Martoons

Cast of characters

Fred

Donna

Miss No

*

Suddenly it occurred to Fred what his life was missing. He needed a cause to attach to.

* What kind of cause might he attach himself to? *

He’d been an occasional community activist back home yet had done nothing here and at this moment realized that this was the gap in his life.

His first thought was Mr Go.

The idea rolled over in his mind. As the seconds passed, it gained intensity especially since his days in Chinju were now numbered.

Mr Go warned me against taking on Miss No. But I’ve got nothing to lose. I’m leaving!

He’d tried to keep a low profile in recent weeks to steer clear of No and appease her – at least on the surface.

He’d shied away from talking about Mr Go around the workplace, even though he had stories to tell and questions to ask.

But he now saw that avoidance strategy as a cop-out. It was time to come out of hiding and go on the attack for his friend.   

* What will Fred do? *

He began drafting a short manifesto, which he’d run by Donna for feedback.

If he got a draft done right now, he could drop it off for her at Riverside on the way to work.

Moments later, hurrying through the Good Lucky parking lot to the bus stop, the wind picked up in gusts and was chilly and biting.

Fred didn’t like to rush but often in Korea had found it unavoidable.

His bus pulled up right away; had he been a moment later, his fate would have unfolded completely differently.

There was some activity at Riverside but Fred snuck into the staff office unnoticed.

He carefully placed his manifesto draft on Donna’s desk and then bolted out.

As he hit the sidewalk and got another swift slap in the face from the whipping breeze, his bus for Central pulled up.

Both his tight transit connections so far made him optimistic. The Gods are on my side.

Donna returned to her office shortly after.

A nasty coffee craving was bugging her and she was about to make a beeline down to the vending machine when she noticed Fred’s note.  

Mr Go is in trouble. He needs our help…

Her brain was screaming at her for the caffeine fix, but she ruthlessly suppressed it and read on…

He founded this business but Miss No ruthlessly forced him out. It’s not fair. It’s our duty to help him return. Here’s what I suggest…

But Donna had another fierce craving and decided to read the rest of Fred’s plan with a coffee in her hand.

She put down the paper, fished around for change and darted out.

Anticipating a quick return, she left the office door ajar as if to say, “I’ll be right back.”

Dashing down to street level, the outside breeze put up resistance but she determinedly pushed through it to the beige, hot beverage vending machine.

“Hi handsome,” she cooed.

Meanwhile, out back of the institute and unknown to Donna, Miss No had just pulled up in a cab.

She had a few things to do here before heading back to Central.

She liked to enter Riverside via the back way because that’s where the spiral staircase and the large fake pillars were.

It imbued the institute with a sense of majesty that made her feel important.

She struggled to swing open the glass back door against the wind, and once inside, it swiftly whooshed closed.

For a split second the cross breeze was forced through the entire building – up to the second floor, down that hall, and deflecting into the office.

The office door suddenly slammed shut – simultaneously scooping Fred’s note off Donna’s desk and sending it zigzagging to the floor.

*

Tomorrow: Fred’s manifesto gets picked up by an unfortunate someone…