Martoons

Today: Mr Go opens up to Fred.

Cast of characters

Fred

Donna

Mr Go

Scene: Outside Central Institute

*

*Donna*

“Hey! Wait!” Fred called out.

Donna answered tentatively, pre-occupied by her oncoming bus. “What’s up?”

“I didn’t give you a very good impression there back in the office. The trip over here has been exhausting. Can we meet and talk sometime soon?”

 The speeding bus swerved recklessly into the stop and screeched to a halt.

“How about the end of the week?” Donna said. “I usually go for dinner with my boyfriend on Fridays.”

“Boyfriend? That was fast!”

“Everything happens fast in Korea.” The bus’ door swung open and Donna stepped up. “See you Friday.”

The door whammed shut and the vehicle roared off and left Fred fanning away a gnarly exhaust cloud.

He retreated back to Central and headed up the stairs, pondering the possibility that Donna may very well have already met Thomas in person.

She’d been here for a few weeks and that would seem to coincide when Thomas had been here, or at least his last days here.

At the top of the stairs Fred saw Go still out on the little balcony.

Go happened to turn and make eye contact.

“Oh Fred, you’re back! I’m trapped.”

He pointed to the last few blotches of mop water yet to evaporate.

Fred made his way down, tiptoeing around the wet spots and then stepping over the last blotch onto the landing.

“Long legs!” Go remarked in admiration.

Fred’s first thought was to tap Go for info on Thomas but instincts told him to ease up for now and carefully wait for the right time.

Obviously, at a visceral level there was some discomfort among Go and No about Thomas.

If Fred got too persistent, they’d start shutting him out.

It was human nature.

And once a dialogue door is closed, it’s very hard to re-open it.

Fred was also getting the feeling that he’d better become allies with someone, and Go seemed like an obvious candidate.

Out on his little landing, Go was puffing away on his fourth or fifth smoke, judging from the small pile of butts already mashed out on the ground.

Now with Fred here, Go dropped almost an entire cigarette to the ground and squashed it out.

* Will Fred gain Mr Go as an ally? *

“Oh, don’t mind me,” Fred said waving him off. “You’re entitled to your smoke breaks.”

“I smoke all day though. I need to take a not-smoking break.” He chuckled and glanced down to make sure the butt was truly extinguished.

“So Mr Fred – your first day in Korea. You okay?”

Fred gave him a thumbs-up. “How about you Mr Go – everything alright with you?”

Go sighed as his eyes took on a waxy, nostalgic gloss.

“Fred, sometimes I think how did I end up here? What am I doing? You know, my grandparents were farmers and so are my parents. They all live back in the countryside far away from here and I only see them once or twice a year on holidays. But I don’t know what to say to them.”

“I am not in any way interested in farming. I have always wanted to be a businessman ever since I was – how you say – knee high to grasshopper?”

“My parents wanted me to get a good education after elementary school, so they sent me to live with my uncle in Seoul and finish my middle and high school.”

* What is Mr Go really like? *

“Way back when, that uncle was a cleaner at an American army base there and one day brought me home a pack of American baseball cards from the base canteen.”

“Willie Mays … Frank Howard … Do you know?”

Fred nodded and grinned.

“Another time he brought me American superhero comics. Fred, I looked at those cards and comics every day for hours. But I didn’t have a clue what they said! That was when I decided I must learn English.”

The trivia anecdotes on the cards and the talk bubbles in the comics where the characters were saying things and sound effects … it fascinated me; like a secret code into someone’s mind.

“I decoded every single word! I had an old English dictionary and it was held together by an elastic band – I referred to it so often every page came loose.”

“My interest in English infected my friends too, and they relentlessly nagged me to lend and sell them my cards and comics.”

“We were like a secret society. Fred, we all started learning English. It was fantastic!”

“When I sold my cards and comics to my buddies, I gave the proceeds to my uncle to buy more for me! Fred, I was a mini-businessman in school and I learned English too!”

“One day I saw a soldier walking outside the army base – he was very tall and handsome – and I wondered if Englishy really worked.”

“So I asked him a question: “Excuse me, sir: Do you like Washington Senators?” And he said, “No, I like the Detroit Tigers.”

Fred I can still clearly remember that conversation like it was yesterday. That was the first time I talk to foreigner.” Go sighed and chuckled. “So that was the beginning and now I am here. And you too!”

*

Tomorrow: A day in the life of Miss No.