[Pachinko #1] # Chapter 12: Osaka, April 1933

 

 

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[Review previous expression]

 

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[Summarize this chapter]

일본에 도착한 선자와 이삭. 요셉이 마중을 나와있음. 선자는 고향마을과 다르게 발전되어 있는 도시를 보고 놀랐음. 하지만, 한국인이 사는 마을은 동물들 분뇨냄새가 뒤섞인 ghetto 였음. 일본인이 한국인에게는 좋은 집을 팔지 않아서, 낙후된 동네에서 돼지와 함께 살고 있었음. 요셉도 그곳에선 풍요롭지 않은 척을 하며 살고 있었음. 한 번 경희가 동네 사람에게 먹을 것을 나눠주고선 범죄의 대상이 되어 두 번이나 집이 도난 당했기 때문. 

그들은 흰 쌀밥으로 첫 식사를 함께 했음. 너의 집이나 선자야~ 하고 따뜻하게 환영해주는 사람들에 마음이 풀려, 배고픔을 느낌. 

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[Quotes that I liked ]

 

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[New Expression]

(p. 95) When Yoseb Baek tired of shifting his weight from one foot to the other, he paced about the Osaka train station like a man in a cell.
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(p. 95) he would’ve been able to keep still just by shooting the breeze,
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(p. 95) though his Japanese was better than proficient, his accent never failed to give him away.
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(p. 95) he could approach any Japanese and receive a polite smile,
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(p. 95) he’d lose the welcome as soon as he said anything.
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(p. 95) he belonged to a cunning and wily tribe.
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(p. 95) There were many Japanese who were fair-minded and principled, but around foreigners they tended to be guarded.
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(p. 95) Yoseb had heard it all.
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(p. 95) He didn’t dwell on these things; that seemed pathetic to him.
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(p. 95) The sentry patrolling Osaka Station had noticed Yoseb’s restlessness, but waiting anxiously for a train to arrive was not a crime.
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(p. 95) Yoseb’s manner and dress wouldn’t have given him away.
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(p. 95) You could ape anyone.
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(p. 95) he’d put aside the finery
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(p. 96) Shimamura-san, who’d made it plain that he could replace Yoseb by morning.
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(p. 96) Shimamura-san could have the pick of the litter.
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(p. 96) Kyunghee was preparing a feast.
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(p. 96) They were both terribly curious about the girl Isak had married.
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(p. 96) No one in the family would have ever been taken aback by Isak’s acts of selflessness.
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(p. 96) on a lacquered jujube tray.
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(p. 96) Naturally, the servants had never gone without a sizable portion of his meals, which Isak had given away deliberately.
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(p. 96) this marriage seemed excessive.
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(p. 96) promise to reserve judgment until they had a chance to get to know her.
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(p. 96) She, much like Isak, was tenderhearted to a fault.
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(p. 96) the awaiting crowd dispersed with a kind of organized precision.
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(p. 96) Porters dashed to help first-class passengers;
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(p. 96) A head taller than the others, Isak stood out from the mob.
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(p. 96) A gray trilby was cocked on his beautiful head, and his tortoiseshell glasses were set low on his straight nose.
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(p. 96) Isak scanned the crowd and, spotting Yoseb, he waved his bony right hand high in the air.
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(p. 96) Yoseb rushed to him.
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(p. 96) radial lines had surfaced around his gentle, smiling eyes.
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(p. 97) it was uncanny.
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(p. 97) The Western suit, handmade by the family tailor, hung slack on his drawn frame.
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(p. 97) The shy, sickly boy Yoseb had left eleven years ago had grown into a tall gentleman, his gaunt body depleted further by his recent illness.
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(p. 97) Here, the only other person Yoseb ever touched was his wife, and it was gratifying to have his kin so near—to be able to feel the stubble of his brother’s face brush against his own ears.
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(p. 97) it had been far too long since they had last seen each other.
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(p. 97) Isak bowed waist-deep in mock apology.
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(p. 97) She was comforted by the brothers’ ease and warmth.
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(p. 97) When Fatso first learned that she’d married Isak, he had pretended to faint, making a splat sound on the floor of the front room.
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(p. 97) “When you’re munching on sweet rice cakes in Japan, remember me, lonely and sad in Yeongdo, missing you;
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(p. 97) rubbing his meaty fists into his eyes
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(p. 97) making loud boo-hoo noises.
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(p. 98) He didn’t have extra words, but everything he said was well considered.
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(p. 98) your mother made the most outstanding meals.”
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(p. 98) Yoseb noticed that her stomach protruded, but her pregnancy was not entirely obvious.
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(p. 98) the girl might have been blamed for having misled a fellow.
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(p. 98) You better be hungry.
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(p. 98) aware of the passersby staring at her traditional dress.
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(p. 98) happy at the thought of seeing Kyunghee again.
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(p. 98) Yoseb guided them out of the station in no time.
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(p. 98) The road opposite the Osaka station was teeming with streetcars; hordes of pedestrians streamed in and out of the main entrances.
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(p. 99) who darted carefully through the crowd.
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(p. 99) she turned back for a moment and caught sight of the train station.
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(p. 99) The Shimonoseki station, which she’d thought was big, was puny compared to this immense structure.
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(p. 99) she tried to keep up.
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(p. 99) The trolley car was approaching.
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(p. 99) could outpace a boy running or cycling.
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(p. 99) Yet she could not let on that she knew of uniformed ticket collectors,
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(p. 99) Sunja remained quiet and still like a seedling sprouting from new soil, upright and open to collect the light.
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(p. 99) She would have uprooted herself to have seen the world with him,
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(p. 99) and deposited her there.
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(p. 99) She took back the bundles from Isak and held them in her lap.
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(p. 99) caught each other up on family news.
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(p. 99) Sunja didn’t pay any mind to the men’s conversation.
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(p. 99) to inhale the lingering scent of home on the fabric covering their possessions.
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(p. 99) there were young men in fancy Western suits that made Isak’s clothing look dated and fusty,
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(p. 99) made Dokhee swoon with pleasure at their exceptional colors and embroidery.
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(p. 100) Men spat in the streets casually.
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(p. 100) The trolley ride felt brief to her.
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(p. 100) The animal stench was stronger than the smell of food cooking or even the odors of the outhouses.
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(p. 100) but kept from doing so.
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(p. 100) Ikaino was a misbegotten village of sorts, comprised of mismatched, shabby houses.
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(p. 100) The shacks were uniform in their poorly built manner and flimsy materials.
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(p. 100) but the majority of the facades were in disrepair.
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(p. 100) Matted newspapers and tar paper covered the windows from inside,
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(p. 100) wooden shims were used to seal up the cracks.
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(p. 100) The metal used on the roof was often rusted through.
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(p. 100) not much sturdier than huts or tents.
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(p. 100) Smoke vented from makeshift steel chimneys.
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(p. 100) children, half-dressed in rags, played tag,
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(p. 100) A small boy defecated by a stoop not far from Yoseb’s house.
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(p. 100) corrugated steel.
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(p. 100) A plywood panel with a metal covering served as the front door.
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(p. 100) but it’ll do very well for us,”
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(p. 100) “I’m sorry for the inconvenience we’ll be causing.”
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(p. 100) impoverished quarters.
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(p. 101) Pig squeals came from
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(p. 101) The food prices are much higher than back home.”
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(p. 101) She put down the pail she was carrying by the doorstep.
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(p. 101) letting himself be petted over by Kyunghee,
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(p. 101) she ordered Isak playfully, then turned to Sunja.
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(p. 101) “I was worried that you didn’t make your train.
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(p. 101) persimmon seeds
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(p. 101) complexion of white peonies.
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(p. 101) She appeared far more appealing and vibrant than Sunja,
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(p. 102) She looked like a wispy schoolgirl more than a thirty-one-year-old housewife.
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(p. 102) she needn’t be anxious.
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(p. 102) Sunja sipped her hot barley tea.
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(p. 102) The exterior of the house belied its comfortable interior.
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(p. 102) had taught herself to keep a clean and inviting house for her and her husband.
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(p. 102) their house was absurdly small,
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(p. 103) they had learned to be wary of the deceitfulness and criminality among them.
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(p. 103) Yoseb said, looking straight at Isak, who appeared puzzled by this order.
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(p. 103) the church has to hand things out.
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(p. 103) Yoseb said soberly to Isak and Sunja.
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(p. 103) the mothers are desperate when the money runs out. I
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(p. 103) I got us in trouble,”
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(p. 104) It had never occurred to her that giving up a few meals would lead to her wedding ring and her mother’s jade hairpin and bracelets being stolen.
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(p. 104) He doesn’t want us to mingle with the people who live here, so I don’t.
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(p. 104) Kyunghee’s eyes lit up.
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(p. 104) her suffering and privation had made her finer in a way.
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(p. 104) there had been no child for them, and Isak had told Sunja that this was all Kyunghee and Yoseb had ever wanted.
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(p. 104) The young woman nodded gratefully, devotion already taking root in her heart.
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(p. 104) The sight of the prepared dishes made her hungry for the first time in days.
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