Ma Ri's Unlucky Day

One of my problems in life is probably being too assertive. Too assertive to the point of saying things freely without considering the other person.

Tae Yoon has been so kind and nice to me for the past few days but here I am, doubting his character and angry about the groceries. Aish! I hate my mouth. I want the seat to swallow me up with my embarrassment. This morning, I woke up really early to cook breakfast and left him a note before leaving for my job interview. I am really early so I use the remaining time before eight to walk around the hospital.

Wearing something formal: white long-sleeved polo under macaroon blazer in belted cream wide pants, donned with a printed neckerchief, I strutted the hallway of Halla Hospital to the HR department. It is my schedule for an interview. I still don’t have my documents with me but I thought of trying my luck. The HR officer is already scanning some (my) papers, which I think she printed from my application online when I entered the office.

"Yoon Ma Ri. Thirty-five years old. From the Philippines," she mouths to herself, she raises an eyebrow when she read the country where I come from.

"Good morning, Miss Yoon," she smiles at me once I have seated on the chair in front of her, the smile vanished easily from her lips as if it was never been there.

"Good morning, Ma'am-" I glance at the name written on her nameplate and continued: "-Seo Min."

I give her my brightest smile.

She is strikingly the most beautiful woman I've ever seen here yet in Jeju. Her straight hair is neatly tied, so tight that I cannot even catch one strand untamed. Her eyebrows are drawn almost in a straight upward line, making her eyes appear unfriendly. A great match to her curt mouth, I think. I have never questioned my looks, I think I'm not that pretty but not that ugly, but staring at Miss Seo Min, suddenly I see myself in a mirror. For a moment, I am conscious of how I look and so I push a strand of hair behind my ear.

But one thing made me gulped... she is wearing the same macaroon blazer that I am wearing. She also notices it and her eyes squint in displease. Uh oh! Not a good thing. You know women have this unconscious competitive side of them, especially when they see someone wearing the same clothes.

"Your documents please," she asks mechanically.

I actually prepared my lines in answer to this but I still stumble for words. I say that something unfortunate happened along the way and I lost my documents. But reassure her to not worry because I have already requested new copies. It will just take some time though.

She stares at me hard.

"You must have known probably, Miss Yoon, that we would not have inconvenienced you to fly here in Korea for a job interview if we are not serious about hiring you. But we cannot proceed to the job interview without the hard and original copies of your documents. No more, no less," she replies sternly.

She says those words in all finality and stands up. I can't even utter a word.

"Thank you Miss Yoon for your time. Let's meet when you already have your documents with you," then she gestures me to the door.

With a deep sigh, I go out of the room. What should I do? It took me a month to get all my necessary documents before. Plus, getting a new PRC ID is not that easy. With a mushy brain, I walk along the streets of the capital with only one thing in my mind. I need to find a temporary job! I can't be a freeloader.

"Good. I don't want the neighbors to think you are just loafing around."

I remember Tae Yoon's words so vividly.

"If I were just living alone it would have been okay. AISHHH! When did it all go wrong?!" I mutter angrily.

Yes, thanks to him, I am all stocked up for a month. But if I was only living alone, at least, I could sleep all day and roll on the floor without someone budging me. And I would not be desperate enough to find a job. I can already imagine his criticizing stare for seeing me idle and 'just loafing around' as he puts it.

I am in this state of thinking when someone pops in front of me and scrutinizes me from head to toe. When our eyes finally met, I raise an eyebrow.

"Are you looking for a job?"

I clear my throat and fix my hair. Did I come across like a jobless person to her? I study her from head to toe as well in return. She is a woman in her forties with a slim figure.

"We need an extra staff today." As she says that she glances at the building just in front of me. It is a Massage SPA. I notice big vans parked outside, men getting inside. It feels like there is a special event or what. Special promo? Like a Buy 1 Take 1.

"Five thousand won per hour."

Five thousand won per hour? My eyes widen in surprise. That's just three thousand short of the basic salary. And, it's not even a hard job. Good deal. I can do it for five hours and earn pocket money. She must have been a mind-reader because before I could even inquire more about it, she quickly leads me inside the building. It is a real SPA and nothing looks strange at all. After getting some of my information (that information is harmless), she leads me to a room where I will be getting basic training for an hour. She says that I will be taking care of random clients so I shouldn't worry about not having the expertise. I guess that the random people she is talking about are those people who just thought of getting a massage out of the blue and thus are not at all well learned about it.

Being a nurse for more than ten years, the training is not hard at all. When I tell my trainer that I think she is pushing on the wrong pressure point (we are working on a rubber dummy) she frowns at me and lets me do it myself. I practically tell her the parts which should be pressed cautiously and she squints her eyes at me in annoyance.

"Okay, I think you are now ready. I'll check for a client first." Then the trainer leaves me alone in the room.

"Alright! Saved me half an hour!" I mutter behind her.

I am not waiting that long when suddenly I hear a commotion outside. I press my ear on the door and hear a police siren, footsteps running inside, and cries of the staff and women. I can also hear men struggling. The footsteps grow increasingly louder at the same rate as I turn increasingly anxious. I know that some footsteps are heading towards the room where I am in that I instinctively step back a few paces until someone opens the door abruptly.

"Police!" he shouts.

He does not need to shout loud like that since I am the only one in the room so I look at him contemptuously. He is a slim man which might be around my age but his face looks older. Police work is a tough job, I guess. He looks around the room and when he realizes that I am the only one inside, he walks towards me while putting his gun on his gun holster belt.

"What's the matter?" I ask. I do not know if I should panic or what. I just don't get what's happening? And my mind is too preoccupied with so many things to comprehend the situation. Is this a drug raid or what?

"This is a raid! Come with us calmly."

He says and then walks towards me.

Calmly? What the hell is he talking about? I will be dragged by the police all of a sudden and he expects me to be calm?

He takes me by the arm. It is not forceful though but the fighter instinct in me is alerted and so I twist the hand that holds me and I get him screaming from pain. I hook one of my legs to him to tackle him and turn him down. He is already kneeling on the ground struggling for a second when two of his men come and immediately catch me in between them.

"Are you alright, Detective Pyo?" the officer on my left asks worriedly. He was a young boy and looks like he just graduated from the Academy.

Though obviously, his hand is writhing in pain, the man called Detective Pyo stands up and shrugs off. He replies in a strange accent, "She got me unguarded, whoa! It's nothing!"

But I do not think so.

"Wait a minute! What's happening? Where are you taking me? Get your hands off me!" I demand.

Struck by the authority in my voice, the amateur officers break their hold on me. They can see that I am neatly dressed and of course, I am not caught doing anything illegal.

"Why did you released her?" Detective Pyo snarls.

The two beside me scratch their heads.

"She doesn't look like one of them, Detective Pyo," the one on my right side replies.

"Still! We need to bring everyone to the station."

The two look at me sympathetically unlike Detective Pyo.

"Wait a minute, I need to know first why you are taking me with you!" I ask in a slightly raised voice.

The youngest one was the one who answered my question, he says: "This massage SPA is secretly engaging with sex trafficking and prostitution. The masseuses here are actually sex workers."

"Sex workers?!"

I nearly pass out after hearing that.

* * *

Successfully getting inside the police station using the back door without people noticing me, I go to the CCTV room and nonchalantly sat on the nearest swivel chair. I study the CCTV cameras while taking off my cap. It is a hot morning and I could still taste the garlic from the breakfast Ma Ri left for me. What is it already? Sinangag.

I wonder how her job interview went. Did she already start today? Will she have work on Saturdays, tomorrow? Or on Monday? Did she really have to go to work EARLY in the morning while I am still asleep?

I am in deep thought when at last, a police officer enters the room. I swirl my seat in the direction of the door. He is obviously shocked to see me but he manages to close his open mouth.

"Why are there so few officers in the office today?" I ask sternly. I counted and there are only two in the station.

"Excuse me but, before I answer that, may I know who you are first?"

I stare at him hard and then relax my jaw afterward, smiling lightly. He is a young man with a handsome face and a strong sense. Good.

"I am Detective Ri Tae Yoon from Seoul."

After hearing my name, he raises his hand abruptly beside his brow and salutes.

"Police Assistant Park Jun Ki! At your service, Sir!"

I salute back and ask where Detective Pyo is.

"They have an operation today, Sir. They would be back before lunch."

"Operation?"

"Yes. Anti-prostitution raid in a massage SPA near here, Sir."

I shake my head, "Tsk! How could these girls allow to exploit themselves. Don't they have a father, a brother, or a family to look after them?!" and I sigh disappointedly.

I dismiss Jun Ki saying I will be waiting here in the CCTV room. After an hour, the police officers arrive with some handcuffed men and around fifteen girls. I hate this kind of operation, not my cup of tea.

I try to ignore the scene and raise the cup of coffee Jun Ki brought me a while ago. I have already sipped a little when I catch a familiar figure on the screen, making me gulp the remaining in one go. Burning my throat.

I jerk up from the heat and from the astonishment.

"Ma Ri?"