THE RESTLESS AUTUMN (completed) (a full-length novel)

Iridescence

Chapter I

She held the bouquet of blue hydrangeas waist high just as the stylist instructed. Only an extensive perusal could satisfy the nitpicker in him. “Perfect!” He smiled and raised two thumbs up revealing his excitement. She turned to the full body mirror and peeked at her own reflection. The strapless bridal gown graced her body with a kind of sophistication that would put a royalty to shame. A myriad of crystals lavishly adorned the ecru bodice, matching the pair of luscious diamonds on her ears. Her hair flecked with tiny flowers was in a loose French twist, her face beautifully framed with tendrils slightly twirled just beside her cheeks. The stylist was about to do the finishing touches when a flower girl dressed in a pale blue chiffon dress flounced her way into the room, dashing to her mother’s side.

“Our little princess is here,” greeted the stylist. His voice carried a notable fondness for the child.

Euna adored her daughter, Seung-jin, and it showed from the way she cradled her. The little girl tried to break free but her mother pulled her back and fixed the tiara on her hair. “The princess looks prettier than the bride,” she jested as she palmed the little girl’s cheeks.

“You’re here!” Cho Eun-jung yelled by the door, lifting the sides of her gown so she could run into the room without fumbling. “Auntie’s been looking all over for you!”

Seung-jin wearing a mischievous grin hid behind her mother’s gown. “It’s alright,” Euna said, her face looking unperturbed. Eun-jung thought Euna’s eyes were verging on tears in that exact moment, but it didn’t stop her from luring the child out. “Come out, little princess. Auntie’s all tired and sweaty. Little princess doesn’t want a smelly aunt at her mommy’s wedding, does she?”

“If you’d all excuse me. I need some time to be alone with my child.”

Eun-jung realized the abruptness of Euna’s voice. She had this gnawing urge to pull the bride to her side but she held back. Their eyes met in an exchange of short familiar glances. Eun-jung nodded and looked at Seung-jin. With a wink, she bade the child goodbye and headed out of the room with the stylist.

Seung-jin climbed to Euna’s lap as soon as the door closed. Her small hands reached up to her mother’s face. The tiny fingers started to trace around Euna’s cheeks connecting invisible dots, a favorite game they would play in their idle moments. Her button eyes followed the trail without a blink, but Euna intercepted the small hands and kissed each of the tiny fingers. “I’m sorry,” she whispered in remorse. A tear rolled down her cheek, which the child immediately wiped dry. “Mm-ma,” Seung-jin whispered back, her eyes looking puzzled at her mother’s sadness. She kissed Euna’s cheek after finding the exact spot where the tear had rolled down, because she believed only her kiss could make her mother’s sadness go away. Euna moved her eyes to her daughter’s necklace. A leaf-shaped jade pendant strung with a red silk pouch hung quietly. She closed her eyes and rested her chin on her daughter’s head while a tumultuous noise rang in her ears.

Led by four lady prison guards, Euna entered the court with head bowed. She walked through an infuriated crowd that was mostly friends and relatives of the kidnap victim, Choi Dae-hun. Blinded by the lights, she lifted her handcuffed hands to cover her face. After reaching the left side of the room, Euna was instructed to sit behind the row where a group of men were waiting for their sentencing, too. One of them, a few years older than Euna, peeked over his shoulder. He threw her an accusing look but she avoided his eyes. Lawyer Roe whispered into her ears about the probabilities of her getting an acquittal but she was quick to shut him out. All she could hear were inaudible words while her eyes remained on the newly-waxed parquet floor. Even at that point, it was clear in her mind what she really wanted.

A soft tap on her shoulder made her lift her eyes. A gray-haired man holding a black wooden cane stared at her. He whispered good luck, in which she responded with a nod before lowering her eyes again. The man gave Lawyer Roe a close look too, before going back to his seat in the last row. Everyone quieted down the moment Judge Kwon Il-suk and two other judges entered the courtroom. The lone female defendant only noticed the dissipating noise when Lawyer Roe asked her to rise. As soon as the judge told everyone to be seated, the lawyer continued his monologue in her ear while her mind went blank again. It didn’t take long before she realized the announcement of the verdict had begun.

South Korea District Court forthe District of Busan

Criminal case no. 149- 98-33

People of South Korea

Plaintiffs

-Versus-

Shin Tae-woo,

Ji Han-ki

Seung Jae-hyun

Kim Dong-sun

Ryu Buk-wan

Soo Jeong-nam

&

Shin Euna,

defendants

This court finds the evidences and the testimonies from the witnesses sufficient enough to establish the circumstances that led to the crime committed on the night of July 13th, 2000 against Choi Dae-hun.

Wherefore, judgment is hereby rendered in criminal case no. 149-98-33, finding the accused, Shin Tae-woo, Ji Han-ki, Seung Jae-hyun, Kim Dong-sun, Ryu Buk-wan, Soo Jeong-nam and Shin Euna, all guilty beyond reasonable doubt, of the crime of kidnapping of Choi Dae-hun.

This court hereby sentenced each of the accused to a maximum of 15 years of imprisonment under the Penal Code No. 279. All sentences of which are to be served immediately.

Pandemonium broke out. The prison guards quickly brought the convicted criminals out of the room amid the blaring cheers from the rowdy crowd. The man holding a black wooden cane followed outside and watched the scene with a fulfilled look on his face. Choi Hyun-min after a while came out of the room with his son, Dae-hun, with their victorious smiles and clenched fists in the air. “Thank you,” the elder Choi said, putting one hand over the shoulder of the man with a black cane, Lee Jung-hwa. “This wouldn’t have been possible without your help.”

The man nodded and gave back a smile and a firm handshake.

Ji-heon arrived in a silver Audi a little after dawn. The smell of chrysanthemums in the air suggested that fall was near but he hardly realized the changing of seasons at all. The house that had been restored few weeks ago resembled a newly-built one, except for the few missed spots on the exterior walls.

The elder Lee reported to him earlier that every piece of furniture inside the house was preserved the way he had last seen it. His father would go on reminding him of the look on his face when he received this presence six years ago. The elder Lee extremely cherished that moment that Ji-heon had to smile to keep it real. Inside his head it hadn’t been just a struggle remembering those days before he fled to Singapore but a battle between keeping his sanity and losing it. The conversation concluded with his father weeping on his shoulder for the first time and he, responding with a hug.

The flight this afternoon exhausted him, shortening his stay in his father’s house. Ji-heon would have opted to spend the night there but he craved for his own space to unwind. Six years of living in self-exile had turned him into a recluse. His paranoia kept everyone at a distance including those he had known all his life. He expected that in all those years he was away, things should have changed just as much as he had changed. When his father, Lee Jung-hwa, fell ill and couldn’t go see him anymore, he knew it was time to come home.

All he could think of while taking out the suitcases from the trunk was to collapse onto his bed and rest his worn-out body. Reaching for the keys in his pocket, he heard a sound across the street. He narrowed his eyes in search but couldn’t find anything. Dismissing the sound, he inspected the door key in his hand until he was certain he had the right one. Through the faint light from a streetlamp, he found his way to the gate. He was about to step in when he heard the sound again. Sensing company, his heart began to pound. He looked over his shoulder and saw a figure emerging from the dark. A petite woman with a knapsack in her shoulder stared at him in the cold of the night.