Almond(40)

64


I had to find Gon. That meant first I’d have to find that kid called Steamed Bun.

The school he went to was in the middle of a red-light district. It was surprising that anyone would ever decide to build a school there, of all places. Maybe the seediness of the district developed after the school was built, but still. The yellow-brown rays of the afternoon sun stretched across the schoolyard, where kids who looked nothing like students were smoking.

A few kids prowling around the school entrance shoved me on my way in. I told them I’d come to see Steamed Bun. He was the only one I could ask about where Gon might be. He might know the kinds of places that would welcome Gon.

Steamed Bun walked toward me from a distance. He was skinny and his shadow looked like a skewer. Up close, his hands and feet and face were so huge they looked like fruit dangling from branches. At his nod, the other kids began taking turns prodding my ribs and searching my pockets. Once Steamed Bun realized I had nothing to offer, he asked, “What does a Goody Two-shoes like you want with me?”

“Gon isn’t around. I thought you might know where he is. Don’t worry, whatever you say, I won’t tell the grown-ups.”

Unexpectedly, he answered right away: “Steel Wire.” He shrugged, cocking his head left and right a couple times with a loud crack. “That bastard must’ve gone to Steel Wire. I’m telling ya, I have nothing to do with this. Steel Wire is out of my league. I’m still a student, after all,” said Steamed Bun as he turned and tapped his backpack.

“Where is he?” I simply asked, as the name Steel Wire didn’t roll off the tongue yet.

Steamed Bun’s cheek twitched. “Why? You gonna go after him? I don’t recommend it.”

“Yes,” I replied curtly. I had no time to fool around. Tsk Tsk, Steamed Bun clicked, and hesitated for a while before he finally gave me the name of a port town not too far from our city.

“There’s a farmer’s market there, and at the end of it you’ll see an old shoe store. All I know is they sell dance shoes. I haven’t been there myself. Good luck. Although it’ll be useless.” Steamed Bun made a gun with his fingers, pointed it at my head, and mouthed bang, before he swaggered out of sight.





65


Dora stopped by before I went to find Gon. She sat there for a long while before she apologized.

“I didn’t know you were close to Leesu. If I had known, I wouldn’t have said that to him. Still, someone needed to speak up and stop him.” She started out soft but by the end her voice was strong. “I still can’t wrap my head around it. How did you end up becoming friends with someone like him . . .” she mumbled.

Someone like him. Yes, that was what everybody must’ve thought of Gon. I was one of them. I told Dora the same thing I had said to Dr. Shim. That if I understood Gon, I thought I could somehow understand what happened to Mom and Granny. I wanted to give it a try so that I could unlock at least one secret in life.

“So did you find out?”

I shook my head. “But I found something else.”

“What?”

“Gon.”

Dora shrugged and shook her head.

“But why do you have to go searching for him?” she asked for the last time.

“Because I’ve realized he is my friend.”

That was my answer.





66


The sea breeze was salty and fishy. The kind of smell that erased the seasons and directions altogether. I sneaked into the farmer’s market as if I was being pushed by the wind. People were in line for a popular sweet-and-sour chicken place.

It turned out Steamed Bun wasn’t great at giving directions. I asked around for the dance shoes store, but it was nowhere to be found. I wandered in the market for a long time before I stumbled into an alley that seemed more like a maze. It was a dizzying tangle and I went wherever my feet took me.

Darkness in winter settled quickly. One moment you noticed it gathering, the next moment everything turned inky black. I heard a strange sound from somewhere. It sounded like a squeak, or a newborn puppy’s cry. Then the sound was layered with a few more voices and laughter. I turned to the sound and saw a half-open entrance to a dark building. It was a shoddy iron gate, swaying in the wind. I heard snickers. Suddenly, a strange chill crept down my spine. I tried to think of a word that would describe the feeling. This was familiar. But I couldn’t think of the word.

Just then, the gate creaked open and a group of kids came rushing out. I quickly hid behind the wall. They looked around my age or a few years older, giggling as they vanished into the night. Again, a familiar feeling crept over me.

There, I caught sight of a high heel lying in front of the door. A fancy shoe covered in gold sparkles. I flipped it over and saw soft leather glued to its sole. It looked like a Latin dance shoe. As if the shoe was showing me where to go, there was a set of stairs leading below. I padded down the stairs in the dark. At the foot of them were piles of boxes and another thick iron gate with a long steel latch. I stood in front of the door. I could open it from my side but the rustiness took me some time. Finally, I managed to remove the latch and opened the door.

There was clutter everywhere. Heaps of junk were littered in the dirty, shabby room. It looked like a secret hideout but I couldn’t guess what was going on inside.