With my body feeling momentary defeat not being able to rest and my stomach's approaching victory of being full, I made my way downstairs to the tiny dining area with hopes of getting a quick bit and a beer before heading to bed.
I ordered my food and quickly took my seat. My ill attempt to use Korean to order quickly let the cashier know that I was not from around here. I was surprised to find out that after I told her that English was my native language, she was able to communicate back with me.
“My daughter also speaks English, she used to be good but she lost it.”
Her daughter was a girl with a thick glasses and a short bob haircut scrambling around the room talking to customers and clearing cups and bowels. When she spoke, her accent was strong, her dialect a distinct and sharp. When she spoke it was loud and quick, to someone not familiar with Korean her voice and tone sounded harsh and unwelcoming, to someone who understood barely enough Korean to get by, her voice and word choices were far from formal, but rather direct and to the point. Less of “Mother would you please make some bibimbap?” and more of “Hey mom! Can you make some bibimbap?”
I sat down at my table, staring absently at the late night comedy/variety show on the TV. The girl in the glasses came over and brought a bowel of bibimbap and a cold can of beer with it. Only a few months ago, I would have thought twice about having bibimbap this late, now it was a feast fit for a king.
I told the girl thank you, preparing to dig into my meal and eat it quickly enough so I could get to bed at a decent hour. As I began to stir the contents of the bowel and took a sip of beer, I noticed that the girl still remained behind.
“You speak English?” asked the girl curiously.
“I do. Hi, nice to meet you,” I said extending my hand for a handshake.
“Oh, that is good. Thank you. Enjoy your meal,” said the girl before quickly leaving.
I quickly gobbled down my meal. More concerned with going to bed on time rather than savoring a dish that I would surely have again some day in Korea. I finished my meal and quickly finished my beer before bringing up my dishes to the counter and heading towards the sleeping area.
As I was about to leave the eating area I heard the voice of the girl call out to me.
“Excuse me, um don't go yet wait.”
The girl quickly opened a refrigerator door and began mixing a liquid in a large glass.
Curious, I slowly walked back into the eating area and waited as she stirred the contents in the glass.
She handed me the glass, inside, an opaque liquid swirled around inside.
“This drink is for you, it is free, um, service. This drink very good. Very healthy,” she said with a smile on her face.
I thanked her and took a sip. I still wasn't sure what I was drinking, how it was made or where it came from but based on two factors: I was alive and it did not taste bad I continued to drink it and revel in this stranger's kind hospitality.
As I walked out for a second time, this time with mysterious drink in hand, the girl's mother called out to me, once again stopping me in my tracks.
“We are having dinner soon. Would you like to eat with us?” she asked.
My body was tired, my eyes were starting to feel heavy and my friends were probably already fast asleep. However, there was a little part o me that didn't want to go to bed yet.
Despite being tired and the hours available for sleep slowly ticking away, I felt that this was an opportunity I shouldn’t miss. At the time I couldn’t quite figure out why I was so compelled to stay and eat with them. Perhaps it was the sheer curiosity at the novelty and surprise of such a random moment in such an unusual hour for social activity.
The dinner conversation was short and scarce. Despite their knowledge and proficiency in English, it was only enough to communicate with the most basic of questions. When combined with my limited grasp of Korean, it made for limited dinner conversation. Still they were friendly and enjoyable to be around, a genuine sense of closeness and family was felt from these two in their body language and the way they talked to one another so casually without a second thought. They were a happy and content family. Considering how busy they were, this was a comforting thought.
I politely excused myself once the chicken was gone and the conversation grew stale. It was already two in the morning and my body was screaming at me to go to sleep. As I left the daughter said a cheerful goodbye of “Goodbye. Thanks for coming. See you later. I love you.”
My body gave into the fatigue once I laid on my mat. For being in the corner of a room filled with strangers on a hard wood floor, I never felt more eager to sleep and more peaceful. The vacation was going so well, it was an almost blissful relaxing, state of mind, a warm blanket that made the sleep even more restful.
The bliss of a restful sleep was suddenly and jarringly taken a way with a shrill scream of terror. The scream echoed off the walls and filled the room with such a loud and permeating sounds that I was certain that everyone heard it throughout the building. this wasn’t scream of a man who was startled, but the scream of a man who had just had a moment of sheer terror.
The entire room sprang awake, drowsy and disoriented on what had just happened. I immediately sprang awake, hands fumbling at the ground as I attempted to grab my glasses and see where the scream had come from. People began to walk around and talk to each other in worried voices. My friends were either groggily attempting to scan the room or too startled to fully comprehend what was happening. Once I had finally put my glasses on I saw people begin to fall back asleep or go back to their mats. We had all determined at this point it was an older man who must have had a nightmare and that the shock was over.
Still half asleep I put my head back to rest and slowly began to fall asleep. At the time I didn’t know that I had only a few hours left before having to wake up and move on to my next destination. My peaceful sleep was interrupted and try as I might, I wouldn’t be getting it back.
The next morning we looked back at the night before, trying to make sense of what had happened. We laughed about it, noting just how rare and absurd the situation was, noting that something like this would probably never happen again to us.
That was one of my most memorable nights in Korea. I will always remember the random family who welcomed me into their life for a few minutes nor will I ever forget the man who’s scream shook me to my very soul.
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| By the end of the day all I wanted was a damn shower and a damn bed. |
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