Today: Fred is skeptical as Master Lee woos him into a get-rich-quick scheme.

 

 

 

Cast of characters

 

 

 

Master Lee

 

 

 

Fred

 

 

 

Mrs Lee

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

Mrs Lee finally stopped piling more food on Fred’s plate and although glad, he wondered if he’d said or done something inappropriate.

 

 

 

Then he noticed that his plate wasn’t completely empty – he’d left a few scraps.

 

 

 

So he polished off the last curled-up noodle, yet as soon as he did, Mrs Lee darted over with the master bowl.

 

 

 

Finally Fred had to refuse and he’d just learned a mini lesson in Korean culture: Don’t completely empty your plate.

 

 

 

Leave a little for the Gods.

 

 

 

After dinner, Master Lee invited Fred out for drinks.

 

 

 

It was getting late and Fred was dead tired from the tournament but he gratefully accepted the invite.

 

 

 

He cherished the precious time with The Master of Tae Kwon Do in Edmonton.

 

 

 

* Does Master Lee have a hidden agenda by inviting Fred out? *

 

 

 

“I have another business,” Lee said as they pulled up to a Korean restaurant.

 

 

 

He found a space in the busy lot but then proceeded to back in and out about half a dozen times trying to park properly.

 

 

 

“You own this eatery?” Fred asked.

 

 

 

Lee waved him off. “This is my friend’s. My business is different. It is new.”

 

 

 

They entered and were greeted by the owner – older than Master Lee, but equally steely and fit-looking.

 

 

 

Apparently he was also a Tae Kwon Do man from years gone by.

 

 

 

A huge video screen with karaoke on it hung at the end of the spacious dining room.

 

 

 

It was an open format where anyone in the room could take a turn.

 

 

 

The owner led Master and Fred to a quiet table in the corner.

 

 

 

Master, usually a man of few words, came out of his shell and got talking about his start-up venture.

 

 

 

“You know in my country many people want speak Englishy.”

 

 

 

Fred nodded but mentally started tuning out.

 

 

 

He’d heard all about the ‘Englishy’ racket from a couple of buddies who were over in Japan.

 

 

 

All work, no play, low pay, no rights.

 

 

 

Language barrier.

 

 

 

Culture shock.

 

 

 

Nevertheless, he acted interested, not wanting to show any disrespect.

 

 

 

“Korea need many foreigners,” Master said. “Can you introduce Canadian teachers to me?”

 

 

 

Fred was barely paying attention, more interested in the humorous happenings at the next table.

 

 

 

A group of Korean men were getting stupidly drunk and fighting over the karaoke microphone.

 

 

 

The hilarious thing was they weren’t fighting to get it; they were fighting to give it to the other guy.

 

 

 

Fred figured it was some sort of Korean courtesy ritual.

 

 

 

“Sorry, what’s that Master Lee? It’s getting hard to hear in here because of the karaoke.”

 

 

 

“Mr Fred,” Lee implored, “Listen to me. You can make big money.”

 

 

 

Big money … big money… Fred struggled to get his focus back and listen, but now he was wondering if there were any busses in this area to get him home.

 

 

 

“I am headhunter. If you introduce teacher I pay you $1000. Too easy.”

 

 

 

* Is Fred impressed by Master’s business idea? *

 

 

 

Some beers came and Fred attacked his.

 

 

 

His thirst was ravenous and the alcohol staved off his sleepiness.

 

 

 

The evening progressed and Lee kept plying Fred with more beer and then expensive, imported Korean alcohol.

 

 

 

The drunken Koreans at the next table surrendered the karaoke mic to Lee and his owner friend and they sang some of the most beautiful songs Fred had ever heard.

 

 

 

“Many Koreans are good singers,” Lee told him after.

 

 

 

Fred became pleasantly buzzed from the atmosphere and started thinking about Lee’s ‘big money’ pitch.

 

 

 

Maybe it was worth looking into, as Fred had student loans and ongoing accumulating bills, and only his lousy security job to keep the whole ship afloat.

 

 

 

So, the ‘easy money’ Master Lee was dangling looked pretty good; a little too good – that was the problem.

 

 

 

* What curious coincidence does Fred encounter at work? *

 

 

 

On Fred’s next day off work he rode his bicycle around town and posted homemade notices at the city’s universities and colleges.

 

 

 

T E A C H E R S    W A N T E D    F O R    K O R E A 

 

 

 

His lousy security graveyard shifts involved patrolling on bicycle Edmonton’s seedy downtown parking lots.

 

 

 

Some nights there was no human contact besides the banter and one-liners on the security radio but he invented games to counteract that.

 

 

 

For example, there was always the same red car on the third level of one particular parking lot.

 

 

 

Coincidentally, it was Korean – a vintage Hyundai Pony.

 

 

 

But it was all rusted-out.

 

 

 

A real beater.

 

 

 

“Hello ma’am,” he’d say as he rode through the lot.

 

 

 

The car became like his friend.

 

 

 

He even got into conversations with it.

 

 

 

Usually it was the only vehicle in the lot and he felt responsible for it.

 

 

 

“I feel so safe when you’re here Fred,” he’d hear it say.

 

 

 

“I’ll take care of you old girl but you watch yourself. I can’t stay here all night. You go home early and get your beauty sleep.” Then he’s break-out laughing as he rode away.

 

 

 

I really have to get a life!

 

 

 

A few nights later he passed the Pony and saw that it had been broken into.

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

Tomorrow: Fred gets freaked out while working a graveyard shift.