Devil’s Music

Chapter 162: Song of the Himalayas

As Geon approached, the elderly man struggled to rise from his seat, clasped his hands together, and bowed respectfully. Geon, looking a bit surprised, hastily clasped his hands and bowed in return, saying, "Namaste. Do you happen to speak English?"

The elder, with his hands clasped, stared intently at Geon, indicating that English was not understood. With a puzzled expression, Geon scratched the back of his head, and Chaeun, who had followed, asked, "What's up? Does he understand English?"

Shaking his head, Geon replied, "No, it seems he doesn't understand English just by looking at his face. Let's find someone else."

Geon then clasped his hands towards the elder once more and said, "Dhanyabad."

Chaeun looked puzzled and asked, "What's 'Dhanyabad'? Is that Nepali?"

"Yeah, it means 'thank you.' I only memorized two phrases: 'hello' and 'thank you.' Haha."

As Geon and Chaeun entered the village, people who were busy with their own work started to gather around them. When about ten people had assembled, Geon shouted loudly, "Does anyone know how to speak English?"

Hearing Geon, a man in his late thirties raised his hand and stepped forward, saying, "Yes, I can speak English."

Geon was relieved and said, "Oh! That's such a relief. I was worried what we'd do if no one understood English. What's your name?"

"Ah, Tenzing. I'm Geon, and this is Chaeun.. ah, just call her Ryu."

"Nice to meet you."

Chaeun, looking anxious, opened a map and said, "Geon, let's first find out where we are."

Showing the map to Tenzing, Geon asked, "Where are we right now?"

Tenzing pointed to a spot on Geon's map, causing Geon's eyes to widen.

"ABC? (Annapurna Base Camp) You mean Annapurna?"

Tenzing nodded and said, "Correct. This is a Sherpa village in Annapurna."

Chaeun, looking dazed, crumpled the map and threw it towards the camera, shouting, "What do we do if we're dropped in Annapurna without anything!"

Yeongseok dodged the flying map, laughing, "Ah, we haven't started climbing the mountain seriously yet. It's not that tough."

Geon, incredulous, said, "Bro, ABC is over 4,000 meters above sea level. It's a thousand meters higher than Mt. Baekdu, and you're just gonna leave us here with only a guitar?"

Unperturbed by Geon and Chaeun's resentful looks, Yeongseok shrugged. Geon, resigned, looked at Tenzing and asked, "Tenzing, how long does it take to reach the village of Deurali from here?"

After thinking for a moment, Tenzing replied, "For an experienced person, it takes about five hours by foot, and for a beginner, around eight hours."

Chaeun seemed to lose strength in her legs and slumped to the ground, saying, "Without food or money? Ah, we're dead."

As Geon also shook his head in disbelief, Tenzing said, "Come with me. It seems you've come from far away; I'll offer you some tea."

Brightening at the mention of food, Chaeun quickly stood up and followed Tenzing. It didn't take more than a minute to reach Tenzing's house, and as they settled in the living room, a young woman who appeared to be his wife brought out tea. Sitting on the stiff sofa and holding a teacup, Tenzing said, "This is Mustang tea. It's made with salt and butter. Please, have some."

As Geon and Chaeun sipped the warm tea, Tenzing looked at his wife and said, "Honey, could you also bring some bread?"

Shortly after, his wife brought out a flat, round, golden-brown bread. Tenzing tore the bread and spread the accompanying butter on it before taking a bite.

"It's called Roti. It's a Nepalese bread made from a mix of wheat flour, cornmeal, and barley flour."

Chaeun, following Tenzing's example, took a bite of the bread and smiled happily, "Wow, this is delicious. It suits my taste too. And this gentleman speaks English well, right, Geon?"

Geon nodded and then asked Tenzing, "You speak English very well, Tenzing?"

"Yes, my job as a Sherpa involves dealing with trekkers from all over the world,

so I speak a bit of English."

"Wow, I see. Are you the leader of this village?"

"Yes, for now. The village elder handled it until a few years ago, and I've only taken over a few months ago."

"Thank you so much for your hospitality, Tenzing."

"It's nothing. You're guests in our village."

After Geon and Chaeun had eaten the Roti and rested for a while, they stood up to leave, "We need to get to Deurali in time, so we should be going now. Thank you very much for today, Tenzing."

Tenzing clasped his hands and said, "No problem. May the blessings of Brahma be with you."

As Geon and Chaeun left the village, the elder who was at the entrance came up to Tenzing. The elder, unable to take his eyes off Geon's retreating figure, said, "Kshatriya, Tenzing. There's the scent of the Deva on that man."

Tenzing, with a thoughtful expression, nodded slightly, "I felt it, Brahman, Rahul."

Rahul, noticing a man waiting nearby, saw him hastily put on his motorcycle helmet and start the motorcycle. Seeing this, Rahul said to Tenzing, "Spread the word to the Kshatriyas of other villages. A man who might be a Deva has arrived."

Tenzing nodded and began to make a call on a satellite phone. Rahul, without taking his eyes off the distant figures of Geon and Chaeun, looked up at the sky and thought, "Brahma, is he the messenger bearing your oracle?"

**

Geon and Chaeun made their way down a somewhat rugged mountain path. While it was not too difficult to descend, the journey was somewhat challenging for Chaeun, being female. Fortunately, it was a descent from above rather than an ascent, so it was not overly strenuous, but the continuous strain on their waists and knees brought rapid fatigue.

After about three hours of descending, Geon, noticing Chaeun looking tired, said, "Sister, let's talk while we go. It seems harder because it's boring just going down."

Chaeun, biting her tongue, replied, "I'm so out of breath. Maybe this was a mistake."

Geon, trying to distract Chaeun, continued, "You asked me earlier how I got into music, right? When did you start acting?"

After thinking for a moment, Chaeun said, "Well, for me, it was during my sophomore year of college. That's when I dreamed of standing on a theatrical stage."

"Why? Was there a particular reason?"

"Yes, actually, I had no dreams. I just studied like everyone else, went to college like everyone else, and planned to enter a company like everyone else. I thought that was the set path in life. If you couldn't follow it, you were falling behind."

Geon grimaced and nodded, "Korean education does seem to enforce that. So, what happened?"

Chaeun, moving forward, continued, "In my sophomore year, I went to watch a play in Daehangno with some classmates for the first time. There was this line in the play."

Curious, Geon looked at Chaeun, who smiled and said, "A high school girl was talking to a homeless man in the park and said life was too hard. Then, the homeless man said, 'Life is hard? Have you really lived your life? Until you're twenty, it's not your life but your parents'. You eat what your parents give you, wear what they buy you, and go to the schools they choose. How is that your life? It's your parents' life. A baby has to fall 30,000 times before it learns to walk. If your life starts at twenty, you have to fall 30,000 times to take your first steps. Live like that for ten years, and you're just starting to live your life, then another ten years to reach forty, and another ten to fifty.' That's what he said."

After delivering the lengthy dialogue, Chaeun took a breath and added, "That's when I realized, ah, I haven't been living my life. I need to fall and stumble more. Only then, when I can truly stand on my own, will I look back and see what life is all about. That play made me want to become an actress who can deliver such messages to others."

Geon nodded appreciatively and said, "Sister, that's impressive. It was right to travel with someone not from the music industry."

Chaeun, embarrassed, smiled and said, "Impressive? I'm barely getting recognized by people, far from being a star recognized in America like you, Geon."

Geon, puzzled, asked, "But isn't your dream not to become a star but to be an actress who can deliver messages?"

Chaeun stopped walking. Staring into the distance at the mountains, Geon also stopped and quietly observed her. Sensing that Chaeun was experiencing growth, Geon gestured for silence to Yeongseok, who had been following them. About twenty minutes later, as Chaeun came to, she and Geon locked eyes and she smiled. Chaeun, with a shaky voice, said, "Coming here was a good decision. Being able to travel with someone like you, Geon, has been a real fortune."

Geon draped an arm around Chaeun's shoulder and asked, "Really? Did you feel something, sister?"

Chaeun, smiling brightly, nodded, "I've been too focused on becoming a star. That wasn't what I wanted. Wow! I'm really glad I did this program!"

With renewed vigor, Chaeun's steps quickened. After four more hours of trekking, the two cheered as they spotted the entrance to the village of Deurali in the distance.

"Wow! There's the village! Sister

, that must be Deurali!"

"Yes! Yay!!! My feet are killing me, I can't wait to wash up!"

Rushing, almost running to the village entrance, they saw many people gathered there. Seeing everyone looking in their direction, Chaeun tilted her head and said, "What's this? Is there a festival in the village? Looks like more than a hundred people."

Geon stepped forward and said, "Let's go see. There should be someone who speaks English in a village this size."

Yeongseok quietly asked the assistant director, "Hey, was there a festival in the village when we did our preliminary research?"

"No, CP. I heard there was a wedding in the village, but nothing else."

"Then what are all these people doing?"

"I don't know, why are you asking me?"

While Yeongseok was scolding the assistant director, he noticed an elderly man, looking about ninety years old, approaching Geon, clasping his hands together and bowing deeply. The elder, without raising his head, said, "Welcome, messenger of Brahma."

>

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