Demon's Door Read Online Free PDF Page B

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    Kim was the last student to come forward. Jim took his paper and read what he had written. Bindaeddeok, mi yeok guk , dak gal bi and in jeol mi.
    â€˜Sounds almost edible,’ he said. ‘What is it?’
    â€˜Mung bean pancake, then beef and seaweed soup, then spicy chicken with vegetable, and finish with sweet rice cake with roasted bean powder.’
    â€˜OK, good.’
    Kim turned to leave the classroom but Jim said, ‘Wait up, Kim. You and I need to have a little talk, don’t we?’
    â€˜There is no charge for basket, Mr Rook. Please fetch it back when you have taken cat home, and I will return it to pet store.’
    â€˜I’m not worried about the basket, Kim. It’s the cat.’
    â€˜Like I say, sir. Cat is perfectly healthy. Same like yesterday.’
    â€˜Kim – my cat died this morning, before I came here. I ran him down in my car and squashed him flat as a tortilla. I killed him. But less than an hour later you stroll in with a cat basket and hey presto! He’s not dead after all. You want to explain to me how that happened?’
    â€˜Like I say, Mr Rook, your cat is a gift from Kwisin.’
    â€˜He was lying dead on my sunbed on the balcony of my apartment. My apartment was locked. How did you get hold of him, and how come he isn’t dead any more?’
    â€˜Doors close, Mr Rook. But doors also open.’
    â€˜That means absolutely nothing as far as I’m concerned.’
    â€˜With greatest respect, you will soon see that it means everything.’
    Jim went over to the basket and untied the lid. Tibbles climbed out and made a performance of stretching himself. Jim picked him up, although Tibbles made it obvious that he hadn’t yet forgiven him. He hung suspended from Jim’s arm, his eyes closed, his tail occasionally twitching to show that he was irritated.
    â€˜You see?’ said Kim. ‘He is mad at you, maybe, but he is living and breathing for sure.’
    â€˜So who’s this Kwisin?’ Jim asked him. ‘Is it a he, or a she? Or is it a bunch of monks? Or a street gang, like the Korean Killers?’
    â€˜Kwisin, sir, is she. She is like spirit. Like somebody who step through door. Somebody gone but still here.’
    â€˜You’re talking about a ghost ?’
    Kim shrugged. ‘In Korean story, spirits are different from Western story. We call them demons, but they have many different shapes. Like frog, like fox, like witch-woman. Like spider sometimes.’
    â€˜So you’re telling me that Tibbles here was resurrected by a Korean demon?’
    â€˜Kwisin is grateful to you, Mr Rook. Your cat’s life – that is your reward.’
    â€˜I don’t get it. My grandfather served in Korea during the Korean War and he was always telling me Korean folk stories about magic bottles and fish that could talk but I never heard of Kwisin. And why should she be grateful? What the hell have I ever done for her?’
    â€˜You have not yet given Kwisin anything. But you will. And for this Kwisin is grateful. Like thank you in advance.’
    Jim stared at Kim intently, but just as before, Kim’s face remained smooth and round and impassive. Jim was tempted to shout ‘ boo! ’, just to get a reaction. For a Korean, Kim had very pronounced creases over his eyes, so that it looked almost as if he were watching Jim through the eyeholes in a papier-mâché mask.
    â€˜I know that you can see spirits, Mr Rook,’ he said, in a flat, matter-of-fact tone.
    â€˜ What? ’
    â€˜I know that you can see ghosts, and demons. You have the eyes.’
    â€˜What are you talking about? What eyes?’
    â€˜But it is true, yes? You can see spirits?’
    Jim hesitated. He could deny it. He could simply refuse to answer. After all, he didn’t know this Kim Dong Wook from Adam. He hadn’t yet had the opportunity to check through his school and his medical records, and for all