Martoons

Cast of characters

Fred

Hot Sauce

*

Won disappeared into her meeting and Fred left the church with Hot Sauce.

As they walked down the steeply-sloped, poured-concrete chapel driveway, Fred inadvertently glanced over and noticed Hot Sauce was already panting.

“Monsoon season,” she remarked.

“So humid.”

Fred suggested, “As soon as we get to the bottom let’s get that cab.”

Hot Sauce shunned Fred with an energetic wave-off.

“Actually I love walking. I like exercise and sports too but since I entered middle school my mother won’t let me do any because I might get injured.

“I must study. Unfortunately my sedentary student life is making me fat. My friends call me ‘pig’.”

* Does Hot Sauce resent her mom for not letting her exercise? *

They walked about twenty minutes through the narrow streets of a dense residential area.

This neighborhood was composed mainly of two-story, single-family houses packed close together.

A solid iron fence surrounded each one, high enough to prevent most Koreans from seeing into the yard. 

“Houses here are like fortresses,” Fred commented as he peeked over a fence.

The yard inside was tiny, surfaced with concrete and had a car parked in it, which took up most of the space.

He glanced up at the house and noticed that all the windows were opaque.

“I don’t understand your windows here. You can’t see through them.”

“Your friend Thomas,” Hot Sauce said out of the blue, “will you meet him soon?”

Fred realized instantly that he’d completely forgotten about the Golden God.

“Oh!”

Hot Sauce clenched her hands prayer-like in front of her chest dreamily.

“I miss him s-o-o-o much!”

“Tell me then; do you know anything about what happened just before Thomas disappeared? When was the last time you saw him?”

Hot Sauce’s facial expression changed markedly.

Her eyebrows furrowed into a concerned ‘V’ shape.

“At Central. He didn’t see me though…”

* What happened the last time she saw Thomas? *

Leaving the institute that day, Hot Sauce could hear bursts of yelling coming from Go’s office.

Heading past, she slowed down her walk.

Go’s door was slightly ajar and he was visible behind his desk, along with a shadowy figure, whose back was to the door.

Mr Shadow’s light-coloured, chequed jacket had a high collar and his hair was meticulously slicked back with a thick layer of hair oil.

His shady deportment suggested gangster.

The office lights were off; natural, late-afternoon light from outside dimly illuminated the room.

A thick haze of cigarette smoke dimmed it further and created an enigmatic ambiance.

Thomas was also there – but she couldn’t see him; only hear his voice.

“I have no idea what they were talking about,” Hot Sauce related to Fred, “but the next day Thomas disappeared. I suspect that it had something to do with Shadow Man.

“It was so dim in the office I could only see part of his face for a second, yet he had a real presence. Not the sort of face you’d forget.”

* Was this ‘Shadow Man’ Damion? *

They were now amidst the restaurant area.

“Let’s use that lunch money,” Fred said.

“Me – hungry.”

He could also see that most of the eateries had air conditioners sticking out of windows or door-tops, and he was looking forward to cooling off.

The heat was starting to get to him and he felt drained.

Hot Sauce’s eyes lit up.

“You like spicy food?”

Fred gave her a thumbs-up.

“Okay,” she said, glancing around and picking out an eatery.

“Fred, the specialty here is spicy fish soup. OK? It’s super spicy.”

* Will the soup be too spicy for Fred? *

*

Tomorrow: The fish soup gives Fred some trouble.