Martoons

Cast of characters

Fred

Mr Go

*

The exhausted ex-boss sat down on a large, flat wooden slatted bench in the middle of the change area.

Some other men were sitting there with towels wrapped around their waists watching a television, oblivious to everything else.

One man was meticulously trimming his toenails, carefully putting the clippings into a designated, labeled can.

A moment later Fred caught up to Go. They each grabbed a long, folded scrubbing cloth from a neatly-stacked pile and entered the actual sauna compound.

It was warm, steamy and foggy and Fred could barely see the outline of dozens of Korean boys and men.

Most were sitting on stools, covered in soapsuds and scrubbing either themselves or each other with brushes and the special cloths.

The room was about 20 paces square with a tiled floor. There were different sections but no partitions so it seemed big and open.

This was the first time since coming to Korea that Fred felt truly on exactly the same footing with everyone else.

In the bathhouse, with all persons stark naked, everyone is equal.

He took a shower then headed into a sauna. He baked in there for a while and then Go came in.

There were several others in the room but with steam hissing out of a wall duct, Go could talk to Fred without anyone else hearing much.

“This reminds me of my university days,” he reminisced.

“A lot of public bathhouses were open all night and there were many around my university. I often went there to sleep.

* He went there to sleep? *

“It usually wasn’t my plan to spend the night there, but we’d go there after drinking soju.”

“In those drinking holes we’d debate issues into the wee hours and then there was no point walking home.”

He chuckled and then shook his head, looking down reflectively – almost romantically. “Ah, university. Those were the days.

“You know, because of those debates after class and after hours, I really feel like I educated my mind.”

“You wouldn’t believe some of our arguments. We almost got into fist fights.”

* What could the arguments have been about? *

“What were the hot topics in those days?”

“Mostly North and South Korea. It’s funny Fred, that is still relevant these days but nobody talks about it anymore.”

He leaned over, closer to the waygook. “Are you interested in the situation between the two Koreas?”

* Is he? *

Fred was definitely craving some meaty knowledge about the country after months of superficial conversations that were starting to drive him batty.

But at the same time, he didn’t want to set off Go’s stress disorder so he answered only tentatively.

“As you wish Mr Go.”

* Could this conversation turn into one of those old arguments? *

*

Tomorrow: Mr Go shares some of past, as well as his thoughts.