LOVE NEVER FAILS
Author: Cynthia Muak
Zhen Shan Mei was working on her laptop busily finishing off a report on some Japanese girls caught overstaying their visas and arrested during a surprise raid of entertainment outlets at Seoul’s famous red light district.
She was assigned to assist PTU (Police Tactical Unit) at the last minute and wished she had done a more thorough research on the entertainment outlets rather than assuming this was a simple case of illegal aliens overstaying. The girls arrested and those who managed to escape came obviously under the protection of a very sophisticated smuggling syndicate of ‘flesh’ operators who had all escape routes in the raided vice dens so well-concealed that they avoided detection.
Her colleague Zhao Di, a ‘confidential’ filing clerk for their department and a good friend, popped her head round the open doorway to her office and announced, “Shan Mei, Mother Superior wants to see you.”
“Thank you. Know what she wants?”
Zhao Di shook her head and then went off in the direction of the office coffee vending machine down the office corridor.
“Oh, no,” Shan Mei thought as she swallowed down some saliva. “What now? Not another lecture?” The latest operation was carried out clumsily; only 10 girls were caught, at least two dozen other girls must have managed to escape through some hitherto undetected escape exits out of the vice dens and Shan Mei, even before she submitted the report, knew Madam Kang Kee wouldn’t let her off so lightly. With her years of training, she should have known better.
When her colleagues addressed the head of their Special Criminal Bureau Unit as Mother Superior in that tone, it could only mean that something serious was afoot. Otherwise, the boss was ‘KK’ short for Madam Kang Kee to one and all.
Shan Mei rose from her chair, straightened out her suit, took a sip of her almost-cold coffee from her mug to wet her dry lips, inhaled a deep gulp of air and then made her way to the corner office of their floor. She knocked on the door.
“Come in,” came a firm response.
“Good morning, Madam. You want to see me?” Shan Mei asked tepidly.
“Yes, Shan Mei. Please close the door and take a seat.”
Shan Mei did as she was told and sat down warily.
“Want a drink? No? Then I’ll not waste my breath on any preliminaries. Two special Investigation Officers from Interpol are in town. They have been here a little over 2 months, working from offices on the 10th floor. One officer is responsible for collecting information on human trafficking currently being off-loaded into Western Europe, the other responsible for the smuggling of illegal substance. Our Unit has been assigned to assist in human trafficking. Commanding Officer Park and his team at Unit B will assist in illegal substance. Interpol has reason to believe the route starts here, along the border, making use of the Siberian Manchurian and the Siberian Mongolian routes. Also vice versa for Eastern European girls and drugs coming into our country. An agent is requested from our Special Unit to work under cover. You have been selected for this assignment.”
Due to her years of grueling on-the-job training, Shan Mei knew better than to argue or ask questions. She simply sat there, disciplined enough to remain quiet and looked directly at Mother Superior, waiting for further instructions.
Madam Kang Kee did not betray any tell-tale sign on her face as she leaned over the surface of her desk and handed Shan Mei a sealed envelope.
Pressing a piece of paper into Shan Mei’s hand at the same time, Madam Kang further added, “You’re to travel to this address and see this lady. A little unmarked car has been assigned to you for your use. Today is Monday. You have until Friday night to ferret out the information that is required. Regardless of the outcome of the mission, you are to leave that place by Saturday morning. The girl whose job you are replacing will be returning to her place of employment on Saturday.”
With a firm handshake and a best of luck wish, Shan Mei left Madam Kang’s office with the paper and envelope in hand and hurried back to her own small little office. She couldn’t tell whether the assignment was highly dangerous or moderately dangerous. She only knew she had to do her best. She sorted out her papers and cleared her desk before leaving the office.
An hour later, after clearing up her office and leaving her report for her assistant to submit later to the department supervisor, she left her 6th floor office and went downstairs to the 3rd floor Cafeteria for a quick bite, before going to Props to get her hair styled. Then she would drop by the Vehicle Depot on Lower Basement of the same building to sign for the mini-car she was allocated. This should give her ample time to get herself to the border to start on her ‘new’ job, Shan Mei mused.
The 12-storey building that Shan Mei worked in was located within a 5 acre site of lush greenery forming part of the Namsan Park. Although it housed the many divisions of the top secret Special Criminal Bureau, the building carried no identification on its outside. Due to the tranquility of its location and its low density in human and vehicle traffic because of its closeness to the Yongsan district US Military Base, many people assumed it was some kind of hospital – either research or psychiatric. Its quiet façade belied the never-ending stream of activities going on behind those 4 walls.
The building was a simple, red-brick construction with large tinted glass windows along the walls, no visible entrance on the ground level – security entrance only via the basement. Two other basement levels were as used car park and Vehicle Depot. Security was very tight around the grounds and within the building itself. Naturally, all employees who worked there had been carefully vetted, not once but 3 times by different departments. Shan Mei and Zhao Di, both graduating the same year from university, had worked in this building for the past 6 years.
==
It wasn’t until several hours later as she was dressing in her new living quarters that Shan Mei regretted accepting the assignment. She should have cried ‘sick’ and backed off gracefully. Not that she was afraid of the danger she knew she would face; but she was unhappy with the ‘uniform’ she was supposed to put on. How vulgar and revealing a Kitty Kat’s clothes were! Hiding her thoughts, she pulled on a pair of sheer black silk tights over her long, shapely legs. When she started off for work this morning, she had never dreamed that by the end of the day, she’d be dressing – or rather undressing – to be leered at by a room full of sex-hungry males!
“How do I look?” Shan Mei asked herself as she looked into the mirror, thinking what a ridiculous figure she cut in the very brief satin outfit, with its stiffly arched, fluffy cat tail protruding from the back, and equally silly fluffy ears perched on her shoulder-length hair which in actual fact was a wig of very thick, straight glossy blue-black mane reaching to her shoulders and had a straight fringe reaching just above her nicely arched eyebrows. The costume fitted Shan Mei perfectly, showing the top of her perfectly-shaped breasts, tapering down to a tiny waist and well-rounded hips. Pushing her feet into a pair of 3” high black patent leather stilettos completed her ‘look’.
Entering the smoke-filled Kitty Kat Klub, Shan Mei was conscious of male eyes running lecherously over her scantily clad body, lingering at bare shoulders, beautiful breasts giving the illusion of fullness by in-built push-ups, and exaggerated length of thigh below the high-cut away briefs, so high cut that the tapering V crotch was barely wide enough to just keep her private parts covered even if she stood still and not move. Squirming inside, she lowered the tray of drinks she was carrying over to a table to shield herself.
“Come on, little Tabby,” a coarse voice cajoled above the near-deafening blare of disco music. “Show us what you have hidden behind that tray! I bet it’s something juicy and furry!” That coarse voice made a whooshing, drooling sound with his tongue and puckering mouth.
It took a tremendous effort on Shan Mei’s part not to tip the tray and its contents on the smirking face.
“Don’t let it get to you,” another kitty kat murmured as Shan Mei crossed paths with her. “Imagine what it would be like if we had to strip for them.”
“I can’t imagine,” Shan Mei shuddered and glancing at the men around her, wondered how the girls could work at such a job night in and night out.
“Hey, sweetie,” a boozy voice rasped at her side. “Care to meet me after the show?”
She was about to tell him to go to hell, when a warning glance from a kitty kat nearby stopped her just in time.
“So what do you say?” the drunken voice persisted.
“Sorry, sir,” she purred, refusing to glance at him as she went towards a table of customers beckoning to her, “but I’ve promised to meet somebody else. Come early tomorrow evening and ask me again.”
“How do you stand this?” she muttered to another kitty kat, remembering to keep a smile on her heavily lip-sticked mouth.
“By closing my mind and thinking of my weekly pay cheque and big packet of tips!” came the answer.
Shan Mei tried to do the same but as the night wore on she was tempted to leave. Yet if she did, she would get into serious trouble with her Mother Superior.
How she had to hear the insinuating and degrading remarks of these disgusting pigs night after night, even though she was told she only had to at this joint until Friday night. And ‘disgusting’ was the perfect word for them, for no self-respecting male would want to be seen in such a dump!
So, what were those two executive types waiting at the entrance of the gaudily decorated room doing here, she thought.
Immaculately groomed, they not only stood out like gold among dross, but in their late twenties and early thirties, were younger than most of the other customers. Far too good looking too, particularly the older one.
Under pretext of counting the cash on her tray, Shan Mei watched the older one survey the club and its occupants with a disdainful sweep of his eyes, as he listened to what his younger companion was saying.
She was even more intrigued when she saw Manager Choi, the floor manager, hurrying forward to show them to a table with an unrestricted view of the stage where a strip show was soon to come on. Big signs in lights, outside the club premises, had promised ‘Hot, curvy blonde beauties from Eastern Europe’ in a strip show that would out-strip any other show the men had ever seen. Everything about the show was promoted as Big: Big line-up of beauties, Big boobs and Bid-budget production. The only things tiny were the strippers’ costumes.
“You’re not paid to stand around,” Manager Choi hissed at Shan Mei later as he paused in front of her. “Go and do your stuff. And remember to wiggle your bum as you walk along.” He jerked his head in the direction of the newcomers.
Shan Mei had been too intent on observing them to remember they were at one of the tables she served. The smile she had forced herself to wear all evening was instantly replaced by her natural wide one as she moved gracefully towards them with her tray, thinking to herself, “Maybe these guys are responsible for the trafficking trade. Maybe it’s my lucky night after all.”
As she went to say, “Good evening” and ask them for their order, the younger man, with a wide look on his face, half rose and began stammering, “Yo.u….” Then he abruptly sat down when Shan Mei gave him a cold, icy stare that froze his words before they managed to leave his mouth. When he collected his cool, he continued, “You new here?” Shan Mei didn’t think it was necessary to answer.
“May I take your order, Sir?” she asked the older man, a pleasant smile still on her lips, ignoring the younger man whose tongue seemed to be caught between his teeth.
“Scotch on the rocks,” the older man grunted, answering her question. He then turned to the younger man and asked, “What about you, Wylie?”
“I’ll have a double,” the younger man who answered to the name of Wylie added, recovered somewhat from his shock and was about to ask some questions as he eyed Shan Mei with interest.
Shan Mei forestalled further conversation by making her way to the bar counter to give the barman her order, and while she waited for the drinks, she half turned to look at the younger man again. Dressed up and all spruced, he looked very dashing and highly presentable. Yet even as her gaze swept over him, her eyes were drawn to his older companion.
His air of command set him apart from every other male in that room. Bleached auburn hair, streaked with blond highlights, combed back with centre parting, from a high, intelligent forehead, his demeanour showed he was accustomed to having his commands obeyed. A pair of round-rimmed glasses gave him a heightened sense of ‘class.’ Was his command crossed tonight – he had a bad-tempered scowl on his face? Pity he couldn’t muster a smile. It would have made him even more handsome!
“You’re the one who ordered 2 whiskeys?” the barman asked behind her, and she swung around to take the drinks from him.
With the drinks on her tray, she went briskly across the room, evading the hands that tried to touch her and ignoring the salacious remarks continually whispered to her.
“These girls don’t look bad at all,” Wylie remarked as a matter-of-factly as he observed the waitresses moving around on the floor.
“But only a girl on the make would work here,” the older man retorted as he glared at Wylie.
“X-Man!” Wylie warned the older man, glancing uncomfortably at Shan Mei as she reached the table.
Unperturbed, the older man favoured her with a disdainful stare, a faint sneer curving his lips, and Shan Mei seethed with indignation. Regardless of what he took her for, he had no right to behave as though she had no feelings. But then he was the type who thought manners weren’t required in a club like the Kitty Kat. The glass in her hand trembled, and with an effort she resisted the urge to tip its contents over his head. That would have taught him to mind his tongue. Trouble was, it would also have gotten her the sack and she couldn’t afford that!
Setting down the two glasses on coasters, she accepted payment from the younger man Wylie and searched in the furry purse at her waist for the change.
“Drink up and let’s get the hell out of this joint,” X-Man ordered the younger man after he had downed his drink in one gulp, and unfurling 6-feet of rippling muscles as he rose from his armchair to shake out the crease in his expensively tailored trousers.
“Since I’m here, I might as well have a fling at roulette,” Wylie said. “Care to join me unless you prefer to say and watch the show? The manager did say the strippers have big you-know-what!” the younger man continued, giving the older man a wicked wink. He didn’t want to be specific since he noticed that the kitty kat who just served them was still standing by their table. For the first time, Wylie noticed that she had an identification band around her left wrist with the name ‘TABBY’. He smiled in the semi darkness.
The older man’s hesitation was palpable, then he shrugged. “I guess anything is preferable to watching those bimbos gyrating around with barely any clothes on.”
Again, Shan Mei resisted the urge to hit him with her tray, and stony-faced, she dropped the change on to the table and walked away with an exaggerated wiggle of her hips, just to give him more mud to sling.
For the next half hour, she was busy serving drinks and snacks to a crowd of celebrating football fans, and was returning a stack of used glasses to the bar, when the high-pitched voice of Manager Choi broke into her thoughts.
“Hey, you Tabby! They’re short-staffed in the gaming room. Give them a hand on the double.”
Though resenting his tone, she nodded, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that she knew nothing of the gaming operation. It would mean her being in the same room as Wylie and X-Man, but even that was preferable to the lewd glances of those customers in the club itself. Though the same ghastly types were likely to be gambling, they’d at least concentrate on the spin of the roulette wheel or the cards at the chemmy table, rather than on her.
Edging past the seated, hunched figures and the bystanders watching over their shoulders, she looked around for someone to tell her where to go and what to do.
Approaching the nearest croupier, she waited till he had spun the wheel before asking him how she could assist.
“It’s probably the drinks and snacks they want you to help with,” he told her uninterestedly, his gaze focused on the spinning wheel.
No better off for the information, Shan Mei stepped back from him and bumped smack against a broad expanse of chest. She turned to apologise, but the words froze on her lips as she found herself staring at the one man she had hoped to avoid. Well, at least he wasn’t scowling, nor did he appear irritated by the encounter.
“Following me?” he drawled, his tone maddeningly condescending.
“We’re short-handed and I’m serving,” she said flatly, tilting her head and staring straight into his eyes. “May I bring you a drink?”
Unexpectedly, his expression softened and she smiled at the sight of the curving mouth and the dark eyes that were suddenly friendly, instead of hostile.
“A coffee, please. Black and strong if you don’t mind.” Within minutes she was back, tapping him lightly on the shoulder as he bent to say something to Wylie at the table.
“3,000 Won please, Sir.” She had forgotten to ask the bartender how much to charge and knowing it was 3,000 Won in the club itself, assumed it would be the same in the casino.
“3,000 Won?” X-man echoed.
His tone was aggressive and she wondered at the hardening of his mouth, when it had been smiling at her a moment ago. Could she have charged too much? Even if she had, the difference was pennies, and unless he was particularly tight-fisted, why was he so angry?
“Yes Sir,” she answered.
“Got yourself a nice little racket here, haven’t you?” The quietness of his tone was menacing.
“I don’t understand?”
“I’d have thought it was simple enough. You’re trying to make yourself some money on the side.”
“I ……….?”
“Don’t you know a casino doesn’t charge for coffee?” he elaborated.
Shan Mei gave an exclamation. What an idiot she was to forget! Of course they didn’t. Snacks, coffee and tea were free in the casino.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized, “but this is the first time I’ve worked in this section.”
“If you’re going to lie, at least think of something more original,” he grated, and taking a 5,000 Won note from his pocket, tossed it on her tray. “Keep the change. You obviously need it.”
She had never felt so insulted in her life. Her throat burned with unshed tears – for the first time in all her 28 years, the real, hostile world stared her in the face.
Shan Mei insisted on returning the note, but he had already walked off.
(Please Note: Correction to error in Chapter 1:
Special Criminal Bureau Unit should read as Special Criminal Intelligence Bureau Unit. Apologies for oversight and other spelling errors.)
The story continues, at Kitty Kat Club on ZSM's first night of 'work'.
Wylie looked around the roulette table at the players who were hunched up concentrating on their betting antes. He was cleaned out and disgruntled until he spotted a group of 4 players who had recently joined the table winning big, bet after bet. He decided to follow their game plan noticing the 4 players played the same game. He motioned to X-Man and murmured something. It must have been a request for money, for the older man took a wad of notes from his wallet and handed them over before winding his way towards the exit. Clearly he was bored and had decided to leave.
“Get me a whiskey and a soda, will you sweetie?” a man nearby called to Shan Mei. Turning to comply, she felt a soft, bulky object underfoot. Glancing down, she saw it was the black crocodile-skin wallet X-Man had taken from his pocket to give Wylie the money. It must have slipped out of his trouser pocket as he put it back.
Her first instinct was to leave it where it was. It would serve the obnoxious snob right if someone less principled than herself found it and kept it. On the other hand, what better way of embarrassing him than by proving her honesty? Fortunately he had stopped to chat to a man by the casino door, so she would have the pleasure of seeing his discomfort when she handed it to him. Retrieving the wallet from the floor, she hurried across to him.
“I think this is yours, Sir?” she said, her voice dripping honey, as she handed him the wallet. If she expected contrition, she was badly mistaken.
“It is,” he confirmed, ungraciously. “But how did you get hold of it?”
“If you’re implying I picked your pocket ……….”
He did not deny the accusation, and anger swamped her. But she managed to keep control.
“It was lying on the floor near the roulette table,” she said acidly.
“Really?” The tone was unbelieving, and to add insult to injury he riffled through the contents. “Nothing appears to be missing,” he conceded, his eyes staring directly into hers. The subdued light in the premises had made the pupils dilate and the irises were just a fine dark rim. “Clearly you deserve a reward.” He extracted two 10,000 Won notes and held them out to her.
“Honesty is its own reward,” she replied cuttingly, and with a toss of her head, stalked off proudly on her tottering stilettos.
She was half way across the room when a stout, swarthy man blocked her path.
“Who the hell are you?” he demanded.
“I’m Tabby, new on the job, Sir. I started today.”
A pudgy hand gripped the soft flesh of her upper arm and forcing her to keep pace with him, he marched her to a quiet spot on the far side of the room. “I know every girl I hire,” he grunted.
Guessing he was Manager Jim, the club Manager, Shan Mei had no option but to give her story. “One of your regular girls had to run home due to a family emergency, and Auntie Xu, the lady supervising your girls, recruited my services to help her out for a week. You can check with her.”
“As replacements go, you don’t look bad.” Slitty eyes roamed from breasts to lips to thighs. “If you’re good to me, I might be willing to keep you on permanently.”
Nauseated by the suggestion, Shan Mei attempted to wrench her arm free, but to no avail for he tightened his hold.
“I admire a bit of spunk,” he leered. “The ones who say ‘yes’ too quickly are no fun.”
“I’d never say ‘yes’ to you,” she snapped. “If you don’t let go of me, I’d scream,” she warned.
“I’m sure it won’t be necessary.” X-Man’s voice said behind her, his strong fingers pried Manager Jim’s from her arm. “No gentleman detains a lady against her will.” Typically of the man, there was sarcastic emphasis on the words ‘gentleman’ and ‘lady’.
“In this establishment, the customer is always right,” Manager Jim said with forced acceptance as he backed away.
“Nice people you work for,” X-Man murmured. “It was lucky I noticed what was going on.”
“Thank you,” she managed tightly, rubbing the red mark on her upper arm and still smarting from the insulting inflexion of the word ‘lady’.
X-Man shrugged wide, powerful shoulders. “I hope you learned a lesson. Next time you’re accosted, there might not be anyone around to rescue you.” Knotting dark thick eyebrows together, he added, “Not that you deserve it. You doll yourself up to turn men on and act the squeamish virgin when you succeed.”
“I clearly don’t turn you on,” she answered pointedly. “But no doubt you’re a saint.”
“Let’s just say I’m not attracted to a girl that one has to pay for one’s pleasures.”
“How dare you?” Forgetting her sole reason for being at this club, in her fury at his degrading remark, Shan Mei’s hand came out and slapped his face, snapping his head with the force of her blow. Under his tan complexion, a perfect handprint was clearly visible. Xiang Zhe raised his hand to his stinging flesh, and his expression grew passive.
“I thought face-slapping went out with virgins who wore their long hair in plaits,” he said with surprising calm. “But, maybe you mistook your furry tail for a plait!”
“The only thing I mistook was you – Sir Galahad!” she retorted. “The next time you rescue a damsel in distress, perhaps you’ll manage to be more gracious.” Near to tears, she fled into the staff room and collapsed onto a stool.
What a nightmare trying to accomplish her assignment had proved to be. She had been ogled, pawed, propositioned and insulted and the evening was not yet finished. Shan Mei had no idea how she was going to get through the remaining hours. Tonight was only her first night at work; she still had 4 more nights to go! “Ugh!” she shuddered when she thought of those sleazy, grimy hands whose touch she had to endure.
A little after midnight, Wylie appeared to have had enough of the roulette wheel, and was ready to try to his luck at the card table. As he vacated his seat, he shoved a thick wad of notes into his jacket pocket.
He saw Shan Mei nearby and walked up to her. “Hello Tabby, know where my friend has vanished to?”
Shan Mei indicated with her head towards the front entrance. “That way.”
Before Wylie made his way to the main door, he whispered cheekily into her ear, “You look too delicious for your own good. I’ll be back to sup on you tomorrow night.”
“Behave yourself and mind your tongue, Mister,” she sneered as she gave him a cold hard stare, an impish smile about to appear on those red-hot lips.
X-Man was out front, sitting on a stone bench, quietly smoking a cigarette when Wylie found him.
“Why all alone out here?”
“That Tabby cat sent me flying out of the front door with a stinging slap.” He rubbed his left cheek gently, and smiled secretly to himself as he recalled her angry, flashing eyes.
“I didn’t realize she was such a wild cat. What did you do?”
“I was trying to be mean to her!”
“That wouldn’t been too difficult for you, seeing you’ve been dispensing disparaging remarks and ugly looks her way all night.”
“She just rubs me the wrong way, when she acts all hoity-toity!”
“That serious, erh?”
“What do you mean?”
“You fancy her….,” Wylie stated baldly.
“What nonsense are you spouting? Thank goodness, after tonight, I won’t get to see the likes of her again. She has no pride, parading half-naked around the place in front of those disgusting creatures. Didn’t I say girls like her worked in these joints on the look-out for sugar-daddies loaded with piles of cash? ”
He flung his cigarette to the ground with an impatient gesture, and stepped on the butt heavily to squash out the light.
“I’ve poked around the place while you were around the gaming table. The set-up looks like a simple operation. Even the strippers seemed like they haven’t seen anything better than a third-rate club. The only thing going for this club is its remote location. And the amount of parking space available – many truckers seem to favour this spot, seeing the great number of trucks parked in the parking lot at the back of the building. These operators have been left undisturbed mainly because it’s too far out and isolated for the law enforcement authorities to bother them. As long as everyone gets a piece of the action, these slimy operators can do whatever they like. Special Unit said they would arrange to plant a mole here. I’m sure we’ll get a report at next week’s meeting.”
Wylie looked at X-Man sneakily and grinned slyly. “I’m sure you will.”
Just so that Wylie agreed with his reasoning, X-Man suggested they both take a walk around the club premises.
“Don’t you want to play any more?” X-Man asked.
“I had wanted to try the card table. But I think I’m too whacked to be able to concentrate.”
After that, they left. The drive back to their hotel in Yonch’on, the town nearest to the Kitty Kat Klub with passable, decent accommodation, took almost an hour because Wylie wasn’t familiar with the narrow, poorly-lit country lanes and roads.
In the car, Wylie noticed X-Man had remained silent, absent-mindedly stroking his chin from time to time, his mind somewhere else obviously deep in thought. In fact, X-man was thinking about that kitty kat, Tabby. She had a beautiful smile when she forgot her sullenness or was serving better-behaved customers. As detached and disinterested as he tried to make himself, he hadn’t been able to conceal the effect that Tabby had on him. Oh yes, he was piqued …..not only piqued, more like interested and caught, to be more accurate if he was honest, with her pair of large, dark eyes sparkling with innocence, mischief and fire whatever the mood suited her!
Yonch’on was a small country town – more like a large country village. If not for it being the central northern second final stop of the South-Korean Central Railway Line and the last frontier town on the south-central Korean side before the dividing border of North and South, its days would pass by like any sleepy hick town stuck in the middle of nowhere because it was heavily patrolled by the American as well as the South Korean military forces.
In the whole of Yonch’on, there was only one 4-star hotel, so rated maybe because the brick building it occupied had 4 storeys. The rest of the hostelry establishments in the area ranged from no-star sleeping quarters frequented by back-packers, to 3-star motels and inns of ill repute.
Kim Youzhen, the man preferred to be addressed to as Wylie at the Kitty Kat Klub, had wondered which government department awarded the star-rating for Yonch’on. The Yoncho Hotel where they were staying in, although rated 4-star, fell short on facilities yet the place was always packed, accordingly to the receptionist who checked them in earlier in the day, and he kept repeating they were lucky to get the last remaining room – only due to a last minute cancellation by a frequent VIP visitor.
Once back in their room, the men removed their jackets and ties. X-Man went into the tiny bathroom to wash the smell of the Kitty Kat Klub from his face he told Youzhen, while Youzhen slumped on to a chair, massaging his shoulders with his hands. “Gosh, this gambling business is really hard work. Good thing my luck held out tonight and I was smart enough to follow the bets placed by those 4 shifty looking guys otherwise I would have been taken to the cleaners.”
“No one asked you to bet such high stakes and stay as if you weren’t willing to leave.”
“If I didn’t stay, how did you think I managed to get these photos?” Youzhen shot back, thinking the man was so ungrateful. He placed a small device, supposedly a spy camera, on the table.
X-Man smiled apologetically and he made his way to the mini-bar and brought back to where Youzhen was sitting by the balcony two glasses, a small Chivas Regal and a bottle of soda. “Sorry, no ice,” he apologized. As he poured out the drinks, he asked, “Now that you’ve got your photos, what time do you want us to leave this place tomorrow morning?”
Youzhen shot his head up and looked surprised. “I’m not leaving tomorrow. I want to remain here for a few more days.” He brought out a thick wad of notes from the pocket of his jacket that he had thrown over the bed. “Man, I’m rolling on a winning streak. I can’t leave now!”
“You’re staying back because of that tabby cat.” X-Man declared outright, his eyes stared hard at Youzhen not believing for one second that he was more interested in the gambling. “I noticed how you were ogling at her most of the night.”
“Hell, no! I’m staying back because I want to see what else I can dig up about that joint. This evening at the roulette wheel, I saw the croupier handing stacks of cash to 4 players who came in to play for just an hour. I caught on very quickly and followed their bets. You said that place was a simple operation? Now you tell me, how come they seem to have a never-ending supply of hard cash in their vaults? And, of course, I am there to help you keep on eye on Tabby.”
X-Man paused at whatever he was doing when he heard that. He wanted to throw a comment back, thought better of it and pressed his lips together to stop himself. A moment later, he poured the remaining whiskey in his glass down his throat. He looked at Youzhen straight in the face and grunted, “Do what you want but KEEP your hands off her.”
“What makes you think she’ll let me lay my hands on her?” Youzhen asked lazily and then laughed wickedly at a secret thought.
Youzhen counted out some notes from his thick wad of cash, then he handed these to X-Man. “Here,” he said as he pushed the money across the table to X-Man. “Thanks for the loan.”
“Hold on to the money for now,” X-Man replied, his attention taken with pouring himself another drink. He sat stiffly in his chair, his eyes vaguely concentrating on the swirls of the golden liquor in his glass, then, in one swift movement, he tossed the entire contents of the glass into his mouth.
After a while when both men seemed to run out of conversation, X-Man rose from his chair and said he’d retire since he was going to take the early train back to Seoul. “And don’t squander your cash away since you’re not allowed to use any of your identification cards for cash or anything while you’re here. Remember, I won’t be here to bail you out.”
Youzhen shrugged his shoulders and reminded X-Man to take the micro spy camera with him. “Good idea you’re leaving tomorrow. You can drop this off at the Digital Imaging Centre and see whether the guys in the team can match these 4 faces with anyone on file.”
The next morning, X-Man took the early train back to Seoul. That evening, Youzhen made sure he was at the Kitty Kat Klub as soon as it opened for business. He sat in the section where Tabby was supposed to be on duty. Later on in the night, he made a round of the gaming room. When he found nothing interesting going on in there, he went back the club section, watched a bit of the strip show that was on. After that he continued to watch Tabby at work, especially now that she and another kitty kat were serving a group of rowdy important-looking patrons seated in an area specially cordoned off.
==
Youzhen was still in bed when he heard a couple of knocks on the door. Thinking it was the room maid, he went to open the door, some cleaning instructions for the maid ready on his lips.
Surprise!!! X-Man was standing on the threshold, one arm leaning against the door frame, his other hand buried in his pocket. Youzhen only gaped in surprise, his mouth puckered in the shaped of a tight ‘O’.
As X-Man walked into the room, Youzhen looked at him suspiciously and couldn’t help passing some flippant comments
“What the heck? I thought you said you weren’t coming back because you’ve had enough of this godforsaken place! And now you’re back and it’s not even 24 hours since you last walked out of this room.” Youzhen sauntered after X-Man, and as he reached his bed, he hopped back onto it.
X-Man removed his overcoat and said, “Didn’t know whether you needed extra cash since you are not allowed to use your ATM or credit cards here. Who knows, maybe you lost all your winnings last night.”
“Waa, so kind and thoughtful! Thank you, my friend. For your information, I didn’t gamble at all last night. I was too busy watching Tabby at work. What a vision! That vision is still very fresh in my mind, so fresh I wasn’t able to sleep a wink all of last night. As you can see, I’m trying to catch up on sleep this morning.” As Youzhen finished his little talk, a disgusting wolfish gurgle caught in his throat. He saw X-Man’s face grimaced at his revelation, so he decided to spread another liberal layer of irksome gossip.
“Man, you should have been there last night!”
X-Man suddenly became alert, excited with guarded regret that he had missed some important action. He sat upright in the chair, slowly took out a cigarette and moments after lighting it, he oh, so casually asked, “What happened last night?” Only then did Youzhen realize why X-Man had returned; he wanted information. In his question, Youzhen heard his anxiety and his longing.
“Last night a part of the club was cordoned off and reserved specially for a group of VIP visitors. They looked swish and the amount of cash they carried almost weighted and drowned them to death. Tabby was assigned to serve them. They were throwing big notes at Tabby. When she refused to accept the tips, they ignored her protests and shoved the cash down her front anyway. One guy flashing a diamond-encrusted Rolex watch and chunky diamond signet rings on eight of his fingers, whoever he was, kept stuffing US$100 notes down the top of her costume. I bet every time he removed his hands, he managed to graze the top of her breasts.” Before Youzhen continued, he ran his tongue around his lips devilishly and grinned salaciously. “Those boobs of hers looked ready to pop out of her costume for lack of breathing space. Luckily those guys left just before midnight because if they had stayed any longer and stuffed any more notes down her front I’m sure her costume would have split at its seams. I heard Manager Jim telling that big VIP tipper that Tabby was only a replacement worker for one of their girls who had gone home for the week. It seemed her last night of work would be this Friday.”
Unaware of his own action, X-Man let out an audible sigh of relief as he settled back into the chair. Moments later he asked Youzhen, “After this Friday, you know where she’ll work from?”
“If you are desperate to know, I can always find out for you. But many of these club waitresses work on casual basis. It seems they get more tips this way, club-hopping. You know, fresh face, that kind of thing. Judging from last night’s tipping, I’d say she can get by comfortably for a month without needing to rush off to another job. Wonder whether those cash-laden guys will be back at the club tonight?”
Youzhen slid a sideways glance at X-Man and asked, “So Brother, you’re leaving later this afternoon or tomorrow morning?”
X-Man kept quiet and gave Youzhen an unfathomable look under his lashes.
“I see! Keeping me company still Saturday, right? It seems you don’t trust my intelligence gathering?” Youzhen smiled understandingly.
Later that night when X-Man and Youzhen were back at the Kitty Kat Klub, X-Man sat near the area that Youzhen had pointed out was the VIP area of the night before. As X-Man sat in his seat quietly and slowly nursing a drink, he kept his eyes openly fixed on Tabby – they were devouring her – as she went about her work. Every time when Tabby turned around and noticed his stare, he would immediately shift his eyes to the kitty kat next to her as if he was harbouring great interest for her. This riled Shan Mei no end. Many times, after she found X-Man’s eyes straying to Seri, the kitty working with her at the same station, Shan Mei had wondered what that silly man had found so enticing about Seri – maybe her wiggle, her silicone-enhanced breasts? She couldn’t understand men – they were such idiots! There were quite a number of better looking kitties working in the establishment, why was he interested in Seri? Didn’t he claim he never paid for his pleasures? Well, if that was so he had a big surprise coming – Seri only performed for money, the more the better! Everyone around the club knew about it – Seri never hid the fact that she loved money, and she often boasted how she managed to squeeze those truckers for every Won they were worth whenever she went out with them.
And for the ensuing two nights, X-Man followed the same pattern. He sat at his vantage point watching Tabby, while Youzhen enjoyed himself at the gaming tables. They usually left the club about 1 a.m.
When they checked out of Yoncho Hotel on Saturday morning, X-Man asked Youzhen, “Did you manage to get any more photos?”
“Yes, plenty!”
“Interesting ones?”
“I would say so. Very interesting ones, indeed.” Youzhen didn’t elaborate as he laughed softly. X-Man didn’t pursue because he would know soon enough whether the photos were interesting and worthwhile once the photos come back from Imaging Centre.
When they were in the car and Xiang Zhe had finished buckling his safety belt, he turned in his passenger seat to look at Youzhen and so very carelessly asked, “Did you manage to find out anything more about that Tabby cat?”
“I didn’t dare talk to her or look at her these past few nights at the club, afraid you’d again accuse me of ogling at her.” Seeing a few deep frowns unconsciously appearing on the forehead of X-Man, and the laugh wrinkle around both sides of his mouth tautened, Youzhen expelled a short quiet laugh and he shook his head in secret mirth.
He released the brakes to the car, gently stepped on the accelerator and smoothly eased the vehicle out of its parking spot and onto the main road.
He turned to X-Man and asked with an amused grin, “Anywhere you want me to drop you off when we are back in the city, or do you want to go straight back to your apartment?”
X-Man did not answer straight away – he couldn’t make up his mind. Finally he said, “If you don’t mind, I’d rather go straight home. Thanks anyway.” He sounded pre-occupied with matters too personal to share with Wylie.
“YOU?” a deep baritone boomed across the conference room in shock, the owner of the voice was so stunned he forgot for a moment where he was and why he was there. He closed his eyes and fumbled for words. Before he could decide in what manner to address a lady to whom he’d recently been unpardonably rude.
Momentarily speechless, recognizing the owner of that voice as the arrogant man she had slapped at the Kitty Kat Klub – although he had abandoned his glasses and styled his hair a different way – and remembering he had also accused her of being a thief, Shan Mei finally managed to gather her wits about her. She held on firmly to the files in her arm, as she calmly walked, with as much poise and dignity as possible, toward the man standing in the front of the room and tipping her head over in a respectful ‘employee’ bow, she apologized, “Good morning, Sir. I’m sorry I’m 5 minutes late.”
“What are you doing here?” the man managed to ask. His voice was almost curt when he greeted her, and she stammered in response, her voice trailing away, her smile fading.
“Sir, I am Zhen Shan Mei from CIU (Criminal Intelligence Unit) and I am here for the Siberian-Manchurian project meeting. Am I in the right room?”
Just then, Zhao Di came rushing into the room with a thick folder.
“Shan Mei, here are your transparencies. We’ve only just managed to get them ready.” An apologetic look crossed Zhao Di’s face thinking she had interrupted the meeting.
“Thank you, Zhao Di,” Shan Mei said as she took the folder from the nervous girl and gave her a reassuring pat on her upper arm before Zhao Di made her way out of the room, feeling somewhat uneasy that there seemed to be tension in the air.
Shan Mei turned to address the man she knew as X-man, but then she realized that it must have been another fictitious alias. In their line of investigative work, they were tagged with so many identities, Shan Mei had forgotten how many aliases she had taken.
“Sir, is this the venue for the Siberian-Manchurian Project meeting?”
“Hmm,” he grunted, not happy at all to be caught off guard and tried avoiding Shan Mei’s eyes. In fact, when Zhen Shan Mei realized it was him, she had carefully avoided his eyes too.
“Where would you like me to sit, sir?” Shan Mei asked politely seeing she had to make a presentation sometime during the course of the meeting.
“Anywhere,” came his gruff reply. Furious again at being caught unawares, X-Man was still avoiding the furtive eyes that undoubtedly were sizing up his considerably altered appearance. And then his roving eyes caught the amused look on Youzhen’s face.
Shan Mei looked around and saw Kim Youzhen. He greeted her with a sweet smile, his face all innocent, and beckoned her to the empty seat by his side. Shan Mei ignored him and opted for an empty seat at the opposite far end corner of the room.
For the benefit of Shan Mei and many of the men whose faces were new to him, in the room, X-Man introduced himself.
“I am Yin Xiang Zhe, Investigation Officer from Interpol, responsible for tracking the Far Eastern organized crime activities. I’ve been based in Interpol’s General Secretariat Thailand regional office for a year. For our sensitive and confidential Investigative work, the Thai office uses a Wine Importing Business as cover. For this Siberian-Manchurian project, I will be working out of the local CIB headquarters and the main Interpol office in Lyon, France where I had been stationed for 9 years. Team A, our group here today will only be responsible for gathering intelligence on human smuggling and trafficking by transnational organized criminal groups and networks.
Another Interpol Investigation Officer, working with another group, Team B, will be responsible for drugs and illegal substance trafficking. All information collected will be highly confidential and cannot be passed on to any of your colleagues working in the same or any other group without my authorisation. We have to be very cautious because we can never tell who may be an insider informer or will likely turn into an informer. No doubt, you all realize the ramifications of this possible outcome without my going in detail.
Of course you realize that information for the other group may surface while we collect our information. In this situation, all cross-referral intelligence that surfaces during your investigation must be reported to me in the first instance and I will decide how to proceed.
I have been assured the people working with me on this project are the best available in their fields, and I hope we can crack this network within a reasonably short time. The previous officers handling the lead were only able to break-through with mediocre results for several years because of unreliable or non-existent intelligence.
Regardless of which team we are on, A or B, just remember we have two main objectives here. First) Our Mission is to prevent or combat international crime. Second) Our aims are to ensure that expertise and information are shared.
I thank you for your understanding and hope we will cooperate well in this project.”
His eyes glanced briefly in Shan Mei’s direction, then he riveted his eyes to the other side of the room and glared accusingly at Youzhen.
Moments later, Kim Youzhen came forward to display the images his team from Digital Imaging Centre had managed to collect and identify with Interpol International and local police files. Many of the people identified were known members of underground organizations from Japan, Korea and the rest of Asia, most noticeably, in money laundering.
Next, Zhen Shan Mei was called upon to give her report. She confirmed that she had been working undercover at the Kitty Kat Klub (KKK) the week before for intelligence gathering.
“KKK, located about 8 miles north of Kangso-ri village, has been identified as the Activity Centre for Inward and Outward Bound shipments in view of its strategic location. It is also a point rampant with illegal activities.
I have reason to believe an underground tunnel exists below the club premises – because the club is situated very close to that part of the Imjin River that shares a natural common border along North and South Korea.
The above-ground exit and entry point to this tunnel on our side of the border is located in the kitchen of the KKK. A mock-up stainless steel storage cabinet is located here (Shan Mei pointed to a spot shown on one of her transparencies). But there is no storage shelving behind the doors, only an empty space with a lift-up hatch.” Thereafter, she showed several transparencies showing layout of the actual kitchen, its actual location in club premises, the location of KKK and its nearness to the Imjin River, the possible point of contact across the other side of the river, etc., etc.
“The underground tunnel runs along, it is assumed, the shortest route from the club premises to the nearby Imjin River which would be possible by this route (Shan Mei again tapped on a spot on another transparency).
The tunnel under the river is most probably made of heavy duty rigid plastic hollow tubes – not metal tubing – assumed to be no less than diameter about 5’ to allow a human, slightly hunched, to walk through comfortably and easily. Moving such large hollow metal tubes around the northern side would not have been possible unless they have the cooperation of the North Korean military. The same problem most probably would apply on our southern side.
It is safe to assume that moving of the human traffic will be at its most active during the monsoon months when the military from both sides of the border think that the raging waters of the Imjin River will be too rough and dangerous for illegals to attempt to cross over using the existing military’s overhanging bridges.
We will need underwater surveillance of the structure to see how best to destroy it and flood the tunnel.”
When Shan Mei finished her presentation, she left a master folder of her report with Mr. Yin, then returned quietly to her seat.
Youzhen walked to the front of the screen again, and this time, he showed pictures of 4 men in high resolution.
“I have reason to believe that these 4 men are involved in the human and illegal substance smuggling racket, either from south to north or from north to south. Last week when they were at the KKK and playing at the roulette table, the croupier paid to each of them, supposedly in winnings, more than 10 Million Won. We want to know their usual hangout joints.”
Youzhen then placed under the overhead projector light several photos of the man who was not only a flashy dresser but a generous tipper at the KKK. “And, please take note of this man’s flashy attire and style. He behaved like a proper gentleman the whole time he was at the club. He only spent US dollars, and only opened the most expensive bottles of cognac and whiskey for his group of friends, guffawing the liquor down as if there was no tomorrow. During the course of the evening while he was there, he must have tipped the kitty kat who was serving him at least US$5,000. It would seem this man has his fingers in many vice-pies, most probably money laundering, drug/human trafficking, gun-running ….. Intelligence Section, please compile a dossier on him. I’m sure our Mr. Yin here would be most interested to know what this man does for a living with all that hot cash overflowing from his pockets.”
Another guy, Mr. Lee, from Logistics came on next to give a long running commentary on the number of suspected illegal immigrants currently in the country. In-flooding North Koreans, the largest number of illegal immigrants, were usually farmed out to work in the country side and difficult to track. Attractive I.I.s were exploited in the sex trade business and this was controlled by very powerful gangs.
After this man finished, Youzhen then lifted up a hand and said, “Hang on guys, I’ve gathered some extremely interesting intelligence!” He slipped a disc into the CD-player. He fast forwarded the disc and stopped when the disc showed a kitty kat waitress serving some male guests. He played the short disc up to the end.
Then he moved over smoothly to where Shan Mei was sitting. “That kitty kat who just wiggled her way across that big projection screen, my dear colleagues, is our little Shan Mei sitting so demurely and quietly over here.”
He plopped down on Shan Mei’s table top, took her hand into his and spread out her fingers slowly and gently. “I’ve been told you have very sharp claws for a little kitty.”
“Youzhen, you watch it,” Shan Mei hissed as she snatched her hand away. She smacked his hand at the same time, pushed him off her table, stood up and addressing the guys in a serious tone, she said, “I presume today’s official business meeting is over?” With a toss of her head, she gathered her things, walked towards the door, then suddenly stopped.
She turned, a honey-laced smile on her face, a voice dripping with honey vinegar and a dare-devil look in her eyes, she purred, “I dare you, if ogling is one of your detestable pastimes, I highly recommend you pay a visit to that Kitty Kat Klub some time after the next 10 days. I overheard the manager telling a few of his regulars that he was expecting the arrival of 4 gorgeous Siamese cats, whose coats of fur would be smoother than the silkiest Thai silk and whose figures more filling than the steamed buns you take every morning for breakfast!” With that she left the room, purposely slamming the door behind her with a decisive bang!
There were sniggers from the men in the room. “Wow! She not only has sharp claws but a hot temper, hotter than those little Thai chillies!” Youzhen mimicked Shan Mei’s tone. The guys in the room laughed some more, emboldened by Youzhen antics, but Yin Xiang Zhe was not finding the mimicry amusing though he had been intrigued by the pictures of Shan Mei in her kitty kat costume. Youzhen replayed the part of the disc showing Shan Mei going about her waitressing job.
“Well, fellows, she was a hot little number. The best derriere I would say in that sleazy joint. Her costume was so cut in at the thigh I swear I could almost see her you-know-what down there if not for those black tights!” That remark rankled Xiang Zhe and his eyes bored hard into the back of Youzhen. If looks could kill, Youzhen would have been a dead man.
Youzhen swung around and returned Xiang Zhe’s stare with a devilish grin. He clapped his hands together. He knew Yin Xiang Zhe would not interrupt at this point, because he too wanted to see the other photos Youzhen had taken of Shan Mei.
“Okay, guys, let’s continue with the show! You’d never suspect such a sexy figure lies under those baggy clothes and jackets she always wears around the office.” Youzhen slipped another disc into the CD player.
One frame after another of Shan Mei appeared in slow motion on the screen.
The guys were drooling and passing comments.
“Look at those legs.”
“Look at those breasts almost popping out of her clothes.”
“I want to encircle my hands around that tiny waist.”
“That colour red doesn’t look good on her lips. The lipstick she’s wearing today makes me want to kiss her soft lips senseless.”
“Wow, look at that wiggle. Man, I’m growing hard simply looking at her.”
“And I always thought she was such a cold-blooded Ice maiden.”
From one corner of the room, a voice bellowed, “Stop the disc! Stay away guys. I’m telling you now – I’m going to court her, seriously.”
Yin Xiang Zhe turned his head in the direction of the voice. It belonged to a tallish, good looking man, in his late 20’s, smartly dressed in a dark blue suit and white shirt, the standard uniform around the whole of the Special Criminal Intelligence Bureau building, except his seemed to be specially tailored in a more expensive and better quality material.
Youzhen laughed riotiously. “Joo Woo Sung, no eligible man in the whole of the CIB has successfully managed to elicit a spark of interest from her all the six years she has been here. She never acknowledged your existence before. What makes you think she’ll even look at you now? Sorry to inform you Mr. Joo, my friend, but she’s already taken!”
“By you?” Joo Woo Sung snorted in disdain, and looked as if he was ready for a challenge.
“No, by some big fish. But she doesn’t know it, though.”
“I don’t care about the big fish. I’m only interested in the little kitten. I’m going to start sending her flowers tomorrow and I’ll take her for a drive and dinner in the countryside this weekend. My brother has just bought a new Japanese sports car, Mazda RZ something or other. I’m sure Miss Zhen will enjoy a ride in it.”
“Good luck, Brother Joo,” Youzhen laughed softly, his tone not believing for one second anything would come out of Joo’s plans or intentions, no matter how honorable and sincere.
Another roar of approval came from the men in the room when Youzhen began playing the disc again.
All of a sudden, all equipment and lighting went off, due to electrical supply being cut off. Mr. Yin was standing by the main electrical switch. Then he walked slowly across the room back to the table.
“Okay boys. Enough of fun for today. Back to work on the double. We have lots of planning to work out with the intelligence collected by Miss Zhen, Mr. Kim and Mr. Lee.”
The boys scampered out of the room. Youzhen was the last to leave.
“Seeing that you’re new in Seoul, here’s my phone number in case you need a drinking buddy or a driver.” He shoved his name card into Xiang Zhe’s shirt pocket. “And I salute you for your keen sense of taste, being able to sniff out the diamond from among those rough, awful stones. My respect!” He then walked slowly out, whistling some tuneless ditty.
Yin Xiang Zhe was left alone in the room. He slowly sat down and clasped his head in his hands, trying to collect together his senses.
He was too shocked earlier in the morning when he saw Tabby, no, Zhen Shan Mei walk into the conference room. He recognized her immediately even with a change in hairstyle and without her kitty kat outfit. She appeared so cool and collected without a hint of recognition when she introduced herself.
And when she did her presentation, the tone of her voice and her demeanour were all so professional. And her clothes – so prim and proper in her light blue slacks suit and white blouse buttoned right up to her neck.
And that rascal Kim Youzhen didn’t let on that she was his colleague from CIB when they first saw her at the Kitty Kat Klub. Well, he had to give her credit – she was a damn good actress, worthy of an Oscar, as if she had been wiggling her derriere around clubs, serving at tables all her life.
Without warning, he jumped up and slammed his fist down hard on the table, his other hand agitatedly loosening the neat knot of his tie for want of air. ‘The nerve of her,’ he growled through clenched teeth. What if she had been accosted or side tracked in the dark lanes after work. There was no way she could have fought off the brute strength of those roughnecks. And all these nights, he had trouble sleeping, thinking she was in trouble, that maybe she was a victim of forced labour, and how he planned to rescue her from any further exploitation by those criminals.
He walked over to the side of the room and looked out of the large windows running along the wall. No doubt about it – she had every right to feel perturbed, annoyed and downright peeved with him. His face was contorted, his lips compressed into a tight line as he shoved his hands deep into his trouser pockets and wondered how he was going to make up for his effrontery in accusing her of being a thief when she had very kindly returned his wallet to him and then graciously refused a reward.
But first things first. He wanted to invite her to dinner to apologise for his ‘ungentlemanly’ behaviour – his barb that she was a paid escort was meant to demean her. And his accusation that she was a thief was meant to insult, letting her know that only money-hungry floosies would work in sleazy joints like the KKK. He smiled grudgingly to himself – his insult had back-fired. Actually he had not been that wrong. She was some kind of a ‘thief’. She had stolen his heart that night she gave him such a stinging slap. Before she ran off after that slap, he had noticed tears in her eyes at his insult. He had felt so wretched that he didn’t trust himself to remain in the club – he stayed outside to wait for Youzhen.
He walked back to the table up the front of the room and lifted the folder she had left with him. He leafed through a few pages and paused at a page which showed her phone extension number.
He smoked a cigarette, using the time trying to gather enough courage and a calm semblance before making the call.
“Good afternoon, Zhen Shan Mei speaking.”
“Good afternoon, Miss Zhen. This is Yin Xiang Zhe. I …….”
“Yes, Mr. Yin?”
“I ……erh …erh. Look Miss Zhen, I want to apologise for my bad attitude last week at that club. How about letting me buy you dinner tonight?”
“Thank you but I already have a prior engagement.”
“Tomorrow night, then?”
“Busy.”
“Wednesday night? Come on, you need to eat, don’t you?”
“Busy too. For your information, I’ll be busy in the evenings for the rest of the month.”
“It seems to me this tabby cat is not so forgiving and likes to bear grudges.”
“You’re so right Mr. Yin. And I remember you telling me that you never have to pay for the pleasure of a woman’s company? If you’ll excuse me, I’m very busy. Thank you again and good bye.”
Before she could hang up the phone, Xiang Zhe called down the line, “Shan Mei, Shan Mei, Shan…..” She heard him and retrieved the phone and brought it back to her ear.
“Miss Zhen to you, if you don’t mind, Mr. Yin!”
“Okay, MISS ZHEN. How about meeting up for a quick drink after work, to show that I’m forgiven? It’s dangerous work we’re involved with. I don’t want to let any bad feeling hang around us that may put our partnership into jeopardy. Don’t you agree?”
“Okay, Mr. Yin, you have a point there. I understand and agree. I can spare 15 minutes this evening after work. Meet you at 7.30 at the Cafeteria on the 3rd floor, okay?” He could feel her faint smile all the way through the telephone line.
“See you at 7.30 then.” Xiang Zhe smiled into the phone he was holding. He set down the phone and grinned lazily. Then he leaned back in the swivel chair and cupped his clasped hands behind his head, satisfied with the unexpected turn of events. He rubbed his forehead as one corner of his mouth lifted thinking how Joo Woo Sung would be disappointed when he was soon to discover that Zhen Shan Mei wouldn’t be in Seoul to accept his invitation to go for a drive in the countryside. ‘Mr. Joo, I have a better invitation for Miss Zhen,’ Xiang Zhe thought smugly to himself. ‘So she is a serious worker, getting off work only at 7.30. Wonder what she is doing this evening that she cannot have dinner with me? Is she trying to brush me off?’
He glanced at his watch. He still had a few hours to spare before 7.30. He’d hop down to Youzhen’s office and see whether the boys had managed to put together any composite photos from their digitial imaging database. The boys should be busy cross-referencing with Interpol. The team from Intelligence should be compiling dossiers on those gangsters. He couldn’t wait to read the dossier on Mr. US Moneybucks because the man’s face did not look at all familiar.
When Shan Mei arrived at the Cafeteria, Xiang Zhe was already there. He stood up, pulled out a chair for her as she approached his table.
“What would you like to have, Miss Zhen?”
“A long black, please. Thank you Mr. Yin.”
In a short while, Xiang Zhe came back with their coffee.
“Pretty long day for you. Do you usually get off work so late?”
“Depends on the workload. If we have a case on, we could be working right up to midnight, sometimes through the night. I was away from my desk the whole of last week, so I was catching up with reports and the usual office routine.”
“Miss Zhen, I’m so sorry for my rudeness last week. I …..”
Shan Mei cut him off politely not wanting him to continue apologizing. She said, “No worries, Mr. Yin. I understand. I’ve already forgotten about last week.”
“But I haven’t.” Xiang Zhe insisted as he continued to take small quiet sips from his cup, but his gaze remained focused on Shan Mei when her eyes were cast downward.
During an awkward silent moment, Xiang Zhe noticed that a quiet corner booth had become vacant. “Shan Mei, do you mind if I suggest that we move over to that corner booth. I have something very confidential to discuss with you.”
Shan Mei looked at him and wondered whether he realized he had addressed her as ‘Shan Mei’. She decided to let the slip of his tongue pass.
In the quiet booth, Xiang Zhe looked at Shan Mei for a brief moment before he continued in a hushed whisper, “This morning at the meeting, you said 4 Thai girls were expected at the Kitty Kat Klub by the end of the next 10 days. Was it simply a joke or were you serious?”
“Would I lie? If the boys decided to go they would have to drive at least 2-3 hours to get to that isolated village. Do I look like someone so insensitive to play such a cruel joke?” Shan Mei stared at Xiang Zhe unflinchingly.
“My apologies again. I only wanted to be sure. I want to send you to Bangkok to follow this scent. As soon as you find out something, you should contact the necessary unit immediately so Immigration can be alerted without delay. In the past we were always a step, or several, too late to pass on the intelligence in time for Immigration to intercept the suspects. In Bangkok my trusted aide will make contact after you check into the hotel. He is 100% trust worthy. Unfortunately he doesn’t read English to be of any help to me in tracking the movements of these human smugglers. First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll have a word with KK. You meet me in my office at 9 for a briefing. Be prepared to leave for Bangkok on the first available flight after that.”
Shan Mei didn’t say a thing after Yin Xiang Zhe finished his piece. To say she was befuddled and surprised was an understatement, but years of disciplined training had taught her to keep her feelings and thoughts to herself.
She took small sips of her coffee. When the cup was emptied, she looked at her watch, hoping Mr. Yin would get the hint that his 15 minutes were up.
“Sorry if I had kept you longer than 15 minutes. I hope you’ll make good time for your date tonight.”
Shan Mei simply gave a polite smile, and after gathering her bag and coat, she made her way to the lift lobby after thanking Mr. Yin for the coffee. Xiang Zhe quickly followed behind, wanting to see her to the basement where she had parked her car.
He then made his way slowly back to the Cafeteria, bought himself another Long Black, went back to the corner booth and wondered who Shan Mei was meeting up with for the evening. Anyway, he had obtained his objective and it was to send Shan Mei away so that Joo Woo Sung would not be able to make contact with her during the coming few days. After that, he would not worry. He already had another task for her to keep her busy during her spare time either in the office or in her home.
After he settled down he felt around his pockets for his packet of cigarettes, and he remembered Youzhen’s name card in his shirt pocket. He took the card out and stared at it a long while. He was tempted to phone him, asking him out for a meal but he desisted. He was still upset with Youzhen for his earlier relentless teasing of Shan Mei.
Suddenly his brows unknotted and his spirits lifted when he remembered Youzhen’s disc of Shan Mei. Yes, he would order a pizza from Room Service of the hotel where he had an apartment in its Service Apartment Wing and watch the CD in the privacy of his apartment. He quickly finished off his coffee, walked across the lift lobby to take the lift up to his office to pick up the disc.
==
Yin Xiang Zhe was seated in his big executive chair, tidying the files on his desk; the motion he had gone through for the umpteenth time, since returning to his office at 8 this morning after seeing Madam Kang in her office on the 6th floor, to inform her that he needed to take Zhen Shan Mei away from the office for a few days to carry out a top-secret assignment.
At exactly 9 a.m. sharp, there was a slight knock. At his calm, “Come in,” the door opened and Shan Mei stepped in and took the seat in front of Xiang Zhe’s large executive desk.
“Good morning, Miss Zhen. Punctual as usual. How about a cup of coffee?”
“No, thank you, Mr. Yin. I’ve just finished eating breakfast.”
“In that case, I’ll have my coffee later. So, it’s business first, right?”
Shan Mei slid a sidelong glance to the small, round meeting table at the far end corner of the big office. When she noticed some refreshments, she turned her attention back to the executive desk.
“I’m here for a business meeting, am I not?” Shan Mei answered, trying to sound as professional-like as possible, albeit using a ‘subordinate’ tone.
Xiang Zhe laughed softly in embarrassment and said, “Erh, yes ….here’s the information.” From a folder, he took out a name card, his, and said, as he handed it to Shan Mei. “This is the official name card I use in Bangkok.” Shan Mei took a look – X(Xyrus) Man. She smiled faintly at the discovery. So X-Man was sort of his official business alias.
Taking another card out of the folder, he said, “And here’s the name and address of the hotel you’ll be staying at. Our Bangkok office holds a room at this hotel year round. There’s no need for you to check in with Reception. Here’s the key to the room. For convenience sake, I’ve informed Tut – he’s my trusted assistant – that you’re Tabby. He’ll contact you directly at the hotel and will be your guide during your stay in Bangkok. Whatever you want to know and wherever you want to go, just let him know.”
Putting the papers back into the folder, he continued, “Since the air ticket will only be delivered at 10, why don’t we have some refreshments, while we wait and I elaborate more on what has to be done in Bangkok?”
Without waiting for agreement from Shan Mei, Xiang Zhe arose from his chair and made his way to the corner table. He poured out 2 cups of coffee and when Shan Mei approached the table, he pulled out a chair for her.
Placing his clasped hands on the table, Xiang Zhe gave Shan Mei a direct look and asked, “Now, before I continue with business, I want to know whether I’m forgiven?”
“Forgiven? Mr. Yin, I don’t understand….”
“Well, if you say I can address you by Shan Mei, then I know I’m forgiven.”
Shan Mei smiled softly knowing she had been cornered, without rancour. She could not refuse without sounding churlish, so she simply said, “As you like.”
“Good, Shan Mei, you’ve just unloaded a heavy burden off my mind. Now, back to business – this is what I want you to do in Bangkok.”
He spread out a Bangkok Post Classified Ads page and ran his index finger down the second column. “See this sub-section ‘Prayer of Thanks’? Hail Mary 10 times, Our Father 10 times, Novena 6 times. This actually means there’ll be 3 groups of illegals going out, first group of 10, second group of another 10 and a third group of 6. Get the picture?”
As he waited patiently for Shan Mei to digest the information, his finger ran down another column. “See this ‘Travel’ sub-section where this tour company is supposed to offer tours with 3 departure dates and 3 destinations. First one indicated Hong Kong. Match this up with the first prayer of thanks, it will mean the first batch of 10 illegals will go to Hong Kong, the second batch will go to Tokyo and the third batch of 6 will go to Sydney. Sometimes, the departure dates may be different but destinations similar, or vice versa. We don’t know who is receiving this information but obviously someone is because as soon as these ‘tourists’ enter the country, they simply disappear underground without a trace. Sometimes they enter the country by illegal means and not go through proper immigration channels. Get the picture now?”
He took a few sips of coffee and bit into a tasty bacon and lettuce sandwich, before talking again. “Shan Mei, other genuine prayer requests do appear in the Classifieds, so this code only works when you see the Prayer Request with a Travel Notification advertisement. So remember, this lead is a no-go if it’s one without the other. I’ve followed this lead for several months already and I’m positively sure this is how the traffickers pass information from one point to another. Since you say four Thai girls will be expected in KKK soon, I’m sure the information will appear in the Bangkok Post any one of these days.”
When Shan Mei was about to study the Post more carefully, Xiang Zhe folded the paper away and told her, “You have plenty of time on the plane to get to study this. Here, take some of these sandwiches – they’re good! You may not have time for food later.”
A little after 10 a.m., Shan Mei’s air ticket was delivered to Xiang Zhe’s office. He flipped through it to check that everything was in order, before handing it to Shan Mei.
“Do you fly often?”
“Not as often as I would like to. Two years ago when I was training with Scotland Yard HQ for six months, I flew to quite a number of police academies over on the European mainland for weeklong visits each location.
“You trained at Scotland Yard? Me too, for two years.”
“Wow, that means you’re my Senior.”
“By a good number of years, I’d say.” And Xiang Zhe gave an embarrassed laugh, suddenly noticing their age difference – she was young with an infectious zest for life, idealistic with a strong sense of duty while he felt jaded, cynical, disillusioned and only hell-bent on catching his next criminal.
He didn’t understand this obsession – maybe because he was brought up, by his mother, to believe in law and order and a rigid moral code. To get ahead in the world, a man had to work hard so that he might prosper by the fruits of his labour and everything must be gained honestly and without deceit. However, he was realistic to admit – in their profession – he was living constantly on the edge and his life placed unconditionally on the chopping block. So? Because of the underlying fear that any day could be their last day alive while on a job, corruption was rampant in the Force. During his 10 years with Interpol, he had seen at least a score of good men turn the other side, abetting fugitives mostly or supplying highly top-secret information. Even crime busters who had pledged to uphold the law could not resist the lure of money!
Before Shan Mei left his office, he handed her an envelope containing a thick wad of Thai Baht. When she refused to accept it, he told her it was not a gift – she was to make out the usual expenditure Claim Form. She laughed, and thanked him for saving her the trouble to use a money exchange.
After she left, the lingering scent of her perfume – a light, clean floral scent had remained behind in the room as if to taunt him.
==
The same evening, when Shan Mei arrived in Bangkok, it was quite late. She picked up the day’s issue of The Bangkok Post from a magazine kiosk, hopped into a taxi and went straight to the hotel on Rama Road. Lord, the Bangkok Post weighed almost a ton and when she leafed through it in the taxi, she found that the Classifieds Section was a special supplement almost as thick as the Yellow Pages directory. Along the way to the hotel, she could see that Bangkok enjoyed a busy night life. Traffic congestion was an accepted way of life for the Thai commuters, and the sidewalks everywhere seemed to be overflowing with people and street hawkers with make-shift stalls.
After a quick shower, she was surprised to receive a call from Tut seeing the lateness of the hour. He insisted on dropping by the hotel to take her for a ‘late-night’ snack, the accepted ‘norm’ for the Thai people. Shan Mei was hesitant but Tut managed to persuade her to take a short stroll outside the hotel, so he could at least have said he had done his ‘tour guide’ duty for the day.
Shan Mei was surprised when they met up. He was younger – about 19 years old or thereabouts – than she had expected. It was obvious from his features that he wasn’t pure Thai, and he spoke very good English. Her curiosity was aroused – he looked as if one of his parents was Caucasian, he spoke very good English yet he couldn’t read English – according to information from Mr. Yin. And he’s Mr. Yin’s most trusted aide in Bangkok. How did the two of them meet? But she was too polite and well-brought up to ask.
The roadside food was good, Shan Mei admitted to herself, and despite her earlier protest of late-night snacking, she finished a big bowl of delicious spicy prawn soup noodles followed by several helpings of a diversified selection of Thai dessert. She was sipping sweet, fresh coconut juice from a whole young coconut, when Tut turned to her and said, “I know you are curious why Boss and I are so close.”
Shan Mei stopped sipping her coconut juice, her eyes big and curious, nodded her head in agreement.
“Three years ago I was a shoe-shine boy struggling to make a living on the streets of Bangkok. One day I saw Mr. Yin getting off a taxi and his shoes landed in a bad puddle of murky water. I asked to clean his shoes, but before that could happen, the rain came. Boss wanted to give me some money. I refused. So we stepped into a church nearby and I polished his shoes. After Boss knew that I was an abandoned Asian-American orphan from the refugee camps, he took me off the streets and gave me a job.” Tut paused and laughed softly to himself, shaking his head gently from side to side as if recalling something funny.
“Tabby, you know what job?”
After an intentional dramatic pause, Tut continued, “Polishing his shoes whenever he was in Bangkok – which was about once every 3 months or so. Maybe seeing I was so skinny and under-nourished, the other duty Boss wanted me to do was to sample all kinds of new food served by the street hawkers. Anything that I thought tasted good, I’ll take him to sample the next time he was in town. Best job in the world. Eighteen months ago when he arrived in Bangkok to set up a wine importing business, I got to help out in the office. Other times, I keep his apartment clean and run his personal errands. The spicy soup noodle you just ate is Boss’s favourite.”
When Shan Mei had first met Mr. Yin at the KKK, he seemed aloof and a tad too into himself. Who would have thought he was capable of being so charitable, generous and kind, extending a helping and caring hand to a stranger? If she had re-assessed her opinion of Mr. Yin, she kept it to herself. But she did ask Tut to help her get past issues of the Bangkok Post, maybe as far back as a week. “Tut, there’s no need for you to come to see me tomorrow, unless you’re bringing me the newspapers. I’ll be busy working from the hotel.”
“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow night then. There’s a big night market on in Chinatown. You’ll enjoy it.”
==
Xiang Zhe seethed with impotent fury as he pried Prontip’s arms from around his neck, and pushing her out of his way, he ran out the door of the Privilege Club, hoping to catch Shan Mei before she disappeared with Tut into the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd usually milling around the 5-foot way this time of a Friday night along Suhkumvit Road.
By the time he reached the main door, she had disappeared. He ran about 30 metres down the sidewalk and still couldn’t see Shan Mei or Tut. He stood, perplexed and tried calling Tut on his mobile but no one answered the phone. He knew he had lost them in the crowd. Standing at the road junction not knowing which direction they had taken, he suddenly remembered his zipper was undone. Looking bashful, he pulled it up quickly and quietly, then decided to drop in at another watering hole nearby and drowned himself in a bottle of Bordeaux Red. Four hours later, he hailed a taxi and returned to his apartment. Today had been a long day for him – first getting to the Seoul office to get some pending matters out of the way, and then rushing like mad to Incheon to catch his flight for Bangkok.
Resting his aching head against the back of the seat in the taxi taking him back to his plush apartment in an exclusive part of Bangkok, he wondered how everything could have gone so wrong without him even trying.
Earlier, he had arrived Bangkok a little after 8, his nerves all frayed when he seemed to lose confidence on how he was going to explain his presence in the city to Shan Mei. Seeing the hour was still early for clubbers, he thought he would drop by the Privilege Club where he had kept his bottle of Special Louis XVI cognac for a swig and enjoy a little bit of quiet before finding Shan Mei. As soon as he finished downing his second shot of cognac, who should appear by his side but the owner of the club and his occasional bed-partner, Madam Prontip, a divorcee and notorious man-charmer among the local clubbing community.
Shan Mei, accompanied by Tut, had just walked into the club. After she ordered a drink, she saw him sitting at the other end of the bar counter downing a drink and was about to acknowledge his presence when she noticed that Prontip who was hanging on to him had ingratiated herself closer, if it was possible to get any closer without looking obscene, to his body unashamedly in such a public place. Impelled by some 6th sense, he himself had turned his head and saw Shan Mei at the other end of the bar. Before he could move or speak, Shan Mei had left as soon as Tut appeared. Most probably her regard of him had sunk even lower with that little outrageous display from Prontip.
==
He let himself into his apartment and went straight to the fridge in the kitchen to get himself a glass of ice water.
He loosened his tie as he stumbled his way to his bedroom. He wasn’t at all pleased when he found Prontip curled up in his bed, waiting for him.
“I don’t recall inviting you over here, Prontip.” His voice came out sounding chilling.
She tried laughing that off. “You didn’t have to, daarliing. I have been in and out of your apartment for the last one year or so, even when you were not in town. You gave me a key to the apartment, remember? Since when have I needed an invitation?”
“I never gave you a key. You went and made a duplicate from Tut’s set, Prontip,” he reminded her hesitantly but sharply, not having the desire to hurt her neither did he want to let this untruth pass.
“Come, Xyrus, let me put you to bed,” she cut in quickly, before he could actually tell her to leave. “I can see you have had a little too much to drink tonight, so you probably don’t need me, but let me at least make you comfortable.”
He came over to the bed and she immediately moved the covers aside for him, at the same time, revealing that she was naked beneath them. She knew, that like most men, he became amorous when he was drunk, wanting to make love whether his body was agreeable or not.
When he stood there looking at her, making no move to sit beside her, she began to panic. She wasn’t stupid. She wondered whether that young Asian girl who was at the club had meant anything to Xyrus, whether they had been lovers and she had followed him to Bangkok? After all, he was out of Bangkok for three months. Plenty of things could have happened during this time.
That horrid thought brought her swiftly to her knees in front of him. “Silly man,” she pouted as she reached out to remove his jacket from him, and in quick succession the rest of his clothing.
He hadn’t noticed that she had pulled him down to the bed until he felt her cool breasts pressed hard into his bare chest, just before she wrapped her arms tightly around him. “Xyrus, let me help you forget your troubles for a while,” she purred up at him. “You know I can.”
He did know it. He also needed a woman after an abstinence of 3 months. And this one knew how to pleasure a man with the skills of a courtesan.
“What’s this?” Xiang Zhe asked when he reach out to cup a breast and found it overflowing in his hand. “Another silicone implant?”
“I thought you like big boobs!”
‘Not anymore’ Xiang Zhe thought silently to himself – his mind going to a pair of the most perfect breasts he had seen albeit only half popping out of a kitty kat costume. The rest he could imagine, rather vividly.
What was the matter with him tonight, his mind wandering, not concentrating on the body lying under his – a body that he used to find much pleasure with but now it seemed so wrong, so reconstructed, so coarse in its charms. His lusty appetite was suddenly turned off. He now found the idea of bedding Prontip – or any other woman – distasteful. He rolled off the body to lie on his back against his pillows.
Prontip immediately propped herself up on an elbow and turned on her side to face Xyrus and worriedly asked, “Anything the matter? You don’t like my new boob job? Tell me what you like and I’ll try to have it fixed.” She ran the tip of her index finger with its long scarlet coloured nail lightly and tantalizingly over his bare chest trying to evoke some passion from him. But he found her exaggerated babyish voice irritating and beginning to grate on his ears.
Xiang Zhe felt like a cad with his confounding behaviour which he himself couldn’t understand when he said tiredly, “I’d like to go to sleep.”
Intent on sleeping, he turned to face the edge on his side of the bed, closed his eyes and tried to empty his mind. To his surprise a vivid image of Shan Mei appeared, clear as anything – the image of a pair of large, dark mischievous eyes kept darting back and forth in his mind and his lips ached to kiss those soft, luscious lips that were almost always formed in a habitual smiling, smirking pout.
On the other side of the bed, Prontip was silently aiming imaginary venomous darts at that young Asian girl who had come into the club earlier in the evening with Tut. She noticed the girl sitting alone by the bar counter while Tut seemed to have disappeared off somewhere. When Xyrus caught sight of her, his eyes boring into hers, had gleamed with strong interest. Prontip lauded her own cleverness; when she saw Xyrus making a move towards the young girl, she immediately went up to him and insinuated herself very close to his body.
A woman’s intuition, especially one as experienced as hers, could tell this young girl was the reason for Xyrus’s disinterest in sex with her. He used to be such an ardent lover and used to say that a good game of sex was the most satisfying way to round off a perfect evening!
An hour or so when sleep wouldn’t come, Xiang Zhe left his bed, put on a robe and went out to the living room. He poured himself a glass of cognac and went to rest in an armchair facing the large open balcony. He stretched out his legs and rested his feet on top of the ottoman.
How did he become involved with Prontip? Xiang Zhe asked himself again. He’d started with dropping by the Privilege Club once or twice a month whenever he was in Bangkok, to entertain business associates. Soon Prontip ingratiated herself into his life; occasionally, he’d let her spend the night at his apartment when he had a need. They had no understanding or so he’d assumed – although she had provided satisfaction when they had an occasional bed romp. Apparently, she had now taken things too much for granted.
With a soft breeze ruffling the curtains and soft moonlight slanting into the room, Xiang Zhe’s attention was caught by a shooting star that blazed across the dark blue sky. Xiang Zhe raised his glass of cognac in salute. Then a lonesome shining, blinking star faraway in the heavens, twinkling on and off, caught his eye as if Shan Mei was winking at him. He sighed as he took a sip of the cognac – it had been such a long, long time that he had spent time star gazing.
Prontip gave him 20 minutes in his solitude, then she made her way quietly from the bedroom out to the living to stand behind him and began to massage his neck and his shoulders, working those expert fingers the way she knew Xyrus loved. She all but draped her arms around his neck, nuzzling his ear like some annoying insect that he longed to swat away.
“Are you still mad at me?” she asked, as she worked her hand inside his robe and ran her long finger nail down the length of his bare chest. No answer came from Xiang Zhe.
“Daarliing,” Prontip began in her heavily accented English that Xiang Zhe used to find exotic but now found loathsome, “when are you going to take me for a holiday? I was hoping you’d take me to visit your father.”
Xiang Zhe had kept quiet although he fumed inwardly that Prontip had invaded his private space while he enjoyed his quietness. He shrugged his shoulders and tried to shrug off Prontips fingers which he had found suffocating when they curled round his neck, and then he turned around to give her a disdainful look-over. “Yeah, I suppose my father will take you on as one of his many mistresses.”
Undulating seductively to sit on the edge of the coffee table facing Xiang Zhe, Prontip cooed, “I don’t want to be his mistress. I want to be his daughter-in-law!”
Xiang Zhe looked surprised and somewhat scornful. He exhaled a snort and shook his head. “My, my, someone sounds ambitious this evening. I’ve never heard that line before.”
“That’s because I’m tired of waiting. For one whole year I’ve waited for you to ask me to be your wife. I now realize that if I don’t bring the subject up, you’ll happily continue to treat me as the occasional, convenient bed partner – not even openly acknowledging that I’m your mistress.”
“Because you’re not! I met you about a year ago and I’ve bedded you only about four times or less – that doesn’t qualify you as being my mistress! And, if you’re not happy with that, so be it! I’m not interested in marriage; I’m not prepared to surrender my freedom yet. I thought we have been through this before. All this talk is giving me a darn headache. Please leave if you find my company so unpalatable tonight.” He continued to remain in his armchair not caring whether she left or stayed.
“Stubborn-headed, over-confident woman!!” he hissed, when Prontip finally quietly padded away. The first night they met at Privilege when she joined in the conversation that he was having with his friends, she already knew he had no intention of ever marrying. He was 35 years old and set in his ways. His life was full and he didn’t have room in it for a relationship.
Yes, he preferred to sit alone, now in his living room, enjoying his own company, facing the open balcony, watching the stars fade softly away and await the first streaky light of dawn. He rested his head against the back of the armchair and wondered what Shan Mei was doing at that very precise moment – was she able to sleep while sleep had evaded him?
Heck, what was he thinking about? Of course she could sleep! She wasn’t harbouring any secret passion for him; she wasn’t ruffled by anything; not even when, from her seat along the bar counter at Privilege, she noticed Prontip pressing her body so close against his, sliding down the zipper to his trousers, slipping her hand into the inside of his trousers and began fondling him.
Xiang Zhe bolted upright suddenly from the armchair, his feet dropping to the floor with a thunderous thud. He stubbed out his cigarette brusquely in the ashtray. He raked both his hands through his hair and cursed – Prontip’s brazen antic took him completely by surprise; too fast to enable him to push her away when he realized what she was doing, and not before Shan Mei had caught her in the act! He never thought this Prontip was so ill-bred to do something so outrageous in public – though she might not deem so, the Privilege Club being her own domain. What was Shan Mei going to think? He wished he had thrown that woman out of his life before he left for Seoul 3 months ago.
As soon as he had confirmation that Shan Mei managed to gather the information that he had sent her to Bangkok to collect, they would get out of town as quickly as possible,
He didn’t want to feed false hope to Prontip. She had been an amusing and convenient distraction during his time in Bangkok, but he no longer found her amusing – more like a pain in the ‘you-know-where’. He had made her understand right from the beginning that he harboured no special feelings for her. She accepted that and had said she was only looking for some fun.
For Yin Xiang Zhe, there had never been a shortage of beautiful female company. Women had always been attracted to his clean-cut, handsomely-chiseled good looks and magnetic charm – they who came in all ages and sizes had been drawn to his side like moths to flame, since his university days. But, no woman had ever managed, as yet, to hold his interest for long. His studies had always been his priority, later his work became his life. He just wasn’t interested in having a woman in his life, although he had dallied with a few very brief ‘no-strings attached’ affairs over the years. So, why was he mooning over Zhen Shan Mei like an inexperienced, lovesick schoolboy? he asked himself.
==
Xiang Zhe had washed and dressed and was getting ready to call on Shan Mei at the hotel, when Tut, using his own key, opened the apartment door and breezed in.
“Good Morning, Boss. I saw that dragon lady leaving late last night. Another bust-up?”
“No time to talk. Got to go over to Tabby’s place. You saw her back to the hotel safe, last night?”
“Yeah, and safe this morning to the airport too.”
Xiang Zhe stopped at the door. “What do you mean to the airport?”
“She flew out this morning, that’s what I mean.”
“And you let her go?” Xiang Zhe groaned.
“I have the power to stop her?” Tut asked, surprised and tickled that he was given such authority yet no one ever enlightened him.
Xiang Zhe walked back into the living room and slumped down on the sofa. “Now, you tell me, why did you bring her to Privilege last night?”
“I don’t know …. we were trying some BBQ squid at the night market in Silom Square, when she suddenly told me she needed to talk to you urgently. I wanted to make her happy and knowing that you would be arriving back in town in the evening, I took her to the club hoping that you’d appear, if you were not there already. I was in the washroom for a little while only. When I joined her at the bar, she told me you looked busy; she didn’t want to disturb you, so we left. This morning when I was at the hotel to join her for breakfast, she was all packed and ready to leave. She didn’t tell me anything, not even leaving you a message with me. Something wrong Boss?”
“Erh, no, nothing. Nothing wrong at all. Tut, do me a favour. I’m flying out this afternoon. Don’t let that dragon lady know. You clean up everything here. Get one or two empty cartons from Warehouse, pack up my personal stuff – there’s not much – and move them for storage at the warehouse. Get in touch with the landlady and tell her I’m terminating the lease. For all financials she simply has to talk to Gary at the office. Tell the landlady to change the lock to the main door too. You can move your things into the attic in the warehouse for the time being. The attic is not too bad -- more like a bed sitter, a little cramped. Will you be happy with this arrangement? I promise you it’s only temporary. I’ve plans but I can’t tell you anything because nothing is confirmed. Everything is only in my head and in my heart. Get it? Make sure we clear out of this place by this afternoon.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Remember, not a word to anyone, especially not to that Madam Prontip.”
“I know. I know she’s the one who drove Tabby away and she’s now driving you away. Your secret is my secret. I won’t say a thing even if she tries to ply me with alcohol. It won’t be the first time she wants information from me. Just two weeks ago, she was pumping me with her ‘Where’s your Mr. Man?’ routine. Sometimes she’s bold enough to tell me, ‘Oh, X-Man telephoned me last night and we had a long talk about your welfare’ and that kind of bragging. As if I didn’t know she is lying through her teeth. I ignored her, knowing you would never phone her. She simply wanted to find out where you were or what you were doing. That got her really mad. Trust me, Boss. I know exactly how to ‘handle’ her. I haven’t lived off the streets in this city all these years and not picked up a few tricks.” As he said that, he finished off with a sneaky little laugh.
Pulling a cigarette out of the pack with nervous fingers, Xiang Zhe chided himself for being a fumbling fool, acting no better than Inspector Clouseau in that Pink Panther movie. Normally he was the most analytical of men – the successful performance of his job depended on it – but the power of whatever that passed between Shan Mei and himself last night, in that one look – hers so cool, his so hot – defied analysis.
As he puffed on his cigarette a few times, he worked his way through his mind over events of the past 12 days or so. He didn’t know when Shan Mei had managed to get under his skin so deep – his initial interest was piqued and it had started off so innocently with that stinging slap at that KKK. He was impressed – no woman had been bold enough, as far as he could recall – to give him a piece of her mind in such a direct way! He had never felt so helpless in his response to a woman. Not only had he always managed to keep his emotions under control, he was the one in control in any given situation.
How fiercely he had missed sharing a cup of coffee with her in the office. Three days he had not seen her since sending her flying off to Bangkok, he began to miss her dewy freshness like crazy – so crazy that, on Friday, yesterday, he took a mid-morning flight out of Seoul for Bangkok, hoping to meet up with her and maybe spend Saturday taking her sightseeing.
He had flown to Bangkok on some ridiculous pretext of discussing business matters with Gary Nukij, general manager of their Thai Importing house – something he could easily have done by phone. He admitted his real reason for flying in was to see Shan Mei. Still, he felt he needed an excuse, no matter how weak it was. On the flight, he’d become more and more nervous and wavering. Ever since he’d learned that Tabby was Shan Mei working under cover, he could think of little else. When the flight landed in Bangkok, he’d abandoned his ‘business’ quest and headed straight to Privilege Club, thinking a glass of his special cognac would help calm his nervousness.
And to find that she had this morning flown back to Seoul, he would again have to follow in hot pursuit like a stalker. He combed his fingers roughly through his hair, asking himself, “What have you done to me, Shan Mei?”
This chain of events was too preposterous to accept as fact because HE DIDN’T EVEN KNOW SHE EXISTED A FORTNIGHT AGO!!!!
What had those romance experts said about fools falling in love?
‘When you’re hooked, you’re hooked;
And you wouldn’t even know you’re hooked
Until you’re truly hooked.’
He let out a cynical laugh – how apt. Like a fish freshly caught, to be enjoyed for dinner by a tabby cat! The most dampening thought, at this moment for him was – he didn’t even know whether this tabby cat wanted him for dinner!
Xiang Zhe used to think all that romantic mumbo-jumbo was total rubbish. ‘Not anymore!’ he conceded. ‘Why? Because this ‘love’ thing defies logic.’ He agreed, ‘the heart wants what it wants; you meet someone and you fall in love and that’s that!’
==
Yin Xiang Zhe sat in his office, even though it was Sunday, and pinched the bridge of his nose hoping that would help clear his mind so he could focus on the reports on his desk. He hadn’t slept more than a couple of hours the entire night after he was back in Seoul. Actually, he was thinking of Shan Mei. Indeed, he sat up unusually late last night, with a glass of cognac, mulling and musing precisely about her. Hard liquor had never agreed with him, especially in large quantity. This morning his head throbbed with a vengeance. He couldn’t think, he couldn’t work!
He had seen Shan Mei’s car when his driver dropped him off at the underground car park in the morning. He wanted to see her to explain about the incident in Privilege Club, but he was having a difficult time trying to work together a coherent story. Her report on her Bangkok trip was on his desk, staring at him. Efficient as usual, he muttered, when he saw a copy of the Bangkok Post’s Classified Ads from Monday attached to the report, and a notation that she had passed the pertinent information on to her Unit Head. The hotel key, together with calling card of the hotel, was in an envelope attached to the file. So was the envelope of Thai Baht, the notes left in tact and untouched.
When he rang down to the Cafeteria and asked the Boss Lady to send him a pot of very hot, very strong black coffee, he dropped hints that he would like to be informed when Miss Zhen came in for her lunch.
“Miss Zhen is at work today? Mr. Yin, today is Sunday, you know.”
“I saw her car in the car park. I’m sure she’ll be along for some food later on in the day.”
“Okay, Handsome. As soon as she comes in, I’ll let you know.”
Xiang Zhe laughed softly. “Thank you, Gorgeous!”
Cafeteria Boss Lady was tickled, and laughing raucously back into the phone set, she retorted, “Get away with your sweet mouth, you handsome rogue.”
He waited till 2 when his phone rang and Boss Lady quietly informed him that Miss Zhen had just walked into the Cafeteria and ordered a Spaghetti Marinara for lunch.
“Please, make that two. I’ll be right down. Thank you so much, Boss Lady.”
Three minutes later, Yin Xiang Zhe breezed into the Cafeteria and when he ‘accidentally’ espied Shan Mei, he went up to her table, pulled out a chair and asked politely, “May I?” Without waiting for an answer, he sat down and immediately beckoned to his co-conspirator. “Boss Lady, the usual please. Thank you.”
After that he turned his attention to Shan Mei. “Shan Mei, I’ve gone through your report. Excellent work, as expected. This time I’m sure we’ll be able to track their movements and see who’s behind this racket.”
Xiang Zhe then expelled a tired whooshing whistle. “Gosh, I’m so tired. I was in Bangkok on Friday for a very important meeting, then spent the night clearing away my papers from the Thai office. We’ve decided to relocate the Bangkok importing house to Malaysia.”
Shan Mei’s head shot up in surprise and she asked, “What will happen to Tut?”
“He’ll be going along too. I won’t be leaving him behind.”
“Tut knows that you’re Mr. Yin.”
“Oh yes, he knows and my secret is safe with him. He told me you wanted to see me about something important?”
She became hesitant ….. “Well, I don’t know whether it’s important but when Tut took me to this sidewalk food stall and while we were having BBQ squids, I overhead two Koreans discussing about a Thai Food Fair that was going to be held in Seoul next month. They said something about replacing the meat in the sausage skins with drugs and these sausages would be imported together with the regular sausages for the food fair. The Fair organizers had assured the Thai people of speedy customs clearance for the foodstuff.”
“Shan Mei! This is swell news. I’ll pass this information onto my associate, Jung, tomorrow. Excellent work, Miss Zhen! By the way I’ve asked KK to put in a subscription request for several regional national English newspapers. Once these newspapers arrive at your desk, you can check their Classifieds daily for leads, especially the New Straits Times of Malaysia. Illegals seem to be moving in and out of the country in undetermined worrying numbers and the government doesn’t understand how this is happening. It seems Kuala Lumpur is now an important transit point for these traffickers. Pay attention to the Manila Times too. Too many Filipina girls are entering Macau and China via Hong Kong since the new Vegas-style casinos opened.”
When they were through with their main course and were taking their coffee, Xiang Zhe felt a sense of relief. Shan Mei did not mention anything about the Privilege Club incident. As they made their way to the lift lobby, they were still talking about Tut and the fabulous Thai food he insisted that she sampled.
==
Two months later, Xiang Zhe dropped by Madam Kang Kee’s office when he received a message from her asking to see him.
“Mr. Yin, HQs have come back with good news. The underwater tunnel has been destroyed beyond salvage. That gang not suspecting the tunnel was intentionally scuttled will definitely want to build another underwater tunnel. Before that happens, they’ll need to use alternative routes.”
Passing a map to Xiang Zhe, Madam Kang continued, “Three spots have been identified as the most likely locations. Two of these locations are easy to keep under surveillance. But not the third spot because it covers a large area – from Panmunjeom to the first major Imjin tributary near the now abandoned Imjin Railway Station Depot.
HQs have managed to secure the use of a railroad cabin at the Munsan border crossing for our use. The elderly couple presently manning this outpost will be given a 3-month hiatus so our undercover couple can move in. The caretaker’s wife usually crosses over the border and carries out some small-time trading of garments and fashion items. Our undercover can continue with this arrangement without arousing suspicion.”
After a sip of her coffee, KK made an observation. “It seems smuggling activities have stepped up at the Panmunjeom/Munsan end.”
Xiang Zhe was studying the map carefully, a detailed study of the catchment area of Panmunjeom north of the border, and Munsan south of the border, but he made no comments wanting to hear more from Madam Kang. She took a file photo from her folder and handed it over to Xiang Zhe. It was a photo of the elderly couple presently manning the Munsan outpost. The man looked 50ish, the woman 40ish. He looked intently at the photo, not surprised at all with the looks of the elderly couple – very rural-looking and brainless – exactly as he had always envisaged the way these miserable souls would look if they had to do the same senseless jobs day in day out for 30 years or more of their lives.
Madam Kang shifted slightly with unease in her chair as she handed another photo to Yin Xiang Zhe. “Mr. Yin, this is Han Rae Won, the person I want to recommend to partner Zhen Shan Mei for this assignment.”
“Partner Zhen Shan Mei? She’s going to be the other half of this partnership?” Xiang Zhe frowned unconsciously, the worry lines on his forehead deepened, as he looked at the photo of Han Rae Won. Han looked too handsome for his own good, Xiang Zhe thought.
He handed the photo back to Madam Kang and asked, out of politeness and a matter of interest, “This Mr. Han is from your unit?”
“As a matter of fact, Han Rae Won is from the Marine Police Tactical Unit. A year ago, he teamed up with Zhen Shan Mei to ply the waters around our southern coast and they successfully helped to smash a Japanese syndicate carrying out illegal fishing within our territorial waters. During the assignment they too went undercover for a month as husband and wife, so I believe they should be comfortable with this new arrangement.”
The last comment from Madam Kang grated on Xiang Zhe’s ears. He most definitely didn’t want any man to feel comfortable acting as Shan Mei’s husband, yet he managed to compose his inner turmoil as he asked calmly, “Age of this fishing couple?”
“Late 20’s but because they were supposed to appear overexposed to the sun, they looked much older.”
“But Madam Kang, this couple from Munsan looks about 50ish and people know no person under 50 would want to man a frontier outpost as dead as Munsan, bearing in mind a nightly curfew is in force.”
“Not that I’m boasting, but our Props Department can be counted on to supply the appropriate make-up and costumes.”
Xiang Zhe sounding skeptical continued, “I’m still not too sure about this Mr. Han. He seems somewhat a bit too young. You know….green….”
“Even if we want Han to look 60, that won’t be a problem.”
“Yes, I believe your Props guy can make him look 60, but can he make Han act 60?”
“Han does have some theatrical experience!”
Madam Kang, seated behind her office desk, directed an unflinching stare at Yin Xiang Zhe, not happy at all that the man was negating almost everything that was proposed. She could understand his uncertainty. Han Rae Won was very good looking and she had wondered many times in the past whether his good looks had worked against him – supervisors in his Unit had passed him over for other less experienced officers to take charge of very important assignments always with the excuse that Han was ‘not ready’ yet. This man from Interpol was doing exactly the same thing here.
When Xiang Zhe noticed Madam Kang’s silent study of him, he purposely took a swipe at Mr. Han’s pretty boy looks just to ruffle her staid feathers. “So Mr. Han wants to be an actor? What’s he doing in MPTU?”
“Mr. Yin, I’m surprised at you!” Madam Kang’s tone was censoring. “Mr. Han has passed his training at Marine Police Training School with excellent results. Since he joined the MPTU 5 years ago, his performance has been highly praised. Acting is only an enjoyable pastime for him. And Zhen Shan Mei from my Unit is 100% reliable, dresses the part well although she usually does prefer to work alone. The partnership with Han a year ago was necessary because the assignment was highly dangerous, and Shan Mei is known to keep her cool when caught in tight situations.”
Xiang Zhe uncrossed his legs and turned in his chair to face Madam Kang. With a delicious smile on his lips he said, “I have no problem with Miss Zhen. I’ve to admit she had me fooled when I saw her at the Kitty Kat Klub up near Kangso-ri.”
“You were there?” Madam Kang asked, surprised.
Xiang Zhe nodded his head and he hid a smile behind his hand, but he could not hide his mischievous eyes. Madam Kang caught the naughty gleam before he managed to turn his eyes away.
“So you think she was good?”
Xiang Zhe didn’t say anything; afraid that if he did, his tone would betray more than he was prepared to reveal. After all, Madam Kang was a wise old owl, well trained to sniff out nuances of any kind. In answer, he simply shot out an upright thumb as a signal for ‘Ace.’
Madam Kang gently nodded her head and smiled sagaciously. It seemed Xiang Zhe had managed to soothe the old owl’s feathers by heaping such praise on her ‘star’ special agent who happened to be a personal favourite of hers. Before getting back to the main discussion on hand, she said, “Mr. Yin, maybe we could both do with fresh cups of coffee.”
Xiang Zhe immediately agreed, good naturedly accepting Madam Kang’s tactful ploy of diversion. He realized she was trying to win him over regarding Han Rae Won and Zhen Shan Mei’s partnership.
Xiang Zhe was reluctant to sanction the partnership because the last thing he wanted was to place such a good looking guy next to Shan Mei in such close proximity in such a far flung, isolated place where night life was almost non-existent and the most exciting thing the pair could do in their cabin was play with crossing out 0’s and X’s, or counting their toes every night for three months. No way, much too tempting if they had other ideas on their minds on how to while away the lonely hours. That Han Rae Won did look like a charmer with his sleepy eyes and cheeky, boyish smile – as if ready to haul a girl into bed anytime.
Xiang Zhe already knew how he was going to veto the partnership but he kept this close to his heart.
After he finished his coffee, he informed Madam Kang he would need more detailed background information on Mr. Han before he could make the final decision. “The assignment to Munsan is too dangerous. After all, the couple will be dealing with 3 different military divisions: the Americans, the South Koreans and the North Koreans. One has to take the utmost care, it’s a matter of life and death. And I’ll have to forward details of this dangerous mission to the Secretary General at Interpol Lyon. Only he can make the final decision, because if we’re found out, there’d be political repercussions among the three countries. And God knows what other complications because we don’t want the Interpol Cabinet or the pro-guys from National Intelligence Service to become involved!”
Later that afternoon, Shan Mei was summoned to Mother Superior’s office.
“Yes, Madam Kang, you want to see me?” Shan Mei asked tepidly as she stood before Mother Superior.
“Shan Mei, take a seat. I still haven’t congratulated you on a job superbly done at KKK. I received news last night that the underwater tunnel has been successfully destroyed by ‘natural forces’.” Both the women exchanged conspiratorial glances and laughed softly.
“The gang is going to regroup and map out alternate routes. I’ve to send an undercover couple to man the Munsan border crossing for 3 months. I’m thinking of sending you and Han Rae Won.”
Shan Mei almost let off a hysterical hoot when she remembered she was in Mother Superior’s office, so she stopped herself just in time.
Madam Kang peered her sharp beady eyes over the rim of her glasses at Shan Mei and asked, “Since you’ve teamed up with Rae Won last year, what do you think of him?”
“Well….. he’s okay but can get a bit skittish.”
“What do you mean by…….. skittish….?”
“When he’s nervous, you can tell. He always crooks his thumb and when he begins to crack his knuckles, I know he’s ready to wet in his pants.” Shan Mei laughed quietly when she recalled how he irritated her with his habitual crooked thumb whenever they sailed near any fishing vessel that looked suspiciously Japanese.
She quickly changed the line of questioning and asked instead, “So Han Rae Won is going to be the ‘husband’ again?”
“Not sure. I’ve highly recommended Han Rae Won but Interpol needs to have more detailed information on him before a final decision can be made. This assignment is too dangerous to leave anything to chance. What about you, Shan Mei? Want to back out?”
“Of course not! I’ve always wanted to see what’s on the other side of the border.”
==
One week after Yin Xiang Zhe received Han Rae Won’s personal file, he was at Madam Kang’s office.
“So, Mr. Yin, what do you now think of Han Rae Won?”
“Well, I’d have preferred someone from your Unit. You know, keeping the intelligence to as tight a group as possible.” He looked hesitant.
“Mr. Yin, you look as if you have found a solution already, with that gleam in your eyes.”
“Ha, Madam, can’t hide anything from you, can we? I’ve discussed this matter with Interpol and my associate Mr. Jung who is presently handling the drug smuggling division and they too agree this mission is far too dangerous, especially since it covers a 3 months period, to be assigned to just any one. I’ve decided to take on this assignment myself and while I’m out of Seoul, Mr. Jung has authority from Interpol Lyon to act on my behalf.” Xiang Zhe then took out of his file an official looking letter on Interpol’s letterhead and handed it to Madam Kang.
On the day that Yin Xiang Zhe and Zhen Shan Mei were supposed to drive up to their new ‘home’ in Munsan, they were at CIB Props Department early that morning for a make-over. Two hours later when they emerged from Props, they could hardly recognize each other and couldn’t stop laughing.
“Good Lord, I’ve never seen an uglier old man,” Shan Mei gurgled, taking in Xiang Zhe’s out-of-date thick horn-rimmed glasses, mop of unruly white hair that hadn’t seen the likes of a brush or comb for centuries, blotches of make-up thrown haphazardly all over his face, plus 2 large moles – one stuck to one side of his nose, the other right in the centre of his right cheek. He wore a garish checked shirt and a pair of mud-brown trousers, and the size of Xiang Zhe’s waist and hips seemed to have grown at least twenty inches since the last time she saw him.
“Hey Country Pumpkin, wipe that smirking grin off your face and stop rolling your eyes. You don’t look too hot yourself. You might want to take a look in the mirror,” Xiang Zhe shot back, as he unfolded the screen visor holding a vanity mirror. While doing that, he tried hard to swallow a laugh when he saw her peppery coloured hair wig, round granny glasses, 2 really black-on-black moles – one stuck on her eyebrow, the other somewhere around her upper lip. Her normal curvaceously slim hips had grown to gargantuan proportions and her breasts were large and hanging. She trundled along a compact-size luggage trolley on wheels.
“I hope Props gave you extra pairs of trousers. I don’t think I have anything in my luggage that will fit you,” Shan Mei sniggered.
“They gave me 3 pairs. I hope you remember to do the laundry every day so the clothes will dry out in time.”
“Hey, I never received any instructions in my sealed envelope saying that I have to take care of your laundry! Anyway in that size, it would take an entire day simply to scrub out the dirt in your pants and another day to wring the water out of that bulk.”
“Ever heard of washing machine, stupid?”
“Doubt they have something like that in your antiquated, barely-basic cabin!”
“Well, buckle up your safety belt and we’ll soon find out what’s in store for us for the next 3 months. By the way, did you remember to bring along plenty of coffee and …erh…condoms?”
“Maxwell Instant and only China-made ones with plenty of holes in them!”
The corners of Xiang Zhe’s mouth lifted as he turned and looked at Shan Mei who was waving her hand to the tea lady with her toothy grin standing at the entrance to Props, still shaking her head in disbelief when she saw the transformed result in Shan Mei. ‘This girl has a wicked sense of humour! I think I’m going to enjoy myself,’ Xiang Zhe grinned to himself.
Some words spoken maybe a little bit too soon…???
==
The first morning after their arrival, Xiang Zhe was standing in front of the tiny, blurry mirror hanging on the wall above the wash basin at the back verandah, trying to apply some white powder to his overnight stubble when Shan Mei popped her head round the screen door and said, “Mr. Yin, only plain white bread, butter and jam for breakfast this morning. This is the best I can manage. I couldn’t find any pots and pans in the kitchen. Can do? ”
Xiang Zhe put down his bowl of white dye and brush and walked menacing toward Shan Mei. He caught her chin tightly between two fingers and growled at her. Shan Mei winced. “Hey, that hurts!” she complained as she tried to beat off his strong hold.
“That’ll teach you to remember that the name is Mr. Bae while we’re here. I’m Bae Yong Jun and you’re Moon Yu Jin. These are the names on our identification passes. Do you want to get us killed before we even know where to begin looking? However, to make things easy, I’m going to address you as ‘honey’. You got any pet name for me?” he teased and released his hold.
“Yes, you bully! ‘4-eyed Bae’ when I’m in a good mood and ‘Old Man Bae’ when I have a bone to pick with you.”
“Very nice. Really feels like we have already been married 30 years. Only happily married old couples can spew such endearing filth and still feel secure and comfortable with their partners. Right, Fatso? And the breakfast sounds great. Make my coffee extra strong. Thank you.” In the space of a heartbeat, he added cheekily in a caressing tone while Shan Mei was still within earshot, “Honey.”
“And when you think of me, please make it ‘Xiang Zhe’ and not Mr. Yin. I just can’t bear to be thought of so formally, when we’re going to be living so closely here together for the next 3 months.”
He chuckled and rubbed his unshaven jaw as he watched his fat ‘Honey’ stomped off in a huff. Then he continued with his earlier task of dying the dark stubble of his beard along his chin, his jaw, under his chin and around his neck.
==
Very quickly, they settled into a comfortable routine of everyday life. By silent mutual consent, they split the household chores happily and equally, which was easy, seeing space in the cabin was not much. There wasn’t much to do. When they agreed to share the one bedroom, Xiang Zhe let Shan Mei decide which half of the room she wanted.
Returning to the cabin after her first day across the border, Shan Mei told Xiang Zhe that she couldn’t help shuddering as she remembered the sensation of dread and apprehension when she first set foot on the still, silent grounds of the border crossing. Song Wai Mun, the man who had assisted the wife of the previous caretaker of the Munsan Station Guardroom, met her at the other end. Even that didn’t adequately describe the emotions she experienced. It wasn’t a feeling of evil so much as a pressing sadness, a pain and grief so raw that 50 years of border separation of the beautiful kingdom of Korea had not dimmed its intensity. Yet, it surprised her that in the midst of the poverty, the only accepted currency from customers buying foreign-made goods from a small group of petty traders, like herself, who had crossed over from the South, was US Dollars. So ironic! Where no money exchanged hands, barter trading was the accepted norm.
One late afternoon, Xiang Zhe, waiting on the South Korean side for Shan Mei, saw Old Song walking next to her along the border crossing and wondered what the old man was doing on this side of the border. Old Song was supposed to be only the Freight Train Manager on the Panmunjeom side of the North Korean train network but by his unrestricted movements he seemed to be wielding more power than the country’s No. 1 man, Kim Jong-Il, in this most south-western corner of North Korea.
Old Song looked young for his 60 years, a huge, bald-headed man, belly-hung but obviously strong, with a scar twisting its way across his left cheek. When he spoke he sounded like one of his freight trains letting off steam.
Xiang Zhe didn’t like the way Shan Mei and Old Song were chatting and laughing and the way the old dog was walking so close to her.
“What’s up?” he asked when the two of them had reached the end of the crossing on the Munsan side, Old Song still holding onto Shan Mei’s luggage trolley like a faithful old servant. One look at Old Song’s eager face and Xiang Zhe had a feeling he wasn’t going to like the answer.
“Oh, Husband! Brother Song has been so kind in helping me set up my stall every morning since I began business across the border two weeks ago, and supplying me with military caps at way below cost prices and treating me to lunch almost all of this week, I decided ……..” Shan Mei didn’t dare to finish her sentence when she saw Xiang Zhe’s face turning red with anger and his eyes had narrowed a second too late – not before she saw their dangerous glints. She inhaled deeply and quickly strode off in the direction of their cabin, leaving Old Song to make whatever he liked about Xiang Zhe’s so very obvious dark mood.
During the entire dinner, Old Song complimented Sister Yu Jin on her delicious pork stew and kimchi. Shan Mei blushed but gave credence to Xiang Zhe saying the good quality fresh pork and fresh vegetables were purchased by him. If the ‘flirtation’ between the fat lady and the old man didn’t look so lame, Xiang Zhe might have rolled his eyes about in fun.
The CIB was full of young, good-looking men who were interested in her, but according to the intelligence he had gathered, she hadn’t given anyone of them a lick of encouragement. Not one! ‘Then, tonight she happens on an old man, looking as out of place as a junkyard dog sitting between the two of them, with the table manners of a gutter rat and she practically swoons because he compliments her cooking.’ Xiang Zhe shoved his bowl and chopsticks aside, his usual robust appetite gone.
“Thank you for your help, Brother Song. It’s nice to meet a man who knows his way around a kitchen.” Old Song grinned until his eyes became mere slits when he acknowledged the indirect praise from Shan Mei. He preened, puffing up his chest and stomach with self-importance as his eyes bored with a challenge into Xiang Zhe’s.
“All he lacks is a ruffled apron,” Xiang Zhe remarked with a desultory little snort, so intent on upsetting Shan Mei he forgot to behave civilly toward Old Song. What was the big deal anyway, he silently admonished Shan Mei. All Old Song did was help clear the small dining table of dirty plates and bowls and insisted on doing the washing up! Wasn’t he, Yin Xiang Zhe, doing all the rough work around the cabin on daily basis, like damp-mopping the floorboards, wiping the windows, scrubbing the pots and pans and keeping the kitchen floor immaculately clean so that her ladyship’s hands wouldn’t be soiled? He had yet to hear a word of praise from Shan Mei. No gratitude at all!
After Old Song left, Xiang Zhe complained to Shan Mei. “Why invite the man to dinner without getting clearance from me beforehand?”
“I assure you, Sir, it was not meant to be a real invitation. I only passed a casual comment about wanting to treat him to a home-cooked meal one day for his kind help and he came trudging along. I didn’t think he would assume it was going to be tonight.”
“I very much doubt he misunderstood,” Xiang Zhe answered with a sneer.
==
One evening, about 6 weeks after Xiang Zhe was at Munsan, Old Song invited him to cross the border for a meal at his home. Xiang Zhe eagerly accepted because he wanted to get a better understanding of the old man. However, after several drinks over dinner, Xiang Zhe did away with pretences and all the two men talked about was Shan Mei.
“Brother Bae, reliable sources have told me that you never take your wife out around the markets in Munsan, not even to the station office to introduce her to your colleagues. You’re ashamed to show Sister Yu Jin off?”
“Of course not! She’s always busy at home counting and recounting her American dollars, or over across the border selling her junk, she never seems to have any time to spare. I have often wondered whether it’s just the money or whether she’s in love with that foreigner whose ugly face is on those dollar notes.”
Old Song almost laughed his head off, suspecting that Bae’s wife had feelings for him, not that stupid foreigner. He was almost certain, seeing the way Sister Yu Jin tended to him during their ‘lunch time’ dates – handing him food from her pair of chopsticks, topping his cup with a never-ending supply of tea. “Maybe Sister Yu Jin doesn’t like your company?”
“What nonsense! I’m the one avoiding her company like the plague. Between us men, I’ll tell you in strict confidence. Her underarms reek of some intolerable foreign odour.”
“Is that so? He-he-he,” Old Song sniggered with evil overtones. “I love strange smells. If her underarms do smell, I’d love to bury my nose in her armpits. Are you sure it’s not something else that’s keeping you away from her?” Old Song leered, his eyes probing and almost protruding through his thick short-sighted glasses.
When Xiang Zhe cocked a brow questioningly, Old Song sniggered some more and jabbed an elbow into Xiang Zhe’s ribs. “You know, I’ve heard that you can never get it up….”
“What do you mean? Cannot get what up?” Xiang Zhe snapped at Song.
Old Song pointed with a tilt of his chin and a slant of his eyes in the direction of Xiang Zhe’s private parts. “Come on, no need to pretend. Isn’t this the main reason, you don’t have any children?”
By now, Xiang Zhe’s face was beet-root red in colour with ire and his voice impatient as it rose an octave. “We don’t have any children because I don’t want to put my wife’s health at risk. The doctor told me that it would be dangerous for her to carry a baby to full term, due to her weight. She has always been disgustingly fat.”
“Why did you marry her then, if you found her disgusting?”
“Arranged by the parents since we were youngsters,” Xiang Zhe grumbled.
“Aiya, seems to me it’s just an excuse when you South Korean old men are past it! Your North Korean brothers can do it several times a night, every night, regardless of our age, with our magical ginseng and superior quality deer antler portions. Can’t help you at all if you’re dead down there.”
Xiang Zhe, seething with hidden fury, let the jibe pass and complained of something else, more focused on Shan Mei and not on himself. “And she snores, and takes up more than half of the mat bedding. Most nights I happily concede the whole mat to her and opt for the bare floor.”
“Oh, just my luck. I’ve got an extra large and thick bedding stored away somewhere. Never had the reason to use it. Now, if Sister Yu Jin is my wife, that bedding will come in mighty handy,” Old Song bit out proudly, then stopped salivating as if he suddenly realized it was bad sportsmanship to continue. “This is just a dream, after all Sister Yu Jin is still Brother Bae’s lawful wife.”
Downing another glass of local wine, Xiang Zhe continued his grousing.
“She can’t do a darn thing right in the house.”
“If Sister Yu Jin is my wife, I’ll not have her lift a finger to do anything. I’ll have her spend the days beautifying herself and the nights keeping me warm.”
“Make herself beautiful? I don’t see how she can manage that? The only beauty secret she knows is how to make herself look uglier by the day. I swear I hardly recognize her on some days if she didn’t open her mouth and fret in that whiny voice of hers.”
“She whines, so what! She cooks well and that’s good enough. I’d give anything if only some woman would whine and fret at me and prepare my dinner every night.”
“What about the woman my wife tells me who comes every day to clean your place and prepare your meals?”
“She’s nothing at all like your wife although she has been dropping hints she wouldn’t mind sharing my bed even without marriage. Sister Yu Jin is all classy and soft spoken.”
“You mean my fat, clumsy Yu Jin? She classy and soft spoken? In what way, I want to know!”
“Aiya, Brother Bae. It takes a REAL man to know how to appreciate her qualities. In my eyes she’s perfect.”
Xiang Zhe almost threw up his arms in despair. He gave up. Hard as he tried, he simply couldn’t dampen Old Song’s enthusiasm or swipe that leery grin off that man’s stupid face. He knew it was pointless to continue making disparaging remarks about Shan Mei. That man wouldn’t allow himself to be swayed and was hell bent on turning every negative aspect of Shan Mei into a positive charm. The way Old Song was carrying on, he almost had Xiang Zhe believe that the fat Yu Jin he had at home in the cabin was Mother Earth Aphrodite re-incarnated!
One thing Xiang Zhe had to admit in Old Song’s favour. The man really knew how to enjoy himself. He lived lavishly, by North Korean standards, and served the best wine from his cellar and the array of side dishes he displayed before Xiang Zhe including the meat stew was delicious. As they drank and ate, Old Song began his turn in taking swipes at Xiang Zhe, trying to undermine his confidence.
By the time Xiang Zhe was tired of what Old Song was doing, it was 11 p.m. and he wanted to leave. Old Song escorted him across the crossing until it was safe for Xiang Zhe to make his way slowly home, his stomach sated with good food, his head throbbing with an ache from the amount of wine he had consumed and a simmering rage brewing, remembering Old Song’s gall in questioning his manliness!
When he arrived home, he found Shan Mei working on her accounts and happily counting out the profits she made earlier that day from the sale of North Korean military caps to the tourists who had come on the Imjin Railway Tourist Train.
==
The first time, after their arrival at Munsan, when Shan Mei brought the North Korean military caps home, he had asked her where she got them and she had told him, “Brother Song suggested I sell these as souvenirs to the tourists coming on the Imjin Tourist Train.”
Xiang Zhe gasped at her, his eyes grown wide. “Old Song? What does he know about such things?”
“Why, he runs this business as a side line. In fact, he has several families stitch these caps for him. So, technically speaking, he not only supplies to the North Korean Military, he supplies to me too.”
Xiang Zhe eyed her suspiciously before saying sourly, “What did you do with Old Song that he’s giving these caps to you at so cheap a price?”
“I didn’t do anything except tell Brother Song that I needed the extra income for my old-age savings. He wanted to let me have the caps for free, but I told him the only way I would accept the caps was if I could pay for them.”
The first time when the Tourist Train arrived at Imjin, she sold every one of the caps. That same night she had sat down after dinner and counted her takings. He was curious and had asked, “What are you going to do with all this profit?”
“Contribute to the Staff Emergency Fund. When I contributed the money I made at KKK to the fund, the organizing chairman for this year’s Christmas Party was so pleased he told me they would be able to get each of the employees’ children a decent Christmas present.” Shan Mei had looked so happy and smiled so warmly when she said that.
==
Xiang Zhe sat down at the low table, poured himself a cup of tea from the teapot and stared at Shan Mei silently. When she noticed his silence, she looked up from her accounting books and asked, “Something wrong? Did you not enjoy Brother Song’s hospitality?”
“Hospitality? Hostility was more like it! Is it necessary to share every lunchtime meal with Old Song? Very soon he will think you’re harbouring a grand passion for him. I don’t like it one bit.”
Shan Mei gave a little hush of a laugh. She slanted him an amused look and unwittingly her smile held derision as she said, “Stop that. You sound like a jealous husband.”
“Yes, I suppose I do. Especially when I detect some man sniffing around my wife! How much more am I supposed to endure?” he demanded.
“More?”
“Of the laughter, the taunts about you playing me for a fool in your pursuits! About the guys at the office making a game of guessing ….” He faltered here and found difficulty in continuing. When he saw Shan Mei’s arched brows, he swallowed deeply and burst out, “Guessing whether you and Old Song have …….”
“Mr. Bae Yong Jun, if you don’t mind me whispering into your ear, let me remind you we are on a VVI assignment. I’m playing at being your ‘wife’ and this marriage is a make-believe game.”
“So what? In the eyes of the community here, you’re my wife, so you stop playing hanky-panky with Old Song.”
“What? And you believe all that nonsense? Again you’re over-stepping the boundaries of good taste and accusing me of being loose. Don’t be silly and think like an idiot. What’s gotten into you tonight?” Her voice was harsh now; it was a woman’s voice showing impatience with an unreasonable man.
With a dark look, her eyes blazing with fury, Shan Mei collected her books and cash box and stomped off to the bedroom, making sure her heavy footsteps sounded like battle-cries and she was ready for a good fight. Before Shan Mei stormed off she had given him a glance that said she didn’t find him all that funny, but he noticed that she had a hard time containing her amusement, too. It’d been a long time since anyone had affected him in this way.
He braced his forehead against his hand. If the answer to her question was that simple, he would have saved himself a lot of crazy pain. The truth was he didn’t know any longer – was he jealous of Old Song, or was he simply frustrated that after all this time living in such close proximity, Shan Mei was still so indifferent to him? He must be truly losing his mind if he believed a beautiful 28-year old woman like Shan Mei could be attracted to a sloppy, 60-year-old scoundrel like Old Song!
For several days thereafter, all that his anger and frustration had netted him was the silent treatment from Shan Mei. He’d never known a woman who could say so much without uttering a word.
He tried to get their companionable camaraderie back on track by doing extra chores around the house – little things that she had complained about – like lubricating the creaky hinges, taped over the loose cracks around the window frames to stop the cold northern autumn gusts from slipping in, asked the Station Storekeeper for a small heater to keep their room warm, tidied up the yard to make it look neat and spruced up again.
Soon, Shan Mei was again giving him her warm smiles and they continued spending time in the evenings after dinner playing his favourite board game, Scotland Yard. He even let her win a few rounds.
==
Two weeks later, Xiang Zhe came home in a huff – it seemed he was made a laughing stork again at the station office and someone – he knew exactly who – was going to pay for making him the bane of ridicule.
Shan Mei knew Xiang Zhe’s temper was simmering and ready for a good fight but she didn’t devote too much time thinking about it today, not with Xiang Zhe’s implied threat hanging over her head when he found out she had been enjoying lunch with Old Song from across the border almost every afternoon this past two weeks. Idle tongues were passing malicious gossip of him being cuckold. She should have realized his logical mind would claim that if anyone had the right to enjoy anything with her, it would be him – her husband! And he meant to show her before the night was over how man he was – he had threatened before he left for work that morning! When her nervousness increased during the evening; she decided to retire for the night with all haste before he arrived home.
She donned her most unappealing nightgown, a heavy cotton long sleeve garment buttoned up to her neck with a matching pair of tight pants. She stuck her hair under an ugly nightcap and finished her ensemble with a bulky robe that she usually wore only after her bath. Thus so bundled up, she crawled under the bedcovers, playing sick and pretending to be asleep, on her side of the partially partitioned room.
Around ten, Shan Mei heard Xiang Zhe’s van out in the yard. He must have just finished his final inspection round for the night. Moments later, the door to their room opened and he was there. He shut the door behind him and came further into the room. He stood for a moment wondering…… He pushed the sliding dividing panels roughly aside and peered inside Shan Mei’s half of the room. Unfortunately for Shan Mei, Xiang Zhe wasn’t so easily fooled.
He approached and said grimly, “Very amusing, my dear.” His tone was dry, his expression inscrutable. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say in that get-up you’re looking appalling and a complete turn-off,” he continued. “But a husband is allowed to disturb his wife – anytime, anywhere regardless of how she feels or looks.”
From Shan Mei’s low-lying position, Xiang Zhe stood tall and seemed to loom over her bedding menacingly, with an unnerving smile on his dark face.
Xiang Zhe, his mouth tilted in a sardonic grin, shook his head at Shan Mei’s childish pretence, then padded back to his half of the room, shrugged off his heavy jacket and hung it on a brass hook, one of several that had been roughly screwed onto the wall. Then he returned and stepped further into Shan Mei’s half of the room, his eyes gleaning over her face, very doctor-like.
“Aaah, it must be fever,” he continued, coming slowly toward the bedding when Shan Mei didn’t move or utter a sound in response. “And no wonder, with that mountain of night clothes you’re wearing. Or is it a cold? No, you haven’t bothered to redden your nose with a little bit of pinching. A headache, then of course! You don’t need visible symptoms to claim one, do you?”
His baiting enraged Shan Mei beyond good sense. “Bully! If I had one, you wouldn’t care, would you?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Xiang Zhe answered in a non-committal tone. He sat down by the mattress slowly removing his socks from his feet. His smile was more humorous now that she had given up her ruse. “Do you have one?”
“Yes.”
“Liar.”
“I’m learning from a master.”
He laughed. “Very good, honey. I was wondering how I was going to introduce the subject, but you’ve done it for me.”
“What subject?”
“What indeed! Are we going to play dumb now?”
“We aren’t going to play anything. You’re going to leave this half of the room.”
Of course he didn’t. That would have been too much to hope for. He sat back, leaning on one elbow, infuriating her with his quiet scrutiny.
Suddenly he leaned forward and snatched her nightcap away. “That’s better.” He twirled the cap on his finger as he gazed at her loosened hair falling around her shoulders. “I suppose you wore this ugly nightcap just to annoy me.”
He said it too quietly for her to take him seriously. “Will you get out of my room? I’m not ready to talk to you.”
“So I see.” He threw the nightcap across the room. “But I don’t particularly care whether you’re ready or not. And one more thing, don’t forget that one half of this room belongs to me!”
She gasped when he reached out for her. Her hands flew up to hold him back. He caught hold of her wrist and pulled her from under the bedcovers. His face was red, and his eyes bulged, with fury.
“Now, explain yourself. Why did you tell that imbecile Old Song that I wasn’t man enough for you? During our supposedly 30 years of marriage, I couldn’t get my little brother up and hard, not even once! Some lies you wove around that junkyard dog. Heavens, you really know where to hit a man with his pride. He was gloating all evening when he had me in his house, trying his darn best to rub the fact in, laughing that even the most priceless deer antler concoction couldn’t help me. That I was such a miserable loser and that I should do at least one good deed in my life, meaning to release you from our marriage. What other lies have you been feeding him? Most probably something like I have strong body odour that turns you off every time I come near you, right?”
“You horrible man! What would you have me do? We’re here to gather intelligence. We’ve been holed up in this miserable place for 2 months already, and have sniffed out very little although we both agree Old Song seems to be our ‘man’. If I didn’t prostitute myself, do you think I could have taken my camera over the border last week and allowed to take those photos of the freight train depot when I spun my story of ‘train collection’?”
Xiang Zhe swung around and grabbed her wrist again, his fingers biting into her soft flesh, his veins sticking out of the skin on his neck as he demanded to know, “What do you mean by that? You’ve slept with him already?” He shook her and shouted, “Tell me, right now!”
“No, of course NOT. Don’t be ridiculous. But I’ve got to act and talk in such a way that he believes I’m going to do that and leave you for him – soon.”
“Couldn’t you have lied about something else? A man’s pride is very important to him and what you told him was the worst kind of curse to wish upon any man. If I didn’t find you so unappealing, I would show you a thing or two.”
“What’s the matter with your usual cool reasoning? It would seem being locked up so close to me for 2 months have you running for crazy.”
“Damn it, lady! You’ve hurt my pride and now the men around the station office are sniggering behind my back. I can’t even hold my head up high!”
“With your weird disposition nowadays, I think you’re missing your Thai girls. Or may be you’re thinking of that Seri from the Kitty Kat Klub. I noticed your eyes forever on her when you were last there.”
“And why do you think I wasn’t thinking of Seri?” he taunted. “She looks like she’s not inhibited, acts like she knows how to please a man and looks a darn sight better than you.”
“Then why didn’t you try your luck with her before you returned tonight? You might have returned in a better mood.” she challenged. “She likes men with money, too.”
“All the better if she gives full value for it,” he retorted, then stormed out of the room.
Moments later, Shan Mei called out feebly to Xiang Zhe, “Hey, Old Man Bae, you forgot your old man glasses,” waving the pair of glasses from her bedding. ‘Too late,’ she shrugged when she heard the front door slammed after him, and soon, the start of the van’s engine and the vehicle being backed out of the yard.
Shan Mei felt she might explode. She raised her eyes to the ceiling, seeking patience and forbearance. After she took a deep breath, she controlled herself and got back under the bed cover. She thought to herself, ‘This Yin Xiang Zhe, if he continues to act so erratically, our carefully-cultivated covers would soon be blown, endangering both our lives. I’ve got to step up my Jezebel tricks to pry information out of that tight-lipped Song as soon as possible so we can leave this place soonest possible.’
==
After he stormed out of their tiny cabin, Xiang Zhe stood on the front porch, recalling Shan Mei’s heated face and fiery eyes, when she turned away from him to face the wall.
He hesitated and uncertain whether he should go back inside to apologise at once, or wait till she was calmer.
“Seri, indeed,” he snorted with a half laugh, his hands sitting loosely at his hips. He didn’t even remember what that woman looked like. That time at the Kitty Kat Klub his eyes diverted to Seri because he didn’t want Shan Mei or, rather Tabby, to know his eyes were actually glued on her. Xiang Zhe’s eyes lit up a bit as a sly smile played around his lips. He would let her ride out her temper – let her think he was going to Kitty Kat Klub to see Seri. After all, a little bit of jealousy never hurt. Dared he hope she sounded like a jealous nag?
==
Xiang Zhe sat in his van, by the roadside, with nowhere to go. In truth the only place he wanted to be was with Shan Mei in that cabin, but he was still angry, imagining the close friendship that Shan Mei had rapidly developed with that scoundrel Song.
Xiang Zhe lit up a cigarette, stared out of the window and counted to 100, then 200. Outrage, fury and a brace of other strong emotions he couldn’t put a name to, cruised through his mind and his usual logic had somewhat returned by the time he reached 200.
How dare that Old Song suggest he release Shan Mei from their marriage, or question his fitness to be Shan Mei’s husband? The very idea of Shan Mei in that disgusting creature’s arms sent a shaft of torment through Xiang Zhe.
Why was he so troubled? He should forget the whole unpleasant incident in their cabin an hour ago. After all, theirs was only a make-believe marriage, and Shan Mei had to do what she felt was necessary to gain the trust of Old Song. When he first noticed Old Song casting lecherous eyes on Shan Mei, he had promised himself he wouldn’t let his jealous imagination fly away with him. At his first test, he succumbed. How could he be idiotic enough to doubt Shan Mei’s integrity and sense of duty?
Xiang Zhe began to laugh and hit himself several times on his head. Lord, what was he thinking of – acting like the aggrieved husband – getting mad at Shan Mei and taking her insulting jibes so seriously? Had not Shan Mei told him to bad-mouth her in front of Song so that the old scoundrel would have second thoughts of Shan Mei being a good catch – unless that old guy was so desperate for a woman – any woman – to warm his bed on a cold winter’s night?
After all, had she not been doing more than she was supposed to, on this assignment? Taking care of the meals and his laundry – she made sure he was neatly turned out even though he only had 3 changes of clothes. On the days when they met the Tourist Train at Imjin, she made sure his beige shirt and mud-brown trousers were nicely pressed. In fact, if it was not such a ludicrous joke, he’d say he looked quite spiffy in that get-up. And Shan Mei looked every inch the traveling saleswoman, with her hand-luggage of North Korean military caps. She was over the border most days, yet she spent the nights, after dinner, cooking, and the cooked food stored in the fridge so they could have the meals ready for dinner in no time the next evening. Her household management was faultless.
He threw out his half finished cigarette. Regret stabbed at him. He would go home now and apologise at once, if she had not fallen asleep. When he arrived home, the whole place was in darkness except for the dimly-lit porch light.
==
Shan Mei stuck her head into the bedroom and asked, “Bae, do you want your eggs fried or poached for breakfast this morning?” Her voice sounded light and breezy.
“Can’t you let a man have some peace? It’s still too early to think of food,” Xiang Zhe snapped. He turned around and saw the surprised hurt in her eyes.
“Forgive me, honey,” he quickly apologized, her instant hurt touching him to the quick. “I just woke a few minutes ago,” he lied when he had hardly slept last night for thinking of her. “If I sounded brusque, I didn’t mean it in the least.”
“It is rather early,” she agreed, a speculative gleam appeared in her eyes, as she felt rather strangely giddy, at the change in his behaviour after his fury of last night. “Breakfast will be ready in 10 minutes. I think I’ll give you poached eggs this morning, to cool down your internal heat.”
Tens minutes later, Xiang Zhe was washed and properly dressed as he sat down at the table. Shan Mei handed him a slice of warm toast that had just popped out of the toaster. She looked at his tired face and said, “I’m sorry for last night. Let’s not bicker again. It won’t do us any good if we keep hounding each other. We are here to get the job done as best as we can.”
“Isn’t it the norm for married couples to bicker and nag. I’d say we’re beginning to act like a couple of miserable old married fossils,” Xiang Zhe said light-heartedly.
“That’s what people say about marriage. Once the ring in on, the honeymoon is over. That’s why I don’t think I’m ever going to marry.”
“Don’t tell me your parents never fight or quarrel?” Xiang Zhe looked at Shan Mei, surprised, remembering the heated quarrels his parents used to have.
“My Ma died when I was quite young – too young to remember whether my parents ever quarreled. Even though I only have Pa, we are very happy. I try to be a son and daughter to him and we are the best of friends. Likewise, he tries to be both mother and father to me, so you see our family is complete. We never fight.”
Xiang Zhe looked away, his eyes hiding troubled emotions that he didn’t want Shan Mei to notice. Anyway, it was wishful thinking she’d notice him at that moment; she was too engrossed thinking of her beloved Pa.
“You’re having lunch with that sleazebag again today?”
“Yes, I guess so. Today he’s going to show me some numbers, and he’s going to work out how much to pay you to sweeten a divorce deal.”
“What!!?? What else have you been feeding him now? The other night he didn’t mention about wanting a real divorce; only suggested I do a good deed.”
“Nothing! Except that I’d be happy to marry him as soon as I could get rid of you.”
“So? Did he say how much he was willing to pay?” Xiang Zhe thumping a forefinger to his temple, trying to rake his memory and see what else he could pin on that old slobber Song.
“He never mentioned a number but he did say if you were too greedy or un-cooperative he’d arrange for someone to bump you off.”
“Is that a threat? The gall of that man!”
“I don’t think so, more like an eventuality if you don’t get us both out of this rut within the next few weeks.”
As he scooped some egg into his mouth, he changed the subject.
“How’s investigation coming along on your side?”
“Great! Song is supposed to be pensioned off in 2 years’ time. He tells me he has a very lucrative little side business, apart from the military caps, going and just to make sure I hurry you off – so I can warm his bed – he’s going to show me how much he has stashed away. And to ensure that I believe him, he’s going to tell me about his big plans for ‘our’ future. He adds that the money coming from that little venture will never dry up. I’m sure I’ll get enough intelligence in the bag by tonight. And please don’t blow up if I’m not back for dinner tonight.”
“How are you going to get back across the border? The US 32nd Infantry will be on duty tonight. It seems their army boys can’t be bribed. Curfew begins at 7 p.m. don’t forget.”
“We are talking of a master tactician who has helped move tens of thousands of illegal humans across transnational borders. You think a little matter like a 7 p.m. curfew will stall him if he can enjoy dinner with his fair, oops sorry – fat – lady? What about you? How are your own investigations coming along?”
“Pretty smoothly, I’d say. I’ve been watching the abandoned Imjin Railway Station depot, and the nightly movements there show that some gang is indeed planning on getting a second underwater tunnel in place to evade detection by army patrols. If you are sure you’ll get your intelligence by tonight, and tomorrow when I confirm the actual grids that gang is working with, I’ll use the next few days to tie up some loose ends at the station. We can get out of this place after the Imjin tourist train pulls in next week.”
“Yeah!” They both chorused happily and gave each other a high ‘5’.
“You have anything planned this Sunday night?” Xiang Zhe asked casually, filling her coffee mug with more coffee.
“Nothing important,” she said thinking he was asking about her plans with Old Song. “What’s happening?”
“I’ll treat you to a special dinner. When the Munsan train arrives on Sunday, it will bring along my special order of Old Married Couple’s Dinner.”
At first, Shan Mei was too stunned to answer. When Xiang Zhe saw her mouth gaped wide open and her eyes widened and sparkling, he simply said, “Peace offering.”
They cleared the breakfast table. And while they were washing up the dirty crockery and pans in the kitchen, Xiang Zhe couldn’t help keeping his worst fears to himself – would Old Song let Shan Mei get away so easily if she had been teasing him for weeks and he had been helping her for months?
After breakfast, when she got out her trolley and left the cabin, he called after her. “Hey, make sure you keep your ‘cushy’ bum on no matter how tempted Song wants to undress you,” Xiang Zhe reminded Shan Mei and he laughed when she gave him a wiggle of her padded derriere before she wheeled her hand-trolley of merchandise through the gate, out of their compound, making her way towards the border crossing.
Xiang Zhe remained standing on the front porch, unable to tear his gaze from her wiggling derriere as she waddled off. She looked sweet and adorable despite her pumpkin shape, old ladies’ glasses, salt and pepper-coloured wig. No wonder Old Song was smitten. He had an unsettling feeling that something was going to happen that night. Was Old Song going to jump on her? He mopped his brow. ‘Calm down,’ he reminded himself.
==
That night, Old Song managed to coax Shan Mei into staying on for dinner and she made use of the opportunity to complain to him about her bad-tempered husband. “4-eyed Bae was simply awful! Brother Song, I was so mortified when he accused me of showing you far too much favouritism. I know he’s feeling insecure since we were posted here. He suddenly realizes he looks downright unattractive compared to you and his other colleagues at the station office.” She brought her hand over her mouth to hide a smirk, remembering Xiang Zhe’s angry look of last night.
Old Song offered some words of comfort and, feeling bold all of sudden, he added, “If he gives you another scolding, you can stay over here for a few days and not return to that small little cabin. My house is not that big but compared to your present living quarters, it’s palatial. There’s plenty of room here. Let Old Bae take care of himself for a change.”
After a sip of his wine, he added, “It irks me to think that his parents had the nerve to name him Bae Yong Jun after that famous and handsome actor.” After a pause, he began again in a brusque tone, “If he’s Bae Yung Jun with that ugly face, then I’m Jang Dong Gun.” He let off a roar of raspy laughter.
“Now, now Brother Song, that’s not fair on 4-eyed Bae. When his parents named him Yong Jun, that handsome actor – in his 30’s now I presume – was not even born. Let’s just be happy for that actor Bae, though he was named Yong Jun, he didn’t turn out looking ugly like my 4-eyed Bae.”
Old Song nodded his head and laughed softly, agreeing that no man could look uglier and sorrier than Old Bae. Suddenly he sat up straight, cleared his throat slightly and murmured shyly, “You’d have a better deal if you were married to me.”
“Oh, don’t I know it. If only I had been born in the north, or you in the South, I could have met up with you earlier if the heavens were willing.”
“I can still arrange it if you agree to marry me. We can be married in Amsterdam. I have strong business contacts there. The people there can always arrange a fake passport for me. Now, let me show you some very important papers.” Old Song then took out an old wooden box from his bedroom.
==
Xiang Zhe didn’t want to dwell on what Shan Mei was doing with Old Song when she didn’t return home for dinner. He would go crazy if he did! So, he decided to cruise around the area. It was late autumn yet torrential rain, similar to a monsoon deluge, was pouring down in buckets, which was rather unusual for this time of the year. The rain had started just after he finished his dinner and Xiang Zhe wanted to keep busy and moving because he didn’t want to worry how Shan Mei was going to get home.
After an hour or so cruising around the area, he drove his van off the main road, down the flooded dirt path along the railway tracks at the Imjin depot. Just then, the sky split into half with a brilliant bolt of lightning, and in the harsh white light, he spotted a cluster of lights dancing about among the thick shrubbery beyond. Xiang Zhe was about to advance when, out of nowhere, a car appeared and blocked his path.
“What the heck?” he cursed impatiently and ignoring the heavy downpour, he opened the door of his van and stepped out.
Two men in trench coats came forward and greeted Xiang Zhe.
“Oh, it’s you!” the man nearest to him laughed, recognizing Xiang Zhe.
“It’s only the old man from the railway guardroom.” The man appeared to be shouting to someone somewhere further aback hidden in the shrubs.
A menacing voice shouted back, “Get rid of him.”
“Hey old man, we’re not causing trouble here. My friends wanted a place to relieve themselves,” the first man assured Xiang Zhe.
“But this is Railroad property off limits to trespassers. And why are you guys gadding about at this time of the night? The curfew only breaks at 5 in the morning, don’t you know it? I suggest you haul your butts elsewhere when you have private business to take care of.”
“Yeah, but when nature calls, it’s kind of difficult to be choosey. Hey, get back into your van and out of the rain before you catch a cold. And, take a swig of this whiskey. It’s first-rate stuff. Will keep you warm till you reach home. When we’re finished here, we’ll leave. Don’t want any trouble with the Railroad Authorities.”
“I’ll stay and watch you guys leave and I don’t drink when I’m on duty.”
“Who’s going to tell anyway, you old slobber?” The first man cajoled and held out his hand, holding a small bottle of golden liquor. Two other men appeared silently from the darkness.
When Xiang Zhe pushed the man’s outstretched arm away, the man become angry and commanded, “I ask you to drink and you dare to refuse me? Drink!”
The three men standing around moved forward and pinned Xiang Zhe against the van while the angry man forced the liquid down Xiang Zhe’s throat. After that, they jerked the van door open, hauled Xiang Zhe back into the vehicle, his still body slumped against the steering wheel.
Holding the empty bottle up against a torch light, the trespasser let off a frightening throaty cackle. “This stuff really works. The old man passed out almost immediately with nary a struggle.”
==
“Sergeant, looks like a van is parked along the railway tracks,” a soldier pointed out the vehicle to the important-looking man in the front passenger seat of the Military Police jeep doing its nightly patrol rounds.
The MP jeep screeched to a halt. Three young soldiers jumped out. Using heavy duty torch lights, they stomped around the van. A soldier lifted his torch and shone through the front glass panel and through the side windows.
“Sergeant! It’s that old man from Munsan Railway.”
Another voice chorused, “Yeah, it’s the one who meets and greets the weekly Railway Tourist Train at Imjin Railway Station Depot. What’s he doing here on such a ghastly wet night?”
The sergeant alighted from the jeep, peered into the van and exclaimed, “Looks like he’s drunk or something.”
Another soldier chimed in. “I’m not surprised. I’ve heard sniggering whispers going around Munsan camp that he cannot make it with his wife. That shrew must have booted him out of their cabin.”
The sergeant finally hollered, “Let’s get the miserable sod home.” Then he began to direct the soldiers to get the van back onto the main road.
==
“Just set him down there,” Shan Mei said with a heavy sigh, pointing at a chair, when two young soldiers helped an unconscious Xiang Zhe into the small sitting room of the cabin. “He should have been home an hour ago.”
“He’s bombed out of his skull. Shall we help get him to his room?” one of the soldiers asked wondering whether it was wise to leave the old man slumped on the chair in the living room. “Do you need further help, Madam Bae?”
“No,” Xiang Zhe began slurring in a semi-delirious state before Shan Mei could decide what to do. “She doesn’t need any help with me. She’s used to helping me. I always make sure she gets a lot of practice.” He leaned over confidently and fell over. “My wife’s a bit shy in front of strangers, you know. Kind of inhibited about some things, but she’s learning to unstarch if you know what I mean.”
Shan Mei clapped a hand over his mouth. “That’s enough from you,” she hissed. “You’re embarrassing me.”
“True, but….,” raising his index finger, Xiang Zhe then stumbled and fell back into the chair. He gazed at her over the edge of her palm, a ludicrously hurt expression in his eyes as Shan Mei turned around to thank the sergeant and his soldiers for bringing Mr. Bae home.
“Please don’t worry. I’m going to dry him first before taking him to his room and let him sleep it off. I didn’t realize he had had that much to drink!”
“He doesn’t hold his liquor well,” the Sergeant remarked, shaking his head as he eyed the sorrowful state of Xiang Zhe’s limp body.
There was a ‘humph’ of protest from behind Shan Mei’s hand. She felt Xiang Zhe’s wet tongue licking her palm and she hastily removed her fingers. He smiled in dazed triumph, satisfied with the small victory of getting her hand off his mouth.
The soldiers when they hopped back into the MP jeep laughed recalling the old man’s drunken state. “Poor man, begging for attention even in his semi-drunken state.”
“You think his wife will treat him better from now on, rather than risk having the old man going off somewhere to get himself pissed drunk?”
“I think that shrew will leave him to rot to death on that cold, hard floor.”
“I knew we should have insisted on helping to carry the old man off to his bed before we left,” the youngest soldier said somewhat belatedly.
After the soldiers left, Shan Mei knelt in front of Xiang Zhe and tried to get his attention. “What’s this?” she demanded through set teeth. “Some kind of game? Xiang Zhe, stop it. You are scaring me to death.” As she said that she tried to wipe away the rain on his face with her fingers.
“Not you,” he slurred as if he had given the matter some thought. “You’re not the kind who gets scared to death. You might be terrified but you’d keep moving, keep fighting back. It’s your nature, you know.” He was talking as if he was sober but his behaviour told her another story.
“You’re drunk,” Shan Mei finally concluded.
“I never get drunk,” Xiang Zhe again slurred and smiled wickedly.
“There’s no point in trying to talk to you now. You’re too far gone.” Shan Mei rose and began tugging him towards the bedroom. He drifted happily along in the direction she was aiming him, neither helping nor hindering her efforts. Apprehension and anxiety made her forget her manners. “Come on, Xiang Zhe. Move, damn it. You’re heavy,” Shan Mei raised her voice to show her displeasure and impatience.
“Don’t swear at me. No need to swear.” His words were now only slightly slurred as he staggered along. He was leering cheerfully at her. “If I weren’t such a perfect gentleman I’d drag you off to the bedroom, take off your clothes and make love to you until you couldn’t scold me or swear at me or yell at me. By the time I was finished with you, you wouldn’t be able to glare at me the way you’re doing now. You’d just lie there under me, clinging to me, pleading with me, whispering to me until you went up in flames. I’m getting hot just thinking about it.”
Shan Mei ignored his boozy chatter. “I can’t believe you allowed yourself to get into this condition,” she muttered, releasing him to look for his house slippers. “I just can’t believe it. It’s disgusting.”
He lifted a hand to her cheek. “I didn’t do it on purpose, you know.”
She brushed his hand away. “That’s not exactly reassuring.”
He glanced around, apparently looking for something. “Where is it?”
“Where’s what?” Shan Mei asked. Thinking he wanted a towel, she pulled one from the wall railing near the wash basin and handed it to him.
Xiang Zhe’s brows came together in a heavy line as he stared at the towel in his hand. He shook his head impatiently. “Not a towel. The notebook with your information on Old Song. The book must now be overflowing with new information since you just spent all of today and almost half the night with him. Did he try to kiss you? Was he good? Did you make a notation of that?”
“Stop worrying about the notebook. Pull yourself together first.”
He draped a heavy, wet arm around her shoulder. Some of his cheeriness faded again as he stumbled against her. It was obvious that the unfamiliar lack of coordination was puzzling to him, even in his present condition.
“What’s the matter with me, Shan Mei?” he asked beseechingly.
“You’re drunk. Come on, Mr. Interpol, time for you to go to bed.” He shook his head but didn’t pull away when she wrapped an arm around his waist and started again to guide him to the bedroom. He stopped and grimaced. “Shit. I think I’m going to throw up. Thought the sick feeling was gone.”
“Your stomach is upset? Xiang Zhe, what’s happening to you?”
He took a deep breath. “There. It’s gone. Damn nausea.”
She moved to the wash basin wanting to wet the towel to wipe his face. It was only a few feet away, yet a rising fear came unbidden to Xiang Zhe. “Don’t leave me, Shan Mei,” he dragged out, sounding like an aching need of a child being abandoned. It angered him, but with her soft warmth gone, he felt bereft.
“Shan Mei ……,” he finally called out.
She turned. “Yes, Xiang Zhe?”
When she saw his ashen face, she hurried back to his side. Shan Mei was getting frustrated and scared. She caught hold of the lapels of Xiang Zhe’s wet shirt and tried to shake him. He blinked and looked down at her.
“Did you find someone trespassing around the Imjin Railway station grounds?” she demanded frantically.
“Didn’t have to,” Xiang Zhe explained. “They found me. There were about 3 or 4 men. They tried to talk me into leaving. Something’s wrong with me, Shan Mei.” His voice had become a quiet, confused appeal for help.
Shan Mei was suddenly the one feeling sick with nausea, her mouth went dry and parched with fear. “Did they try to do something to you?”
Xiang Zhe considered that. “They forced some liquor down my throat. Then they helped me back into the van. I don’t remember anything after that.”
She tried to drag him along to the bedroom to get rid of his wet clothes, then hopefully she could get him to the bathroom at the back verandah. Luckily, the bathroom was connected to the bedroom through a sliding door. “Oh Lord,” she began praying. Shan Mei yanked on his arm, hurrying him along to the bedroom. “We’ve got to get you under the shower.”
Xiang Zhe abruptly stopped cooperating. He didn’t actively fight her grip; he simply came to a halt in the middle of the living room. Shan Mei couldn’t budge him.
“Not without the notebook,” he said. “Got to have the notebook.”
Shan Mei was getting frantic. “If I show you the notebook, will you please come with me to the bedroom and get under the shower?”
He nodded happily. His sexy grin returned. “Sure. Always happy to come with you, Shan Mei. I like to come with you and in you. I like to make you come too. I’d like to watch your face when it’s about to happen. I like to feel you all hot and tight and wet around my ……..”
“SHUT UP!” she finally lost her cool and began shouting at him. “Listen, we’re in very serious trouble here. If you don’t stop rambling on about sex, I’m going to throw you out of the cabin, do you hear me, Yin Xiang Zhe and leave you to die by the curbside?”
She shook her head in disbelief. He still had no idea what was happening. Once inside their room, thoroughly irritated but even more thoroughly scared, Shan Mei shoved him down in a sitting position on his mattress and knelt in front of him. She set the notebook down beside him.
Xiang Zhe ignored the book. “You’re going to undress me and throw yourself on my body?” he grinned wickedly.
“No, I’m going to throw you in the shower.”
“I’m already wet,” Xiang Zhe slurred.
“You need a quick, hot shower and fresh clothes. Take your trousers and your padding off, and then get into the shower.”
Shan Mei pulled the wet shirt off his shoulders and went to work on the buckle of his belt. She had never seen him this drunk, or for that matter, drunk when he was on a job. She pulled the socks off his feet and tried to unbutton the waistband of his wet trousers. She thought, even if she managed to pull the pants off, he was still too big and heavy for her to untie his all-around-body padding.
He frowned and fumbled with the zipper. “Need help,” he said feebly as he looked at Shan Mei with impish eyes.
“Oh Lord, I don’t believe this.” Her own fingers were trembling with frantic concern as she unzipped his trousers and helped him eased out of them and his padding. It was not an easy task. Xiang Zhe kept having trouble with his balance.
“Xiang Zhe, what happened?” Shan Mei asked. She was almost sobbing.
“I think I’ve been forcibly drugged or poisoned,” Xiang Zhe slurred, in a moment of clarity, and he fell back against some cushions. Somehow she knew, deep down, she knew there was something bad out there and it would be just a matter of time before their covers would be discovered.
‘Oh, Xiang Zhe, please, PLEASE don’t die on me, not now. Please,’ Shan Mei sobbed and prayed silently with anguish.
She had come to rely heavily on his strength and his wise counsel. She accepted his support with silent gratitude and appreciation. She had felt a deep twinge of guilt on learning a few days ago when he came home and wailed pitifully that his colleagues had ostracized him for not being ‘man’ enough.
‘You don’t share accommodation with such a dynamic man for almost 3 months and not feel that his pride has been hurt’ she admitted, and chided herself for not curbing her tongue in front of Old Song. Shan Mei really felt disgusted with herself for her insensitivity. That time she was desperate for information from Song. And, she being one with no experience in seduction ploys, she only said what she felt Old Song wanted to hear.
She went to Xiang Zhe’s side and swept his damp hair back from his face nervously. Her thumbs coursed an arching massage along his throbbing temples, his cheekbones, his tight jaw, his tense brow.
“You could have been killed,” she whispered, and tears gathered in her eyes. He groaned inwardly. Her soft lilting voice sounded like golden honey pouring on a summer day – more like a caress than a sound. He smiled with undisguised affection and absorbed her with his gaze. He then wondered if things would change between them because by now she was sobbing quietly. He could feel her softening up. Maybe getting poisoned wasn’t such a bad thing, even if it almost killed him, if Shan Mei would tell him now that she loved him.
Carefully, he lifted an arm, cupped his hand behind her head and drew her into the curve of his shoulder. “But I wasn’t,” he said hoarsely. “Don’t cry, Shan Mei. Please don’t cry.” Contrary creature that she was, she laid her head further into the crook of his neck, a fisted hand against her quivering mouth and she sobbed, no longer quietly.
“Moon Yu Jin, stop crying! I’m trying my darn best to tide over this.” His use of her full alias went a long way toward controlling her hysteria. Moments later, when she had calmed down and realized that Xiang Zhe was now more alert, no longer fumbling around with words or groping around for balance, she released a loud sigh of happy relief.
“Xiang Zhe!” she cried, throwing herself at him, and scattering little kisses across his face. “You are going to be alright. You aren’t going to die.”
“Not yet,” he whispered hoarsely. “But you’re going to drown me with your tears.”
Hastily she pulled back and wiped the tears from his face, her face. “S-sorry,” she said. “It’s just ……that I’m so relieved to see you sober.”
But Shan Mei had to act fast – now was not the time for hysteria and tears. She helped him to the shower.
When he was dressed in his warm clothes and wrapped with a thick blanket, Shan Mei forced him to drink up three large bottles of salted water, hoping to flush out whatever toxin was in his body. Shortly after, Xiang Zhe ran to the bathroom and wretched out almost everything until he felt his stomach empty and comfortable. After that, she gave him some pills. He was so tired, as Shan Mei helped him back to his bedding. He soon fell asleep.
The rain that had whipped around the cabin was beginning to subside. Out in the living room, Shan Mei was pacing the floor, her fingers nervously combing through her hair. If that MP jeep had not drove past and espied Xiang Zhe’s van parked askew on the dirt road, and recognized him on sight, only the good Lord would know what dire consequences Xiang Zhe would have been in. The eventuality was too frightening to even imagine.
Did Old Song have anything to do with this, reneging on his word and trying to bump Xiang Zhe off? Was he involved in any sort of way with the men who were at the abandoned Imjin train depot earlier tonight? Was he involved with the underwater tunnel project? Shan Mei had been in this sort of game long enough to realize that Old Song wasn’t as ordinary a man as he would have her believe. From their conversations, she surmised that he had his fingers on the pulse of many inter-related shady businesses allowing him to wield so much power. It seemed the plot, whatever it was, was thickening and had more twists to it than a Rubik’s cube. They had better get out of this place as fast as they could. Luckily, Xiang Zhe didn’t wear a wig but his real head of hair had been dyed white. If it had been her, when confronted by the gang members, one tug at her hair, her wig would have come off and their covers blown, their dead bodies most probably thrown into the Imjin River.
Shan Mei expelled a heavy sigh of relief as her shaking arms relaxed their hold in her middle. She quickly went back into the bedroom to check on Xiang Zhe. He was soundly asleep. After that, she took out 2 empty cartons and their luggage from the storage room and began packing. Several times that night she made trips back and forth to the van to store whatever bags and cartons she had packed into the vehicle.
Then she went into the kitchen to make some soft, light plain rice porridge with a fresh ginseng root she had bought a few days ago from a north Korean wet market.
==
After last night’s heavy storm, the early Saturday morning sun shone cheerfully on the Munsan although Shan Mei was feeling anything but cheery this morning. Xiang Zhe awakened early, despite the fact that he was suffering from a devastating hangover. When he sat on the side of the bedding, the room started to spin. Groaning, he held on to the mattress until the world righted itself. Then he dropped his head into his hands.
Shan Mei walked quietly into the room, tapped him on his shoulder. When he looked up, he saw her with a bowl of watery rice porridge. His eyes looked bloodshot and apologetic.
“How is your head?” Shan Mei asked softly, seeing Xiang Zhe grimacing and resting his head on a hand.
“Don’t worry. My head is filled with its own importance again.”
“Good. Here, have some warm porridge to settle your stomach before we leave this place.” Xiang Zhe hid his surprise. Shan Mei sounded so soft and gentle, and genuinely caring of his welfare.
“Are we supposed to leave today? What about work?”
Unnerved by Xiang Zhe’s close shave with death, Shan Mei was determined to leave. “No, but it’s too dangerous to stay on. I’ve already packed all our stuff into the van. Very early this morning I was at the Station Office and told one of your colleagues that you were too sick to report for work. You need to see your regular doctor in Seoul.” Her voice was sad and distant now – as if she knew somehow that their assignment in Munsan was at its end.
“Shan Mei,” he rasped sheepishly. “Forgive me. If I had said anything inappropriate to offend you last night, I didn’t mean a word of it.”
Shan Mei looked into his shamed eyes, realizing he meant what he said. “I didn’t think you would either,” she said huskily, remembering his comical face and silly talk. “And I’m determined to leave not because of your talk. We’ve already gathered enough intelligence on this place.”
“We have?” Xiang Zhe asked, his voice sounding unbelieving and his face looking skeptical.
“Yes.” And Shan Mei waved her little notebook at him.
==
Two hours after leaving the Munsan cabin – their home for almost 3 months, Xiang Zhe managed to reach Seoul’s main city interchange. Xiang Zhe then took a turn which led them onto the main highway, R1.
“Xiang Zhe, do you know where you’re going?” Shan asked a little disturbed that Xiang Zhe had overshot Seoul’s city limits.
“Shan Mei, relax. We’re going to give ourselves a little bonus for our hard work. We’re going to take 4 days off before returning to the office. Refer to the map for navigation and lead me through to Suwon, then straight on to Namyang town. Once there, I think I might remember my way to a beautiful little village, Chung’an, very near to the sea.”
“Why there, of all places?”
“You’ll see. On the way, we’ll drop by a department store and buy ourselves some decent clothes. We can’t arrive at Chung’an looking like a couple of old, fat fogeys. Come on, Shan Mei, concentrate on your map and lead the way.” And Xiang Zhe laughed happily now that they were free of their ‘cover-up’ shackles.
Another two hours later, Shan Mei sat forward in the passenger seat of the van and watched with delight as Chung’an valley came in view. Acres and acres of well-tended farmlands and fruit orchards, interspersed with small, neat chicken farms, were spread across a gently rolling landscape. There were more pick-up trucks and vans than sedans on the roads. Passing through the family village, a blissful peace washed over Xiang Zhe.
He turned off the main highway onto a private, tarred road, uphill. They stopped by a large fenced-in area of well-kept land, the grass seemed to have recently been mowed. On the rise of this land stood a walled-in house. They got off their van and made their way to the high outer walls. A granite plaque etched with traditional fanciful script that read ‘Bamboo Grove’ was cemented prominently on the wall next to the main entrance.
Xiang Zhe took out a key from a pocket and tried fiddling with the padlock on the strong, thick wooden door. Just then, a woman in her 50’s ran toward them and asked them what they were trying to do: not only trespassing private land but trying to break into a private residence.
When the woman came face to face with Xiang Zhe, after a few hesitating moments, her face broke into wide grins as she recognized the man. “Master Xiang Zhe, finally you’re here.” She turned around, steepled her fingers together and looked up to the heavens to chant a prayer of thanks. After that, she hugged Xiang Zhe to her, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Master Xiang Zhe, if only your mother could see you now. My family has kept watch over your family’s home and land, waiting for your return. It’s been 16 years since your mother’s death, but I haven’t forgotten my promise to her on her death-bed. I have to be here for you.”
She took a handkerchief from a side pocket and wiped away her tears. She turned to look at Shan Mei and asked Xiang Zhe, “Your wife?”
Xiang Zhe had at first been taken aback when he was confronted by the woman he had not seen for 16 years. But when recognition and old memories came flooding back, he was filled with elation. He laughed and wished it was true that Shan Mei was his wife. “Nanny, please meet my very dear friend, Miss Zhen Shan Mei. We work together in the same organisation. We have just finished a very difficult assignment and I thought it would be fun to take a few days’ break before reporting back to work. The house is in livable condition?”
“Of course! I come personally once a week and clean the place, expecting you to return any day.” Nanny took a key from her pocket and opened the lock and pushed open the solid oak door.
Within the outer walls was a grand, gracious old-fashioned mansion with the distinctive Korean curved tiled roof. The mansion dominated a landscape of wide green lawns and tall trees. Verandahs wrapped around both the upper and lower storeys.
She led Xiang Zhe and Shan Mei through the open, well-kept main courtyard, where a large pond was the focal point. Its waters shimmered like a pool of liquid diamonds as a school of carps swam about and some even glided across the glassy surface. All around, esthetically landscaped, were at least 20 species of bamboos. Multi-coloured azaleas growing in pots gave a break in the green of the bamboo. At the far end stood a large tree, its branches weighing down with inviting, orange coloured ripe persimmon fruits.
Then they reached the main sitting and formal dining area adorned with very fine antique Korean-style furniture before passing through a smaller courtyard and reached the private sitting room and dining quarters. Down the hallway were the kitchen and wash areas which led to the back door and the back garden.
The private sleeping quarters were on the upper level. Nanny, on entering the bright, airy master bedroom threw open the windows. The large master bed, right against one wall in the centre of the room, had clean sheets and covers and smelt newly-laundered and scented. There was an adjoining bathroom, the design of which was all modern.
She led them to another room further down the corridor. This was decorated in traditional Korean style with very beautiful mother-of-pearl inlaid furniture. On a slightly raised dais laid a thick and large bedding mattress with the traditional multi-coloured silk quilted coverlet. The adjoining bathroom was in traditional Korean style.
Xiang Zhe was surprised with the improved renovation and seeing his look, Nanny explained, “When we were in Seoul, your mother asked me to make the renovations when I returned to Chung’an. Knowing that after your stay overseas, you would want modern amenities in your house if you ever return here. Master Xiang Zhe, you must be tired if you had just finished a tough assignment. Why don’t you and Miss Zhen rest, then do a spot of sightseeing around the area? This evening, I will bring over some of your favourite dishes for dinner. No need to eat outside.” With that, Nanny left the young ones to their own devices.
==
Xiang Zhe was too excited to rest. He had left this place to join his parents in Seoul when he was 12 and had not been back until today. He wanted to get to know this home intimately again. His thoughts drifted back to his mother whose beautiful face he pictured, just as if she was inches away. How he missed his early days with her, among the bamboo and the greenery, before she went to Seoul. He had never really felt comfortable when he was in Seoul. Especially not after his arrival in his new home, he noticed that his parents were constantly fighting and arguing; his father a changed man and his mother, a withering shrew.
He went into the kitchen, rummaged around the cabinets and found the tea caddy. Shan Mei, next to him, had found a kettle and already was boiling some water. Xiang Zhe led the way to a side balcony with Shan Mei following behind carrying a tray with teapot and 2 delicate tea cups.
From his perch on the balcony, he could see straight across into the distance, training his eyes on the lush, green, undulating plains merging into the rolling hills nestled in the horizon. It was a familiar landscape, Xiang Zhe reflected, one he had known most of his childhood. He had not spent anytime here since he moved to Seoul when he was 12, but that did not affect the strong sense of connection that swept through him earlier this morning when he drove into the village. For five generations the Wens had been a part of this community. Their roots went deep here, very deep. He swept one hand around, beaming. “Well, Shan Mei, now that you have seen my ancestral home, what do you think of it?”
Shan Mei took her first good look around. Rich, well-kept green pastures seemed to stretch endlessly on every side. The only break in the flat expanse was the creek meandering across the property. The house was situated on elevated ground so she was able to gaze down on the twists and turns of the creek. There were several scrubby trees growing along the banks of the creek, and some of them appeared to be bearing some sort of fruit. Noting her glance, Xiang Zhe said, “Late ripening wild crab apple trees. The small apples make delicious pickles. When I was a little boy, I spent many happy hours at the creek fishing, swimming, though the water was usually too low for anything other than thrashing about and getting thoroughly wet.”
Holding a hand above her eyes to shield off the glare of the sun, she pointed to a spot beyond the green fields. “Look, there’s the river. It’s like a scaly snake going round the village, isn’t it?’
She turned to her left, then to her right. “And all around.” She stretched out her hands and swept them around her. “You can see for miles and miles green fields of vegetables. What a lovely paradise you have here.”
Xiang Zhe’s eyes had been following the directions Shan Mei was pointing out. He nodded his head in total agreement, a contented smile on his lips, taking in the rolling, lush plains that lay quietly below them. Something whispered to him that this was a place where men lived together peacefully and in harmony with nature. It felt like a place where a man could spend his life the way he wanted, raising a happy family, without the pressures of the outside world, without having to deal with the evil in people. He could feel the warmth and contentment of his mother’s spirit here, and as always he drew strength from it.
==
The next morning, the alarm woke Xiang Zhe at the usual hour. He rolled out of bed and stretched his arms high above his head, yawning loudly. On his way to the bathroom, he caught his reflection in the mirror and stopped to stare at himself. “Hmm – not bad to look at.” He wondered at this sudden need to examine his features. Probably it had to do with Old Song and his constant unflattering sneers.
After a hearty breakfast, Xiang Zhe drove Shan Mei to the beach at Aman Cove. The autumn morning was grey, winds blew in strong gusts but the seagulls nesting in the nooks atop the cliff sides gave the scene a sense of serenity. Xiang Zhe felt alive and vibrant as he inhaled deeply of the sea air. Especially alive, he thought gratefully, because if Shan Mei had not acted fast enough he might have died from poisoning. He buried his hands deep into his coat pockets and listened to the seawater tumble in the cove. The tide was returning and soon only the larger boulders carelessly strewn near the water’s edge would be visible. They stood apart on the sandy beach with the cold wind driving in around them, each of them deep in their own thoughts. That was one of the things Xiang Zhe loved about Shan Mei – she knew by instinct when to keep her mouth shut!
A gull screeched overhead, breaking the trance that had held them still and quiet. Xiang Zhe pulled the collar of his jacket up around his ears and pointed a finger to the horizon. “That’s the Yellow Sea.” He picked up a small stone and sent it spinning out into the foaming water. Shan Mei looked toward the point where the stone had disappeared. A happy bubble of laughter escaped him as he said, “I haven’t done this in a long time.”
Shan Mei crouched down on the sand admiring some lovely beach pebbles, strangely patterned. She began collecting some of these pebbles. “These look so special I want them for my little garden.” And she concentrated on looking for more.
Xiang Zhe’s gaze was shrewd as he studied her bent head. “I’d say you’re pretty special too.”
Shan Mei looked up and before she could say anything, heavy raindrops pelted down without warning. Xiang Zhe helped picked up some of the pebbles, covered Shan Mei’s face with his jacket and hurried them toward the van, doing his best to protect her from the brunt of the rain and wind.
That day, they stayed indoors, took out their Scotland Yard board game and continued from where they had left off when they were at the Munsan cabin. Shan Mei took out the notepad where they had kept their scores. Xiang Zhe scanned over it and nodded his head in approval. “Good work, Agent Zhen. You’re improving and your score is catching up on mine. I’d better think of more devious ways to evade you.”
Shan Mei laughed and said, “Now I know why you call yourself X-Man. I should have realized you are the Mr. X in this board game seeing it’s the only game you play.”
Xiang Zhe roared out in uncontrollable laughter. He wiped his watery eyes before he gasped out, since he found it difficult to talk easily through the laughter. “I play other games just as well, but I cannot tell you because these games are too lurid for your innocent ears.” His body rocked some more with laughter, seeing Shan Mei blushing like crazy.
==
After a late lunch, they sat and lingered over coffee. Xiang Zhe described his earlier years in Chung’an before the family moved to Seoul and how, while he was at university in England, his mother had passed away.
Shan Mei was such a good listener that Xiang Zhe continued, recounting his family’s early arrival in this area, the first ancestor on his mother’s side – a general Wen commanding an imperial garrison – settled in Chung’an. As the family’s influence grew, their land ownership expanded to Namyang. After his grandfather died, his parents eventually moved to Seoul. He explained his decision to study overseas and his subsequent decision to be a gangbuster. He told it as casually as he could as if he was discussing the weather. In an unemotional voice, he talked about the painful details of those early unhappy years in Seoul, things he’d rarely shared with anyone.
He sensed that Shan Mei intuitively understood the significance of the memories he confided in her. She understood and appreciated that he was sharing a piece of his soul – although he made light of it, even joked. But he suspected the pain revealed itself in the pauses, the unspoken words were obvious to her as she became attuned to them. Her questions were thoughtful and perceptive.
In such a peaceful, serene setting, he began to feel himself more in love with Shan Mei and had wondered whether she was feeling anything romantic toward him. Dare he ask? And risk spoiling their hard-won beautiful friendship?
On the last day of their holiday, before departing for Seoul the next morning, Xiang Zhe knew he couldn’t delay discussing the findings of their Munsan assignment. “Okay, bring out your notebook. Let’s see what Old Song has been up to all these years,” Xiang Zhe said to Shan Mei.
A month after the Munsan intelligence-gathering mission, a shifty-looking, gaudily-dressed man rushed into a small office that was tucked away along one of the seedy side streets off Suhkumvit Road in Bangkok.
“Boss, I thought you said that Xyrus Man was out of the country. I just saw him at KLM Airlines with a chick.”
“You’re sure? The girl is young, Asian, very fair looking, with shoulder length hair?”
“This chick didn’t look at all like the one you just described. She was very fair of skin, yeah, but she didn’t look all that Asian. She had red, short hair, very curly. Damn good looking, if you ask me.” The man added as an after thought and immediately regretted his comments when he noticed the ugly scowl on the Boss’s face.
“What do you think they were doing at KLM Airlines?”
“I chatted up the clerk who attended to them. Mr. Man was there to collect their air tickets for Amsterdam. They must be leaving tonight because outside the airline ticketing office I heard Mr. Man promising to take the girl to the best Vietnamese restaurant as soon as they arrive in Amsterdam tomorrow.”
“Amsterdam? Lefty, you follow them. I want this girl dead.” The Boss opened a side drawer, took out a chunky envelope and threw it across the table at Lefty. “Here is US$10,000. Make sure you get on the same plane tonight and get yourself whatever else is necessary for the trip. Remember, make the job fast and clean. Hurry back with good news.”
“Sure Boss, you can rely on me.”
==
Coming out of the KLM office, seeing the weather was too humid for walking around, Xiang Zhe ushered Shan Mei into a nearby taxi and they returned to the air-conditioned comfort of the hotel.
“Shan Mei, let’s go up to the Japanese restaurant on the 2nd floor for lunch. The food there is very good. And the ambience is excellent for relaxing. I need it after shuffling around these 3 days like a refugee.”
When Shan Mei was engrossed in her food, Xiang Zhe kept his eyes on her. He marveled at her spunkiness. She could separate perfectly well official business from personal matters. She only looked upon him as a colleague when out on a mission and never became entangled with personal emotions. Clean and clear-cut!
He remembered when he discussed the trip to Amsterdam with KK two weeks ago, she wanted to send another special agent with him, stressing that it was too soon to send Shan Mei haring off on another mission when she had completed an arduous 3-month assignment barely a fortnight ago. She insisted that Shan Mei needed a break.
“Madam, do you think this is fair to Shan Mei? She had put in so much effort to thwart the plans of those gangsters. I feel she should be the one to see the mission through. This assignment is very important. The final success depends on it. And, I hate to remind you, Shan Mei was the one who received the information directly from the North Korean man.”
For whatever reason best known to her, KK was adamant in her decision.
Xiang Zhe was not happy at all with the arrangement, going off to Amsterdam with another special agent. He didn’t want to go with anyone but Shan Mei. He felt he had an obligation to tell her of KK’s decision, and when he did later in the day, Shan Mei was roiled.
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” she said firmly into the phone. As soon as she hung up, she got on the line with Mother Superior.
He wondered what Shan Mei had said or done to be placed back on the assignment. He was happy because he had been so looking forward to the trip with her.
When Shan Mei finished her Unaja and her cup of hot Japanese green tea, she wanted to talk about Tut whom they had just spent 2 days with when they flew into Kuala Lumpur from Seoul. “Xiang Zhe, Tut didn’t look happy at all when he saw us off at the KL airport.”
“Yes, I noticed that. I did tell him his stay in K.L. was only short term. I have plans to place him somewhere else, but nothing is confirmed. We’ll wait and see how things develop in the next few months.”
When Xiang Zhe finished and paid for the meal, while they were making their way to the hotel lift lobby, he thought of something. “Remember to take your overcoat out of your luggage. I’ve been told the cold is very severe in Europe at this moment. A blizzard is forecasted for the next 1 or 2 days. Have you got enough warm clothing with you?”
Shan Mei simply gave him a smile and nodded her head.
Xiang Zhe felt warm all inside. He said, “We’ll get you a pair of thick boots before we leave for the airport.”
==
Xiang Zhe and Shan Mei were now sitting in one of those seedy side-walk cafés around Amsterdam’s Central Square, both eyeing intently out of the glass window keeping a watch on the activities outside.
As he took a swallow of his coffee, Xiang Zhe’s mind went back to his and Shan Mei’s last day at Chung’an when they discussed the intelligence they had gathered in Munsan.
==
He had leafed through the pages of information Shan Mei had meticulously recorded down in her notebook. He couldn’t help exclaiming, “Wow, this Song fellow is making himself a pretty neat packet every month. When we’re back in Seoul, check the identity of the people making the monthly payments to him. And in USD too! Shan Mei, do you think that man who came into the KKK spending USD has anything to do with Old Song?”
“I cannot discount his involvement. Kim Youzhen’s Intelligence team should have already come up with a dossier of the man, yes?”
When Xiang Zhe noticed that Old Song’s account with the Korean Exchange Bank showed an accrued balance of USD500,000, he turned to Shan Mei and asked, “Did Old Song ever tell you how much he was prepared to pay me to divorce you?”
Shan Mei giggled softly. “Well, he did mention the figure USD30,000 the last time we shared dinner – US$1,000 for every year we were married, 30 years so US$30,000. He said it was more than you would ever receive in your pension payment from the Railway people.”
Xiang Zhe nodded his head in agreement. “True. Very generous of him.”
After scanning through a few more pages, he said, “So, his guy in Amsterdam is a painter and uses his craft to pass on the shipping details? Aaah, and he uses his paint tubes to transport his supply of drugs from place to place. Very clever, indeed. Shan Mei, your observation is very correct. Old Song is more than just a simple manager of the freight train hub.”
When he slammed the notebook shut, he wondered, but was afraid to ask, what had actually taken place between Shan Mei and Old Song that the man so readily gave her such confidential information.
==
Xiang Zhe and Shan Mei had just finished their third cup of coffee and decided it was time to roam around the Square when he asked her, “Where did you say the artist usually hangs out?”
“On the promenade in front of the Sinners in Heaven dance club. I remember Old Song telling me the man only does 2 paintings on that particular day of the month, the 21st. His paintings of 40’ container trucks show the identification container numbers on the paintings. Background of the painting will show the place where the containers will be offloaded from the freight carriages. You know, Berlin Wall will mean Berlin, and so on. Rest of the time, the guy hangs around the Square to peddle his drugs.”
“Huh, again, very clever indeed.”
Xiang Zhe had his arm casually draped over Shan Mei’s shoulder as they walked around the area near the dance club. The weather that day had suddenly turned very cold and it seemed snow was going to fall at any time.
‘Good,’ he mused inside himself, that day being the 21st day of December. If the snow did come, they would surely be able to enjoy a white Christmas.
“Hey, see what those kids are doing along the Embankment?” Xiang Zhe pointed out to Shan Mei.
“What?” Shan Mei looked at Xiang Zhe nonplussed. Those young couples weren’t doing anything out of the extraordinary according to her.
“Doing what normal dating couples do, right?”
Shan Mei nodded her head in agreement.
“We’re supposed to be a normal dating couple. It sure doesn’t look like we’re doing the same things as they.”
“You mean, holding hands, hugging, kissing, sharing food and drinks? Now, smart guy, what do you suggest we do?”
“All the things you just mentioned.” As he said that laughingly, Xiang Zhe wrapped his arm tighter around Shan Mei’s shoulders and led her towards a hot dog stand. Giving Shan Mei a peck on her cheek, he looked at the vendor with a wide grin on his face and ordered, “A jumbo hot dog and a warm coffee for me and my girlfriend. Thank you.”
When they sat down on a nearby bench and shared their snack, they noticed an Asian man, North Korean by his wide facial features, setting up an easel, preparing to paint. When they observed more carefully, Xiang Zhe noticed that the canvas the artist was placing on the easel had an almost completed painting. They quickly left their bench and pretended to browse around, stopping beside the artist, admiring his work moments later and commented on how life-like the painting of the shipping container looked.
Xiang Zhe began conversing in very slow English. “Brother, your painting is beautiful. How many Guilders do you want for it?”
The artist eyed them up and down and finally said, “Sorry. Commission work, not for sale.”
Between Xiang Zhe and Shan Mei, they had memorized the shipping details given on the painting. They went to a quiet nook and wrote down the details. They then continued to loll around the place until the artist began working on another painting of a container. When he was almost finished, they went up to him and asked again whether this second painting was for sale.
“No, no, no. Nothing for sale. Go away. My buyer will be here very soon.”
Now that they managed to obtain details of the shipping containers, Xiang Zhe and Shan Mei went back to wait by a bench, hoping to catch the image of the person or persons coming to collect the paintings on their spy camera.
Half an hour later, a man approached the artist. After a brief exchange of conversation, the two paintings were wrapped and handed to the man. Xiang Zhe was just preparing to take more photos of the man with his spy camera when a bullet blasted past them, followed by another. At the gunfire sound, Shan Mei jumped in sudden fear. Chaos broke out when they heard several gunshots. The artist, the man with the paintings and the vendor selling hot dogs all ran for cover. Xiang Zhe pulled Shan Mei down and ran along the hot dog cart being pushed hurriedly away from the public square. They heard shouting and scuffling.
Not waiting to see what was happening, Shan Mei led Xiang Zhe away from the hot dog cart and pulled him along toward a small grotto at the garden at one end of the square.
As they were moving, hot lead whined like angry wasps. A bullet richoted, sending fragments of stone towards them.
“Ouch!” Shan Mei grabbed her stinging cheek.
“Get down, Shan Mei!” Xiang Zhe ordered, in a tight voice. Fear made itself known, tightening her stomach into a knot.
Shan Mei led the way stealthily along the side of the grotto. then crawled inside the back of it.
“Where’s this, Shan Mei,” Xiang Zhe whispered when they were hidden behind a religious statue, fearing for their safety.
“It’s a small grotto used by some of the locals for praying. When I visited this place 2 years ago during my time with Scotland Yard, I saw women crawling in here to pray. This space behind the statue of the Virgin Mary is small but if we squeeze in carefully, it can take two. Who do you think those people are, Xiang Zhe? What was all that shooting about?” she asked anxiously.
They were crouching behind the statue, Shan Mei curling her arms around her knees and hunching her shoulders.
The acrid smell of burnt gun-powder hung heavily around them as Xiang Zhe moved closer to her. Strong gusts of cold winds were swirling around, and it looked like snow was coming.
Becoming aware of a lull in the shooting, he said, “Got to go to somewhere safe. I don’t know what’s happening but men with guns are usually dangerous.” Although Xiang Zhe’s words sent a tremor of fear through her, she managed to keep it hidden. He had enough to worry about already. She didn’t speak knowing her voice would reveal her dread. Shan Mei felt Xiang Zhe’s grip on her tighten as they both struggled to inhale the cold, blasting air through the terror of their own fear. She felt him tuck her head against his shirt. She closed her eyes.
“Do you think some gangsters were shooting at the artist or someone? Let’s stay here a little longer to be on the safe side.” Xiang Zhe felt his limbs cramping up but there was no space to stretch his legs. “Gosh, this space is really not meant for a big guy like me. Hey, you’re alright? You’re shaking.”
Tears of fright dripped down Shan Mei’s cheeks. He caught her and held her tightly. “It’s alright now,” he soothed huskily. Every inch of his body was alive with the feel of her, the nearness of her. He was awash with strong desire. Reluctantly, Xiang Zhe eased his hold on Shan Mei.
When Shan Mei turned around she inadvertently bumped into Xiang Zhe. His arm shot out immediately to balance her although she wasn’t in danger of tilting over. The move had been instinctive, but the moment he touched her, she froze. Xiang Zhe did, too. It was a little thing of no importance but it caught her off guard. The shaken look on Xiang Zhe’s face told her he was equally affected. Then before her instincts could warn her, it happened.
He bent his head and kissed her. It was almost as if, that too was an accident. The kiss was soft, quick and warm. As kisses went this one was innocent. Then it was over. A tremor shook her, shook him when their tongues had tentatively met, before she darted hers away. An unexpected tenderness welled up in Xiang Zhe – amazingly, he discovered, Shan Mei did not even know how to kiss!
Shan Mei stared at him unblinking. Xiang Zhe stared back. They studied each other for a startled moment. He seemed about to apologise when he suddenly grinned, instead. It was one of the sexiest smiles she had ever seen. Then he kissed her again. He retained enough sanity not to plunder her mouth with the urgent need that pulsed through him, luring her instead with quick, light, tantalising sips and nips. Not until she held on tightly to the lapels of his jacket for balance, did he deepen the kiss, licking and sucking at the fullness of her lips until on a moan they parted. The kiss didn’t feel sexual, more like returned in shock. He couldn’t resist when he bent his head to taste her sweet mouth again. He made himself go slow, his tongue continue the teasing within the softness of her mouth, letting her accustom herself to the feel of him. As his hands crept up along the side of her face, his fingers felt something wet at her cheek.
He spread out his fingers and was shocked to see blood. He turned the side of Shan Mei’s face toward him and discovered that a stray bullet from those that were fired had grazed her cheek.
Blood seeped from the wound and slowly trickled down her cheek.
“Shan Mei,” he almost shrieked, taking her head in his arms again. “I think a bullet grazed your skin as it whizzed past.
“Don’t worry,” she gritted. “It’ll take more than a bullet to kill me.”
“Shhh,” he whispered, leaning his head closer and pushing the soft hair away from her face. “You must remain silent or we’ll be found.”
Xiang Zhe’s insides began to boil from her nearness, but the fear reflected in her eyes sobered him.
At once he asked urgently but softly, “Where else do you hurt? We’ve to get out of this place and get you to a doctor before that open wound turns septic.”
He planted another light kiss on Shan Mei’s lips, then very quickly bundled her out of the narrow space. He struggled to his knees. Helping Shan Mei up, he held her closer to him and pulled her along to another exit in the garden. Soon they found themselves in another part of the public square quite near to a busy shopping mall. Xiang Zhe hailed a passing taxi immediately. Before he closed the door to the taxi, he shouted to the driver, “Brother, get us to a good doctor at once.”
==
Collecting their luggage from the small hotel where they held a room, Xiang Zhe and Shan Mei went straight to the airport. This time, he insisted they fly to Lyon. Something as serious as a shoot-out had to be reported without delay to Headquarters. At the same time, Xiang Zhe wanted to take Shan Mei to see his regular doctor just to make sure the bullet wound was clean, and no fragment had remained lodge inside.
Shan Mei never realized that Lyon in the Rhone Valley was so beautiful. The building where Xiang Zhe had his penthouse was situated atop a hill in the most exclusive residential part of town.
Xiang Zhe’s spacious apartment was furnished in semi contemporary, minimalist style with a modern, roomy kitchen. The apartment looked inviting and homey. An antique fireplace, with a wing armchair by its side, was the central focal point in the living room. A very large balcony, a walk through from the living room, offered a 180 degree view of the city, with the Credit Lyonnaise Tower clearly in view.
When Xiang Zhe was at the balcony, he took several deep breaths of the Lyon air, air he insisted he had missed for the last 18 months. He turned to Shan Mei, gesturing to the panoramic vista that lay before them, and asked, “How do you like it here?”
“It’s simply beautiful,” she answered breathlessly.
“Good. We will spend the Christmas holidays here. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to see my doctor. After that, depending on what the doctor says, I may take you to my office at Interpol headquarters.”
He showed Shan Mei to a guest room. “Why don’t you lie down a while? If you want me, I’ll be in my study. Later tonight, we’ll have dinner at Astrid Hotel a little way down the hill.”
“But KK expects me to back in Seoul. She never mentioned anything about me staying over here for the Christmas holidays. Anyway, there’s the Children’s Christmas party at the Police Officers’ Club. I’ve promised to be there to help out.”
“It’s too late to call KK now. I’ll get on the phone with her as soon as she’s in her office tomorrow morning. I don’t want you to worry. Just rest and remember to take your medication. I’ll see you later.” On his way out of the room, he quietly closed the door behind him.
Xiang Zhe understood that to Shan Mei, the nature of her work was a passion to her the same way as catching crooks was to him, and he respected her for it. In fact, he loved her for it. He loved her courage, her sense of honour, her honesty and her kindness. At this moment there was nothing more desirable than having Shan Mei spend Christmas with him.
==
“Well, at least Dr. Jacques assures us that you’ll heal quickly. Don’t forget to apply the cream he gave you. We’ll go back in 2 days for another check-up. Now let me take you for lunch at any one of our fine restaurants. Lyon enjoys a reputation as the French capital of gastronomy. After lunch, I’ll drop you off home to rest, while I go back to my office for a meeting with the District Chief Inspector.”
At Interpol headquarters, after the usual exchange of preliminaries, DCI Graves went straight to the point. “Yin, your SMS details for the two special containers were correct. We put our Police crack Task Force immediately on the job and the boys managed to intercept the containers after the haulers got them out of the Freight Train Terminal. Each of them contained about 40 illegals. Some of the 80 illegals netted were too sick to resist. In exchange for police protection and medical care, they spilled the whole get-away route to our men. The illegals were carted up to Amsterdam by the traffickers because their fake passports were waiting for them there. They were looking forward to jobs as prostitutes in the Red Light district. Many paid their own way, the rest was forced.”
All North Koreans?”
Graves snorted a laugh. “International mix, including four Vietnamese who went to South Korea as mail-order brides.”
Xiang Zhe let off a soft whistle. This was the first time that an operation on human trafficking had gone through so smoothly, without a hitch, from Day 1, when he saw Shan Mei at KKK. They not only netted the human traffickers, but managed to gather intelligence on the drug traffickers, their routing as well.
“Graves, did you find out anything about the shooting at the public square in Amsterdam?”
“Our men were on stand-by the day you went with Miss Zhen to check on the artist. They noticed a Thai man shadowing the two of you. When the man began aiming a gun in your direction, they were prepared. You were lucky you got off without any major injury. The man, not used to the cold, his arms trembled and couldn’t aim straight. After a brief scuffle, our men overcame him and brought him back to Amsterdam Police HQ where he was interrogated. He’s just a small time hired hand. He broke under pressure and confessed that his boss, a Madam Prontip Samjoon, had sent him to bump off the girl shacking up with Xyrus Man. According to the man, this Madam Prontip was avenging her jealousy on any girl seen with you. If she couldn’t have you, no one else should. Tough luck, he was thrown behind bars and would be there for at least 5 years.”
DCI Graves paused, gave Xiang Zhe a minute to digest the information. Giving Xiang Zhe a penetrating look, he continued. “It has come to our attention that this Prontip woman runs a dirty little operation down at the Thai island of Phi Phi. It is supposed to be a religious commune, a place of enlightenment. Prontip calls it the Society of Purity. It is a cover for a sex and drug ring that sucks in naïve young people, both male ad female, and they are turned into virtual slaves. They are controlled with a combination of drug addiction and a bizarre brand of hypnotic hype. The Society uses its victims as prostitutes, actors in the ugliest kind of porn films, drug dealers, thieves and whatever else deemed useful to build up Prontip’s empire. And it is all done under the guise of religious enlightenment. They also run a guns-and-ammunition operation of sorts and provide ammo to the hill tribes around the Indochina area,” Graves said with a contemptuous sniff. “These people are the scum of the earth.” He coughed behind his hand and aimed his glare out the window. Moments later he turned his eyes back to Xiang Zhe.
“Are you 100% sure?” Xiang Zhe asked, his mind still reeling from this information. “I’m only aware that apart from Privilege Club, Prontip also operates a number of sleazy strip joints in a seedy part of Bangkok.”
“We sent one of our best-looking men out there. He posed as a back packer, bumming around on the island of Krabi. One of the Society’s recruiters thought she managed to lure our French guy into their clutches, promising him a high paying job as a male model and a place to stay. They took his passport away. He let them since it was a fake. He managed to escape to Malaysia and came back about a month ago with the intelligence gathered.
Xiang Zhe looked at Inspector Graves, his mind conjuring up the scene readily. There was a shattering sense of emotion overlaying the unwanted images. To think that he had let her into his bed one time and found pleasure in her body! Shoving aside the edges of his sleekly cut jacket, with his hands buried deep in his trouser pockets, he paced around the room as he tried to work through what he had been told, but it was difficult. Then he came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the room. For a long moment the two men simply stared at each other.
Xiang Zhe’s expression hardened but he didn’t move when he finally said, “You know I’d a brief sexual liaison with her? But I want to assure you that I never once divulged my real identity. Six months ago, I broke off with her, and moved the Thai operation to Malaysia. I would have gotten rid of her sooner if I wasn’t kept so busy in Seoul.”
He came to stand in front of Graves’ desk. He removed his hands from his pockets, slapped his palms flat down on the desk, his eyes glazed. “All this sounds so crazy but it’s adding up,” Xiang Zhe said deliberately. “She hasn’t changed at all. She’s still devoted to her one main cause and that cause is Madam Prontip Samjoon.”
There was a pause. Graves could feel Yin shifting mental gears when Xiang Zhe burst out, “The situation may well be more dangerous than we’re aware. We’ve had several reports of abduction, most likely for the smuggling of young women to vice dens abroad. Prontip undoubtedly has enforcers to discourage interference, and probably financial backing as well. I’ve long suspected some person of prominence must be behind the overseas scheme. And now, she’s after Miss Zhen!”
He wedged his forehead between his thumb and third finger, gently pressing at his temples. What must he do to protect the woman he loved? He couldn’t afford to lose her now, not after having found her – someone he wanted to share the rest of his life with – after such a long and arduous search.
He turned away for air and then exhaled a deep, resigned sigh. He turned back to face Graves and dropped a bombshell.
“I am done with this kind of investigative work. Especially now, when I have to be responsible for the safety of another person. It is now time to stop doing the kind of work I’ve been doing.”
“What are you trying to say, Yin? That you want to quit, now that you’ve the source of the smuggling ring smashed?” Inspector Graves watched him intently, aware of the unyielding will in the man.
Xiang Zhe gave a negligent shrug. “What I’m trying to say, Friend, is that I must protect the woman I love. There are too many dark forces hidden away unseen. God knows who they are really after – today it could be her, another day it could be me. Too dangerous for my peace of mind.”
“Yin, something happened at that Munsan assignment?”
Xiang Zhe didn’t know what Graves was trying to get at. He lifted questioning brows and looked sharply at Graves.
“Man, you know what I mean. Sex?”
“No, Graves! Curb your wild imaginings. She’s not the type you tamper casually with. No sex, something way better. It took that silly North Korean old man to open my eyes and my heart. He said – it takes a real man to appreciate her. Well, Graves, you’re in luck today. Standing before you is a real man!”
“Come on Yin, stop joking. Tell me you don’t mean it – about resigning from the job. We all know that you’re being groomed to take over an Executive Director’s post when S-G moves up to be one of the delegates in the Cabinet. You may one day be taking over the S-G position. The Asian crime scene is now very active! I know it’ll be some years yet, but you’re one of the two short-listed for ED-Police Division. It’s almost as good as a done deal. No woman is worth it! I’ve lost count on the number of gorgeous French girls waiting for you all these years! Take your pick.”
Xiang Zhe looked at Graves, from under his lashes, giving the man a look that said he was not interested. He was wondering whether he should let Shan Mei know that she was the target.
“Yin, don’t give up on us now! All the work and time and effort that had been put in by so many people will all mean nothing if you give up now. We’re all counting on you, especially the Underground Railroad.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll hold up my end of the bargain regarding the UR. Just get together your six best kids and I’ll spend two months, no more, to put them through the paces.”
“Good!” Graves said. He finished his glass of water standing on his desk, then pulled out his pocket watch and squinted at it. “I’ll be leaving for a meeting at the Secretary General’s office. Any messages you want me to take over there?”
“Only what I just told you. Thank you, Graves.”
Xiang Zhe sighed with genuine regret. “I’m sorry, Graves. But I haven’t got any choice in the matter. Things have gone too far and too deep and out of my control. Especially that time in Munsan when I almost would have died if not for the quick reflex from Shan Mei.”
“Are you telling me you want to protect this girl, out of gratitude?”
“I’m telling you I want to protect her, out of love! I AM in love with her!!
When Xiang Zhe returned to the apartment, he felt outrage, and fear compounded by guilt. Fear that he had, because of an unworthy liaison, brought danger into Shan Mei’s life. She was innocent – she was not in love with him. In fact, it was the other way around, he was the besotted one. She was with him, only because of a job – otherwise, she wouldn’t be running all over Europe with him. Guilt – because he would have to hide the truth from her. He knew he couldn’t tell her that she was the target of that gunfire shootout in Amsterdam just because of another woman’s insane jealousy!
The sound of a key in the lock interrupted Shan Mei’s concentration. She was in the kitchen preparing refreshments for tea-time. She looked out of the kitchen and saw Xiang Zhe coming through the door, a long paper sack with a loaf of bread peeking out of the top in one arm, a small cake box in the hand. Seeing her busy in the kitchen and her welcome wave, chased the frowns from his forehead and brought a smile to his down-turned lips. She looked so right there, a picture of domestic bliss. If only he could have her preparing his meals every day. No wonder that Old Song said having Shan Mei prepare his meals, and having a daily help cook for him were two completely different feelings.
“Hello there!!!! How did you know I’d be back around this time?” He lifted up a small little cake box. “Lots of tea time delights in here. Come, Shan Mei, pour out the coffee while I go freshen up. The meeting in the office had just about sapped off half my energy.”
Tea was a companionable affair. As Shan Mei popped another tiny chocolate cream cake into her mouth, her eyes sparkled. She couldn’t help even if her mouth was full with the pastry, but she had to let Xiang Zhe know. “Ehmmm … these cakes not only look divine but taste simply scrumptious!
“Hey, don’t stuff yourself. This evening I’m going to take you to sample real Lyonnaise fare, washed down with a vintage Rhone Valley wine at Michelin. Tomorrow, we’ll start off early for sighting. There’s plenty of interesting places to visit seeing Lyon has a history of 2,000 years. There’s a quaint part of Lyon that is known as the Silk capital of Europe. We’ll get some gorgeous silk pieces for you. Then we’ll drive north and visit the great family estate of Macon that produces the world famous Pouilly-Fruisse wine. They have a lunch set that includes a bottle of the wine and great family-cooked fare. Early in the evening, we should be arriving at the Hotel Le Sommellerie in time for dinner. This hotel is owned by Pierre Paumel, widely known as the Master Chef of France. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight just tasting the dinner I’m going to have at Le Sommellerie tomorrow night!”
Shan Mei laughed at Xiang Zhe’s play of drooling mouth and rolling eyes. She suddenly turned serious. “Xiang Zhe, don’t be disappointed if I don’t find the food to my liking. You’ve lived here a long time so you’re almost French. I’m just someone simple and I don’t fancy too exotic a selection. Please, don’t order escargot for me, to start with.”
“Okay, no escargots. How about oysters? French oysters taste the best in the world, because of the way they are prepared and served. I won’t make you eat raw oysters. I guarantee you’ll like those lightly baked with a bit of local wine. Game enough to try?”
Shan Mei nodded her head slowly, and flashed him a soft smile.
Xiang Zhe’s stomach began gurgling into excited knots, like a schoolboy about to embark on his first date. What a god-sent opportunity to be able to take Shan Mei around this romantic valley. He was going to invest all his best efforts into quietly and gently wooing her before she flies out on Boxing Day.
After Shan Mei cleared away the tea time things, she went back to where Xiang Zhe was in the living room, slumped deeply in the leather winged chair, his eyes closed. She sat down across him on the sofa and asked, “You had a good meeting at headquarters?”
“Yes.”
“Did they manage to locate the two 40’ foot containers?”
He opened his eyes and sat up straight. “Yes. In total they netted 80 illegals; many were very sick and needed medical care.
“I simply can’t understand why these people would want to put themselves through all this unnecessary hardship.”
“Shan Mei, let’s not get into the technicalities of human frailties here. The Red Light district of Amsterdam, although a magnet for crime and money laundering, is a major tourist attraction for the country because prostitution is an accepted way of life in the city’s history. Petty criminals, human traffickers, drug lords and mobsters practically live on its fringes. A lot of easy money can be made. Didn’t you notice the coffee shop we were in oozed with the pungent aroma of cannabis smoke?”
As Xiang Zhe passed a hand over his face, she noticed the faint tremor of his fingers. “Sometimes I believe that government is trying to undermine our fight against crime. They have legalized almost everything.”
Shan Mei saw the tired shrug of his shoulders and heard his hopeless sigh. She went up to him and gave his shoulders a gentle squeeze. “It’s alright, Xiang Zhe. We do what we can.” He felt her warm hands on his shoulders, giving him comfort and before she could draw them away, he clasped his own big ones over hers. It was a long time before he released his hands.
==
When Xiang Zhe awoke on Christmas Eve morning Shan Mei was very much in his mind. She was a pretty woman, to be sure, but looks were not all that important to him. What was important was the fact that she was a strong and intelligent woman who would be a great asset to him in his plans. She had not only physical strength, but strength of mind and spirit, honor and duty as well. How many women could have accepted the Munsan assignment, let alone handled the perils and nerve-wrecking intrigues, such as his near-death, with such aplomb and coolness! Very few, he was sure. She had proved that she had the strength to make him a fine wife, partnering him in bringing glory back to the Chung’an family estate. There was little vanity and pettiness in her and there was a good deal of kindness and wit. Her cheekbones were high, her chin gently rounded, giving the impression of submissiveness and malleability, which wasn’t at all the case, at least in his own experience with her. But strangely enough, she didn’t know she had steel in her, even when she argued with him. Now that he had found the woman he wanted for his wife, he could not wait any longer.
Later in the day, they were at Dr. Jacques’ clinic, for Shan Mei’s final check-up with the doctor who assured Xiang Zhe that the wound was healing very well. All in good time for a happy Christmas, proclaimed the good doctor. Then they dropped in at Les Trois Domes restaurant inside Sofitel Hotel for the special Paul Bocuse full course dinner menu being served this Christmas Eve. After dinner, they walked a bit around the main town centre to admire the famous Christmas street lightings that had attracted many tourists around the area to Lyons since the 80’s and the buses circling the city roads with their caroling teams.
Back in his apartment, Xiang Zhe was in the living room, adding more logs to the fire to ward off the December cold. This year, the winter was particularly more severe than in previous years, he recalled.
Her delicious scent reached him first, and he looked up expectantly. She had changed into a pair of jeans and a plain turtle neck light aqua blue cashmere sweater, her long luxuriant hair tied up in a pony tail, making her look years younger than her actual age. Xiang Zhe sucked in his breath. He dropped his gaze and feigned interest in the fire.
She came up to him and asked whether he wanted a coffee.
In response, he took hold of her hand and pulled her along to the big sofa.
“Come here, there’s something I want to show you.”
He brought out a small gift box from his trousers and when he handed it to her, he kissed her lightly on her cheek, then wished her a Merry Christmas, indicating at the same time that she could open the box to see whether she liked her Christmas present.
When Shan Mei saw the beautiful pearl and diamond brooch, she exclaimed her surprise. “Oh, Xiang Zhe, this is so exquisite. Thank you but I can’t accept it. It’s too valuable. And I haven’t got a present for you.”
“Shan Mei, please. Please accept it graciously. This used to belong to my mother. I’ve had this piece polished by a local jeweler. The present I want from you transcends monetary value. We’ll talk about it some other time.”
“Xiang Zhe, I’ve not yet expressed my gratitude to you for taking such good care of me during and after the shoot-out, and now this.”
“You don’t need to be grateful. You need only to get well. Here, let me pin the brooch on for you.” He didn’t tell her that the last thing he wanted from her was gratitude!
He fumbled with the pin – their closeness was affecting him. When the task was done, he moved back a bit to admire her. Then he gazed at Shan Mei’s flushed face, he suddenly remembering their last night in Munsan and the soft, little kisses she so impulsively planted on his face when she realized he wasn’t going to die from poisoning. When he looked into her clear eyes, bright with honesty, Xiang Zhe found a haven, a sheltered haven where he could safely put down anchor. His deep, dark eyes seemed to look clear into her soul. At that very moment, Shan Mei held her breath as she seemed to lose herself into his gaze.
He too held his breath when he saw alarm, indecision – and longing – played across her expressive face.
Yes, she did care for him, his alert eyes saw. Exultation mingled with restraint and a fierce desire to embrace her, kiss away the caution in her eyes, seize the opportunity here, far from prying eyes, where they might recapture and deepen the wordless intimacy they’d found in that Amsterdam grotto.
He held her fractionally to him, then kissed her softly and gently. Over and over, sipping, tasting, savouring her sweetness until he was reluctant to stop. He stole her warm breath, and returned it to her, mingled with his own. Finally he released her. “Shan Mei,” he said, the intensity of his tone commanded full attention. “You do things to me.”
Shan Mei stared, perplexed.
He leaned forward. “My life hasn’t been the same, not for a moment, since
I met you.”
Xiang Zhe had known for a long time that he had fallen in love with Shan Mei; he probably had since the first time he had seen her at the KKK.
“I love you, Shan Mei,” Xiang Zhe whispered, without restraint.
Shan Mei angled her head back, her eyes shocked with surprise, then she smiled up into his face. In the golden red flickering glow of the fire she could see his face close to hers.
“Do you know what you’re saying, X-Man? You must be drunk!” Shan Mei’s unconscious use of X-Man, the alias he used when he visited the KKK, twisted Xiang Zhe’s conscience into tight knots. He was right – she had not forgotten his look of scorn and disparaging remarks!
“Of course I know what I’m saying. I’m never more serious in my life, because I’ve never uttered these words to any one ever. I love you, Shan Mei and not because you saved my life at Munsan. Do you love me?”
She did not answer but he could see the look on her face was sufficient to convince him that his feelings were reciprocated. She rose slowly to her feet and walked out to the balcony. She stood there, hugged herself against the brisk night air, admiring the silvery-white snowy, beautiful world before her in the valley below, the decorative street lights twinkling like a magical fairy-land. It seemed this quiet fairy-land truly held magic for her.
“Marry me, Shan Mei,” he whispered behind her, this time with real intensity in his voice. He had padded his way softly to join her on the balcony. He rested his hands on her shoulders, letting her feel the weight and strength of them. Then he slowly lifted her hair aside and tenderly kissed the nape of her neck. Electricity went down her spine.
Excruciating silent moments later, she whispered back in a trembling, resigned voice, “I can’t.”
Xiang Zhe’s hands tightened on her shoulders. She turned her face back toward him and in the light of the moon, two tears formed glistening tracks down her face. She lifted a hand to palm his cheek tenderly.
“Don’t you love me enough to marry me?” Xiang Zhe’s voice was cracking.
“As a matter of fact, I think I do love you, but I can’t marry you.” Yes, Shan Mei told herself, she did love the man if she was honest with herself. Never before had she trembled in a man’s presence, quivered at his touch, thrilled within his embrace in those few moments in the Amsterdam grotto. When he kissed her that first time, not quite so deeply yet utterly tenderly, she had responded instinctively, awakened by his very masculine appeal and her own intuitive femininity. For the first time in her life, a spark was lit deep within her, making her yearn for more, much more, than a kiss could give.
Xiang Zhe looked as if Shan Mei had put a gun to his head. He walked back into the living room without saying another word. He added some more logs to the fire, trying to calm his badly-shaken nerves, before he would say something he would be sorry for.
Shan Mei stood quite still where she was, watching him. She knew she would lose him because she would not marry him. Tears scalded her eyes out there on the balcony in the cold and every atom in her body screamed at her to take him in her arms, to assuage him his hurt, to tell him, yes, yes, yes, she would marry him. But she couldn’t. She had promised her Pa that she would never ever marry a law enforcement officer. When she had been offered a post with the CIB, before her Pa would allow her to confirm her acceptance officially, he had extricated this pledge from her. Not just this pledge, but also her promise that she would immediately resign from her post in CIB when she married.
If Xiang Zhe never talked to her again, she would understand. She would never forgive herself for undermining his pride – knowing how insecure and fragile he could be – but she hoped one day he would understand.
She retraced her steps to the sofa quietly and sat down. She listened to the flame crackling on the hearth for a while. Then she removed the brooch that Xiang Zhe had earlier pinned onto her sweater, put it back into the gift box, then left the box on the coffee table.
Xiang Zhe saw this and became very emotional. He moved very quickly in two giant strides to stand before her and pushed her back down onto the sofa.
“I’ve waited long enough,” he said through clenched teeth as he settled himself next to her on the sofa. “Too long! Years! Maybe forever to find a woman I can love completely. You love me, why fight me or yourself.” His fingers brushed tangled strands of hair back from her face as he gazed intently down into her eyes, the pads of his thumbs moved gently along the lower rim of her eyes, looking wide and confused.
“Why? Tell it to me straight, Shan Mei. I wish you’d let me in there,” he murmured, gently tapping her forehead.
She was in a state of confusion. In the end, she took refuge in evasion. “Alright, I will.” She took a breath. “I think we are rushing things. All this is coming too soon. We need more time to get to know each other, Xiang Zhe. If you’re serious about ….about this ….about me …., then you’ll have to agree with me that we should acquaint ourselves outside the scope of our work.”
He pressed his body against hers and pinned her against the back of the sofa before she could think to dodge. His eyes were gleaming with a rare emotion that might have been anger or confusion or both. When she backed further against the sofa he caged her there with a hand planted on either side of her.
“Do you think I don’t really know you? We spent 3 months in that Munsan cabin and I am sure I know you well enough to be sure you’re the one I want to spend the rest of my life with.” Xiang Zhe stated far too softly.
“Xiang Zhe, please be reasonable. I hardly know you, apart from work. You appeared in my life about six months ago. I agree, my feelings for you began to change at Munsan. I began to understand a bit about you especially after the Chung’an visit. But I’ve never been in love; I don’t know whether this is the real thing that can withstand any tests in the future. And now you are talking about marriage. That’s moving too fast by anyone’s standards. I want us to slow down if you’re serious about marriage.”
“That’s your final word on the subject?”
“Yes,” she said fiercely. “It is.”
His stony expression became bleak. Suddenly a thought flashed through Xiang Zhe. “You don’t find me charming enough for you? I know you couldn’t stand me the first time we met at KKK.”
Shan Mei turned away, hiding a smirk, thinking already he had more charm than any one man had a right to.
When no words came from her, he stared unwaveringly at her for an endless minute. The shadows in his eyes shifted rapidly, as if he was running through a variety of responses in his own mind. Abruptly he dropped his hands from the back of the sofa, shaking his head in grim disgust.
“Shan Mei.” There was an ache in the way he said her name that made Shan Mei pause. His hands moved along the back of her shoulders, trembling slightly as they touched her. A warmth was spreading from his hands as Xiang Zhe moved closer. Shan Mei was afraid that his physical influence would somehow undermine her control. “Shan Mei, do you know what you are doing to me? If you have a valid reason for refusing me, tell me now. Not something lame like needing more time. I don’t buy that at all,” he said in a low voice as he turned away and stalked over to door frame leading out to the balcony.
“Xiang Zhe …..”
He ignored her, running an impatient hand through his dark hair as he stared out the balcony door, his mind in turmoil. He didn’t want to tell her what had transpired at Interpol office. He didn’t want to scare her that the sniper was out to get her. He didn’t want to have to tell her that the person responsible for the contract to have her killed was a vicious act of revenge through his careless liaison. Would she believe him if he said he wanted to marry her because he really loved her, and not merely to guarantee her protection to ease his conscious? What a mess!!!
He came in from the balcony, his senses under control. “Is there a logical reason you’re not at liberty to reveal?”
The question was so soft Shan Mei wasn’t certain it was meant for her to hear. He was asking himself and it was obvious he didn’t have an answer.
He could see that Shan Mei was having a hard time controlling her erratic emotions. He hated himself for throwing her into this turmoil. Then silently he held his arms out to her and she found shelter there. Shan Mei felt his sympathy, his gentleness and his tenderness, pouring over her and they almost proved her undoing. He caressed her until her sobbing ceased.
“Are you alright?” he queried, noting her stricken look, noticing for the first time her eyes, usually clear and bright, were shrouded in evasive veils. Very tenderly he wiped away her tears with his fingers.
After a moment of strained silence, she cleared her throat and drawled. “I’m afraid you startled me with question. I thought I had made you understand that I needed more time – truly!”
Xiang Zhe resigned himself to giving her a silent nod. ‘What irony!’ he snorted to himself. There were at least a score of women waiting for him to propose yet the one woman he wanted to marry had refused him – outright!
==
The next morning bright and early, Xiang Zhe insisted on driving Shan Mei around the countryside toward the east of Lyon to sample more of the area’s well-known gastronomic delights. In their earlier jaunts, Xiang Zhe had not ventured further than Macon in the north and Valence in the south. “How about heading east to Chambery this time? On a clear day like today, we can see the summit of Mont Blanc.”
“Anything you say. After all, this is your territory,” Shan Mei jollied on.
When they set off he looked relaxed, happy and devastatingly handsome, in a navy blue chunky-weave turtle-neck sweater, denim jeans and thick half-boots. He completed the ensemble with a heavy jacket with lambs-wool lining. Shan Mei, on noticing this, immediately fell into an easy mood thinking that Xiang Zhe had forgotten his wounded pride from last night.
One by one, familiar landmarks appeared as Xiang Zhe pointed them out, as he maintained a safe but steady speed on the country roads. He was a good guide, filling the silence with interesting stories of his adventures when he first arrived in Lyon and tried making his way on his own around the valley. They passed by a few farms, very picturesque with a soft covering of frost and a few snatches of green peeping now and then through a spattering cover of snow. She was, in turn, impressed, charmed, enthralled, fascinated, and finally, totally captivated by the man – his gentle camaraderie, his subtle wit, his innate intelligence, and undeniably, his every effort to make this an unforgettable day for them. A few more turns on the road, and Xiang Zhe drove onto a private road that had been shoveled clean of frost, snow or ice.
They were now seated in a glass-covered summer house in the garden, waiting for their lunch, at one of the smaller private farms scattered along the way of the French Alpine roads. Since their arrival at this farm, Shan Mei was conscious of the hooded study of his gaze on her. Then, without rancour and with eyes searching, Xiang Zhe, out of the blue, asked Shan Mei, “Do you have an understanding with a man in Seoul?” He had brooded over this possibility the previous night when he was lying in bed, thinking.
Shan Mei nodded. Then she quickly jerked her head away, but not before Xiang Zhe’s alert gaze had noticed the tautened skin around her mouth and the drained look of her complexion.
“This is ridiculous!” he exclaimed, his eyes flaring. “How can you have an understanding with another man, yet tell me that you love me. And I’ve always believed you to be someone very honourable and true in your dealings. Sometimes, I just don’t understand how your intricate mind works.” Shan Mei heard the possessiveness of his tone.
A frustrated pout appeared on his lips and he didn’t look like he was ready to digest any food as he lapsed into a thick silence that prickled her nerve ends.
Shan Mei tried to make amends by giving him a beguiling smile and hooked an arm through his, and rocked him about a bit.
“Come on, let’s simply enjoy this beautiful day and the delicious food.”
“Alright,” he gave in reluctantly not wanting to spoil the special day, seeing Shan Mei was being so nice to him. “How about some Rhone Valley special Rose?” he asked later, trying to inject some festive mood to the Christmas Day lunch.
“That sounds lovely and different.”
It was more than lovely, Shan Mei thought, as she took a small sip, after which she began attacking a tray of oysters baked lightly in garlic butter and fresh herbs with a sprinkle of bacon bits that was just put in front of them on the table. “Ehmmm … these taste simply deleeeciooous after a sip of the rose wine!” She licked the oyster juice remaining around her mouth, then wiped it clean with a paper napkin. A giggle bubbled up her throat and burst into the cold, dry air. Xiang Zhe was watching her intently, wishing her tongue was licking around his lips. He quickly banished the thought from his mind, not trusting himself because he wanted to kiss her so badly.
She turned around to Xiang Zhe and exclaimed sincerely, “Xiang Zhe, you know Lyon is certainly a beautiful city, steeped in age-old traditions and hospitality, and definitely worth a second visit. I think I’ll come back one summer and prowl around the neighbouring vineyards and farms. Since you are such a longtime resident of Lyon, maybe you can suggest a few good ones to visit.”
Xiang Zhe cleared his throat over the lump rising there and faintly nodded his head. “I’ve a better suggestion. Why not I accompany you around? The really good ones are the small out-of-the-way, privately family-owned vineyards and wineries difficult to find. These people never bothered to learn English, insisting the French language is the only language romantic enough to seduce the best bouquet out of any wine! I’ll gladly be your guide and interpreter.”
“Then, will you please start by asking the owner of this small eatery whether they have home-made foie gras? I want to buy some for my Pa. He has been in love with it ever since he sampled some at the Parents Day party organized by CIB two years ago. And I used to think that coffee was the only foreign food he couldn’t do without.”
Xiang Zhe’s humour returned with this revelation. “You’re at the right place. Their foie gras, made from genuine goose livers, is irresistible. Foie gras with thick slices of their home-baked bread is our next course.”
“Really?” Shan Mei squealed with delight. Seeing such open delight on her face, Xiang Zhe couldn’t help but gave her a tight hug and planted a small peck on her cheek. He winked an eye when Shan Mei turned around and gave him a questioning look.
Xiang Zhe didn’t want the day to end, especially when they stopped by a small, romantic chalet about 200 meters on the outskirts of Chambery. They took a window seat by the hearth where a healthy fire was crackling away.
In between sips of hot chocolate with marshmallows, they admired the distant snow-capped peak of Mont Blanc. The two of them didn’t talk much – the scene before them through the window was a breathtaking wonderland of blue sky, white clouds and snow-covered slopes and peaks. Especially for Shan Mei, who never for a minute dreamt that she would be sharing a two-seater sofa with Xiang Zhe in such a romantic setting, admiring the famous mountain peak from afar.
“Have you ever been up the Mont Blanc?” Shan Mei asked, wanting to break the too-intimate air surrounding them in the warm, cosy dining room.
“Hmmm….” Xiang Zhe murmured, suddenly tightening his hold of Shan Mei. There was a minute or so of silence before he continued. “I was once up there, leading a few people across over to the Swiss side. We got stranded in a terrible snow storm and couldn’t find shelter until much later.” After some more minutes of silence, he continued, “We almost didn’t make it.”
“Was there a reason your group couldn’t use a regular route?”
Xiang Zhe looked at Shan Mei tenderly, surprised at her question. He ruffled her hair as he said softly, “I was on a secret mission.”
She nodded her head in mute understanding. He nibbled her ear softly as he whispered into it, “Leading a group of people to safety, instead I almost led them to their graves.” His voice was tight with an unfamiliar emotion; he must be recalling that hazardous journey around the mountain.
On saying that, Xiang Zhe pulled Shan Mei into his arms, resting his cheek against her hair. Sunlight dappled around them, turning the shady spot into a hidden cocoon. When Shan Mei roused in the sweet quiet of the room, she realized they must have drifted off to sleep for two hours or more. She turned around and looked up. She found Xiang Zhe still asleep. She tickled his ear to rouse him. Slowly, he unfurled from his comfortable position, turned sleepy eyes on Shan Mei and gently kissed her, tasting her mouth, reveling in her sweetness. His hands moved to caress her. Shan Mei shifted from his embrace and asked quietly, “Don’t you think we should be driving back to Lyon?”
He pretended he didn’t notice her awkwardness. After he released her from his arms, he stood up, yawned and stretched his arms above his head. “Yes, I suppose we have to make a move although I wish we were spending the night here. I was beginning to dream that I was in Blissland.”
Shan Mei looked around the room shyly, and gathered their coats, woolly caps and scarves, while Xiang Zhe went up to thank the owner of this small chalet and to settle the bill. As he led the way to the car, he promised Shan Mei that they would come back again. In his mind, he didn’t doubt that they – Shan Mei and himself – would eventually marry and live happily ever after.
==
The next day, Xiang Zhe waved Shan Mei off at the Lyon Airport. A rush of emotion swept through him as he watched her disappear through Immigration.
On the flight back to Seoul, Shan Mei had plenty of time to think when sleep evaded her. She must be crazy to admit to Xiang Zhe that she was in love with him. She barely knew him. Since her admission, she felt his eyes always on her, always searching, looking hurt and rejected, sometimes confused, other times exasperated. Especially when they were at the airport; he was so reluctant to let go of her and when he kissed her goodbye he simply couldn’t bear to tear his lips away. Shan Mei touched her swollen lips tentatively as she remembered the scorching kiss.
Except that she DID know him. This was the puzzling part. Somehow, in the 3 months that they had been together in Munsan, she had come to know him better than she had ever known anyone, besides her Pa, in her life. The paradox of the matter was that she really knew very few facts about him apart from what he had revealed at Chung’an. She would have loved him even if he had chosen never to confide the details of his life.
The very remoteness of the man drew her to him in a way she couldn’t explain. The self-contained quality about him spoke of a unique kind of aloneness. An aloneness that she felt she shared and understood quietly.
Shan Mei sensed the strength and pride and power that made up Xiang Zhe’s nature and realized that a part of her responded to him with a sense of respect. This man was rock solid all the way through. No amount of money could buy his allegiance if he didn’t believe in you.
“Yes, under any circumstance and in any environment, there was no way I would not have loved such a man,” Shan Mei admitted to herself with a sigh. It was much too easy to love him – and much too hard to stop.
When Shan Mei emerged from the Customs Hall at Seoul’s international airport, she saw her Pa waiting anxiously. He walked up to her and took over the luggage cart. “What took you so long? Most of the other passengers have emerged and left.”
She gave her father a big hug and fat kiss. “Oh, Pa, it’s so good to see you. I was held up by Customs. They wanted to check the foodstuff I brought back from France.”
“I see! So, we’re going to have French Food Festival for the next few weeks?”
“Depends on how you ration out the food!” Shan Mei grinned and tugged at the sleeve of her father’s overcoat.
Zhen Senior laughed. “Your rest in Europe seems to have done you a world of good. You met someone interesting while you were working in Europe?
The doctor who tended to the wound on your face?”
“Well, I did meet someone, but he’s not a doctor.”
“When are you going to introduce me to him? Your old Pa is anxious to hold a grandchild in his arms.”
“Pa! What’s the matter with you? Trying to marry your daughter off to just any man! This friend – he’s a very busy man. And I’m not sure that he really found your daughter exciting enough to want to continue the friendship. And you may not like him, knowing how you always complain about my dates -- no man, according to you, seems to be good enough for your daughter. Just take something as inconsequential as hair which you liked complaining – either the hair’s too long or too short, too much or not enough, too dark or too light, hairline is too receding or too low on the forehead. I’ll be too embarrassed to bring any eligible man home. Your grilling will surely send him running for cover.”
Zhen Senior couldn’t help expelling a loud laugh. “You can’t blame your old man for wanting the best for his precious princess. Was this man friend with you when you were hurt?”
“Yes, and he made sure I had the best medical care. See how well the wound is healing? The scar is almost not noticeable. He’s really quite a man – well educated, cultured, extremely knowledgeable, handsome, soft spoken and kind-hearted. There, that about sums him up.”
Shan couldn’t contain her laughter when she saw her father’s eyes rolling about, as if she was spinning a fairy tale.
“Sounds like you’re in love! Are you?”
“Pa, you’re becoming one of those nosy old men whom I find intolerable.”
Zhen Senior laughed again, placed his daughter’s arm through the crook of his own, then led the way to his 4-WD.
After arriving home from the airport, Shan Mei unpacked and had washed up, when father and daughter sat down for dinner. Zhen Senior noticed that Shan Mei was in high spirits and chatted more than usual when she insisted he try the foie gras she had especially bought back from France for him.
“This came straight from the farm. Very freshly made according to a family secret recipe – highly recommended by my friend.”
“Male friend? The one you were yakking about at the airport?”
A deep crimson blush accompanied by a secretive smile appeared on her face as she nodded her head.
“Then I like him already.”
“You do?”
“How could I not? He’s brought a bright colour to your cheeks.”
Embarrassed, Shan Mei raised both hands to her face.
“He’s made your heart smile.”
What a nice way of putting it. That was exactly how she felt.
“And I’ve never seen you look happier – you know, contented?”
She was happy, Shan Mei admitted. Deliriously so, simply because the most wonderful man had walked into her life in the most unexpected of ways, and had told her that he loved her. Shan Mei could hardly sleep the entire night before, thinking of their time together.
“Why would he be interested in someone like me?”
“Because you’re beautiful, Shan Mei, inside and out. He’d be a fool not to recognize that. Now, stop worrying and just be yourself. Invite him to dinner one of these nights when he visits Seoul. I want to meet this friend of yours for myself.”
Shan Mei blushed and smiled. “He might be too busy to come.”
==
One day after Shan Mei’s departure from Lyon, Xiang Zhe was at the Parc-Dieu Station in town to meet Tut who had taken the TGV from Paris to Lyon.
“Why didn’t you take a flight from Paris like I instructed you to? You just missed Tabby by a day.” Xiang Zhe didn’t sound pleased.
“I didn’t know whether anyone was tailing me so I bought a ticket from KL to London. I got off at Paris and decided to take the train because I needn’t give any personal details when I bought the ticket.”
“Okay, that was good thinking. No luggage apart from your shoulder bag?”
“No. I told Gary I was returning to Bangkok. I gave my other things to the landlady who rented me the furnished room. The only thing I cleared from KL was my bank account.” Tut laughed as he patted the bulge in his pocket.
Back at the apartment, over lunch, Xiang Zhe told him a bit of what had happened in Amsterdam. He didn’t tell Tut that he had proposed to Shan Mei. He didn’t have to because Tut could tell there were feelings there, seeing the moon-struck look on X-Man’s face every time Tabby’s name was mentioned.
“I knew Prontip controlled a few sleazy joints in Patpong. I never suspected she was so evil. Jeez, I’m so relieved Tabby is okay. I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to her. She’s one special lady I’m not ever to forget easily.”
Xiang Zhe’s face became dark with jealousy, recalling how Shan Mei was always aware of Tut’s feelings. “You’re in love with her? If you are, you can forget about it. She’s much too old for you, buddy!”
“Shuffle off, you old man, with your wicked thoughts. She’s tops with me because she’s the only one, other than you, who has ever shown me any real kindness, without making me out as some kind of charity case. When she was in Bangkok, she took me into a bookstore – imagine me in a bookstore – and bought me a set of simple English reader books. You know – those that come with a recorded narration on a disc, to help me read. She even bought me a compact CD player. She said someone with my looks should not only know how to talk proper English but must know how to read proper English. Believe it or not, I’ve been diligently studying. Now I can read at Level 3.”
After he forked the last slice of roast chicken into his mouth, he eyed Xiang Zhe suspiciously and passed a disdainful comment. “Tabby’s too old for me, huh? I suppose you reckon she’s just perfect for you, right?”
Xiang Zhe didn’t say anything, except smile shyly and ruffled Tut’s headful of hair roughly. He took a large gulp of water to cool down. Then, he said to Tut, “Later this afternoon we’re going into the office. I want your name taken off the Railroad’s Agents’ as well as the Forwarders’ Lists.”
“Why, Boss? I thought I was doing real well!”
“No one is complaining about your efficiency. I resigned from Interpol a few days ago. I don’t want you to be involved with the Railroad anymore. It’s too dangerous. I’m taking you back to Korea with me.”
==
Like a compass needle homing in on magnetic north, Xiang Zhe’s thoughts veered off along a familiar course – Shan Mei – as soon as he was back in his office at CIB in Seoul, a week after the New Year holidays. No sooner had he seated himself at his desk, he rang Kim Youzhen on his extension at Digital Imaging.
“Good morning, Kim Youzhen speaking.”
“Hi, it’s me.”
“Sooooooo, Mr. Yin, you’re finally back. I’ve a whole stack full of photos to show you. And my boys’ Intelligence compilation on that set-up in Thailand is unbelievable. Those operators seem to be involved in almost everything bad, though some of them only as a by-line. When can I come and see you in your office?”
“Erhhh …. Before you do that, there’s something else that I want you to take care of personally. I understand there was a Parents Day party two years ago organized by CIB? Can you shift through the photo archives and see whether you can locate a photo of Zhen Shan Mei’s father? I need that urgently.”
“I see. I suppose it’s not too presumptuous of me to assume that you’ll need his address, his personal details as well or where he works in case you want to visit him at the school he currently teaches at for some lessons on how to be an endearing son-in-law?”
“He’s a school teacher?”
“Yeah, Maths, if I’m not mistaken. Want me to drive you out there, since this is all so ‘top-secret’? What kind of a future son-in-law are you? Not knowing anything about the father of the girl you want to marry. Again, I presume this is why you want to see the man, right?”
“Why do you care?”
“Man, I’m anxious to see you succeed where all of us humble beings at CIB have failed. Six years, do you realize? Six long years, 2,190 days, we’ve have been trying to get her to notice us, in a romantic way, and she hasn’t bothered in giving anyone of us even a minute of her time. I’m glad to see her fall for someone within these 4 strong walls, rather than losing her to lord-who-knows-who from the outside. Give me a few minutes to run through my computer files. I’ll be up to your office the minute I’ve the information you want.”
Fifteen minutes later, Youzhen bounded up the stairs from the 7th floor up to the 10th floor – he didn’t want to wait for the lift, too excited to want to get the latest news on Yin Xiang Zhe’s new ‘investigation’ to him.
After he took several sips of coffee that Xiang Zhe had offered, Youzhen began to wish Xiang Zhe lots of luck. “Brother, you’ll need it, for sure!”
Xiang Zhe gave the man a searching look as he went through the photos. “Why, Mr. Zhen doesn’t like men?”
“Oh, don’t me wrong. The old man likes us well enough, as long as we stay away from his precious daughter.”
“You think she’s betrothed to some man already?”
“How can that be when there’s no man? One time we tailed her after work, over a two-week period. That time, she went out with Zhao Di a couple of evenings. She spent 2 evenings a week at the State Library – each visit lasting 3 hours or more. The rest of time she spent at home, tending a small vegetable patch. She and her father are closer than peas.”
“Doesn’t he object when she has to be away with a ‘male’ colleague on an assignment?”
“Ha! He doesn’t know she’s a Special Agent. Thinks his daughter is at a regular desk job here, working as a Liaison Officer, traveling here, there and everywhere coordinating meetings and functions for the Force. If he knew she was on an assignment with that Han Rae Won as Han’s wife last summer, he would have scalped that poor handsome fellow’s head off!”
Xiang Zhe stroked his chin thoughtfully. He looked at Youzhen with a veiled stare revealing nothing, though his mind was in shambles. Should he reveal to Youzhen that Shan Mei had personally admitted that she had an understanding with a man? Better not – it might just be a story from her.
Youzhen continued, “One of these days, when Zhen Shan Mei gets herself killed while on a mission, KK will have a lot of explaining to do to Mr. Zhen.”
Chills coursed through Xiang Zhe’s veins, remembering how Shan Mei almost got shot in Amsterdam!
==
Zhen Gui Cheng walking out from the school yard, paused at the main entrance of Youido No. 1 Senior High School when he saw two of his students having some kind of heated argument. He called out to them. When he got their attention he motioned them over to his side. “What’s the matter, boys? I thought you two had gone home at least an hour ago.”
“Mr. Zhen, we couldn’t decide the correct answer to one of the questions you posed in class this morning.”
“Why don’t you go back into the Study Room and I’ll try to help you work through the problem?”
The two boys ran ahead, and Zhen Senior was about to turn on his heel and head back to school when he heard a man approach and call out to him.
“Mr. Zhen Gui Cheng?”
“Er … Yes. Do I know you?” Zhen Senior asked, curious who the good looking and immaculately-dressed man was.
“Not yet, Sir. But I hope within a reasonably short time, you’ll come to know me very well. By the way, I am Yin Xiang Zhe, a colleague of your daughter Shan Mei. I was recently with Shan Mei in Europe on a company assignment. Is there somewhere quiet we can go to so we can talk?”
“Is Shan Mei in some kind of trouble?”
“Well, we can say that she’s creating some kind of problem ……..”
==
That night, dinner at home was a strained affair. Shan Mei didn’t suspect a thing, but her Pa seemed apprehensive and was quiet as he kept his eyes on his bowl of rice and the food on the table throughout. Usually, she couldn’t shut her Pa up even if she applied Superglue to his lips.
After dinner, Shan Mei was in front of the television, when Zhen Senior brought over two cups and a hot pot of tea.
“Err … err..., your friend Yin Xiang Zhe came to the school to see me this afternoon.” He paused, to see whether the information was having any effect on his daughter. He didn’t realize his daughter was an ace at keeping mum at the right time. He continued when Shan Mei said nothing.
“Well, he’s everything you said he was, except you didn’t mention that he was a law enforcement officer. He told me he has asked you to marry him and you have rejected him.” He brought his eyes up to rest them on Shan Mei.
“Pa, you know I had to say No.”
“Do you love this man?”
“Very much. So I suppose you have told him the reason I rejected his proposal?”
“Not outright but I guess he’s smart enough to get the message. If he was in any other kind of job, I’d have given my blessings without hesitation. I can see he loves you very much and he seems like a good sort. But you know my stance on guys working in the police force. I just can’t stand the thought of my precious little girl being hurt, of you becoming a widow at a young age, of you being lonely and unhappy ….and most of all, of you moving away from me.” On this, Zhen Senior’s voice broke.
After Zhen Senior had his emotions under some kind of control, he continued, “Princess, look at your Pa – a fine example of a lonely man. Your mother died when you were so young. I should have done the right thing and gotten you a stepmother but I loved your Ma too much to want another woman taking her place. Luckily for us, we have Auntie Shu to help raise you when I had to be away from home to make a living. When I received a transfer to teach at a school in Seoul, with better pay and benefits, I accepted gladly, knowing that in Seoul we’ll have better opportunities, better medical care and more money to ensure a better life for you. Widowhood can be a very lonely existence. A law enforcement officer risks his life every day, not only when he’s on duty, but off it too, with crazy maniacs seeking revenge. You know that kind of scenario we see in movies and TV dramas or read daily in the newspapers.” He shuddered and wouldn’t want to think further. The whole idea was too horrendous to consider.
Shan Mei nodded her head fitfully in silent acceptance, trying to hold back her tears. Even though her heart was crying out, she would never want to hurt her father. The father who had always been there for her since her mother passed away. Always there to aid her, no matter what mischief she had wrought, to cheer her up no matter what tiny sorrow saddened her heart. And now, for the very first time, Shan Mei could remember, she was very tempted to follow her heart, instead she croaked ………
“Pa, please, let’s not dwell anymore on this matter.”
“Just as well! Mr. Yin impressed me as staid and well set in his ways, just like any old, confirmed bachelor who’s used to doing what he likes.” Then Zhen Senior noticed the conflicting glints in his daughter’s eyes. “By the way, today a young, handsome science master joined our teaching staff. He just graduated with a MSc. from a California university. Do you mind if Pa invites him for dinner this weekend?”
“Pa!! Pleeasse! Don’t start your matching-making.” With that, Shan Mei left the living room and went up the stairs to the privacy of her bedroom.
==
Xiang Zhe had been back in Seoul already 3 days. He was busy with Jung for two days catching up on news and the latest progress reports. Today, he tried to call Shan Mei on her extension and was told she was away in Pusan. What a tough-luck day, Xiang Zhe told himself as he cleared his desk of paper. He wasn’t sure what he intended to do with the rest of the evening.
If they were still in Munsan, he and Shan Mei would spend their nights playing Scotland Yard while she waited for her prepared cooking to cool before storing it into the fridge. When he was making his night rounds, she would wait up for him, with a ready pot of hot tea or coffee in case he wanted to talk, which he almost always did. He was missing her more, rather than less, with each passing day. Xiang Zhe was increasingly aware of how much Shan Mei had become a permanent part of him – a vital, necessary part!
Listlessly, he let himself into his apartment. He sank deeply into a cushioned armchair and then kicked off his shoes. Tut was in the kitchen about to pour himself a mug of coffee. Exiting the kitchen he noticed Xiang Zhe’s dour mood. He plopped the freshly-brewed mug of coffee in front of Xiang Zhe and slipped into the chair across from him.
Xiang Zhe scowled. “I don’t remember asking for your company.” With a sick feeling churning in his gut, he had no taste or food or conversation.
“You didn’t, but I decided to join you anyway. Something on your mind?”
“As it happens, there is, but it’s none of your business!” Xiang Zhe answered churlishly. He’d go down to the Residents’ Club, he decided. Perhaps after a few drinks, he’d be calm enough to discuss what had been bothering him. He was about to get up when Tut pushed him back into the armchair. A red mist of rage was about to cloud Xiang Zhe’s head.
Tut wouldn’t allow himself to be brushed off so easily. “Want to talk about it? Something to do with Tabby?” Tut smiled, and it was the knowing grin of an observant man.
With sudden release, Xiang Zhe fired away without reserve. “Tabby’s father isn’t keen at all to have me as a son-in-law. He kind of indirectly warned me to stay away from his daughter, when he knew I had proposed to her.” He let off a resigned sigh as he buried his face in his hands, trying to break a sob.
“And you’re going to give up on Tabby, just like that? Where’re your brains and your guts, man?”
Seeing Xiang Zhe sinking into deeper despondency, Tut asked, “Didn’t Tabby accept your proposal?”
“No! She told me she had an understanding with another man. How could she when it’s me she loves?”
“Jeez, what a snit you’ve gotten yourself into! Know who the other man is?”
Xiang Zhe shook his head, his face looked suddenly tired. “No one in the office knew she was seeing a man.”
Tut shook his head in disgust seeing the sorrowful state of Xiang Zhe. He padded into the kitchen and took 2 Mars Bars out from the fridge.
He handed one to Xiang Zhe. “Take it. The sweetness will do you good.”
Xiang Zhe stared at Tut as if he was handing him poison. “I might as well be eating acid.”
Tut shrugged his shoulder and returned to his seat. He curled his arms around his knees as he sat with bended legs on the big winged armchair, which he had pulled next to Xiang Zhe’s, and began working over the puzzle.
Suddenly he gave Xiang Zhe a big shove in the thighs with his toes, then jumped off his seat, hopping around in noisy glee. “I think I’ve got it!”
Thinking Tut had gone mad, Xiang Zhe snapped at him. “Shut up, you brat. How can I think when you’re making all that racket? You’re becoming unmanageable!”
“You don’t have to think no more, no more; you don’t have to think no more …….” Tut sang away, strumming on an imaginary guitar.
Then coming close and up front to Xiang Zhe, he laughed into his face. “That mystery man is her father! Her father, get it?”
“But she said she had an understanding …. Doesn’t this usually mean, a pledge of marriage …….?” Xiang Zhe tailed off, not so sure anymore of her meaning. Could he have jumped to the wrong conclusion all on his own?
“It can be any kind of understanding, you clod! The guys at your office told you that Tabby never looked at any of them though she had been there for 6 years, right? She admitted she loved you, but couldn’t marry you, right? Maybe her father doesn’t like the Police Force? Maybe he has a grudge against a law enforcement officer? Didn’t you tell Tabby that you had already resigned from Interpol?”
Xiang Zhe shook his head. Moments later, when the reasoning from Tut had sunk in, Xiang Zhe too sprang up from his chair. “That’s it! It’s her father! Now I remember – he looked quite happy to see me when I went up to him at the school, until he realized I was an investigation officer from Interpol. Then his attitude changed.”
They held on to one another, laughing and dancing around the living room, Tut screaming away. “Go! Call Tabby right now and tell her!”
“Can’t! She’s away on an assignment, down at Pusan with a crack squad, cleaning up vice dens in the red-light districts.”
Sitting down, trying to catch back their breaths, Xiang Zhe wagged a happy finger at Tut and said, “Clearly, you deserve a reward. Tomorrow, I’ll ask my half-brother to come over and take you shopping. Xiang Jie is about your age. Get some comfy, tough-wearing clothes. You’re going to need them when I take you down to Chung’an in a couple of days’ time. My nanny and her family will whip you up into shape. If you’re lucky, Nanny’s youngest daughter – a real cutie – might favour you with her time. Don’t be discouraged if she doesn’t – she could be busy with her studies. I remember Nanny telling me she’s in her 2nd year at University over at Suwon. I’m thinking of turning some of that land around the house into vegetable plots. I’ll discuss this with Tabby and see what she says. She’ll know – she’s smart. You can decide how you want to help out when you get a feel for the place. And while you’re at Chung’an, try to learn some Korean. English is not going to get you very far with those village-folk.” Xiang Zhe laughed uncontrollably, the first time in many days, as he imagined the cheeky rascal getting frustratingly by with sign language.
==
The following night, in the exclusive residential suburb of Kangnam, south of the river Han, on one of its quiet, tree-lined boulevards, a scene was unfolding in the luxuriously-furnished living room of a 2-storey house.
“Xiang Jie’s Father, are you listening to me? Did you hear what your son just said at dinner?” Mrs. Yin Senior let off an impatient ‘humpf’ as she badgered her husband some more. Yin Senior had not made any comments during dinner, and was now concentrating on the news on TV.
She had been with this man for 20 years – she knew that he had listened. He usually had his pair of ears opened – he could manage this very well, one ear on the TV, one ear on her ramblings.
“Xiang Zhe is back in Seoul, yet he hasn’t the filialness to come home and pay his respects to you. What are you going to do, old man?”
Yin Senior turned and quietly asked his wife, “Do you want me to get the police onto him? Handcuff him home? He’s almost 36 years old. If he hasn’t learned any filialness by now, he’s never going to learn. At least he’s treating Jie-Jie decently, like a brother.”
“Treating my son decently? More like trying to corrupt him is what I say! Didn’t you hear? He asked Xiang Jie to take his lover shopping for new clothes. Xiang Jie said the boy looked very handsome and spoke only English. Our son managed to find out that the lover boy has lived some years in Bangkok. Surprisingly, he holds a French passport. He had to produce his passport when he was at the bank to cash some traveler’s cheques. You know Thailand – the country notorious for its toy boys? He must have picked one up from Bangkok. You don’t even know what your son does for a living!”
Yin Senior cut in immediately. “Didn’t Jie-Jie say Xiang Zhe was working on some kind of transportation project when he took Jie for lunch one afternoon about 6 months back?”
Mrs. Yin Senior wasn’t satisfied with this retort from her husband and kept on harassing. “Do you know, he’s staying in a hotel with his lover? Jie told me he’s taking the lover boy down to Chung’an tomorrow. This Xiang Zhe is a disgrace to his family, desecrating the family ancestral home with his disgusting, depraved behaviour.”
“I didn’t hear Jie-Jie telling us the boy was Xiang Zhe’s lover. It’s all in your own sick mind.”
“The man is 35 years old and unmarried. He has never mentioned any girl to you – always claiming he wanted to remain a bachelor. If he isn’t one of those disgusting creatures, now you tell me, why is he still unmarried and has a young man living with him? It’s abnormal for a man to be still single at 35 going onto to 36 years old.”
“Take it easy on your idle tongue, old lady! He’s my son, not born of you. He’s bitter about marriage. I don’t blame him, the way I left his mother. Don’t forget, all the comfort you’re enjoying now came from his mother’s side of the family. You should be thankful he hasn’t fought for his share of the family business holdings since he turned 25. This already shows you he has character. So what if he prefers a man to a woman? He’s entitled to his own private life. I don’t want you slandering him in front of Jie-Jie. The brothers are close.”
With a thoroughly disgusted look at his wife, Yin Senior walked off to his private study. Brave words he uttered in front of his wife, but his heart was breaking that the son he loved so much was still bearing bitterness toward him. He had hoped that once Xiang Zhe married and became a father, his attitude toward him would change for the better. Yin Senior would enjoy a grandchild. If what his wife said about Xiang Zhe’s sexual preference was true, there would never be any grandchild from him. Yin Senior heaved a deep sigh, very disappointed and sad. “What’s going to happen at Chung’an?” Yin Senior asked. “Will the villagers be able to accept this kind of behaviour from the direct decendant of their much-revered General Wen, the first Wen to settle in Namyang and Chung’an when he led the imperial garrison to guard the naval outpost at Aman Cove along the western coast line?”
He shook his head in resignation, trying to put his wife and her foolish notions out of his mind. He then went to his liquor cabinet, took out a small glass and a bottle of whiskey and poured himself a drink. He sank into an armchair, his eyes heavy and watery; the glass of liquor in his hand.
“Wen Soo-ae, what’s going to happen to our son? I thought you would still be looking out for him from heaven! But it seems you are not, because he’s not going to give us any grandchildren. Do you hear me? No grandchildren!!! There will be no one to continue the Wen lineage!”
Yin Senior whispered aloud to himself, guilty feelings manifesting themselves when he thought of how he had left his wife and son for another woman – a decision he had since regretted over the years. A vivid image of a very bewildered 15-year-old boy hanging onto his father’s arm begging him in a sobbing plea not to leave stole quietly but surely into Yin Senior’s mind. This image had haunted him, on and off, for the past 20 years.
He gulped down the whiskey. His throat caught fire, and the inferno raged all the way to the pit of his stomach. Water welled up in Yin Senior’s eyes and a tear drop slowly rolled down one corner of his eye, along one cheek and trickled into the empty glass. He set the glass down and stared over the room, wondering guiltily whether he was the real reason for Xiang Zhe’s aversion to women and marriage.
After Shan Mei finished clearing the weeds from her small vegetable patch in one corner of her garden, she stretched up and began swinging her arms around, trying to loosen the tightness in her shoulders and neck. As she rubbed a palm a few times over her shoulders and the back of her neck, she breathed in the faint perfume of winter narcissus now blooming in her garden and thought of her own blossoming womanhood. To her surprise, she found it had brought with it a measure of fear, insecurity, and confusion.
“Shan Mei, Shan Mei.” She heard hushed whispers and turned around. She saw Xiang Zhe at the gate, bracing himself against the cold, motioning to her to let him in.
She hurried over to the gate and asked in an agitated voice, “What are you doing here? My Pa will be back soon.” He gave her the patent Yin Xiang Zhe smile, all rakish charm and a promise of trouble to come.
“No, he won’t. I heard him telling his neighbour as they walked toward his car that the football match they were going to watch tonight would be good and wouldn’t end till after 8. Come on, open up, I need to talk to you, urgently. I’ve missed you so much at the office. What took you so long at Pusan? KK said you’d be away only a couple of days, but you were away for one whole week.”
She opened her mouth. And closed it immediately when she realized she did not know what to say. She battled to force out the words that would devastate him further. “Xiang Zhe, please, if you do not want to hurt me, leave now. My Pa ….he is not happy.” She tore her gaze from his but an instant, trying to steady her voice. “Xiang Zhe, I’m sorry, he would rather that I not see you, or speak of you again ….”
The broad shoulders sagged. “Shan Mei, I don’t blame your father, but I’ll not leave. I cannot rest another night without talking to you – attempting to untangle this mess between us,” Xiang Zhe said in a voice that sounded weary beyond belief.
He was looking at her in a way he sometimes did, when they were at Munsan, like a small boy who was asking to be needed, and loved.
She worried her lower lip with her teeth. All her life she had been a content, peaceful child, albeit slightly spoiled. But now she was a stranger to herself. One minute she was satisfied to be Daddy’s little girl, pampered and adored by him, and the next, she would yearn to experience life more fully. Whatever that meant! She supposed it had something to do with blossoming womanhood and the notion of love.
She had not seen Xiang Zhe since they parted ways at Lyon International Airport. She had missed him too. So, she unlatched the gate and Xiang Zhe rushed in. He held Shan Mei to him and gave her a soft, tender peck on her forehead, tucking a stray tendril of hair behind her ear. Shan Mei moved away and led him to a garden chair under the arbour protected by thick trellised vine creepers against the winter winds. She went into the house and returned with a glass of orange juice. While she was gone, Xiang Zhe noticed that the decorative crystal bowl sitting on the centre of the garden table contained the beach pebbles that Shan Mei had picked at Aman Cove. He picked one up, folded it in his hand, his mouth twisting into a sneaky smile. He only wanted to be near Shan Mei, to touch her, to hear her say again that she loved him. When Shan Mei returned, he dropped the pebble back into its bowl, pulled his chair closer to Shan Mei and reached out across the garden table and clasped her hands in his.
“Shan Mei, I’ve missed you so much. My mind just couldn’t rid itself of the special experience we had shared in Munsan. It has left its mark on us. No one but us will ever know what happened. For the rest of our lives, whenever we think about it, we’ll each remember the other because we went through it together. Our ensuing time at Chung’an was just as special.”
She had sat quietly, listening to Xiang Zhe as he rambled on, and when he said that he had resigned from Interpol, she realized just how much he had come to mean to her. Shan Mei’s heart ached. She couldn’t imagine what life would be without him. He obviously didn’t feel the same toward her; otherwise, he couldn’t talk about leaving the Force so casually, knowing that she would miss him at work.
“When will you be leaving?” she asked, putting on a casual front, as if it didn’t matter in the least what he was going to do with his life.
“As soon as our wedding date is set! I am sure when your Pa hears that I’ve resigned from Interpol, he will not oppose our marriage. When you’re back in the office tomorrow, I want you to submit your resignation immediately. We’ll compensate CIB with money in lieu of adequate notice. I’ll come tomorrow night to see your Pa and formally ask for your hand in marriage. Sometime in the next few days, I’ll bring you home to meet my father.”
Shan Mei could hardly believe what she was hearing. “Xiang Zhe, do you mean you’re really giving up Interpol? I can hardly believe this. Wait till I tell my Pa about this!” Shan Mei laughed excitedly and then looked at Xiang Zhe shyly.
She did owe her father her loyalty, and she did love him. Before she met Xiang Zhe, her Pa was the most important person in her life. Perhaps she could make him see how much Xiang Zhe meant to her. But whether he could understand or not, he would have to accept that her new place would be to go wherever Xiang Zhe wanted to put down roots.
“Shan Mei.” There was love and promise in the way he had said her name. His hands moved up along her arms, trembling slightly as his fingers curled around her elbows. “Yes, I’ve resigned from Interpol when I was in Lyon last month. I want you to come home with me – back to Chung’an.”
“Are you really sure you want to marry me? Me?” she asked unbelieving, as she locked her fingers together and placed them before her face to hide her blushes. A smile touched his lips, then fled: his only reply.
Seconds later, a warmth spread from his hands as Xiang Zhe reached out and removed her clasped hands from her blushing face. “Yes, of course. Who else? No one can take the place of my honey. It never bothered me to walk into an empty house before,” he said. “But since our Munsan assignment, I can’t get used to you not being there at home. Every time I walked into the kitchen I expected to see you. In the mornings when I wake up, I listen for the sounds of your stirring somewhere in the house. You may think I’m going nuts, but I’m missing Munsan and our cosy little cabin. There’s a void where you were and I want you to come back and fill it.” He kissed her lightly on her lips while he held her by the upper arms, a tender-sad kiss
“Are you sure it’s what you want, leaving Interpol?” she asked breathlessly, her heart doing several somersaults at this new emotion raging in her heart.
“I’m totally sure you are what I want and love.” He leaned forward as his mouth closed on to her lips, burning into them with hunger. He took out the pearl and diamond brooch and pinned it on Shan Mei’s sweater directly over her heart. “Now, everything’s back where it should be,” he smilingly said.
Finally, Shan Mei spoke nervously, without looking directly at Xiang Zhe. “I’m sorry about that lady who was with you in Bangkok.”
“Sorry?” Xiang Zhe elevated an eyebrow at her. “Sorry about what?”
“Well, that she and you broke up, maybe because of me? I know that she meant something to you, and I feel somehow responsible.”
“What makes you think she meant anything to me?”
“Well, you were …, I mean, both of you were ……” She felt her face burn.
“I see,” Xiang Zhe said. “I know what you are trying to say, Shan Mei.” He put his hand over hers, as if to add special emphasis to what he was about to say.
“Shan Mei, I know you’re a girl from a good family background, with a fine sensibility, so I will explain this to you in a way that won’t be offensive to you.”
“You, ….you don’t have to explain anything to me,” she said hastily.
“Men have needs,” he went on, ignoring her protest. “You see, men have more animal natures than women, and they are unable to resist certain ……uh, temptations, shall we say? Women like that Prontip, the one you saw at the Privilege Club, are available and can satisfy these physical needs but they can never be all that a man wants and needs.”
“I would prefer to talk about something else,” she said nervously, and then she snatched her hand away from his.
Xiang Zhe ignored her protesting and continued, “Believe me, nothing happened with that woman in Bangkok that night you saw us.” He caught her shoulders in his hands. With a desperate groan, he rained kisses across her lips and chin. “Nothing happened, understand?” He drew back to meet her gaze with a heartfelt look of love. “I could never make love to another woman when I love you so much that it hurts.”
==
It was precisely 4 in the afternoon when the Yin family sedan glided into the driveway of the Yin’s 2-storey residence. Yin Senior slid out of the car, telling his chauffer to wait a while – he was needed to run a small errand, maybe in an hour’s time.
Mrs. Yin Senior was surprised to see her husband home so early in the day – normally he wouldn’t be home till 7. As Yin Senior made his way down the hall to his bedroom, she immediately hastened after him and began bombarding him with questions. “Xiang Jie’s Father, what are you doing home so early in the day? Is something wrong?” In the bedroom, he threw his briefcase to one side on top of the dresser, then went to his wardrobe, trifled through the clothes hangers and pulled out a suit that he had not worn before. He brought out a few shirts and ties, stood in front of the mirror, trying to put together a smart, coordinated ensemble.
“Old Man, what’s the matter with you? Getting all spiffed up. Going out to meet some young girls, you old lecher?”
“Put a zip to your mouth before I throw you out of the house! Xiang Zhe is bringing a very special friend home for dinner. Don’t bother cooking. He doesn’t like your food. Order take-out from the Hyatt Regency – a mixture of the best Korean and Japanese dishes. Get the chauffer to pick up the food from the hotel when it’s ready.”
“I see senility is dulling your brain. A very special friend, indeed! Is he now calling the toy boy his very special friend? How can you allow such muck into the house and wanting to feed them the best food? How can you condone such behaviour in your own home? Don’t count on me to sit at the same dinner table with them. I’ll not allow Xiang Jie to appear at dinner too. My son is still an innocent!”
“Good. If you don’t want to sit at the table, you can stick around on the side and serve us like a servant.”
“Xiang Jie’s Father, how can you talk such rubbish and treat your wife with such disrespect?”
“Look, old lady. I’m sick and tired of your vile tongue. I haven’t seen this son for 16 years, not since the day he walked out of this house to return to England after his mother’s funeral. I’m not going to let anybody spoil our little reunion. If you say or do anything to upset Xiang Zhe or his friend tonight, I promise you, you’ll end up being an ex-wife tomorrow. And, Xiang Jie is a big boy now. Let him make his own decision. If you say anything to him and he doesn’t appear at the dinner table tonight, I’ll disinherit him too. Now, make a move and go order the food.”
Mrs. Yin Senior rolled up her eyes at her husband’s threats and threw up her arms in disgust. Her mouth, in an ugly curl, silently cursed Yin Senior, Xiang Zhe and that disgusting toy boy, wishing all three of them would soon be burnt to death in hell’s fiery cauldron.
When 8 o’clock was approaching, Yin Senior could hardly stay still as if ants were biting at him in his pants. He began to feel his tie was too tight around his neck, yet he didn’t dare loosen it, wanting to make a good impression on Xiang Zhe and his very special friend. At that point, he heard voices in the entrance hall – that of Xiang Jie, someone sounding very much like Xiang Zhe and a girl’s sweet greeting.
Before he could make his way out to the entrance hall, Xiang Jie appeared, leading his elder brother by the hand, and Xiang Zhe himself holding on to the hand a very pretty, sweet-looking girl with his other hand.
“Shan Mei, please meet my father.”
Shan Mei bowed her head low in a respectful bow reserved for revered elders. “How do you do, Mr. Yin?” she asked shyly.
“Father, this is Zhen Shan Mei, my fiancée.”
Ho-ho-ho! Yin Senior laughed away like jolly, old Santa Claus, pleased as Punch, as he tried to take in the word ‘fiancee’ and studying the girl carefully. Definitely a good match, he patted his middle proudly, then threw a challenging smirk at his wife that read, “Did you say toy boy?”
“Shan Mei, this is my step-mother. My younger brother Xiang Jie, you have already met?”
“Nice to meet you Mrs. Yin.” Shan Mei also gave her a respectful bow.
Yin Senior immediately chipped in. “Shan Mei, what’s this nonsense of Mr. Yin, Mrs. Yin? You are going to be Xiang Zhe’s wife soon, aren’t you? Go ahead, address us the same way that Xiang Zhe does – Father for me, and Auntie for her. Come, it’s late, you must be hungry. Let’s start on dinner.”
After they sat down around the dining table, to save Shan Mei from answering, Xiang Zhe confirmed that they were getting married soon; the wedding date had been set, exactly a month away. “We don’t want anything fancy, something small and simple for family members only.”
“You’re going to hold the wedding ceremony here of course, aren’t you? This is your home, after all,” Yin Senior exclaimed expectantly, looking forward with unbridled relish to be father-in-law.
Xiang Zhe looked a bit uneasy before replying. “We’ve decided to have the ceremony in Chung’an. Nanny is there and has insisted that she wants to be the one to arrange everything for the wedding. And I’ll be the one issuing the wedding invitations.” At this disclosure of information, the tension in the Yin’s dining room became so thick, Shan Mei was amazed that she could breathe the air. She glanced around at the blank faces around the table.
Xiang Zhe’s father was not pleased at all with this news. He sat at the head of the table like a reigning monarch suddenly gone quiet, watching the young warrior who would replace him some day. His grip on the arms of his dining chair betrayed his tension. The stepmother, her mouth pinched in a disapproving line, sat primly by Yin Senior’s side at the table, her expression somehow betraying a fleeting gloat that Xiang Zhe was not going to hold the wedding function in Seoul.
Mrs. Yin Senior was jealous that Xiang Zhe had brought such a pretty girl home and the old man spilling over with undisguised joy and pride. She, who had earlier eyed enviously at the beautiful diamond ring on Shan Mei’s engagement finger, found her opportunity for a malignant remark. “Chung’an? Xiang Zhe, didn’t you send a young, handsome friend down to stay at your Chung’an family house a week or so back? Shan Mei, do you know this man friend who is supposedly very close to your future husband?”
Shan Mei smiled politely and answered softly. “Auntie, you must mean Tut? He’s not only a very close friend; Xiang Zhe and I look upon him as our brother since he’s alone. We were so lucky that he decided to come to Chung’an and help us with the farms.”
Yin Senior darted a warning look towards his wife, before he asked as if he had not heard right. “Farms?” He turned to look at his elder son and asked, “Xiang Zhe, why are you bothering with farms when Wen Rong owns several mines that are in dire need of proper management? Come and see me tomorrow morning at the office.”
“Father, it’s been decided already since we’re going to settle down in Chung’an. Shan Mei has done some research and thinks that going into organic farming will be challenging and very rewarding. This is something new in Korea. Many of the organic vegetables and fruits presently available in the large supermarkets are imported. I want to be actively involved in this new venture. I’ll leave the mine management to Xiang Jie.” As he said that, Xiang Zhe turned to his younger brother and gave him an encouraging pat on his back.
“Jie-Jie is still at university and it will be 2 or 3 years before he joins the company. I’m not asking you to look into all the mines. At least you should spare time for the cluster of 5 Wen Rong mines in Namyang. You should have returned home to manage them ten years ago.”
“Something wrong with Uncle Hong?”
“Hong has been working at the mines for Wen Rong for fifty years. He spent 40 of the 50 years overseeing the operation. Last week when he was up here he told me he’s very tired and wants time off to enjoy whatever time he has left of his life. Since you’re going to live in Chung’an, maybe you can organize your time so that you can spend a few hours a week helping Hong with some management work. Sooner or later, he’ll want to retire. He’s only sticking around because of his loyalty to your grandfather. Don’t forget, he’s almost 70!”
“I’ll drop by and see Uncle Hong one of these days, and see who can help offload some of the work from him. At the present moment, I have other more pressing matters to take care of.”
When Xiang Zhe wouldn’t budge in his decision, Yin Senior tried working on Shan Mei’s soft and sweet nature. “Shan Mei, what do your parents say about you moving down to Chung’an?”
Shan Mei lips began to quiver and looked about to cry, thinking five nights back. Her mind flashed to the night Xiang Zhe was at her home to ask Zhen Senior for her hand in marriage. With all obstacles wiped away, Zhen Senior knew he had no reason to object, yet he was reluctant to give his okay. He couldn’t bear to see his precious daughter move away from home and go live under the protection of another man when Xiang Zhe confirmed that they would make Chung’an their home. Shan Mei had agonised over the move to Chung’an. She had voiced her concern to Xiang Zhe. “When I leave this house, my Pa will feel abandoned.” When Xiang Zhe heard that, he said nothing; he only held on tightly to her, trying to calm her anguish.
Shan Mei’s ire disintegrated in the face of her father’s obvious anguish. Loving your daughter and wanting to protect her from hurt is understandable, she allowed. She had taken her father’s trembling hands into her own, as she dimpled sweetly, “Pa, I’m far tougher than you realize. While you weren’t looking, your spoiled little girl had grown up. All I want now is to be with the man I love.” Her eyes went bright with tears as she offered her father a watery smile. “And wherever we live, we’ll visit with you often. If you like, you can come and live with us.”
“But what will I do?”
“Don’t worry Pa. I’m sure Xiang Zhe will think of something, as long as you don’t object to our marriage.” Shan Mei then turned to Xiang Zhe with a cajoling expression and asked, “Isn’t this right, Xiang Zhe?”
“Yes, of course,” Xiang Zhe said. Then his mouth curved slightly. “Uncle Zhen, if you don’t like to work with us and would rather continue with your teaching, I can put in a word with the principal of Namyang High School. I’m sure he would be delighted to have someone of your qualifications and experience on his teaching staff. Of course, you understand that Namyang High is a rank below Youido Senior High.”
==
In the midst of his family, Shan Mei could feel the possessive and protective air that Xiang Zhe flung around her like an invisible cloak. He took it upon himself to answer his father’s question on behalf of Shan Mei. “Father, Shan Mei has only one parent living – her father. He’s currently teaching at Youido No. 1 Senior High School. I’ve managed to convince him to relocate to Chung’an. Just this morning, Namyang High School confirmed his appointment as their new Maths teacher starting from next term. Those kids at Namyang are in luck. Uncle Zhen is a terrific guy and a most patient teacher. I’m sure you’ll get along wonderfully with him.”
“In that case, when do I get to meet Shan Mei’s father?” Yin Senior asked, full of eagerness.
“This Sunday if you’re free. We can meet here for brunch, then drive down to Chung’an together. You’ll get to meet Tut as well. I’ll ask Nanny to prepare an early dinner. We can be back in Seoul by 9 the same evening.”
Xiang Jie gave a resounding yelp. “Sounds good to me. And I’ll get to see Tut again. He’s a swell guy. We talked as recently as 2 nights ago. He can manage some rudimentary Korean already. We’re helping one another over the phone – he helps me with my English and I help him with his Korean!”
Dinner continued after that in a more agreeable mood. Xiang Zhe’s stepmother had stopped talking in veiled taunts because Yin Senior gave her no chance to participate in the conversation.
==
That night when Shan Mei drove her car out of the Yin’s driveway and onto the main road, Xiang Zhe said, “Shan Mei, please don’t send me home just yet. Let’s stop by the nearby Samneung Park. I need some fresh air and quietness.” Xiang Zhe looked at Shan Mei; he was smiling but his eyes were begging for understanding.
They wound down the car windows, lowered the car seats a little backwards, leaned back and relaxed, enjoying the peace and serenity of the surrounding vastness of the park.
“He loves me,” she said to herself dreamily, not realizing she had whispered the thought aloud as she turned her head to look up at the distant stars through the car window.
“Yes,” Xiang Zhe, resting quietly in the seat beside her, said softly. “Of course I love you.”
She glanced back at him over her shoulder. “Did I say it aloud? I’m sorry I intruded into your private thoughts.” She turned fully around and faced Xiang Zhe. “I still cannot believe you resigned from Interpol because of me. You truly love me?”
He straightened and palmed Shan Mei’s chin. “I’ve never loved anybody like I love you.”
Shan Mei’s breath caught in her throat. She was drowning in his eyes. “Do you really, really love me?”
“Of course, I do. How many times do you need convincing? Why else would I want to marry you?” Xiang Zhe’s voice was trembling as he finished, “I love you, Shan Mei; and – not out of gratitude for saving my life as you might be thinking. It began the first time I saw you – you came dressed in that sexy kitty kat costume serving me my Jack Daniels with a wiggle and a beguiling smile. Then the way that club manager was leering at you made want to protect you. Oh yes, I love you and I’m going to keep loving you for the rest of my life.”
Half an hour later with Shan Mei still securely cocooned in his arms, Xiang Zhe suddenly turned to her, his hold tightened a fraction as he said quietly, “I hated him.” After a pause lasting a minute or so, he bit out with bitterness, “I hated him more than anything or anyone in my entire life. And my mother who used to think I was the most wonderful son ever neglected me when my father left home. Neglected and ignored the existence of a 15-year-old boy – her own son – because she simply couldn’t face life by herself, making her own decisions, never again having my father tell her what to do. She simply wasted away, forgetting I was there, needing her.” His voice sounded faded, as if he was seeing himself in the past, seeing everything through a child’s eyes.
His eyes met hers. She realized that, for the first time since she had met him about seven months ago, he was allowing her to catch more than a fleeting glimpse of what lay beneath the surface. What she saw was daunting. She wanted to weep for the pain he’d endured from these two people who were his parents—who should have loved him and nurtured him, but hadn’t really.
For some reason, she couldn’t bear seeing Xiang Zhe hurt. She had heard that a woman’s first love was always special to her. That must be the reason she felt his pain almost as deeply as he. She understood – he had fought those youthful, emotional battles with the same relentlessly-focused anger and determination that he used to ferret out criminal intelligence.
Shan Mei smiled lovingly up at her betrothed. “Xiang Zhe, such tragedy through such unexpected circumstances! I cannot say I comprehend fully because I’ve never experienced it personally. Let it remain in the past where it belongs. You’re now free of it. Don’t be too hard on your father. Sometimes, we don’t think too logically when it comes to family relationships.”
She didn’t move when she felt his hand on her shoulder, gripping her tightly and gazed at her in wonder. “Why is it, Shan Mei, that all you have to do is look at me with those melting big, round eyes and I want to take you in my arms and forget all unhappiness? Darling, you don’t have to worry. I promise not to wallow in self pity anymore. We have now a whole new future to look forward to.” He pressed tightly against her, and laughed softly.
Shan Mei pulled away. “You’re positively sure Pa has agreed to move down to Chung’an? I can’t see how he could possibly move from Seoul. He’d be practically lost without Auntie Shu!”
“Darling, ask this Auntie Shu to move down as well. Nanny has asked a contractor to get the old stable and granary buildings at the back of the property rebuilt for habitation. It’s fairly large and the new building plans come with upstairs and downstairs. Tut is overseeing the renovation work.”
“Oh, Xiang Zhe, thank you so much for being always so understanding.”
“Don’t thank me. I only hope your Pa believes that I only want the best for you and will do anything within my power to make you happy.”
“Don’t worry. When he holds a little grandchild in his arms, he’ll soften. By the way, he’s partial to boys.”
“In that case, you’d better make sure your father’s grandson will be my little son, my dearest Shan Mei.” Seeing the promise of love in his eyes, every fibre of her body tensed, and at the same time, her heart was beating with sudden joy.
==
Back at the senior Yin’s residence, as they prepared for bed, Mrs. Yin Senior again began her abusive harangue of Xiang Zhe. “Old man, do you think there’s a reason for their hasty marriage?”
“Xiang Zhe is already 35 years old. Why wait if he is certain Shan Mei is the one he wants. He’s got great taste. The girl knows her place and when to keep quiet. I couldn’t have chosen a better girl for him.”
“She seemed like a sly one. I think she’s just putting on an act to impress you. I have a strong feeling that she’s not a proper girl, already sleeping with Xiang Zhe. They must have found out she’s pregnant, that’s why they’re rushing to get married. Yes, she’s not a virtuous girl at all.”
Yin Senior’s brows shot up in disdainful surprise. “Ho-ho-ho! What are you trying to tell me? That you’re a no-good type after all? Weren’t you sleeping with me when I was still married to Xiang Zhe’s mother, and when you became pregnant, I left her to be with you? Didn’t I say things coming out of your mouth are vile and thoughtless? Do you know what age we’re living in now? Cohabitation is nothing new. Nowadays the young people live together to see whether they can get along. Better than getting married then find out later they aren’t compatible, and head for the divorce courts. Anyway, I really hope Shan Mei’s already pregnant. If she presents me with a grandson, I’ll change my will to give the baby half my personal fortune.”
“You’re out of your mind, old man? What is my son going to get if you start giving your fortune away so freely? Jie is going to get married one day too and will present you with a grandchild.”
“After the nasty way you cursed Xiang Zhe about his depraved sexual preference, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the curse comes around and Jie-Jie is the one ending up with a boy. I’m not going to be judgmental on this.” Yin Senior infused his tone with a strong note of warning, but he got the distinct impression that his wife was not paying attention.
“It’s no idle talk on my part. Xiang Zhe hasn’t been home to see you all these years; then suddenly he shows up with a pregnant fiancée. You’re so senile you didn’t even see through their trick. They are after your money, old man, for sure.”
“What money? According to the Company’s Articles & Memorandums, the five mines that were handed down with Wen Rong cannot be sold and will eventually go to Xiang Zhe. The net income generated from their mining is now being distributed 50/50 between Xiang Zhe and me. In fact, after he turned 25, he was entitled to take over total control of the mines; everything would have belonged to him and I wouldn’t have been able to collect my 50% share of the income. Only the other mines that I’ve acquired later, outside of Wen Rong’s control, are my private assets. These six mines are going to be shared equally between my two sons when I retire. As luck would have it, my own six mines are not producing as well as Wen Rong’s five. And the title deeds to all that land in Namyang and Chung’an were automatically transferred from his mother’s name to Xiang Zhe when he turned 25 ten years ago! I doubt the boy is even aware he’s the biggest landowner in that part of the county! Yes, he definitely has lots more money, hard cash, than I – now, that’s a fact, you ignorant woman!!
“If he has that much money, why do you want to give them more? Giving half of your fortune to their son – this is ridiculous!!!” She’d put up her usual full volume argument. The louder she became, the more quiet he’d grown. A man just didn’t like to argue with a woman, especially a termagant like his wife. Especially when she flat out refused to listen to reason.
“The more you slander them, the more I’ll be giving to them. So, if you want to see Jie-Jie ending up with NO inheritance, go ahead and keep your vile tongue busy with slanderous chatter. Now, turn off the lights. I want to sleep. Your malicious talk has given me a terrible headache.”
As Shan Mei drove out of the CIB car park, then slowly down
the familiar wide driveway, Xiang Zhe sitting beside her in the passenger seat,
could feel her quiet wavering in leaving the building that had almost been a
second home to her. She had done spectacularly well here, so well that even
though she was required to submit a 3 month’s notice when she tendered in her
resignation, Madam KK – with tears rimming her eyes – waived the ruling aside
without monetary penalty from Shan Mei when she heard her favourite special
agent was going to leave the Force within a week, to prepare for her wedding in
a month’s time.
Xiang Zhe lifted his gaze from her face to the building behind her. “I guess
you’ll miss this place,” he said full of understanding.
She sighed. “Yes,” she admitted. She blinked back tears – tears of happiness
and nostalgia mixed together.
He covered a hand over hers that was gripping around the brake handle and said,
with all the sincerity he could muster, “Shan Mei, trust me. Everything is now
going up ahead for us because our love will never fail us. No more risk-taking,
except that one final task I told you I have to take care of for Lyon. I
promise you.” He leaned over and kissed her soundly on her lips.
When he released her lips, he gushed, “Emmm, that tasted good. Why don’t we
follow up with another good thing? Let’s go shop for a car!”
“What’s wrong with this car I’m driving right now?”
“Nothing wrong. Just give it to Tut so he can learn to drive around the
village. He’ll have lots of errands to run when we’re settled in at Chung’an. I’m
going to buy a bigger car for you. For myself, I’ll get a MPV. These two
vehicles should serve our purposes very nicely.”
He laughed when Shan Mei slanted a sidelong glance at him, chiding him for
being a spendthrift. “Come on, we’ll drop by a BMW showroom and get a car to
test-drive down to Chung’an and see how Tut and Uncle Joo Bong are coming along
with building the new house for your Pa.”
Two hours later, Xiang Zhe with Shan Mei in a BMW 530i, drove up toward a
construction site quite near to the main mansion of Bamboo Grove. Building
contractor, Kim Joo Bong, when he saw Xiang Zhe approaching, quickly abandoned
what he was doing and hurried up to him. “Mr. Yin, so good of you to drop by.
My workers have cleared out the stables and the connecting granary. The
foundation is still very solid. Surprisingly, the floor area is larger than I
first estimated. It’s close to 350 sq. meters. Master Tut here wants only 150
for himself, the remaining 200 will go to Mr. Zhen, with a connecting door
between the 2 houses.” He spread out the building plans and showed them to Mr.
Yin.
Xiang Zhe looked over the plans carefully. “Uncle Joo Bong, I suggest that you
build the fish pond in the garden first. I need to transfer the carps in our
present pond to this new pond as soon as possible. My order for special
Japanese koi breeds will be arriving in 2 weeks time.”
Xiang Zhe then walked to the slightly sloping edge of the property and found
Tut busy digging around some plants. “Hey Tut, what are you doing down there?”
“Oh, it’s you X-man! I’m trying to gather these and keep them in plastic bags,
until Uncle Joo Bong has the garden all planned. When Uncle Zhen was here 2
days ago, he said these plants were good remedy for sore throats and would be handy
to have around the garden. Once the picket fence for the garden is set up, I’ll
sort out the garden while Uncle Joo Bong and his workers concentrate on the
house. Have you seen the plans? The place is going to turn out looking good!”
By this time he was standing next to Xiang Zhe and showing him the plants.
Xiang Zhe twisted his mouth into a doting smile, ruffled Tut’s hair, and said, “Stop
monkeying around and go clean up and change into a pair of clean sneakers.
Tabby is waiting in a new car. We’re going to find a café or a noodle shop
somewhere around here for some snacks.”
“I know the exact place in Namyang that serves delicious noodles. The auntie
there also serves special stuffed rice cakes. Very yummy.”
Xiang Zhe quirked an eyebrow at him. “Is that so? Nanny’s daughter must have
highly recommended the place?”
“It’s true the food is really delicious! Eun-hye not only recommended it, she
took me there one morning,” Tut answered heatedly, suddenly covering his mouth
with a hand realizing that he had fallen victim to Xiang Zhe’s interrogation
tactic.
“Come,” he repeated, a wicked grin on his face. “We’re test-driving a new car.
If it’s any good, we’ll buy it, and let you have Tabby’s car. You can then
learn to drive yourself around the village and not rely solely on your Eun-hye
for transportation.”
==
The family members and guests attending the Yin wedding had long gone home –
Yin Senior family, Zhen Senior and Auntie Shu, Madam Kang Kee, Zhao Di and
Youzhen had returned to Seoul; Tut was temporarily staying with Nanny’s family,
so Xiang Zhe and Shan Mei could enjoy their honeymoon in total privacy in their
new home.
In the bridal chamber of their stately and elegantly furnished country mansion,
Xiang Zhe gazed adoringly, in fascination, at Shan Mei – now his wife –
remembering how she had looked earlier that day as she entered the crowded
village community hall. The slight hesitancy in her steps together with the shy
excitement in her big, dark eyes, had given her the aura of a fairy princess venturing
into a strange, new world. Her simple white lace and gossamer silk wedding gown
with silver and pearly trim had enhanced the effect. The entire town had turned
out in all its country finery for the wedding. There was no doubt that Chung’an
had put its seal of approval on the alliance. After the exchange of wedding
vows, the guests remained back to enjoy a buffet tea and refreshments, while
the main wedding party returned to Bamboo Grove to partake of a late afternoon
feast specially prepared and laid out in the private garden by Nanny and her
helpers.
Xiang Zhe dimmed the lights in the bedroom, then padded over to where his newly
wedded bride was and helped her undress slowly, worshipping her every
delightful revelation, chasing her shyness away with each intervening kiss.
Moments later, he helped her to help undress him, thrilling in her hesitation,
teaching her the delights of his own manly form!
Ever mindful that she was an innocent, he proceeded with nervous caution. In
all his life, he had never slept with a virgin. His women before were as
experienced as he was. He understood there was pain involved when a woman made
love for the first time, and the one thing that he didn’t want to do was hurt
Shan Mei. Her innocence had been something Xiang Zhe dreaded but now, when he
realized he was more in love than ever with Shan Mei, he wouldn’t have it any
other way – he was most honoured and thankful that he would be the one to
initiate her into the physical aspects of love.
Xiang Zhe cradled Shan Mei in his embrace. She was here, and she was finally
his. He’d lost count of the number of times he’d dreamed of holding her like
this, of making love to her. Slowly, as if testing her response, his mouth
closed over hers with tantalizing gentleness. Her heartbeat quickened as the
pressure of his lips increased and his mouth coaxed hers to open.
When they had both settled down on the bed, his eager hands were everywhere,
caressing and touching her body in ways that were new to her, seeming intent on
learning all its secret places until she felt his heart beating in rhythm with
her own. Her sweet awkward touches, her unschooled responses, the kisses she
spread more and more daringly over his body, were making a total wreck of him.
When his lips left hers, he whispered lovingly in her ear but she couldn’t
understand what he was saying. It didn’t matter because his hands were telling
her everything she needed to know, awakening a fire that she didn’t suspect had
been simmering within her.
He took her into his arms again, pulling her close against him. With a soft
groan, he settled his chest over her body, all softness and warmth. Desire
consumed them, spreading like wildfire through their veins, as Xiang Zhe, his
lips never leaving hers, bore her down against the pillows, wanting desperately
to draw upon every skill he possessed, wanting to give her such pleasure as no
woman had ever known.
Moaning low in her throat, Shan Mei felt delicious shudders quivering through
her as Xiang Zhe stimulated her with his lips and his hand, stroking her body
to fever pitch. In the moments of play, he taught her with mastered ease, how
to fondle and tease, how to touch and knead and thereby heighten her own
near-explosive yearnings and his. When Xiang Zhe claimed her, his hands slid
down to her hips, lifting her slightly and coaxing her body to move in tandem
with the burning heat of his own; she could feel the excitement and passion
racing through her body at the intimate contact with his. He met resistance. He
deepened their kiss, plunging his tongue into her mouth. At the same time he
penetrated her innocence in one shattering, sparkling moment.
Shan Mei felt a momentary pain. Xiang Zhe became still for a moment, allowing
her time to accommodate him. Her startled gasp shuddered into a moan of
pleasure as he began to move against her, slowly at first, then faster and
faster, introducing her to a world of passion that she had never before even
imagined. She wanted desperately to capture this strange, throbbing sensation
that was part pain, part pleasure – exquisite, unimaginable pleasure. Like a
wild bird, it came close, then soared off again. Close, and then away ….
Soon he was wild with hot desire, wanting more than he was giving. Flames
licked up from where their bodies joined to consume both their bodies and
minds. And then their height of desire exploded into mad, mindless, shimmering
bursts. And when it subsided, she heard her fading cries of pleasure still
echoing. Xiang Zhe’s arms tightened around her and he collapsed above her,
moaning her name, until they lay entwined, shuddering with ecstasy, enjoying
the joy of their mutual release.
The air seemed to leave him, whooshing out as his shoulders slumped. With a
choked sound he buried his face in the crook of her neck and let his tears
come, healing tears, cleansing tears, tears of such joy, they seemed to spill
from his heart in waves. Clenching his teeth in pain and wonder, Xiang Zhe
raised his head and caught her face between his hands. “Darling, I never ….never
knew before …..” He struggled to steady his voice. “I never knew what it was to
make LOVE ….until now. Shan Mei, don’t ever stop loving me.”
Shan Mei’s eyes brimmed with tears. “I’ll fill your life with love, Yin Xiang
Zhe. I’ll never fail you,” she vowed as she raised her glazed eyes to his, her
eyes sparkling with love through the tears.
Amazingly, he passed a trembling hand across his eyes to wipe at the saline
water around their rims. Shan Mei had surrendered herself totally to him with a
gentle, eager innocence that he would remember for the rest of his life. “Shan
Mei, my darling, what have I ever done to deserve you? You’re like no other
woman.” His mouth melted against the soft lips of his wife, the last wisps of
the needy-eyed child he had been, spinning into oblivion. She was his life, the
other part of him. He felt complete.
Long moments later, when the molten flame of passion had been quenched, they
drifted off to sleep. Usually, when he slept with a woman, she clung to him,
reluctant to let him go; but with Shan Mei, he was the one who needed to hold
her close. He nuzzled her neck and hugged her head against him. He ran his hand
down her front, to her waist, and over her hip. No woman had ever felt this
good. And this woman was now truly his wife. His breath hissed a ragged groan
as his eyes closed and sleep took over.
The next few nights passed in an idyllic haze and the sun at the centre of
Xiang Zhe’s universe was Shan Mei. He had to restrain himself from indulging
her too much, from reaching for her too often, from tumbling her too frequently
into their massive bed. And the nights became days, the days became weeks –
their loving ritual continued. They found such delight in one another’s body.
And some mornings, if it was early enough, if his touch was gentle, he could
get her to come back to their bed, even let him love her once more. Such
incredible bliss!
==
In the deep of a night exactly one month after their wedding day, Xiang Zhe,
his body still warm from their lovemaking a few hours earlier, stirred
languidly amid the rumpled sheets and reached out for Shan Mei. When his
groping hand encountered nothing but more sheets, he reluctantly opened his
eyes. He levered himself upright to a sitting position and tossed away the
covers and called to his wife. “Shan Mei, where are you?”
No answer.
Xiang Zhe was still wrapping the belt around his dark blue dressing gown when
he walked quickly out of the bedroom and down the stairs, his feet soundless in
his soft house sandals. Where the devil could she have gone?
He quietly looked into the library, the sitting room, the huge formal dining
room, the private courtyard. He paused, then padded back toward the private
dining room. He stopped when he saw a flicker of light coming from beneath the
kitchen door. Very quietly, he turned the knob and looked in. Shan Mei was bent
over a pot at the stove, busy concentrating on stirring it contents which
emitted a delicate, appetizing aroma.
He waited patiently until he saw her turn to a cabinet to open one of its doors,
then he sneaked up on her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Shan Mei,
darling, something smells good in here,” Xiang Zhe whispered behind her back.
Shan Mei turned around, startled. “Honey, what are you doing? Trying to scare
the living daylights out of me? This herbal porridge smells good, eh?”
“I don’t mean the porridge you’re cooking and why are you cooking at this hour
of the night?” And Xiang Zhe began nuzzling and sipping at her neck and her
ears. “Come back to bed, I was missing your warmth. Please, let me have one
more night of love before I leave tomorrow morning.”
Shan Mei had heard that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. She
had decided she would whip up something extra special for Xiang Zhe’s
breakfast, before he left for Europe later in the morning. Even though she was
not keen at all for Xiang Zhe to go take care of a final assignment for
Interpol, she wanted to ensure he was sent off with a nutritious meal!
“In a moment. I’m still thinking of your leaving tomorrow morning for some
destination that you are not at liberty to divulge, for two months. How can you
expect me to sleep? Do you blame me for wanting to know why you have to be away
that long? We’ve only been married a month. I’m going to miss you so terribly!”
He pulled her tighter into his arms and whispered into her ear. “I did ask for
this time before we married, didn’t I? It’s the final task I’ll be performing
for Interpol; after that, they’ll erase my name from their files. I hate to be
secretive with you, but it’s only for your safety that I have to keep all
details from you. Trust me, this time it won’t be dangerous – I just have to be
cautious. Come on, come back to bed, I need your warmth.”
Xiang Zhe had been involved with the Underground Railroad for five years and he
knew that above all else, anonymity must be maintained, for every time he
helped someone who had been exploited to escape, he risked life and family in
the process. Because of the monumental risk, absolute secrecy was vital. Hence,
participants in the Underground Railroad, rarely, if ever, revealed their
involvement to their families. He was no exception.
A year ago, when he was in one of his more benevolent moods, DCI Graves had
asked him to train a few more conductors for the Underground Railroad, he’d
accepted gladly. He had no way of knowing at the time that Shan Mei was going
to burst into his life, complicating it beyond all comprehension.
Xiang Zhe could see that her mouth was twisted into an uncompromising pout as
she set the cooker on Slow-Automatic. “Okay, okay.” Xiang Zhe gave in as he
nuzzled at her neck again. “Come back to bed and I’ll tell you a bit of what I’ll
be doing.”
Shan Mei turned around, and wrapping her arms around his waist, she gave her
husband a deep kiss. Xiang Zhe bubbled and bending down, he scooped his wife
into his arms and walked back up the stairs to their bedroom.
Xiang Zhe forced himself to sit calmly back against the pillows and gathered
her close. As he explained the situation to his wife, he stroked her slowly,
his hands gliding down her spine to the curve of her hips, letting himself
enjoy the warmth and the sensual curves of her body.
“I’m entrusting you with my life with what I’m going to tell you. This last
assignment for Interpol will involve taking six recruits, training them as
Conductors, along off-the-beaten-track escape routes to reach the safe houses
known as Stations. The people they will be helping to escape their ‘Egypt’ will
be known as ‘baggage’. In this vast Underground Railroad network, all
terminology used will be normal ‘railway/railroad’ language.
When the original American Underground Railroad was set up randomly in the 1800’s
to help black slaves escape from southern US to Canada in the north – the
so-called Promised Land – the southern states of America were known as Egypt,
and the black woman who started this escape route with her ‘baggage’ was
referred to as ‘Moses’. There are now many conductors volunteering for this
type of work in many parts of the world, helping to guide baggage to safety.
The head of a safe house is known as the Station Master. The people
contributing finance to keep the stations open are known as Stock-holders. See,
darling, I’m not helping a real baggage to escape, only leading a team of
volunteers recruited from within Interpol ranks, teaching them how to recognize
certain coded signs to reach a station or depot.”
Shan Mei asked, full of interest, “Were you conducting an escape route for some
baggage when you encountered that snow storm up at Mont Blanc?”
Xiang Zhe looked down at Shan Mei’s upturned face, and saw the dread in her
eyes. He cupped her head closer to his chest as he answered, “Yes.”
“Was Tut ever involved in any way with your Underground Railroad?”
Ahhh … another secret to be unraveled, he thought. “Yes,” he whispered slowly. “After
I befriended him, I recruited him as an Agent, someone who would convey
information to a Freight Forwarder of any exploited person wanting to escape.
Later on when he was more experienced he became a Freight Forwarder himself –
someone delivering the baggage to a Conductor. He was never a Conductor. For
his own safety, you now know why I have to bring him back here with me. Please
don’t let your Pa know that Tut was ever involved with Interpol otherwise he
would he have a fit.”
Anxiety made Shan Mei’s fingers trembled as she touched Xiang Zhe’s arm. She
looked at him again, silently entreating him to be cautious. He patted her hand
absently, nodded his head and hugged her tightly within his embrace as he
planted a searing, hungry kiss on her lips.
“Shan Mei, I’m getting hungry for you again.” Xiang Zhe whispered tenderly to
her. “Don’t worry about Tut. As long as he stays within the village, he’ll be
safe. If you want to worry, darling, worry about me.”
But Shan Mei wouldn’t give up her on her worrying questions. “Are …are you
going to be in any danger at all?”
“Don’t worry, darling. I’m not going to let anything happen to me. I have now
so much to live for.”
“Do you ….do you promise to take care?”
“I promise,” he said solemnly. “You will not rid yourself of me so easily, my
darling.”
She loved his courage and his commitment to what he believed in. She raised her
head. “Yes, I understand the importance of this mission. Return to Lyon if you
must,” she whispered bravely into his chest, her words sounding loud and
encouraging in the quiet of the room.
Relief soared through him. She was finally going to accept the inevitable after
all. Tenderly his arms once more encircled her, holding her against the hard
strength of him as she giggled at his ardour. “I won’t let this night end,” he
vowed huskily against her forehead, then began to kiss and caress her until she
felt the familiar warming tingle from her loins.
She circled her arms around his waist pulling him closer to her and she sighed,
“Xiang Zhe, I do love you so much.” Running a finger tenderly along his brows,
she added, “Please be careful wherever you are going to and doing whatever you
have to do.”
After their loving, she knew he lay awake for a long time while he held her in
the darkness. She knew it because she was unable to sleep for a long time
herself. The question of whether or not she had done the right thing by letting
her husband go off for two months spun endlessly in her mind. It was nearly
dawn but Xiang Zhe was far from sleep. Shan Mei’s slender, warm body was
snuggled against him and he could still smell the scent of her mingled with the
odors of their recent lovemaking. He watched her sleeping form in the shadows
as he carefully gathered her tighter to him. Without waking, Shan Mei burrowed
closer against him as if she had slept in his arms for years. A few minutes
later, he too fell asleep.
==
Zhen Senior had, two weeks ago, moved into his new house standing on the fringe
of Bamboo Grove’s estate grounds. He was now impatiently pacing the floor of
his living room. Tut and Shan Mei were seated at the dinner table wondering how
to calm the man.
“Where’s Xiang Zhe?” Zhen Senior demanded to know.
“I don’t know,” Shan Mei stifled a sob with the back of her hand.
“I knew something like this was going to happen. A happily married man just
doesn’t disappear only one month after his wedding. Are you sure there’s
something you’re not telling me? He hasn’t abandoned you and gone back to his
old ways, has he?” Tut, at the other end of the room, smiled grimly when he
heard this.
“I’ve not been abandoned, Pa. My husband is away on a job helping some friends
in trouble. I just don’t know where. He’ll be coming home soon.”
The memory of their last conversation about the Underground Railroad still
rankled. She did not savour the notion of Xiang Zhe taking grave risks.
“If that’s the case, why are you looking so woeful?”
“I’m missing him, missing his wise counsel on our organic farming project. I
also need him to know what we have decided to do with Tut and his advice on how
to go about it.”
“That man! Just upped and disappeared! No sense of responsibility at all,” Zhen
Senior muttered, as he slumped into the depths of his big armchair, shaking his
head in disgust and looking glum, one hand – fingers outstretched – flying
around in the air.
He turned and gave Shan Mei another impatient look. “How are we going to
prepare the official papers for Tut? How are we going to explain why Tut holds
a French passport? I don’t understand this set-up at all. How can a shoeshine
boy hold a French passport?” Feeling more frustrated than ever, because his
every question remained unanswered, Zhen Senior turned around and asked no one
in particular, “Yin Xiang Zhe, where are you hiding? Are you like your father,
having a wife at home and keeping a mistress on the side? Shan Mei, you mark my
words, the men from this Yin family cannot be trusted.”
“Pa, Xiang Zhe is your son-in-law. How can you say such things about him? You
can criticize his father, but I won’t allow you to say or think bad of my
husband. He’s a wonderful, wonderful man.”
“It seems your loyalty now goes first to that absent husband of yours. Your Pa
will only get what is left over.” He turned to confront his daughter.
“Pa, what you just said is so unfair. It is not a question of loyalty. I know
only he can sort out the paper mess that Tut is in. Trust Xiang Zhe, he’ll take
care of everything as soon as he’s back.”
“If he comes back,” Zhen Senior huffed with impatience as he threaded his
fingers through his hair.
“Pa! I’m not going to stay around and hear you make degrading remarks about my
husband. Good night!” With that, Shan Mei stormed out of the house and made her
way back to Bamboo Grove, a 5-minutes walk up the hill, trying to brush away
the hot tears that were welling up in her eyes.
==
A week later, Shan Mei returned home one afternoon to find her husband on a
step halfway up the stairs to their bedroom. Seeing him, after an absence of two
months and 4 days, sent a bold rush of excitement through her. It ignited the
memory of them loving each other, on another afternoon – in the afternoon
square of sunshine from the landing window, on the polished floorboards of the
stairwell. She wondered if their baby was conceived then, a gift of the sun and
the love this wonderful man bore her.
Shan Mei placed her basket of freshly-cut vegetables down silently on the tiled
floor and quickly climbed to his side. She hurled herself straight into his arms.
He caught her close. He crushed his wife against him and buried his lips in her
hair. He held her so tightly she could not breathe, but she didn’t mind in the
least. When she finally struggled free of her husband’s arms, she looked up to
him, her face aglow with love and happiness.
“Husband, why didn’t you let me know you were returning home today?” she
reprimanded teasingly.
Xiang Zhe, smiling like a boy who had been caught doing something naughty,
answered, “Wanted to surprise you.”
He pulled her up the remaining steps, then sitting on the top step, he drew her
tightly into his embrace, first kissing her temple, then slowly worked his lips
over her cheek and then to her mouth, whispering words of love.
Suddenly, she was so overcome with happiness and relief, she began crying.
Xiang Zhe was back, safe and sound, in their midst.
Instantly, he took her in his arms again and pulled her against him. He lifted
her face gently so he could look into her eyes. His brows drew into a frown as
he studied her face. He wiped the tears away with his palm and, when he spoke,
his voice was incredibly gentle.
“Shan Mei, what’s the matter? Have I done something wrong?”
She smiled through her tears. “You’ve done something very right. We have.” Her
cheeks dimpled.
“Have we?”
“Yes. We’re going to have a baby!”
At her words, the most peculiar jolt of exultation roared through Xiang Zhe. He
caught her hands and pressed the palms, one after the other, to his mouth, his
eyes closing as he kissed the soft flesh hungrily.
His hands freed hers and with a hand, he moved lightly, reverently over the
soft swell of her stomach. “How far along? Does he move yet?” he whispered.
She smiled shyly. “It’s too soon. The doctor says I’m 9 weeks pregnant.
His loving hands drew her against him. He enfolded her; his arms cradled her,
his mouth searched urgently for hers.
“I need you,” he whispered unsteadily. ‘I miss you, miss you, so much. You have
no idea just how much!”
He rocked her against the hardness of his body, and she went weak-kneed with
hunger for him.
“I can’t wait,” he bit off, lifting her toward their bedroom. “I’m sorry,
darling, I can’t wait another second.” Once in the bedroom, very quickly he
removed her clothes, his clothes.
“It’s alright,” she whispered back, arching her back as his lips found her
breasts and worshipped their curves, slid down to her satin-smooth stomach. He
laid her down on the bed and her arms pulled him over her.
“The baby,” he whispered protectively, hesitating.
“Just don’t be too rough, husband,” she whispered. Her fingers touched his
chest, his waistline, his hips.
“Shan Mei,” he groaned and found her lips with his. “You have beautiful skin.
Soft and delicate and made to be touched,” he continued in a caressing whisper.
His hands went under her. “Move with me,” he breathed, bending to her mouth
again. “Yes, oh yes …….Shan Mei, Shan Mei, I love you, I love you ……!”
They grew frantic with need. They had been denied for so long, for too long.
Then he pushed himself further into her depths, as he had dreamed of doing
every night since he was away in Europe leading a group of six conductors
through to the various UR Stations. His thrusts were fast and sure, his
breathing rapid and laboured. Shan Mei arched to meet him and Xiang Zhe
murmured words of love in French, in English, in Korean, in whatever language
that gripped his mind during their coupling. Shan Mei gasped his name over and
over as ripple after ripple of passion took them up to the heavens and back.
==
A long arm caught her fiercely to his side in a firm embrace as her breathing
steadied and she lay quivering and satisfied against him.
“Darling, did you drop by your father’s place to let him you were back? While
you were away, he had telephoned a few times, wanting us to visit with him for
a couple of days,” Shan Mei said as she twisted her fingers through his crisp
hair – hair that she had missed messing with.
“No, I rushed home as soon as I landed in Seoul. I thought you might
need some comforting,” he whispered suggestively. Then he took her into his
arms and kissed her as he had done a thousand times. At that time, Xiang Zhe
thought married life was simply wonderful.
Momentarily he relaxed against Shan Mei and flattened his hand on her soft,
warm stomach. Then he hooked a finger under her chin, and tilted her head back.
Her scent, like sun-warmed roses, filled his nostrils and he was aroused again.
With a luxuriant slowness, so very different from the frantic coupling which
they’d demanded earlier, he moved over her and buried himself in her. This
time, each held back, savouring the touching, the kissing, the exploring,
heightening the peak of desire which catapulted them, finally, through an
ecstasy-driven explosion of oblivion. Bodies entwined, they lay at last on the
verge of a drugged sleep amid the warm afternoon air. Suddenly, roughly, he
pulled Shan Mei against his bare chest and hungrily plundered her mouth.
“You amaze me, darling,” Xiang Zhe whispered in wonder and with utter devotion.
She nestled her head on his shoulder and drowsily answered. “In what way?”
“Each time I take you, it’s better than before. If I could, I would spend my
life time in bed with you, making love.”
A soft laugh gurgled through Shan Mei. When she kissed her husband on his
chest, she drawled, “Okay, let’s sleep a little while, then. When you are fully
rested, there are a few things that need your attention.”
As Xiang Zhe spooned his shape behind Shan Mei and his arms went round her
waist, he asked sleepily, “What about?”
“It’s about Tut,” she said, her laughter draining away quickly, and she sounded
serious.
Xiang Zhe immediately became wide awake. He levered himself up on an elbow and asked in a guarded tone, “What about Tut?”, trying to work an answer out of Shan Mei’s inscrutable face. He had always worried that someone might recognize Tut even though he was tucked away in a small, out-of-the-way town like Chung’an.
“Auntie Shu is selling her half share in the Seoul mini market. She wants to move down here to go j-v with Nanny on growing mushrooms and making their special kimchi for our new business project. Doesn’t it make sense that she lives with Pa seeing his place has 4 bedrooms? Auntie Shu refused.”
“Don’t try to convince me. Just tell me what your Pa has decided to do.”
“Pa doesn’t feel that was a good arrangement too, seeing Auntie Shu isn’t his blood sister. We three women then worked out another plan. Maybe Tut could move in with Pa, and Auntie moves into Tut’s present place.”
At this point Shan Mei paused, hoping Xiang Zhe would offer some sort of suggestion. He kept quiet and waited for her to continue.
“Seeing Pa was suddenly so careful about old-fashioned proprieties, I discussed the matter with Pa and Tut, outlining the new plan we had come up with,” Shan Mei said, making sure Xiang Zhe knew it wasn’t her doing alone, “and they agreed almost immediately to the plan. Auntie Shu was so happy that she insisted I take her to a goldsmith so she could buy a gold chain for Tut.”
“And that’s all?” he asked, his voice filled with relief, his muscles relaxing.
Shan Mei nodded and smiled, a dimple appearing. “Since Pa and Tut get along so well, I only suggested the obvious. Tut idolizes Pa. And Pa adores and depends heavily on Tut. Pa has said time and time again that he doesn’t know what he’d do without him.”
“So you told your Pa to marry Tut? Is that the plan?” A rumble of laughter sounded low in his throat.
Shan Mei grabbed a pillow and threw it at Xiang Zhe and his wicked grin. For good measure, she began pummeling him unmercifully with it, before saying, “I suggested he legally adopt Tut since he has always wanted a son. And Tut has always wanted a real family of his own. They’ve grown very fond of each other. It only makes sense.”
“You think it will work?”
“Don’t you?”
“Yes. It sounds like the perfect solution.”
Shan Mei landed in Xiang Zhe’s lap to collect her congratulation kiss. He gave her a dozen more for good measure.
“Now that the matter of Tut is taken care of, what plans do you have for me?” Xiang Zhe gleefully asked.
“I suggest you help Pa think of a name for your soon-to-be brother-in-law.”
“And before that?”
“I suggest you make love to your wife again so she knows for sure her husband is back in her arms and in their bed!”
Xiang Zhe laughed with overflowing pleasure as he eased his wife once more onto her back and came down on top of her.
==
That evening they walked over to Pa’s place and he immediately launched into a monologue of what he wanted. He wanted to adopt Tut and he wanted the adoption ceremony to take place without delay!
Xiang Zhe’s smile met Shan Mei’s eyes across the room. His quiet smile was slow and satisfied. Not unlike the way he smiled when he made love to her, she thought.
“Pa, this is a most wonderful idea! Tut has always wanted to belong to a real family.” Xiang Zhe then pacified his father-in-law’s impatient mood with suggestions of names, where to hold the adoption party and whether the entire family should fly off somewhere for a holiday so that Tut could use the new passport bearing his new adoptive name. Zhen Senior soon forgot his previous complaints of Xiang Zhe; instead he told Shan Mei that she was right. Xiang Zhe did indeed possess wise counsel and a solid brain.
Xiang Zhe turned to Tut and punched him lightly in his middle. “Take note, you rascal, the name of X-man must never again be mentioned, do you understand? From now onwards, ‘Brother-in-law’ from you, you hear?” Xiang Zhe said with mock authority, his eyes laughing.
==
Two weeks after Xiang Zhe’s return, he and Shan Mei welcomed to Chung’an Mr. Takaro who owned one of the most successful mushroom farms in Japan. He had agreed a month ago, when Shan Mei contacted him through the internet, to help them set up a mushroom growing facility for special Japanese mushrooms. Initially, the spawns would come from his farm in Japan. Tut, together with some students from the Namyang High School who wanted part time jobs, would take care of this facility for the aunties who would concentrate on making mushroom kimchi.
The Yin couple then spent the following weeks moving around the village doing product evaluation. They were at Auntie Ji-won’s house, checking her kitchen where she produced her herbal vinegar, a popular item among the locals.
“Auntie Ji-won, once we launch our web site, your product will be going national, with potential of going international. So your kitchen will have to be kept immaculately clean according the guidelines set out by the Health Ministry. We intend to build you a brand new kitchen with production, packing and storage facilities. My wife will work with you on this.”
Auntie Ji-won on hearing this became too emotional to respond intelligently.
Xiang Zhe held out a bottle of the herbal vinegar and made some comments about the packaging, citing that packaging with a key selling point was everything nowadays if they wanted to reach a wider market.
“It is?” croaked Auntie Ji-won in awe, seeing no one had ever shown that much interest in her product.
“Right. People will buy anything if it’s packaged well and marketed as a health product. You’ll need more interesting bottles, attractive labels, and a brand name. Something simple like ‘Auntie Ji-won’s Herbal Vinegar’ with a clever slogan. This is easy since all our Chung’an’s products will carry our ‘organic’ and ‘pesticide-free’ slogan.”
Xiang Zhe turned around to his wife and said, “Shan Mei, can you check with Nanny and see how much land we can spare near Auntie Ji-won’s place to set up a production kitchen for the herbal vinegar? Get Uncle Joo Bong working on the construction right away, okay?”
Shan Mei gave a gentle nod of her head, and directed her husband a loving smile, as she made some notations on her note pad.
==
The next day, they visited Ahn’s soju distillery. The sweet, clinging aroma of sweet potatoes filled the small distillery behind Uncle Ahn Seong-min’s house. Xiang Zhe and Shan Mei watched with interest as Uncle Seong-min checked his vats. A new batch of his soju was being readied for bottling.
“My special Summer brew,” Ahn Seong-min explained, peering at a dial. I only make this once a year, one special batch for each season.”
“I see,” Xiang Zhe said.
“Got to keep a close eye on things at this stage.” Ahn Seong-min then made a small adjustment to one of his instruments. “Timing and precision is everything in soju.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Xiang Zhe braced one hand against the wall as he looked at the proceedings with fascination.
When Ahn Seong-min had all his dials adjusted, he turned to Xiang Zhe and Shan Mei and led them out of his small distillery and into the living room of his humble home.
“Uncle Seong-min,” Xiang Zhe began, “we want to include your soju on our web site product list.”
“Good,” Ahn Seong-min answered, a wide grin on his face.
“In order to make the soju production viable, I would like to reorganize the whole structure. Are you willing to move forward with us?”
“Master Xiang Zhe, I’m a simple man running a simple and small operation here. I know you’re trying to improve our standard of living, introducing all this high tech stuff to the villagers. We trust you. Just tell me what has to be done, I’ll go along with your ideas.”
Xiang Zhe placed a hand on Ahn Seong-min’s shoulder, gave him a gentle knead and said, “Thank you Uncle Seong-min. Firstly, all the sweet potatoes coming in must be locally-grown first grade organic and pesticide-free roots. The product will go national, and definitely international as I intend to export it to Japan. What do you think of this brand name: Chung’an Soju. The slogan to be: Distilled the traditional way from 100% organically-grown sweet potatoes. I see a lot of potential because consumers could use this soju, instead of vodka, as the base for cocktail mixing.”
Sitting beside Xiang Zhe and listening to his marketing plans, Ahn Seong-min was beginning to grasp the scope of this idea of sales through the Internet. He looked at the young man so full of enthusiasm for the business.
“Yes, Chung’an Soju will make a good name. But, Master Xiang Zhe, you have seen the modest set up I have here.”
“Uncle Seong-min, you don’t have to worry. We want to make it big. We will build you a new production factory with modern facilities, bearing in mind you’ll still be distilling soju using the original, traditional Mongolian way. Uncle Joo Bong will be in touch with you to work out a factory design according to your requirements. For your information, more than 3 billion bottles of soju were sold in Korea last year. When our factory, running at full capacity, can produce 10 million bottles a month, I’ll be more than happy. Uncle Seong-min, I know you can do it. 10 million bottles a month work out to 120 million a year, not even 5% share of the total soju market.”
The figures mentioned by Xiang Zhe appeared mind-boggling to Ahn Seong-min when he had been producing only about 5,000 bottles a month in his little distillery, on his own. “Master Xiang Zhe, I am grateful for your confidence in me. I will do everything within my power to ensure the venture is a success.”
Xiang Zhe looked satisfied and laughed happily. “Uncle Seong-min, I know you will do your best. This venture will open more job opportunities for the inhabitants around here. After all, everyone in Chung’an and Namyang is family.”
==
After Xiang Zhe had worked out a product list for the web site’s online shopping cart, he needed to arrange a place in Seoul where buyers could go and collect their orders. One morning Xiang Zhe and Shan Mei drove up to Wen Rong’s office in Seoul, to check out whether a part of it could be partitioned off as their organic food collection point. They brought along a case of Uncle Seong-min special Summer Brew soju, and several varieties of Nanny’s and Auntie Shu’s kimchi, prepared from organically-grown, pesticide-free vegetables and mushrooms.
Yin Senior was so happy to see them. The last time he saw them was at their wedding ceremony five months ago. Together with Wen Rong’s financial controller, Mr. Kim, the four of them went to lunch, taking with them Uncle Seong-min’s soju and Auntie Shu’s kimchi. At the end of the meal, both Yin Senior and Uncle Kim only had praises for the Chung’an products, declaring the ‘organic farming’ project would be an instant success when the web site was launched.
“Son, don’t worry about space in the office. I’ll have the interior designer come into the office tomorrow morning and partition off a sizeable frontage, prominently displaying your organic products. Old Kim here will have one of his girls handle the orders and your buyers. Is everything running smoothly at Chung’an?”
“Yes, Father. My major concern, in fact, is to find ways to stabilize and control the growth of the business, especially the soju. Uncle Seong-min has been distilling about 5,000 bottles a month. Now, to suddenly ask him to handle production for 50,000 bottles a month can be quite daunting, but he’s training a good team. The new distillery will be operative in stages.”
“Only 50,000 bottles to start with? Just the people from our mines, our associated companies and the restaurants we enjoy good relations with will need more than 50,000 bottles a month. I think you need to get Ahn to plan a bigger production; at least 100,000 bottles to start with.” Mr. Kim nodded his head, totally agreeing with what Yin Senior had just expounded.
Before they left Seoul for home, Yin Senior took out of his breast pocket a piece of very old, very heavy jade. “Shan Mei, wear this jade. It ensures you will carry the baby safely to its full term. Remember, this baby is very important to us. I don’t want anything to happen to it.” As he said that, he gently patted Shan Mei’s stomach, now showing a slight baby bump.
Yin Senior turned to Xiang Zhe and asked, “How many more months do we have to wait?”
“Five. Father, please don’t be in such a hurry. You’re making me nervous. Nanny’s constant clucking around Shan Mei is bad enough.”
Yin Senior and FC Kim threw back their heads and laughed. “Wait till you hold the baby in your arms. You would wish then that he has appeared sooner. Xiang Zhe, are you working on names yet?”
Shan Mei, seeing the anticipated pleasure in her father-in-law’s face, gave Xiang Zhe’s hand a gentle squeeze. He got her silent message. “Well, we have discussed it and thought Yin Wen Rong for the boy would sound right. Father, if you have the time maybe you’ll like to work out some names for a girl.”
Yin Senior immediately injected new life into the conversation when he spoke of his impressive library of books on flowers. Yes, he was going to source out the most beautiful, flowery name for his grand daughter.
Before they left the restaurant, Xiang Zhe invited his father for a visit to Chung’an. “Shan Mei’s father is now breeding his special blue coloured koi quite successfully. He now has 5 perfect white-blue ones. Taking that as a good omen, he’s positively sure Shan Mei will give birth to a boy.”
Yin Senior was very excited with this news. But since he had been given the honour to select a name for a baby girl, he wanted a granddaughter too. “Xiang Zhe, tell your father-in-law that when I come down to Chung’an in a month’s time, I’ll bring a pair of red/pink coloured Japanese koi and we’ll have a challenge – boy vs. girl.” Ho-ho-ho.
When Xiang Zhe and Shan Mei were back in their MPV, they couldn’t stop laughing at his father’s expression. Xiang Zhe ribbed Shan Mei. “Now that he has been asked to select a name for a girl, I bet he’s no longer looking forward to a grandson. Can you imagine – red/pink Japanese koi? Your Pa will have a fit! So, darling, you’re happy there’s no more pressure on you to bear a son?” She nodded her head and leaned against his arm, blissfully unaware that her husband was thinking of the other grandfather who was ‘partial’ to boys.
Back at Chung’an, they drove through the community’s small business district on their way back to Bamboo Grove. Shan Mei noticed that a handful of men standing around a truck at the town’s only gas station were huddled together, deep in conversation. Wen Dong-wook, the owner of the station, spotted Xiang Zhe’s brand new navy coloured BMW MPV and waved a casual greeting. His companions turned to glance at the vehicle, the only one of its kind in Chung’an. Even from where she sat, Shan Mei could see the open speculation in their eyes. “The BMW van is drawing interested gazes,” she laughed softly to her husband.
“Of course our MPV is easily recognizable in such a small town,” Xiang Zhe said. He sounded completely unruffled by the attention. “Not like there’s a heck of a lot to do around here, apart from farming and the buzz that we are going to build a new distillery here for Uncle Seong-min. It’s almost like we’ve got a social obligation to bring a bit of excitement to this town.”
“Shouldn’t the people be thinking of clearing their land and growing sweet potatoes for a change? Uncle Seong-min will need a lot of potatoes to produce 100,000 bottles of soju a month for starters.”
“Maybe they are huddling around discussing ways to increase their earnings. We’ll be happy to pay top price for premium roots. If they are smart they should also be investigating what containers to supply to Auntie Ji-won to bottle her herbal vinegar. You think a local bottle manufacturing plant is feasible?”
Xiang Zhe turned and gave Shan Mei a lazy glance. “I think I’ll call a meeting one of these evenings for the inhabitants of this community to see how we can support one another as secondary suppliers. More business will move in, more jobs for the people here, a definite boost for the economy.” He flashed his wife a wide grin.
==
Xiang Zhe knew Shan Mei was smart. He could practically see her brain squirreling from one idea to another. Their fledging organic farming business took off successfully once Shan Mei had their online shopping website launched. Orders poured in from around the country, surprising even Shan Mei before their online shopping catalogue was barely completed. However, highly perishable items were only available at source of supply, or available for collection at the Organic Farm Collection Centre in Seoul.
Government had restrictions regarding sales of alcoholic beverages in the different regions. To bypass this law, Chung’an Soju was not sold over the counter; only through their online shopping. Several Chung’an soju recycle bins were set up around the city to collect the distinguished-looking blue bottles. This programme was very successful as recovery rate was almost 70% of all bottles sold. Chung’an Soju Distillery was soon the acknowledged leader in Recycled bottles and won many commendations in the media and government publications.
The Yins had been married almost ten months now and Xiang Zhe was so much in love with his wife that he had to pinch himself once in awhile to convince himself that this was real. Shan Mei had found a hundred ways to encourage him, lighten his load and he didn’t think he was thanking her nearly enough for her relentless help.
He walked out to the courtyard and found his wife bent over the koi pond, feeding the fish directly in the mouth when they swam up to her with their mouths hanging open.
“Darling, what are you doing? Didn’t I tell you to be a good girl and stay indoors? Your time is almost near. We can’t risk anything happening to you or the baby.”
“I thought you were supposed to be working in your office? What brought you out to the garden?”
“Kim Youzhen was just on the phone. Apparently, KK is quite taken in with our soju and has asked him to negotiate with us for supply at a good price. She wants to insist that all the cafeterias and canteens in the police stations carry only our stuff. What do you think, darling?”
“Do you think Uncle Seong-min can manage to meet their orders? We should be thinking of 200,000 bottles a month at least.”
“I’ll go down and see Uncle Seong-min about this later in the morning.”
“Husband, while you’re at it, maybe you can ask Uncle Seong-min whether it’s possible to produce a pure soju at 12% alcohol by volume. Our current Chung’an soju is 20% ABV. I was thinking of having a soju specially distilled for ladies, and bottled in pink bottles. When I worked at CIB, I could never join my friends in their drinking because I found the soju too strong. Many of my other female colleagues had the same complaint.”
His wife, Xiang Zhe realized, was quite possibly the most incredible woman he’d ever known. How odd that it had taken such a long time for him to find her – but he did. Xiang Zhe was proud of her, exceptionally proud, and he wanted her to know.
“What am I going to do with you and your ideas?” he whispered lovingly in her ear.
Her breath stopped for a moment, and she nestled against his chest. “What do you want to do with me?” The questioned slipped out in jest.
“This.”
At once he took her lips in a demanding kiss, taking care not to pull her too tight against his firm, hard body. Then his lips roved from her mouth up along her cheek to her temple, his hand roaming gently over her rounded stomach. “I’ve always maintained I’m afraid to pick through your mysterious thought processes. After I talk to Uncle Seong-min, I’ll call Youzhen back. We can let them have good credit terms and a 5% discount off our price, since we are reaping healthy profits from our exports to Japan. Soju specially bottled for ladies would definitely be an interesting item.”
==
Old-timers in the village still called the Yin’s residence Bamboo Grove, though anyone who had come to Chung’an within the past 7 years called it the (Organic Farm) Headquarters, the place where the three Yin kids played basketball with their friends, splashed at the creek or by the beach on summer days with their parents.
Their father, whose years after graduation from university until he resettled in Chung’an still remained a mystery. He and his wife now handled the organic farming business in a bigger office he had built on their private grounds, and several times a week he would be in the fields conferring with the growers or at the distillery checking on quality of the soju and holding meetings with Uncle Seong-min and Tut. Tut had transferred supervision of the mushroom farm to a team of graduate students from Namyang High.
No matter how busy Xiang Zhe was, he always made time for fishing with his boys, telling his wife who helped out at the organic farms and managed the Organic Farms online shopping website that he wanted to be a hands-on parent.
Xiang Zhe and Shan Mei were masters at convincing the local folks they had something to contribute. So convincingly that Chung’an had become well known for its top quality sweet potatoes. A recyclable bottle manufacturing plant was set up as ancillary suppliers to the distillery. The mushroom farm not only provided organic quality mushrooms for kimchi, but top hotels and restaurants throughout the country had standing orders for their fresh, exotic mushrooms. No doubt about it, Xiang Zhe and Shan Mei had helped foster the village’s new and growing sense of pride and prosperity.
Chung’an Soju sponsored several youth training programmes in basketball, baseball and football. Their senior teams in these 3 sporting events did very well during inter-county matches.
Last year, Xiang Zhe also took over management of the family-owned Namyang Mines. Apart from their normal output of pyrite, azurite and other minerals, these mines also provided the limestone, soda ash and sand required in the manufacture of bottles to the Yin’s bottle factory.
==
On a balmy day in Autumn, soft strains of music filled the Chung’an Community Hall. Smiling to herself, Shan Mei took in the crowded scene around her.
Tut now known officially as Zhen Seo Duk, looking solemn, stood before the minister. Kim Eun-hye, whom Tut had dated for 6 years, and who was now dressed in a beautiful, simple white gown, beamed up at him, her hand possessively on his forearm.
To her right, sat her Pa with his arm around Auntie Shu, his wife of 3 years.
Shan Mei’s smile widened. Next to them sat Uncle Seong-min who looked upon Tut as the son he never had. He had been training Tut to take over the production of soju from him when he would eventually retire. Eun-Hye had worked at the distillery as Tut’s personal assistant ever since her graduation.
A few seats away, Nanny and her family sat, concentrating on the ceremony. Nanny blinked back happy tears seeing her youngest child marrying the man she loved. The first time Eun-hye met Tut, Nanny could tell that a current of electricity coursed through them. Over the years Tut had proved himself to be a very popular member of the local community – always friendly, helpful and resourceful, intelligent, diligent, honest and loyal. Nanny had nothing but praises for him.
Shan Mei was sitting a row of seats behind with her husband and their three sons, Wen Rong, Wen An and Wen Min. Xiang Zhe caught up her hand, placing a kiss on her palm and whispered softly into her ear, “I love you.” At his touch, a tingle ran the length of her arm, and she sighed in pleasure. He still had the power to affect her, even after 7 years of marriage.
Xiang Zhe leaned down, his lips slightly brushing her cheek. “Happy?”
“Very,” she whispered against his cheek, “my dearest husband.”
Xiang Zhe’s laughter resonated in her eye.
“Shh” sounded behind her, and Shan Mei turned to meet Aunt Ji-won’s twinkling eyes. The old woman blinked back happy tears. She pronounced her approval of Tut and Eun-Hye’s union.
Shan Mei turned back to the ceremony, holding back a giggle. Once again, Xiang Zhe’s breath teased her ears. “I, Yin Xiang Zhe, take thee, Zhen Shan Mei…” A shiver of pleasure and remembrance coursed through her. Xiang Zhe bent low and whispered the rest of the wedding vow for her ears alone.
During the course of the wedding celebratory dinner, Youzhen, who had left CIB and was now managing the Organic Farm’s Seoul Customer Service Centre, was enjoying a bottle of Chung’an soju with Xiang Zhe when he noticed how contented and happy the former Interpol man was. They toasted each other with Chung’an Soju Special Wedding brew specially distilled by Uncle Seong-min for Tut’s wedding. “Seems to me you’re so full of love for this wine,” Youzhen remarked.
“You’re right! Not just for the distillery that is now producing 10 million bottles a month, with two thirds of them being exported to Japan, but love for my wife, love for my family, love for this village and the people who live here, love for the peace and quiet that surround us. I am so blessed. There really is no better place than home!”
==
Dusk settled comfortably over the Yin’s residence. Shan Mei stood on the 2nd floor verandah, savouring the beauty of the sunset and the peace of a Friday evening and wondered how quickly time had flown blissfully by. Within an hour or so the moon would rise to greet her, and a million stars would nod their welcome. She sighed – normalcy had finally returned, after the excitement of Tut and Eun-hye’s wedding, a month ago.
Xiang Zhe joined her, standing behind her to slip his arms around her waist. “I thought I’d find you out here,” he whispered close to her ear.
She hugged his arms. “I needed a moment of solitude.”
“We both do.” Xiang Zhe exhaled slowly. “So much has happened in the past few years it’s hard to take it all in.”
Moments later he asked, “What were you doing when I came up, Shan Mei? Surveying your kingdom?”
“I was numbering my blessings. I have so many.”
He smiled down at her. “Am I one of your blessings?”
She leaned back against him and his arms tightened around her. “You are the most important one,” she said in a soft, loving voice.
Xiang Zhe smiled and rested his jaw on Shan Mei’s shoulder and studied the view lazily. The increase in elevation allowed them to overlook the sweeping bend of the river and the rolling expanse of the cultivated plots. The village had grown and expanded beyond recognition. The newly built reservoir and its irrigation piping network and many other improvements were obvious. Everyone seemed to be involved with some kind of work or business and enjoyed an obvious prosperity and an improved lifestyle.
Turning back to his wife, he kissed her tenderly on her temple. “You know you are even more beautiful than you were when I first fell in love with you,” Xiang Zhe told Shan Mei.
“That’s because I’ve got everything I ever wanted,” she said. “Are you sorry you gave up everything to return to this small quiet village?”
“Sorry? Sorry I left the lonely existence in a big, soulless city? That job was leading me to an early grave? You know the answer to that.” He laughed softly to hide the tightness in his throat.
“I don’t mind hearing it again.”
“Okay, here goes,” he said, lifting her hair off her nape to brush his lips across her soft skin. “You saved me from a life of loneliness. You taught me to love and trust and to give. You made all my dreams come true – a house, a family, a wife. The most gorgeous, sexiest …….”
She turned in his arms. “Okay,” she murmured, blushing as if she was young again. “That’s enough.”
“Wait, there’s more. Don’t ever stop loving me, darling. Losing your love would surely destroy me,” he said.
But she cut him off with a kiss and an emphatic promise of “Never.” Xiang Zhe was no more resistible now than he’d been when she first met him or when she married him. For a man who’d never known love, he had found an amazing capacity for giving and receiving it. From the community, from his children and from her.
“Father is staying with Pa this weekend again, right? He told me he would like to spend more time down here after he retires. I think I’ll build a small house for him – next to your Pa’s.” Xiang Zhe sounded resigned.
“Why don’t you want to send the boys up to Seoul to spend time with their grandfather?” Shan Mei was curious.
“I don’t trust leaving my boys with that stepmother of mine. The boys are again spending the weekend down at Pa and Tut’s place? At last, we’re having the whole house to ourselves? I’ll teach you a new game tonight.” He leaned over and kissed that sweet, tender, ticklish spot below her ear.
A giggle bubbled up her throat and burst into the cold, damp air. “But you already showed me a new trick last night …”
“Aah, that trick was showing you how Mr. X escaped Scotland Yard and you managed to escape. The one I’m going to teach you tonight will have you moaning for me all night.” His sexy, throaty laugh warmed her.
He lifted her off her feet and spun her around, quietly whispering into her ear how he intended to pleasure her as soon as he carried her to the privacy of their bedroom – telling her exactly how he planned to take her until her cheeks heated, and her face burned crimson at his intriguing suggestions.
“Tonight, our baby daughter will be conceived.” Xiang Zhe slanted a loving gaze at his wife and laughed deliciously. “Surely it will happen the way I’m going to love you,” he murmured in a caressing whisper. When Shan Mei looked skeptical, Xiang Zhe grinned innocently and whispered softly into her ear, “I promise.”
So the teaching goes:
Love is kind
Love does not envy
Love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things,
Love never fails!
-HAPPY ENDING for YXZ+ZSM-