CHAPTER NINE – A FUTURE BLACK AS INK
Despite her limited view from across the street, Jan Di could see that things were getting heated between the two friends. She had promised Yi Jung she'd stay locked in the car considering the rough neighborhood they were in, but she decided the situation warranted her interference.
Even when she had been secretly intimidated by their presence or behavior in times past, she had never backed down to any of the boys before and she wasn't about to start now.
Slamming the car door behind her, she marched up to the boys yelling, "Ya! Hajima! What's wrong with you two?"
"Jan Di-yah," Woo Bin hissed, glancing over his shoulder. "Get back in the car! You can't be seen here!"
"Wae? We just wanted to make sure you were ok, Woo Bin, after the way you seemed to disappear. And the Sunim said-"
"I don't want to hear anything more from the Sunim!" Woo Bin shouted, not yet finished with his tantrum.
Jan Di stepped back, shocked at his outburst. She had heard of Woo Bin's terrible rage over Yi Jung's broken hand and supposed she could hardly blame him in that instance, but still, she had never seen him angry like this and it frightened her. Not for herself, but for him.
Noting her startled reaction, Woo Bin's frustration seemed to boil over at her, "What do you want me from me, Jan Di? You know what I am! You knew what I was when we came to save you from those guys who kidnapped you! You knew who I belonged to when I sent those little rats in Macau running for cover! Don't try to make me feel guilty for being what I am! What else can you expect from someone like me!"
"I don't know so much about what you think you are, Woo Bin," Jan Di responded softly. "But I know who you are – you've always been kind, steady, rational, patient. The peacemaker, the protector, the friend – that's who you are Woo Bin-ah."
Jan Di's kind words only seemed to torture Woo Bin more as, with an anguished yell, he ripped off his jacket as if it were trying to smother him, and hurled it violently to the ground. Then, leaning his arms and head into the brick wall of the alley way he suddenly sagged against it with a groan of defeat.
As she reached out to comfort him, Jan Di heard Yi Jung suck in his breath in shock, and looking closely, her own heart stopped in horror as the orange glow of the street lamp illuminated Woo Bin's bare arm…and the newly inked black symbol marring his still raw, pink skin.
"Woo…Woo Bin-ah…" Jan Di stammered. "Is that what I…what is that, Sunbae?" she asked weakly, knowing but dreading the answer.
Woo Bin looked up at her, momentarily confused, until he registered where her eyes were fastened. He sighed, long and deep, as he pushed himself away from the wall to face her. "It's the mark of my 'family,'" he said, quieter now. "Of the Il Shim Hwe jopok. To wear it is a requirement of all members, to show their loyalty and identify themselves to others. You don't have to get it until you're 18 but as I also represent a prominent and wealthy business, my father thought it best if we waited until I was done with school. And I've found one reason or another for putting it off since then."
He paused. "You know what this means, don't you, Geum Jan Di? It means I can never get out now. I never really considered that to be an option until recently…because of you and the Sunim at the temple. But this…brands me. Marks my identity and destiny forever. Once you're inked, you're in till you die." Woo Bin looked sadly at Yi Jung, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Yo, my bro. Mianhe. You should go. Get her out of here." He turned and walked back into the club leaving Yi Jung and Jan Di frozen in shock.
A/N – to anyone feeling confused by such an apparent overreaction to a tattoo (by American sensibilities anyway), I suggest the article about Korean perceptions of tattoos at /stories/marked-in-korea/