Pachinko: Book 3, Chapter 4 Summary & Analysis

Sunja and Solomon ride home in the backseat of Hansu’s big sedan. Three-year-old Solomon invites Hansu to stay for dinner, to Sunja’s displeasure. At Mozasu’s Western-style house, Hansu watches Sunja in the kitchen and thinks she was unwise to have rejected his offer all those years ago. At the same time, he somewhat respects her for it.

Sunja notices that Hansu has aged well; he looks like a “handsome grandfather,” not a yakuza boss. Meanwhile, she is aware that she looks like a poor, hardworking, prematurely aged woman. She’s embarrassed to realize that she still wants Hansu to desire her, even a little. She’s annoyed when Hansu admits that, while he’s been diagnosed with prostate cancer, he’s probably not going to die from it. At the same time, she’s glad to hear it.

Haruki has come for a weekend visit, and over dinner, Hansu offers Haruki his business card in case he’s interested in transferring to a job in Tokyo’s police precinct. Sunja watches, feeling suspicious of Hansu’s help; he “was not an ordinary person, and he was capable of actions she could neither see nor understand.”