A little background.
ENS English school was established in the Yeonsu-GU neighborhood by purchasing and renaming a well-respected school in the neighborhood. The school was called English time and it was basically two classrooms in a small office building run by one Korean woman named "Tonia" and the occasional foreign teacher. Tonia was having financial problems so she agreed to sell her business and transfer everything over to Mr. Yoo for a relatively insignificant amount of money.
Are You My Friend?Proxy War
Mr. Yoo use to pull me into the backroom of an unheated storage closet to talk to him. I would push piles of unused board games out of the way and sit there while he smoked his girl cigarettes. He would then say "Michael are you my friend? Because I really want to be your friend? And you have to trust me? Immediately my red flags went up when he tried to negotiate for trust instead of earning it. I said sure I trust you. I trust all Korean people. He beamed with pride and then went back to his girl cigarettes. The reason this question was of such importance was because ENS was in the midst of a civil war. On the one side was Mr. Yoo and the staff of ENS brought over from the other branch. On the other side was Tonia, the receptionist, and 2 other Korean teachers. I was the newest addition to the staff and had yet to pick a side. The war started because Mr.Yoo wanted Tonia to sign a personal services agreement stating that she would teach at the school for two years to insure the success of his investment. Tonia balked at signing the agreement because she had already spent two months in his school and saw how poorly it was run. Now most businessmen would have put in a no-compete clause and a personal services contract into the original purchasing agreement, but he was an idiot. So the office turns into some Team Edward vs. Team Jacob shit with oaths of allegiances and everything. A week after getting my visa things come to a head. Tonia quits and Mr. Yoo goes crazy. He is literally running down the halls of the school screaming "She steal money, She steal my money". He would get beet red and that lazy eye would twitch at the mere mention of her name. Since I enjoy hijinks I would figure out a way to mention her at least once an hour just to set him off.
My Mistake
I had never taken a side in the Tonia/Yoo debate. I tried to reassure him that I am a professional and I have no interest in intraoffice squabbles. I came here to work not to be a bit player in a third rate k-drama. I also advised him to act like a boss. I told him the relationship between you and Tonia is really none of my business and I find it very unprofessional for you to bring it up. Lazy eye blink, he said but you are still "my friend right"? This shit went on every other day for two weeks. So about a week after I got back from Osaka on my visa run I decided to go and get my alien card. I called Tonia and she agreed to take me. She shows up with one of the adult students and we go to the office. I don't remember the reason but after all the paperwork was completed Mr. Yoo had to be called. Yoo must asked who I was there with because he refuses to do something and I am denied my card. I get to the office and he pulls me into a room and starts interrogating me. He asked me who I was with and I said Tonia. He then said who else was it the receptionist. I said "no". So now he is sweating and that lazy eye is twitching and he is stuttering and sort of spitting on himself. Who was there? Girl 2 the man said 2 girls. I said I don't know. He then goes out and asks the receptionist was she there in Korean. Practically screaming he looks like he is going to explode with anger. I'm totally amused by the spectacle but the receptionist is shook to her core. So I say she really wasn't there. He glares at me with his good eye and turns to the girl and says you are fired. He then says Michael I want to be your friend in the future if you need anything please come to me and walks away.
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