Page 38 of Perfect Happiness
“I just got off work and was in the area ...”
Joon-young’s words trailed off.He didn’t say anything more until they left Incheon.He would stare at her as if he had something to say only to clamp up when they made eye contact.When he finally did speak up, it was to tell her he was going to take a nap.
“I feel a bit out of it.I haven’t slept in days.”
Jane glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.His dejected expression, the thread-thin red veins in his eyes, his dry cracked lips, his hoarse voice—he looked and sounded like an exhausted, broken man.Jane nodded.He could tell her what he wanted to say on their way back.
“Wake me up in an hour.”
Joon-young reclined his seat and rested his head against the chair.He fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.His face, which was buried in the car seat, didn’t look alive.Jane felt like she was looking at a hologram that had been beamed into her car from thousands of light years away.
They arrived at the Chungju Literature Museum around 11 a.m.She parked the car at the far end of the parking lot.Cold beams of late-autumn sunlight were illuminating his pale face.Jane could see his pupils moving slowly beneath his thin eyelids, as though he were dreaming of chasing birds.
Jane thought about waking him, but decided against it.She realized there was no reason to wake him right now.Even if she did, she’d immediately have to end the conversation and go inside.She was going to interview the director of the museum, after which she had lunch plans.And after that, she had to walk through the museum and take notes on the exhibits.In total, it would take about four to five hours.Jane adjusted the temperature and left the car running as she got out.As she walked toward the museum, she sent Joon-young a text message.
—I’m going to work.I’ve left the key in the ignition.You’re on your own for lunch.
When she returned to the car, Joon-young was gone.The door was unlocked.The key was still in the ignition, just how she left it.She wondered if he had gone to the bathroom, but she soon realized that couldn’t be it.He would have taken the keys with him and locked the door.Only when she got in the driver’s seat did she remember her cellphone.As soon as she took her phone off airplane mode, which she had turned on during the interview, she got a message.
—Something urgent came up.Sorry.
It was from Joon-young.The message was posted at 11:04 a.m., which meant he left just after she went into the museum.
All the way home, Jane was beating herself up for not swatting away the hand that had reached out from her past.Why had she agreed to meet him?No, more importantly, why hadhewanted to meet her?Surely, he didn’t ask for a ride just to sleep in her car, right?
But Joon-young didn’t contact her again after that.So, where did he go after leaving her car?
Jane doubted he got into a car accident or something.If that was the case, the police would have contacted Min-young.Nor did it seem likely that he had been abducted.He wasn’t famous enough to be worth kidnapping.Nor would he be easy to kidnap, as he was tall and well built.He didn’t look well, but he was still in fundamentally good health.Jane also doubted that he would commit suicide.That just didn’t fit his personality.He might have been introverted and sensitive, but he loved life.And from what she knew, he still had aspirations of becoming a respected playwright.
The only explanation that Jane could come up with was that he was lying low.He was probably fed up with people and the world.Or maybe he just needed a break.He’d resurface when the time came.
For the rest of that afternoon, Jane couldn’t focus on her work because she kept seeing the phantom-like images of Joon-young’s face from that day.She would try her best to think about other things, but before she knew it, she was thinking about him again.
But that all stopped when Jane got a text message from Yuna just before heading home.
—Please pick up Jiyoo today.Eun-ho’s son has passed away suddenly.Everyone is devastated.I dropped her off at daycare in the morning.You can pick her up on your way home from work.
*
Yuna wasn’t picking up her phone.Instead, an automated voice was telling Jane: “The number you are trying to call right now isn’t available.”It appeared that Yuna had blocked Jane as soon as she sent the message.This meant that one day of looking after Jiyoo would turn into two days, then three days, and so on until their mother returned from Russia.
Jane had wholly expected this.In fact, this was one of Yuna’s best moves—getting her foot in the door.She would start with a small request, and then end up asking for extra favors.People would fall victim to this even if they knew about it.The person would just agree to hold her handbag for a second, and then before they knew it, they were holding all her luggage and following her around like a bag boy.
Jane had no choice in the matter.Whether she ignored Yuna’s demands or accepted them, the result was always the same.If she didn’t pick up Jiyoo, her teacher would call Yuna, and when Yuna didn’t pick up, the teacher would call the emergency contact, their mom, who would frantically call Jane and beg her to pick up poor Jiyoo.
Their mom’s trip to Moscow was done to reestablish relations with their aunt.Their aunt suggested the trip, and Mom had agreed.Her plans were to stay for a whole month.Yuna had planned on sending Jiyoo to Russia with her grandma.According to Yuna, it was a good opportunity to show Jiyoo other parts of the world.
But as always, Yuna’s fickleness was as sudden as it was inexplicable.Last Tuesday, just five days before their mom’s departure, Yuna picked up Jiyoo from daycare and left a text message on their mom’s phone.
—I’m taking Jiyoo for a few days.I’ll drop her off the day before you two leave for Russia.
Yuna didn’t keep her promise.She didn’t call or pick up her phone before their mom left the country.For Yuna, making promises was as easy as spitting out saliva, but keeping them was as difficult as licking it off the ground.
Jane’s mom left Jane with Yuna’s address, home phone number, and her husband Eun-ho’s cellphone number.All the way to airport security, she pleaded with Jane to go to Yuna’s place to make sure everything was all right, but Jane refused.Just before disappearing through security, Jane’s mom made one final plea:
“I’m asking because of a horrible dream I had a few days ago.”
Jane drove from the airport straight to Cheongyeon.She wanted to slap Yuna as soon as she saw her, but that wasn’t why she was going to her house.Nor was it because of Mother’s “horrible dream.”She was going to tell Yuna that she wouldn’t look after Jiyoo until their mom came back from Russia.She hadn’t expected that Eun-ho would be home and not Yuna.
