly, sister."

She placed one hand on her chest as if to forcibly calm her racing heart and spoke weakly.

"No matter how clearly you see, there can be misunderstandings. I must have said that for no reason. Just upsetting you, brother."

Bong-rim adjusted her seating.

"Oh dear, how could a person become like that?"

Sun-young's eyes, now filled with new worries, welled up with tears.

"No, there's no need to worry about things you don't know well. And since he has become so different, I thought it wouldn't matter to say such things, who would have thought like this. Stop it, I must have seen it wrong."

Bong-rim comforted Sun-young.

"No, you might not know if that person has really changed."

"Why! I have some suspicions."

"Since you said that, I also remember something."

"Yes, what is it?"

Bong-rim sat closer with interest.

"I also thought it was strange, but who would have dreamed that someone could become like that. So it seems that it has indeed happened."

"Yes, what do you mean by strange?"

Sun-young hesitated to speak but seemed to gather her courage,

"I won't forget that day. It was just the full moon day last month. I was sitting there sewing, and someone outside was asking for alms. I couldn't understand the first sentence, but in the second sentence, I heard a voice saying, 'Please give me a penny,' which sounded similar to the voice of Seobok's father. Although the voice seemed a bit hoarse, it sounded like his voice. I calmly understood and didn't give any alms. Do I have anything to give? No way. But then, when I went to the neighbor's house to ask for alms, the voice was the same again. So I found it strange, but I just let it be."

"So, what happened next?"

Bongrim interrupted Sunyoung's words and stepped out.

"So, about a week later, it was the 22nd of March. Again, he came asking for alms, and it must have been that same voice. So I sent him away saying I had no money, but I was so suspicious that I quietly went out to see him leave, right? I couldn't see his face clearly, but his back looked natural. When I came back inside and thought about it carefully, I never dreamed that person would have turned out like that, but still, I felt suspicious. So I decided that if he came again, I would give him alms while observing him closely and waited for him to come. Then, on the last day of March, he came again. So I took out a penny. I intentionally wanted to see his face clearly, but as I almost stepped out the door, my heart sank, and my body trembled so much that I couldn't go out."

"Why are you trembling like that? Is there any reason?"

Bongrim asked, seeming busy.

"I don't know. I just feel like something is wrong for no reason. It feels like I've met a tiger. Yes, that person didn't recognize me, so I quietly turned around and came in without even being able to say that there was no alms, just standing still. I kept trembling. Then I couldn't shout for alms anymore and would just leave on my own."

Sun-young sighed.

"So, did you see each other's faces?"

"Was I able to see their face? I was about to step out the front door but got so nervous that I came back in."

"Then did that person not know it was your brother's house?"

"How would they know? If it were the house they lived in before, they might not know, but having moved three times and with no nameplate or anything, how could they possibly know?"

"So what if that person became a beggar and asked for alms, and then you both ran into each other? It would probably be shocking."

"Oh, that's why. If we ran into each other, I feel like I would be worse than them. At first, I wanted to see them and was going to go out with money, but then when it seemed like we would run into each other, my heart sank and my body started trembling. So what would have happened if we actually ran into each other?" Sun-young said, still gripping the wall as if it were precarious.

"Then that must clearly be Father Subok. I saw it that way, and so did your brother, so neither of us could have misseen it, right?"

"Well, I don't know? But that person couldn't have changed that much, right? I only heard their voice and saw their back, so I don't clearly know their face. But what if that person really has changed?"

Sun-young's complexion darkened again.

"What do you mean by how? What does it matter now? It's become someone else, and while I might feel a bit sorry for the bond we had before, if it were us, I would actually feel like laughing. Someone who abandons a wife who has wronged him without any connection, like breaking a fresh branch, and then lives with another woman deserves to be punished. It happened because fate was indifferent. What good would it do to pity such a thing? If he comes back later, I would spit in his face and ask if this is how he ended up after leaving me."

Bong-rim spoke as if she were excited.

"Oh dear, sister, how could a person possibly do that?"

Sun-young said with a grimace on her face.

"Then what will you do? Will you take him back?"

"Even if I don't take him back..."

"Even if you don't take him back, what do you mean? Will you keep him in the lower room and treat him like a deity?"

"Oh dear, sister."

"Don't say such things. I don't know what will happen if even the husband I live with now reaches that state, so what can I say about a man I've already divorced? Opium addiction is a serious matter. It's like carrying a death sentence on your back, not knowing when you will die. Just being alive is something, but it's truly like being a living corpse. If I were to acknowledge that person, it would be a big problem. I would end up like that person, so don't even think about acknowledging him. If it were someone else, there would be no need to worry, but since it's you, it's like you're my own brother, which is why I'm saying this. With your kind heart, you might not think about these things and might even consider acknowledging him, but that would ruin both your lives. And if you die like an ordinary person, it's just death, and if you eat, you eat, and if you just quietly eat, you might not even realize it, but this person is always looking for something to eat day and night, and when the time comes, they say they die right away. So, they must do something to take opium or get a shot, but how do you do that? Just thinking about it gives me chills, doesn't it?"

Bon-rim spoke in a kind manner.

"They say that once you're addicted to opium, that's how it is. How can a person end up like that?"

Sun-young spoke briefly and sighed.

"Seeing you sigh like that, it seems you still can't let go of thoughts about that person, right?"

Bon-rim smiled faintly while looking at Sun-young.

"Then what should we do? I keep feeling sorry for him."

Sun-young's eyes welled up with tears.

"Brother, don't do that and change your thoughts. Then I have something to say, thinking of the broken sieve, what would one say."

"What do you mean by something to say?"

Sun-young asked with a new spirit.

"I have something to say, but if you don't change your thoughts, it will be meaningless."

"Well, what do you mean?"

"It will be beneficial for you to hear, but it is not harmful. However, if you won't listen, it is better not to speak."

"How can I know if I will listen unless you speak?"

"This is not something to say like that. If you listen, I will speak; if not, it is not something to be said."

"Well, go ahead and say it."

"If I say it, will you listen?"

Bong-rim smiled with a doubtful look.

"If it's beneficial, I will listen."

Sun-young also put on a smiling expression.

"Then is it beneficial or harmful?"

"Well, try saying it."

"Will you really listen?"

"Of course I will listen; who wouldn't want to hear beneficial words?"

"Would you really say that you would listen?"

"Well, I will listen."

"But..."

Then Bong-rim changed his expression and spoke with a serious demeanor.

"That person has become like that, so he is someone without hope. If that person were not like that and was doing well in the gold mine, it would be different; as he said, if he makes a lot of money, he might come back and live together. But even so, it's uncertain whether he will definitely come back to live together, and given that a person has reached such a state, is there even a glimmer of hope left, don't you think?"

"If a person has become like that, what hope is there?"

Sun-young was about to sigh but stopped.

"So, what I mean is, what does your brother hope for in life? Do you have a husband or children, what do you hope for?"

"What do you wish for, only to wish for it when you die."

"That's what I'm saying. There's no need for that, what's the point of spending your whole life in suffering? If a person is in a situation where they can't even catch a break, I can understand that. But if you can avoid suffering, then you should. However, even looking at it from the perspective of someone like your brother, you don't deserve to suffer, so what's the point of talking about changing your fate?"

Bong-rim spoke with newfound courage, as if gathering strength.

"Changing one's fate?"

Sun-young widened her eyes slightly and looked at Bong-rim.

"You don't understand what it means to change your fate? It means to stop suffering and go to where you belong."

"Are you saying I should marry someone else?"

"Yes, what's wrong with marrying someone else? What's happening in this world? It's not acceptable for someone to remarry while having a decent husband, but if you're divorced, what's stopping you from marrying ten times? I'm not saying this lightly; there are proper places for you to settle down, and that's why I'm saying it. Think it over, because such matters can't be forced."

Bong-rim's spirit dampened.

"I should think about it slowly."

Sun-young also covered the topic with simple words.