Diaries of a Distance

Chapter 12

Thursday, 2nd September...

I've been avoiding Jae Wook for the past few days. Every time we would pass in the school halls, he would bend his head to look at my bent head and smirk whenever I looked up. He was really annoying me.

I walked out of school alongside Da Ni and Tae Hee. Soo Jin had helped Mi Mi get home after she had eaten too much at school and got diarrhoea. We reached the school gates and Da Ni and Tae Hee went to catch their other bus.

"Bye!" I said waving them off.

My phone started ringing. I fished it out of my bag and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Miss. Kwon? This is Detective Kang Suh Jin. I've got some very interesting new about your parents..."

"I'll be there at 5:30."

I hung up, a worried feeling building up in my stomach.

---

The wait for Detective Kang was surprisingly none at all this time. I went straight into his office when I arrived.

"Ah. Miss. Kwon you're here."

"Good afternoon. You're not busy today it seems?"

"No. I cancelled all my other meetings this afternoon to work on your case."

"My case?" I asked curiously.

"Yes... I find it rather interesting."

That got me thinking... how complicated could my parent's history be?

"Your parents are good. But I admit to being better."

"What...?"

He pushed his chair back a little and looked through his top drawer and pulled out two files. He put them in front of me. I stared at them curiously for a while and then picked them up, opening the first one. Inside was a picture of my father when he was younger.

"Your father... Kwon Lee Wan, you said?" he asked me.

I nodded, "Yes..."

The detective smirked.

"Kwon Lee Wan... Kwon Suk Hwan. Anh Ji Sook... Anh Mi-ran."

"What" I asked, totally lost.

"Kwon Lee Wan, your father. His real name is Kwon Suk Hwan. Your mother Anh Ji Sook, is really Anh Mi-ran", he elaborated.

It took me a while for this information to process. He continued.

"At first it was difficult to find anything on them, but after I found out their real names, things became much more easier and... complicated."

"How did you find their real names?" I asked him, I could tell I was frowning.

He didn't reply but gave me a broad grin, "That's a secret. I paid a very high price for it though."

I nodded.

"Your mother was a university student back then, studying fashion design."

My mother? Fashion designer? No wonder she had a good fashion sense. But then, why would she change into law?

I sat patiently listening to him explain the rest to me.

By the time I was out of that place, my head was spinning. I walked home feeling extremely confused. I didn't say much to Mr and Mrs Lee as I came home; rushing my dinner then going to my bedroom. I tried to take the thoughts out of my head by doing homework, but it didn't work. I gave up and pulled the two files out from my schoolbag. I opened my mother's, Detective Kang's words coming back to me...

"Your mother was an only child from a wealthy family and well known in Seoul. Her parents died early and she had no relatives left, so she inherited everything. Anh Mi Ran was an intelligent woman and well respected. Your father is a different story. He was talented but came from a poor family and struggled for money for education. Your father studied still and got the funds from starting a contruction building business with a man named Shin Tae Hwa."

"Everything seems normal..." I had said, wondering.

"Ah... then it starts to complicate. Your father's business grew quickly, too quickly for an ordinary business. The police started to investigate and found that money came in from another secret bank account. You see, at that time, there was an up and rising man of power named Jung Hye Sung. It was a strong fight between him and the old time Choi Min Su... who is going to be the next president of the Korean National Bank? Jung Hye Sung had what it takes, but the support was all for Choi Min Su because he had more experience and the votes from his long time colleagues. The day before the announcement of the new president, Choi Min Su was assassinated."

My face had gone cold by that time.

"Who did it?" I had quietly asked.

"Everyone wanted to know. Of course, the police arrested Jung Hye Sung right away. At first, he wouldn't say anything but after torture, he admitted to hiring two assassins- infamous at the time for their swift movements, called The White Shadows. Apparently, they worked in pairs. No matter what the police did, they couldn't find them. That's why they were called The White Shadows, people knew they were doing these things, but no one could do anything about them. Jung Hye Sung knew nothing of them except that the partnership was of one man and one woman. The police, with the help of gang members, managed to trace the account that Jung Hye Sung gave them down to your father's building business."

I remembered holding my breath, hoping that his next words aren't the ones that are running in my mind.

"It was a mess at that time, not much evidence or proper investigation. The Korean National Bank just wanted someone responsible for Choi Min Su's death and was putting pressure on the police. Of course, the police decided to put someone in for it. All the evidence that they had pointed towards your parents, Kwon Suk Hwan and Anh Mi Ran at the time. The police claimed them The White Shadows and they were convicted of over 16 murders. On the day they were sent to death, the van taking them to the shooting field turned over and The White Shadows escaped. No one knows what happened to them since and police didn't bother to investigate any further. It would have been costly and most believed they were dead anyway, who wants to go after The White Shadows anyway? That was a death sentence itself. Your parents escaped to Australia in November 1981 under their current names. They somehow had enough money for education here and started over."

I slumped back in my chair. No... it can't be. My parents... assassins! I felt like the world was flipping upside down.

"You are going to keep this private right?" I asked him in a serious voice.

"I never let any of my client's information leak. Why do you think I'm so secretive?" he replied.

I nodded and left his office, wishing I had never met Kang Suh Jin.

Now back at home, I looked at the photo of my young mum, dad and his friend, standing in front of their business company; upset and confused.