As Giju Wishes Chapter 6.7

Ignoring Choi Geon’s words, Giju grabbed his arm, took off his shoes using the side door the elderly couple had entered through, and went inside the Dharma hall. As they entered, the scent of incense was familiar. Except for visiting one when he was very young, this was his first time in a proper temple like this. Jaeamsa Temple was too small in scale to be called a temple, so it was ambiguous.

Giju sat Choi Geon, who had an expression like he’d swallowed crap, on a cushion behind the monk, then knelt on the cushion right next to him.

Knock— Knock— Knock—

The regular sound of the wooden fish drum reverberated reverently inside the temple. Giju, too, waited for the practice to end in silent concentration, watching the appearance of the old monk who seemed like he would not fall even if a typhoon came. Choi Geon also had no choice but to remain silent in an environment where he could not make a fuss.

Knock— Knock— Knock….

For some, the tranquility was a true richness of the mind, but for others, it was an ordeal. Choi Geon, who had been kneeling for an unknown amount of time, began to shake his body as his patience slowly reached its limit. He had come to look for a person, not to perform asceticism, and he could not understand at all why he was doing this. What was even more incomprehensible were the people who looked extremely peaceful.

Everyone here except Choi Geon was cultivating their minds. Choi Geon, who was accumulating impure thoughts alone, had been glaring at the Buddhist statue since some point. He was already performing asceticism because of the ghost inside his body, whose face he did not even know, so there was not even an ant’s worth of reason to perform asceticism here.

When he secretly took out his cell phone, two hours had passed. Just as he was wondering if everyone’s legs were numb, the sound of the wooden fish drum stopped. Simultaneously, an elderly couple got up and left their seats. At that, Choi Geon stretched out his legs as if he had been waiting and looked at Giju. Giju was waiting for the old monk, lowering his hands that had been clasped together. Unlike usual, Choi Geon did not particularly rush Giju.

“Hello, Monk.”

Then, Giju finally spoke to the old monk, Hakdong, who finished his last prayer and turned his body.

“What is your Buddhist name…?”

Monk Hakdong looked at the clear, innocent eyes of Giju and momentarily thought he was the incarnation of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.

“Call me Hakdong.”

Hakdong said with a gentle smile.

“Monk Hakdong, I have something to ask. Do you have a moment? I won’t take up much of your time.”

Hakdong readily agreed to the cautious question.

“Do you happen to know Grandmother Park Shinja…? She is a shaman, and she is my grandmother. I was wondering if she might be here.”

Hakdong’s eyes widened as if surprised by the name Park Shinja.

“Are you her grandson?”

“Yes, I am her grandson.”

Giju answered without hesitation. Realizing it was the truth, Hakdong pondered and agonized for some reason.

“Hmm… It is true that the shaman stayed here.”

“Is my grandmother here now?”

Giju asked happily.

“Unfortunately, she stayed and then left.”

“…Oh, yes…?”

Giju asked with a stunned look at the mention that she was not here.

“Can you tell us where she went?”

Choi Geon, who was listening, asked instead of Giju. Then Hakdong shook his head.

“I cannot tell you that. It is the nature of the monks here to know but pretend not to know.”

It meant that asking other monks would also be futile. Choi Geon realized that prying would be useless. He could tell immediately that the monk in front of him was not some vague, wandering monk, seeing that he had not moved once for two hours.

“Then can you at least tell us when she left? Please.”

Choi Geon, having confirmed the shocked Giju, bowed his head and pleaded. However, Hakdong’s lips were heavy. He shook his head and firmly refused.

“I am sorry.”

“Monk, Monk. I am absolutely not looking for my grandmother with bad intentions. My friend desperately needs my grandmother’s help. Please believe me.”

At Giju’s earnest plea, Hakdong looked extremely apologetic.

“I knew early on that there are no three poisons in the eyes of the young Bodhisattva. Therefore, I believe you. However, did I not also take the shaman’s trust? If I betray that trust, what meaning does the current trust have? Please understand the heart of a Buddhist devotee who does not want to become a foolish sentient being before the Buddha.”

Giju could not say anything more. He could only look on helplessly.

“Amitabha. The path is not blocked. You just have not taken the new path yet.”

Hakdong, who spoke with a face as benevolent as the Buddha, left the spot after those words.

Giju, left in despair, bowed his head in apology.

“I am sorry, Geon.”

“If you are sorry, buy me ice cream down there.”

Unlike Giju, Choi Geon was unbothered. He was certain that he would get something if he raided Shaman Cheon. He thought if he gave a lot of money, she would spill the information. The last resort was to ask his grandfather to find the person. He was just concerned about Giju, who must be disappointed.

“I thought my grandmother would still be here since autumn hasn’t ended yet.”

At the disheartened remark, Choi Geon dragged Giju outside the temple and asked.

“So, are you going to give up?”

“No?”

“Then it is fine.”

Choi Geon, who put on his sneakers first, waited for Giju with his hands in his pockets. Instantly, a strong wind, like the breath of the Buddha, swept over his body. Covered by his fluttering hair, the blessing of a divine spirit was momentarily vaguely visible. Even though he knew it was an illusion, Giju’s eyes widened.

“Geon, Geon.”

Giju, who had not even put on his sneakers, anxiously called Choi Geon’s name and grabbed his collar. It was to confirm that he was present right in front of him.

“…You see me, right?”

“Of course I see you, you are grabbing me by the collar.”

He was grabbing his collar so tightly that a few buttons on his shirt came undone.

“Ah, sorry.”

Giju, who belatedly let go of the collar, straightened out the crumpled collar.

“Your outburst is a little rough?”

Choi Geon said it like a joke. But Giju could not joke with his pounding heart. As an aftershock, he just grabbed Choi Geon’s wrist.

“What is it? Did you grab me because you think I might run away?”

“Yes.”

Giju answered without hesitation. A soul disappearing was, in a large sense, running away.

“Why would I run away?”

“Just, you never know.”

Choi Geon let out a small, deflated laugh.

“I have something to receive from you, so I will absolutely not run away.”

He said that thinking of the wish he made jokingly at the entrance as the thing to receive.

“I do not have much money.”

“Hey. I know that better than you.”

“But everything else besides money is fine.”

Giju, who spoke brightly, went down the temple with Choi Geon. Their steps, walking down the path they came, were not heavy even though they had not achieved their goal.

“Monk Hakdong is right. There is a path everywhere.”

Choi Geon also agreed with that statement.

“We should still raid Shaman Cheon….”

“Ah! I should ask the people down there once.”

Giju suddenly exclaimed, having thought of something while looking at the various stores in the parking lot.

“What?”

“My grandmother wears a hanbok, right? Then she stands out. They might know something!”

It was not a bad idea. Since they were going to get ice cream anyway, it was better to ask while they were there.

“What a surprise, you used your head.”

“I thought of it when you said we should go get ice cream. If I cannot find out… I will call my grandmother.”

“She will not tell you, so why call?”

“You never know.”

Giju had known his grandmother’s number since he was little. However, he had never had a reason to call her in his life. No matter how many days or nights passed, his grandmother always came home if he waited.

He did not know if his strict grandmother would answer a number she did not recognize. He did not know if she would meet him right away even if he revealed himself. Everything he was doing, going outside without waiting, was new, so Giju was cautious and uneasy.

However, he wanted to try everything he could. If she did not answer, he would call multiple times, and if she did not agree to meet, he would throw a tantrum. Because, as Monk Hakdong said, there were no blocked paths.

“I will go ask over there! See you at the ice cream shop!”

Just as they reached the parking lot, Giju suddenly dashed out to the store at the very end.