25 Years Ago Part XI
Nothing really sticks out in my mind the rest of that weekend. I got over the little rejection I faced quickly. Jin spent the rest of the weekend wrapping me firmly around her finger. We walked around Itaewon shopping here and there. When she liked something I bought it. Things were cheap, so it was not killing my budget. I just wanted to make her happy. The predator eyes were becoming more apparent to me, but I kept ignoring them. I would rather be pussy whipped by Miss Jin than tick her off and be alone again.
We talked a lot. Jin told me that she grew up in Seoul and that her parents lived in another part of the city. I told her about Texas and growing up in Houston. Also tried to tell her about Germany and my early years when I was an infantryman. The more we talked the stronger my feelings became for her. And then she would leave for work while I remained in the hotel. Reading and more reading. I wanted to gain knowledge that would let me better access her heart. Sure Golden Mountain was attractive to every girl in the ville but if she was going to be my yobo I wanted to love her and be loved back. The only book that might have helped was the book that discussed how Korean women had changed from the Yi Dynasty to the modern days. But for a kid with only a high school diploma I was lost by a lot of the terminology and theory. Then I was still reading James Clavel’s Shogun, but all that allowed me to learn is that the Japanese derided Koreans as “garlic eaters.” Of course that was an accurate description of these people, even with the prejudice removed.
I really needed a better book store, but I was not (and never did) able to find one. So I went downstairs and talked to Kyong-Ock. I must of spent an hour yakking with her about things, Korean. This was the first of many discussions I had with Kyong-Ock and I learned a lot from her. If I would have been smart I would have learned her phone number, but I had a yobo. My whole reason for pestering Kyong-Ock was so I would be a better yobo. I certainly would have done better with Kim. Kim always seemed to have a co-worker in the shop with her. She never spoke much to me and I think she was nervous about her English. She was a smaller more slender woman and she wore her short hair which curled at her shoulders. I never learned her name and if Kyong-Ock was around she would have her help me. After a while, I think she griped about me coming around and talking. My visits probably interrupted their conversations and irritated her since she could or would not join in. The business never seemed that heavy whenever I visited and I always stepped aside so they could do their jobs. They could not blame me for disrupting sales.
Even with these little chats and my attempts to self educate learning did not mean a thing when Jin would come home drunk and tired. I looked at those cat eyes to see what the weather was and hit the hay staying to my side. Could a relationship hit the rocks any sooner? But could a guy be more desperate to win a girl’s heart.
Jin did not have to work on Sunday. I suggested we go to her old neighborhood where she grew up. I could even meet her parents if she wanted. She got a little excited about that. Her eyes widened but she refused. Jin said it was the wrong time. I should meet her parents during lunar moon festival or Chinese New Year. But I would have to be a proper yobo to meet them. I’d need some nicer clothes and she wanted to get a Korean traditional dress to wear. The traditional Korean dress is called a Hanbok and looks like this:
My whole purpose in life was to please Jin. So I agreed. I had no idea what these dresses cost, but I would find a way to get Jin a dress. This promise was secured with a tumble in the bed. Finally I thought. That whoopee ended up costing me $500, because that was the price of her dress.
Monday came and back to work. At the end of the day I came back and Jin met me in the lobby. She had gone out and could not enter the room. I walked her to the desk and asked the clerks what I needed to do, to permit her access to the room when I was out. They set it up and she must have loved it. Later I learned she would invite her girlfriends and they would watch TV and take showers. Pretty much have a little party while I worked. That night Sarge and the Spec 5 joined us as we went to Yongsan for dinner at the Snack Bar. Afterwards, we went to the base theater and watched Brian Keith and Charlton Heston in the Mountain Men. It was a pretty good flick, but there is one part where a man gets his head chopped off and that freaked Jin out. That was a good clingy moment. One of the last.
I hardly saw Jin the rest of the week. Now she could get her own key, so she’d come in and crawl into bed at night, instead of knocking. Usually I was asleep, but a kiss or hug would have been nice. Even a kick in the butt would have been something. It seemed I could never talk without irritating her either. So I just shut up and wondered what the hell I did.
That week headquarters assigned another Spec 5 to our team. It was an unusual move, as this fellow was from B Company. The Army usually avoided mixing company personnel like that. He was staying at the Hotel Hamilton. We’ll call him JB and I did not like him at first. He was the kind of guy that would always kid you about the least little thing. Not that I’m hypersensitive or anything, but I prefer you get to know me before you laugh at me. Sounds kind of hypocritical from a guy that spends $500 on a dress for a girl he barely knows.
But JB and I had one thing in common. Yobos. His was not only a yobo but they were going through all of the paperwork to get married. In fact, he had orders that would change his permanent station to Osan, Korea in a couple of months too. Once I got used to his jokes JB and I became pretty good friends. We were two peas in a pod. Guys totally hooked on Asian babes. Poor fellow was going through a divorce with his first wife, also a Korean.
Friday came and he wanted to introduce his yobo to the rest of us. Jin had gone to work so I waited with Sarge and the Spec 5 in the Hotel Crown’s lobby. He arrived and introduced Choon to us. She was very pretty, nice figure with brown hair that reached below her shoulder blades. Choon smiled a lot, but she could not speak English as well as Jin. JB could communicate with her and that’s all that matters. We rode in a cab over to the clubs after that for some drinks. I peeked into the New York Club. If Jin was not busy I wanted to introduce her to Choon. She sat at the bar talking to a GI. Seeing her with him was like fingernails screeching down a chalkboard, but I ignored it. Hell she has to talk to customers. So I got over myself just about the time she spotted me.
I beckoned for her to come out. Looked at Miss Kim and signed her for one minute. Jin came out and she looked steamed. “I tell you don’t come here when I workey.”
But I calmed her down and introduced her to Choon and JB. She chatted with Choon in Korean a bit. Then she moved back to work, giving me one last glare on her way in. We went to the King Club where I proceeded to drink away the memory of her slight.
Morning came and I was sleeping in blue jeans and Jin was next to me. Life must still be good I thought.
