Critical Incidents: The ROK - Land of HAN (A Jack Gunn Mystery Thriller Book 1) Read Online Free

few drinks,” Lee replied, while laughing.
    “I just wanted a few drinks to relax after a long drive. I didn’t want to party until two in the morning. You wanted to dance with the ladies and that almost got us killed.”
    I laughed, while thinking back to old times and that critical incident.
     
    YEARS AGO
    *****
    Lee and I were on our way back to Seoul after sightseeing in Kwangju. Normally we would have driven right through to Seoul, which was a six hour drive. I always do the driving on the Seoul-Pusan Expressway, also known as the ‘Highway of Death,’ due to the fact I am a better driver at high speeds. I am used to driving on expressways in the United States. KY knew I had a lot more experience than him. Lee drives in Seoul City since he knows his way around the streets better than I do.
    The Highway of Death is Route 1, also known as the Seoul-Pusan Expressway. It is the first modern highway ever built linking Seoul directly to Pusan, which is a seven-hour drive. Highway 1 is similar to the Pennsylvania Turnpike; it twists through the mountains, going up and down, and has many tunnels. Because of the steep hills, the trucks and buses slow to a crawl when going up one, and speed up going downhill. On the average, there were forty people a day killed on this highway, hence its name.      
    It was raining cats and dogs due to a typhoon that blew in off the coast, which made the highway even more dangerous. It was getting late and we were tired, so we decided to stop in the small city of Gumi to spend the night. It’s about fifty miles north of Taegu. At the time there were only two hotels in Gumi, both of which were not even rated as a one star. Gumi had a small population of only a few thousand people.
    We had never stayed overnight in Gumi and chose to check into the Gumo-san Hotel, which was located at the foot of Gumi Mountain, a 4,500 foot peak. From the outside the hotel appeared to be ok, but on walking into the lobby it was antiquated with old wooden furniture from the early nineteen hundreds. It was definitely a minus five star.
    After checking in and going to our adjoining rooms it was a shock. The carpet was worn and bare in places. The whole room smelled like mildew. There was a small 14 inch TV, which didn’t work, and two dim lights in the whole room. Looking at the bathroom made you wonder if it was safe to use. This place hadn’t been updated in twenty or thirty years.    
    Lee and I were not very happy about staying here, but we had no choice. We tried to make the best of it by drinking. It was a Saturday night and everyone goes out drinking or dancing in Korea. Koreans work hard but they also party hard, late into the night. After dinner there wasn’t much else to do other than drink. Gumi didn’t even have a movie theater.   
    As I recall, a three piece band starting playing in the hotel bar about nine and by eleven the bar was packed with women and men out for a good time. Of course, I was the only foreigner in the whole place and stuck out like a sore thumb.
    I noticed one young lady who was repeatedly glancing at me from a table about twenty feet away. KY noticed her also. He said, “Jack, go ask her to dance. I think she likes you.”
    Thinking about his comment, I peered at her and we made eye contact. Her eyes were inviting me over to talk to her. She was a good looking chick with long dark hair and a beautiful looking face with red lips.
    I said, “Ok. I’ll ask her, if you ask her girlfriend.”
    “Alright, let’s go ask them,” Lee said. Just as we were about to make our move, the two girls got up to dance with each other.
    We sat there closely watching them. Both were wearing short miniskirts, and I mean short. They had great looking legs and they sure knew how to dance. Actually, their moves suggested they were probably go-go dancers, which was popular in some Korean bars. The hot chick kept staring at me, while making suggestive dance moves.
    Lee commented,