Kindred Spirit (1)

Fifty million people. 

South Korea had fifty million people, and yet in a span of less than two weeks and against the odds, she had run into Detective Hothead three times. And every time she ran into him, it seemed as if she was the one disadvantaged. 

Frustrated, she bit on her lower lip and got up from the ground. Ignoring the throbbing pain in her knees, she chased after the snatch thief and Detective Hothead. There was already a distance between them, but when it came to running, Kyunghee was not a slow person, though the limping certainly didn't help. 

She eventually managed to close the gap. It was then that she saw Detective Hothead taking out his left shoe and, with a great show of strength and accuracy, threw it at the thief. The shoe hit the thief at the back of his knee causing him to lose his balance and toppled over. The granny's purse flew out of the thief's grasp. In a panic, the petty thief scrambled to his feet and ran away, forgetting about the purse. 

However, Detective Hothead adamantly pursued the thief. On the other hand, Kyunghee didn't bother chasing after them anymore as her attention turned to the granny's purse lying on the ground forsake. She didn't care about the snatch thief, but only wanting to return the purse to the elderly woman. 

She bent over and picked up the purse then headed back to where the granny was waiting. As expected, the elderly woman was waiting where Kyunghee had told her to. Her body language was filled with anxiety and concern. When the woman's eyes landed on Kyunghee, and in particularly the purse in Kyunghee's hand, a look of grateful relief washed over her features. 

"Halmoni, here's your purse," Kyunghee said, handing the purse back to its owner. 

The granny accepted the purse and held it dear to her chest, sighing in relief. "Thank you, sweetie. Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me." She looked at Kyunghee as tears rolled down her cheeks. 

Kyunghee was taken aback by the tears. 

Seeing the slightly awkward expression on Kyunghee's face, the granny wiped the tears with the wrinkled back of her hand and apologized, "I'm sorry." 

Kyunghee quickly shook her head as her eyes scanned the area, quickly locating a nearby convenience mart. "Halmoni, let's go take a seat over there." She took a hold of the granny's left arm and guided the elderly lady toward the convenience store which had tables and seats outside for customers. After helping the granny down in the seat, Kyunghee said, "Halmoni, you're a bit shaken up. I'll grab something warm for you to drink, alright?" 

"Oh no dear, that's quite alright. Don't be bothered by me," the granny declined but Kyunghee wouldn't have it. Seeing the tears on the elder woman's face had weakened her heart. 

"Halmoni, it's not a bother. What would you like to drink?" Kyunghee smiled. 

The granny wanted to protest, but when she saw the kind, beautiful smile on the younger woman's face, the granny suddenly wanted a companion for her loneliness. "Just a hot green tea would be great." 

"I'll be quick." Kyunghee nodded and headed inside the convenience store. Along with a cup of green tea, she also grabbed a pack of tea cookies. After paying for the items, Kyunghee made her way back to where the elderly woman was. At a glance, it seemed the granny was looking at something in her hands with complete focus. As she got closer, Kyunghee realized the older woman was staring at a polaroid picture. 

"Here's your green tea, halmoni. I thought some cookies might be good with the tea." Kyunghee set down the green tea and cookies in front of the granny. 

"Oh!" The granny looked up and gasped softly. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry for being such a bother. You shouldn't have, but thank you. You are a very kind young lady." The granny shifted her gaze down to the dated, polaroid picture in her hands. "It's not so much as the old purse but this," she explained softly without being prompted. "This is the only picture I have left of my husband and daughter." Her fingers caressed the polaroid ever so gently, as if it was made out of glass. "My husband passed away a long time now and my daughter…" Tears brimmed her eyes as the word 'daughter' left her lips. "She also left home a long, long time ago. So long that I can't even remember the time anymore. I used to have more pictures of them, but a couple of years back, everything got ruined in a fire. This was the only thing left of them, of us as a family. Now it's only me, alone." 

Kyunghee listened attentively, empathetic of the elder's situation. She took another glance at the polaroid picture in the granny's hand. The picture must have been taken decades ago because the wife and husband in the picture was a young and happy couple, and the 'daughter' the granny was referring to was still a toddler in the picture. Kyunghee's heart went out for this frail, lonely woman, somehow reminded of her own situation. She, too, was also alone in this great big city. Perhaps there was an unspoken affinity between them. 

"Halmoni—" Kyunghee began, wanting to lend the elder some comfort, when an aggressive, irritated voice interrupted the somber quietude surrounding them. 

"God damn it!" 

Kyunghee and the granny both looked up in time to see a scowl-faced detective headed towards them. 

"Halmoni, are you okay? That snatch thief got away through a shortcut, but don't worry, I already called the station and told them to run through the CCTV," Jintae explained with furrowed brows as he stopped in front of the granny, very much aware of Kyunghee's presence but also completely ignoring her. "Do you want to go down to the station to file a report with me?" 

Without realizing it, Kyunghee slightly took a half step backwards, away from the man. For some reason, running into him had soured her mood. She figured that he was the bane of her existence because nothing good ever came out of being in contact with him. His face reminded her of how he had knocked her over earlier. Suddenly, she became a lot more aware of the throbbing pain in her scraped knees, silently blaming him for it. 

"Oh that's not necessary! I have my purse back now. That's all I need," the granny said, shaking her head vehemently. "No need to trouble the officers down at the station. They have more important things to deal with than my problem." 

Jintae frowned, seemingly unhappy about her response. "The police are there for a reason, halmoni. We can't just let criminals run around the city unchecked. I know the guys down at the station. Come on, I'll take you with me." 

The granny's eyes widened as she shook her head. Obviously she didn't want to go. "Oh no, no. There's no need, young man. I really am ok." 

Kyunghee felt the granny's discomfort. She immediately stepped in front of Jintae, blocking his gaze on the elderly woman in a protective stance. His eyes roamed over her, momentarily stopping on the ripped part of her jeans. 

"She said she doesn't want to press charges. Can't you let it drop, Detective?" Kyunghee tilted her head back, lifting her chin up at him with assertion. 

He eyes moved back up to her face and gruffly demanded, "Get out of the way, Pink. This is none of your business."

She looked at him in disbelief, taking offense. "I helped halmoni take her purse back, so it is somewhat my business." 

He arched an eyebrow. "If I remembered correctly, it was me who knocked the purse out of that thief's hand." 

His truth had her tongue-tied for a split second, but she stubbornly argued, "Yeah, but you left it there and chased after the thief. I was the one who brought it back to her. Besides, stop calling me Pink. I have a name." 

"You mean, Stella?" 

Kyunghee's face darkened. "That's only an alias." 

He shrugged. "You never told me your real name, Pink." 

"You!" Kyunghee's blood boiled at this despicable man before her. 

The granny looked between the two of them before a laugh escaped her mouth. Kyunghee and Jintae turned toward the old granny, confused by the laughter. 

"Your bickering reminds me of how I used to bicker with my husband," she explained, hiding a smile behind her hand. 

"What?!" Jintae cried in disbelief. 

"Halmoni, how can you compare us like that?!" Kyunghee cried in outrage. 

"I'm not her husband!" 

"I'm not his wife!" 

Kyunghee and Jintae exclaimed at the same time. Then the two of them exchanged a heated glare, looking at one another as if they wanted to zap each other off the face of the planet with a bolt of thunder. However, this only made the old granny laugh even louder, her sense of loneliness and sadness disappeared in an instant. Instead she was amused and enjoyed the interaction between the two. It was a feeling she hadn't experienced in a while. 

"Alright, alright. It's this old lady's mouth that misspoke. Now, detective," she looked at Jintae with a serious expression, "just like what this young lady said, I don't want to press any charges. I'm happy with getting my purse back. There's no need to escalate the matters. But I thank both of you for your kindness in helping me." 

"But—" Jintae wanted to protest but his words was interrupted when Kyunghee elbowed his rib. It wasn't enough to hurt him, but he wasn't exactly happy about being silenced. Yet he didn't argue with her either. He figured he was going to let her have this battle. 

Kyunghee squatted down in front of the granny and held her hands, passing on some of her warmth to the older lady in this wintry evening. Halmoni's hands were small, but Kyunghee sensed the strength underneath the feeble façade. "Halmoni, you can ignore him. We'll do what you want. Where do you live? Let me take you home." As if she knew halmoni was going to decline, Kyunghee quickly added, "Please let me see you safely home; otherwise I won't be able to sleep tonight." 

Halmoni paused but then eventually nodded her head gratefully. "Thank you, sweetie. What's your name?" She looked down at the young woman staring up at her with heartfelt concern. Reaching out, the granny pushed back a soft strand of hair that had gotten in Kyunghee's face. 

Kyunghee stiffened slightly at the gentle touch, but somehow felt her heart warmed up. It had been a long, long time since she received such a motherly vibe from anyone. Kyunghee couldn't explain it, but she felt an instant connection to this old granny whom she just coincidentally met not long ago. "My name is Ahn Kyunghee." 

With her back toward him, Kyunghee didn't notice the subtle change in Jintae's expression. His jaw tightened as his eyes fixed on the back of her head, thoughts running through his dark brown eyes. Ahn Kyunghee, the name repeated itself in his mind but it was a different picture that popped up in his recollection. There was a glassy, faraway look in his eyes. 

"Ahn Kyunghee, what a pretty name. It just rolls off your tongue so beautifully," halmoni complimented as she gently brushed off the dirt on Kyunghee's pink cheek with her thumb. Her skin was rough and dry, but it comforted Kyunghee in a tender-loving manner. 

"How about you, halmoni?" 

"Me?" Halmoni was surprised for a moment. The more she looked at Kyunghee, the more she found herself adoring the girl, as if this was the granddaughter she never had. "It's been a long time since someone asked my name. This old lady's name is Lim Mihwa." 

Kyunghee sensed a sadness in halmoni's demeanor. Wanting to cheer halmoni up, Kyunghee grinned and said sweetly, "Halmoni, you have a beautiful name too. I bet back when you were young, you had men lined up waiting for you with bouquet of flowers, right?" 

Halmoni giggled happily. "Oh, you say sweet such things." She affectionately touched Kyunghee's nose. "I wouldn't call it a line and even if there was a line, none of them was half as good-looking as this detective by your side," she said, sneaking a look at Jintae. 

Halmoni's unexpected teasing had Jintae flustered. Kyunghee didn't bother paying attention to Jintae. Her eyes were on halmoni. There was something about halmoni that was just so magnetizing beyond words the longer Kyunghee stayed near her. There was something familiar but also unfamiliar about halmoni. An inexplicable yearning in her heart grew. 

"I'll take you home," Kyunghee offered as she helped halmoni up from the seat. Halmoni didn't protest anymore as she decided to relish in Kyunghee's company instead. Most people at her age just wanted something as simple as a person to talk to. 

"My car is this way," Jintae supplied, tilting his head to the right indicatively. 

Kyunghee held onto halmoni's arm and stared at him with pursed lips. "We can take the cab." 

Jintae ignored Kyunghee and turned his attention on the elderly woman instead. "Halmoni, it's safer to go with me. I'm the police." 

"What are you implying, Detective? That I'm going to do something bad to halmoni?" Kyunghee clenched her teeth. 

"I never said that. That's what you think," he retorted. 

"You're unbelievable!" 

"Alright the two of you," halmoni interrupted before it got out of hand. She squeezed Kyunghee's hand and said, "Kyunghee dear, let's go with the detective. I do feel safer with him around." Kyunghee didn't argue but she wasn't happy either, so she merely looked elsewhere. Halmoni then turned toward Jintae with a friendly smile. "Detective, what's your name? At least tell me your name if you plan to give this old lady a ride home." 

"Choi Jintae," he answered slowly, glancing at Kyunghee who wasn't even looking in his direction. The lack of response made him frown slightly. 

"Let's go then, Jintae, Kyunghee." 

Jintae turned around and led the way toward his car. 

"Wait, halmoni," Kyunghee suddenly said, causing all three to stop in their tracks. Jintae and halmoni looked at Kyunghee with curiosity. Removing the winter gloves from her hands, Kyunghee slipped them onto halmoni's cold fingers. "It's getting chilly." 

"Oh!" Halmoni was both shocked and touched by the gesture. At the same time, her heart ached as she stared at the dimpled smile before her. Since her daughter abandoned home and her husband passed away, halmoni had been by herself. She didn't think she could experience this kind of familial warmth again, nor did she have any expectations. Yet tonight, against all odds, she found a kindred spirit in this kind, young woman. "What about you?" Halmoni was about to take the gloves off but Kyunghee stopped her. 

"I'm ok, halmoni. A little cold won't kill me. Don't worry." 

"T-Thank you, sweetie." A surge of emotion welled up in halmoni's throat but she forced herself to swallow it back down. She didn't want to cry and worry the two young people. 

Kyunghee stared at halmoni, taking in the myriad of emotions that flitted across the older woman's face. There was a silent understanding between the two of them as their eyes met. 

Jintae steered his gaze away as he began walking again. 

'Ahn Kyunghee, you're so soft-hearted,' he thought with a small sigh leaving his lips. 'But…' 

Halmoni said something—he wasn't too sure—but he could clearly hear the sound of Kyunghee's laughter strumming at his heartstrings.