Page 63 of Perfect Happiness

This convinced Jiyoo. She worked up her courage. She cautiously knocked on the wall twice. The loon stopped crying immediately, as if to listen to the sound Jiyoo was making. Jiyoo pressed her ear against the wall and spoke to it.

“Is anyone there?”

There was a loud thud on the wall. Just once. As if to say, Yes!

Jiyoo took her ear from the wall in shock. Was it really a person? Or perhaps it was just a coincidence. Unable to decide, Jiyoo decided to ask again.

“Are you a person? If yes, knock once. If no, knock twice.”

Thud!

Jiyoo stared in the direction of the sound. She asked her third question.

“Do you know me?”

Thud!

Jiyoo’s chest was pounding. This was impossible. This had to be a dream. But she didn’t want to stop the quiz. She wanted to know who this person was, this person who knew her, who cried like a loon, who was pounding on the wall in the attic.

“Then what’s my name? Knock once for Jiyoo Seo and knock twice for Jiyoo Cha.”

Thud!

Jiyoo jumped to her feet. She tensed the muscles in her legs as she glared at the spot in the wall the sound came from.

It felt like electricity was flowing through her entire body.

She could feel the blood pumping through her forehead, earlobes, throat, chest, belly button.

But her mind was blank; she didn’t know what question to ask next.

You dummy. You need to ask who it is. That person beyond the wall knows who you are. That means you know who they are! Call out every name you can think of.

Mischievous Mouse was right.

“I’m going to name all the people I know. If you’re them, knock once. If you’re not, knock twice. Or just don’t knock at all. I’ll start now. Father.”

No sound.

“Grandma.”

Still nothing.

“Auntie,” Jiyoo said despite knowing it couldn’t be Auntie.

Thud!

“Auntie Jane?” Jiyoo shouted.

Thud!

“Are you really Auntie Jane? My Auntie Jane?”

Thud! And then another loon-like groan. To Jiyoo, this sounded like Auntie Jane was calling her name.

Jiyoo!

Jiyoo ran to the door without thinking. But then suddenly Good Daughter stopped her.

You can’t leave. You promised Mother. You said you wouldn’t leave, not even if Mother called you herself.

Jiyoo turned her head and glared at the wall. Jiyoo shouted to the wall:

“Auntie, why are you in there?”

Auntie Jane called Jiyoo again: Thud!

Jiyoo’s feet became tied when she reached the door. She couldn’t leave the room, but she also couldn’t just leave Auntie Jane inside the attic. Jiyoo almost wished this was a dream, too.

It’s not a dream. Mischievous Mouse said. Do you really still think this is a dream? Mischievous Mouse then started telling Jiyoo things she didn’t want to hear. Mother locked the attic. Auntie Jane is inside the attic. Auntie Jane can’t talk. Just think about what that means.

Jiyoo didn’t need to think. She already knew the answer.

Mother had locked Auntie Jane in the attic, just like she locked Jiyoo in this room.

Although Jiyoo didn’t know why Auntie couldn’t speak, that wasn’t important.

The important thing was that Auntie was trapped in the attic, and Jiyoo knew where the key was.

She could open it if she really wanted to.

“Wake up, little one. Wake up.”

Jiyoo thought of Auntie’s voice, which she had heard in her dream.

“If you have another bad dream, just call for me. Auntie’s not going anywhere.”

As Auntie had promised, she was always by Jiyoo’s side.

She had called her little one, she had woken her up from her bad dream, she had told her it was okay, she had told her not to cry, and she had come all the way to Cheongyeon to give her Dad Puppet.

And yet, when she needed Jiyoo’s help, Jiyoo hesitated.

Open the door and go to her. She needs you.

Jiyoo took a breath. She reached out and grabbed the handle.

*

Jiyoo was coming. She was coming like someone walking into a lion’s den, quiet and cautiously.

Jane’s nerves were erupting like an active volcano.

Her pulse was three times faster than normal.

She was panting, her throat was dry, and her head was burning like a hot iron.

It felt like the thing in her mouth wasn’t a duck’s head but a piece of hot coal.

The minute it took Jiyoo to arrive was more agonizing than the several hours of pain she’d endured.

Jane brought her knees up to her chest and rested the back of her head against the wall.

She closed her eyes and counted Jiyoo’s footsteps.

With every step that Jiyoo took forward, Jane’s throat winced with pain.

She knew the conflict and fear Jiyoo had to overcome to open the door.

After all, she had heard the promise Yuna forced her to make.

When Jiyoo and Yuna were in the hallway, she couldn’t hear what they were saying.

She knew Yuna was talking, but that was about it.

Only after the two of them entered the room did their voices become clear.

She could hear everything, as if the walls were made not of wood, but of honeycomb.

While listening to their conversation, she gained two important pieces of information.

The first was that Jiyoo knew there was a key to open the attic.

This gave Jane hope. In fact, Jane had inferred this when she saw the puppets pour out of the box Yuna mutilated with her cleaver.

Jiyoo must have gotten the puppet from the attic.

The other thing she heard was Jiyoo’s promise not to leave the room until tomorrow morning.

This put Jane into despair. Yuna was God to Jiyoo.

To get to Jiyoo, she would have to break her faith.

Her probability of success was close to zero, but she had to try.

Jane got busy thinking of ways to get Jiyoo to open the attic door.

But there was no move that would allow Jiyoo to free Jane without putting her in danger, without Yuna finding out eventually.

But there was one way of getting Jiyoo’s attention—crying out like a loon.

Jane’s back was flat against the wall. She had to let Jiyoo know that she was in the attic.

She had to make a sound that was quiet enough that Yuna wouldn’t notice.

She tried her best to recreate the sound of a loon, as best as she remembered.

Her mouth was blocked, but the gag actually helped her produce a howl.

She scratched at the wall between howls to tell Jiyoo where she was.

And sometimes she would pause to listen to what was happening downstairs.

Through the incomprehensible ruckus, she was able to pick out Yuna’s voice.

Honey, let’s go.

She then heard the front gate opening and closing. From these two things, she guessed that Yuna had taken Eun-ho out of the house.

Downstairs was completely silent. She waited a little bit longer, but she heard no signs of movement. It was clear the two of them had gone somewhere, but she had no idea where that was. This was going to be Jane’s last chance.

She could feel her pulse fluttering in her temples. Sitting against the wall, she felt her body beginning to float. Because of this, she lost all sense of self. Jane screamed as loud as she could and hit the back of her head against the wall until Jiyoo answered.

Oh, how precocious of a child Jiyoo was.

The moment that Jiyoo said, “Auntie?” Jane felt her heart explode with relief.

When she finally heard the door to Jiyoo’s bedroom open, she almost burst into tears.

Jiyoo’s coming here to help her auntie wasn’t just an act of kindness, it was an act of apostacy.

Jiyoo’s footsteps stopped in the hallway. For a while, Jane couldn’t hear anything. Jane brought her chin to her knees and tightened the muscle in her lower abdomen to stop her bladder from exploding. Jane steadied her breathing and pleaded with her body.

Please, just wait one more minute.

Jiyoo started moving again. Jane held her breath as she listened to the sounds in the hallway.

The sound of keys jingling, the sound of a key entering a lock, the sound of a lock opening.

The door opened. And then she heard the voice of her savior, the voice she had been waiting hours for in the dark.

“Auntie—”

Jiyoo flipped the switch and flooded the room with light. Jane winced and shut her eyes. A cautious question came her way.

“Are you really my Auntie Jane?”

Jane opened her eyes. Jiyoo was crouched in front of her.

She was studying Jane’s face with a fear-filled expression.

Jane wasn’t surprised she didn’t recognize her.

Jane would be covered in blood, and her face, completely swollen; the only thing that probably resembled Jiyoo’s aunt was Jane’s hair.

Jane wasn’t sure if she should cry or smile. If nothing else, she wanted to call out to Jiyoo. She wanted to jump to her feet and give Jiyoo a hug. But all she could do was use the communication method that she and Jiyoo had made. Jane hit the wall with the back of her head.

“But Auntie, there’s blood in your eyes—”

Jiyoo reached out toward Jane’s face but quickly retracted her hand in shock. Jane shook her head. She looked at Jiyoo and tried to communicate with her one good eye.

No, Jiyoo. Not my eyes. My mouth, Jiyoo. My mouth.

Jiyoo’s eyes turned to Jane’s taped mouth. She immediately understood what Jane’s eyes were trying to tell her.

“Hold on.”

Jiyoo sat down in front of Jane. And with her small hands, she started to unravel the tape around Jane’s mouth.

It wasn’t easy because the tape was wrapped all the way around the back of her head.

It felt like Jiyoo was peeling off Jane’s skin and hair.

When the tape was completely removed, Jane lost all sensation in her face.

Lastly, Jiyoo pulled the duck head out of Jane’s mouth.

A cough and a long stream of spit were ejected with the gag, as though she were a bottle of champagne that had just been uncorked.