Chapter 10: The Rooftop

Chil-seong saw his face and came over with a paper plate of cake.

He read the list over Woo-seok's arm, holding his glasses up on their string.

"Twenty names out of a whole city," he said. "And they drew all of ours."

"We skip it," Gyeol said from the floor.

"A lantern who skips an Association call loses his license," the knitter said. "That's the rule."

"Then we lose them."

One of the twins shook his head.

"We still owe on the van."

"My granddaughter has piano until May," Chil-seong said. "Then June, and July."

He put his glasses down and patted Woo-seok's arm.

"We'll go, Fireman. You'll think of something."

On Wednesday evening Ha-yeon climbed the outside stairs to the rooftop room with a form in her hand.

"A B-rank party can join a master attempt as an independent party," she said. "If the inspector accepts it."

"And the inspector is you."

"The inspector is me."

She handed him the form.

It was stamped, signed and dated.

"My director told me this morning to reject it," she said. "I told him the rules don't say I can."

"What did he say?"

"He said he'd remember that."

The crew had come for dinner, and they all looked at the woman in the Association coat standing in the doorway.

Chil-seong got up first.

"Inspector. Have you eaten?"

"No."

"Then sit down. A person who hasn't eaten can't be angry properly."

She sat down on a cushion at the low table, very straight, and he put stew in front of her.

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