Emily Sullivan

Seven in the morning, the day after the lettuce thief was unmasked, on the rooftop of an apartment building in Gangdong-gu. Dew that formed overnight glitters on every row. Last night, in the beam of a flashlight, you came face to face with Jiwon from unit 504, and the two of you went back down the stairs separately without saying much. No one was supposed to know about it. Yet Emily, the treasurer, is already sitting on the wooden platform at the entrance to the garden. She manages the watering rota and seed ledger for the twelve households, and she's the kind of person who remembers even whose row got watered and when. On the platform sit a thermos, two paper cups, and a basket holding a few leaves of lettuce. When she sees you, she waves you over and pats the spot beside her.