Simple America

The leather adashi was happy to see me. He had finished my jacket and he displayed it for me. I put it on and it fit like a glove. Adashi tried to sell me on leather pants one more time, but I figured blue jeans would be good enough for me once I bought my motorcycle. I paid the balance and hit the street.

I returned to the Hotel Crown and went to the front desk. There I instructed them to no longer allow Miss Jin to enter my room. They acknowledged my instructions. From there I went to the gift shop. Kyong-Ock was not there, which was unusual. I went upstairs to JB’s room. He and Choon were watching TV. They did not mind my intrusion. I told them of Miss Jin’s treachery and they sympathized with me. Choon said if I wanted she could introduce me a friend of hers. I was intrigued and agreed to meet her, though this would require a trip to Osan. We hung out for a long time playing Hanafuda and chatting about this and that.

We got hungry and decided to walk to the ville. We ate some Korean fare and then went to the New York Club. The Kims and Bob the Bartender were working hard. We sat at the bar.

“How you doing,” Bob inquired.”

“I’ll be fine. Still trying to understand it all.”

“Don’t worry about it too much.” Bob set an OB in front of me. “Miss Jin liked this MP over at Yongsan. But he never commits. He’s all she really cares about.”

I looked at Bob and took a swig. “A fucking MP huh? She asked me if I was an MP. Now I know why.”

I could have spit. Now the despondency was gone and anger steeped. But I put a lid on it.

“So Bob. You couldn’t give me a little heads up?”

“Hey I thought maybe Jin had finally forgotten that guy. You weren’t here enough to really tell anything, either.”

Could not argue with him on that particular point, as Jin had made sure I did not visit her when she worked. Just seemed like life was a pain in the ass. But I still wanted to see her. In my anger I wanted to prove that I was better than any dumb ass MP.

We stayed for just a couple of beers and returned to the hotel. Sunday I stayed in bed most of the day. The aftershocks of Miss Jin being an orphan really killed any motivation to get out of bed. Finally, I could not lay about anymore and I dressed. I called JB’s room, but there was no answer. Caught the elevator and went down to the lobby. Saw Kyong-Ock as soon as I exited and I headed over to her.

She greeted me with her ever present smile. The dumbest move I made was not asking her out right then and there. But for some reason the thought never entered my mind. Instead I bought a pack of Hanafuda cards. Then I sat there and played cards with her. It seems most Korean folks play this game. I even ordered lunch and had it delivered to me in the gift shop. I may have got Kyong-Ock in trouble. I’m not sure. But after a while she escorted me to the lobby bar and had them set me up with an OB. It was funny as I had not found this bar before. I was the only American in the bar and I got a little uncomfortable as I did not have my dictionary. I finished my beer and went back upstairs.

The evening was uneventful. Supper in the hotel restaurant. Reading and watching the Armed Forces Network on TV was all I did. Laid down to go to sleep but the affect of laying in bed so much earlier in the day turned me into an insomniac. Finally, I could not stand myself. I dressed and decided to visit the hotel’s club. I had never visited the club and tonight seemed like a good time to visit.

The club was really nice, at least by a GIs standard. There was a central dance floor and it was surrounded by tables that were placed on risers that gave the effect of being in a stadium. You could look down from the tables and watch the dancers. There were no other westerners in the bar, but I was okay. This time I had my dictionaries so I could get my points across if I chatted with anyone.

Thirty minutes were spent watching couples dance and sipping on beer. A trio of Koreans sat nearby, two guys and a gal. After a while they invited me to join them. Both of the guys were in the Army and the girl was dating one of them. She was real cute, but I’m not about to play on someone’s girl, especially when there are so many waiting in the ville. We chatted about a variety of things. They wanted to know about Texas. Then the guy without a girlfriend asked me if I wanted to dance. I refused, because I’m not about to dance with any male. Koreans do not have this western stigma. Males can dance together without being labeled as gay. This went on for the longest time. And I felt bad because they had actually bought me a beer. But I don’t care how many beers you buy me, I will not dance with a guy. It finally wore on me and I returned to my room.

Monday morning was the Super Bowl. The Enlisted Man’s Club had a special Super Bowl party that included breakfast. I tried to talk Sarge into letting us go, but he would not succumb to my entreaties. Fortunately, they would show the Super Bowl again in the evening. I avoided everyone, as well as radios and television so I could watch the game ignorant of its outcome. At the end of the day I bought a big bag of chips and some sodas and waited for the game to start from my room. The Super Bowl was a pretty good game. The Philadelphia Eagles were led by their quarterback Ron Jaworski. Their opponents were the Oakland Raiders and Jim Plunket. I liked the Raiders and sure enough they won. The first victory for a wild card team.

The next day I got horrid news. Sarge told me that I was going back stateside. I argued that I needed to stay and help him on the job. But there was no use. The only good news was JB would fly back with me. This news really ticked me off. I wanted to meet Choon’s friend and I had grown to enjoy living in a Seoul hotel with all of the new food I was exploring. I cursed the Army for their timing. To further piss me off when I returned to my room it was a mess. Jin had come by with some friends and taken showers, watched TV and just enjoyed the warmth of my room. I found the maid and she communicated that she had let Jin enter. But I could not seem to make her understand that I wanted no one in my room but me. Finally, I went down to the front desk and had a clerk go and explain my instructions to the housekeeper.

The next day I received my orders and return ticket to Fort Huachuca leaving on Saturday. I moped about a lot. Suspect my soldering quality went down. Don’t know as I missed the QC inspection with my early departure. In the evening on Wednesday and Thursday I completed some last minute shopping for my family back home. On Friday JB and I went to the package store and mailed some parcels back to Huachuca and parents. Tennis shoes, silk blankets and various Korean knick knacks made there way back home. I also mailed back my library, except for what I might read on the plane.

Friday afternoon I joined JB and Choon on a bus for Osan. Choon would live there until JB returned in May. Personally I was eager to make the trip I as I would meet Choon’s friend. The ride took about an hour and we exited the bus in front of the Osan Hotel. JB had previously lived in that hotel for about six months on another job. In fact he had met Choon in the hotel’s bar, where she had worked as a go-go dancer.

We went inside the hotel and where Mr. Lee, the hotel’s manager, greeted us. Mr. Lee would be a good friend and he always had a room at a cheap rate for me when I visited Osan in the future. He really liked JB and Choon and I was blessed by that association. We had Choon’s luggage, so we toted it over to her home. This was my introduction to the real third world of the Korean poor. We passed through a gate and entered an open courtyard. There were several doors in the buildings that flanked the entrance area. Choon entered one and it was really Spartan. An old woman sat inside the cold concrete walls and floor. There were some mats on the hard floor, but it was cold with no source of warmth beyond a coat. Choon would really be suffering after living in hotels for the last few months. The old woman was her grandmother and JB gave her some gifts.

After we had secured all of Choon’s things we returned to the Osan Hotel. Now JB had been warning me that Choon’s friend might be a little chubby. I guess he was worried that I expected Choon’s friend would look as hot as Choon. When Choon introduced me to Suki Lee I did not care if she was little heavier. She had a really cute face and I loved the way her hair looked. She wore it like Linda Ronstadt, shorter maybe, but it was layered and feathered. Suki had happy eyes too. She gave me a picture of her wearing a black dress standing in a meadow painted with spring flowers. This picture would remain close to me for my time away from Korea. JB and I had to catch the bus back to Seoul. We could not afford to stay the night as the bus schedules would not accommodate out flights. I stood on the steps of the bus and kissed Suki farewell. That kiss chased away the memories of Jin and insured my fidelity until I returned.

The bus trip was quiet. JB missing Choon and me savoring the taste of Suki’s mouth. We arrived at Yongsan and it was almost ten. JB needed to pack, but I had finished earlier. I figured I would tell Miss Kim and the New York Club farewell. I walked down the alley when I saw Little Kim with a GI. She recognized me and smiled. Little Kim was very pretty and she came up and gave me a hug. Then she walked on with her GI, who was giving me this “who the hell are you” look. I laughed it off and strolled on.

Miss Kim and Bob the bartender worked alone. They served me a beer. I announced I was going back to the world. They were kind of surprised. They were accustomed to GIs staying in Korea for a year minimum, but I was not permanent party so those rules did not apply to me. I hung out until the time for the curfew rush came. Kim asked if I wanted to go spend curfew in the Enlisted Man’s Club. I did not care. So the three of us caught a cab to Yongsan and went to the club. That place was packed. Bob the bartender left to go to his barracks rather than deal with the crowd. Kim suggested we go to my hotel room. It was after curfew now, so I wondered how we could do that. Like a good sheep I just followed Kim and we walked down the middle of a major street of Seoul after curfew to the Hotel Crown. When we entered the lobby the staff looked at us with wide eyes. Shocked to see anyone enter after midnight.

When we entered the room, Kim asked if she could take a bath. I did not care. Though the thought of sleeping with Kim seemed peculiar to me as I never had considered that possibility before. But that was not to happen. Kim spent the entire night in the tub. Thinking of her problems, the loss of Miss Jin, her sister’s attraction to some GI, and just business in Itaewon in general. I went to sleep. Every now and then I woke to see the light from the bathroom still on.

In the morning we left the hotel and Kim walked to some tenements south of Yonsan. I have no idea what Kim looked for there, but she did not find it. We walked upstairs and downstairs. Toddlers followed me as I must have been quite a unique visitor to their building with my round eyes. I wish had some John Wayne bars (candy found in C rations) to give them. Kim gave up her search and we went to Yongsan. There we caught a bus to the military base next to Kimpo International Airport.

There Kim had me call and request a GI come visit her at the Snack Bar. I ate breakfast while she met this man, who she was attracted to. The fellow did not seem to like the fact that I brought her over, but I really had no idea why I did the things I did with Kim. He left as he had duty and we caught a bus back to Yongsan. I needed to return to the hotel. My plane was leaving at 2 and I needed to go back to Kimpo with my bags. I left Miss Kim, a quick handshake and farewell.

JB was tense. He wanted to get going sooner and he had waited on me. I got my baggage and checked out of the hotel. Kyong Ock was not in the Gift Shop preventing me from saying farewell to her. JB and I packed into a cab which drove us to Kimpo. The drive seemed a lot farther than the bus ride I had taken earlier. We made it to Kimpo with plenty of time. There we caught a Korean Air Lines flight to Narita in Tokyo. We had one hour to change planes and catch a JAL flight to Los Angeles. JB and I were pretty quiet the entire trip. We both missed girls, looking at snapshots wishing we could hold more than a stiff piece of paper. At least JB knew he would return and marry Choon. No telling where my next job might be. They could send me to Germany or Alaska if a job needed me. I was totally at the mercy of an Army that did not care about a man’s heart.

Been forever since I yakked about what is going on in the present. So here is a quick update.

Last weekend I woke up early and dropped off my daughter at the Scout House. This was her first outing with Venture Crew 80. Venture scouts are kids 14 years and older that do high adventure activities. Venture Scouting allows girls and boys to join together in these activities despite falling under Boy Scout of America. This trip was kayaking on the San Marcos River in the Texas Hill Country. Wish I could have joined her.

So why didn’t I join her you might ask? Aggiecon was last weekend and this is so close to home and my partners there is no way I can refuse going. Ed and I were signed up to run three games to play test our latest products. My project is the sequel to Weekend Warriors titled, Fire in the Hole. This is a military horror adventure module that should wipe out more than a few squads. Ed play tested the first part of his 12 Hours to Midnight series. This is an action packed thriller that should run a lot like 24 the TV series. There are 12 parts and the goal is to issue one mod every week of the summer. We will be breaking new ground on this project as no one has ever presented an adventure module series in this format before. 12 to Midnight also helped facilitate three panels that discussed publication, writing and much to our surprise, games and girls.

Dropping my daughter off so early in the morning allowed me to arrive at Texas A&M first. The drive proved uneventful taking an hour and half. I had followed this route to Camporee earlier in the month, but the blue bonnets are blossoming now. Fields splashed with blue, a truly lovely sight. In Kyoto you look at the cherry blossoms. In Texas you have to see the bluebonnets of late March and early April. Another delightful sight was a pair of blue jays working on their nest. I love blue jays and wish I could see more in my neighborhood. Though I am always happy to see the more common jay bird as well.

I went to Rudder Tower, as they were signing in players and giving out badges in this locale. They issued me my GMs pass and I could see the game sign up sheets. Ed’s first game was filled, in fact he had an extra player in case anyone did not show up. My game on the other hand did not have any signatures yet. Ed and Craig showed up soon after and we yakked a bit. We scoped out the rooms we had been given for running the games. Good thing we were early, as Ed had no tables. We fixed that real quick and soon his players began showing up. I went to my room and waited for fifteen minutes and no players arrived.

No shows happen, so it did not bother me to have free time. It gave me a chance to hang out with Preston who came by with his son. We went to the dealer’s room and walked around. I bought an AT ST (the little Walker from Star Wars. They had them in Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi) for Star Wars Miniatures game. It will look real good next to the AT AT I received for Christmas. We also saw Peter Mayhew, the guy that wears the Chewbacca suit. Dude is just HUGE!!! Preston also pointed out Jeff Dees who is a game developer. He would be doing some of the forums with us later that day.

I needed to get out of the dealer room before I bought more stuff. A game geek can never have enough games to play. But the nice thing is now I can deduct my toys as a tax deduction. Research!!! I went to observe Ed’s game. Ed is writing 12 Hours to Midnight using the Savage Worlds game system. So it was playing fun, fast, and furious. Just like they advertise. Ed converted two players to the system. The other four players were Deadlands gamers so they were used to Shane Hensley’s game system and they are looking forward to Deadlands Reloaded for Savage Worlds. I cannot wait either. Nothing like cowboys and zombies to warm a man’s heart.

Preston dropped off his son and brought back lunch. Then he and I went to the first forum as Ed continued with his play test. The forum was titled About 12 to Midnight. Who named these things? Like anyone has heard of our little niche company. Still we had two guys show up and no, they did not know who we were. We yakked for an hour on the game industry and what we thought would be happening over the next couple of years. I invited them to come by for my 2 o’clock game but neither of them showed. I must have been a boring sod. LOL

My second game made. Two of the Deadlands player came by and an A&M student. I talked Craig into playing just to give the group a better chance of surviving. Craig had played in the August play test. Man I forgot how long I have been messing with this adventure. These guys had a great time. The Deadlands players live in Houston, so I may see about hooking up with them in the future. It is difficult to find players nowadays, especially good players. The student had a blast too. He would not stop talking about how much fun he had. I wish I could harness his energy into 12 to Midnight’s marketing.

I put up all my stuff after completing the game. Then I ran up to the forum we were doing on gamer girls. Ed had been showing off the free books Jeff Dees had given him. That was when I recognized that Jeff had been an artist with TSR back during 1^st edition Dungeons and Dragons and he had designed Villains and Vigilantes, one of the best superhero games ever. That was so cool. I tried to sell some of our new Tees while the crowd ambled in. The new tees look excellent. They are black with our alien head logo on the front. On the back they display our website and slogan, “Keep telling yourself its just a game.”  $12 bucks plus shipping (shameless plug).

The gamer girl forum was packed, well for a game convention forum it was packed. We had 8 girls and 4 guys in attendance. It was very interesting discussion. The biggest thing we noted was that the younger girls are more like the boys today than in the past. What does that mean? In the early days the girls were more interested in the roleplaying aspect of these games. Much more than the hack and slash style that most guys seem to prefer. Now girls are just as eager to kill something as are the boys. Is this good? Is it a sign that the American boy has been emasculated or have we placed the girls on an even playing field? Be an interesting phenomenon to observe. And to tell you the truth I don’t mind doubling my customer base either.

We met a nice gamer girl from Houston. She is a big Call of Cthulu fan and also fond of Firefly and Serenity. She is coordinating a Sci-Fi and horror convention in Houston during the month of June. We offered to come run some games. Heck I’ll run a Firefly scenario if they want it. She seems eager to have us.

Once the forum was over we had some time to kill. So we went to Wings and More so Ed and me could tackle our passion to eat as many spicy wings as they could bring us. Though I must admit I was pretty wimpy and did not get close to downing my usual numbers. Did save room for some key lime pie, however. El perfecto.

We went back to see if our late games were filling. The kids running the con were doing a poor job in this regard. The sign up sheets were missing. How can players sign up for games if they have no roster? Craig and I went upstairs to my room and Ed ran Part 2 of his mod. I was tired and nodded off. Damn! So I just said the heck with it and drove back to Houston.

Once I got home I saw LB and May were still missing. JJ asked me to put up a wanted poster on my blog for LB. I was so tired it took me two hours to post that sucker. I kept falling asleep. I wanted to add a title and short message. Then I accidentally posted it without any title or message. So tired then I did not care. Off to bed.

Sunday was spent working on the books for 12 to Midnight. I had two studios and an editor to pay and I was a month behind on one with absolutely no excuse for the last week since tax season for businesses was over.

Called in sick Monday. Cons just kick my wimpy old fart butt! So I recuperated at home working on financial statements and studying. I need to complete a correspondence course before the end of month. Part of the continuing professional education that a CPA must endure. I’m studying compilations and reviews in hopes that I can pick up some of that work in the future.

Tuesday was a great day. The Savage Worlds version of Skinwalker went on sale. I know the savage crowd has waited a while for my baby to get out for them. These fans are pretty loyal so I hated they had to wait so long, but it could not be issued a second earlier. I apologize to all of them for the wait.

Boy Scouts meet on Tuesday and this was also the Court of Review. This is where every boy is recognized and all of his accomplishments are recognized. The Historian presented his slide show covering the last six months activities. It went on and on, taking up 49 minutes. Oh boy. I thought I would never get out of there. This will be my son’s last meeting for a while. He received an F in English and a D in Science on his last report card. So academically he is disqualified from playing in sports. I extended this disqualification to Scouts. He has been given a hundred chances to make up his work and he does not. Therefore I must take this action, though I hate to see him miss scouts. Especially, since he had been voted to the Patrol Leader position. He asked for a second chance, but this kid is on this fourth or fifth chance.

Why did I want to get out of there so early? I had to prepare for today’s birthday celebration at work. Our custom at the college is the last person with a birthday prepares the current birthday’s celebration. Lately we have had a lot of luncheons. So I dropped my kids off at home. Inventoried the fridge and ran off to the grocery store. Bought everything I needed for the luncheon, but forgot milk and cereal for the kids. Shit! By now it was almost 11 so I passed on baking a cake. I wake up at 5:30 every morning so no way do I wanna stay up much later.

In the morning I chopped up four heads of lettuce and cleaned some cherry tomatoes. I bagged these items and packed the rest of the food I would need for the luncheon. Went to the grocery on the way to work and bought a cake, a card, and candles. I also got forks, but it does not complement my other purchases.

Forgot drinks too, but I picked those up in the town where the college is located. The ladies enjoyed the luncheon. I had broccoli and carrots with dill dip. I rolled up pieces of ham and laid them atop the broccoli and carrots. I tossed the lettuce and tomatoes (which I sliced at work to keep them nice and juicy) and placed croutons, cheese, and dressing close by. There were also some wheat crackers for anyone that wanted a bread product with lunch. I purchased a nice white cake and the cutest candles. The candles were the colors of crayons and they spelled Happy Birthday. One of the ladies at work wrote the birthday girl’s name on the cake. I was thankful as my handwriting is horrible.

Everyone enjoyed the food and the birthday girl was touched. I really owe this lady so much. She helps keep me sane at this boring job, where I am seen as a pariah at times. But that is the joy of being an internal auditor. Eventually, you can piss off everyone. If I don’t then I am not doing my job.

So that is why I want to write or design games full time. So the fans may want to know more about Fire in the Hole. I found a few small things I want to change in the mod. Five minutes of rewriting there. The chore that is clogging production is my work on the adventure generator.  I have finished the mapping feature, but now I need to develop the encounter tables. Once again my little projects keep expanding.

I slept well that night. A very deep slumber, so deep I did not hear Jin go to the toilet. The only reason I knew she had awakened was her body now lay atop the covers. Quietly, I exited the sheets and went to do my morning toilet. I dressed using the light from the loo. This allowed me a view of Jin’s lovely bare back. My desire beckoned for me to take her, but I felt certain she would be hung over so I left her to her rest. Let her recover since there was a whole weekend for making love. That was my hope that my care would be rewarded with a little kindness from her. The time to leave came too quickly and I walked to the door. I took her in with my eyes one more time. A complete survey of her smooth back, nice sloping butt leading to thin legs crossed in sleep. A memory to carry me through my Friday.

I spent all of that Friday working, splicing and soldering cables to main frames, but her nakedness never left my mind’s eye. I kept wondering what meeting her parents would be like. My hope was that her elders would accept me and she would lose some of her abrasiveness. If I was accepted by her folks I would offer to pay her debts, freeing her from the New York Club and then we could go jewelry shopping. So many plans were bouncing around my infatuated head.

Got back to the hotel that evening and Jin was gone. I expected as much. She would have to work since it was Friday. I went up to JB’s room and Choon taught us men folk how to play cards. Hanafuda cards were very colorful, though smaller than western poker cards. I would describe them as a third of the size. In English hanafuda translates into flower cards. The name hanafuda is Japanese in origin though the cards are played more in Korea. But that is not surprising. Korea still had a lot of Japanese things permeating its society, even though it had been 30 years since they were liberated from the Japanese occupation. The most common thing was bits of Japanese language that dotted Korean conversation. I think that made it a lot more difficult for me to separate things culturally. It made me place all I learned in one big Asian cultural pot, rather than a Korean pot, a Japanese pot, and a Chinese pot. Fortunately, it was a small obstacle that I would eventually overcome. But it made it hard to understand my Asian friends later in College when they did not fit my cookie cutter model.

When the hour closed on midnight I left the cards to JB and Choon and went back to my room. I read for a while. I think by now I read James Clavel’s King Rat which talked about Changsi Prison in Singapore during World War II. One o’clock arrived and no Jin. Where could she be? Curfew had passed. I went to bed but sleep proved hard to find. Every hour I awoke and looked at the clock. The sun arrived but Jin did not. I looked at the ceiling trying to figure out what to do with my day. Time rolled and I phased in and out until I rolled out of bed after 10. A thousand scenarios passed through my head. Jin getting hit by a cab, raped by some drunken GI, sick in a hospital and me without the means to find her. There was only one lead I had and that was the New York Club. I would go see if Miss Kim could help me locate my Jin.

I dressed quickly bundling up for the cold outside. You could barely see Itaewon outside my window as a thick fog covered the city. Buildings peeked like ghosts and faded back into the white soup. The streets were spookily empty as I walked besides the shops. Looking through windows at blankets, suits and tennis shoes, but not really registering the contents I surveyed. My head remained full of my last image of Jin. The perfection of her body, her frailty, the innocent appearance of her tiny frame remained crisp and clear. My mind constantly pursued its worship of her breathing on my bed.

These thought engrossed me totally causing me to ignore a trio of Adashis. As I passed them, one grabbed my hand and before I could stop him, he had slipped a ring on my finger. I looked at them aghast. Why in the hell had they put a ring on me? It looked gold with a black stone set in it. It was butt ugly. Not something I would wear in a million years.

“Twenty dollah,” Adashi demanded.

I just laughed. Reason being I needed to cash some travelers checks. I had left the hotel with not even a nickel in my pocket.

“Upso dollah, Adashi,” I replied half laughing and half pissed for being delayed.

Then I tried to pull off the ring and it would not slide off. I tugged once, twice to no avail. My hands had swelled from the cold weather. Adashi realized that he would not get any money from me and he took a turn at trying to remove the ring. It was stuck on there thanks to my swollen knuckle. Then the three adashis hawked back and forth in Korean.

“Yo, dudes. I got things to do.”

That got the trio more agitated. There was a noodle house near us and I went inside asked them for some water. After wetting my hand and working the ring and wetting it some more I managed to remove the ring. I returned the ring to adashi who gave me the ugliest damn look. In my current mood I had no problem glaring back. My expression must have been pretty intense, because the other two adashis hawked and spat while dragging him down the street.

Happy to be free of that distraction I stuck my hands securely into my pockets and walked towards the New York Club. I made it without further interruptions. The only occupants of the bar were Bob the bartender and the elder Miss Kim. Those two exchanged a worried glance. Kim pointed at the beers and Bob set me up.

“I don’t have money Miss Kim,” I said. Besides being penniless at the moment, I was a firm believer in not drinking without food in my stomach and I had not eaten a bite all morning. Bob popped the top on the brewski anyway.

“Sit please,” Kim asked me as she parked herself. There was a firmness in Kim’s voice that would not be disobeyed, not that I could ever tell a woman no anyway back in those days. So I sat.

Kim looked at me. She had eyes like a hawk and she always analyzed people. I had noticed that about her. Despite the look I did not feel nervous or concerned.

“Jin has gone away.”

I looked at Kim. Then I turned to look at Bob the bartender and he did everything he could but leave the room to avoid making eye contact with me.

“What do you mean Jin has gone away? I’m going to meet her parents. Has she gone to get her mom and dad?

“Jerry,” she said looking me straight in the eyes.

The pause that followed could be counted over the span of my rapid heart beats. How could she go away before I met her parents?

“Jerry, Jin is an orphan.”

I stood up and knocked the stool into the bar. My mouth opened and it fell trying to find a bottom that never came. I looked at Bob but he busied himself with something under the bar and away from my gaze. Kim slid off her stool and caught my arm. I looked at her while in my mind’s eye I still saw Jin’s frail body laying on my bed.

A thousand different thoughts coursed through my head. Every nerve screamed aloud and I quivered from head to toe as I sought to compile this information. I looked at the beer, grabbed it and chugged the bottle dry. Rules did not matter anymore. I patted Kim’s hand and looked in her eyes. She let me go and I slammed the bottle on the bar. It sounded loud, but this is a moment, a profound time where every sense works at peak efficiency. It is the culmination of the understanding that you have been a complete idiot and made a complete ass of yourself and now you must pay the piper. So the body cooperated by making the pain more evident. I tried to smile at Kim, failing miserably.

Without a word, not that I could utter a coherent thought, I left the club. And then I did what I seem to do best. I walked the streets creating a distance from my problems. That is the only relief an infantryman ever gets is walking. And I walked a circle around Itaewon over and over, attempting to find Jin and escape me. Marching oblivious to the shops, other GIs stepped aside, and even the whores saved their invitations for others not so frightening. I’m not certain how many times I walked the ville. Winter days turned dark early in Seoul and I wandered dispassionately in front of the shops when the dusk arrived that day. My feet dragged and I stopped. Looking about I realized I stood across the street from the Hamilton Hotel.

I lit a cigarette and held the smoke in savoring the taste. What was I going to do about Jin? I looked around me at the buildings and then the mountains beyond Itaewon and thought of the vastness of Seoul The futility hit me then and I just laughed. It was loud and free. People on the street walked half circles around me. I babbled for a good bit but it felt good to say whatever the hell I said. It beat fucking crying and feeling pity for my dumbass. Tears would be permitted later. When I lay on that bed embracing the empty space where Jin lay the last I had seen her.

Looking up and down the streets, I recovered my composure. My body no longer shook and now I felt ready to live for a bit more. “What a waste of a Saturday,” I said aloud. From here I could see the leather shop where they tailored my motorcycle jacket. Adashi said it should be done by now. And with that thought I moved on to the leather shop.

Monday was a memorable day. Things that could only happen in or around the Army happened. We bought a Stars and Stripes and the main headline read, “Army Looking for Cunning Linguists.” No this is not a joke. This was the honest to goodness headline and I was ready to volunteer.

We went to the Comcenter and signed in as we were required. This one Sergeant First Class looked at me like I was some kind of pariah. The kind of look as if someone stuck a turd under his nose. He took Sarge to the side and I knew he must not like my hair. In the US military your hair could not touch your collar or ears and it was all over my ears. Sarge confirmed it, though he did not care either. But we did not want the Sergeant First Class griping at our headquarters.

For lunch I went to the barbershop. With every step or my approach I hope the little massage girl would not be present. But she practically greeted me at the door. I felt guilty in her presence. Why I do not know? All she did was give me a massage once. There was no relationship. She was cute, but could not come close to Jin’s beauty. I told her I just wanted a haircut and nothing else. She looked pretty disappointed. I could only wonder what would have happened if I had hooked up with her instead of a bar girl.

Upon my return I made a point to walk in front of the Sergeant First Class so he could see I lowered my ears back to Army regs. Of course my shoes still had no polish and I knew that irritated him, but he could not do a thing about it since they were special work shoes not to be polished. The rest of the afternoon passed on the job without event as usual.

That evening JB and I returned to the hotel to find Jin and Choon were playing with some strange looking cards. They slapped the cards down with real enthusiasm. I watched with great interest being the game geek I am. In a bit they finished the game and put the cards up.

We planned on going to the movies. James Bond’s Moonraker was showing at a Korean theater and the girls were keen on watching this. My curiosity arose at the chance to see how a movie theater might differ. We caught a cab and drove quite a ways from the Crown Hotel. I remember the Hyundai Colt had to drive though one of the mountain tunnels of Seoul to reach our destination. The girls picked out a noodle house close to the theater and I ate my first ramen with some small strips of beef. JB joked that the meat was too stringy to be beef and that we were eating dog. Rumor was that Koreans thought dog was an aphrodisiac. I never confirmed the rumor and the meat had better been beef. I’m a dog and I don’t eat my own kind.

It was snowing and the girls snuggled close to us as we walked to the theater. I gave Jin some several hundred won (around $20 bucks back then) and she bought our tickets. The theater was huge and had large balconies. That’s were we sat too, high up in the balcony. While sitting there I compared this place with the old movie theaters in downtown Houston with their multiple balconies. There was a beauty in old theaters like this. But the coolest thing about this theater was the hawkers walking up and down the aisles. This is not something you saw in the states. They sold candy, soda, and squid. I could not believe they were walking up and down the isle with squid, though I could not try it as US troops were ordered not to eat squid because of the risk of catching hepatitis. Moonraker was good. First time I saw the flick which played in English with Hangul subtitles. Jin got scared by Jaws and she huddled close to me, which made the movie even cooler.

We caught a cab to get back to the Crown. Snow was falling a lot harder and everything looked white. Even the streets were packed with snow. For some reason the cab ran a red light (very kiasu) and damn if another cab did not hit us. I sat in the front since I was so big and I held on tight as we spun around a complete 360. Both cab drivers got out of their respective Colts and they chatted a bit. Choon cried in the back seat. The impact occurred next to her. JB soothed her, while Jin watched the men with her predator eyes. They rumor was in Korean that when cab drivers have an accident that it is the passenger’s fault and I was worried that we would have to pay because this driver stupidity. The drivers yakked for maybe two minutes and exchanged cards. Then our driver got back in and drove away.

“What happened,” I demanded.

“Canchanayo,” he answered.

“Okay? What do you mean okay?”

Little guy got nervous and rattled off a string of Korean to the girls.

“Don’t worry yobo. Adashi take us back hotel. The drivers work same same.” Jin tried to sooth me. That was a first.

“Whatdaya mean same same.” I twisted despite the small space to look Jin in the face.

“Yobo they have same company.”

“So we don’t owe shit?”

“Aneyo.” She looked at me with her cat eyes. Nervous. She had never seen me angry. Maybe she should have seen my bad side sooner.

I turned back around and glared at the driver once more. Little son of bitch. Choon still cried and wondered if we needed to go to a hospital instead.

We returned to the hotel without further incident and the driver left as soon as we paid. Usually they left a card so you would call them again. Choon walked on her own without a limp. I put her crying off to shock. She suffered some bruises but nothing more serious. Each couple went to their respective rooms and called it a night.

This week was the Lunar Moon Festival or Chinese New Year. I had no concept of what this entailed. I figured they must have a set up like Times Square in New York City with lots of bubbly and drunken crowds. I kept waiting for the party to start. More important I waited for Jin to take me to meet her parents. Thanks to Choon I learned the proper way to bow and address parents during an introduction. I surprised Jin that night when she came to the room and kowtowed with my hands overlapping and palm pressed upon the floor. My head rested upon the back of my hands as I rattled out the appropriate words. Jin had a big smile on her face. I must have looked pretty stupid to her. But I told her I was ready to meet her folks. She sat there quietly looking at me.

Another night passed, Jin worked and came home late. Again I pressed her about meeting her parents and seeing the dress. She promised soon.

The next evening I sat reading. What book I cannot remember? But I sat there and someone pounded upon the door. Annoyed by the interruption I looked out the spy hole and saw the younger Miss Kim in the hallway. I opened the door. My head raced. How did Kim know where my room was?

“Miss Jin.” She spoke eyes wide with urgency, “Come. You need come quick.”

I had no idea what the hell was going on. Asking Kim would do no good. Her English ability was poor at best. Could have broke out the dictionaries, but I sensed that time was of the essence. I put on my shoes and grabbed my coat. We hit the elevators and I adjusted my scarf. I flagged a cab and it drove us to the New York Club. I paid while Kim went inside.

Upon entering the club it looked half full. Kim headed toward a table in the back. Jin sat there and she looked gorgeous. She wore the Hanbok with its white silk skirt and a dark blue blouse. Intricate designs utilizing yin and yang symbols adorned the dresses’ trim. Her hair sat up in a neat bundle crowning her head with pins to support her strands.

At first I thought this was a romantic little scheme to show off her dress. When I moved right next to the table I looked at Jin’s cat eyes, and I realized that she was propped up by Miss Kim. She looked at me and I felt so sad for her. The elder Kim walked up to me.

“Take her away, please,” she asked.

Kim’s eyes begged. I looked at Jin’s sagging eyes. Looking back at Kim and nodded my assent to take responsibility and grabbed Jin’s arm. The younger Kim darted out of the way. Jin looked at me and smiled. It was a sweet childish smile.

“Yobo,” she called out. “I tole you don’t come here. I workey.”

I pulled her over closer to me. Then I did a clean and jerk and cradled her small frame in her arms. She tapped me with her hand, a comic attempt to pull free of my grip. I wasn’t relenting.

“Yobo. Do you likey Jin’s dress.”

I moved toward the door with the younger Kim leading the way. GIs looked at me carrying my pitiful bundle. A few off color remarks were ignored. I just wanted to get Jin back to the hotel. Kim opened the door and I stepped outside. I looked up and down the street. Not one cab in sight. Adrenaline surged through me and I had no patience to wait. Without hesitation I walked down the alleyway. The street people looked in curiosity. Not the first drunk that had to be dragged out of the bars. Some of the girls cruelly cried out lascivious invitations.

Jin was light as a feather. She lay silent, either enjoying the firmness of my hold or passed out and ignorant. Did not matter to me as I appreciated the quiet. The snow made the walk slippery at times. I did not want to drop her, especially with that silk dress. My next big worry concerned her puking all over the hanbok. I did not want it stained before we met her parents. Why did she put the damn thing on before we visited her folks?

The walk seemed to take forever. I noticed a lot of woman were wearing the hanbok in the shops and walking down the street. We made it to the Crown Hotel and I passed through the lobby. Kyong-Ock stood by the Gift Shop door. My face reddened as I nodded to acknowledge her. She grinned sympathetically and waved.

Up the elevator, turn left and into the room. I laid Jin on the bed and she seemed oblivious of the world. So once again I felt obligated to undress Jin. I worried about her getting ill and ruining the dress. My problem was I had no idea how this garment worked.

Fortunately, the evening was young and I managed to puzzle the hanbok off her. My timing was excellent. Jin sat up straight on the bed. She looked at me with a confused unfocused gaze. Jin tried to say something but her mouth did not cooperate. Having experience on both ends of the bottle I figure her sudden consciousness could mean only one thing. I picked her tiny body up. Maintaining my grip now on the cotton tee and her bare legs proved much easier. She looked into my eyes and sneered as I carried her to the toilet.

I sat her down on the pot. I wondered how much longer before she would get sick? She struggled to sit without my assistance, but without my grip Jin certainly would have slithered off the seat and onto the floor. She patted me with the back of her hand. Was it to comfort me and encourage me to remain at her side or Jin’s best attempt to knock the crap out of me?

Then Jin looked at me with a panic in her eyes. Without delay I lifted her off the seat the best I could and aimed. It was a chore. It proved fortunate that she pinned her hair up. That allowed me to focus on supporting her body so she did not crack her head open on the porcelain and minimize the mess. How could one small girl hold so much in her stomach. She puked everything but blood and I thought the dry heaves would never quit.

When her stomach settled down I grabbed a towel and set it on the tub. Then I stood Jin up and she looked at me and smiled. Might have been cute if her face was not dotted with filth. I laid her down in the tub, resting her head on the towel. I grabbed a washcloth and wet it in the sink. Jin remained in the tub unmoving. Her eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. I wiped her face clean as my nose revolted from the reek. I flushed the toilet and wiped the area clean.

Then I sat on the toilet and debated my next course of action. Do I leave her in the tub all night? I did not like that because if she rolled over she could bust her head in the bath. She’d be better off in the bed, but she stunk and I would not rest well next to her in that state. That meant she needed more than just getting wiped clean, but what if she bled from her period. One I had no clue how to put those things on. Two she had no spare clothes. Three I had no clue where her purse was so I did not have a replacement napkin for her if I did figure out how things worked. I wondered briefly if Kyong-Ock might help me.

It looked like a bath would be the best thing for Jin. I felt her crotch and there was no cotton pad like the previous nights. Jin looked at me and tried to raise her arms. I cooed at her to relax like a child. It worked a bit and Jin allowed me to pull off her t-shirt and panties off without a struggle.

“Yobo.” She spoke cat eyes pleading in her confusion.

“It’s okay yobo. It’s bath time.”

I threw her clothes in the sink. I drew the bath water as Jin protested the water’s intrusion on her space. I held her down and cooed assurances to her. She looked at me with panicked eyes and then she gave in laying her head back on the towel. Once I felt she truly relaxed enough that I went to the sink and hand cleaned her panties and t-shirt.

By the time her clothes were cleaned the tub had filled. I turned off the spout and scrubbed Jin clean. She protested at first but she had no power to fight me. So she laid back and let me clean her smooth body. Under any other circumstances this would have been enjoyable. Hell I had fantasies of bathing with women and when it finally happened I couldn’t have been more under whelmed. Cleaning most of her body was not a big problem though I have to admit I was concerned about cleaning her womanhood. What if I hurt her? I was very woman ignorant. So I just did my best and I never heard any complaints.

With the girl clean I picked her up. Her eyes widened and goose bumps pricked her smooth flesh. She struggled a bit but I grabbed a towel and wiped her dry. Jin wiggled more and I cursed her. Finally I got her dry enough.

I picked her up and cradled her like a baby one more time. The struggles ceased almost immediately and it felt good as she buried her head into my shoulder. I carried her to the bed and tucked her in. I was wet, my shirt stunk of Jin’s bile but I sat down and watched her breathe. I lit a Marlboro and wondered how she got drunk so early in the evening. I hoped that she did not do anything this stupid again. A yobo was high maintenance. I took a drag on my cigarette. Would we meet her parents tomorrow? What would tomorrow bring?

Saturday when I awoke with a nude Jin and a fully dressed me, I could only wonder how or who got me back to the room. Still felt my wallet press into my buttocks inside my back pocket which was always good. The curtains effectively blocked the sun so I figured I’d make the best of things. I stripped off my clothes. This rustling stirred Miss Jin and she looked over at me with her cat eyes. I could tell she was half there, half in the land of Nod. She looked so beautiful despite just awakening with drool running down her chin. I leaned over and gave her kiss, only to be pushed back?

“You hands is fokking cold,” she spat at me. “You stink numbah ten. Go take shower.”

My desire crushed, I finished undressing and took a hot shower. How long I soaked in there I cannot remember. But it felt like a retreat from Jin’s anger. Any kind words from her lately were few and far between. As the water coursed down my back I hoped that we would go look at Hanboks later in the day. That was my plan. But when I came out of the shower she had left. My heartbeat hammered and I peeked out the curtain to look upon Itaewon. Gazing for what I don’t know. My room faced the back of the hotel which overlooked the club area, but I could not gaze upon the streets that led there. If I had spotted Jin it would have been a miracle of Biblical proportions. So I collapsed on the bed and laid naked on the bed memorizing the ceilings’ imperfections.

A right thinking fellow would probably call the Front Desk and instruct that Miss Jin no longer be given a key to his room. But I chose to focus on my shortcomings. Why had I let her down? Whatever she wanted I got for her. I would jump as high as she asked. I was a well trained dog.

Noon came around and I dressed. I had no mood to eat or be around other people. The bookstore had James Clavell’s Tai Pan which I purchased to further my Asian education. Reading allowed me to forget Jin and her disappearance. Tai Pan introduced me to 1840s Hong Kong and Chinese culture. I also learned of Macau and the bureaucracy of the Manchurian rulers. I was fascinated by the description of dim sum though I would have to wait five years before tasting any.

Around five there was a knock at my door. JB and Choon were in the hallway. I invited them in. JB announced they had moved from the Hamilton Hotel to the Crown and were one floor up. I thought that was great. Maybe if Jin and Choon hung out together it smooth my relations with Jin. JB asked me how my head was. He expected me to have suffered a major hangover, which actually delayed his visiting earlier. Fortunately, I am blessed with a body that does not suffer from hangovers very often. In fact, only wine kicks my ass. Therefore I drink wine with respect and restraint.

JB told how he helped get me back to the hotel. I appreciated that. No telling where I might have woke up otherwise. With my current luck I would have woke up stripped and naked on VD Hill.

My stomach grumbled from neglect. We decided to go out for a bite. We looked for the Sarge and the Spec 5, but they were nowhere to be found. The three of us went out for bulgoki, which was becoming one of my favorites. I did not feel like drinking so we headed back to the hotel and just chatted about a variety of things in their room. The main topic was JB and Choon’s coming marriage. JB needed to complete his divorce. He described his first wife, also Korean, as a real bitch. The legal paperwork should be done when he returned. Allowing him to start his paperwork to marry Choon. He had orders to report to Bucket at Osan Air Base in May for permanent duty so he would have to head back to Arizona soon. I queried him regarding the paperwork to request a transfer to Korea as permanent party. JB had a few tips and I made mental notes for each of them. The night progressed and I decided to go back to my room and see if Jin would return.

She arrived shortly after midnight and seemed in a pretty good mood. Jin informed me she had found the perfect dress. The price was $500, which I could cover. Disappointment filled me as I really wanted to help select the dress. To sit on a chair and have Jin model each dress so that we could choose together. Time for that was gone now. She assuaged some of my disappointment by saying we could meet her folks next weekend. Around two o’clock we were both tired and decided to strip and go to bed. I pulled the covers and drew her closer to me. Finally, I thought tonight would be a good night for the one eyed monk, but as I drew her closer I realized she still wore panties. I could not compute this phenomenon. Even when Jin was pissed at the world she slept in the raw. Moving to remedy the situation, Jin’s hands intercepted mine.

“Yobo. It’s my time.”

I looked back her dumbly. Time for fucking what is all that came to mind?

“I got to period,” she stated looking at me with those cat eyes. I must have been a mouse to bat around until she got bored and decided to kill me. Not that she could plan something like. So I cursed to the moons inside my head, while drawing her close to share the heat from our bodies. Another night of falling asleep tense.

Morning came and we went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. After breakfast I went to the front desk, Jin beaming at my side. Even the predator eyes were hidden. I cashed $800 in American Express travelers checks, giving Jin $500 with all of the eyes in the lobby watching. Then Jin left me to go buy her dress. I remained as she said she wanted to surprise me with her choice.

The Gift Shop doors beckoned and I entered. Kyong-Ock sat there and she smiled at me. Her mate was in the back looking on with a grin that did not match her “go away” eyes. I talked with Miss Kim about Jin and the dress. She covered her mouth as her jaw dropped in surprise. Her companion hawked something in Korean, but Kyong-Ock ignored her.

“You know how muchie those cost,” Kim asked?

“The one my yobo is getting costs $500.”

“You are very nice to her.”

And that was the nicest way Kim could call me fricking crazy. And me too blind to recognize that fact. I asked Kim about this show that happened regularly in Seoul. I think it was called the Blue Room or the Blue Theater. My mind is foggy on the name. This show consisted of traditional Korean dance and song. I really wanted to catch this. What better way to understand the Korean mind than to watch their dance and song? Maybe Jin could wear her dress to the show. But I needed to figure out how to get tickets. Kyong-Ock said she could find out for me. I thanked her, bought a pack of cigarettes and left.

Feeling pretty good I headed for the shops. I window shopped until I found a leather shop. They had some very chic leather jackets in the window and even a leather trench coat. When I returned to Arizona I planned on buying a motorcycle. I had my eyes on a Honda Enduro 500CC that I could ride up in the mountains. Decided I should take advantage of being in Korea and get a decent leather jacket to wear for when I rode. The shop owner was great. I told him what I wanted and he produced a book with a variety of jacket designs. Together we found a nice cut jacket that would fit me like a glove. It tapered at the waist and had zippers on the sleeves, and would include a nice felt lining. Then he broke out the leather. I never seen that much cowhide in my life. Picked out a lovely piece of black leather and he tried to talk me into buying the entire piece and making leather pants too. There was no way I would ever wear leather pants so we got on with the measurements. This was a once in a lifetime experience for me. I never had anything tailored for me in my life and to this date I have not been custom fitted again. Walking away I felt like a king. Now if I could only get my harem straightened out. The final price of the jacket was $200. I don’t know if that was a good deal or not, but it was a worthwhile experience. Much better spent than the $500 I gave Miss Jin. At least I have the coat even if it does not fit.