Martoons

Cast of characters

Fred

Mrs Won

*

Under an overcast sky with the day’s air frigid and still, Fred headed back to Good Lucky Apartments. He regretted not having the balls to tell Mr Go about leaving.

It drove him crazy how Koreans hid things from him; well, he’d just done the same thing to a Korean. It was just one of those things.

Fred fumbled around in his pocket and felt his pager. What do I need this for? My business here is done.

He turned the device off.

* Will someone try and contact him? *

He meandered through some tiny village streets and then along a narrow farmer’s road just wide enough for an old-style tractor.

The road dissected the dull grey-brown, already-harvested rice fields, which had been shaved down like a soldier’s head. They were now plateaus of frozen mud.

Strangely, a stunningly beautiful, pure white crane was standing on one such plateau, completely motionless. Its long curved neck was striking.

Fred scanned up and down the magnificent, pure white bird for an eternity of several seconds. He remembered spotting a crane that first morning on the drive to Riverside.

As he took one last look at this one, he wondered why it was there at all – by itself, in the middle of winter.

He could hear traditional drums coming from the basement of a nearby building. He knew of a drumming circle that practiced there.

The mesmerizing and war-like rhythmic vibration seemed to be a structured code, which Fred deciphered:

Look at yourself in a mirror.

It is the reflection of a warrior.

But the battle just ended.

And you have surrendered.

Fred felt tinges of shame. Am I taking the easy way out?

* Do you think that’s what Fred’s doing? *

He kept walking; the guilt seemed to pass. Good Lucky Apartments was off in the distance and now looked fleeting and temporary.

A moment later he entered the parking lot and smiled upon approaching the security booth. This would be another ‘last time’ – saying goodbye to the elderly guard.

Unusually, however, the booth was empty. Equally unusual was that Mrs Won actually happened to be home.

For the first day in a long time she was in the kitchen and it was almost as if she’d been waiting and expecting Fred and somehow knew his situation.

* Does she somehow know? *

Something inside him said don’t tell Mrs Won you’re leaving Korea.

Yet he had to say something so he merely mentioned that he’d come back to pack to clear his room out for Mrs Won’s sister and her baby.

“Thanks for being my gracious hostess for the last few months,” he said to Mrs Won while organizing things.

Mrs Won apologized once again about needing the room and then asked bluntly, “Have you ever visited Ulsan? I am going there today to visit my sister and drive her back here.

“She is the one expecting the baby, as you know. Maybe I will come back in a few days. Why don’t you visit there with me?”

Her comment threw Fred off. Does she know I’m leaving Chinju today?

“Ulsan is a good city,” she added, “and very busy. Did you know they make Hyundai cars there? It is Korea’s most industrialized city.

“Every town and city in Korea is famous for something, and Ulsan is famous for pollution!”

Fred cracked a small smile but realized Won was stating this matter-of-factly, not as a put-down.

“Anyway,” she continued, “maybe you could come with me now and do a few days’ sightseeing.”

* Will Fred take her up on the offer? *

Fred was still gathering his thoughts, feeling almost compelled now to tell Mrs Won he’d pulled the pin on this God-forsaken peninsula.

* Do you think he’ll tell her? *

The ajumma sensed Fred was rejecting her once again, yet completed her invitation nevertheless: “Ulsan is a very friendly city and much bigger than Chinju.

“The interesting thing is that because it is an industrial centre, a lot of people there are not from Ulsan. It is a situation similar to yours. You might meet a lot of friends there.”

Her Ulsan option resonated with Fred. What did he have to lose? He was finished here.

* Will Fred go to Ulsan? *

*

Tomorrow: Fred’s decision regarding Ulsan is made and he decides to let somebody know that he’s leaving Chinju.