"What do you mean it was a 'hallucination'?" I demanded. Mars gazed at me in amusement. "What else does it mean? The old woman and the murderers you met, none of it actually happened."
"But I activated my SENSE. Wouldn't I have noticed?" I protested.
"Only if the one casting the illusion was a lowly spirit. But this was a very sophisticated spirit," Mars explained in admiration.
"What kind of spirit was it? And why would they do such a thing?" I asked sullenly. My fun was ruined thanks to Mars. He licked his paw before answering.
"If this was a thousand years ago, I would say 'Dokkaebi', but they've been sealed away. They were a bunch of tricksters who liked to prank people by casting illusions on them."
"And now?"
"I have no idea," he admitted.
I was about to insult the cat when my phone rang. 'Ooh aah, just a little bit. Ooh aah, a little bit more!' Mars gave a snigger. "You still into the nineties?" he smirked as I answered.
"Are you still into medieval tavern music?" I hissed. "Hello. Nathan McNeill is speaking. How can I make your day?" I said brightly. Mars' tail swished in scorn as he moved to lay down on the island.
"Morning Mr.McNeill. We obtained your email on our list." Don't tell me, telemarketers?
"Sorry, but I don't want anything," I instantly rejected.
"No, no. Please don't misunderstand. Ha, ha. I'm the manager of the Haeinsa Temple Museum. I called because we believe we may require your services?"
"So, when will it be convenient for you?" I asked directly. I smell money!
After hanging up, I turned to Mars.
"You're coming with me, right?" I inquired firmly. I wanted to use FULL FORM. "If I must," he yawned.
It was stormy the next day, so I phoned an Uber to drive us to the temple. I'm getting weary of all the turbulent weather. I miss the sun. Haeinsa was all the way in South Gyeongsang, so the ride took hours.
And drained my pocket too. When we ultimately arrived, I was exhausted. (Just from sitting?) A bald-headed man in a red suit proceeded towards us, all smiles.
"Welcome! Nathan McNeill, I presume? I'm Manager Kim Huyn-sik. I called you on the phone yesterday." He clasped my hand enthusiastically. "Profoundly grateful you came. Come with me."
I carried Mars with me as we entered the temple. It truly was a marvel, especially since it has stood here since the ninth century. As my compatriot happily described, but it's a dull story to me.
"Haeinsa Temple is a Buddhist temple and is the head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Seon Buddhism.
Haeinsa is most notable for being the home of the Tripitaka Koreana, the whole of the Buddhist Scriptures carved onto 81,350 wooden printing blocks—" Blah, blah. Why did he invite me if he's only going to yap on and on?
"Manager? Why am I here?" I interrupted abruptly.
"Oh! My apologies. I got carried away for a moment. Wait here. I will bring the witnesses who will tell you what happened."
"Pardon? Hold on—" I started. He grinned kindly, patted my shoulder and scurried off.
Wait. What am I supposed to do in the meantime? Mars lay curled up in his cat carrier, completely disinterested in his surroundings. I prodded his fur.
"I know you're awake. Say something." He cuffed my hand away and covered his face with his paw, spurning me completely. Damn cat.
I slumped against a pillar and observed the passing monks in grey attire. They bowed politely but never spoke. Did this temple have a vow of silence?
"I've returned, Mr. McNeill. And I've brought you two of the witnesses," Manager Kim informed me cheerfully.
What a kind guy. I don't like him. The two men behind him were young monks.
"Left is Junsu, on the right is Ki-Ha," he introduced the two. We all bowed respectively.
"Manager, let's find a place to sit down. I think we're going to conduct a lengthy conversation," I suggested. He acknowledged and escorted us to a room that contained only a large bell on some drums.
"This will allow us privacy. Junsu, Ki-Ha. Describe everything to Mr. McNeill."
"Yes, Master." Junsu got up. "I'll start. It began three weeks ago," he started.
"We arose for our duties like every morning. I was polishing the buddha statues when I sensed it move. Initially, I thought there was an earthquake, but when I asked no one else experienced anything. Therefore, I wrote it off as my imagination.
But the next day it was the same. The statue moved again. Now let me inform you that these statues weigh more than five tons.
Therefore imagine my shock to see it move without at least the strength of ten men. I concluded that it could be nothing but the supernatural, so I ran to report it to our elders. But they refused to believe me."
"As you would expect they will. Something like that doesn't sound plausible," I affirmed. Ki-Ha nodded.
Junsa continued, "I refused to work in the statue room, so I was reassigned to clean outside." Don't monks sit and meditate? What's with all this cleaning?
"Every time I fetched a broom, I would find it broken. When I tried to confront the supervisor, he blamed me instead. The others wouldn't mention anything regarding it.
Thinking I was causing havoc, I was booted and sent to filing." He looked upset.
"One of the senior monks was with me when it happened. I was assisting the elder when all the paperwork we were editing went flying. Initially, the elder thought it was me, only we realised that the papers weren't coming down.
They hovered in the air before being shredded to pieces. That scared the elder, and he informed the head monk."
Sounds like some poltergeist, but Ki-Ha still had his testimony. "What about you?" I asked. Junsu returned to his seat and Ki-ha stood up determinedly.
His slight frame was straight, as if he was about to give a presentation. He looked hilarious, "It happened six days ago," he announced loudly. I flinched. Dude, my ears.
"For a client's request, I assisted my supervisor in producing an inked print from a wooden printing block. This is a job that requires concentration and meticulous care. That is what I was taught!" he exclaimed proudly. This kid is a new monk, isn't he? Ki-Ha went on hollering,
"When we were about to start the second sheet, we discovered the first sheet was completely black! The supervisor knew it wasn't me because he was instructing me the entire time.
We tried finding out if there was a prankster, but no one was discovered to be in the vicinity at the time. It was baffling!" He shook his head in confusion. I wanted to plug my ears.
"Another time was when I fed some stray cats!" Mars' ears twitched at this. "They all usually eat heartily when I feed them. But two days ago the cats won't stop screaming and yowling in the yard. They just dropped dead as we all watched in horror. My poor kitties!" Tears dropped down his cheeks.
"Anything else?" I wondered impatiently. He jerked his head eagerly. "Lots! I heard clanging in the toilets—"
"Okay, okay. I think he gets the idea. Can you help, Mr. McNeill?" Manager Kim inquired hurriedly. Ki-Ha sat down disappointedly. He likely had more stories he wanted to relate.
"I need to investigate first, but I do have a clue," I said smilingly.
"Oh good. How long do you need? Is there anything I can support you with?" he graciously offered.
"Not long. A few hours. And as for payment, it'll be fifteen million won. Also, sign here." I thrust the contract under his nose. "F-fifteen million?" He squinted at the paper. "Oh my," he uttered. Hey, you're a world heritage site; you're bound to receive a lot of cash.
Manager Kim coughed and replied meekly, "I guess any amount will do for peace, but I'll have to speak with the head monk."
I got up and shook myself off. "I'm certain it will. Thanks for the information. I'll get right to work now, so can you inform the others not to disturb me?" I flicked my ponytail and smiled.
The manager was still staring at the contract as he nodded. "I'll notify them."