Whatever Happened to Enos' Little Girl?
by KayCee1951
Part One
Mount Jiri, South Korea
Theme Song:
You Are the Reason
by Calum Scott, Singer/Songwriter
Chapter Four
The Hanok House
Still August 3, 2022
"So, where will I be sleeping?" Esme asked, breaking the tension that seemed to have manifested around them. She addressed the question to François, who turned to Min-jun for an answer.
"There must have been a plan in place…n'est ce pas?"
Kim Min-jun didn't answer the Frenchman. "I'll show you the way," he said to Esme.
"But I still get dinner, right? Because I'm starving."
"Yes, you'll definitely get dinner."
As they made their way through the gardens of the 'temple without a name,' there was little conversation except for the Lieutenant's explanation that François was responsible for the meticulous maintenance of the gardens surrounding the temple grounds. While she walked behind him to wherever she would be staying, Esme struggled to remember she was walking behind because she did not know where they were going, not because she was subservient. There was only silence between them until they reached a late Joseon-era Hanok that looked like a hurricane had blown through and totally wrecked the building. In fact, if one did not look closely, the house looked abandoned.
"François and I worked on the living spaces first so we could stay here during the renovations," he said, kind of matter-of-factly.
The house's interior was beautiful, not just because it was pretty to look at…it was. No, it was beautiful because of the meticulous attention to detail and the evident care and thought that went into the authentic restoration. Kim walked behind her as she explored the renovated rooms, his hands pensively behind his back, Spock style…as if he was waiting for her approval.
"You look deep in thought. Anything you want to share?"
"Uh…n-no," Esme said, visibly shaken. "Nothing…nothing. Tell me,
If I'm staying here tonight, where will you be sleeping?"
"My room is over there," Min-jun said, pointing across the small courtyard and then at the room where she would be sleeping. "You'll be on this side. I'm afraid a plush pallet is all this B & B can offer. I left a set of clothes for you on the bedding. It would be best if you got some sleep…Esme? Are you listening?"
"Yes, I heard you…Good night, Lieutenant."
The bedding was soft and thick and embroidered with gold and white silk thread in a pattern of lotus flowers and snowy white egrets on silk fabric of pure crimson…too feminine for François. It was almost as if they knew she would be there…as if it had all been planned. Before Min-jun stole her bike. Before they met…formally, that is. A look around the room cemented that thought. The night clothes did not match François' gray pajama-like tunic and pants. They were an updated version of the royal nightwear she'd seen on countless historical kdramas while growing up.
Oh, yes. Her being there was planned before their fateful meeting over the stolen bicycle. She wondered how long Lieutenant Kim had been planning this little…what should she call it? He was much too good-looking for the need to resort to luring women to his home. But that didn't make sense because the temple-with-no-name's Oshō, or High Priest, also knew of her pending visit. Lieutenant Kim had spoken to him about her. She was beginning to get lost in the intricacies of the plot…if that was what this was.
She shoved the feminine clothes into an empty cabinet, then rooted through the other cabinets for something less revealing and suggestive. What she found were clothes that François had left behind. The Lieutenant might have wanted to see her in that sexy Joseon nightie, but what he would get was oversized gray pajamas. She had to roll the pants up five times and the sleeves up four times…she looked like a kid playing dress-up. And the Lieutenant would get an earful about it in the morning.