Skip to main content
Read page text
page 182
GUEST LITERATURE – KOREA “Did you say one eighty?” he asked in a tone that showed that it wouldn’t be a problem. Bat answered quickly with an embarrassed look: “It’s one eighty. My sister-in-law is staying at a tiny studio, and the monthly rent is two hundred thousand won.Those rooms – the ones that are about as big as coffins – are going for two hundred thousand! That’s the monthly wage of a Mongolian labourer. Anyway what my sister-inlaw is trying to do is cover that expense with the rent she earns from this apartment.” Bat’s expression had become so serious that he almost looked depressed. But Chang-dae had already done the calculation in his head. In this country, the extra thirty dollars was a lot of money, but not in Korea.The monthly rent was about the same as the utilities fee he paid back at home. Also, the apartment was already furnished with everything he would need, so he was willing to shell out the extra money. “All right, then. One eighty it is.” Right away, the couple looked very relieved. “The utilities fee will be very small,” Dolma said. “You can expect to pay around twenty dollars a month.” The three of them went down in the lift standing shoulder-toshoulder to bring up the bags. Among the bags there were groceries Dolma had picked up from the store very early in the morning including kimchi, beverages, some bread, ham and fruit. Dolma disappeared, saying she would get the extra set of keys for the apartment while the men took care of the rent payment. “Dolma’s older brother lives in this apartment.” Bat pointed his head to the floors above. “It’s good for siblings to live close by each other,” Chang-dae said and handed over the rent for three months. Bat took the money and placed it on the glass table without even checking to be sure the amount was correct. He handed the keys over to Chang-dae, as if the transaction was complete. He smiled as he said to Chang-dae: “I don’t think there’s a need for anything like a lease between us, do you?” For a second, Chang-dae looked at the foreigner sitting across from him as if for the first time. He had the sudden impression that he was sitting in some real-estate agent’s office in Korea. Bat’s words had come out so nonchalantly. They had sounded so urbane and slick to 180 BANIPAL 43 – CELEBRATING DENYS JOHNSON-DAVIES
page 183
JEON SEONG-TAE Chang-dae. The man had picked up nothing but dirty tricks from Korea. Though he felt a little uneasy, Chang-dae had no choice but to nod. It still felt like he was missing something; it was true that he was only renting the apartment, but it seemed not quite right to finish the transaction without a lease. Dolma returned and handed over the keys. “There’s another one, but we’ll hold on to that one in case of an emergency.” She slipped the envelope containing the rent money into her purse. Chang-dae had thought the process would be more complicated, but it was over in a heartbeat. Bat explained a few details about the apartment that would require Chang-dae’s attention: “You can leave the trash outside the door on the first floor. The utilities bill comes at the end of each month, but we’ll stop by and take care of that personally. Let’s see, is there anything else . . . ?” He looked around to jog his memory, and his wife pointed to the bathroom. “Oh, right. Don’t let the water drain through the floor of the bathroom, or the water will leak through the downstairs ceiling.” Chang-dae nodded. The point was that if he was going to shower, he’d better do it inside the bath. “Oh, and another thing!” Bat said, as though he’d almost forgotten to say something crucial. “You must carry your keys with you at all times, because the door locks automatically.” He went out the front door and shut it to show Changdae personally. At the same time a round locking mechanism turned automatically, making a click.You could hear the sound of someone turning the knob outside, but the door wouldn’t budge.The entrance actually had two doors, back-to-back; connected to the steel door there was also a wooden one. “It looks more secure than a prison.” He smiled at Dolma to assure her that he was satisfied. Dolma nodded and said: “It should be enough just to lock the outside door.” Chang-dae had a mischievous thought; he wouldn’t open the door for Bat. How would this man react if his wife and some strange man deliberately kept him locked out? He hurried to release the locking mechanism, as though someone would find out about his idle fancy. Bat said as he came back inside: “Don’t open the door for anybody you don’t know. Even if the person speaks Korean. If you’re talking to a visitor you can do it while standing here.” Bat took one step closer to the entrance’s threshold. Chang-dae BANIPAL 43 – SPRING 2012 181

Page Text

View plaintext

GUEST LITERATURE – KOREA

“Did you say one eighty?” he asked in a tone that showed that it wouldn’t be a problem.

Bat answered quickly with an embarrassed look: “It’s one eighty. My sister-in-law is staying at a tiny studio, and the monthly rent is two hundred thousand won.Those rooms – the ones that are about as big as coffins – are going for two hundred thousand! That’s the monthly wage of a Mongolian labourer. Anyway what my sister-inlaw is trying to do is cover that expense with the rent she earns from this apartment.”

Bat’s expression had become so serious that he almost looked depressed. But Chang-dae had already done the calculation in his head. In this country, the extra thirty dollars was a lot of money, but not in Korea.The monthly rent was about the same as the utilities fee he paid back at home. Also, the apartment was already furnished with everything he would need, so he was willing to shell out the extra money.

“All right, then. One eighty it is.” Right away, the couple looked very relieved. “The utilities fee will be very small,” Dolma said. “You can expect to pay around twenty dollars a month.”

The three of them went down in the lift standing shoulder-toshoulder to bring up the bags. Among the bags there were groceries Dolma had picked up from the store very early in the morning including kimchi, beverages, some bread, ham and fruit. Dolma disappeared, saying she would get the extra set of keys for the apartment while the men took care of the rent payment.

“Dolma’s older brother lives in this apartment.” Bat pointed his head to the floors above.

“It’s good for siblings to live close by each other,” Chang-dae said and handed over the rent for three months. Bat took the money and placed it on the glass table without even checking to be sure the amount was correct. He handed the keys over to Chang-dae, as if the transaction was complete. He smiled as he said to Chang-dae: “I don’t think there’s a need for anything like a lease between us, do you?”

For a second, Chang-dae looked at the foreigner sitting across from him as if for the first time. He had the sudden impression that he was sitting in some real-estate agent’s office in Korea. Bat’s words had come out so nonchalantly. They had sounded so urbane and slick to

180 BANIPAL 43 – CELEBRATING DENYS JOHNSON-DAVIES

read next page

My Bookmarks

Buy this Book
Skip to main content