The Sauna













This happened to me about four years ago in a small town in central Korea. I had been in Korea for about a year and had learned how to use intercity buses and trains. I would visit different places weekly and loved exploring back alleys and small oddity shops. At night I would stay at Korean saunas that had all the amenities you needed and only charged ten dollars a night with no reservation needed. I had explored the small town all day and was going to another place the next day so I decided to stay in a sauna close to the bus terminal.





The sauna was average and looked clean from the outside. The sauna attendant took my money and gave me the sauna branded clothes. I went to the locker room and took off my clothes and put them with the sauna clothes in the locker. I locked the locker and proceeded to the hot tubs and saunas. It was relaxing to sit down after a day of walking and exploring. The hot tubs ranged from mild to boiling and there was a cold bath if you needed a cool down. The room was about half full with about twenty other men enjoying the saunas and hot tubs. Some times people would come up to me and ask where I was from and other random questions to make small talk with me as I was usually the only non-korean in the sauna.





Tonight no one had talked to me or made an attempt to be friendly which was great because I could enjoy the hot tubs and saunas in peace. After about twenty minutes in the mild hot tub I decided to go into the salt sauna.The salt sauna was about eight by fifteen with a big pail of salt in the middle. I grabbed some salt and massaged it into my skin. The heat of the sauna and my sweat almost melted the salt immediately as it touched my skin. The salt burned when it hit a cut or scratch on my skin. During my salt massage another man walked into the sauna. He was in his late forties I would guess with short hair. He sat down and smiled at me and said "salt is good for curing your skin and will revitalize you." I smiled back and agreed with the man which made him talk some more. he asked me the common question of where I was from and what blood type I had as well as some other common questions I was asked almost daily.





The man then started talking about tattoos and pointed at another man outside of the sauna who was visible through the glass door. The man had a tiger tattoo on his right chest muscle that looked immaculate. It was a beautiful piece of art and the man in the sauna was almost hypnotized by it. He said that he always wanted a tattoo but never got one because of the negative stigmas against tattoos in korea. The man seemed to be reviewing every detail of the tattoo. It was getting to the point where the man seemed to be controlled by the tattoo.





At this point I was too hot and decided to leave the salt sauna. I bid the man good night and left the sauna. I cooled myself down with a cold shower in the locker room. I took one of the sauna towels and dried myself then I went to my locker and put on my sauna clothes. I went to the common area and picked up some kimbap and munched it down in a few bites. I then watched television for thirty minutes and then went to the sleeping room and went to sleep in an empty bunk. I slept like a baby and woke up refreshed and ready to go. When I woke up I had a quick bath and shower before leaving the sauna.





The walk to the bus terminal was short and I got the ticket to my next destination right after I arrived at the terminal. I had some time to waste so I ate a quick breakfast while waiting for the bus. After my breakfast I walked to my bus departure gate. I passed the man from the sauna on my way to the gate and he gave me the creepiest smile I have ever seen in my life. It was almost like a smile you would see in a horror movie. I took me back a bit and put a shiver down my spine. Once I got to my departure gate I got on the bus and though about what just happened for awhile but I ended up forgetting about the incident.





About four months later on the news I seen the man's face again. The headline said the man was arrested on possible murder charges and I stopped in my tracks because one of the photos taken had a lamp shade in it that had an immaculate tiger on it.









<This story may or may not be based on true events>















