Martoons

Cast of characters

Fred

Mr Go

Max

*

Clears the Fog               

The man had a large, shoddily-etched eagle tattooed across his chest and below that, hideous scars presumably from several long knife slashes extending from one rib cage to the other.

Fred tried not to notice.

* How did the man get all of those? *

“Just a … birth mark,” the man said grinning. “A minute ago I saw you in the steam sauna with your friend. I said hello but you guys ignored me!”

“Hey!” Fred said suddenly recognizing the man. “You’re Max from the pool hall.”

They shook hands.

“Did you eat rice yet?” Max asked.

It was a standard Korean greeting but in actuality Fred was peckish. “We just came back from Jiri Mountain.”

“On the way we stopped at a roadside center for lunch. But you know a bowl of noodles doesn’t keep you going very long.”

“How about after this we eat rice together?”

Fred hesitated – he wasn’t sure what Mr Go’s plan was.

He also found Max a bit forward but realized it might just be the unlimited friendliness Koreans often show when they meet a foreigner.

* Will they end up going to eat together? *

After the salt sauna, Fred and Max went over to a super-powerful, overhead shower and stood on smooth, flat polished stones as the chilly water swooshed down like a waterfall.

After that, they sat in a wooden tub filled with tinted water.

“This is green tea,” Max said. “Good for skin.”

“Talk about being tea-bagged!” Fred said as he steeped in the tub but Max didn’t get the joke. “Just wondering Max, how did you meet Mr Go?”

“He has been the best customer at my business for a long time.”

“Is he a good pool player?”

Max laughed and waved Fred off. “He doesn’t like pool. I have many other businesses, like singing rooms and – before – a kind of casino.”

“Kind of?”

“Well it was…illegal.” He chuckled. “It was open after hours. But then an election approached and police closed me down.”

“They tend to crack down before elections.”

“Anyway, after patronizing my lounges for a good little while, Mr Go met Miss No so I didn’t see him much anymore.”

Max sighed. “Actually I think Mr Go wasted a lot of his time and money in my establishments because he was lonely.”

Just then someone over at the boiling water sauna shouted frantically.

Max and Fred looked over. It was one of the two little boys and he was yelling irately.

“Mr Go is in trouble!” Max said.

* What has happened to Go?! *

He and Fred burst out of the tea hot tub and scurried over the tile floor trying not to slip.

They got to the scalding tank within seconds and peered into the clear, steaming water to see Go lying on the bottom. They stepped in and pulled him out.

“Call 1-1-9!” Max said to some onlookers.

* Will Go be okay?! *

Max’s muscular friend appeared and together they carried Go out of the sauna compound and into the waiting area – to the large, slatted bench where he’d sat earlier.

Sitting on either side with their arms around him, Max lightly slapped Go’s face and tried to get him to come to.

Within a few seconds, Go’s body jerked and he heaved-up a mouthful or two of water, followed by a brief coughing fit.

As soon as he regained consciousness and realized where he was and who was sitting beside him, he got up quickly.

He was a bit shaky but put his head down and walked away from the bench.

Other men clapped. Max and his king-sized comrade scurried back into the compound.

Go walked back to Fred, looking down and shaking his head in disbelief.

“I was so relaxed in that tub. It is possible I fell asleep and just slid under the water.”

They both walked slowly around the change room. “Fred thank you for saving my life.” He dabbed his own forehead with a cold cloth.

*

Tomorrow: Fred and Mr Go part ways.