Martoons

Cast of characters

Dame

Fred

*

Respect        

Fred walked lightly down the dim hallway and upon reaching the closed door to Miss No’s office, halted and knocked politely.

“Why?” said a man’s voice, familiar sounding.

Fred cautiously entered. Inside the office lightly-scented with cigarette smoke, he was immediately struck by the darkness.

The lights had been turned out and the blind on the window had been pulled down.

The window was open and the breeze made the blind clatter back and forth letting in bursts of light.

The only solid source of illumination was the orange tip of the guy’s cigarette.

Sitting at Miss No’s desk – indeed, as if he owned the place – a shadowy silhouette took another puff and the stoked ember briefly threw a flash of light on his nose and eyes.

Those eyes.

Wide eyes.

“You’re late,” Dame said.

Fred got his mind around the situation. “I take it this is the meeting we were supposed to have last week but you didn’t show up?”

The poke had no effect on Dame, who remained silent and stone-faced.

“Anyway,” Fred added, “yeah I’m a bit late getting back.”

He squirmed a bit and forced a smile. “Just had a magic cultural moment with some of the housewives.”

The comment flew past Dame, who only frowned as he puffed his cigarette again.

He scanned the desktop vainly for an ashtray then mashed the butt out on the floor of the office with his foot.

Fred was aghast but didn’t say anything. Instincts were telling him to speak only when spoken to.

* Will this meeting go well for Fred? *

 “I’m going to give you my side of the story,” Dame said, “and then – only because Mr Go convinced me to – I’ll listen to your side.”

“Then I’ll decide if I’m going to lay charges.”

Fred shrugged and nodded acquiescently.

Dame: “Okay, back to that nightmarish evening – let’s put emotions aside and deal with the facts of the crime…”

Isn’t that a loaded statement? Fred mused. Aren’t we having this meeting to determine if there was a … crime? 

His eyes were adjusting to the darkened room and through the mild dimness he could see that Dame had reclined in No’s big chair and put his feet up on her desk.

Fred was appalled by the show of disrespect yet ironically the tension in the room seemed to ease a bit.

Fred plopped his backpack down on the nearby couch. “You mind if I sit down? I just came back from hiking…” He went to sit down.

“Halt!” Dame somehow shot up to his feet and the chair rolled back slightly on its casters. “You stand at attention!”

He screamed with such shrillness it startled Fred yet at the same time almost made him laugh. “This is serious shit.”

“If you don’t tell me what I want to hear today, you’re going to jail. You got that?”

* Will Dame be satisfied with what Fred has to say? *

Fred straightened out.

Dame re-lounged in the chair with his feet back up, but crossed his arms. “So: Our skirmish. Location: Chinju Rotary, outside Hollywood Inn.

“You made me lose face that night. Face is everything here.

“What was going was a private matter between me and my lady. I don’t need anyone – particularly you –”

“butting into my business; especially you, being a fellow Canadian and Edmontonian to boot!

“You should know it’s hard enough for we waygooks to make our way in this God-forsaken place without our own kind turning on us.”

He put his hand out and snapped his fingers. “Got your confession?”

Fred quickly zipped open his backpack and slid out the paper, handing it over with both hands delicately – Korean style.

As Damion began reading it there was a smirk on his face, but that evaporated as he mumbled through more.

“I am very sorry this happened … blah blah …”

He stopped, cleared his throat and cited from the document, almost as an announcement:

“I am ashamed to have disgraced all foreigners in this country. I am prepared to leave Korea …”

* Is Fred truly prepared to leave Korea over this? *

He stopped right here, shook his head and took his feet off the desk and sat up straight. He slapped the statement firmly down on the desktop.

“I can barely recall what happened that night – I was drunk! However, I’ve got a witness to back up my story.

“The main thing is the aftermath, which I do recall vividly: You embarrassed the hell out of me and I lost face.”

*

Tomorrow: Dame demands respect.