Chapter 28

"And bow," Steve stated quietly next to me.

I bowed.

The five men seated on a dais in front of us, returned our bow. Each man wore robes that by the sheer number of layers visible looked extremely bulky not that their robes mattered, as we were now in yet another ceremony, the third one since we arrived here two days ago. I might have been in a better mood but after two plus weeks just sailing here I was angry that my government made it necessary for Steve and I to do that instead of just getting on a plane and flying where we wished to go.

Returning my attention to the men in front of me, I had met all of them the night before although they wore suits during the dinner and what Steve was calling a meet and greet as we all got a sense of who everyone was. Now the five of them, all captains of industry here in Korea, wore traditional robes, each one a different color ranging from blue on one side to a bright yellow on the other side. The robes the gentleman in the center of the others was of course the brightest color being blood red with a border and inlays of gold.

Once the initial formalities were over Steve and I were invited to sit. We were still in the middle but at least we were no longer standing as Steve explained our reason for coming and asking for help. Their reply if we had not been told ahead of time would had made me get up and walk out telling them that they could go fuck themselves. Steve and I already knew the five men would say that as it was tradition and that after their initial refusal, Steve would appeal their decision and they would grant me an audition that was already arranged after lunch.

Therefore, the scripted ceremony happened just as we were told it was going to happen. Lunch for me was different as all the food was traditional Korean fare, and although I liked most of what I was offered, I did not care for the cabbage dishes that I was told were Kimchi. After lunch, I realized that there were more than a few extra spectators who had arrived for my audition. Mentioning the extra spectators to Steve, he smiled saying that he expected a few more people would show up before I auditioned, as the world had seen all the various Internet videos of me.

Talking to Steve as we waited for the summons, we discussed the idea of repeating my part of the encounter with the EPA. At first, I was going to suggest something else until Steve reminded me that the courtyard where my first trial was to be held was in the open, so it would be easy to block any new videos of me appearing on the Internet or anyplace else. Agreeing with Steve I smiled as we waited, when the summons came we followed our guide through the hallways that were now very familiar to me. Stepping into the courtyard, Steve and I of course stood around like everyone else waiting for the power to return which of course never happened.

The five masters did their best to show that everything was normal and with only a short delay signaled for me to take my spot in the middle of the courtyard. Once there I went through all my forms that I had been practicing for years. When I finished my forms, it was time to fight. Of course, Steve was the one to step out on the floor and the two of us sparred until we were told to break. Stepping back, we bowed to each other, even with my pulling most of my punches I could see that I had landed a couple harder than intended. Limping off the mat to get a drink of water Steve reminded me I had three more matches.

Taking the floor for the next match, I found myself fighting multiple opponents and the three men I faced were no more a challenge than Steve was when I had given him a boost before we fought. Against the three, their lack of coordination in addition to my speed left all of them looking rather foolish and led to the match being called early and a few angry words being directed in their direction.

My final match was the first real challenge for me because in addition to being called a master she was the first person I had met who could mask their movements enough to effectively shield them from my vision. For the first time in a long time I had to actively defend myself, even with my defense she managed to hit me a couple of times. With my partner being able to strike me occasionally, we were allowed to continue until I realized that my opponent was slowing down. We continued sparring until I managed to land three blows, which she was unable to block.

Leaving the courtyard with Steve at my side, I turned on the power again and we laughed at the comments we overheard as we went back to our room to shower and clean-up for dinner. Dinner that night was as informal as the previous two nights were formal with the food being more classical with a few native dishes included which I appreciated. At dinner I was also introduced to the woman I had fought, that turned out to be the great-granddaughter of Master Sung, who was the master of ceremonies the night before wearing the red robe.

The major topic at dinner that night, besides my fighting was the pressure being brought to bear by the U.S. Government to find Steve and myself. The reason given was our unlawful departure from the States without permission. By the time the dinner ended, Steve and I had been assured that if the rest of my audition went as well as today there would be no problems with us staying for as long as I wanted to remain. I of course had no doubt in my mind I would receive an invitation to stay. Between Steve and myself we had a bet with the dividing time being lunch time with Steve taking the after lunch portion while I bet the offer would happen well before then.

The next morning I won my bet with Steve as my first demonstration killing the night's dinner by blocking the animal's nervous system turned out to be a show stopper. At first when the pig fell over dead, everyone stopped talking and only stared at the dead pig at my feet. After a short pause, someone dropped a plate of food, which broke the spell of silence that had hung over the room and pandemonium broke out with nearly twenty people in the room talking which turned to shouting with the masters trying to regain control of my trial. In the end, they dismissed everyone including me saying they had seen enough they would tell Steve and myself their decision at the noon meal.

Fortunately, for me, their decision was earlier than noon time so as far as the bet I had with Steve I won. Beyond our bet, Steve and I were both smiling as his request for me to stay had been granted. Mr Sung, one of the five masters, had suggested after Steve and I stated that I only had the summer to study as I was enrolled to start college classes in the fall. All of them expressed their disappointment that my time to study was limited with two of them going as far as suggesting if I stayed to study they could get me admitted to a university in country.

The problem with their suggestion was contrary to the ability to learn anything that I could read; learning Spanish in school was my biggest challenge as there were a number of rules that for some reason I had difficulty mastering. Telling them of my language challenge and my lack of ability, they suggested a different teacher might have different results. By the time lunch finished, Steve and I were convinced to try for the summer and judge the results before I needed to return.