Prologue: The ancient Chinese idiom goes 无冤不成夫妻 –If they are not enemies, they will not become husband and wife.
Now I’m branching out the compelling real stories about men’s infidelity, involving the clients whom I knew. I shall introduce Horikawa’s colleagues cum good friends. They were Mr. Akai and Mr. Mitani. All three were Japanese expatriates, in their 40s, married with child/children and stayed in Kuala Lumpur. Horikawa and Mitani worked in the same office in Shah Alam, and Mr. Akai belonged to another co-joined company. They were the Three Philandering Musketeers of Roppongi Lounge. Penises up!
All pictures taken in Year 1991 and 1992. (To see the pictures bigger, just click on them.)
. 1st picture – From left, Mitani (Managing Director), Shirley (Secretary), standing, and other office staffs. Shirley had helped Horikawa and I very much, keeping our secrets, booking air tickets and hotels for our holidays, etc.
. 2nd picture – Mitani (left, Managing Director) and Horikawa (right, Factory Director) during a holiday.
. 3rd picture – Akai (left), Mitani (Managing Director, middle) and Horikawa (Factory Director, right) in their office compound. Did all three of them look polite and cultured in shirts and ties, and company uniform? Yes. And they were handsome. Any signs of lechery and womanizing attitude? Not at all.
And what was behind those smart looking, well-mannered Japanese men? All the three sushi-faced kept girlfriends/mistresses. Mitani was with Ai (means love, in Japanese), Akai was with Vivian and Horikawa with me. Ai, Vivian and I worked in Roppongi Lounge.
Those cold-sashimi Japanese were dead solemn and serious in their works. But when the party started in Roppongi Lounge, the playground for adult men, they behaved worse than children.
On Mitani. This tofu stuffed-looking Japanese was the most promiscuous, and had the tiniest brain of all. He hardly knew how to handle his girlfriends, but yet, had a harem of them. He, his wife, Hui Ling and 5 years old son stayed in Bangsar. Hui Ling was a Taiwanese woman (sorry no picture). Real story on wife such as Hui Ling was the most heart-rending one that I had encountered.
Hui Ling had acknowledged well about her husband promiscuity, but trying extremely hard, even against her own will, to accept her husband despite of his irresponsibility. She loved her husband like no other.
And what actually had taken place? One Sunday night, when Horikawa and I were in Roppongi Lounge, having our karaoke session, the door flung opened. Horikawa and I were startled to see Mitani pulling Hui Ling, half-drunk in. Why on the planet Mitani brought his wife to such a place? Mitani sat down, mellowed with apologetic face. He explained that he and Hui Ling went for drinking in a bar prior to that. And that Hui Ling had discovered about his relationship with Ai, hence became very upset and disappointed. Feeling betrayed, she demanded Mitani to bring her to a bar to get drunk, and later went to Roppongi to look for Ai. Thank goodness, that day was Ai’s off day.
I observed Hui Ling. She was in her 30s, thin and frumpy looking. She wore simple dress and worn-out flat shoes, and didn’t put on make up or did her hair. And these were big contrast to the young, beautiful and elegant ‘in-girl’, Ai. Ai was one of the few girls who wore expensive designer outfits and had fancy hairstyles.
Hui Ling then apologized for intruding us, even knowing I was Horikawa’s mistress. She was sad and crying, telling us she was unhappy. She continued to drink and that had made her became worse. She then laughed and no longer herself, and Mitani pulled her blouse as she scrambled her way to us. Later she (and Mitani followed) even knelt down in front of us, and heads hitting the floor to apologize! And unexpectedly, Hui Ling then invited Horikawa and I to their home to have lunch on the coming Sunday. And Mitani was dumb folded, and had to agree even he didn’t expect his wife would make such invitation!
Although both Horikawa and I were shocked-horror, we yielded to Hui Ling request, in order not to let the situation worsened. I knew Hui Ling needed to talk to me, pouring her heart out, hence making the lunch invitation.
The Sunday arrived, and both Horikawa and I were clumsy and nervous, didn’t know what to say or do. We were greeted by Hui Ling, looking happier this time, and the embarrassed Mitani. Hui Ling spoke Mandarin to me, and started to unveil all her heart breaking stories. (And both the Japanese husbands were shivered with anxiety!). She told me she understood my position as Horikawa’s mistress and was not biased against me.
She revealed she faced devastating problems. Ai somehow sneaked into their condominium, and wrote big letters with lipstick, ‘I love you’ and ‘I miss you’ on Mitani’s car screen! Mitani scrubbed them off, but Ai persisted, sneaked in again and wrote the same things. Ai also phoned Mitani many times in their home and left notes there. There were arguments over and over and that caused the neighborhood to notice them. Hui Ling then became a victim. There was a large community of Japanese people, usually families, staying in same condominium. The Japanese housewives gossiped about Hui Ling. And hapless Hui Ling had no one to help her, no where to go. And that was the reason she broke down. Hui Ling told me she even thought of committing suicide.
Not long before they banged into our karaoke room that Sunday, Hui Ling had a big argument with Mitani, and she packed her luggage, hugging her son and wanted to leave for Taiwan. Mitani held them back. Imagine how their neighbors were alerted with the loud argument.
And why on the planet Ai was doing that? Simple. Mitani dumped her, probably for another woman. And there was an epilogue. Mitani then was after another hostess, a Filipino (name forgotten) working in Bird Nest Japanese Lounge. I had met her, but she wasn’t as elegant as Ai. According to Horikawa, there was once Mitani sending the Filipino girl home in his car. But Hui Ling arrived in the nick of time, standing in front of the car! That shocked Mitani, and he hurriedly tell his girl to leave! Also, almost every morning, Hui Ling would scream to wake Mitani up, holding his shirt with lipstick stains! So Mitani said he didn’t even need an alarm clock. What a dude...haha!
After Horikawa contract expired, he returned to Japan. Mitani remained in Malaysia, and he continued to sow his philandering seeds. When I was working in Deluxe, I had heard of him chased yet another two girls in Roppongi Lounge. And what had happened to Hui Ling? I regretted I didn’t keep in touch with her. This is a typical man’s philandering saga.
On Akai. Akai face resembled Garfield, and he was the most polite among the three assholes. He stayed with his wife (if not mistaken, she was pregnant at that time) in Bangsar. Akai and his relationship with his mistress, Vivian had became a jargon among the girls in Roppongi Lounge and the Japanese clients. We had acknowledged that both Akai and Vivian had taken wedding photos. And later, there was a rumor that Vivian was pregnant with Akai’s child. I did not know if that was true. But I knew Akai’s marriage was at the verge of collapsing. Not much news on Akai, but I knew there were many unhappiness that followed.
So, when I see a bridal shower, I see BLOOD.
My articles piss people off, but wake people up.
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Epilogue: The process of writing these three-parted articles of Bridal Shower – With Blood was distressing and agonizing. Each recollection contains pain. The bitterness and anguishes that I did not want to recall had to be recalled. There were moments that I wished to terminate the process altogether.
But I had gathered my determinations and at the end, managed to complete them, despites of the many difficulties. I wrote these invaluable experiences of mine, for I felt responsible to trumpet to the world about the hideous, repugnant reality of the world, which often being overlooked by many. These are the people who chose to see the unrealistic facets of the world, and to live in the fantasies of their own creations.
If I do not wake you up, you will fall asleep again.