Cruise of Wonder

by Daju Lee

  "Why did you carry out this half-dead old man?"

  Weirdly, Mapi was somehow calmed down slightly. However, he still called on his subordinates with a fierce look.

  "Deal with them. Properly this time."

  Responding to Mapi's order, the royal guards approached the group.

  "Wait, Mapi! We are colleagues!" Hyun shouted, being taken away by the guards. "We must go back to the Mari together. We even found your friend, Daham."

  Offended by his word, Mapi stopped the royal guard grasping Hyun.

  "Daham? My friend? If you say so, I must send him off walking on his last journey." Mapi strode off ahead.

  ~

  It was after midday and the weather was hot, unlike yesterday. However, standing atop of the bell tower, Jinho could not take much more of the unrelenting heat. The royal guards made them kneel in front of Mapi, who had arrived earlier.

  "Magnificent view, isn't it?"

  Standing perilously close to the edge, whilst holding the balustrade, Mapi smiled at Jinho with satisfaction. He seemed crazed, almost consumed by his new power.

  The bell tower was so high that the whole town could be seen. The air was shimmering with heat and Jinho perspired profusely from his forehead.

  Jinho had been looking for the Strong powers ever since he met Mapi. He had to call upon the Strong powers, it was now or never. Even if the Strong power that had possessed him before was a total accident, he could not help but believe in it, he had to clutch at straws. If it is a desperate enough situation, perhaps that might awaken the powers once more.

  "They are gonna drop us from here."

  Juna trembled all over as the guards tied her body with a rope. Jinho kept reciting the Strong powers and stopped at the 'power of the black storm'. He felt like that this power might work for them. He

  gradually gained confidence that it must be the power to use.

  The power of the black storm.

  Taking a deep breath, Jinho recalled images of the darkest, blackest storm that he could think of. The small cloud coming to his mind gradually became bigger and morphed into a whirlwind, filling his chest with energy. As it became big enough to the point he could not put up with it anymore, he shouted in a loud voice:

  "The power of the black storm!"

  As soon as the word let out, the sky, full of sunlight, became darker. Dark clouds appearing from nowhere rapidly blocked the sun and moved towards the bell tower. Powerful winds blew across the town. Small objects were moved by the winds and as they became stronger, it tore off the roof of some buildings and even picked up animals which couldn't escape. When the thick mass of dark clouds reached the bell tower, the power of the storm became even stronger. The royal guards could not steady themselves. The winds blew and more than half of them failed to resist and were cast down from the tower. Swaying violently, the bell inside the tower kept ringing.

  In the chaos that arose, only Jinho's party was left untouched by the storm. Jinho undid the ropes holding Juna and Hyun and put Daham on his back.

  "Let's get down together."

  As Jinho said resolutely, Juna shook her head.

  "Are you out of your mind? We can't just jump down?"

  "Let's listen to him." Unlike Juna, Hyun did not hesitate and stood by Jinho. "Oh, and what about Mapi? Maybe, we should take him." Hyun suddenly turned his head to look at Mapi.

  "I am not going. Never. You go alone, if you have to." Mapi raised his voice at Hyun.

  Not knowing that the bell tower was slowly leaning, he heavily clasped the pillar of the tower in his arms.

  "No way! You too are a sailor of the Mari. If there is any missing sailor, our ship will keep searching for him. It's an endless journey." Running to him, Hyun talked to Mapi and reached out his hand. "Hold my hand quickly."

  "You're crazy. I would rather be dead than follow you." Mapi kicked Hyun away hard.

  "Let's just go. Such a person doesn't really deserve our help." Seeing Hyun fall, Jinho said in anger.

  "We can't. Daham, please do something." Hyun asked Daham for help.

  Daham, holding onto Hyun's back with all his strength, opened his mouth.

  "Mapi…"

  His name was called quietly. Despite of noises around them, a mixture of the sounds from bells, strong winds, things crumbling and falling down, it was heard clearly. It was a short, deep and determined resonance.

  Reacting to the sound, the now deranged Mapi stared intensely at Daham. As Daham fixed his eyes on Mapi, he seemed flustered. After short consideration, Mapi slowly came down from the pillar he was firmly grabbing.

  Daham continued his word with his firm voice. His tone was gentle but powerful:

  "We must go together."

  Even for Jinho, it felt like an order that could not be refused. He felt the power that was stronger than any other physical powers. Mapi came to Jinho with a face full of dissatisfaction.

  The black clouds overwhelmed the castle, wrapping the bell tower in a vortex. The wind had ripped off the weighty bell already, leaving Jinho's group alone perilously at the top.

  "Everyone follow me and jump down now."

  As Jinho took a step forward, he let his foot dangle in the air. Looking at Jinho standing dizzily, Juna stepped back. Grabbing her arm, Jinho threw himself into the air along with Juna. Soon after, Hyun and Mapi jumped too.

  Their screams, most loudly from Juna, could be heard even over the chaos that tore through the castle. Before Juna's scream ended, the direction of the storms changed all of a sudden, as if it had been waiting. The winds raging towards the castle now began blowing towards Jinho. The raging gust suddenly blew softly but strongly as if it was caressing them.

  The black storm now moved freely as Jinho's imagination allowed. Passing through the castle and the town, hovering over the ground, where the scars left by the war still existed and to the place where Louie was. The black storm safely put the party onto a low hill and hovered over Jinho's head. As he opened his hand, the black storm cloud gradually reduced and disappeared in his hand.

  Juna sat herself down, her legs shaking.

  "Well done."

  Daham, still carried on Jinho's back, offered his words of complement in his usual fragile voice. To the voice, Jinho became conscious as if he had woken up from a dream. It was indeed his work. The incredible power appeared again and this time it was for sure that it came from within him. His heart palpitated.

  "Finally! There you are." Louie, taking a rest under the tree dusted himself off and walked towards them. "What took you so long? I was dying of boredom." Louie, who was muttering, took one look at Daham and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You've found him then, the nagging old man." Losing his interest in an instant, he turned around and moved toward the ship. "Let's hurry up and go. The sunlight here is too strong for me to stay here." Louie ordered.

  Louie, Gorgeous island

  As everyone got on board, the Mari turned its bow left and began its journey again.

  Surprisingly, Mapi kept the place of deckhand and Daham joined him. Walking back and forth with a wet mop from time to time, he looked somewhat like a sailor again. Although he still had his brutal face and the tone of his voice was rough, he seemed to have somehow settled down.

  "How's Daham now?" Asked Jinho, who was sitting down outside on the deck.

  "There." Instead of an answer, Hyun pointed out one side. Daham and Mapi were hoisting a sail together. Stretching out his crooked back the best he could, he was pulling the rope.

  "Is it ok to be working so hard like that?"

  It was only a few days after that he had been imprisoned - half way to death - and now he was doing hard work, which worried him.

  "Of course, it is. He is a Strong Sailor." Shrugging his shoulders, Hyun sat down next to Jinho.

  "I feel sorry that we couldn't find Mr. Changook Kim on that island." He looked regretful. Jinho smiled at him, playfully ruffling Hyun's hair.

  "Why do you feel sorry? I feel grateful that
you care so much about it."

  Jinho felt an inclination to give him a hug. He had become attached to Hyun, who sometimes seemed like a little brother who followed him, and other times he was almost a like-minded friend.

  "The sea is calm. A day like this makes me feel comfortable, even though the ship moves belatedly."

  After setting sail, Daham came nearer to Jinho and stood by him.

  "You might need this."

  Daham took out something from the inner pocket of his deckhand uniform and handed to him.

  "It has been in my pocket since some time ago. I don't remember if it was from someone or if I picked it up somewhere but for some reason I considered it quite important."

  Jinho looked at the thing Daham handed to him. It was a worn-out puzzle piece.

  "But then, I felt an inclination to give it to you. I really want you to have it."

  Daham gazed at Jinho with his profound eyes.

  "Okay."

  Jinho answered briefly and lowered his head to show his gratitude.

  Why has he kept such a trivial thing so preciously for this amount of time, now only to give it to me?

  Jinho walked to his cabin, holding the puzzle.

  The puzzle depicted the stomach of a human body and the surrounding was entirely filled with green grass.

  "Grass?"

  Seeing the grass, Jinho felt giddy for a moment. He rose up from the bed and opened his father's wooden box in the pocket of his jacket, and put it on the picture of the child's leg. That was it. It must have been his father.

  Father must have dropped it here. But why this puzzle? Why did he carry pieces of this puzzle, out of all the other things he could carry? Is it just a coincidence?

  Questions raced in his mind, which made his thinking complicated.

  "Time for a meal." Juna said, opening the door and entering. Watching Jinho rushing to close the wooden box, she instinctively sat down on the bed beside him. "What is that?"

  "Nothing." Watching Jinho putting the box inside his pocket.

  Juna said without asking more about the puzzle:

  "I said it's time for a meal. I don't want Louie nagging me anymore." Whereas before, she would have snatched the box from Jinho or found an excuse to pick on him, Juna exited Jinho's room, merely grumbling.

  Noticing that she acted differently around him, Jinho asked playfully if she now believed in the Strong powers. Juna exclaimed that whilst she did not believe in the Strong powers, she decided to accept it as an odd coincidence. She simply dismissed Jinho's powers, regarding it as just 'odd phenomena'.

  In any case, Juna seemed mentally more stabilised. She remained calm to the point that she could have a laugh with Hyun. In this boundless sea with nothing to do, Hyun and she at least understood each other well, which relieved him.

  Jinho slipped on his jacket and walked toward the kitchen. He thought of discussing the puzzle with Juna but he could not easily start the conversation. Not only because he did not want to make life more complicated for her, but there was part of him wanted to accomplish something without needing her help. He wanted to find his father with his own efforts.

  "Why are you so late? The food is cold." Louie scowled, sweeping back his hair in a long braid.

  Juna and Hyun sat in front of Louie and begrudgingly started eating the burnt food. Since there was no conflict with Mapi anymore, Louie, like his food, started to severely grill other sailors.

  "So, as you have tasted my food, give me your honest review." Louie waited for someone to speak, sitting arrogantly with his arms folded.

  "Well, it's getting tastier." Hyun said, forcing a smile.

  "That's quite natural. Can't anybody be more original?" He arched his eyebrows, feeling upset. "Full of flavour in mouth proves that it is from a top class cook. The elegant decorations and

  the sweet and savoury flavours are combined perfectly. As soon as it hits your tongue, I feel like I am eating the food of a noble person." Juna rapidly answered without pausing. Jinho looked at her in a daze.

  Louie nodded his head in agreement to her response: "Hmm, not quite, but relatively correct.

  My wondrous ability surely works to everybody's tastes." He went back to his room with satisfaction.

  "What did you just say?" Dumbfounded, Jinho asked.

  "If I didn't tell him something like that, he would've chased me and pestered me for the whole afternoon. Do you know how persistent he is?" She frowned, spitting out again what was in the mouth.

  "You are right, Louie wasn't like that before but he's getting worse." Understanding Jinho nodded his head.

  "We can't suck up to him forever. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind." Returning to the kitchen, Louie overheard Jinho and went red with anger.

  "What do you mean by 'sucking up'? You mean what she said was all a big lie?" Pointing at Juna, he could not hide his agitation.

  Though embarrassed, Jinho calmly continued, "Louie, listen to me for a minute. In actual fact, your food isn't that delicious. No, it's actually much worse than that. It's almost inedible."

  Shocked by his statement, Louie had no words to say.

  "Unfortunately, you overestimate your ability. You need to face reality." As Jinho finished, Louie let out a groan, his head in his hands, ready to tear his hair out.

  "Why would you say such a silly thing? Are you an idiot?" Louie took a deep breath, straightened himself and grabbed Jinho's arm. "Even if you are an enormous idiot, you are at least human… Yes, if you are a human, you will one day realise the true beauty of my work. I'll help you. I will show you myself - the elegance of my expertise."

  Jinho was stunned to his unexpected reaction but could not think of a response.

  "My poor Jinho. So, what about my wondrous ability should I explain first? How about the visible things first? What do you think, when looking at my eyes, so deep that one could sink into?"

  Louie vainly kept rattling off questions, following after Jinho who was running away.

  "Please stop it."

  Fed up with him, Jinho pushed Louie who was trying to follow him into his room. Pushed aside by his force, Louie sat down in front of the closed cabin door and continued talking.

  "I use the traditional cooking style. The sophisticated and critical techniques are unrivalled in their execution. A famous royal family tried to take me, appreciating my ability and beauty, but I, as a part of the Mari didn't betray the crew here and kept my job here."

  Reaching the limit of simply holding his ears, Jinho stood up and opened the door, conceding defeat:

  "I guess so. You are absolutely right." Then he closed the door. As no sound was heard, he slightly opened the cabin door to check if he came back. Louie was still there with satisfied look on his face.

  "I am glad you've realised it. Now, bow down, to your knees to express your respect for me." Jinho, at last, closed the door again.

  Apart from the highly irritating Louie, the Mari favourably continued sailing. Meanwhile, Jinho found a way to deal with Louie. If he complemented him in advance, he did not have to taste his nasty food. It was difficult to find a new complement everyday, but Louie did not notice if Jinho had said similar things.

  ~

  Today, the sea was quite rough. On a day like this, large waves caused Jinho to feel seasick. It didn't subside for a while.

  "Jinho, take a rest in the cabin." Taking in the sails, Daham said. Jinho was clearly suffering. Daham's voice was always friendly and peaceful. His words consoled Jinho, which made his stomach feel a little more comfortable.

  "I feel a bit better now." Jinho forced a smile, managing to bear the pain.

  Hyun, looking out to sea from the observatory, urgently shouted:

  "It's an island, Daham! I see an island!"

  Despite the large waves, the good weather offered quite a clear view. Hyun rushed down and pulled the string of the ship's horn. Hearing the sound, Mapi hurried up to the deck and Daham stretched out his crooked back and held the anchor rope
. The ship suddenly changed direction to the east and speedily charged toward the island.

  "This is the island, where our sailor, Dora is locked up." Daham's voice sounded fairly nervous. "We have to go there, again."

  Feeling it instinctively, Jinho's heart started to pound to see this new, blue island getting nearer. Arriving next to him, Juna observed the island with resignation. Whatever happens, she knew she had to accept and follow them.

  ~

  The second island, in which the Mari sailor Dora was, had high palm trees and emerald coloured water, so nice that they almost thought that they were visiting a vacation spot, as they approached it.

  "Well at least it doesn't seem like a battlefield." Feeling a little bit relieved, Juna had a happier glow to her face.

  Arriving at the island, the ship slowly anchored into the well-made pier.

  "Time to disembark!" Hyun blew the horn lengthily.

  Walking on the sparkling white and fine sandy beach, the sea foam tickled their feet. The air had almost perfect humidity and the cool winds along with the sunlight made them feel jolly. They moved inland from the beach to find themselves entering a forest, which had delicious smells of colourful tropical fruits.

  "This place is cooler than I thought." Gazing around, Juna mumbled to herself.

  "So boring. Do we have to keep going?" Mapi bluntly uttered and stopped walking. "I am going back. If I stay here any longer, I am gonna die of tedium."

  Not listening to anybody, Mapi walked back toward the ship. Daham allusively asked Louie, following after him.