Strange As Angels

Strange As Angels: Chapter One

"What the fuck!" JooE said under her breath.

Someone had grabbed her ass as she and Nancy slipped through the crowd waiting impatiently to get into 'Maxi-Madang.'

She looked over her shoulder.

"What is it," asked Nancy who was in tow a step behind her.

Three soldiers, looking American-muscles, buzz cuts, and bad manners.

"Hey! Sex-shi-an!" one of them shouted at her.

It wasn't the groping that bothered her. There was a time and place. It was that she didn't want to be attracting attention.
That was hard. She was in the attention business.

And She was objectified for a living.

Tonight, though, JooE was undercover to an unnatural degree. Her face was dusted. Her skirt and top had been soaked overnight in powder and water.

To normal people she'd be made unremarkable.

Yet even in disguise JooE remained attractive. No amount of powdered glamor could hide her eyes or her figure. And then there was Nancy.

Nancy couldn't go anywhere unnoticed. To hide Nancy, JooE had decided to make her a man.

As far as anybody could tell she and JooE were couple, a cute couple

For the past two days JooE had been secretly putting a powerful mixture--human sperm, huindong-gali [clown fish] ashes, and ground St. Athanasios root--into Nancy's food.

Just before they left tonight JooE dusted Nancy's face with a bit of the dried potion. As far as onlookers were concerned Nancy was a charming young man or a beautiful boy.

Yes, if it were just the Americans, JooE thought, she wouldn't worry too much, but . . .

The Americans were engaged in an argument. They were growling at one another loudly in native English.

They had fit, handsome bodies, but no manners. Americans took up too much space. Pushing one another away and then leaning in close.

Something had gotten JooE's attention.

A well dressed business man in front of the students winced when they shouted. And right in front of him, two Seoul University guys tried to ignore the Americans.

And . . . there it was.

A figure hidden behind the students leaned into view. It looked at her and smiled. It was in disguise, too.

But this thing wasn't just dusted, it was a smudge, blurry and empty. It lurked for a living.

Probably-at best-here to feed on something humans produced in abundance: emotions-at worst, here on a job.

The man at the door grabbed JooE's arm and pushed her and Nancy through.

Straight ahead was a burlesque theater, "The Cabaret Madang" with a crowded bar and thirty odd tables.

To the left and around a corner was a bouncer and a cashier taking the cover charge for "Klub Max," a raved-up box of a room-lasers, smoke, and illicit everything.

Nancy thought they were headed to the disco after JooE took care of a little business at the cabaret.

The Max's bouncer was an acquaintance, an over-powered, balding Teullol [troll].

He would let them in for free; Nancy would have fun for a while; it would be nice to see.

Now where was Gun Yesul Gabur [Prince Torture-Son], JooE thought, unpredictable in his actions but not his nature.