Simple America

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?