Cast of characters

 

 

 

Fred

 

 

 

Donna

 

 

 

Miss No

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

“You must sign,” said Miss No, holding out a sheet of paper. 

 

 

 

* What is this document that Fred is supposed to sign? *

 

 

 

Fred took another a deep breath.

 

 

 

 

His hands were cool and clammy, and he felt beads of sweat pop out on his temples.

 

 

 

If fate had unfolded slightly differently, I’d be in that little bathhouse right now!

 

 

 

The tension in the van was unbearable; specifically a palpable pressure on Fred’s inner temples and back of his eyeballs.

 

 

 

 

Before No could hand over her document, Donna got back in – with some soft drinks.

 

 

 

No distributed one of the cans to Donna and reached back with one for Fred. It always amazed him that even during a heated situation, Koreans could still preserve social niceties.

 

 

 

 

And though Fred wasn’t the least bit thirsty, he accepted the offering.

 

 

 

Yet his mind was racing ahead. While fumbling with the cans, Miss No’s document had slipped out of her hand.

 

 

 

Donna shifted into drive and was waiting to pull out. A taxi had pulled up beside them to pick up a passenger and had temporarily blocked the van.

 

 

 

Fred peered out the panel window the other way and recognized the surroundings: They were close to Central Institute.

 

 

 

Something came over him, like an instinct or controlling force directing from elsewhere.

 

 

 

 

He decisively pulled the panel door handle and the big door noisily slid open.

 

 

 

Strangely, feeling awkward and uncoordinated as if crippled, Fred struggled out from the back seat – stiff and crumpled up; sweat now pouring down his face.

 

 

 

 

Miraculously perhaps, No still hadn’t noticed anything yet.

 

 

 

Fred set foot on the sidewalk after an excruciating several seconds’ of struggle to remove himself from the confined space.

 

 

 

 

Now back on solid ground, he regained composure.

 

 

 

No felt the breeze coming in the back sliding door and finally turned around to see what was going on.

 

 

 

It was too late. Fred was nowhere to be seen.

 

 

 

* Where has he gone?! *

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

No+E                                  

    

 

 

 

Fred ran for his life, up and down a few blocks.

 

 

 

 

Through an alley or two. He entered a street market, walked swiftly through it and out the other side, and ran again.

 

 

 

He was panting and sucking wind but had the biggest mischievous smile. Out of breath, he stopped and cautiously looked back over his shoulder.

 

 

 

 

Not a sign of the white van.

 

 

 

* Did he lose the van for good? Or will Miss No find him? *

 

 

 

He now knew exactly where he was – in the vicinity of a little park where he’d sought solace on several occasions.

 

 

 

 

Nearby, familiar-sounding music emanated from a small speaker mounted outside a store.

 

 

 

He stopped walking momentarily, blocked out all background noise and concentrated on the music. It was one of those situations where you become obsessed with identifying a song.

 

 

 

 

He hummed it and nodded his head … but the title still didn’t come.

 

 

 

* What could the song be? *

 

 

 

The little park was nestled deep in the middle of an apartment complex.

 

 

 

 

Not much bigger than a child’s playground, it was bordered by high shrubs to give it an enclosed and cozy feeling.

 

 

 

A walking path of interlocking stones meandered through; and a bench was provided with an overhead covering.

 

 

 

 

Fred had chuckled the first time he’d seen the bench – molded concrete but shaped and painted to look like logs.

 

 

 

Amazing to think that Korea had no real logs – he’d heard that all of Korea’s bigger trees had been chopped down during the war.

 

 

 

People – often couples – sat in this park to relax and withdraw from the utter chaos of Korean daily life.

 

 

 

 

It was a little sanctuary amongst the madness.

 

 

 

Sitting on the bench and casually taking in the bucolic scenery, Fred quickly reassessed the situation:

 

 

 

 

Oddly, Miss No’s desire to fire and kick him out of Korea had made him want to stay.

 

 

 

Obviously there was no way he could last in Chinju, but maybe somewhere else.

 

 

 

 

For now he’d slink back to Good Lucky apartments and pretend nothing had happened.

 

 

 

* So Fred is going to stay in Korea! But where? *

 

 

 

As he got up to leave the park, he figured out the song he’d heard moments ago: It was a Christmas carol!

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

Tomorrow: Fred visits Mr E.