Page 102 of Perfect Happiness
“Looks like I’ve got a guest.”
Yuna took off her shoes and stepped onto the wooden floor.She was dressed in a black dress, scarf, and black coat.And in one hand she had a foldable cart and in the other, a handbag with a head-sized horseshoe key chain.
“I don’t remember inviting guests.”
Yuna set the cart up against the wall, walked over to the living room door, and turned on the lights.Her facial expression was bright and joyful, like an actress taking the curtain call.Jane watched quietly as Yuna walked over to the kitchen island and stood before her.She was trying her best to steady her trembling vision.
She felt like she was back in the past.Standing in front of Yuna with the murdered duck stuffed animal in her hand, trying in vain not to shake.And just like that, her legs were trembling, the back of her neck was burning, the skin on her stomach was becoming taut with uncontrollable spasms.And in her chest, her heart was galloping.
“What’s wrong with your face?”Yuna said as she took off her scarf and placed it on the table.“You look like you swallowed a wasp.”
Yuna’s voice was tight, as though she was holding in a cackle.Jane couldn’t think of how to respond.All she could do was bring an extinguisher to the chemical fire that had ignited in her body.
Stop shaking.You’re bigger and stronger than Yuna.Smarter, too.And you’re holding a cleaver.Act like it!
But it wasn’t easy.Despite all these years, it looked like her body still hadn’t produced antibodies to defend against Yuna.
“Why are you here?”Yuna asked.“You even hopped the fence like a thief.Once a stealing bitch, always a stealing bitch.”
Yuna continued to grin.Jane turned off her cellphone flashlight and put the phone in her pocket.Then with her sweaty hands, she adjusted her grip on the cleaver.
“Where’s Joon-young?”
“If you want to see Joon-young, I don’t know why you would come looking for him here.”
“You brought him here.About twenty days ago.Don’t you remember?”
Yuna suddenly tilted her head sideways.Her oblique gaze was brazen, as if she had nothing to hide.
“The last time I saw that man was three years ago.”
Yuna’s ability to lie with such a straight face never ceased to astonish Jane.She could lie about anything with eyes like that.Jane pulled out the pen from her pocket.
“I gave this as a present to Joon-young seven years ago.I found it here under the sofa.”
“So what?”
“That’s why I asked where he is.”
“And I’m asking, why are you looking for him?”
“I was contacted by the police yesterday.They wanted to know if you were really at Mom’s from the 16th to the 20th.When I asked why, they told me Joon-young disappeared on the 16th.”
Yuna raised one eyebrow, as if to say,Keep going.
“I thought something was strange, too.I couldn’t get in contact with him for almost a week.”
Jane hoped this lie would strike a nerve.
“That day when you called Joon-young, he was with me in Chungju.”
Yuna straightened her head.The smile that had been dancing around her eyes vanished.
“I drove him to Kyochon.And I watched from afar as you drove off with him in your car.”
“You’ve been meeting him behind my back?”
The tail end of Yuna’s words quivered minutely.It was a sign that Jane had found the right button.Finally, Jane felt herself starting to relax.She now had the courage and leverage to push the issue.
