Jia: A Novel of North Korea by Hyejin Kim Read Free Book Online Page B

strolling around, sulking, when the director came into the room, and had me stand still. She took the cleanest clothes out of my backpack and dressed me up. Patting my cheek lightly, she said my grandparents were coming soon. Before the other kids, I left the room exultant, in
a flutter of excitement. I tried not to forget the names of the
places I wanted to go.

    I watched through the window of the director's office as
a shiny black car made its smooth approach to the building.
An old couple slipped out of the car: the old man was tall
and wore a dark-green military uniform, holding his round
military hat at his side; the lady was tiny, and had a round
face. Next to him, she was like a cicada on an oak tree. I
couldn't see their faces very well. Once I saw them head
to the gate, I returned to my chair and waited for them,
sitting properly and organizing my tangled hair. Soon the
director opened the door, and they stepped into the office
awkwardly, walking slowly toward me.
    They were the people in the pictures. Though they looked
much older, I recognized their faces easily. How many
times had I seen those pictures! As they approached, I gave
a big smile. I was certain they were my mom's parents, I
could feel her in them. They had much better skin and
clothes than my grandparents on the mountain. I wanted
to tell my sister what was happening in front of me right at
that moment. She had never seen them; it was the first time
I experienced something before she did.
    They sat down on two chairs placed in front of me and
looked at me silently for some time. My new grandfather
asked the director to excuse us for a minute. She nodded
and quietly left the office. Closing the door, she waved a
hand over her flushed face, and I answered her by showing
my teeth in delight.
    Alone, they examined me again. My new grandfather's air was so brusque, so different from my other grandfather. He looked too clean. He might not have any special
smell, and I wondered whether it would be possible to fall
asleep next to him, breathing in his smell and tugging on
the drooped flesh around his Adam's apple, as I did with
my grandfather on the mountain. I didn't dare to watch his
face. Moving my fingers, I counted the different-colored
medals on his chest. After counting 20, I became worried
for him; it must be heavy to carry all of them on his body
every day.

    With tearful eyes, Grandmother stretched her hand toward me to touch my head. When Grandfather cleared his
throat, she pulled her hand back to her knee. Finally, he
broke the silence.
    "How did you get here from so far away?"
    "Some soldiers helped me."
    Why did he look so uncomfortable? It seemed he wasn't
happy to see me at all.
    "Bookchang is too far away for a kid like you to get here
alone," he murmured.
    "How's your mom?" Grandmother asked, hesitantly.
    "I've never seen her. She died when she gave birth." I
was surprised at the question. Could they not know about
their daughter's death?
    Grandmother gasped and turned her head to her husband's side. His face stiffened. He demanded, "How did
you get those pictures? Did your grandparents let you come
here? Did they send you?"
    With my mouth half open, I looked at each of them in
turn. Grandmother avoided my eyes; I knew he was blaming my grandparents on the mountain and me as well. His
face was turning red, and I didn't want to hear his reproach; these two people had never cared for me and now they
couldn't even spare me a warm look. My cheeks were starting to burn.

    "They gave me those pictures to find you because they
didn't know where you were. They were right. Without them,
I may not have met you at all." I tried to smile at them.
    Grandfather said, "What do they want? To get out of the
compound? They want us to save them even though they
killed my daughter? Isn't it enough to wreck our family?
They still don't understand. Do they think they can have
their way with us? No! They are much