Mr. Cha wants to be called Myeong. When I first met him yesterday, he was drunk. It was 12:30 pm but nobody was worried because we are in Korea. He told us he would make lunch for us today. It would be ready at 11 am. At night, we got drunk. Mr. Cha was not with us. When I woke up this morning, it was 11:45 am and Mr. Cha was nowhere to be seen. But there’s food in the kitchen. It says “Help yourself” and it’s still on the stove. It is spicy and according to Mr. Cha, it didn’t work out very well, as I am told later.
Mr. Cha walks in when I’m about to finish lunch at 5 pm. First, I see his naked torso. Then, I can see his wetsuit, wrapped around his hips. In his hands, he carries his snorkel gear and a bucket. He drips water all over the floor and goes straight into the kitchen without saying hello. It doesn’t really matter because I also don’t say hello. When I get up to clean my plate, I see a pot with mussels on the stove. The water is boiling. Mr. Cha is nowhere to be seen. I turn down the heat a bit so the water doesn’t overboil anymore.
Mr. Cha is now sitting outside, he’s eating. With him is a girl, she has the same name as me. Mr. Cha tells us our names are twins. He’s listening to music on his phone. The song ends and starts again from the beginning. My name twin tells him it’s the same song again. So he picks another song. It’s the same one again. He tries once more but it’s the same song again. At last, he succeeds. But now it’s the same song as three minutes ago and my name twin complains again. I leave them to go inside because it’s really cold today.
Mr. Cha is still drunk – or might not be – who knows? I’m still contemplating about life and what to do when I will leave this surreal place. Last night, it was four of us: Movie star, Germany, Roman, and his girlfriend. Who are we today? Who will we be tomorrow? Nobody knows. Nobody cares.
Mr. Cha is now properly dressed. He’s in the bathroom, talking on the phone to the guy next to me in the living room. After hanging up, the guy leaves the house and says bye. It’s the first word between us – and my response is the last. Now, I’m wondering: am I drunk or is this just life? I don’t know. I’ll continue hunting mosquitoes.
