Martoons

Cast of characters

Miss No

Dame

Mr Go

*

Sloshed         

“I cannot believe this,” Go said.

“I’ll have to check with my lawyer in the morning but according to this court summary the judge has sympathy for me and I get my business back from Miss No …”

He looked the document over again with a gleam in his eyes and an ear-to-ear smile and then slid it neatly back into the envelope.

He held the envelope in his arms lightly cuddled up to his chest like a baby, now protective of it.

“This calls for a toast!” Dame said and couldn’t hold back any longer. He patted his pockets again. “I really wish I had some cash.”

Go was still deep in thought, considering the implications of the legal document. He was wary, to say the least.

It was one thing for words to be written on paper; another thing entirely for those words to actually make things happen. Miss No wouldn’t roll over easily regardless of a court decision.

* Will Go be able to overthrow Miss No? *

Dame’s words “… cash …” finally took hold and Go dug around in his pocket for change. “There. That’s it. Now I have nothing. After this – game over.”

“Sorry boss,” Dame said. “Don’t mean to be a mooch. The next dozen times are on me, promise. And you know I’m good for it.”

But even to Dame himself, the assurance seemed empty. He wondered if there’d be that many times left.

* Has Dame definitively decided to leave Korea? *

New Year’s was approaching and he’d already made a pre-resolution: To get the hell off this God-forsaken peninsula; to go somewhere and get a real job. But … where?

*

Miss No was back on the potty emptying her bladder again. And everything was dead still. Her mind was in a state of pure thought – disoriented, impaired, miles-a-minute thought.

That’s when she heard it.

* Heard what? *

And she knew the sound because she’d heard it numerous times before – Central’s back rolling door being rolled up. Someone was coming in.

Who?

The cabby. Must be.

* Is it the cabby? *

He’d come in before after-hours to get her if incessant honking hadn’t gotten her attention.

Presently, No yelled out from the depths of the woman’s washroom, holding both hands up like a megaphone.

“Taxi Ajasshi – I’m coming!”

*

Back at the store.

“Let’s hit the town to celebrate!” Damion asserted, emptying the final drops of their lone soju bottle into Go’s glass.

Go downed it but was cool to the suggestion and waved Dame off. “Sorry – cannot go downtown. Money – no have. This corner store table is as far as I venture tonight.”

”How about go back to my apartment. I will cook us some instant noodles. Okay?”

* Will Dame be alright with that? *

Not used to Go party-pooping like this, it seemed like another factor reminding Dame that his days in Korea were numbered. Things just weren’t the same anymore.

Go wasn’t the fun guy he used to be – Dame attributed that to his mental illness; Thomas – Dame’s arch rival when he’d lived here in Chinju – was long gone; and Dame’s dream of a real relationship with Coffee Lady was shattered for good.

Even so, he felt a new ray of hope about Go’s court decision – a filtered ray however. Even with the courts behind Go, did he have killer instinct enough to push Miss No out?

And who’s to say she wouldn’t legally appeal? Her family had vast resources. She could drag the court process out indefinitely while Go continued his slide downhill.

* Who do you think will win in the battle between Go and Miss No? *

The more Dame thought about it, the more he could see the end. All the more reason to celebrate!

“Let’s head down town. We’ll grab a cab to the soju tent area. I know at least one ajumma who’ll be glad to see us. I’m a regular and I paid her a whole bunch of money in advance last time.”

Go acquiesced and as they zoomed downtown in a cab, something told him his luck was about to change. It was a feeling in his heart not his head.

And his buddy Dame had stuck with him through this whole ordeal and deserved a token of appreciation.

As usual though, Go didn’t like the idea of a foreigner paying for his drinks so he racked his brains trying to think of an ajumma who him a favour so he could treat Damion.

* Is there someone? *

No such luck; as Go went down the list, the opposite was true: He’d run tabs in most of the tents and had been cut off until he could pay up.

Then he thought of his secret soju stash.

* And where might that be? *

*

Tomorrow: Miss No thinks she hears a ghost!