Return to the palace

They said they’d pay both ways. We all accepted the bribe and headed towards the city on the weekend. They told us it was all about team-building, which we translated to not hating our jobs.

We’d take one more break a day, or one less pet-project instead, most of us said under our collective breath. But we shrugged our shoulders and took off to the palace with the promise of margaritas after the evening show.

The arrival came at during the changing of the guards. The color wheel of Korean silks marched from one door to the next, swords sticking to their backs. They beat the drum a thunder vigor and stood stoic for all the tourists photos.

We stared into the temple reflections in the early winter ponds till the grumbling for cigarettes and lunch led us to the gates. On to the next adventure, all on daddy's bill.