Devil’s Music

Chapter 177: The Flower that Bloomed in the Earthquake

Among the rubble of houses collapsed due to earthquake damage, laughter blossomed for the first time in a while. The feast had been organized by Geon, as it was difficult to dispose of the food and livestock gifted by the Nepalese. Many Nepalis who had arrived with Timo helped with the preparations for the feast. Geon, who had invited everyone from UNICEF and other sponsoring organizations to the school playground, generously shared delicious food with the hard-working volunteers, while ensuring that the patients received nutritious meals first.

As people ate, drank, and rested, Chae-eun approached Geon, who was assisting the remaining Nepalis at the feast, and offered him a piece of lamb.

"Geon, have some of this too. It's delicious."

Geon smiled and ate the meat Chae-eun fed him, saying, "Thanks, noona. Did you eat a lot too?"

Chae-eun laughed, sucking on her fingers smeared with meat juice, "Yes, I ate a lot. Hey, you should shave. What has happened to our handsome Geon's face?"

Geon received a plate of food graciously offered by a Nepali lady and waved it off, "It's okay. Everyone here lives like this. It would be weirder if I was the only one looking neat."

Chae-eun shook her head, taking the plate from Geon, "Anyway, give it here. I've eaten enough, so I'll take care of this. You go and eat."

Geon watched Chae-eun bustling among the people with a plate in her hands, laughing. Staff members capturing the people eating at the feast caught Geon's eye.

'I should prepare a meal in advance for Yeongseok hyung and the staff brothers.'

After asking a Nepali to set aside about ten servings of food at the base camp and returning, Geon saw many journalists at the school entrance taking photos. He shouted to them.

"If you're done taking photos, come in and have some food, everyone! There's too much food left; it's going to spoil!"

The journalists, touched by Geon's heart, joined the feast amidst laughter at his light joke. As new groups joined, the ladies bustling with food serving began to serve more actively. Feeling sorry, the journalists stood up to serve themselves food and sat down to eat. Kevin, watching the feast deepen and children running around happily with roasted goat legs, spotted Geon.

Geon was constantly laughing, playing with a boy in his arms. It was delightful how he communicated joyfully with the boy despite the language barrier, their faces filled with laughter. Sara approached Kevin upon noticing Geon at the end of his gaze.

"It's incredible... There exists such a person. Someone who only wishes to give without expecting anything in return."

Kevin nodded slightly, "Humans find satisfaction in helping others. That satisfaction prevents many from stopping their service. Kay must be intoxicated by the satisfaction he feels now. We should hope that continues."

"It's not just about satisfaction, Director. Did you see earlier? How the monks and Hindus treat Kay? As if he's a representative of the gods they worship."

"Yes, it's not just a religious stance; the people of Nepal must feel they owe Kay a great debt. I misspoke. If it were merely for his own satisfaction, he wouldn't have received such respect."

"When is Kay coming back?"

"Who knows? I saw on the news he's shooting all his commercials here. He'll stay a bit longer."

"It's impressive. It's been over two months, right? Look at that beard. He looks like he's been practicing in the mountains."

"Seeing that scruffy beard makes me reflect."

"Reflect on what?"

"Do you know why Kay doesn't shave?"

"No? I thought it was just because there's no need to dress up here."

"No, you see that camera? Everything happening here is broadcast in Korea."

"Really? And he's still looking like that? That's not the look of a celebrity."

"Yes. That's why I asked him."

"And what did he say?"

"He said he dislikes removing something given by God during a time he's trying to revive all living things."

"What does that mean?"

"Perhaps it's a superstition... He fears that touching anything living, even slightly, might harm Nepal, which he's trying to revive."

Sara turned to Geon with a shocked face, seeing him burst into laughter while holding the boy, against the evening sky. She watched Geon for a while then said to Kevin,

"That's remarkable... Such a mindset... I didn't know, and it makes me reflect too."

Kevin slowly nodded, not taking his eyes off Geon.

"A young man, but a teacher to all monks, called Deva by all Hindus, a man known as the angel of the poor in the world... That's Kay now."

Sara, too, couldn't take her eyes off Geon and chuckled after a while.

"Heh, he's wonderful. Desirable, indeed."

Kevin smirked at Sara, "A wonderful man, indeed. But remember, a woman standing next to a great man is unhappy because he doesn't look only at her. Be moderately greedy, Sara."

"Pfft, as if he would look at me even if I made a move."

"Haha, that's also true."

"What? What do you mean by that!"

"Ah, my mistake. Haha."

As the two bickered and laughed, laughter bloomed on many faces around them. A larger smile of happiness and satisfaction blossomed on Geon's face as he watched them. The beautiful Himalayan mountains faintly visible in the night sky, the warm body temperature of the child in his arms, the beautiful landscape of Nepal in the distance, the sound of laughter, and the bright expressions of the people remained in Geon's heart.

**

A few days later, a filming team from SJT Group arrived for a commercial shoot. They were cautious, seemingly instructed not to upset Geon. The shoot, meticulously planned in advance, was completed in six hours. SJT shot a video with Geon against the backdrop of the Himalayan mountains with their new smartphone, emphasizing its connectivity even in remote areas. After the shoot, unlike usual, they left Nepal without holding a dinner party because their courage was too small to drink with Geon, who was receiving global attention after a major disaster in Nepal.

Merci Benz also sent a filming team. They decided to replace the new model with CG and only captured Geon's natural volunteer work. They focused solely on brand marketing, aligning with Merci Company's involvement in Nepal's earthquake recovery. Geon, surprised at the smooth progression of the shoot, called Lynn.

"Hello, Director! It's Geon."

"Yes, I know, Mr. Geon. How did the shoot for Merci Benz go?"

"It just finished. They didn't do much, just captured my usual work."

"It was discussed beforehand. They wanted to focus on brand marketing rather than the new model."

"I see. Now, only the commercial requested by the U.S. government is left. I've seen many speculative articles guessing it's a public service advertisement, but I haven't heard anything."

"That's because... We couldn't believe it ourselves and had to check several times, but the counterpart flying to Nepal for the shoot with you is on their way."

"Oh, is that so? They must be coming from Pokhara Airport, right?"

"Probably."

"Is it a famous actor?"

"Famous... extremely famous indeed."

"Wow, I should get an autograph, haha. What time is their flight? I'll prepare to meet them."

"That's not necessary because they're not coming by a regular flight."

"Oh? Do they have a private jet?"

"Not a private jet. They're flying on Air Force One."

"Excuse me? What's that?"

"They're coming on Air Force One, the aircraft of the current U.S. President, Harold Winston."

"What did you say?"

"The counterpart is the U.S. President. We had to check multiple times because we couldn't believe it."

"The U.S. President?"

"Yes, that's correct. You'll be shooting a public service commercial directly with the president. The theme is 'Leading the World Together: The United States and the World's Treasure, Kay.' The agreement is to have a conversation sitting in front of the base camp, and the commercial will be based on that conversation. Of course, to ensure the conversation isn't distorted, both the original and the broadcast footage will be provided to us in advance."

"The U.S. President..."

"There's no need to be so nervous. He's one of the most approachable presidents. Just treat him as casually as you would a neighbor."

"How can that be? It's the U.S. President..."

"If he tries any weird leading questions or anything, cut the conversation and call me immediately. Given his personality, it's unlikely he'll try to exploit Kay, but you never know."

"Alright... Thank you, Director."

After hanging up, Geon sat on a rock, staring blankly into space. Yeongseok, having seen him from afar, approached with the camera director. Since they had agreed not to film Geon's call with Lynn, they had been a bit distant.

"What's with the face? Wasn't that a call with Director Lynn?"

Geon, with a vacant expression, said, "Hyung... The person coming from the U.S. to film..."

Yeongseok tilted his head, "The person?"

"U.S. President Harold Winston."

Yeongseok gasped in shock, and even the camera director was surprised, causing the camera to jerk.

"What!? The U.S. President is coming to Nepal?"

Geon weakly replied, "Yes... that's what they said."

Yeongseok stared blankly at Geon, and the camera director gulped

. After a moment of shock, Yeongseok finally spoke.

"Do the journalists know about this?"

Geon shook his head, "I just found out myself; how could they?"

Yeongseok asked urgently, "Can we film it too?"

"I don't mind, but we need their permission."

"Geon, you have to talk them into it! If the U.S. President appears on Korean variety, it'll be a ratings killer! Please!"

"Alright... I'll talk to them. But I can't make any promises. They might have their reasons."

Yeongseok lifted Geon up, shouting excitedly, "That's enough! Hahaha! You adorable guy! Pretty guy!! Hahaha!"

>

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