Aeternum vale

Farewell forever.

Three days.

In those three days, Junhong accomplished so much. He quit his job, much to the distaste of his coworkers, ended up selling his apartment, and the majority of his worldly belongings had been packed in luggage he'd gone out and bought. The remaining money in his bank account had been either pocketed or donated. This was it. A part of him thought that it wasn’t real; that Yongguk was just a figment created by his lonely subconscious. What if he’d sold his apartment for nothing? Quit his job and really had nowhere else to go? No. Such thoughts led to worse ones and he wasn’t too big of a fan of dwelling. Before Junhong left, after two sleepless nights, he stood there and did something he didn’t usually like to do.

He dwelled.

His large television had been sold with the house, as with all of his appliances and furniture. The only thing of the like that he’d be bringing was his bamboo rice cooker he’d inherited from his parents. The years that he spent in that small, one-person apartment were boring, lifeless even. But they were nice. It was as if this little place was a buffer, before he moved from one place to the next. Those years of stagnating and crippling loneliness were just the bad before the good. Now, he had somewhere to be, a purpose. An adventure that he’d always dreamed of having. Junhong remembered the first time he stepped over the threshold into his new apartment and how proud he thought his parents must have been. Were they proud now, too? He was throwing everything he’d accumulated all for something that may or may not be a scam. But he trusted Yongguk. He didn’t know the man personally, but had a feeling he would be the one to kickstart his new life.

Junhong departed his former residence at three in the afternoon with the sun high overhead. It burned through his black t-shirt as he took one last long look at the little abode he’d called ‘home’ for the past handful of years. Wave after wave of nostalgia hit him and he almost dropped his things and ran back inside. He’d miss those nights where he lie awake doing nothing but staring at the messy lines of his bedroom ceiling to find pictures in the different . Those early mornings when he’d come home from work and settle himself on the couch with a bowl of ice cream to watch whatever illicit cartoons they’d be showing at that hour. And those days off where he cleaned, skateboarded on the sidewalk, or even just sat inside and played on his computer while the television buzzed in the background. Did he really want an adventure? Or was the idea just something he liked to think about in his spare time. After all, he was perfectly content with being ‘just Junhong.’

Shaking his head, he turned and made his way to the location Yongguk had detailed on a small piece of notebook paper in his messy, hastily done handwriting.

It seemed to suit him just fine.

———

What Junhong wasn’t expecting was… The forest. The address that Yongguk had given him wasn’t an address at all. After finally looking at it and through lots of Google-ing, the string of numbers on the page were coordinates. What a cryptic man. Of course, following them wasn’t difficult. He may have been living in a small town, but his smart phone worked the same as everyone else’s.

The coordinates were specific, and Junhong may or may not have gotten lost several times, but he finally made it to the faded orange tent in a clearing. There wasn’t much grass nor trees to speak of, but it still wasn’t easy to find. When Yongguk came out of the tent, he offered Junhong a smile, but he’d have none of that. He was hot, and sweaty, and upset from his long ‘nature walk’ around the forest. His brown boots were now covered in a good layer of dust from the sand he’d kicked in the air out of frustration and he was sweating in places he wouldn’t have been if he’d just stayed home. Finally, with a heaving sigh and a crossing of his arms, he said:

“Why are you so damn hard to find, Yongguk?!”

Said man laughed at him and Junhong couldn’t help but descend further into his brooding.

“It’s an illusion spell.” Yongguk gestured to the air, unintentionally showing off his elaborate tattoos. “Makes it harder to find us. Daisy’s no guard dog, afterall.”

Junhong perked up. Daisy? A girl? Yongguk had a girl with him? “Who’s Daisy?” He asked eagerly, images of the gorgeous and elusive Daisy Buchanan coming to mind.

As if on cue, rustling came from that hideous orange tent and if Junhong had been sitting on a seat, he’d be on the edge of it. However, a woman of the twenties, complete with a french bob and a flapper dress didn’t exit the tent. Instead, a large, hulking asiatic black bear strolled out with a yawn that showed off all of her pointed, very dangerous teeth.

Junhong was nothing short of terrified.
“Th-That’s a bear! A real ing bear!” He pointed an accusing finger at the beast as it tilted it’s head and sat down next to Yongguk. The man wasn’t startled at all. Rather, in place of panicking, he scratched behind her ears and smiled as she let out a satisfied groan. Junhong watched with wide eyes as the bear fell onto it’s back and Yongguk proceeded to scratch her stomach as if she was a dog while giving her all sorts of compliments in a voice that was reserved only for animals and babies.

When he decided he was done, he stood up and laughed at Junhong who was still on the ground and paralyzed by fear. “She is a bear, a real bear. Her name is Daisy. Daisy, this is Junhong. He’ll be coming home with us today.” As if she was a human, Daisy stuck out one her large black paws and expected a handshake, but when no handshake came she put her paw down in defeat and added a sigh to be extra dramatic. The action made Yongguk roll his eyes.

As Junhong staggered to get back on his feet, he watched the bear, Daisy, very closely. She seemed docile, but neither those claws nor those pointed teeth did anything to help her case. He was still terrified of such a lumbering beast. Even as she sat, yawning, and playing in the dirt, Junhong knew he could still be in immediate danger.

“Let’s get going.” Yongguk said, choosing to ignore the display in front of him. He moved to begin taking down the tent and for some reason, Junhong had expected it to be a little less… normal. The man had an air of magic about him, yet here he was kneeling on the ground struggling to remove the poles from the tent. It would have been laughable if Yongguk didn’t look like he could -- and may have already -- kill a man. When he finally held the deflated tent in his hand, though, he looked exhausted. The poor man probably wasn’t used to the kind of dry heat that California had to offer.

Finally, as Yongguk rolled up the tent and packed everything up, Junhong could hold it in no longer.

“Do we ride the bear?” He asked, hoping to relive his childhood hope of riding a large and imposing animal into the sunset.

Yongguk looked at him up at him from his accumulating pile of camping supplies with pure and utter disbelief. “I swear to God, if you ask that again I will feed you to her.”

Much to the disappointment of Junhong, they still did not ride Daisy to Thailand. Once, when he was a child, he’d read of a girl riding a bear in a series he’d long forgotten and since then he has always wanted to relive that piece of literature. Though Daisy wasn’t a polar bear, he would have most definitely settled for her.

Unfortunately, they took a plane.

Junhong had been on a plane only once before, so the thought of getting on a large metal bird was terrifying as well as awe-inspiring. That didn’t stop him from agonizing over every little noise or shift during the entire sixteen hour plane ride. He realized after they’d landed that Daisy hadn’t been with them, but as soon as they stepped outside into the hot and humid air that was almost uniquely Thailand she rejoined them. He wanted to ask, of course, but he was too caught up in the drastically different scenery.

Where Junhong left the old brick buildings and more sparse greenery he found beautiful and verdant canopies exploding everywhere in sight. Their leaves were large and sprawling out, knowing no boundaries and reaching as far out to passersby as they could. He expected to see paved roads, like he’d seen in photos of Bangkok that he’d looked up in anticipation of his trip at the early hours of the morning. Instead, a dirt road stretched long and wide, and was full of people making their way to and from what looked like a town. They all seemed to be going about their own business, not paying anyone else mind. Yongguk must have liked that aspect, as he seemed like the type who wasn’t too keen on having many other people around. Women worked in rice fields in the distance, making Junhong all the more eager to try and find someone to call his own. Though he was ridiculously out of place in his low-cut t shirt and jean shorts, he knew for a fact that most girls found foreigners really quite attractive.

However, Yongguk didn’t lead him into the rice fields or towards the small town where people were tending to themselves and their animals. He took a harsh left and, followed by both Junhong and Daisy, traversed straight into the outstretched leaves of the jungle. Not even five minutes into it and Junhong was sweating furiously. He was not used to this climate or this humidity or even all of this brush. In no time, he was swinging at the obscuring branches and kicking at the low-growing leaves that tickled his ankles as if he was a child.

They spent hours in that forsaken jungle. Junhong couldn’t figure out how Yongguk traversed through it so easily when he was struggling so much just walking through -- never mind his luggage. The man hadn’t even broken a sweat! And Daisy didn’t seemed bothered by the heat at all. Just who were these supernatural beings?

The trek was worth it in the end, though. When Yongguk announced quite proudly that they were ‘home,’ Junhong took a moment from wiping his forehead and catching his breath to lay his eyes on the temple that stood before him.

Statues of Siddhartha Gautama, better known as the Buddha sat everywhere, in cross-legged positions. They were all smiling in that peaceful, understanding way that an old friend may. Each of them had that trademark hairstyle of tightly twisted spirals with those beautifully sculpted elongated earlobes. One of their stone hands was in their lap while the other rested on a knee. Some even had cloths around them to mimic robes, as if to protect whatever modesty they may or may not have. Each of them sat on elaborately carved pedestals which in turn sat atop a stack of bricks. Branches twisted and curved around the structure as a whole, and large, ancient roots curled around the old stone of the temple, as if protecting it.

The walls of the temple were carved with the utmost care, and scenes that had been inscribed thousands of years ago still stood proudly through moss and erosion. Buddhas, lions, and even beings that Junhong couldn’t even begin to fathom were illustrated on the outer walls. The stone had turned green and was being overtaken by climbing plants and soft fungus. Where there should have been rubble, stood an open dirt courtyard. Above it, towering, were doorways taller than even Daisy at her full height, and the roof that was perched upon them was shingled with what almost looked like carved bamboo. The intricate lines and swirls and embellishments that littered the windows and doorways almost distracted Junhong from the humid heat that was slowly creeping back up on him, but as he walked further onto the grounds of the aged temple he found himself feeling cool and almost… at peace.

After finally laying eyes on where he lived, it was no wonder where Yongguk got his mysterious, yet almost tranquil air about him. As Junhong explored he learned more and more about where Yongguk lived. It was quiet, yet alive with all of the callings of the wildlife. It was so verdant and beautiful, with greens and greys moulding together to create perfect harmony. It wasn’t too hot, yet it wasn’t too cold, as a certain golden-haired character would say. The grounds filled Junhong with nothing but raw serenity. Strangely, as he had just arrived, Junhong felt as if he was right at home.