Devil’s Music

About 15 minutes later, Geon Kim, who had been soundly asleep, opened his eyes.

"Huh? When did I fall asleep? How long have I slept?"

Trying to regain his senses, Geon vigorously shook his head and lifted his body up from the bed, dangling his legs off the side. As he was trying to wake up fully by rubbing his face with his hands, Yeongseok entered the tent, pushing the door open.

"Huh? You fell asleep already? Well, it was a meeting with the President of the United States, so you must have been tense. Are you feeling okay?"

Rubbing his eyes, Geon responded.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I didn't think I was that tired, but I guess I passed out without even realizing."

Yeongseok handed him a drink, saying,

"Try this. You like this, right?"

Geon tilted his head, looking at the drink Yeongseok handed him. It wasn't a canned drink but an orange-colored beverage in a plastic bottle, prominently labeled 'Stewart's Cream Soda'. Taking the drink, Geon asked Yeongseok,

Drinking from another bottle of the drink he held, Yeongseok replied,

"Ah! This really hits the spot. That chief secretary or something said you'd like it and left a few boxes. But now that I think about it, it’s odd. He was a stranger, yet he knew your drink preference?"

Geon grimaced and laughed after drinking.

"They must have done their research on me. But researching down to my drink preference seems a bit creepy, doesn't it?"

"Well… they probably didn’t intend to research your drink preference specifically. He’s an aide to the President of the United States; maybe it just came up during their background check. Don’t think too much about it. Logically, they would’ve done some homework."

"Haha, well, it's okay. Thanks to this, I got to taste such a drink in Nepal."

"What did you talk about with the President anyway? The journalists were really curious."

"Nothing much, just some compliments. Nothing else really memorable."

"What? That’s it? They moved all those people for just that? Sounds bland."

"Haha, you react just like Chae-eun noona, brother."

Yeongseok, holding the drink, plopped down next to Geon, who was sitting on the bed.

"Should we go now? It's almost been two months since we came here."

"Yeah, we should slowly start preparing. Now that more volunteers are coming in, there’s not much left for us to help with."

"Right, Chae-eun must be feeling the pressure too. She's currently the talk of the town in Korea, so her schedule is getting packed. The company seems to be in a frenzy telling her to come back since she's done enough to stir the pot."

"Yeah, brother. Let's start preparing to go back."

"Alright, then… Oh? Timo, the village chief?"

Just as Yeongseok was about to speak, Timo peeked inside the tent through the fabric serving as the door. Recognizing Timo, Yeongseok opened the tent further and said,

"Sorry for dropping by suddenly. I came to pay my respects to Deva."

"Ah, yes! Come in, please. Geon, I'll go check our flight schedule. Have a chat!"

As Yeongseok left the tent, Geon stood up and said to Timo,

"Please have a seat, chief. I'll make you some tea."

Timo, leaning on his cane, hesitated upon realizing the only place to sit was the bed, until Geon, with a smile, pulled up a makeshift chair for him.

"Please sit here, chief."

"Ah, thank you, Deva."

"Ah, really, I'm not a Deva, but you keep calling me that."

Timo did not stop referring to Geon as Deva, regardless of what Geon said. Watching Geon brew tea with a benevolent smile, Timo asked,

"When will you be leaving, Deva?"

"Ah! I told you, I'm not a Deva."

"Yes, Deva."

"Sigh… I should start preparing soon."

"Will you be leaving soon?"

"Probably, there's not much left for me to help with."

As Geon handed Timo a steaming cup of tea and pulled another makeshift chair to sit opposite him, Timo took a sip of the tea and looked at the cup in surprise.

"Huh? First flush? This is high-quality tea, Deva. You've gotten quite good at brewing tea."

Laughing, Geon took a sip from his cup.

"I've been living in

Nepal for two months now. Serving tea to the guests who visited me, I naturally improved. It feels like my skills are peaking just as I'm about to leave, though I'll probably forget all about it once I'm back in Korea. Haha."

"When are you leaving?"

"Well, I need to check the flight schedule and sort things out here, so maybe in about a week."

"Um.. I see. Uh... Deva."

"Yes? Ah! I responded without thinking again. I'm not a Deva, okay?"

"Yes, Deva."

"Ahem! Yes, yes.. what is it, chief?"

"Haha, actually, in ten days, there's a night of Shiva at the Pashupatinath Temple."

"What's the night of Shiva?"

"It's a festival, also known as Shivaratri. Pashupatinath is also one of the most sacred Hindu temples. Since you're in Nepal, I thought you might want to see the festival. The Brahmins gathering for the festival also wish to pay their respects to Deva."

"Pashupatinath Temple? Ah.. I think I've heard of it. Where is it?"

"It's on the eastern riverbank of Kathmandu, Deva."

"Um.. I do want to see it, but I'm not sure if my schedule will allow it."

Timo spoke with a slightly urgent tone,

"It's a festival that people from all over the world want to see, Deva. When will you come to Nepal again? Don't miss this opportunity. It's not far from the capital, so it won't be difficult to return. Your group can go ahead, and I will accompany you."

After a moment of thought, Geon smiled.

"Alright, since I'm here, I might as well see it. My schedule doesn't match with my group, but I can return by myself. I do want to see it."

Timo beamed with joy and stood up excitedly.

"Thank you, Deva. The Brahmins were so eager to see you that I would have been stoned if I couldn't bring you, haha. Then, I'll prepare for your visit."

"Yes, chief. But I'll go by myself when the time comes. It's not far from Kathmandu, so I thought I'd take a walk and do some trekking."

"Ah, will you? How will you get to Kathmandu?"

"I'll go with the group when they leave."

"Ah, I see. Alright. I'll wait for you at the temple, Deva. It's in ten days. The festival lasts a week, so please remember."

"Yes, I understand, chief. Please go inside."

As Timo bowed politely, Geon went out of the tent to see him off until he was out of sight. That night, Geon expressed his wish to stay a little longer to Yeongseok and Chae-eun, smiling through Yeongseok's concerns about the dangers.

Three days later, a helicopter landed to take the Himalayan Song filming staff from the Gorkha village. As Geon turned to wave at the reporters calling out to him just before boarding the helicopter, numerous flashes went off. Geon's face, with its scruffy beard, was captured in photographs and spread around the world, moving many who saw it. The pictures were also released in Korea, prompting numerous netizens to leave comments.

- ChicYeonni: Look at Kay's beard, totally sexy

- chaos9999: That's the face of someone who's genuinely suffered and served, unlike some celebrities who lie about not washing for a week during their service in Africa.

- BlueAngel: I can't believe I'm third...

- Eunyayoung: You really worked hard ㅠㅠ

- FengYunHai: I cried a storm after seeing Kay's UNICEF ad

- GuroWhitey: No no my love Kay ㅜㅜ

- TheHolic: Kay!! You've earned the right to work more!

- ParaaanBlue: Really proud to be Korean

- EuitaeDad: I want continuous articles about Kay!!

- OLDBOY: Watching with interest.

- BlackDumpling: Seeing Kay's beard makes me want to make seaweed soup tonight~

- Supermarket: Hasn't Teacher Choi Tae-soo met at the Nepal earthquake site yet?

- Moon'sIrun: Recruiting for a Kay raid. Want to lock him in the basement and feed him only dumplings while making him sing.

**

As Geon and his group were heading to Kathmandu, a black buffalo was slowly walking along the cliff road from Lalitpur to the east of Kathmandu. The very old black buffalo moved sluggishly, its eyes unusually red and its body covered in wounds. A man sat atop it, his legs crossed, his throat dyed blue. The

man, scratching his blue throat as if it were a large spot, continuously muttered to himself while puffing on a tobacco pipe.

Turning his neck to the right, the man said in a fine voice,

"This Shivaratri, that guy is coming? Wonder what kind of guy he is."

Then, turning his neck to the left, the man spoke in a coarse bass voice,

"Vishnu, what's so curious to you?"

Straightening his neck, the man said in a gentle voice,

"Shiva, Vishnu can be curious about things, why not?"

"Brahma, have you forgotten how much trouble I went through because of Vishnu's curiosity?"

"Shiva, what did I do? I just wanted peace."

"Vishnu, you, ignorant of splendor, only longed for the land of milk and honey, leading to the sea of milk turning toxic and falling upon the earth! I had to swallow the poison to prevent it, turning my throat this color! This is deadly poison, I tell you, which is why I couldn't swallow it and ended up with a blue throat."

"And what about you, Shiva? You? Thinking your wife was unfaithful upon seeing a grown son and wife, you, a hasty father, beheaded your own son, didn’t you?"

"That was a mistake. My son has died only once so far, he still has many days ahead."

"Hehe, Shiva, Vishnu. How long will you argue?"

"Brahma, you stay out of it. If it weren't for you meddling, I would have smashed Vishnu's head in by now."

"You, thinking you're so powerful, frolicking recklessly, will get in trouble someday, Shiva."

"Who dares to scold me? Let them come."

"Shh, Vishnu, Shiva, both of you quiet down. The one coming to Shivaratri is backed by Gamagin."

"Pfft, let that high demon come at me."

"Kiki, don't be so cocky, Shiva. No matter how strong you are, fighting him would bring about the end of the world."

"Stop fighting and let's go quietly. We still have a long way ahead."

The man with a constantly shifting head, voicing different personas, slowly made his way along the beautiful cliff road towards Pashupatinath Temple.

>

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