Devil’s Music

Passing through Syauli Bazar to reach Naya Pul, the crew had remained true to the concept of their journey. However, filming was challenging due to the national crisis atmosphere in Nepal. The crew laughed for the first time in a while after watching a trailer produced in Korea, which aired in a city hotel in Naya Pul, showing Geon revered as a deity.

In Korea, the trailer aired amidst news coverage of the Nepal earthquake, sparking tremendous interest. Various portal news sites churned out sensational articles about Geon getting caught in the Nepal earthquake, drawing widespread attention. MVN, aware that Geon and the production team were safe, was all smiles seeing the increasing number of cable TV subscription applications.

IP TV was charging for unlimited access to terrestrial channels, and other cable broadcasters were selling unlimited viewing on a monthly subscription basis, enabling immediate verification. MVN, finding itself at the center of attention, called Yeongseok hourly for updates via satellite phone. After spending 3 days in Naya Pul and confirming no further aftershocks since the early morning of the first day, the production team decided to enter Naya Pul. This decision leaked to the press intentionally by MVN, further fueling the buzz around "The Song of Himalaya."

Even before its first broadcast, "The Song of Himalaya," with its trailer of Geon as a deity and news of entering the earthquake's epicenter three days later, garnered hot anticipation. Yeongseok, receiving this news via satellite phone, felt a mix of pleasure and bitterness.

The AD hustled to the Korean embassy for filming permissions, while Geon and Chae-eun continued shooting in a restorative style, mostly staying inside the hotel. The AD, with his resourcefulness, managed to obtain filming permissions by partnering with the international relief organization Unichef.

Once the filming permission was secured, Yeongseok gathered the crew to head to Gorkha in a jeep. With domestic flights temporarily banned, the crew, weary from the long car journey, soon saw the local police's control line in the distance. Geon caught sight of the devastation in the Gorkha village, which would have been peaceful hills and terraced fields if not for the earthquake.

Despite days passing since the earthquake, the village engulfed in a cloud of dust was filled with screams, shouting, and children's crying; no house seemed intact. Simba, acting as an interpreter, showed the filming permits to the local police, who then issued entry badges.

As the crew started their vehicles, they were soon stopped. The road was cracked in many places, making vehicle entry difficult. Yeongseok got out of the car, saying,

"We'll stop here! The village is visible from here, so let's walk."

Under Yeongseok's lead, the crew entered the village cautiously after ensuring safety. The camera directors dispersed with their ENG cameras. The drone director controlled the drone to avoid colliding with others from different broadcasters, and only one camera director accompanied Geon and Chae-eun each. Chae-eun, upon seeing a young girl sitting on a rock and crying, quickly approached her.

"Oh my, look at this child! Hey, are you okay?"

The girl, not understanding Chae-eun's Korean, just dropped tears from her large eyes. Noticing no adults around, Chae-eun told Geon,

"Geon, I'll check on the children, you move as you see fit."

"Okay, sister. Be careful, and don't go near any houses with roofs left; they might collapse anytime."

"Got it, you too be careful."

As Geon walked uphill through the destroyed homes, he saw people sitting dazed among the rubble. Hearing commotion, Geon hastened his steps. A group of men was trying to lift a rock off a woman trapped underneath. The woman, too exhausted to scream, just clenched her eyes shut and grimaced in pain.

Geon hurriedly joined the men, squeezing in to lend a hand. The Nepalese men, surprised by the sudden appearance of an East Asian, nonetheless shouted and did their best to lift the rock. Geon, using all his strength, helped lift the rock.

"Ugh, lift!"

The rock budged slightly but did not lift. When Yeongseok rushed over to help and the camera director paused filming to assist, the rock was finally lifted with a thunderous noise. The women nearby hurriedly pulled the trapped woman out. Her lower body was severely injured, but luckily, she was alive below the mid-thigh.

Geon, bending down to offer his back, shouted,

"Please help me lift her! Ambulances can't reach here, we need to carry her down!"

Unable to understand his English, the Nepalese men caught on from his gestures and helped place the woman on Geon's back. With the woman groaning in pain on his back, Geon stood up and said,

"Madam, please hold on, I'll get you to the hospital as fast as I can!"

Geon, with the woman on his back, began to run downhill. Yeongseok and the cameraman quickly followed. As he ran, Geon saw countless people crying in despair: babies crying from hunger, perhaps having lost their parents; an old woman sitting on a rock with her head covered in dust, looking dazed; a woman kneeling on the ground, praying to the sky with tears; a man frantically searching the debris, calling out a name.

Geon clenched his teeth, biting his lips until they bled to hold back tears as he dashed down, leaping over the police control line to approach the waiting rescue workers.

"Here! A lady who was trapped under a rock!"

The rescue workers, who had been discussing over a map, quickly moved to action upon seeing the lady Geon brought, and several of them rushed her to an ambulance. Seeing Geon about to run back up, one of the rescue workers urgently called out in English,

"Come with us!"

Geon paused briefly for them, and in no more than a few seconds, six rescue workers, loaded with gear, followed him up. They dispersed upon reaching the top, each starting on their tasks. Geon raced back to where the lady had been extracted. The Nepalese men, exhausted from the prolonged effort, were sprawled over the rocks.

That day, Geon continued until sunset, clearing debris, transporting the injured, and recovering the bodies of the deceased. The rescue operation, which lasted until two in the morning, paused only at eight in the evening when darkness rendered visibility null. However, once government officials brought in large lights and set them up, the work resumed.

It was just past half-past two in the morning when a tired Geon entered a temporary tent down in the village. Turning on the tap, he first saw discolored water flow out. It took a while before the water ran clear. After a quick wash and a rough rinse of his dust-coated, whitened hair, Geon entered the tent. Inside, Chae-eun, also covered in dust, was drinking hot coffee. Seeing Geon, she stood up and said,

"Geon! Are you hurt anywhere? I saw you running down with someone on your back earlier."

Geon smiled weakly and replied,

"No, I'm not hurt. How about you?"

"I couldn't do much. They kept stopping me, saying it was too dangerous. Mostly, I just gathered lost children and handed them over to relief organizations."

"I see... Hah, sister, you mentioned volunteering during the Sichuan earthquake? Was it like this then?"

"No, that was three weeks after the earthquake had hit, so by then, anyone who could be rescued had been, and it was more about recovering bodies or helping with village reconstruction, not a hectic scene like this."

Geon flopped onto a makeshift bed, covering his face with his hands,

"I didn't expect it to be this severe. It's so different from what I imagined. How could something like this..."

Chae-eun brewed another cup of coffee and said,

"Yeah, everyone who sees a disaster site for the first time thinks the same. I felt that way too."

Handing Geon the coffee, he took a sip and looked outside the tent,

"There might still be people alive down there. But I'm too weak to help any further. I'm just in the way. I'm so powerless. Sob..."

As Geon began to sob, looking outside, Chae-eun moved to sit by his side. Hugging Geon's shoulder as he cried, Chae-eun said,

"I feel the same. We're so small and insignificant."

As Chae-eun too began to cry softly, the tent filled with the sound of their low sobs. Yeongseok, about to enter the tent, stood frozen at the entrance upon hearing their cries. Tired from assisting, but unable to maintain composure hearing the young duo's sobs, Yeongseok pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

Under the bright lights, with equipment being moved in the background, Yeongseok's eyes deepened. Entering the tent after washing up, he found Chae-eun and Geon had already fallen into a deep sleep from exhaustion. Considering Chae-eun's sleep, he gently woke Geon, who was sleeping curled up on the floor,

"Geon, there's a single-person tent next to this. You should sleep there. This is the command tent; people will be coming and going."

Just having fallen asleep, Geon groggily asked,

"Bro, did you just get here?"

"Yeah, I came a bit ago, washed up and came in. Wake Chae-eun and move to the tent together."

"Okay, bro. You should get some rest too. It must be tough."

"Alright, don't worry and sleep."

After ushering Chae-eun to the single-person tent and entering another himself, Yeongseok lit another cigarette while gazing at the disaster site. The chaos reflected in the smoke from his cigarette seemed almost like broad daylight under the bright lights. Yeongseok sighed deeply with the cigarette smoke,

"Sigh…"

>

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