My daughter married a Korean man when she was 21. – HICAN

But he could read faces. And Kang wasn’t calm. He was in a hurry.

That meant that red memory mattered.

Maria Luisa looked towards the stairs.

Kang followed his gaze.

—No.

It was just one word, but everyone moved.

Maria Luisa ran towards the stairs. The young man tried to stop her. Teresa stepped in front of him without thinking.

The shove sent her crashing against the wall. Her shoulder hurt, but she didn’t fall.

-Mother!

—¡Corre!

Maria Luisa went upstairs. Kang shouted something in Korean. The women backed away in fear.

The man in the suit grabbed Teresa by the arm, not with brutal force, but with customary authority.

—Madam, don’t complicate this.

Teresa looked directly at him.

—You don’t know how much a mother can complicate things.

She stepped on his foot with all her might. The man cursed and left her.

Upstairs, boxes were heard falling. Papers. A bang against a door.

Kang went up two steps, but stopped when Teresa stood in front of him.

It was ridiculous. There she was, a 63-year-old woman, facing a powerful man in a foreign country.

But he didn’t move.

“I want to separate.

—No.

Kang watched her with a mixture of annoyance and curiosity.

—Your daughter will go to prison.

Teresa felt that word open her chest.

-Maybe.

The answer surprised everyone.

Teresa took a deep breath.

—But if he has to pay for something, let him pay with the whole truth, not by taking on your burdens.

Kang finally lost his smile.