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“Team . . . building?” he repeats. It’s not a term with which he’s familiar.
“Team building?” Soyou curls her lip up. She not only knows what this means but already hates it.
I ignore her and focus on my boss. “I’m not sure if there’s a different term here in Korea, but in the US we call it team building. It’s to help a group of coworkers get closer and improve communication so that they function better as a team. In my last job, we all signed up to do the first leg of RAGBRAI. That’s where thousands of bicyclists from across the country ride their bikes from one side of the state to the other. It’s short for Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. The bike trail along the Han River is over thirteen kilometers and we could bike for a while, eat together, and . . .” I hadn’t thought about exactly what we’d do. I figured I’d bring up the idea and someone would jump in with other details, but they’re all staring at me as if I have horns growing out of my head. I did vow last night to be a dragon, so I press on. “And we could all share one thing that we like about each other and one thing that might surprise everyone.”
“I heard in Japan they do bathhouse building exercises. We could all go to a public bath together,” suggests Yoo, the kiss-up.
“I’m not going to a bathhouse with you,” spits Soyou. “That’s sexual harassment.”
Yoo stiffens and sniffs. “There are no public bathhouses that are mixed gender. It would be separate. The idea is that skin to skin breaks down barriers.”
I would rather jump in front of a white K-drama truck, the kind that always ends the life of a character you love at the most inopportune moment, than get naked with my coworkers. From the expressions on Soyou’s and Chaeyoung’s faces, they are in fervent agreement.
“We could build something.” I try again. “Like a house of cards, and we could vote who has the best one.”
“This is a great idea. Daebak.” Bujang-nim puts his thumbs up. “We will all contribute one idea that can be done in a conference room or in this area, and afterward, I will give you the credit card and you can enjoy a hweshik without me since I know that is the trend these days. Right? The trend?”
I have no idea but almost all the staff except for Yoo is nodding so, of course, I nod, too.
“Good. You have ten minutes to come up with an idea and put it here on the board.” He places the dry-erase marker on the tray in front of the whiteboard. No one moves. So be it. It was my idea. I’ll be the first.
I walk up and write “card” and “house” in Hangul. I don’t know the exact way to say “house of cards,” but this gets my point across. I draw a little house, too, for the hell of it. Yoo rises and writes down jjimjilbang for “bathhouse,” and he draws a little picture as well, but of a person’s head covered in spa towels with the ends wrapped in Princess Leia–like rolls over each ear.
Yoo’s entry prompts Soyou to rush over. She doesn’t cross his suggestion out, but you know she wants to. She writes down myeongsang, which isn’t a word I’m familiar with, but she draws a picture, too. Hers is of a figure meditating, and I smother a smile because it’s actually a super-clever way of avoiding a team-bonding experience. Chaeyoung is next. She writes in English “share a playlist” and next to it puts a musical note. Im Donguk, who I’ve seen bike to work, suggests hiking, and his symbol is a pair of tennis shoes. One after the other, the rest of the team offers suggestions with tiny little icons next to them. The sight of all those drawings in a row below mine is lifting my heart and my spirit. A tiny candle of hope lights. Maybe my work situation is salvageable and my own passivity lent itself to the tension in this department. I should’ve found my inner dragon before.
Bujang-nim wants to narrow the list of activities to five. He suggests we play rock paper scissors, which is the traditional Korean way of solving every dispute. I’m terrible at this and lose immediately. Soyou is, of course, amazing and wins. We start with meditation. Afterward, we will exchange a three-song playlist with the person on our right and listen to the songs. The next activity will be trash-can basketball. Teams will be chosen by the office desk arrangement. The five closest to Bujang-nim will be the blue team and the five farthest away will be the red team—the colors of the Korean flag. The fourth activity he announces is coffeehouse shuffle. We each have to drink someone else’s favorite coffee. The final one is house of cards.
