The Return To So-Yae

This morning as I ascended the stairs to the calligraphy studio, I could hear voices, quite loud, mingling. I peeked my head into the door. All the grandfathers shouted, “Annyong Ha-say-yo!” I came in, took my shoes off and was met by a pungent, yet familiar, odor. I walked over to the couches. There were a couple of shot glasses on the table. I recognized the odor of pure alcohol. Mr. Lee turned to me. “Ginger whiskey. Very good. You like?” I glanced at the clock. Yes, it really was 10 o’clock in the morning. Ummm, no, that’s okay. Thank you, though. “One shot!” “Yes, one shot!” the grandfathers chorused. I couldn’t fathom doing shots of whiskey, ginger or not, at 10 am on an empty stomach. I also never thought I’d have 6 men, all at least twice my age, encouraging me to do shots. Life is strange sometimes…