Devil’s Music

Chapter 166: Song of the Himalayas

Thanks to Timo's thoughtfulness, Chae-eun, refreshed from a good night's sleep in a room with a comfortable bed, stepped out into the morning sunshine with a slightly brighter expression. In the yard, the staff, having finished their preparations for departure, were gathered, and Yeongseok was sitting on a platform in the yard, conversing in English with Timo. Since Geon had not yet appeared, Chae-eun approached Yeongseok and listened to their conversation.

"Chief Timo, what happens if we go to a house where a wedding is taking place?"

"That house belongs to a Kshatriya family in our village, so it's quite large. It's a two-story house where the women bake bread on the first floor, and the men trim goat meat on the second floor."

"Oh, really? That sounds picturesque."

"Kay can sing for the workers if she wants."

"Ah, that's okay. Since the program's concept involves hardship, it might be better to help with the goat meat."

"Alright, then let's go together, and I'll introduce you."

"Thank you, Chief."

Having noticed that the conversation had ended, Chae-eun asked Yeongseok what they would be doing. After hearing Yeongseok's response, Chae-eun, with a playful expression, rushed towards Geon, who was just coming out to the yard.

Geon placed a hand on his forehead and shook his head in disbelief.

"Ah, I get dizzy at the sight of blood. This is going to be tough. Will I be able to handle it?"

Shortly after, following Timo, the two arrived at a house smaller than Timo's but still quite large. It being a festive occasion, many people were busily working, and musicians played music to help the workers enjoy their tasks. Seeing the lively music seemed to alleviate Geon's worries, as his expression brightened, and Yeongseok mischievously said,

"Geon, look, a live goat is being taken upstairs. Looks like it's about to be caught."

Geon, following Yeongseok's direction, saw a black goat being led by a rope and wore a troubled expression. Chae-eun, sitting among the women kneading dough on the first floor, waved at Geon.

"Geon~ Earn a lot of money~"

As Geon's expression grew more distressed, Yeongseok's brightened. After ascending to the second floor, Geon, unable to bear watching the goat being slaughtered, averted his eyes. Moments later, after the goat had been slaughtered and its skin and innards were being processed, Geon, with gloves covered in blood, rubbed them on Yeongseok's face, laughing, while Yeongseok, taken aback, fled in a panic. The amusing scene was captured on camera. After working past four in the afternoon, the two, receiving 5,000 rupees as their wages, stepped outside with bright expressions, where Timo was waiting.

"Chief, thanks to you, we earned a lot, haha."

Timo smiled and bowed slightly.

"I feel sorry for making you do such hard work."

"Not at all, not at all. I'm very grateful. Thanks to you, it seems we can comfortably take the bus to Bamboo."

Timo pointed in one direction and said,

"The bus stop is this way. Let me show you."

Upon reaching the place Timo mentioned where the bus would stop, they found only a sign with "BUS" written on it standing alone by the roadside. Seeing people waiting for the bus seated on a stone wall, Geon shook Timo's hand in gratitude.

"Thank you so much, Chief."

Chae-eun joined in, clasping her hands in thanks, and Timo, after receiving their thanks, said,

"Kay is always welcome here. Come visit again. Remember to take the red bus. The blue bus goes somewhere else."

"Yes, Chief. We'll definitely come back."

While they were saying goodbye to Timo, a dilapidated red bus, stirring up a cloud of dust, appeared in the distance. Yeongseok announced,

"The bus is here. Camera crew, prepare to board!"

A young man in his twenties, apparently a crew member, alighted from the bus, collected money, and allowed boarding. The bus, being in the afternoon, had only three local passengers aside from them, allowing for a somewhat spacious seating arrangement. However, their comfort was short-lived. The bus floor had a hole through which dust came up, and the unpaved road made the ride so bumpy that they had to hold onto the seat handles in front of them tightly. Additionally, the bus used a narrow road along a cliff, making the descent constantly nerve-wracking. After much hardship, they arrived at Bamboo and disembarked from the

bus, Chae-eun weakly letting her arms droop and said,

"Would have been more comfortable to walk...sigh"

Geon, who got off the bus first, patted Chae-eun's back, saying,

"Hey, if we had walked, we wouldn't have arrived until after sunset even if we left in the morning. It's great we arrived while it's still daylight. Let's go, sister. But this place seems a bit smaller than Dewureli, doesn't it?"

Lifting her head at Geon's words, Chae-eun saw houses closely packed together on a downhill slope in the middle of the mountains. The village was a bit smaller, but there were hotels and restaurants for trekkers. Chae-eun asked Geon,

"Do we still have money left? Can we afford to eat?"

Geon took out the remaining money from his pocket and counted it.

"Well, we don't know the cost of living here, so let's ask around."

Geon entered what appeared to be a lodge for trekkers. A lady at the counter, wearing an orange traditional dress, greeted them warmly. When Geon explained their situation in English and inquired about the price of food, the owner, with limited English, showed them the menu. Seeing the menu, Geon's face lit up.

"Sister! We can settle a meal for 200 rupees!"

Hearing Geon's voice from outside, Chae-eun rushed in excitedly.

"Really? The prices are incredibly cheap. Didn't we receive too much for our work earlier?"

Geon, holding the money and tilting his head, then asked the owner,

"How much for the hotel? Two rooms."

After gesturing to inquire about the price of hotel rooms, the owner said it would be 2,000 rupees. Geon raised his hands, exclaiming,

"Hooray! We can even afford to sleep here tonight! Sister, it's 2,000 rupees for two rooms!"

Chae-eun and Geon high-fived, delighted, while Yeongseok, crossing his arms, looked on and asked the AD in a sulking tone,

"AD, wasn't the wage supposed to be 2,500 rupees? Isn't that too much, what they received?"

"Simba, could you come here for a moment?" called the AD, and Simba, who had been smoking outside, came in. The AD pushed Simba's back towards Yeongseok and asked, "How much do you usually earn in a day working at weddings like this?"

After a moment of thought, Simba held up a finger. "About 1,000 rupees?" Yeongseok, scratching his head roughly, said, "Damn, so Chief Timo gave us more!"

Thanks to Chief Timo, Geon and Chae-eun ended the day with a smile, having enjoyed a comfortable night's sleep and warm, delicious food, though not at a fancy hotel. Yeongseok resolved to make sure they would endure hardships the next day. However, he was completely unaware that motorcycles departing from Dewureli, passing through Bamboo, were spreading Timo's message to other cities.

The next morning, Geon, waking up a bit earlier than usual perhaps because of the lesser hardships the day before, went out for a walk in front of the lodge after washing his face. Stretching and welcoming the cool morning air of the highlands, Geon noticed several monks in Tibetan high monk robes in the distance. As Geon lowered his hands from stretching and brought them together in greeting, the lead monk respectfully joined his palms and bowed.

The monk approached Geon and started speaking in English. "Are you Kay?" Surprised that the monk recognized him, Geon widened his eyes and asked, "Yes, but why?"

The monk, glancing at the other monks, said, "This person is Devashida. Treat him with respect." Six monks around bowed respectfully towards Geon, who responded with a puzzled greeting. The head monk said, "I am Pravin, practicing here in the central temple of Bamboo. We would like to invite you to our temple, what do you say?"

Pointing to himself with a forefinger, Geon asked, "Me? Why?" "Oh, please don't misunderstand. Chief Timo asked us to invite you," said Pravin. Hearing Timo's name from Pravin, Geon, dropping his guard, pointed towards the lodge with his thumb and said, "Ah, I see. But I have companions with me, I can't go alone."

"It's okay. We invite all your companions. Would that be alright?" Pravin nodded, indicating there was no problem. Geon, after thinking for a moment, spoke to the camera director, who was about to smoke a cigarette, "Ah, Director! It's good timing. These monks from the temple here want to invite us. Is it okay if we go?"

The camera director removed the cigarette from his mouth, hid it behind his back, and joined his palms towards the monks, then said, "That's... not for me to decide. I'll ask the CP. Just a moment." Shortly after the director went inside, Yeongseok came out running. Upon seeing the monks, he immediately joined his palms and then asked Geon, "What's this about? Why are the temple monks inviting us? Did you cause some trouble again?"

Geon, with a playful smile, elbowed Yeongseok and said, "Hey, when have I ever caused trouble? It's at Chief Timo's request." "Ah, is that so? Then let's go. It's usually difficult to get filming permission in temples, so this is great. Just wait a bit, okay? How did you communicate? Did you understand English?" "Yes, it seems only Pravin here speaks it."

Yeongseok turned awkwardly and offered a half-hearted bow to Pravin, who returned it with a respectful bow. Then Yeongseok rushed back inside, yelling and hurrying the crew to get ready. Being professionals, it took the staff less than five minutes to prepare, and they set off for the temple with Chae-eun, the last to join.

As Pravin led Geon and the group up to the temple, a red building, the largest in the village, appeared in the center of the town. Entering the temple, which gave off the feel of a medieval noble's castle with its surrounding closely packed houses, Geon and Chae-eun marveled at the size of the temple and its ancient sculptures. Pravin, pointing at the stairs, said, "Let's greet the abbot."

Geon, holding Chae-eun's hand, ascended the stairs and stood in front of the door, which Pravin opened to lead them inside. Inside was another courtyard with a moderately sized prayer hall in the center. Standing in front of the prayer hall, Pravin raised his voice slightly and announced, "Great monk, I have brought Kay."

Hearing Pravin speak in English, Geon assumed he could communicate with the monks inside. Soon after, a cough was heard, and Pravin opened the door. Inside the prayer hall, with a large Buddha statue, a very elderly monk in monk's robes respectfully joined his palms. As Geon and Chae-eun awkwardly returned the gesture, the old monk said to Geon, "A humble Lama of Tibetan Buddhism greets the messenger of Brahma, one of Hinduism's trinity gods."

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