Hand Over the Photos
“Thank you for the ride, mister.”
“Don’t mention it. I needed the fresh air myself. Sitting around waiting is pure torture.”
We chatted on the way home. I badmouthed Kwon Hyun-jin’s personality in a roundabout way, and Driver Kim only laughed awkwardly. He couldn’t openly agree, but his face made it clear he did.
On Christmas Eve, several texts came from Kwon Hyun-jin. There were missed calls too, but I only checked my phone after midnight. I had planned to reply in the morning so I wouldn’t wake Mom sleeping beside me, yet nerves got the better of me and I never managed it. On important days for the Kwon family I was just as on edge as Mom, terrified of causing any trouble. Answering never even crossed my mind.
I remembered what needed doing, threw on an apron, and hurried out—only to find someone who did not belong standing in Building B’s kitchen.
It was Kwon Hyun-jin.
I hadn’t thought he would come. Still, he had dressed in a black suit like the rest of the family.
“Lee Na-hee.”
The boy who had been leaning against the fridge with his arms crossed pushed off when he saw me.
“You’re in one piece?”
“…….”
“I figured you broke your hand working or something.”
His voice was endlessly sulky. Since I had unintentionally ignored every single message on Christmas Eve, I had nothing to say for myself. I was flustered too. More than anything, I fretted over the kitchen lady. She stood uncomfortably in the corner peeling deodeok roots—surely…
“You… you’ve been here this whole time?”
“Yeah.”
Those were the deodeok we had deliberately saved for morning so the scent wouldn’t fade. Because of Kwon Hyun-jin the lady was stuck doing penance for no reason. The embarrassed look she shot me clearly ordered me to hustle the young master off to Building A.
“I’ve been waiting here for you the whole time.”
“Don’t say things like that, Kwon Hyun-jin…”
I hurried closer and whispered as quietly as I could. Thankfully he bent down for me.
“What. What things.”
“Weird things like that… that could be misunderstood… Just don’t say anything, you.”
The lady wasn’t the type to gossip, but I still felt self-conscious. I deliberately raised my voice and brought up Chairman Kwon.
“Have you greeted the Chairman yet?”
“No.”
“They’re setting up the ancestral table right now. Hurry over. He’s probably looking for you.”
“Who’s looking for me.”
I simply shoved at his back to get him out of there, but Kwon Hyun-jin held out his hand.
“Hand it over.”
His attitude was as bold as a loan shark coming to collect interest.
“Give it. The photos.”
“…I’ll give them. I’ll really give them later.”
“Later when?”
His obsession was truly terrifying. To keep him from hounding me further, it was better just to hand them over.
“Go greet the Chairman first. Quickly. Once the guests arrive you won’t even get to see him.”
Chairman Kwon had four sons and two daughters. Counting the grandchildren it was an enormous family—when they gathered, people lined up just to enter the main building. Everyone attended the Kwon family’s memorial rites without fail to stay in good graces, so the place was packed from morning.
“What about you?”
“I have to stay here.”
The ritual food and table setting were Mom’s and the other ladies’ jobs. Mine was simply to wait in Building B, answer the intercom, and run any errands that came up.
“Go already. And at home, try not to talk to me if you can help it.”
“Why?”
Kwon Hyun-jin looked at me as if he truly had no idea why. It was the first time. So the young master really is that innocent, I thought. He had been raised so gently. Only he seemed unaware of the massive staircase that stood between me and the family’s eldest grandson—and of how awkward that sometimes made my position.
“Just… if I say don’t, then don’t.”
“Fine.”
As my urging sent him toward Building A, Kwon Hyun-jin suddenly jerked his chin toward the pond.
“Hey, that guy’s a psycho.”
There stood Kwon Jun-yeong. Son of National Assemblyman Kwon Hyeong-mu, and the Chairman’s youngest grandson. The cousin who looked exactly like Kwon Hyun-jin was staring into the carp with eyes bruised purple-blue, glaring like a demon. That kid radiated a dangerous aura that clashed with the peaceful atmosphere; you could feel his nature just from his eyes.
“No manners at all, fucking none. Don’t even associate with him.”
But to my eyes it was the pot calling the kettle black.
“You’re the same…”
“What?”
Kwon Hyun-jin, who had been glaring hard at his cousin, swung his target to me. I flinched. But I couldn’t take back words already spoken.
“Hey. It’s Christmas.”
“Sorry…”
“You’re pissing me off, Lee Na-hee.”
Kwon Hyun-jin shot me a look and turned his back in irritation. It seemed I had better prepare a few more of the ID photos I had planned to give him just one of.
“Keep your phone on you. If you don’t answer…”
“I can’t take calls.”
“Why the fuck can’t you take calls. Are you the only one locked up in prison or something?”
“Anyway, if you have something to say, text me.”
Kwon Hyun-jin let out a sigh like he wasn’t happy about it. His face was massively pissed off.
“Why… what were you going to say. Just send a message.”
“If you don’t reply. Like earlier, I’ll wait right outside your door.”
The boy heading into Building A made me swear to it.
“I’m not kidding, Lee Na-hee.”
“I know you’re not kidding…”
The way he hounded people—now that I looked, he was worse than a loan shark.
The moment the rites ended, the family gathered with Chairman Kwon for tea. Kwon Hyun-jin said he wouldn’t join such an awkward gathering and was heading back to his apartment. Before leaving Hannam-dong we met in a CCTV blind spot—the place outside the gate where we had once eaten ice cream bars together.
“Kwon Hyun-jin.”
His broad back, facing forward, glanced this way.
“What. You told me not to talk to you.”
“This is outside the house.”
“How thorough of you. Great. Anyway.”
Sneering, Kwon Hyun-jin thrust his hand out in front of me.
“Hand it over.”
“…For a second I thought I’d left some item with you.”
“I said hand it over.”
The goal was my ID photos. Kwon Hyun-jin seized two of them: the student ID photo with short hair, and the most recent proof photo. I had thought he was being awfully bold about demanding them…
“What’s this?”
“Yours.”
To my surprise, Kwon Hyun-jin handed me something too. After all that chanting about Christmas, he seemed to have prepared a gift to exchange, in his own way. I didn’t know what was inside, but the paper bag itself felt thoroughly luxurious.
“It’s fine. You don’t have to give me stuff like this.”
“Throw it away, then. Stick it in the trash.”
Eyes glued only to my photos, Kwon Hyun-jin said. I was speechless.
“How can you talk so mean…”
“Can’t you come out tonight?”
After staring at the photos for a long while, Kwon Hyun-jin suddenly lifted his head. Maybe because he was smiling, the kid looked a little pretty. My heart thudded at the sudden eye contact.
“…I have to clean up after. I have to help Mom.”
“Hey. Today’s Christmas!”
“You’re Buddhist…”
The entire Kwon family was Buddhist. So why all this Christmas fuss.
“I’m going. Don’t forget December 31st. Come in the morning.”
Still in a good mood, Kwon Hyun-jin backed away with a sly grin. Climbing the hill, he even waved.
“What for… why first thing in the morning…”
“What else. You have to play with me, Na-hee.”
The boy heading for Building A’s gate answered playfully. Beyond matching, it was almost the nuance of calling a puppy.
“I’m the noona, you know.”
“Yeah, Na-hee. Oppa knows too.”
“That guy’s crazy. Kwon Hyun-jin, take this back.”