Atonement, About it's Cruelty - Chapter 16
“During the day, I get blindsided by a fool, and at night, I’m at the mercy of a brothel owner. What kind of day is this?”
Oscar muttered, almost amused. But aside from him, no one else found humor in it.
His tongue slickly swept across the tips of his teeth as he leaned in close to the brothel owner, who was becoming paler by the second.
“Smile, it’s a compliment.”
He murmured to himself about the impeccable taste he had shown, before nonchalantly turning away. As he strolled off, there was no hint of menace in his gait, but the moment Oscar disappeared from view, the brothel owner collapsed on the spot, overwhelmed.
* * *
Brothel.
What does that even mean?
Seo-ah stood frozen in front of the door, repeating the unfamiliar word she had just heard.
Brothel, brothel…
No amount of repetition would uncover its meaning for her, but one thing became clear—it referred to a specific place and was certainly not a term with any positive connotation.
“You know this place is a brothel, right?”
The man’s words had prompted the innkeeper to jump in an attempt to reassure her. But the innkeeper never explicitly said the place wasn’t a brothel, focusing instead on ensuring Seo-ah that she was just a guest for the night.
Seo-ah bit her lip hard.
A man who could have been crafted from the darkness itself, enveloped in the acrid smoke of his cigarette, exuded a sense of danger and latent violence.
She didn’t trust the innkeeper, but she couldn’t follow the man into the night either. Closing the door was about escaping them both, to buy herself time to think.
Then, from beyond the door, she sensed the innkeeper’s presence.
“Are you alright?”
It seemed a few men had hurried to assist her, helping the innkeeper to her feet. She didn’t speak, and together they disappeared somewhere out of sight.
Saliva scraped her throat as she swallowed hard. Seo-ah clenched the doorknob with her left hand and secured the deadbolt with her right. After ensuring the door was firmly locked, she double-checked the window locks.
Standing in the corner of the room, she surveyed the small, square space.
Could she possibly rest peacefully even for just one day? For a fleeting moment, this place seemed almost like a paradise.
Even in the stifling heat, Seo-ah had felt suffocated in her winter coat and dress.
Shedding them felt like shedding a burden, and the food she had eaten seemed to dissolve directly into her bloodstream, energizing her. It was her first time seeing a proper bed with such a thick mattress. She knew she would have fallen asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
But a sharp sense of urgency replaced the drowsiness. She couldn’t afford to fail her mission before it even began.
Quickly, Seo-ah changed back into her original clothes. Only when she put them on did she notice the smell of sweat and dirt mixed together.
She didn’t immediately put the coat on but spread it out on the bed, inner side up, to check all the pockets thoroughly to ensure nothing was torn or missing, particularly the key and the ownership certificate she had received today.
She spread out the certificate to check the details again—her written name, today’s date, the safe deposit box number, and the seal.
Worried that it might crumple or erase something, she carefully placed the certificate between another piece of paper before securing it in her pocket, tying the pocket tightly and making sure it was well knotted.
The lining of her coat showed a hodgepodge of uneven pockets and haphazard stitching.
Suddenly, memories of that night surfaced—the night of the raid when her grandfather’s grave was desecrated, the red flames that had devoured her mentor.
“Is this it? The thing he’s been searching for?”
The night she had pulled out the hidden golden key.
“Don’t go. The odds of failure are too high. You’ll get entangled in all sorts of trouble before you can even start your plan.”
Seo-ah laughed hollowly at the memory.
“Just like that. Right after arriving, I got wrapped up in all sorts of trouble…”
She fiddled with the frayed hem of her old coat, plucking at a loose thread. As she tidied up the fraying ends, she also packed away the sudden resurgence of memories, pushing them back under the surface.
Her hands moved faster again.
After tidying her coat, Seo-ah opened her travel bag. She carefully folded the underwear she had clumsily washed and placed it in a corner of the bag. It was still damp and might smell, but that couldn’t be helped.
Just as she was about to close her bag, she hesitated.
She spread the bag wide open again and gently lifted a crumpled piece of red silk.
As a child, listening to music in the courtyard, she often sneaked up to the wall to peek at the neighborhood girls playing outside. Their rosy cheeks and glistening black eyes were framed by beautifully braided hair, swinging with red ribbons at the ends.
Seo-ah had always envied how well the deep black and bright red suited them, wishing her own hair and eyes could be just as dark and lovely.
She folded the ribbon neatly, halving it repeatedly until a butterfly-embroidered tip was on top, and placed it on the cleaner side of her luggage. Then, without further ado, she closed the bag.
She donned her coat, securing it with a belt to prevent it from billowing out, ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Seo-ah moved stealthily to the window, concealing herself against the wall. Peeking out from the edge of the curtain, she surveyed the area outside.
How and when could she escape this place?
She was scanning the surroundings, tuning her senses to any movement around the room.
* * *
“Time for her training.”
The brothel owner entered the room and declared abruptly as someone supporting her responded instantly.
“The new girl you’re talking about?”
“Who else would I be talking about?”
The refined tone she usually affected was gone, revealing her true character after a long time.
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