05
On the way down, Sooncheon rushed adamantly, determined to fulfill the day’s agenda.
“We still have a full day ahead! The DMZ! I want to squeeze in Insa-Dong, too!”
Luckily, I could match this pace with relative ease. Near to the bottom of the mountain, we stopped momentarily for some water. I spread my hands against the ground behind, resting them into the forest floor. As I did this, I felt a small tickle move across the back of my hand. Meanwhile, Sooncheon was busy exasperatedly guzzling water. I brought my hand into view to inspect the cause and saw a tiny red insect atop. The moment I formed an O to blow it away, it clamped down hard onto a knuckle.
“AHRUGH!” I let out a loud scream as I wrapped my hand into my belly. When I saw the bite I impulsively looked for the vermin, spite on my face and vengeance on my mind. The small red insect disappeared into the forest floor though and the opportunity disappeared. The bite was like nothing I had ever experienced before, incomparable to a wasp sting or spider bite. It had an echoing sort of effect, like Sooncheon’s snoring but the pulses were sharp pains, not loud, well-dwelling koalas. This lasted several minutes. At the same time, Sooncheon scrambled, pouring the remainder of the water on my hand, only to empty our canteen.
“Ohwo! What happened?” Sooncheon remarked.
I glared at him, where he stood dumbfounded in his puffy red jacket, his hand gripping the upside down canteen. I strained through throbbing pain to respond.
“A fire ant bit me!” I yelled through gritted teeth.
Sooncheon altered his expression from confusion to wonder.
“Fire ant? Does it start fires? I’ve never heard of fire ants in South Korea.”
I glared at Sooncheon, opting not to respond, though my expression likely gave an answer in it of itself. A short time later the area around the bite had become swollen and dysentery set in. I focused on my breathing and attempted to calm myself down as Sooncheon stood over me wondering how to react. He settled on encouraging me to complete the hike, to get to a medic as soon as possible. Meanwhile an intense burning sensation stemming from the source of the bite began to filter up my arm like a bushfire. We returned to the car 10-15 minutes later and Sooncheon sped out of the lot en route to the Seoul National University Hospital. I held my hand out the window against the breeze on the highway for the cooling effect it provided. 5,000 won and one hour later, the doctor gave his prognosis.
“Congratulations, Mr. Ardiel. You have set a record in South Korea. Solenopsis invicta. First red fire ant bite in the history of Republic of Korea!”
The doctor said this jubilantly and went on to tell me that fire ants had only recently been spotted in the region. One of the symptoms of global warming meant migration of these fiery insects. I wondered if the doctor’s pronunciation of the scientific name, Solenopsis invicta, was accurate, or if it were affected by am error in translation. Since the hospital had no history of this type of incident the prescription was shoddy, a hand cream intended for spider bites and wasp stings. I could sense remorse growing on Sooncheon’s face. I didn’t want to disappoint him. He had challenging aspects about him, but he was gracious and well intentioned. I wanted to complete the day he had set for us.
“Okay what’s next, Sooncheon?”
A curved smile formed in the corners of his lips similar to the one I saw at the airport.
“Maybe we skip the BBQ. We go straight to the DMZ. Or Insa-Dong? We grab fast food instead maybe?”
I pondered his query. “What’s Insa-Dong?”
The smile across Sooncheon’s face became full-blown.
“Insa-Dong, the world’s best market. Many shops. Many sellers. All sorts of treasures at Insa-Dong. Some of the world’s best artifacts from Insa-Dong.
Maybe you get a soofenair.”“Souvenir,” I corrected, before replying flatly, “sure, Insa-Dong it is.”