Martoons

Cast of characters

Dame

Ajumma from Evergreen Soju Town

Fred

*

The ajumma’s words reverberate and continue to bug him, so he tries to console himself and defend his station.

She’s a wise old lady but she’s only giving an opinion based on what she sees. Nobody can see into my mind.

Yet even so, it’s a test: Do I have what it takes to stay here? Is this God-forsaken peninsula my fate?

* Is it? Do you think Dame has what it takes? *

He rubs the stubble on his chin and glances back at the seniors and they’re all tossing back soju shots, oblivious to him.

He wants to laugh with them but can’t – his damn stomach.

And a stark realization: I physically can’t stomach this place anymore– all the drinking and spicy food… Yet those are just symptoms.

All this is surely happening because of a deeper, more spiritual malaise.

* What is Dame’s deeper and true malaise? *

Ajumma senses both his present discomfort and deeper discontent. “Will you go back to your home country?”

Dame feels she understands his mind and has a heart-felt concern for his health.

“Do you miss your parents?” she adds. “You are so far from your hometown.”

“Maybe you are homesick. Life here must be so difficult and inconvenient for you.”

* Do you think Dame is homesick at all? *

He waves her off. “There’s nothing for me back home and I can’t go back there. I don’t miss home. I love Korea.”

His own words surprise him. Up to now, he’s never taken this God-forsaken peninsula seriously. “Korea – number one!” and he holds up his index finger.

* Really? *

Yet even to himself the gesture feels contrived. The ajumma looks back down at her fish.

“Korea … number one,” Dame says again but it sounds lame this time. 

“Ah yeah,” ajumma says formally, “Ko-map-sumnida,” pressing down on the fish again and flipping it back over to brown the other side. It looks and smells done. “Hungry?”

“Me? Hungry?” Despite his stomach he accepts the offering for goodwill’s sake. The seniors will devour the fish. “Yeah yeah. Very hungry. Thanks. You’re so kind.”

This dream fast-forwards and Dame’s suddenly and strangely all alone in Evergreen Soju Town. Where did my seniors go?

He’s sitting at their table and a plate sits there with the fish carcass – stripped bare. The bowls of hangover soup have been consumed.

“Those students left,” the burly ajumma answers with a sweeping-away motion as she cleans up. “We’re closed now.”

Dame wonders if he’d blacked out momentarily sitting at the table. He’d done that before.

Embarrassed, he springs to his feet and fishes around in his pants’ pocket for some cash to pay the tab, as is his nightly custom.

“Your friends already paid,” ajumma remarks.

Dame is shocked, embarrassed; feels a loss of face yet it is less severe as the seniors are not present.

He turns toward the exit yet over at the tent wall he can’t find the opening flap.

Ajumma sees his predicament and hurries over sympathetically. Dame can feel this dream ending. I’m going to wake up in a minute or two. I know it now.

* Is Dame really about to wake up? *

Ajumma separates the folds in the tent wall and the blackness of outside appears. The damp, cool air streams in. Dame heads out to a blue rocket.

While he does his business, he peers out the rocket’s eye-level air vent grill.

He sees a chequered pattern of orange soju tents in the plaza and the strings of light bulbs hanging across the way.

Then he spots the headlights of a taxi as it cautiously navigates into the area. He zips up and exits the rocket and can’t seem to take his eyes off the cab.

There’s something about it.

The yellow economy car cab pulls up and Dame spots Fred’s shadowy silhouette in the back seat.

Dame makes eye contact with Fred, who nods and flashes a thumbs-up.

Dame feels a chill and stops cold in his tracks.

“Fred!” Dame calls out. “Fancy meeting you here. What’s up bro?”

“I’m leaving this God-forsaken peninsula as you call it. I gave it my best shot, man, but I give up.

“In the end it wasn’t up to me. I’m a lot less important than I thought I was. We’re nobodies here and the sooner we recognize that, the better.

“You told me all that before and now I get it. This is no place for waygooks!” He laughs. “G’bye buddy!”

The words are shocking to Dame but seem to fit completely with the feeling of this whole strange dream.

“Don’t worry Fred!” Dame calls out, chuckling in exasperation. “You’re not really going anywhere. This is just a stupid dream – my dream.”

“This is not really happening!”

* Might it actually happen though? *

Fred turns to face forward and as he rolls up his window, the cab pulls up onto the road and speedily disappears.

*

Tomorrow: Dame wakes from his dream and Go gets ready to go!