Yin Yang Tattoo Read Online Free Page A

Palace.

Chapter Two
    The next couple of days felt like I was juggling chainsaws soapy-handed.
    Still drunk on beer and hot chillies, I got back on the phone to Mr Rhee, who agreed to meet for a meal the next day. Korean food two days running was fine by me. I was in training.
    I asked an Anglo-Korean waitress with a face full of piercings to watch out for Rhee, and she showed him to my table. He was a heavy set guy with greying hair and a handshake that was like having a bus parked on my knuckles.
    â€˜Nice to meet you, Mr Brodie.’
    â€˜My pleasure, Mr Rhee.’ He sat across from me and we talked about everything but the assignment until first the drinks and then the side dishes began to arrive. I picked my moment.
    â€˜May I ask if you managed to discuss my request with Seoul?’
    â€˜Request?’
    â€˜For an expenses advance. On an assignment like this, my costs are very heavy.’
    â€˜In my company such a request is a little difficult.’
    No advance, and I wouldn’t even get out of London . Rhee was still talking:
    â€˜So I did not ask Seoul about this.’
    Tell me this job isn’t slipping through my fingers even before the main course arrives.
    Rhee reached into his pocket and brought out an en„velope.
    â€˜But I managed this, from my office funds.’
    â€˜I hope it’s not too much trouble for you,’ I lied.
    â€˜Not at all,’ he lied back.
    I signed the receipt for five thousand pounds. I could use more but the line about beggars and choosers sprang to mind, and this meant the difference between being able to take the assignment and staying in London to face my creditors.
    â€˜There is another matter my managers in Seoul asked me to discuss with you.’ He spoke unselfconsciously through a mouthful of kimchi. ‘They tell me that you have taken many photographs of North Korea.’
    â€˜That is correct.’
    He looked unsure of how to proceed.
    â€˜I cannot discuss the exact details of my company’s plans, but they are connected with North Korea. The prospectuses we are preparing need good photographs from there.’
    Stock photographs of the Hermit Kingdom. I sold them all the time, even to South Korean publications.
    â€˜You know that photographers sell stock photographs in this way?’
    â€˜Of course. My headquarters asked that you discuss the fees with them when you are in Seoul.’
    I liked the sound of that. The more they used, the more money I made. We agreed that I would scan a couple of hundred slides of North Korean cities, infrastructure and what little I had of its industry, and that a messenger from Rhee’s office would pick the DVD up the next day for immediate air-freight to Seoul.
    As we ate our way through a mountain of spicy food, I tried to learn more about the assignment, but every time I broached the subject, Rhee changed it. He may have been their Country Manager, but today Rhee was a messenger at Seoul’s bidding, and if Head Office chose to keep him in the dark, the loss of face involved in me knowing so was something he would want to avoid. I gave up on the questions and concentrated on the food.
    At the end of the meal, we played the old sincerity game where I pretended to want to pay, but no matter how hard I pushed, Rhee resisted resolutely, which was just as well. Dipping into the envelope he had just given me would not have made a good impression.
    Over the next couple of days I spread Rhee’s cash around very carefully. I settled the bill with Gerry at the lab and paid part of my debt to Archie Angel, loose-mouthed git that he was; a thousand went to Naz towards wages owed and petty cash, and a token donation was paid to VISA to keep the plastic life raft afloat. The studio rent would have to wait until Rhee’s bosses in Seoul came up with a proper advance that I could wire to Naz. With American Express assuming the worries of my air ticket – I refuse to concern myself