Devil’s Music

The deep prayerful voices of the villagers grew louder, spreading throughout the village. Even those far from the chief's house could hear the prayers. People passing through the village and those spending the evening at home with their families kneeled and joined in prayer upon hearing the sound, soon filling Deurali with a unified voice.

Yeongseok, with a dazed expression, listened to the sounds outside and asked Simba, who seemed lost in thought, "Is that the lyrics Geon said in English, translated into Nepali? How can people who don't understand English know the meaning and follow along?"

Simba, looking down at his trembling hands, said, "I... I don't know. How could this...?"

Geon opened his eyes to the robust voices of the people. He continued to play the guitar, but as he looked around with wide eyes, he questioned Yeongseok with his gaze, who could only shrug in response. As the prolonged performance came to an end, the musicians, who had been deeply engrossed in their play, placed their instruments down and turned to sit facing Geon in the center, bowing their heads to the ground. Geon, with a bewildered expression, kneeled and looked to Timo for help, but Timo, still praying on the ground, hadn't opened his eyes yet. Geon spoke to him.

"Um, Chief Timo. Why are they doing this? Please, could you stop them?"

Timo, hearing Geon calling him, quietly opened his eyes and looked at him. After a long stare, Timo finally spoke.

"Go back (돌아가라)."

Only then did the musicians begin to rise and gather their instruments, though they dared not make eye contact with Geon. Geon, noticing the musicians cautiously handling their instruments to avoid making noise, asked Timo, "But what are the villagers still shouting? I can still hear them even though the music has stopped."

Timo turned his head to look at the hill visible outside the house. Geon, following Timo's gaze to the hill, exclaimed in surprise, "What, how can there be so many people...?"

The hill was crowded with many people; at least a thousand were praying with their foreheads to the ground. Timo turned his gaze back to Geon, who was frantically looking between the people on the hill and outside the front gate. After a moment, Timo stood up and said, "You must be tired; let me show you to your room."

"A room? Oh, yes. You mean to let me sleep here? Thank you very much, Chief."

Geon momentarily looked perplexed but then responded cheerfully, which made Chaeun, standing a bit away, shout, "What? A room? We can sleep here?"

As Geon nodded with a bright expression, Chaeun burst into laughter, "Hahaha! This is awesome! We're so lucky!"

Yeongseok, seemingly resigned, covered his face and asked the assistant director (AD), "When do we send the tapes for the preview and the first episode?"

The AD, after checking the schedule, replied, "The first dispatch is tomorrow morning. We decided to send it via a correspondent returning from Deurali to Korea. Producer Kim will handle the production in Korea."

"Cut the first episode right before we arrived in Deurali, including the scene where villagers were waiting at the village entrance. But include this scene in the trailer."

"Yes, Chief Producer."

"When's the first broadcast?"

"In 13 days. Saturday night at 11 PM."

"Good, send it out first thing tomorrow and broadcast the trailer as soon as editing is done. I'll call the boss separately."

"Yes, Chief Producer."

"Now, let's get the actors to their rooms! Directors, please set up the cameras in the actors' rooms."

Following Yeongseok's instructions, the camera directors rushed into the rooms with their equipment. Timo, watching the staff bustling about, turned to Geon and Chaeun, "Let's have some tea while you wait; it's good for digestion."

"Oh, yes, Chief. Thank you."

Geon led Chaeun into Timo's room. Despite its modest appearance, the room was fairly large, with a red sofa under the window where Timo sat them down before leaving to make tea. Chaeun asked Geon, "What were the people saying earlier? It seemed like all the villagers were saying the same thing."

"I don't know; it was in Nepali. I asked Chief Timo, but he didn't answer."

Yeongseok passed by the open door of Timo's room and saw Geon and Chaeun, saying, "Ah, you should be wearing cameras. What if you two wander off? Director, there are two people here!"

Soon, a camera director with ENG and a sound director entered, and a lighting director set up portable

lights. Watching them, Yeongseok said to Geon, "Geon, haha. Our program's going to hit big because of you. Just had a satellite call with the boss, and they're thrilled."

Geon smiled, "Really? I'm glad to be of help. But I think I'm the lucky one. I'm so glad I came here. The people are so bright and kind. If I had traveled alone and stayed in a Kathmandu hotel, visiting tourist spots, I would never have had these experiences. I'm thankful to you."

Yeongseok crossed his arms and laughed, "Well, if you're grateful, work hard."

"What's our destination tomorrow?"

"Oh, right. I'll explain when we have time. AD, bring the map. Geon, you too, look at the map."

As they spread out the map on the sofa, Timo returned with tea. Seeing the crowded room, he momentarily placed the tray down before leaving to make more tea. As Geon and Chaeun sat close on the sofa, Yeongseok began to explain.

"I'll use formal language since we're filming. Thank you all for your hard work today. Our destination tomorrow is Bamboo, a city similar in size to Deurali. You should arrive by tomorrow night."

Chaeun suddenly remembered and asked, "But we completed today's mission, why haven't we received a reward?"

Yeongseok looked embarrassedly at the AD, who handed something over. Yeongseok pushed the item across the floor to them, saying, "Here you go."

"The reward for mission success was actually... a tent. We prepared it thinking you'd be camping outdoors, but now that you'll be sleeping in such a nice house, it seems unnecessary. Still, keep it for future use."

As Chaeun received the tent with a bewildered expression, Geon said, "We were lucky today, normally we should have slept in the tent. But since we don't need it now, can we have a backpack instead? Something to carry it in."

"Alright. I can do that for you. AD, give them a backpack."

When the AD handed over a red hiking backpack, Geon took it, put the tent inside, along with a map and two flashlights he had in his pocket.

"I'll carry this around then."

Chaeun objected, saying, "You have to carry the guitar too. It's not that heavy, let me carry it, give it here."

"Hey, how can a man make a woman carry his load? My sister will watch this broadcast, I'd be dead."

"Ho ho, scared of your sister, huh?"

Suddenly, Geon stopped and looked at Chaeun with a serious expression, saying, "The most in the world."

"What? Hahahahaha"

While they were chatting, Timo came into the room with tea. He placed the tea on the table and first offered a cup to Geon.

"This is Nepali black tea. It's a First Flush, so it has a smooth and light aroma."

Timo poured the tea for everyone in turn, and lastly for himself, before sitting down. After taking a sip of the tea in a proper posture, Timo asked, "Do you like the tea?"

After tasting the steamy tea, Geon smiled and said, "Yes, I thought black tea might be a bit heavy, but this is refreshing."

"Yes, there are four types of Nepali black tea. The one you're drinking is the First Flush, the first to be brewed. The Second Flush is also smooth but has a bit stronger aroma. The Monsoon Flush is the third brewing, with a stronger flavor and darker color, and the Autumnal Flush has a very strong taste, similar to Darjeeling teas."

Geon nodded appreciatively and translated for Chaeun, who then took another sip of the tea with a surprised look. The staff also savored the tea while listening to Geon's explanation. Timo smiled contentedly and asked, "When do you plan to leave?"

"We have to leave tomorrow. We need to get to our destination within the set time for the shoot."

"Where is your next destination?"

"It's Bamboo."

"A good city. It's rich in crops because of the many terraced fields."

"Terraced fields?"

"Yes, fields shaped like stairs for farming on mountains."

"Oh, those. We have them in our country too."

"It's a common method in high-altitude areas around the world, hehe."

Yeongseok, who had been quietly listening, said, "Just a heads up, if someone offers to give you a ride, refuse. If you want to take a bus, you have to work for it and earn the fare. We need to stick to the minimum rules. Otherwise, they're ready to carry you in a palanquin, just so you know."

Chaeun, looking disappointed, said, "Aww, I thought we could get a comfortable ride!"

Laughing, Geon turned to Timo and asked, "Chief Timo, is there any work here we can do to earn some wages?"

Timo, surprised, set down his tea and said, "Do you need money? Shall I give you some?"

Geon waved his hands and pointed at Yeongseok, "No, the devil PD won't allow that, haha. It seems we have to work for our money, whether it's for bus fare or food."

"Ah, I see. Well, there's a wedding in the village that needs help for about a week. Shall I introduce you?"

"Wow! That's perfect. Do you know how much the bus fare is to Bamboo?"

"It's about 300 rupees per person."

"And how much can we earn working at the wedding?"

"If you work from the morning until three in the afternoon, you can earn about 2,500 rupees per person."

Geon turned to Chaeun with a happy expression and said, "Sister, if we work at the wedding house tomorrow, we can earn about 2,500 rupees each, and the bus fare to Bamboo is only 300 rupees per person."

Chaeun clapped her hands in joy, "Really? That's fantastic. We won't have to walk tomorrow!"

>

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