Martoons

Today: Fred’s walk to the store for a drink takes some twists and turns

Cast of characters

Fred 

Mr Go

Mr E – Korean man who is assistant manager at a bank

*

“No, no Mr Fred!”

“What?” Fred stuck the mop in the squeezer and squished all the water out.

“You need not do that work. It is my job. Relax.”

Fred handed the mop back.

Go was now grinning while he mopped. “Miss No will not come here after all. She must go to another city.”

He went back to the mopping and seemed relieved and at peace with himself.

“So Mr Fred, why don’t you return to the office where it is cool and relax. Maybe it will be lunch time soon.”

Sitting down at the big round table, the grueling trip of the previous day had caught up to Fred and he soon found himself fighting off sleep.

He’d also suddenly been overcome with a ravenous thirst.

Without deliberating, he sprung to his feet and informed Go he was going outside for a few minutes.

He’d been playing the polite foreigner game ever since he’d been picked up at the airport yesterday and just needed to go out and explore on his own – even if just for a few minutes.

Fred sensed that once Go’s business started up for the day, he’d be stuck inside until night.

Go was sweating from his mopping and plunked the mop back in the bucket.

“I drive you,” he said.

“That’s okay,” Fred said politely. “I’ll just walk.”

Go seemed confused. “Where will you go?”

“I saw a small convenience store just outside as we drove in.” Fred tapped on his pocket to verify that he had change. “Do you want anything?”

Go waved him off and went back to mopping.

Fred fled down the stairs and found that the adjacent sidewalk and nearby streets were entirely deserted.

What had happened to the market ladies he’d seen a little while ago?

Now, where was that confounded convenience store?

The temperature was pushing 40 degrees and the humidity was thick.

After walking only half a block Fred was sweating and panting.

He passed several housewives carrying parasols to shield themselves from the scorching rays.

They didn’t notice him at all.

He was invisible.

He passed an idling car parked at the side of the road and peered inside to see that the driver had tilted his seat back and was snoozing.

Fred chuckled. Multi-tasker. Pollutes the atmosphere as he sleeps.

The corner store that Fred thought he’d seen had vanished like a mirage.

Oddly enough, after some moments he passed by the bedding store from last night and the fish restaurant where Mr Go’s little incident had occurred.

Or did this just look like that restaurant?

Fred knew one thing for sure: With formal clothes on – dress pants, shirt and tie – he was about to boil over.

He scurried from building to building, retreating under awnings and ducking into entrance ways.

He had no idea where he was going.

Fred Pineridge was lost – smack dab in the middle of Chinju, Korea.

* Will Fred be able to find his way back? * 

He wiped the sweat off his brow with a handkerchief and had a moment to reflect: Forget the drink. Just get out of this heat.

He didn’t want to go any farther and did a one-eighty to retrace his steps.

After about five minutes he was relieved to pass the same car – still idling and still polluting the atmosphere, with the same guy inside still taking the same siesta.

Yet Fred was going in the same direction as before so he concluded that was going around in circles.

He stopped and scanned all directions.

There wasn’t a soul in sight and it was dead quiet.

It was so hot that the concrete sidewalk and granite walls of the newer-type buildings seemed to be slowly baking.

“How may I help you?” a voice called out, breaking the silence and stopping Fred’s mind from spinning. 

The disoriented waygook naturally turned toward the voice.

It was the siesta man from the idling car, who’d rolled down his window and was calling out.

His car was still idling and although Fred couldn’t see the exhaust he could feel the extra heat.

The man was about Fred’s age and was wearing an immaculate business suit, clean and flawless.

When Fred didn’t answer right away, the man efficiently got out of the car and snappily stepped toward Fred, holding out his hand.

“I am Mr E, spelled L-E-E but pronounced just E.”

“I’m Fred Pineridge from Canada.” Fred’s energy was sapped and his handshake was listless.

“Your English – good!” was all the simmering Canadian could come up with for a comment.   

“I can speak Chinese also,” E responded proudly. “I have to.”

He pointed to a nearby building with a modern frontage.

Its sign said BANK alongside a string of Korean characters.

“I am assistant manager there. We have many Chinese clients – these days Korean businessmen are very eager to invest in China, you know?”

The air around the car was getting hotter and unbearable.

Fred started swallowing to moisten his throat.

He didn’t want to offend this guy but honestly was about to blow a gasket. “Sir, question: Why do you sit in your car and leave the engine running? It pollutes the air.”

“Today’s weather is very hot,” E said, unconcerned. “My car has air con.”

Fred nodded.

“My bank has air con too,” E chuckled, “but maybe I try to avoid the bank for a little while. Frankly speaking, there is a customer who has been visiting my bank for the last few weeks.

“He is very … interesting. Actually he is from Canada. Oh! You said you were from Canada. Maybe that customer is your friend?”

“I do know one Canadian here … but I can’t find him.”

* Could Mr E’s Canadian customer be Thomas? *

*

Tomorrow: Fred’s thirst is satisfied… and maybe a little of his curiosity too.