“A favor? It is not. I am also lending you. Jinsun, bring me a pen.”


  Mussang gave and received.

  “I see!”


  Jinsun turned back, still grinning luminously. She had asked Mussang on the day of the housewarming. Why was he pouring tremendous amounts of money into a desert for total strangers?

  [A human life barely lasts a hundred years. It doesn’t matter who I am but how I live. We already know how we shall live. The Buddha, Jesus, and other visionaries showed by the example of their lives. One of the most pathetic existences in the world is to be a fake monk who is obsessed with Buddhist adages and wastes years pondering them. If you live like the Buddha, you will be the Buddha. No amount of meditation and adage-pondering will get you there. To live like the Buddha is to console a tired soul and to house a tired body. If you yell a Buddhist adage to a person on the edge of a rock cliff, ready to jump, will they respond? If the Jewish people entered Canaan after years of wandering in the wilderness, will their strife come to an end? No. Utopia literally means a place that exists nowhere. Life itself is strife. The place it takes place shouldn’t make much of a difference. Then what shall humans live for? Hope. Humans live for hope. Hope dilutes the ordeal of reality and empowers them to live. People don’t live to be happy. People feel happy to live. Happiness and hope are like mirrored images. You feel those emotions through others. If you make someone smile, that smile turns into your happiness.]

  When he had finished talking and grinned, Jinsun felt a sudden pang of fear. She feared that Mussang would turn into a magical hermit and be gone on a stork’s back. Dubaiburupa! The foreigners had referred to him with that name. They genuinely loved and followed Mussang.

  Many families like Yeonghui’s regained hope thanks to the Pungguk syndicate, the evil loan shark, being dismantled. With hope, happiness naturally followed. That man who smiled playfully with an unassuming face was Dubaiburupa who sowed hope and gathered happiness. He was her man whom she loved more than her own life. Jinsun’s heart, also, was filled with happiness.

  Mussang held out the debt settlement receipt and pen to Gim Gitaek as indifferently as an innkeeper handing a receipt to a guest.

  “I will sign it! I have some face left.”


  Gim Gitaek, with a bright face, signed and stamped the document without even reading it. Mussang had paid his tremendous debts. Considering it as borrowing from Mussang was the least he could do. Mussang had relieved the burden on his heart as well. Could there be any young man as righteous and thoughtful as him? Gim Gitaek had never felt as much intense happiness filling up his heart as he signed a loan contract.

  Borrowed Amount: 6,000,000 won (six hundred won)

  Effective Date: August 28th, 1986

  Repayment Date: August 27th, 1996

  Repayment Method: installments over seven years starting after three years have passed since the Effective Date

  Annual Interest Rate: 10 percent Interest Payment Method: to pay a twelfth of the annual interest at the end of each month

  Special Considerations: In case of failure of payment, the borrowing party shall pay with labor. The rates will follow that of a field leader in Novatopia

  The borrowing party had borrowed the aforementioned amount on the above conditions…


  Gyesun, stealing a glimpse at the document,

  said.

  “What are special considerations? It is basically saying that Mr. Gim doesn’t need to pay any interest and just live in the outhouse.” “Gyesun!”


  Mussang, caught in his attempt at generosity, laughed. It was not troublesome at all. The vast manor had many outhouses. If there were few residents, the space would feel creepy. With Mr. Gim’s family living together with them here, there would be a pleasant, bustling ambiance. It would be quite joyous to watch them regain their former happiness too.

  “What?”


  Gim Gitaek reread the text of the contract. It was as the young woman said. It insinuated that Mussang would consider household chores as interest payment.

  “Well!”


  Gim Gitaek tried to subdue his hotly welling-up eyes with shy laughter. In the world was an evil wretch like Gang Minseok and also a bodhisattva like Bak Mussang. He felt a sudden urge to labor hard for him.

  “Why did the loan sharks give up so easily? They are tenacious and…”


  Gim Gitaek, overcome with emotion, couldn’t finish his sentence.

  “I persuaded them. Then they burned the contract and documents in the safe at once. They were quite nice than expected.” “What?”


  Gim Gitaek and Ms. Yang’s mouths were agape in awe. If the evil leech Gang Minseok and the loan sharks could ever be qualified as “nice,” there would be no real nice people left in the world.

  “How does that make sense?”


  “Maybe they suddenly wanted to be the Buddha.”


  Mussang continued to grin. They were better off not knowing. The five sisters giggled and Gim Gitaek kept muttering to himself and shook his head. He was beginning to understand what Mussang meant when he said he persuaded them.

  Yeongji, returning from school, yelped in joy. The handsome bachelor had resolved their debts. Now she never had to see the smelly thugs ever again.

  “I love you, Mussang!” Yeongji hugged Mussang and kissed him on the cheek. “Behave!”


  Yeonsun smacked the back of Yeongji’s head. Gyesun dragged her away.

  “Yeonghui, I am afraid of these sisters.”


  “Yeongji, they spared your life this time. Even I get smacked when I hit on Mussang. You dare not. The first rule of living in Eungsimje, do not ever hit on Mussang physically. Do you get

  it?”


  “I get it.”


  Yeongji nodded frantically at the honest threat. The eldest, Jinsun was always quiet. But the second and third sisters were tougher than most men. However, Yeongji had something else to be surprised at.

  Neopchi brought five lackeys and entered the front gate. Jinsun, informed in advance brought them to an outhouse. Neopchi dropped a hefty fishing bag onto the ground. It was the weaponry he had collected yesterday. “Mussang, I brought them!” “Yeah, hand it to Yeonsun.”


  Neopchi hauled the bag onto the wide wooden floor and took out the tools inside. Tomahawks, iron pipes, sashimi blades, handaxes, chains, swords, and shurikens were brought out one by one. Those were the weapons the Japanese and Pungguk thugs wielded. Gim Gitaek’s family gasped at the deadly weapons but the five sisters were indifferent. They were used to seeing such objects.

  Mussang’s instincts were always on point. Every thug was punished and their weapon confiscated. The same with the burglars in the streets. Mussang, due to his distasteful experience being framed, developed a habit to collect and keep evidence. He was going to submit them in case the punished thug ever sued him.

  It was Yeonsun’s job to label and organize the weapons. She simply wrote the date, location, name, and a brief description of what happened on the label. The storage for miscellaneous items at the corner of the living room was the armory. In the space, every item that had the remotest possibility to be used as a weapon was stored. Some even had blood and hair still clung to it.

  “Look, you are quite broad-shouldered. Wash this for me.”


  Yeonsun, collecting the weapons, hurled the bloody iron pipes and axes to Neopchi.

  “Yes, m’lady.”


  Neopchi brought the bloody weapons to the outdoor faucet where the water was pressurized.

  “You shouldn’t be washing the evidence.”


  Mussang complained.

  “Mussang, you are being silly. No one would ever retaliate. No one would dare come near our house.”


  Because Mussang routinely confronted thugs and criminals, there was a heap of weapons in the storage room. Yeonsun, who had to smell blood every time, was quite stressed out about the whole thing. She had asked Jinsun to discourage Mussang but she only laughed.

  “Then sell it all to a used iron collector.”


  “What are you even saying? He will call the police at once. These are loan sharks. Even their weapons are as wretched as their owners. They should have stuck to sashimi blades only. Iron pipes are quite a laughing matter.”


  Yeonsun hurled the various weapons into a big box and slammed the door shut. Those were not the words a young woman in her early twenties would commonly say. Having heard of Yeonsun’s complaints and charismatic personality, Ms. Yang and her two daughters’ faces paled. The girls started to hiccup with speed.

  “Yeonsun, please take kindly to me.”


  Neopchi bowed 90 degrees. For him to be at ease, the favor of the maidens was necessary. Among the five sisters, Yeonsun was in charge of morale. If it were the military, she was like being tasked with comms duties. “It will depend on how you behave.”


  “I brought you a pig.”


  Neopchi smiled shyly and pointed at the Pony he drove here. Before Yeonsun had time to answer, Yeonghui and Yeongji went, opened the trunk, and moved the pork to the kitchen. It was quite an odd sight for two young girls to move heavy meat like that.

  “Are they high?”


  Mussang wondered. Yeonghui and Yeongji used to be resigned and only did the chores you told them to do. Now, they actively sought things to do. It was a good thing to happen. Humans are used to collective living. If they got used to a collective living here, maybe it was going to be good for their mental health. Mussang postponed the thought to call Dr. Giz. He hadn’t seen the subtle smile across Yeonsun’s lips. Evolutionary biology was not always right. Yeonghui and Yeongji, before they had time to adapt to a collective living, had to tiptoe around to not slight Yeonsun.

  “Mussang, I would like to see the great monk today.”


  “You went through hell. Rest more.”


  “No. Thanks to you, we have been rescued. The girls are going to school again. My husband is preparing to open a store. I shall do what I need to do. You told me that the aged great monk is living alone without anyone to tend to him.”


  Ms. Yang pointed at her packed luggage. She was eager to leave now.

  “What is your husband preparing to do?” “He will buy a Porter and sell toast and hot buns filled with sweet red bean paste. He will need to sell anything, even water or dirt, to pay back your favor.”


  “He will do well. Then let us go.”


  Mussang nodded. Gim Gitaek had a strong spirit. He once had more than a hundred employees. For him to fall to his current state must have been taxing for his heart. The only thing he could do now was to observe him.

  “Why is Teacher out the door? That doesn’t happen often.”


  When the Citro?n turned a corner on a mountain road, Mussang’s eyes widened. The short-statured monk was leaning against a pillar and whistling. Recognizing the song, Mussang couldn’t help but smile. He was whistling “Only the Dandelion” aptly and masterfully. He still retained his childlike aspect. But Mussang had somehow a bad feeling.

  “How come you came out here to welcome

  me?”


  “Who would go through all that hassle for you? You are tainted by the cruel fate and all the kissings in the mundane world!”


  Priest Daeu shouted. The atmosphere grumbled.

  “I have a guest!”


  Mussang was astonished by sudden Psychokinesis.

  “People eat pork today. Greet properly.”


  The wild-spinach staff tapped the top of Mussang’s head.

  “Ouch!”


  Mussang feigned pain, grasping his air, and scanned Teacher’s face.

  ‘He is quite angry? Is his TV broken? What did he mean by the cruel fate of the mundane world?’


  Mussang had no idea that the Teacher was angry because of him. From Priest Daeu’s perspective, his student who failed right at the threshold of enlightenment could only be seen as a failure.

  “Teacher, have you been well?”


  Mussang bowed on the ground. The staff tapping had some attitude to it today. His head was ringing. “Mussang, for an old monk-like me to whistle ‘Only the Dandelions,’ do you think I have been well? Well, I have been somewhat well thanks to you. I am riding a Harley and blaring tunes on highways. It is quite a good fate for a monk.”


  Priest Daeu lamented. Mussang, always quick with his hunches, had already read Teacher’s sentiments from his choice of the song. A direct apology was the best policy here.

  “Teacher, I also seek to inherit the temple. I have never forgotten it. I am doing my best every day. You should take care of your health. If I am not up to your standards, maybe one of my children will. You should be able to oversee

  it all.”


  “You never train your soul but your tongue! I eat well, release well, and walk around well. You have brought a beautiful bodhisattva here. You must have realized that I was growing lonely during the long nights here. I am finally seeing some astuteness in you, who have always been quite dumb!”


  Priest Daeu’s face softened quickly. If Mussang’s child inherited his temple, that was also quite auspicious. “Teacher, please think of your face. She is one of my acquaintances. She will tend to the temple’s chores. Sister, say hello.”


  Ms. Yang, who was awestruck in the conversation between a student and his teacher, which was quite beyond the scope of this realm, flinched.

  “Dear great monk, my name is Yang Mija. I don’t quite have fortune’s favors. When I was suffering, your student helped me out of it. I will tend to you well.”


  Priest Daeu gazed at the middle-aged woman who politely joined her hands together with merciful eyes. The woman exuded sincerity and sophistication. But there was a certain shadow remaining in her being.

  ‘How can a person’s eyes look that kind?’


  Ms. Yang glanced at Priest Daeu and felt her heart melt in kindness. The old monk’s eyes had purity in them like an infant child’s. They also had immense reserves of kindness.

  “You have quite a good-natured demeanor. You are not to be led to a shabby temple like this. You are temporarily tampered with by evil forces. I wonder if it was Mussang’s fault?”