Ain't Nothing (cont.)


Ki Eun met Fadhel on a blind date in Dobong-Gu. He was dressed in blue slacks and a striped short sleeve shirt. He talked a lot about Bob Dylan. "I listen to him on most flights. Highway 61 relaxes my nerves." Ki Eun didn't pay attention. She was looking at his shoulders. They were broad. "Nul bun u gae," she thought to herself in Korean. "Safe."

Fadhel had no interest in being anything for anyone. He was passing time before his next flight to Hong Kong. Fun was the key word on his agenda. "So what's there to do around here?"

"There's lots. What do you want to do?" Ki Eun smiled.

"A place a little more exciting than this would be a start," Fadhel gestured to the walls of Joe's Sandwich and Coffee Shop.

"Have you heard of poktanjoo?"

"What?"

"Bomb alcohol?"

"What's that?"

"It depends, but, basically it's beer mixed with soju, but uh...if you have more money than it can be beer mixed with whisky. So either way, it can give you a lot of sickness."

"Sickness?"

"The next day it gives you bad hangover."

"Well, what else could we drink? What would you drink?"

"Baeksaejoo. Joo means alcohol in Korea."

"Okay. Where do we go?"

"Any samgyeopsal place is good. But when you drink beaksaejoo or soju, it goes well with samgyeopsal. You know, three layers of fat - barbecue."

"Sounds healthy," Fadhel laughed.

"You don't want to go?"

"No, I'll try it."

"Good."

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