JB Life Summer Vol. 3

FICTION
36
Great people sometimes resonate the kind
of confidence that I truly envy. Mrs. Yoon
was that type of person. She might not
have looked tough, but she resonated the kind of
confidence that made the people around her nervous.
I was definitely one of those people. I was dating her
dearest niece, and getting her approval was vital for
our relationship to last.
As soon as I met her, I knew she was not to be
messed with. She looked at me like I was nothing,
she made me feel so nervous that I avoided eye contact
with her for the entirety of our first meeting. She
even had dominance over her family. She reigned
over this family that I had entered without her permission.
I was a target from the start, and Mrs. Yoon
was not happy that she had met me by surprise.
There were many things of which she disapproved.
She thought I had initially disrespected her
by avoiding eye contact with her. She hated how shy
I seemed. She thought that I would embarrass the
family by simply being with them. She hated the fact
that I had not performed any military service. This
somehow made me less of a man. She also hated that
I could not speak Korean. She regarded my low Korean
skills as a sign that I didn’t care enough about
Song-hi to make enough of an effort. In her opinion,
I was not a good match for her precious niece.
As an attempt to make me leave South Korea, she
got me fired from my English academy job, and even
got me on a blacklist. I had no chance of being able
to stay in Jeonju. I applied to six jobs with no luck.
One hagwon was almost at the point of hiring me
when the director pulled the plug at the last minute.
I was even asked to leave three restaurants. One of
them, which I went to almost every day for kimbap,
yelled out “No, no, no, no, no” as the owner
motioned for me to leave. Thankfully, the third time
it happened, Song-hi was with me. As soon as the
owner explained that he could not serve me due to
management, Song-hi knew her aunt was involved
in my misfortune.
After lots of crying, pleading, and threatening on
Song-hi’s part, Mrs. Yoon finally gave in. Song-hi
threatened to leave the country with me, and that was
A Fiction
Piece by
Micheline
Leger
enough to get a second chance. Mrs. Yoon decided to
keep me as close to her as she could in order to fix
me. She hired me, and I became her personal English
pet.
* * * * * *
Mrs. Yoon’s purpose was to keep ajumma’s busy.
The whole organization was disguised as a way to
entertain and give purpose to ajummas around Jeonju.
No one would ever question that. It was the perfect
disguise. In the morning everyone stayed busy.
There were gardens to be tended and chores to be
done. There were multiple stalls at Nambu Market
and other places around Jeonju that needed ajummas.
Everyone also needed to participate in physical activities
like hiking, swimming, going to the gym, and
even aerobics classes. Everyone did their part, and
they played roles in each other’s happiness. It was
actually a really beautiful way to stop loneliness, but
it was also a front for something else.
After working a year for her, my life had completely
changed. I woke up every morning at 6 in order to
be at work by 7:30. I had to arrive before Mrs. Yoon,
who arrived between 7:40 and 8:30. My job was simple:
I was technically the ajummas’ English teacher. I
had 3 classes every day. At first, only a few attended.
After about 5 weeks, I had classes of about 30. They
seemed to enjoy coming and learning English. Some
of them surprisingly knew a lot of English, but most
started at a very low level. My classes were always
quite entertaining, and it proved that you’re never too
old to learn since they were all above 50 years old. I
taught them the alphabet and eventually taught them
to read and write the basics. Many of them seemed
to like me. They brought me food and loved to use
simple English greetings. I was given kimchi almost
every day.
Apart from my English classes, I had to learn Korean.
After lunch everyday, I met with Mrs. Kim. She
was one of the eldest ones in the organization and
was quite strict. I learned quickly out of fear, since
she hit my fingers with a long wooden stick every
time I made a mistake. It really never took too much
effort to do my homework or study because I had
both Mrs. Kim and Mrs. Yoon to answer to if I wasn’t
learning fast enough.The last thing I did every day
was meet with Mrs. Yoon. She would bring me along
as she was conducting business and would make me
practice what I’d learned with Mrs. Kim. She would
evaluate my progress, but I could never tell what she
was thinking. I didn’t know whether I was doing a
good job or to watch my back for the consequences.
It was one of my toughest years. When it had ended
and another contract was signed, it was clear that
Mrs. Yoon had grown fond of me. She had a little
celebration for me at the office, saying that I had
done a good job that year and that she was now ready
to accept me into her family. I was happy to finally
be in her good graces, but I was ignorant to what her
acceptance entailed.
I soon found myself delivering packages without
any knowledge of their content. I was also receiving
food at home with money hidden in the bottom. I
should have been suspicious, but everything seemed
so easy and there didn’t seem to be any red flags
coming up. I was a completely different person. I
dressed differently, I was confident, and I even became
a better lover. I think my confidence made me
try things that I wouldn’t have tried before. It was
also clear that I needed a good safe to store all the
money coming in.
Alas, all stories must eventually come to an end,
illustration by Bonnie Cunningham
and this one is no different. Song-hi and I got married
two months after I had been accepted into the
family by Mrs. Yoon. I had never been happier. My
mom and dad met everyone, and it was great to see
my family meet my other family.
That night as we were still celebrating, Song-hi
had tears in her eyes and whispered, “I’m so sorry.” I
had no idea what was going on, but before I knew it
I was being handcuffed and brought to the police station
for questioning. The embarrassment and the deception
were unbearable. I was celebrating with my
family and friends and they were all there to witness
my fall. The look in everyone’s eyes as I was dragged
outside was something that I’ll never get over. They
questioned me for days with the story already engraved
in their mind. In their eyes, I was already a
foreign criminal mastermind. Just like the ajummas
organization was a perfect disguise, I was the perfect
pawn. They had used me as a security option, and I
was completely oblivious to the whole thing.
I’m reminded of that day as I eat kimchi, rice and
seaweed soup now with my new friends. My new
family are the brothers that I’ve been introduced to
here in my new home. This new home equipped with
bars was given to me by my wife. I’m trapped with
nowhere to go: only my mind escapes back and forth
through the bars. My mind also plots and plans the
future revenge. I won’t be in here forever... but I have
no doubt I’ll be back.
Jeonbuk Life 37