14. The only thing worse than an incinerator is a nursery school?
“Are you sure it was Friday evening, March 6th?”
There was no confusion about the day I met the purification monk.
How could I be confused on the very day I was destroyed like a dog?
Then he must be confused.
Yes, he must be.
It doesn’t make sense, does it?
“I don’t know why you’re asking, but I’m pretty sure it was Friday evening, March 6th, and I remember talking to the monk in the daytime about it already being Gyeongchip, and I’ve known him for more than a dozen years, so I can’t be wrong about the day he entered the monastery, can I?”
“Oh, no, no, no, that’s not possible.”
I was getting scared.
What kind of horror is this?
Isn’t this the home of a legend?
“No, I’m the one you’re looking for, what’s wrong with you?”
The middle-aged man seemed to be getting uncomfortable, but I didn’t have the presence of mind to fathom his mood.
“Because it can’t be.”
“What do you mean?”
“Because, on Friday evening, March 6th, I met a monk, and I was given a bead—.”
“What, what?”
The middle-aged man, whom I assumed to be the abbot Yang Hye-won, was also dumbfounded and questioned me in astonishment.
“That can’t be right, you must have mixed up the dates, right?”
“How I wish it were so, but that day is one I can’t forget. I was dumped by my lover, and then—. Alas, it is the day of my destruction, and I cannot confound it.”
“hehehe, such a thing as this, can you tell me the circumstances of your meeting with the monk that day?”
“Hah, that’s right—.”
I told the middle-aged man the details of what happened that day.
How the monk had come out to talk, how I only had a 50,000 won note, and how I hesitated for a while before handing it over, and how the monk saw it and filled it with prayer beads.
After hearing my explanation, the middle-aged man closed his eyes and began to say something unintelligible.
“Good, good, good. Good man, good man. Good, good man.
“What? What are you talking about?”
Suddenly, the middle-aged man’s expression lost its unpleasantness, and he even smiled.
“I think it’s correct that Monk Zheng met with you that day.”
“So, you’re saying that he went out and came back and died?”
“No, the monk didn’t go out anywhere that day; he stayed in his room the whole time, and then he went into withdrawal.”
“Oh, no, that’s scary, why do you keep saying that, and what’s a zatalepsy?”
The creepiness that had subsided for a moment returned.
“hehehe! What’s there to be scared of? And, by the way, zen is when you sit down and eat your way to nirvana.”
“…”
Yeah, I’m scared to death.
“First of all, monks don’t talk. It’s forbidden by the sect, and he doesn’t like it.”
“But why?”
“Perhaps he was going to see the shizhu, and he, too, was led by fate—.”
“No, I thought you said you didn’t go out?”
“It’s a matter of fate. How can He be attached to a physical body?”
“…”
I don’t know what I’m talking about.
To put it simply, the purification monk had either disembodied or appeared as a spirit for the sake of a predestined relationship with me.
Now that I say this, the monk’s last words bothered me more.
Did he say to work hard and accumulate good deeds as I am now?
Now that something so legendary had just happened to me, it was hard to ignore.
“What was the monk like?”
“In a word, he was the embodiment of the Bodhisattva of Guanxi Yin, who saves and guides sentient beings with compassion. He was originally from a good family and attended a prestigious university, which is rare for someone of his age.”
“No, why would such a person?”
“What’s the point of going on a retreat when the Buddha had the status of the most honorable prince?”
“…”
I am at a loss for words.
You said something about a good family and a prestigious university first.
“He was also known for his great wisdom, and sometimes he would say things that were incomprehensible, only to find out later that he was foreseeing the future.”
“I see.”
I don’t know how high up in the Dharma he was, but he was certainly no ordinary man.
“Whoa! I’m still scared and frightened. It’s like something that happened to me so long ago.”
“hahahaha! As long as you’re bright and good, what’s there to be afraid of? If you’re a monk, you must be a good and special person, and as long as you don’t change and continue to be brave, only good things will happen.”
“Thank you for your kind words. Are you the abbot?”
“Oh, no, I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Zhang Yuhuan, and I’m the director of the social welfare organization Yang Hye-won. Usually, I’m called Mr. Zhang, or Mr. Zhang Gusa.”
“I’m Steel Sik. I do—.”
What should I say?
A rich white guy?
A former department store salesman?
A full-time investor?
I guess I’m thinking about being an investor, but not yet?
“An investor.”
Finally, an investor.
I mean, you invested $51 and made $1 trillion, right?
“I see.”
“So I’m telling you, since I met the monk that day, my investments have worked out well and I’ve made quite a bit of money.”
Not just a little, but a lot, a super-rich.
“hehehe, congratulations.”
“Thank you. Anyway, I have a connection with the monk, so I’d like to sponsor Yang Hye-won in the future. If there’s anything you’d like, let me know. By the way, I’ve made a lot of money, so you can feel free to ask.”
“That’s very kind of you to say, but actually, after the monk died, something happened.”
“What happened?”
“The land in the nursery is not all ours. There are about 350 plots of land, of which only 150 were bought by the monk long ago with the help of the family, and the rest was leased for free by a bodhisattva who sympathized with the monk’s high intentions.”
“But?”
“The problem is that the bodhisattva passed away a few years ago. He was supposed to donate it to our orphanage during his lifetime, but his children objected, so he didn’t get his way, and then—.”
“Well, it’s a video.”
He was against it in life, and when he’s dead, it’s over.
It’s an inheritance that even siblings who got along well would argue and fight, but if you leave them alone, you’re a real bodhisattva.
“Fortunately, they had a long-standing relationship with the purification monk, so they couldn’t tell him to leave immediately, but agreed to pay rent for what was once free, and so they did. In the meantime, the monk died, so the last obstacle was removed. As soon as the monk died, they sold the land.”
“Who were the people who bought it?”
“As soon as we sold the land, a company called Ocean Construction came to us. It turns out that most of the surrounding land was already in their hands, or was under contract to them, contingent on our land being bought. They said they were going to build apartments here, almost in the middle of our land, so we told them to get out when they offered us a good deal.”
“Hah, that’s pretty f*cked up. So?”
He seemed strangely caught off guard.
“So? If we sell this and leave, they have nowhere to go. We offered them two billion, where the hell are they going to go with that money?”
“Well—.”
“Besides, they really don’t have anywhere to go, even if they had the money.”
“Even if they have the money?”
“Yeah, the minute the word gets out that a nursery is going in, it’s over. The whole neighborhood comes out in force, and you can’t build it, because they’ll block the road.”
“Is it that bad?”
“Yeah, it’s more than that. The municipality will freak out. They won’t even give you a permit. Someone told me that ‘facilities’ like daycare centers are even more unwelcome than a garbage dump, because at least with a garbage dump, the municipality will give you something in return for going in, but with a facility, you don’t even get that.”
“…”
I trailed off in disbelief.
A nursery school is worse than a garbage incinerator?
Is this what you mean, Bangu?
“It’s not for nothing that nursery schools in Seoul and other big cities are located at the foot of Mount Kutmyeong, even in fringe neighborhoods like Eunpyeong, Geumcheon, and Gwanak. They were built a long time ago in areas where there was no opposition and the land was cheapest because the surrounding area was cabbage fields or dal-dong, but as the years passed, even these areas became densely populated.”
“So what happened?”
“Hah—.”
Mr. Zhang sighed heavily and then spoke again.
“It seems that the construction company that bought the land was not an ordinary construction company.”
“What do you mean, not an ordinary construction company?”
“What are they called, people who make a living?”
“What do you mean, people who make a living? Oh, gangsters?”
“Yes, gangsters, that’s right. Don’t those guys keep coming around and forcing you to sell your land, maybe even blackmailing you?”
“No, they’re henchmen!”
They have nowhere else to do their gangbangs, so they come to the nursery?
“They scare the kids, and the other day a baseball they threw broke the glass and injured a child.”
“No. What about the police if they keep harassing you?”
“Well, like I said, our daycare center stands out in this area, and even the cars parked on the street are blamed on our kids, so the police see us as a nuisance. The last time I called the police because the threats seemed to be getting more and more intense, they told me to please leave them alone, and then they beat me up. So, you call the police?”
“Huh—.”
This is 21st century South Korea, right?
“Besides, they identified themselves as construction workers.”
“Hmm? That’s kind of weird.”
“It’s weird to me too, but they say they are employees.”
This is really suspicious.
They’re obviously making a living, but they’re employees of a construction company?
No sane construction company would do this sh*t themselves.
They usually hire them.
“I’ll look into it, just wait.”
I realized that no matter what I did, this was way out of my league.
I thought about it for a while, looked up the numbers Jeffrey had given me, and called them.
Durrr! Durrr!
– Hello? It’s Jinho Kim.
“Oh, hello?”
– Yes, go ahead. Where are you?
“My name is Alex, and I’m calling about Jeffrey in the US.”
– Ah! I heard about you from Jeffrey. I told you that Jeffrey is my best customer, hahahahaha!
From nob le mt l. co m
Jeffrey’s on the right track, huh?
“I’m calling to ask you a favor.”
– Make it easy on yourself. If you’re VVIP to Jeffrey, you’re VVIP to me.
“It’s about—.”
I tell him it’s a nursery I sponsor, and give him a rundown of what’s happened so far.
– I said, “I’m going to make sure I’m on top of things, but please don’t get involved in any violence. This is going to get complicated. I’ll call this number in two hours.
“Got it.”
Apparently, he had called the right number.
There was no hesitation whatsoever as I listened to this headache.
Where the hell are Jeffrey’s connections?