Tokyo Stirs: (Short Stories about Asia)

by Harmon Cooper

  He had wanted to stay in that night, but it was Cliff’s birthday, and everyone in his shop had been invited to the party. Normally he would have declined, but Cliff had been the only person in the shop that didn’t pester Henry, and he liked him for this. Henry had joined the group in Songtan. It didn’t take long for pitchers of soju to empty, for fights to break out, and inevitably, for MPs to come running.

  Drunk for the third time in his life (his first time being his high school graduation, his second time being his graduation from tech school), Henry stumbled into Blow Row after narrowly dodging a pair of overbearing MPs.

  He slid into the room closest to the entrance of Blow Row and sat down on the corner of the bed, somehow getting past the mama-san outside. Hee-yun lay on the bed in a silk robe. She smiled at him playfully and he fell back onto the bed next to her. Henry took in her features – her narrow eyebrows, her small nose, her long chin. He moved forward to kiss her. Two kisses later and he pulled away.

  ‘What’s your name?’ he asked, hoping she understood English.

  She made a funny sound and lightly touched her throat.

  ‘What’s wrong with your throat?’

  Hee-yun pointed from her throat to her ear. He leaned forward and examined her drunkenly.

  ‘You’re deaf?’ He pointed to his own ears, made an X by crossing his wrists. She nodded. Henry fell back onto the pillow. What the hell was he doing with a deaf prostitute? Had it really come to this?

  Twenty years ago, it had come to that, and twenty years later, Henry hoped to put his past to rest. He didn’t know how he planned to do this, but the memory of leaving Hee-yun still haunted him.

  He couldn’t have taken her with him at the time. She thought he could, or at least he assumed that she’d thought he could, but who could really know what she was thinking? When his tour ended, he just disappeared. Took his new assignment at Nellis in Nevada, and never showed up at Hee-yun’s room again, never even said goodbye to her.

  Comical really, travelling all the way to Korea to find a deaf prostitute named Hee-yun from twenty years ago. But what other options did he have? Even stranger was the incident that sparked his impromptu journey to Asia.

  He had been driving home late one night two weeks after his divorce from Margo was finalized when he stumbled upon an overturned Ford Mustang. The driver was dead, and Henry had waited at the hospital until the dead man’s son appeared. The first words that out of Henry’s mouth were, ‘I know what it’s like to lose someone.’

  It struck him at the time that he hadn’t been referring in the least bit to Margo. He had been referring to Hee-yun.

  ₪

  Henry ventured out into the streets of Songtan after a cold beer. In his youth he had despised drinking; now he practically depended on it, especially after the divorce from Margo. His goal was never to get drunk, only to take the edge off. The only problem that came with his sudden fondness for beer was the gradual increase in his tolerance. The edge seemed to grow further and further away.

  The evening had come and soldiers were arriving in droves. A white guy wearing a sideways hat, baggy sweat pants and an oversized Dallas Cowboys jersey walked past him with a thin black woman on his arm. They both nodded at Henry in passing.

  ‘Handsome man! Handsome man!’ a juicy girl called out from the open door of a bar called Moves. She wore boy shorts, stilettos and a purple tube top. Fat and mildly cute, her nipples were noticeably hard.

  ‘Sweetie, we got drink specials tonight,’ she said, puckering her lips at him.

  ‘I’m sure you do.’

  ‘You don’t want to drink with me? Not even a little soju?’

  ‘Another lifetime,’ he said.

  He walked into a bar with a handwritten sign that said JUICY FREE.

  ‘One Tiger. Also, I’m looking for someone,’ Henry said to the bartender as he pulled up a seat.

  ‘Who you looking for?’

  The bartender was a middle-aged Korean woman wearing a USAF t-shirt likely given to her by a patron. She dropped his beer onto a stained coaster.

  ‘This is going to sound a little strange, but I was stationed over twenty years ago at Osan.’ He began picking at the label on his beer with his fingernail. ‘Anyhow, I’m trying to see if any of the mama-sans from back then are still around. A strange request, I know.’

  The bartender laughed. ‘Mama-san from twenty years before?’

  ‘That’s only the start of it… it’s a long story.’

  There was a silence and the bartender began drying a glass. Without looking up, she began speaking. ‘I know one mama-san you maybe ask. She not here twenty years ago. She come maybe thirteen years ago. Maybe she know something.’

  ‘How’s her English?’ he asked.

  ‘Good to yell at horny American soldiers. She be here next few days. She go to Kunsan. I tell her you here, you stop by again.’

  ‘Thanks for your help.’

  Henry turned towards the pool table with his beer in hand.

  ₪

  Min-ji walked out of Café 8, immediately spotting Henry, who stood under a streetlamp. In the pocket of his jacket was a gift for her that he’d picked up a small boutique across the street. He palmed the gift, running his fingers over it.

  She had changed into a white jacket and white high heels, wrapped a huge scarf around her delicate neck. On her head was a felt beret, angled slightly to hold her hair in place over her right eye.

  ‘I made you another latte,’ she said. ‘I put one sugar.’

  ‘Did you make another heart on top of it?’

  ‘Yes, big one!’ Her smile showed just how big.

  ‘Thanks.’ He took a sip of the latte. ‘You ready?’

  ‘Where shall we go?’ She turned towards the street and the wind blew the ends of her scarf over her shoulder.

  ‘You tell me. You live here, not me. Where’s a good restaurant?’

  ‘I think Itaewon. We take taxi.’

  ‘Alright, let’s go there then.’

  In Itaewon, Henry and Min-ji were led past a few tables to the back of a showy Italian restaurant. A single candle was lit on their table; leather bound menus were placed in front of them by an effeminate waiter with perfectly gelled hair.

  ‘This place sure is fancy,’ he said, his eyes darting around the room. Fake grape vines hung in a wicker basket on the wall next to their table. The brick colonnades in the center of the room stretched up to the ceiling painted with cherubs.

  ‘What you want to eat?’ she asked.

  ‘This chicken and spinach Alfredo looks interesting. What are you eyeing?’

  ‘Excuse me? I don’t understand eyeing.’ Min-ji looked up from her menu, the light from the candle giving her skin a warm sepia tone. She seemed to increase in beauty as the minutes passed.

  ‘It means, ‘what do you want to order?’’

  ‘Oh, ok. Pumpkin ravioli. I had one time before. Good.’

  ‘Wine?’ He closed the menu, waved the waiter over.

  ‘Maybe beer?’

  ‘Sounds good. I’ve become quite the fan of beer lately.’

  She laughed awkwardly. ‘Ok, so why do you come to Korea?’

  ‘Are you always this inquisitive? Later, after dinner. I’ll spill my guts. I promise.’

  ‘Spill your guts?’ she asked. ‘I don’t understand.’

  The waiter appeared.

  ‘I’ll tell you later.’

  ₪

  Henry stayed until morning with Hee-yun the deaf prostitute. Crumbled pieces of paper covered in hasty drawings littered the floor. He awoke to a mama-san banging on the window, yelling in raspy Korean. Hee-yun continued to sleep soundly as he hustled over to the door.

  ‘You stay all night?’ she yelled as he opened the door. Her open palm indicated she was ready to receive payment.

  ‘Yea, but we didn’t…’ he thought for a moment on how strange that would sound. ‘Sure, yes, I did. I did! Give me just a moment to say goodbye.’

&nbs
p; ‘Hurry or you pay again.’

  ‘Yes, ma’am.’ Henry paused for a moment, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

  The door creaked open. He ran to the side of the bed and dropped to one knee next to Hee-yun, who had curled into a ball under the thin sheet. He showed her the time, pointed to the number eight on his watch. Hee-yun nodded and kissed him on the cheek. I will see you soon.

  From that point forward, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights were spent with Hee-yun. They eventually had sex, as it was inevitable, but their relationship was much deeper than that. She was his companion, a silent companion, but the workings of what he deemed a soul mate nonetheless. Every week he brought her small gifts from the commissary, things she couldn’t get at the local Korean stores like American cheese and European chocolates. In their quiet he found refuge. In the reflection of her coal black eyes he saw a version of himself that he’d rarely glimpsed. They played cards, watched television, stayed at hotels in town – after he’d paid the mama-san, of course, who’d loosened up on him after the first month of steady payments. It was as beautiful as it was strange.

  They traveled to Kunsan one weekend to celebrate his twenty-fifth birthday two months later in Busan. Their routine was predictable, comfortable and perfect. She would relax on the bed and watch TV with the sound on mute while he’d read his fantasy books. Life was simple for once.

  The guys in his shop would tease him, occasionally mocking the sounds they’d assumed she made during sex and showing him inappropriate hand gestures to try on her. But for the most part they left him alone, especially after Cliff had a talk with them. Henry was happy, happier than he’d ever been and happier than he’d ever be, although he didn’t know this at the time.

  ₪

  ‘Is your food delicious?’ Min-ji had cut her pumpkin ravioli into organized pieces.

  ‘It’s interesting, I’ll say that. Alfredo sauce for lasagna just isn’t as delicious as tomato sauce. The calamari was great, though. Yours?’

  ‘Very delicious. You eat.’ She stabbed her fork into a small piece and bent forward. Is she really feeding me? Henry bit into the ravioli, smiling as his good fortune sank in.

  ‘Wow, it is really good. Now I wish I had ordered that.’

  ‘Next time,’ she said.

  ‘Might be worth staying an extra night,’ he said.

  She finished her beer and set it on the table.

  ‘Like another?’ he asked. She nodded.

  A third round of beers was brought to the table. Man, she’s pounding them fast. Henry started telling her about his job in America. After an honorable discharge, he took a job at Boeing in California. He worked there until retiring in December. His trip to Korea was his retirement present to himself. He began explaining to her the details of his job, but noticed that he was starting to lose her attention.

  ‘It wasn’t too bad, though,’ he said, cutting the conversation short. ‘I didn’t have to deal with the military rigmarole, and I got paid twice as much to do a similar job.’

  ‘Many soldiers in Korea,’ she said, taking a gulp from her beer. ‘I see at the nightclub. Very easy to see.’

  ‘Why’s that?’

  ‘Shaved head and very drunk. Sometimes fighting.’

  ‘Tell me about it,’ Henry said. ‘Korea is just so different from what they’re used to in America. It was for me, anyway. How about dessert? What do you think?’

  Min-ji finished her beer. ‘Maybe pub? I’m on diet.’

  ‘You’re on a diet? You must be crazy! You have a perfect body. Wait, that sounded weird,’ Henry was silent for a moment. ‘Um…’

  ‘It’s ok,’ she said, laughing. ‘Thank you. You are nice man.’

  Henry paid the bill and they left, Min-ji hooking her arm into his as they exited the restaurant. She looked up at him and smiled as the cold wind blew past them. Things just keep getting better. They turned into a small alley outside the Italian restaurant which opened up into a string of pubs, colorful bars and a few glitzy nightclubs.

  ₪

  In Songtan, Henry waited three days for the mama-san in question to finally appear. He spent his afternoons walking around Osan, drinking coffee and reading a short story collection called Once upon the Ganges. He found the mama-san on the third night at the pub he’d been frequenting.

  ‘Old soldier man,’ she said with a wry smile.

  ‘Henry Latchman,’ he said, extending his hand. ‘Your name?’

  ‘Too hard for Americans to say Korean name.’

  ‘Fair enough.’

  He ordered them both a Tiger beer. She sat on the bar stool like an old badger. Her neck was lined with moles and wrinkles and gray was beginning to appear at her roots. There was something bitter and unfulfilled about the way she looked.

  He cleared his throat, ‘So, I was here twenty years ago and met this girl.’

  ‘You here searching for girl? Crazy old soldier man.’

  ‘Yea, maybe I am crazy.’

  ‘Juicy girl?’

  ‘No, she was, well, a prostitute,’ Henry said in a low voice.

  ‘You here searching for prostitute from twenty years ago?’ She clucked, shaking her head.

  ‘Yes.’ Henry glanced around to see if anyone had heard her.

  ‘Sorry, I don’t know prostitute.’

  ‘I’m sure you don’t, but you might remember hearing about this one. Maybe you know her mama-san. Anyways, her name was Hee-yun. She was deaf.’

  ‘Deaf? What is deaf?’

  ‘She couldn’t hear.’

  Henry pointed at his ears, made an X with his wrists. The chubby woman took another swill from her beer.

  ‘I knew her mama-san. Hee-yun now dead. She became pregnant by soldier and dead after baby born.’

  ‘Hee-yun died?’ Henry asked. Then the rest of the statement hit him. ‘Did you say… a baby?’

  He squeezed his beer until the can gave way. The overflowing memory of Hee-yun bubbled out of his can in spumy golden excess. She’d died giving birth to a baby. Could it have been mine?

  ‘She dead.’

  ‘When?’ The words were hard to form. The beer continued to foam onto his hands and between his fingers.

  ‘Before I come.’

  ‘Boy or girl? The child…’

  ‘I don’t know. I never see child. I never ask. Child go to Seoul when she seven years old for school.’

  ‘Is her mama-san still alive?’ Henry’s hand was gummy from the crushed beer. ‘Maybe I could ask her.’

  ‘Dead from heart attack two year before.’

  ‘Hee-yun’s child is in Seoul then?’

  ‘I don’t know. Why you care about child?’ she asked. The bartender appeared and quietly took the crushed beer from Henry’s hand. He still hadn’t taken his eyes off a spot just above the mama-san’s shoulder. With each blink, an image of Hee-yun’s naked body flashed across his mind’s eye.

  ‘Hee-yun’s baby might be mine.’ He took a long, weary sip from his beer. ‘I… I loved her.’

  ‘Hee-yun? You loved her?’ the mama-san started to laugh, but suddenly stopped.

  ‘Yes, I think. I mean, that’s why I’m here. I’m just so sorry.’ He swiped his face with his clean hand.

  The mama-san finished her beer and shrugged. ‘Why not stay to help Hee-yun’s baby?’

  ‘I didn’t know she was pregnant. I swear it!’

  ‘This why you break your beer?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘You drink another beer,’ she said.

  ‘I plan to, believe me, I plan to.’

  ‘After, you go home to America. Your life in Korea over twenty years before,’ she said. She gave Henry a stack of napkins to clean his hand.

  ₪

  ‘Tell me! Why do you come to Korea?’ Min-ji raised her shot of tequila and toasted Henry’s beer.

  They sat in a recently renovated pub overlooking the streets of Itaewon on high bar stools with swivel chairs. Henry had been telling her about the origin of
IPA beer when she interrupted him with the question.

  ‘That question is really on your mind isn’t it?’

  ‘You promise you tell me!’ Min-ji cringed as she finished the shot. A fresh margarita was placed in front of her.

  ‘Oh, I almost forgot…’ He thrust his hand in his jacket pocket. ‘While you were finishing work, I bought you this. Now I know it’s romantic, but you poured a heart in my latte and I thought, hell, I should give you a heart too. Kind of a keepsake.’

  He produced a loop of string with glittery red hearts attached to it. The hearts were capped off by a single golden bead. He dangled it in the air in front of her. Min-ji looked it over, flicking at the stray bead.

  ‘Is it ok?’ he asked, suddenly nervous.

  ‘Very cute! I will put on my cell phone.’

  ‘Oh, that’s what it’s for. I thought it was for like a charm bracelet or something.’

  ‘Oh, you very stupid. It is for cell phone!’ Min-ji dropped her purse in the process of retrieving her phone.

  Stooping over to pick up her purse, Henry accidently brushed his hand against her leg. Their eyes locked. She turned to her cell phone and began attaching the charm to it.

  ‘It is very cute!’ She shook her cell phone and the charm.

  ‘Hey,’ Henry said as she stashed the phone away, ‘I’ve been wondering… why did you agree to meet me, anyway? It’s just so random.’

  ‘Why did I agree to meet you?’

  ‘Yeah, that’s right, why?’

  ‘I think we are maybe same, lost in a city sometimes lonely. Hey! No more questions for me until you tell me your spilled gut! Am I saying correct?’

  ‘I get the idea,’ he smiled at her. ‘I guess you could say I came to Korea searching for myself, or better yet, a part of me that I’d lost.’

  ‘Yourself?’ she asked, running her finger along the rim of her glass to collect the salt. ‘How do a person become lost with self? Impossible I think. I want another shot. Is it ok? You take shot too.’