Beasts of a Little Land(14)
Jade held the sharp edge of the knife against the dark green skin of the watermelon, and pressed down hard. With a crisp crack, the knife slid down and revealed the deep pink flesh speckled with black seeds. She was cutting the halves into quarters when she felt something bite her hand. She looked down at her left palm and saw a deep gash, from which dark orbs of blood like pomegranate seeds were welling up rapidly. She held her hand away from the watermelon, letting the blood fall onto the floor instead. Without any rags to bind the wound, she balled up her bare left hand into a tight fist, and struggled to clean up the mess and wash up the cutting board and knife with one hand.
Jade wobbled back to the portico, carrying the watermelon wedges in a basket with her right arm. She heard them before she saw them: deep, unfamiliar voices speaking in a mix of Korean and Japanese. Rounding the corner, she saw the girls in their petticoats, standing in a row next to their cots. Walking around in the courtyard in front of them were four men, and next to them in her fine silk outfit, Silver. Jade found Stoney in the corner of her eye and breathed a sigh of relief.
“These are all the girls you have at this school?” asked a Korean man in Western civilian dress.
“Yes,” Silver answered quietly. Her eyes were bloodshot even in the moonlight. Jade thought of the knife in the kitchen and backed away quietly—but her feet crunched lightly on the sand, and the Korean officer whipped his head around like a hound.
“You weren’t trying to hide this one?” he said, grabbing Jade by the shoulders and making her stand in front of him.
“No, of course not. I didn’t even realize she was out of bed,” Silver said.
The other three men were dressed in uniform. One of them said something to the plainclothes officer in Japanese, stepping onto the portico without taking off his boots.
“Are you aware that all courtesans’ establishments, brothels, and the like must be licensed and operated by the government?” the Korean man asked.
“This house has been in operation for more than a century, passed down from daughter to daughter,” Silver said. “We’ve always paid our taxes. We’ve done nothing out of tradition.”
“Don’t pretend to be a fool, you whore. I’d be more careful with my words, if I were you—I know very well what you’ve been up to,” he snapped, and she fell into silence. “You should be thankful that Major Hayashi hasn’t shut this place down already,” he added, glancing at the uniformed officer on the portico.
With his square head and muscular neck barely contained by his collar, Jade thought that the man called Hayashi looked like a khaki-clad bull. He walked slowly up and down the portico, looking at the girls with keen interest. They kept their faces bowed, and he paused in front of a girl, held up her face in his hand, and turned it left and right, before moving on to the next one. He stopped when he reached Luna and smiled, then shouted jovially in Japanese to his officers. They laughed.
Major Hayashi lifted up Luna’s chin, studying her face closely. She kept her eyes downcast, her arms folded tightly over her chest. The major let go of her face and forcefully uncrossed her arms, letting them fall limply to her sides. Then he ran his finger across her collarbone, and then down to her chest, bound tightly by her petticoat. He cupped her breast in his hand and roughly squeezed, until she let out a distressed moan.
“Please.” Silver turned to the Korean officer, suddenly more deferential. “I raised that one with more care than if she’d been born to a noble family. From birth she’s only been treated like a young lady. This girl is not a courtesan. She’s not even registered in the guild.” Then she added, “He can have anyone but her.”
“Among the young ones, she is clearly the best, and you yourself are too old. Better shut up about it rather than risk lives,” the officer said. “If you don’t want him to take her here in front of everyone, you may as well give him a room.”
“No, I won’t,” Silver said defiantly. It only took one look from her, and suddenly Stoney leaped out of the corner and threw himself between Luna and the major, pushing the man away. The major’s men all picked up their rifles and aimed at Stoney, causing the girls to scream. Hayashi himself staggered a little, then regained his composure with a smile. He threw a punch at Stoney’s face, which he blocked with one arm. But immediately two of the officers grabbed hold of Stoney’s arms, twisted them against his back, and forced him down to the floor, kicking and struggling silently. When Stoney was finally pinned down on his belly, the major lit up a cigarette and took a long drag, putting a booted foot on top of Stoney’s neck.
Jade didn’t know if the high-pitched shriek was coming from her own mouth or the other women’s. Hearing the commotion, Hayashi laughed, digging in the heel firmly with all his bullish weight; Stoney, unable to scream out, panted like a dog. Some of the young girls were openly crying, and the older ones were frozen in terror, biting their lips. Jade felt her knees wobble and the edges of her consciousness fraying.
Hayashi muttered in Japanese, of which Jade could only catch the words for Joseon filth. He breathed out a white column of smoke and stepped even harder onto Stoney’s neck. Sweat was streaming down the mute man’s back, and his face was turning blue.
“Stop, please!” Silver rushed onto the portico and knelt next to Stoney. “Don’t kill this man, he meant no harm.” She too was crying—something she’d never done in front of the others. “He’s only a simpleton and a mute, please have mercy.”