She waved her hand in front of her mouth. “Ugh, I’m making my mouth dirty. But it seems like it’s true. Guard Kim said that while guards were drinking together, Guard Lee boasted about how he made money. Isn’t it weird?”
Sister Oh sat down in front of the dressing table again and took a good look at her face. “I really need some good cream…. Jia, I understand how you’re feeling now. You follow her like a real sister. You must be so shocked. To be honest, I thought you already knew. We even suspected you were part of her scheme. Anyway… I’m glad you’re not. I really respected her when I first came here. She was my ideal. But now I feel ashamed for having looked up to such a dust rag.”
I ran all over the hotel looking for Sunyoung. What was going on? I didn’t believe it. I wouldn’t believe it until I heard it from Sunyoung directly. But she was nowhere to be found.
My last stop was the restaurant, where I found her chatting gaily with Cook Kim. I could hear her high-pitched laughter from across the room. How happy she was! How elegant she looked! I felt determined to stop the dirty gossip about her at once.
I approached her and tugged on her hand. She looked at my sweaty face with startled eyes, and asked in alarm, “What’s wrong? What’s wrong with you, Jia? Has something happened?”
I dragged her from the kitchen, forgetting to excuse myself to Cook Kim. We went to a restroom, and I checked under the door of each stall for shoes. Finding nobody, I turned to her and hissed, “Sister Sunyoung, do you know you’re the topic of the most horrible gossip right now? Have you heard the thumping lies being told about you? I want to hear from you directly that it’s not true. Tell them it’s not true. Stop their tongues!” I looked into her eyes, pleading, but could read nothing in her face. “Sister Sunyoung, please say something.”
Sunyoung’s face had darkened. “I have no choice but to do it, Jia,” she groaned.
“Jia. The gossip is right. Of course, it is more complicated and they exaggerate. But mostly, it’s right.”
I stepped back and tried to still my reeling head.
“Jia… I don’t know how to begin telling this story. I wanted to tell you about it, but I didn’t know where to start. I’m not the slut people say I am.” She looked at my neck, not at my eyes.
“Several years ago, I fell in love with a foreigner. I knew it was forbidden. I never thought it would happen to me. He lived here as a student and officer in the consulate of his country, and would often attend my performances. When I went home every night, he would be waiting at the gate of the hotel with a smile and a flower. At first, he couldn’t speak Korean very well. Of course, I was scared of him, but also curious; I didn’t shun him. After a month of flowers, I got used to seeing him and was able to meet his eyes with confidence. He was beautiful. I liked his gray eyes and dark-blond hair. Gradually he began speaking to me in broken Korean. You can’t imagine how cute that was. I had never heard the beating of my heart inside me before, but it happened whenever I saw him. We secretly started going out. Jia, try to understand, the rules didn’t matter anymore. I danced for him…. I laughed, thinking of him.”
Her smile was darkening into a frown.
“We did what we shouldn’t do. I wanted to express my feelings and accept him, not just in my heart. Who cared about finding a man with stable status and power for the future? I didn’t want to control my feelings. That was the happiest time of my life, but one day screwed up everything.” Sunyoung studied my face for a second, but my eyes never left hers.
“When we were in bed in his room, Guard Lee sneaked inside and took pictures of us. He had suspected our relationship and threatened to notify the hotel and the embassy. We were freaked out—I begged Guard Lee, but, what was worse, he recorded our conversation, and demanded a lot of money. Above all, I was worried about my lover; he was more scared than me. He called his parents instantly to send the money, and as soon as he got it, he gave it to Guard Lee and went back to his country, telling the embassy he was ill and homesick. He left without a word to me. I couldn’t believe it. After he’d gone, I was out of my mind. I knocked on his door so many times, but his room was empty. I even thought about killing myself. I cried while holding a razor blade to cut my wrist in the restroom. His leaving didn’t make things simpler; Guard Lee kept the tape recorder and the pictures and said he would give the evidence to the hotel unless I took other foreigners to bed. He directed me to entice foreigners and play out the same scenario. He didn’t let me lock the door while I did the job. He would come into the room and threaten the target. He took money from those pathetic victims.”
Sunyoung paused, and I watched her face. I had never seen her so tired. Her long lashes made shadows under her eyes.
“You don’t know how humiliating it was, but there was no way I could avoid him or run away. Sometimes he brought the foreigners to me. After a while, I stopped caring; my heart had melted.” Sunyoung rubbed her face with her hands. “I want out of this nightmare. I haven’t followed his orders very well recently. He is angry with me and criticizes my laziness. I thought he would make enough money and leave me alone. I implored him so many times, and he seemed to feel pity for me. I thought if I persuaded him, I never imagined he would tell other people.” Sunyoung broke into tears and covered her whole face with both hands, as though she was trying to hide the painful life she had led.
My hatred for the people spreading rumors about Sunyoung expanded like a balloon. I couldn’t offer her any comfort, I couldn’t say a word. I was a useless friend.
I suggested we get the tape recorder and pictures from Guard Lee by any means. We thought he might keep them in the room he shared with janitor Lee, who was a close friend of Aunt Ann’s. That was as far as we got that day.
Sunyoung was relieved. “Oh, Jia, this has taken over my entire life. I feel I have gotten old fast over the past few years. I sleep, but I can’t sleep. I wake up in the middle of the night and stare at the wall until morning comes. I really need to resolve this.”
I spent a sleepless night plotting solutions; I even considered killing Guard Lee. Was he human? No. What could I do for Sunyoung? I needed to protect her at all cost.
The next day, I rushed to the practice room. I had overslept. The dancers were gabbing quietly. They hadn’t begun rehearsing yet. Director Park wasn’t there either.
“Good morning, sisters,” I said, to no one in particular. “What is going on?”
“Director Park just left with Sunyoung,” Sister Min said.
“What happened? Why did they leave together?”
“Sunyoung was just turned in to the police for prostitution and for blackmail with Guard Lee. Director Park didn’t believe it, and followed the police; I have never seen her so desperate. Think about it, she lavished such care on Sunyoung. She was the only one who didn’t know Sunyoung was a prostitute. Ha! With such a pure face and a radiant smile all the time, who could have imagined? She tricked all of us and disgraced our dancing group. She deserves to be executed.”
Sister Oh spoke up with a bang, “Do you remember what I said, Jia? The gossip Guard Kim heard from Guard Lee on that night of drinking? It wasn’t just Guard Kim who heard, someone who was there reported it to the hotel. The intelligence bureau investigated Guard Lee’s room and found the evidence. They took Guard Lee yesterday night and Sunyoung early this morning.”
I was stunned. All I could hear after that was the low hum of voices.
That afternoon, Director Park returned with sloping shoulders. I tried to ask about Sunyoung, but she only murmured, “You’ll have a new teacher as of tomorrow.” Then she went to her office and didn’t come out for the rest of the day.