A Corpse in the Koryo

11

The clerk at the inn was cranky. "You know how to fix a video machine?"

Through the door behind him, I could see videotape all over the floor. "Damn Chinese pirates." He kicked at some of the tape that was wound around his foot. "Everything they build breaks."

"Cost a lot?"

"What do you care what it cost?" His eyes narrowed, and he swayed from side to side like a rat snake pretending it was a cobra. "You owe me a basket of fish. And they better never have been swimming in Chinese waters."

"How would you like a new video machine?"

He looked at me coolly. "You stick to fish, alright? I'll do the electronics."