‘Ah, in that case, it’s an excellent idea to put them there,’ he pointed the rectangular flower-bed in front of the Main Hall. How splendid! I was congratulating myself on our luck. Just imagine, two splendid magnolias growing in front of the Main Hall of a temple. We will often come together to see how they are doing. Two monks came out from the inner quarters and started digging at either end of the flower-bed. When the holes were ready we took one each and planted them helped by the young men. After covering the roots and filling in the hole I smoothed the soil, treading on it to make it firm. I gave the plant a final jerk and watered it generously. I think it will grow into a splendid tree and produce magnificent flowers.
‘It is in commemoration of a special occasion. I would be obliged if you would take great care of them,’ he said. The term ‘commemoration of a special occasion’ roused a strange excitement in me.
‘Of course, I will,’ said the abbot. He looked pleased too. We were now being treated as honoured guests. We were shown into a room attached to the kitchen where we could eat the food we had brought. From outside it seemed a low-lying shack but it was spacious inside, cool and clean. There were two sets of sliding doors, one leading to the kitchen from which we had entered the room, and another looking out onto a small courtyard. We opened the latter, and across the courtyard, a splended scene came in view. Ridge lines of lower hills dense with trees stretched out as far as to the distant housing estate of Chŏngnŭng, the houses like a group of playing cards shimmering in a mirage. The doors to the kitchen slid open and a woman politely pushed in a small table with some side dishes of vegetables, two spoons and two sets of chopsticks, and two bowls of cold water. As a token of thanks, I handed her the spare lunch box. When she withdrew, I sat opposite him across the table. We smiled at each other. I was happy that all had gone well so far.
‘This is not very good but I prepared it with care, so I hope you enjoy it, ‘ I said as I handed him his lunch – rice tightly rolled in dry sheets of laver, with savoury centres of beef, eggs, dressed spinach and pickled turnip, then sliced into mouth-size pieces.
‘It’s delicious. I didn’t know you could cook so well.’ He finished his quickly and had some more of mine. Now that my stomach was full, I was overcome by drowsiness. My legs ached and every joint in my body seemed to be melting like candle wax. I longed for a nap.
‘I shall be very ill tomorrow. It’s my first climbing you see.’
‘I must say I was impressed. The dogged way you followed me was wonderful.’
‘I didn’t follow you. You just walked a couple of paces in front of me, that’s all.’
He gave his charming chuckle again. ‘You and your pride. I know your type. You can’t bear to be second or defeated, can you?’ I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. He guessed right. I am like that. Being second rate or defeated has rarely been part of my experience so far.
By now I could not keep my eyes open. As I leaned back against the wall they just drooped shut. When I forced my eyes open I saw, a couple of feet away, his burning eyes looking into mine. His face was tense as if he was going to have a fit.
‘When you are alone with a man in a room, make sure the door is left open. You can’t go too wrong if you think he is a hungry wolf. A tired face of a woman arouses a particular temptation in a man, so ideally you should meet him in the day time rather than in the evening.’ These were the words of the domestic science teacher at high school as she gave the last, special lessons to the school leavers. How Miae and I hated her guts. But at this moment her voice rang in my ears sweetly. I sat up straight and smoothed my hair and clothes. He must have sensed my alarm.
‘You must be very tired. Look, I’ll go out for a stroll and leave you to yourself so that you can relax and have a good nap.’
I don’t know how long he went out for but I must have instantly dozed off. When I woke up I felt refreshed. I went out into the courtyard to look round for him. Some distance away I saw him sitting on a flat rock, his back against a large tree. I felt guilty. He really is a gentleman. He would have waited there for as long as it took for me to sleep and feel rested.
‘Mr Kwŏn –’ I called loudly as I ran up to him. From there the conquest of the summit was easily done. The view from there was breathtaking but the summit itself was bare, just a few large rocks and a strong breeze. There was no need to stay long.
‘We might as well go down,’ I said. ‘The pleasure of the moment of a conquest does not last long, does it? Yet for this brief moment of happiness we’ve come all that dangerous way taking hours.’ It was meant to be a casual remark but he seemed to be impressed by it. He uttered a moan-like ‘Mmn,’ followed by a deep sigh.
Following the advice of the people at the temple we took a short-cut down. I found coming down was much easier than going up. I was pleased that it had been such a good day. We walked on in silence for some time. I broke it.
‘What a good climbing course this is. I shall come here often now,’ then went on chirpily, ‘Whose tree, do you think, will do better?’
His response was quite unexpected. ‘No doubt yours will, Miss Yun.’ He sounded solemn and formal.
‘Why’s that?’
‘For one thing, you will come here more often, I suppose.’ I thought he was thinking about his going away to Pusan.
‘Miss Yun,’ he said. ‘While I’m away, will you look after my tree as well as your own?’ His face and voice were so solemn and tragic. What did this sudden change mean? Cautiously I put in ‘Will you be in Pusan all the time from now on?’
‘Well, all being well, I hope to come back within a year or two at the most but...’ he trailed off in a weak voice.
‘It looks as though this is going to be the first and the last time that you and I will come together.’ I added imitating his tone of voice, ‘Mr Kwŏn, would you look after my tree as well as yours in my absence?’
He looked at me with inquiring eyes.
‘By the time you are back I shall be in the United States. I hope to be there by next spring at the latest.’
I hoped he would challenge my phrase ‘the first and the last time,’ by saying something like ‘We can still come together when you are back from America,’ but all he gave was a deep sigh.
‘Whichever one of us it is, each time we come, shall we agree to leave a white stone beneath each other’s tree?’ My mind was full of imaginary incidents like fairy-tales that might evolve from the magnolia tree.
In the middle of a gentle slope not far from the housing estate of Chŏngnŭng, we passed a huge beech tree. Beneath it was a bamboo grove. Out of season the bamboo was not lush but its dry leaves had fallen and were scattered thick all around like straw matting. It looked a comfortable place. No one suggested it, but we simultaneously sat down, leaning our backs against the tree. The sun seemed to be in a great hurry. One could almost hear its striding footsteps as it sets. Trails of smoke from cooking supper drifted over the houses. Feeble light lingered on where we sat. Not a bird twittered nor a leaf rustled in the bamboo grove. Blissful calm.
Then I saw rising on the horizon a mushroom of black cloud.
‘Oh, dear, we are in for a shower,’ I said.
‘Why, are you afraid of gettingg wet?’
‘No,
