Martoons

Will Thomas’ interview with Master Lee go well and get him to Korea?

Cast of characters

Fred

Master Lee

Thomas

Mrs Lee

*

Fred was still flabbergasted over the Donna flip-flop but relieved about Thomas.

His interview was held at a downtown luxury hotel, which gave the whole thing an air of credibility.

Master Lee was very sharply dressed.

It was the first time Fred had seen him in suit and tie, not his Tae Kwon Do uniform.

As for Thomas, all he wanted to do was get on the plane for Korea.

* Is Thomas too honest? *

“You guys are my ticket out of here,” he said as he arrived, out of breath.

He was almost too eager but came across as being honest and confident.

In the interview he mentioned that he was getting divorced, and that he and his estranged wife had a 7-year old daughter named Perky.

“Perky will go to Korea with me,” Thomas said, “but not right away; maybe down the road after I get established and get a couple of paycheques. I’m flat out busted right now…”

Lee looked puzzled. “So, your wife will come to Korea with your daughter?”

“No, my parents will put Perk on the plane. My wife and I…”  He made a Tae Kwon Do chopping motion with his hand. “…game over.” He laughed.

Lee, sitting up rigidly, squinted his eyes and looked deeply concerned.

Thomas continued: “I’ll be honest with you Mr Lee. I want to get out of this country to get away from my support payments. Too high! And my wife…”

He corrected himself and cleared his throat. “My ex wastes my alimony on parties, not Perky.”

“Support payment?” Lee asked with a screwed-up face. “Alimony? What is it?”

* Has Thomas talked himself out of a job? *

Fred was sitting beside Thomas and nudged him before he could reveal too much.

He feared that the traditional Master Lee might be offended and call off the deal.

“Don’t worry Master Lee,” Fred assured him. “In Canada, divorce is no problem. When Thomas goes to Korea he will support his wife with money he earns in Korea.”

Lee nodded agreeably then looked at his watch and was out of time. “I think you will be successful in Korea,” he said to Thomas. “I will send your documents today.”

But then there was another killer delay as a week went by, then two, three…

Every time Fred telephoned Lee he got the same response.

“Thomas’ documents?  Maybe still waiting. You must be patient.”

He was frustrated but instinctively felt that patience was required.

He was dealing with a Korean after all and didn’t know what the rules were.

Nevertheless, having been a cub reporter in his university’s newspaper, Fred’s investigative instincts kicked in.

He couldn’t resist wanting to poke around and see if he could find out what was going on with Thomas’ visa.

He decided to visit Master Lee’s office-gym in person, unannounced.

It was on the city’s south side at the other side of a river valley.

* Is Fred doing right by digging around? *

That afternoon, Fred set out on bicycle.

The river valley was steep and long, and traffic was snarled.

Fifteen minutes into his ride the exhaustion from many weeks’ graveyard shifts set in.

Several vehicles almost brushed him as they passed, scaring the shit out of him.

It took over an hour to get to Master Lee’s club.

To make things worse, the skies were blackening and heavy rain – unusual for Edmonton – was imminent.

The clock was ticking and Fred arrived at the club just minutes before closing, covered in sweat and huffing and puffing.

He started to think he’d made a mistake by coming here.

The front office was air-conditioned and the several, all-Korean staff wore formal business clothing.

Fred had shorts and a T-shirt on and felt completely out of place.

The Koreans were sitting behind big fortress-like desks and stared at the foreigner as he entered, their faces expressionless.

A chill shot through Fred.

“Hello,” the secretary said. It was Master Lee’s wife. He remembered her from the dinner. “I’m surprised to see you. Is there something wrong? You look upset.”

Fred was put on the defensive. “Upset? Not at all Mrs Lee. In fact, I feel great. I just rode here on bicycle. Good for health!”

A few dreadful seconds passed and then to Fred’s relief, Mrs Lee adeptly sensed his discomfort and immediately acted to put him at ease.

“Will you try?” she said, offering him some kind of traditional Korean cake.

“Looks good – me hungry! And actually, could I get some water?”

“Yeah sure.” She gestured him over to a water machine. “Self service.”

He went over to it and filled up one of the tiny cups.

“I get my husband,” she said. “One moment please.”

It seemed to take Mrs Lee forever to return.

As a result of whatever conversation she’d had with Master Lee, she was now noticeably stiffer.

“My husband is very busy right now. He must prepare for Tae Kwon Do show. But let me take down your telephone number. He will call you next time.”

Next time? How many next times until it’s next lifetime? And Master Lee already has my number…

Nevertheless, Fred wrote down his number and gave it to Mrs Lee.

She then led him to the door and he left feeling strange and alienated.

As he stepped outside and the glass door closed behind him, he felt as if he’d stepped outside of Korea and Master Lee’s world forever.

A complete outsider.

*

Tomorrow: Fred meets with Mrs Lee again… and again. Will he ever actually talk to Master Lee?