Miho the Killer
Chapter 43: Dinner For One

Chapter 43: Dinner For One

I had been waiting for Kwon to arrive. We were supposed to meet at 6 PM and I arrived at this French restaurant, Épicure. I looked up the name to kill time as I waited since 5:40 and learned that it was a reference to a Greek philosopher Epicurus, associated with the love of fine food and pleasure.

How apt.

It was the last piece of pleasure in his life that would be denied. His voracious appetite unsatisfied, the pent-up desires in his groin unreleased. He will die wanting, unfulfilled - a life of success ending with a failure.

The waiter came around 6:05 to ask again if I wanted anything, I ordered a bottle of sparkling water again. I knew I’d have to pay for it this time, but this was no big deal compared to what Kwon was going to pay.

At 6:15 the waiter came again to ask if everything was alright. I told him I was still waiting for my acquaintance to turn up, to which he nodded with a polite smile. This polite guy will be the witness for my alibi, as well as all the others who every now and then glanced my way, perhaps in sympathy or gloat for the girl who seemed to have been stood up.

At 6:20 I texted Kwon again. My first text since arriving here. Of course, he wasn’t going to answer.

At 6:30 I gave him a call. No answer. But it will leave a record that I tried to reach him.

All this was a little anti-climactic. Something extreme was probably happening now to Kwon as Shin was bringing him to his Studio, or perhaps, they were already there.

At 6:45 I gave him another call, a voicemail, and a text message to say that I would get started first.

I ordered a three-course meal, starting with an oyster dish Huîtres Gratinees au Champagne, beef main Filet de Bœuf Rossini, and ending with a chocolate dessert Soufflé au Chocolat avec Crème Anglaise.

Tonight was a night to indulge. I worried if I could stomach them all considering the horrors that were happening right now elsewhere that I was critically complicit in. Yet, when the oysters came I realized that I found them delicious. They invigorated me, giving me a taste of life. Although I stayed away from alcohol as I didn’t want to dull my senses at this special moment, the champagne-infused sauce brought an understated celebration while a touch of lemon zest helped shoo away the bitterness of my heart.

Beef Filet Rossini was equally suitable as the tender beef was topped with a slice of foie gras. I remember reading that ducks for foie gras are force-fed to become obese to fatten and enlarge the liver, just like how someone with an insatiable greed like Kwon should be punished.

It took a while till I got to the dessert, but it was worth the wait. It was a decadent indulgence - just the perfect ending.

At 9:00 PM or a little after that, I finished my meal. I regretted a little when the bill was brought to the table, but c’est la vie. Sometimes it’s good to just live for the moment.

At 9:10 I left the place of fine food and pleasure. I left my final message to Kwon - I’ll be heading home now. I hope you are OK.

The subway ride back home took about 40 minutes including a changeover. I thought about taking a taxi as the subway line travel was a bit stupidly arranged - crossing the river to the north side and then coming back down to the south when going from Apgujeong to Shindorim, where my flat was - but it was only about 12 minutes faster by car and with the traffic around here on Saturday night it wouldn’t have been that great anyway, not to mention the fact that I probably spent a little too much on today already.

On the train, I saw a mother and a daughter sitting opposite me. They had shopping bags on their knees. The mother was modestly dressed and the daughter, perhaps around of age of 8 or 9 wore a cute t-shirt with a kitten character print. I thought once again about whether Kwon would be leaving behind a family like this. This time though, my stomach didn’t turn. Maybe I was too satisfied and content. This bothered me a little. I became too comfortable. I felt way too comfortable.

Then I wondered what Miho would have been like with her parents, or whether she even grew up with her parents. Shin hadn’t told me anything about Miho’s family yet, except Juho. It seemed Miho had an elder sister - whom she called ’Sohee’, but I wasn’t even sure if she was remembering that correctly. I did inquire Shin about Miho’s sister but the old man said he’d never heard Miho talk about her sister before. I could never be sure with Shin though as he had no problem telling me Miho was dead when I was trying to find her. Even if Shin knew about Miho’s sister, it was perfectly possible that he was hiding something.

My eyes studied the little girl sitting opposite. She was cute. Big eyes, puffy cheeks, bob-cut hair that curled at the end. I thought maybe she resembled me a little, not in the actual looks, but those were probably descriptions people would have used to portray me too when I was young.

How would I have felt if my father suddenly disappeared one day, never to be seen again?

I would have been devastated. He was always very kind to me. I was the only child and a daughter at that. He was what people would call a ’daughter-idiot’, a father who pretty much acts like an idiot and does everything to please his daughter whether it’s a reasonable demand or not. If it wasn’t for my mother I probably would have grown up to be super spoiled and entitled.

I got ready to change over to Line Number 1 at Jongno 3-ga Station, and my rustling sound made the girl look my way. Our eyes met and I gave her a smile for no reason, which she returned with a warm smile of her own. The mother looked at her daughter, smiled, looked at me, smiled again, and patted her daughter’s head.

The train stopped and I got off, and when I turned to look at the train door closing behind me I saw that the little girl also turned to see me as well. She waved her hand and I waved back.

Then she was gone.

I should probably call my mother sometime soon.