Martoons

Cast of characters

Mr Go

Max

*

Dimly aware that he was not entirely in control of himself from the lethal soju and neon combination, Go dared to grab a fistful of cash from the lower drawer and tapped it into a neat pile on his desk, much like getting set to shuffle a deck of cards.

He made sure the nosy Miss No was gone for the night before he descended to the street, two stairs at a time.

Fighting off his country boy guilt, he curiously sauntered up to the entrance of his first girly bar, whose sign had only moments ago blasted into his office:

CUPID ? VIP ROOM  

The jaunt here had circulated the soju through his brain and flicked a new set of switches.

His body stiffened up, his face went expressionless, and like a soldier Comrade Go marched inside the club reporting for duty.

* How come Go reacts like that? *

Inside, he immediately hit it off with the hostesses.

One of the girls, in fact, was from his hometown – yet he hadn’t known her as she was several years younger.

She, like the others, was poor and uneducated yet good-natured.

Unlike most patrons, though, Go didn’t judge the ladies; talk down to them, or – worst of all – baby talk with them.

He treated them as equals; when he asked them a question, they were impressed that he actually cared about their answer.

At the end of the night he tipped handsomely.

Upon departure, the ladies all gathered at the door and bid him farewell.

“Please visit again,” they said.

“Come here often.”

He assured them he would.

Heading home, for the first time since coming to Chinju he felt a sense of belonging.

From then on, CUPID ? VIP ROOM acted as his base.

His nightly routine would commence as soon as Miss No had gone for the evening.

Noodles with black sauce would be ordered, to be washed down with soju.

Then he’d find himself swinging around in his chair and casting a discriminating eye down the street from his watchtower.

Whichever establishment whose sign flashed the brightest and spoke to him in the most commanding voice would get his vote.

Sometimes Comrade Go would even get out of his chair, stand at attention, and salute.

He’d then grab another inch-thick pile of bills from the drawer and dart off into the night.

Finally I’m having fun.

Perhaps a little too much fun.

* Was Go having ‘too much fun’? *

*

Empty Bottle  

The morning after a wild night, Go would often have a foggy memory – or none at all – as to what had transpired the previous evening.

He’d remember wolfing down the noodles with black sauce in his office, washing it down with some soju but after that …

blank.

Once his eyes locked back on the neon signs and their friendly, beckoning voices, inevitably he’d be drawn out into the nightlife.

Week by week he started leaving Central earlier, even before Miss No had left.

He’d daringly dart past her to the exit, deftly ducking any of her prying questions.

He was also snatching bigger fiscal fistfuls from the secret drawer.

He’d become friends with the CUPID ? VIP ROOM’s owner Max, who gave Go the lowdown on the nightlife biz.

“Max,” Go said one evening, “my business is boring.”

A leggy hostess beside him on the comfy couch wrapped her arm around him.

Go spread his arms out.

“This is the life.”

Max waved him off vehemently.

“This is a crazy line of work. In the nightclub business, we slash each others’ throats to get customers. Literally. Over the years, I’ve been beaten up, ripped off, and jailed.”

“Jailed?” Go quizzed.

Max chuckled.

“Yeah, usually for not paying the police enough when they come around to do their inspections. But jail never bothered me. I always managed to get out early for ‘good behaviour’ – you know, greasing the right palms, especially around election time! It costs a fortune to get elected these days. Politicians really appreciate the assistance.

“The main secret to my success, though, is how I treat my ladies. Mr Go my friend, most night spots are revolving doors – the hostesses are treated abysmally. They end up changing their employers more frequently than their underwear!

“They stay with me, though. Here at Cupid and my other spots, we have a ‘no touchy’ policy – if a customer does lay a hand on, my boys get to touch the client – with their knuckles or the stubby end of a pool cue. It’s only fair!”

*

Tomorrow: Find out why Max gave Go special treatment.