Slave Again

by Alana Terry

  Mr. Lee furrowed his brow. “What do you know about it?”

  She matched his stoic expression, clenching her teeth so they wouldn’t chatter. “I spent eighteen years in the gulag. I didn’t feed myself by hunting roaches that whole time.”

  “And you’d be willing to work double while the girl’s in training? To make up for her lost time?” Mr. Lee scratched at his largest belly roll.

  “I wouldn’t have brought the idea up if I wasn’t prepared to do just that.”

  Mr. Lee eyed her pants. “You think you’re capable?”

  “It’s no worse than what I endured in prison camp, is it?” Mee-Kyong clenched her jaw and fought against her dizziness.

  One corner of Mr. Lee’s lip curved upward. “I’m sure I wouldn’t know.”

  Hours later, Mee-Kyong limped into Sun’s hotel room, hoping the young girl was finally asleep. “I was wondering where you were!” At the child’s birdlike voice, Mee-Kyong sighed wearily and tried not to wince as she shuffled over to Sun’s bed. “I went to have a chat with Mr. Lee.” Mr. Lee agreed to delay Sun’s introduction but didn’t waste any time putting Mee-Kyong to work.

  Sun tugged at the bangs that fell over her eyes and leaned toward Mee-Kyong. “So when do we start our new jobs?”

  Mee-Kyong’s body swayed slightly from exhaustion as she sat down on Sun’s bed. “Mr. Lee said he wants you to wait a few more days.”

  “Why not sooner?”

  Mee-Kyong licked her upper lip. She still wasn’t sure what to tell Sun, or how postponing her introduction would benefit the child in the end. When her training period ran its course, she would still fall victim to the same fate as all the other girls at the Round Robin. What did it matter if her introduction came now or later? “It’s all about the money,” Mee-Kyong bluffed. Maybe by the end of the week she’d have a plan to get them both out. “I warned you. These things take time.”

  “So we’ll both just stay here and wait?”

  Mee-Kyong took a deep breath. “Actually, I’ll be in and out. Sometimes I’ll be next door. It’s just one of Mr. Lee’s preferences. He thinks we need some time alone, I guess.”

  “So what now? What do we do while we wait to start working?”

  Mee-Kyong curled up on the bed in Sun’s room. It would be at least several hours before Mr. Lee needed her services again next door. “For now, we rest.” She situated her head on the pillow and covered up with the blanket.

  CHAPTER 8

  Jae realized something was wrong as soon as he walked into the house. It was past midnight, but his position at the police office would protect him from punishment for breaking curfew. “What happened?” He didn’t bother addressing Father, who sat staring out the kitchen window, but went straight to Mother’s bed. He knelt down and placed his hand on her heaving shoulder. “What’s wrong, Mother?”

  “She’s left us.” She grabbed Jae’s arm in both of hers and sobbed into his bicep. “Our Sun’s gone.”

  His heart constricted in his chest. He smoothed out Mother’s graying hair and clucked his tongue the same way he used to soothe his little sister when she was still a baby. “We don’t know that. She might have gone visiting. Maybe she missed curfew and decided to spend the night with one of her friends. You know how forgetful girls get when they’re together gossiping like geese.”

  Mother didn’t stop rocking on her mattress. Jae stood up. “If she doesn’t come home after school tomorrow, I’ll go to her friends’ houses and see if I can find her.”

  “You are a good son,” she muttered.

  “Stop worrying. Wherever she is, I’ll bring Sun back safe and unharmed. I promise.”

  An hour later, Jae rolled over fitfully on his cot. Mother muttered in her sleep, and Father sat snoring at the table. Jae silenced his own breathing until all he heard were echoes of his sister’s voice. She was several years younger now, the traces of her budding womanhood erased in his memories.

  “Another story, Brother.”

  Jae wrapped both their blankets tight around her skeletal frame and then sat her on his lap. The blankets were thin enough he felt the sharpness of her shoulder blades jut into his chest as he held her in his arms.

  “Another story, you say?” Jae felt the wisps of her bangs and swept them out of her face. “A story for my little sister?” Sun wiggled in excitement. Jae took in a deep breath. “Once upon a time, there was a beautiful maiden.” Sun giggled, but Jae didn’t stop. “She was prettier than all the other girls in her village, and one day a king from a faraway land decided he must behold her loveliness for himself. The maiden was brought to him in a carriage made out of gold and pearls, drawn by four horses with their braided manes reaching all the way down to their hooves.”

  Jae waited for Sun to suck in her breath in awe. Her shivering subsided. Her teeth stopped chattering. “When the maiden arrived at the river bordering his empire, the king was there to meet her. He instantly fell in love with her and declared his eternal devotion. He took the horses’ reins and drove her himself across the bridge into his realm, a paradise where the streams are made of syrup, and the rocks are sweetened candy. The trees grow fruit all year round, and it’s never, ever winter. Birds fly overhead day and night, dropping donuts and pastries for all the citizens to enjoy. Everyone there is fat and happy, and all the little girls wear colored ribbons in their hair.”

  Jae was getting ready to tell her the part about the wedding celebration, in which the royal newlyweds ride on two ponies with wings like eagles, but he didn’t need to.

  Sun was already asleep.

  Jae clenched his eyes closed, grinding his teeth until his jaw felt partially numb. He clamped his mouth shut even tighter to contain the groan that welled up from somewhere deep in his gut.

  Sun. Where was she? Didn’t his sister know how much he’d done for her, how much he’d already sacrificed for her? Jae thought over the past few days, racking his brain for any clues about his missing sister. Had she taken up with any new friends recently? Had anybody been paying her special attention? He tried to recall her behavior. All he could think of was the glow of her broad, smiling cheeks, the hair that never stayed in place but cascaded down her face like unruly streams of water.

  He counted back the months. How long had it been since the river swept Sun away from him? He had jumped in after her, disregarding the ice and chill. She shouted his name, kept on shouting it in a throaty little shriek even after he reached her. They were swept downstream together before he finally led them to shore. He was thankful that by then he was already wet; his sister had never seen him cry before.

  Jae sighed and thought about what he had told his mother just a few hours earlier. A friend’s house. She must have gone to a friend’s house. He didn’t realize he was gripping his sheets until a muscle spasm shot pain up from the side of his smallest finger, racing all the way up his forearm. He shook his hand out and then held his blanket against his body once more. The accident at the water’s edge wasn’t the first time he had risked his life for Sun. The other times she didn’t even know about. Nobody did. Jae sighed.

  Tomorrow he would find Sun.

  And he would kill anyone who hurt her.

  CHAPTER 9

  “You swear it was my sister you saw with this man?” Jae lowered his face toward Sun’s schoolmate and balled both his hands into fists. The crisp morning air might have felt cold against his skin if he weren’t so angry.

  The teen nodded so fast Jae wondered if he was jostling his brains out of place. “He’s the one, I tell you. Short. Ugly face. Lots of pimples. Maybe your age or a little older.”

  Jae figured a swift blow to the boy’s head would stop it from bobbing up and down so much, but he needed more information first. “And it was my sister you saw talking to him last night?”

  He nodded more vigorously. “Yes, your sister, Sun. Everyone knows Sun.”

  Jae’s blood pressure rose even higher at the sound of this sniveling boy speaking his sister’s name.
He grabbed his collar and lifted him off the ground. “What do you mean, ‘everyone knows her’?”

  The boy fluttered his legs and held his hands up in a position of surrender. “No, no. Nothing bad. Nothing wrong. Your sister ... she’s a good girl. She’s ... I only meant we all know each other. Every one of us. Including your sister.”

  Jae lowered the boy back to the ground. “And it was my sister you saw speaking with this man?”

  “Yes, sir. At least I think so.” He adjusted his shirt and backed away several steps from Jae. “Now that I think about it, though, maybe not. It was evening. The sun was setting. It was hard to see.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Jae snarled and dismissed him with a wave. Sun’s classmate ran off in the direction of the school. Jae squinted in the early morning light until the boy was out of sight and then headed home.

  “Mother?” He crouched down by her lopsided bedside. “Mother?” Jae repeated. The wispy woman stirred in bed. Jae held her hand in his. “It’s time to wake up.”

  She grabbed his wrist with her leathery, gnarled fingers. “Is Sun home?”

  “Not yet. But I found one of her friends on his way to school. He said he saw her just last night at the park.”

  “The park?”

  “She was probably there with the kids she knows. You know how those teens like to go and play together. She probably stayed out too late and went to her friend’s house to keep from breaking curfew. I’m sure she’ll be in school today. You don’t need to worry about her.”

  Mother patted his cheek. “You’ll check for me?”

  Jae hadn’t slept more than a few hours, but he pressed Mother’s hands and nodded. “Of course. I’ll go check this afternoon. I’m sure she’s there already.”

  Father slouched at the table, and Jae couldn’t tell if he had overheard their conversation or not. Jae strode by and headed off in the direction of the police station. His boss had files of all the vagabonds who showed up in Chongsong. Jae would have to swallow down the remnants of his family pride and confide in the captain.

  That afternoon, after fulfilling some of his duties for the day, Jae left the station and headed to the park to talk to one of the men there. “What can you tell me about this man?” Jae passed the photograph to the leather-faced beggar. Jae’s co-workers at the police office nicknamed the man Tip and often relied on his acute memory and watchful eye. A few feet away, a bronze statue of North Korea’s deceased Great Leader gaped down on the pair. Tip shrugged. “Yeah, I’ve seen him.”

  “He lives here?”

  Tip shook his head. “Here and there. He only comes around occasionally from what I can tell. Why do you want to know?”

  Jae reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pouch of uncooked rice. Tip shrugged again but took the bag, bouncing it in his hand. “Like I said, he comes and goes.”

  “Goes where?”

  Tip put the rice in his pocket. “Wherever do any of those young fools go who want to make some money?”

  “He crosses the border?”

  Tip’s leg bounced, and he stared at the bronze statue. “That’s not what I said.”

  Jae leaned forward. “But you don’t deny it?”

  “Listen, I like rice, but it’s a little bag. Got anything else?”

  “Just this.” In one swift movement, Jae spun the man around and wrapped his arm around Tip’s neck. He didn’t want to injure him — not yet — but he hoped the surprise might loosen Tip’s tongue. “The last time my sister was seen in Chongsong was here at this park, talking to this man,” he snarled into Tip’s ear. “She’s been missing since last night. And you’re either going to help me find out where he’s taken my sister, or I’ll show you first-hand what I intend to do once I find him. Understand?”

  Tip nodded and shrugged once more when Jae loosened his hold. “I could tell you what the car looks like.”

  “Then do it.”

  As Tip described the vehicle, Jae forced himself to remember each and every detail, refusing to imagine what this pimple-faced punk in the photograph might have done to his little sister once he got her alone in there. “Did you see him in his car yesterday afternoon or evening?” he demanded. “Was anyone with him?”

  Tip tilted his head to the side. “I was sick last night.” Jae didn’t know whether to believe him or not. He debated whether he should lead him to a less public area and jostle his memory. “He usually heads northeast.”

  “So you did see him?”

  Tip shook his head. “Nah, I already told you I was sick yesterday. But when I do see him come, it’s usually to talk to some ...” He faltered for a moment and glanced over Jae’s shoulder. “He usually comes and talks to some young girl and then takes her east in his car.”

  “And you don’t know what he does from there?”

  “Healthy young man alone with an innocent little girl?” Tip cackled. “Let’s just say I don’t think they sit around sipping tea.”

  Jae lowered his face until his nose pressed up against Tip’s. “Do you realize that’s my sister you’re talking about?”

  For a moment, Tip’s eyes widened, but then he softened his expression and shrugged both shoulders again. “Hey, I’m just telling you what I know. That’s what you wanted, right?”

  Jae sighed. “Right. That’s what I wanted.” He turned on his heel and strode to the police station. It was time to have another talk with his boss.

  It wasn’t hard to convince the police captain to let him track down Sun’s abductor, but it did cost Jae his entire savings. He had stored away some of his black-market profits for the past two years to give Sun something of a wedding celebration when her time came. Knowing his sister’s best prospect in life was to find a wealthy husband, Jae had saved up his money in hopes of one day helping her woo him. Now, unless Jae got to her in time, Sun would never catch a man of any kind, so he handed over his savings and convinced his boss to help him.

  The police captain had been watching the broker for some time. Two other girls had disappeared from Chongsong over the past nine months, including his wife’s young cousin, which probably explained his willingness to aid Jae on his way. With all of Jae’s savings in his pocket, the captain signed the travel papers Jae needed and agreed to grant him an undocumented leave of absence from police duty.

  His intel would take Jae as far as Onsong. There weren’t any checkpoints, the captain assured him. “He’s been followed before to this cabin.” The captain wrote some directions on a piece of paper and slipped it into Jae’s hand. “We think he uses it as a hideout for his customers while he gets his travel plans in order.”

  The captain was just as cooperative, although less direct, when Jae asked how he should get to Onsong. “I’ve noticed the officer on night duty leaves the keys on the peg in my office. It’s quite foolish of him. Anyone with access to my room could just walk in and take the car.”

  Jae had a little more work to finish at the police office but went right to Mother’s bedside when he returned home that evening.

  “Let her rest,” Father grumbled.

  Jae ignored him. Mother opened her eyes, and her expression changed in an instant. “She’s gone.” It wasn’t a question.

  Jae lowered his voice. “I know. But I found out some things. I met a man at the park who knows where she might be.”

  Mother made a move to sit up in bed, but Jae pressed gently down on her bony shoulders. “I’m going out to find her, Mother. You just rest and go to work tomorrow like normal. It might take me a few days.”

  Mother whispered something in a gravelly voice. Jae had to lean forward to hear. “Curfew.”

  “I’ll be all right, Mother. I know what I’m doing.” He stood to leave.

  She clasped his hand and didn’t release her grip until he turned around to look at her. “Bring back my daughter.”

  Jae bowed his head. “I will, Mother. I promise.”

  Father let out a grunt as Jae strode out the front door into the darkness
of night.

  He found the cabin about an hour later. Sun had been gone for an entire night and day already, but he still hoped against reason she would be there. He pulled the police car up in front and fingered his rope.

  He was a few steps away from the car when his flashlight beam landed on something in the road. He dropped down and clutched the thread-bare shoe, which his sister had outgrown years ago but still offered scant protection from the elements.

  Sun. His heart repeated her named with each quickening pulse.

  After slinking around to a window, he peeked inside the small wooden building. The moon offered up only a thin sliver of light, but he could make out the shape of a person on the bed. Only one. It was too big to be Sun, Jae noted with disappointment. Perhaps the broker himself? He took out the rope he had brought with him. If the broker was asleep, his job would be easy. He peered in the window again and tugged on two ends of the weapon, testing its strength. He would find out exactly where his sister was. And then he would mangle the man who stole her away.

  Jae cracked the door open and listened. The only thing he could hear was his own pulse pounding in his ears. He clenched the rope and entered the dark cabin. In some way, he blamed himself. He should have warned Sun. He should have told her what these men were like. It was a conversation Father certainly never had with her, and Mother was too busy keeping the family from starving to notice how Sun had blossomed and matured over the past six months. Mother had no idea how beautiful Sun had grown.

  Poverty and beauty were a deadly combination for someone like his sister.

  He tiptoed like a tiger stalking its prey. The stench inside was moist and earthy. He crept up to the bed and nearly vomited. It wasn’t the broker. The suspect in the photograph was ugly, with pimpled scars across an angular face. Even though the dead man’s mouth hung open and his muscled chest and abdomen were covered in blood, he had obviously been desirable — the kind of specimen that could easily turn a young girl’s head. Jae clenched his jaw shut. He didn’t want to look but couldn’t turn away from the mangled corpse. It had been stabbed multiple times. But who would have killed him? The broker? Anyone who lured young women away from their families, for whatever purpose, must also be capable of murder.