A lesson

I'm waiting at the meeting tree to meet Professor Kim for lunch. I got there at 11:54 for a 12:00 appointment. At 12:06 he has not yet come. I keep looking at my watch, deliberately stoking the indignant fury that is burning in my hungry belly.

12:07- "Seven minutes!" I boil. "Is my time worth so much less than..."

I see him coming up the road. My fury plots a plan, and I sneak around behind a car before he sees me.

Professor Kim stops at the tree and checks his watch. He takes a quick look around and then looks back at his watch. He leans back against the tree, pulls out his phone, and starts scrolling through his messages.

12:11- Professor Kim is still looking at his phone. My fury has subsided, but my righteousness is still indignant, and insists that Kim wait the same seven minutes that I did. I keep watching.

12:12- Kim makes a call. He's talking Korean. It's probably not anything important.

12:14- I jump out from behind the car, "Seven minutes!" I shout, "How do you like that?"

"Oh, Hello Mark. You're here." he hasn't noticed that I came out from behind the car. "Next time, be on time."

"What! I came out from behind that car."

"Okay," he says, not really understanding, "Let's go."

"I was hiding there. I've been there for seven minutes."

"Oh. Let's go then."

"I was there to teach you a lesson." I keep pressing.

"I see." he says, which is typically what Koreans say when they don't."Did you?"

"Apparently not yet." I sigh. I try again, "You were seven minutes late. You made me wait for seven minutes, so when you got here, I made you wait for seven minutes."

"So shouldn't we go now then."

"Yeah." I give up. "Let's go."