Encounter: A Novel of Nineteenth-Century Korea

4. Shaman's Daughter

Shaman's Daughter The squalid, weather-beaten inn was packed with travelers who filled the grimy tavern-room, the community guest room, and the kitchen; even the storage shed was occupied. But the commotion did not rise among the travelers who had come in from the downpour . It started with the shriek of the innkeeper woman, calling frantically among the unexpected, jostling crowd. "Chom-soe! Chom-soe! Where are you?" At her screech, a pigtailed youngservant emerged from the shed. "What?" answered the boy blankly only when he approached the tavern-room. The woman roared in rage, "Taking a nap again, eh? Why did you leave the kitchen door open?" "I did no such thing." "Then who did it? A stray cat ate all the appetizers for the guests. There is nothing left to serve with the customers' drinks. I don't understand how it happened. What am I to do?" In an impoverished inn such as this, even without the stray cat there was not much to serve, but with so many unexpected customers , the woman was frantic at the thought of having to miss this rare chance to make a profit. "Damn it!" she shouted, "Yougo tend the fire under the soup kettle, quick! We must serve these drenched travelers with hot soup and rice." There was no other help at the inn. The dim-witted boy was only good for getting firewood from the mountains and tending the fire at the furnace. From this fortyish woman, her face smeared with 105 Chapter Four 106 SHAMAN'S DAUGHTER powder, her eyebrows plucked, and her upswept hairdo tied with red ribbon, emanated the slovenly bawdiness of a woman who needed a man. As she left the kitchen, the source of her consternation , and went into the backyard, she screamed again, "Heavens, look at this—I caught the cat!" The boy, who was tending the fire, ran to the backyard, followed by two of the guests. The woman was shouting, "Look here, you bitch, you devoured everything I had forthe customers, ruining my business. Didn't you know the hands of a bitch that steals get broken? A thief-bitch; I'll drag you to the officials and have your mouth seared with a red-hot iron!" The "stray cat" was a beggar girl of about seven. Her hair, stiffened with mud and rain, stood out like wormwood shoots, and her face was covered with dust. Her clothes were in shreds, exposing her flesh here and there. Leaning against a gatepost outside the kitchen, she had been caught eating like a famished demon the food she had stolen from the kitchen—some boiled eggs and braised, dried whiting. She was a pathetic sight, but the proprietress had no mercy; her business was at stake. She was shoving and dragging the child all over the place, shouting obscenities. Her victim did not resist; her limp, thin, little body was being tossed around mercilessly . "A mere child; don't be so harsh," said a man at the sight of the violence. "She must have been so hungry, poor soul," chimed in another. Provoked by these words, the woman became even more furious. She threw herself into such a maddening assault that the men had to restrain her forcibly. Drawn by the commotion, Ha-sang came out into the backyard and heard himself saying an astonishing thing, "Why, aren't you Suk-hyon? What's the matter, what happened to you?" He ran toward the girl and shielded her from the woman's blows. "What did this girl do to you?" he asked. "I don't know what she did, but I beg your forgiveness. She is my sister. I left the capital for business, but she must have followed me. She is so young, she doesn't know what she's doing. Since we lost our mother a year ago, she has never left my side." "She ruined my business. She stole my food." S H A M A N ' S D A U G H T E R 1OJ "Stole your food? What are you talking about?" In talking to Ha-sang, the woman regained her composure. She even felt somewhat ashamed for having caused such an uproar over a mere tidbit, yet she managed to get the money for it from Ha-sang anyway. The rain gave no sign of stopping. From the gutter foul-smelling rainwater, dark...