Unknown Woman

by Lee Kwang-soo

I went down to Seoul half a year after leaving my grandfather, who was close to eighty, and my little sister, who was only seven years old. Last year, in the spring when the first battle of the Yang army occurred in my hometown due to the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, I threw down the Mengzi I was learning in front of my grandfather, saying, "What good is learning this in a world without a past?" and left for Seoul, leaving only my old step-grandmother at home. However, while I was in Seoul, even that bent-over step-grandmother passed away, and my grandfather sold the old house, moving with my young sister to a small, isolated house over a hill in the village where my grandfather's maternal family lived. The house I went to visit my grandfather and little sister was that very one.

A small thatched house with a private gate made of straw. One kitchen, one lower room, one upper room, and one barn. Still, thanks to my grandfather's hobby and skill, the lower room was wallpapered, and although the walls were uneven, they were covered in white paper. On the floor, there was a bedding laid out, with a cabinet and a rice storage placed, and the appearance of the room, surrounded by a table for snacks embroidered with landscapes, was no different from when I left home last year.

Later, I heard from my little sister that the table and cabinet had already been sold, and they had decided to take them from the house after winter.

However, my grandfather's situation, living with only one young granddaughter after sending away all his sons, losing even the small lady who had aged with him, losing all his property, and with his only grandson, who was fourteen years old, running away to study in Seoul, was a life of unimaginable misery, even for me as a child.

There is no property, no income, and the words that say one barely survives by selling things like books and remnants of a past life, as well as the words that an old man, who is a distant cousin of grandfather, occasionally provides fish, I had learned before coming home.

On a certain day in late winter, later than early spring, when there was still snow covering the mountains, I bowed deeply in front of my grandfather, who was quietly sitting alone in a dark room where the fire had not yet been lit.

“Oh, In-deuk? I heard you were coming, so I sat at the hill up ahead until just now, but it got chilly, so I came in. Did you come back in good health?”

My grandfather's voice did not seem to have weakened as much as last year.

“Where is Lee-an?”

I asked, noticing that my younger sister was not visible.

“Gi-ae prepared dinner and was waiting for you to arrive, coming in and out, but where did she go? Did she go to fetch water?” he said,

“Aga, Aga!”

and called out a couple of times.

After a while, the sound of a ladle splashing in the water jug could be heard. I opened the door and ran out.

“Oh, Oppa!”

Kyung-ae stood up as if startled by something. The water jug on her head seemed about to fall back as she stood tall.

Now my little sister has turned eight years old. It has been two years since we lost our parents all at once before Chuseok when I was six and I was eleven. After weaning, my sister lived in someone else's house and died of dysentery, leaving only this little sister who is the only one left. On this cold day, she is carrying water in a jar on her head, holding the strap of the jar in her mouth, one hand holding the water jug, and the other hand pressing her breast, standing in the twilight. Hot tears poured from my eyes. Still, despite the dirt, her appearance in the plump cotton clothes was admirable.

“How far is the well?”

“It's far. There is a closer well, but it's all frozen. Won't you go this time, brother?”

Kyung-ae wipes her tears with the hand that was pressing her breast.

I couldn't bring myself to say that I would be going far away to study abroad this time. Silently, I reached out my hands to take the water jug from Kyung-ae's head.

“No, I can take it down by myself.”

She said, lowering her waist despite her small height, and carefully entered the kitchen to set down the water jug. Then, washing her hands on the hem of her apron, she looked out the kitchen door and said,

“Brother, I'm going to set the dinner table.”

Then she busily clattered about in the dark.

“She is fetching water to cook rice.”

I wiped my tears with my fist, sighed, and then entered the room as I had said.

The rice table was set. Still, there was a separate table for grandfather, a separate table for me, and the rice and soup were brought in my hands.

A tiny lamp was lit. In front of it, the three generations sat down to receive the meal. The meal consisted of a bowl of rice, a bowl of vegetable soup, a bowl of kimchi, and probably a bowl of egg stew because I was coming.

“Where did the eggs come from?”

My grandfather asked.

“Sam-soon’s mother said that my brother was coming, so she gave me two eggs. She told me to steam them.”

My sister answered, seemingly satisfied.

“Didn't Bo-bu's mother come today either?”

My grandfather asked while chewing his food with his toothless mouth. Even on his well-known face, a black mushroom had appeared.

“She didn’t come today either.”

“She must be sick.”

“Who is Bo-bu's mom?”

I asked, curious about the name of the woman I hadn’t heard before.

Kyung-ae explained Bo-bu's mom to me.

“Bo-bu's mom. She is the person over there after going quite a distance. After grandmother passed away, she came to our house all summer, autumn, and winter to make side dishes, do laundry, and sew. She is a very nice lady. Bo-bu has a daughter who is bigger than me, a fifteen-year-old girl. She is a very pretty girl. That’s why we call her Bo-bu's mom. Really, grandfather, Bo-bu's mom might be sick. That’s why she hasn’t come for three days. Otherwise, it would be a turtle that is sick.”

“You should go see her tomorrow.”

My grandfather looked at me.

“I will go.”

And I thought to myself, how could there be such a kind woman? In this situation where all relatives pretend not to know, my heart was filled with gratitude for this unknown woman. So,

“Who is she that she has come to our house and worked for us all year round?”

and I asked Kyung-ae more about that woman.

“It's a story that amounts to nothing. The tavern's wife. Her husband is said to be a gambler. Still, they seem to be doing well these days, even though they don't drink. I've been to that house a few times, but I've only seen the father once. He looks very scary. Yet, the daughter is pretty. The turtle is also good-looking.”

I went to find that woman's house the next morning as per my grandfather's orders. I knew it was the tavern's house. It was a day with a terrible snowstorm.

I stood outside the house, not knowing what to say, hesitating as I thought of the name of the daughter I heard from my sister,

“Tavern.”

and called out.

A very pretty girl, wearing a pink skirt and a purple and yellow jacket, opened the door and peeked out, then shrank back upon seeing me. Following her, a woman with a pale, plump face, looking to be over thirty and quite good-looking, peered out at me. Perhaps she recognized me because I had shaved my head and was wearing black clothes, or maybe it was because I resembled my grandfather and my younger sister,

“Ah, it's the young master who came down from Seoul.”

she exclaimed, rushing to take my hand and pull me inside.

“You came in this cold. The turtle has been sick, so I couldn't visit you for a while. Come on in.”

She then led me to the warm floor where a baby, said to be sick but not really looking sick, was lying down, sat me down, touched my hand countless times, and looked at my face with joy,

“This child is our daughter, Bobu. This child has been waiting to see the young master very much. Come here, Bobu, come a little closer. It’s quite embarrassing, but the young master has turned out well. This is our son, isn’t he great? He was sick with a cold ─ but now he’s better.”

She shows an extremely delighted expression.

I expressed my gratitude for taking care of the house during that time, and I conveyed that I came home last night, but Grandfather was worried that Bobu's mother hadn’t come for three days, and he told me to go check on her, so I came here.

“What have I done for you? There’s no one to take care of the old man, so I occasionally went to check on him. Ah, by the way, how is breakfast? It must still be before the meal.”

As she was about to stand up, I said,

“No, I’ve already eaten.”

I shook my head.

Still, the precious guest said, “Can I just let you go after coming to my house? Little Bobu, you should talk to this young master about anything. I wished I could see you day and night. I’ll quickly boil some soup and bring it in.”

With that, she stood up and left.

Bobu seemed to come and sit beside the turtle, coming over to sit next to me and looking at my shaved head and this worn-out clothing. The colorless clothes I wore from Seoul seemed strange in this countryside at that time.

“Where did Father go?”

I asked Bobu.

“Why is Father at home? He just roams around the gambling den day and night, and when he occasionally comes home, he just fights with Mother, pulling her hair and hitting and kicking her, and he hits me too.”

Bobu spoke with a strong tone to avoid being overheard by Mother in the kitchen, badmouthing Father.

“Why? Why do Mother and Father fight?”

Although I met Bobo for the first time, the affectionate way he treated me made all my shy thoughts disappear, and it was not hard for me to speak.

“Why are you doing that? You're drunk.”

Bobo then stared at the turtle for a while, then looked at my face as if it were his younger brother's face, raised one arm to rest on my shoulder, hugged my neck, and brought his warm lips close to my ear to whisper,

“Who does this kid resemble, huh? Our turtle?”

he asked, still holding my neck and looking into my eyes.

“I don't know.”

I opened my eyes wide.

“From what I see.”

Bobo hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to call me, then brushed my cheek with his finger instead of calling my name, and said,

“It resembles.”

He then placed his lips on my cheek. After that, he brought his lips close to my ear and whispered in a barely audible voice,

“That's why Dad hit Mom. Everyone has bruises, people say we all resemble each other, this kid resembles Kim Saeng-won, and that's why Mom hasn't gone outside for three days.”

He then quickly kissed my lips once, wrapped his face with both hands, and turned his head away.

I was bewildered, my eyes wide open as I stared at the turtle. Then I thought,

<Do I resemble? Do I resemble?>.

It has also been over thirty years since my grandfather passed away forty years ago.

I do not know the name of that woman, the servant, or the turtle, nor do I know where they went, and after that, I never had the chance to meet them again. If that woman is still alive, she would already be over seventy, and the servant would be fifty, and the turtle would be around forty by now. It is a time when all of them would likely show signs of gray hair.

Did the turtle resemble them?

That is probably not true. It certainly cannot be true. I say this for the honor of my grandfather and that gracious woman, that it must not be true.

However, whether it is true or not, there is no doubt that those three faces remain unforgettable and dear to me.