Cast of characters

 

 

 

Mr Go

 

 

 

Mr Kang

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

The only thing I’m counting on is that my friend will answer his phone when I call him, thought Go.

 

 

 

And Mr Kang usually did. He was good that way – always the first to arrive at his institutes and the last to leave.

 

 

 

Privately, he still lived at home with his over-protective, doting yet also nagging mother. (She did well for herself in real estate.)

 

 

 

Kang usually left the house early, right after breakfast — which his mom prepared for him at the crack of dawn, as she’d grown up in a farm family.

 

 

 

Kang would then make his usual rounds of the public bath to shower and catch up on the latest scuttlebutt with the regulars.

 

 

 

Then he’d head to the institute and roll the door up by 6:00 a.m., before any of his staff arrived.

 

 

 

He’d made the mistake once of lazing about at home when he’d been nursing an abnormally nasty soju hangover – and paid the price: His mother nagged him relentlessly and unceasingly.

 

 

 

“When will you get married? Why don’t you have a girl friend? How will you take care of yourself when I die?”

 

 

 

“With nothing coming in, you’ll drain you’re father’s inheritance in no time.”

 

 

 

“Your father would be rolling in his grave to see you lazing about. And don’t count on my real estate money or all the houses I own – I’ll be donating everything to charity.”

 

 

 

“You must make your own way.”

 

 

 

Kang was the kind of person who only needed to be told once. So from then on, hangover or not, he was up and out the door early.

 

 

 

So, Go thought, even with the holiday, in all likelihood he’ll be in his office when I call at 11:00.

 

 

 

* Do you think he will be? *

 

 

 

Go’s main concern now was that the housewives be able to find Fred on the beach this morning and get him out of there.

 

 

 

And that hinged on Fred slipping away from Miss No’s vigilant eyeballs.

 

 

 

Go sighed. Maybe I should have hashed out that part of the plan in more detail.

 

 

 

* Will the housewives be able to find Fred? *

 

 

 

The cab’s radio volume seemed to amplify. The usual collage of grim trends and distressing events…

 

 

 

“The Korean economy is exploding yet an economist says our largest corporations are like castles built on sand.”

 

 

 

“They’ve been extended excessive amounts of credit by those finicky, whimsical international investors.”

 

 

 

“Any future, major withdrawal by them would lead to a quick and instant collapse of our economy.”

 

 

 

“A new government report says the boy-girl ratio in Korea has never been more skewed – 117 boys to 100 girls.”

 

 

 

“When these males grow up, there just won’t be enough females to go around.”

 

 

 

“Sociologists speculate that homosexuality may become trendy and expedient with future same-sex couples choosing to adopt children.”

 

 

 

“And finally a kidnapping has occurred in Seoul. A billionaire businessman’s 4 year old son was nabbed outside his pre-school. The kidnappers want a billion won ransom (one million dollars).”

 

 

 

“Apparently the businessman already came up with that but the pick-up spot turned out to be a trash bin – which was emptied by city garbage collectors!”

 

 

 

Go normally tried to ignore the news. He’d let the stories drift in one ear and out the other.

 

 

 

He knew that the whole purpose of news reports was not to inform the public with a balanced, factual picture but instead to disturb, annoy and enrage.

 

 

 

And the last story did just that, and on cue the cabby reacted:

 

 

 

“Ayeesh,” he grumbled, peering out into the pre-dawn dimness of early morning.

 

 

 

“Kidnapping. Using innocent children to make money. Surely our country’s people are not that desperate.”

 

 

 

Our great nation and economy has enough jobs for everyone… Maybe … I think … North Koreans are behind that kidnapping.”

 

 

Go didn’t respond so Cabby changed the radio station to classical music. But it wasn’t that Go had mentally turned off the news.

 

 

 

The last report was still filtering through his mind. Kidnapping. Kidnapping…

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

Tomorrow: Fred maneuvers himself around some cars.