Saturday, October 23, 2010

The Bar Skank of Korea: A Play in Three Acts (Cont.)

Act 2

Scene 1
[George arrives at the Busan train station, smiling and reanimated.  He hops out of the train car, brushes dust off of his jacket sleeve, and looks up to see...]




 

George: What the fuck?

Scene 2

[George sits outside of a raw fish restaurant in which patrons can pick out the fish they wish to eat, watch as a loud, thick-armed woman kills it in front of them, then dine on it five minutes later.



(There are several such restaurants along Haeundae and Gwangalli beaches.)  George holds a half-empty bottle of soju, looking out at the "beach."]

George: I've been had!  Hoodwinked!  Butt-fucked by life once again!  To think, a few meager hours could transform my beautiful muse into a common harlot, a woman of easy virtue.  Damn these silly revelries; these impish wishes that leave a man's heart more soaked with melancholy than before!  Ay!  Curse mine eyes!

[Busan enters, stage left.  She is drunk and provocatively dressed.]

Busan: [To a group of young men] Hey boys, lookin' for a (hiccup) good time?  Welcome to Busan, home of bitches, babes, and boos.  Haa haa (hiccup) haa!  You guys wanna make out?

George: Enough!  In the immortal words of the poet-warrior Popeye, "That's all I can stands, I can't stands no more." I am off!  To the deep, quiet grave of the East Sea (don't call it the Sea of Japan, Koreans will get mad) I resign my empty heart, which beats now merely in procedure, for there is no passion nor purpose left in its chambers.

Busan: [To George] How 'bout you stud, wanna like feel me up along the boardwalk?  I'm famous for my (hiccup) authentic American-style boardwalk.  Don't mind the weird smell, that's just the local (hiccup) fried squid vendors.


George: Be gone, vile temptress!  You've made a cuckold of me!  This hideous mermaid's call has drowned its last victim!

[George beings running toward the sea.  Busan blocks his path.]

Busan: Why don't you check out my aquarium?  [Lifts up her skirt.]  We have like (hiccup) twenty different kinds of fish or something.  And you can swim with the sharks, only 80,000 won...

George: Oh God!!

[George shields his eyes in disgust.  He turns around and runs up the stairs toward the raw fish restaurant behind him.]

Scene 3

[Raw fish restaurant, interior.  George sulks at a corner table, surrounded by happy, chattering Korean couples.]

George: Stupid...rasrfrn...no good...frsnrs...Yogio!  Soju chusayo!  Another soju over here!

[The waitress enters with a bottle of soju and a plate of food.  George looks at the plate quizzically.]

George: What is this monstrosity?  I ordered nothing of the sort.

Waitress: (Loud Korean gibberish.)

[George pokes the plate with a chopstick.]


George: Ugh..it appears to be some sort of wretched sea creature.  I don't know which is more deleterious to my appetite, the look of this insidious bile or the ghastly odor emanating from it.

Voice: Mind your tongue young man!

[A light appears from within the plate.  The restaurant goes dark.  George is frozen with fear.]

George: Who...who are you?

Octie: I am called Octie, the magical talking octopus.  And you are George Mugin, English teacher from Yeongcheon.

George: How do you know that?

Octie: There is no earthly span that my enchanted tentacles cannot reach.  I know all about you George Mugin; I know why you're here, and I know how you've failed in your quest.

George: Failed?  It was not I Octie; it was Busan.  Or rather, there was no Busan to begin with, only the fleeting thought of her..

Octie: Fool!  Your eyes deceive you.  Are you so callous as to be blind to the beauty in the everyday happenings of this world?  Or are you a mere vagabond in nobleman's clothing?

Geroge: I...

Octie: Silence!  [Lifting her tentacles.]  I feel the good in you yet, George Mugin, but you must learn to look past mere aesthetics, to see beyond Busan's rash exterior.

George: How do I do that?

Octie: Here, drink this.  It will help you realize your hidden love for Busan, the bar skank of Korea.

George: What is it?

Octie: It's a magical concoction called..17 jello shots.  It will relax your mind's eye and leave a wonderful cherry aftertaste on your tongue.  They sell them at The Fuzzy Navel for 1,000 won each.



[George drinks 17 jello shots.]

George: Then I shall seek the fair Busan once more and retry my love,
But first, to Family Mart, for surely I will not touch her without a glove.






[George exits.]

[End Act II]

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