Lee Hyun drove down a rough road with Jong Bom Ah. They could not get tired of looking at the animals… Most of the animals in Korea were trapped in cages, but here there were herbivores grazing everywhere. There were giraffes that were looking around with its long neck for nearby dangerous wild beasts. Hungry lions looking for prey were wandering about. Crocodiles were swimming in the river.
At night they would sleep inside the cars.
Kuuueng! Kuuueng! Kueng! Kueng! Kueng!
Kihaaaaah!
It was shaking because of the wild animals running about crying noisily. Nights in Africa were dangerous.
They went to deliver medicine to African villages in the Prairie. They went to larger cities to deliver the supplies to other places. Lee Hyun would probably be pleased with what he was doing but there was something that was on his mind. The land was very beautiful, as were the animals, but he noticed the true painful nature was how deeply rooted poverty was in the people. Africa was the world’s largest ghetto and no one knew how many children were starving in a place like this.
A pair of shoes bought in Korea would be enough to save the lives of 10 children in Africa.
‘I, however, did not suffer anything. I have to reflect on this. From now on I need to put more effort and work even harder.’
Rather than complaining about his past, his real motivation was for the future.
Life, nature, fate, and dreams.
From seeing life in Africa, he took time to give it some thought.
The world was not fair.
While some people were laughing while watching TV, there were numerous people out there sick, hungry, and dying. Elementary school, middle school, high school, college.
They did not receive an education and could not dream of doing anything as adults.
Travel!
At first he did not want to go anywhere, but now he did not regret going.
It had been four days since they had been in Africa.
At the end of the day, they would finally reach the city of their destination.
Lee Hyun took off his face mask that was covered in sand. There was dust in his hair and all over his entire body.
“Sahyung, where is this?”
“This is the heart of Africa.”
In the heart of Africa there were many large buildings and shops. There were many tourists so there was a stable economy and the city dealt in multinational trade.
“We’re done delivering all the medicine so the rest of the day is free time.”
“I’m going to take a bath.”
Lee Hyun and Jong Bom Ah went to a hotel to clean themselves with a bath.
Then they toured the African city.
There were black people entering and hanging around the alley of the slums.
Travelers from all over the world could be seen here in Africa.
The city had very good security but people were careful not to come too close to Lee Hyun and Jong Bom Ah. From the way they looked and dressed, they looked like a group of desert bandits.
The next day they took a plane.
They went north of Africa into Europe. So they had to cross the ocean.
“Where are we going now?”
Lee Hyun asked Jong Bom Ah who was carrying a parachute backpack.
“We’re going here.”
“Yes?”
“Every real man should try skydiving once right?”
Lee Hyun looked out the window of the plane.
The houses in Europe looked like small dots and the road was drawn as if it were a blur.
“I’ve never skydived before.”
“You’ll get the hang of it.”
They recieved a small briefing from a French instructor on how to jump.
Fortunately the man had also learned the sword from the dojo so he was able to explain it quickly in Korean.
“Open!”
The hangar door of the airplane opened, causing their whole bodies to shake from the wind blowing on them.
Jong Bom Ah yelled.
“I’ll be going first!”
Jong Bom Ah jumped out of the hangar door fabulously and began falling towards the ground. Running as hard as he could, Lee Hyun jumped out of the airplane’s hangar.
At that moment.
He was in the middle of the blue sky.
He could feel the wind flowing past his body as he descended to the ground.
It was like when he descended from the City of the Sky, Lavias!
With his entire body in free fall, he felt like he had the freedom to go anywhere.
A five star hotel in Paris, France.
Lee Hyun and Jong Bom Ah were staying in a penthouse. After they checked in with the bellhop, the hotel staff gave them strange looks. They were being misunderstood since there were a lot gay people in Korea in comparison to Europe.
“Let’s drink!”
The hotel they had in France was equipped with a wine room.
Jong Bom Ah threw his backpack aside and took out a hand-knife and stabbed it into the high quality wine. He was not interested in using a corkscrew. Then he poured the cool wine into a cup and drank it.
“Ah, so refreshing! Is there any whiskey or soju here?”
As a typical Korean man, he enjoyed drinking his soju.
“There’s nothing like drinking soju!”
“Yea. It’s good to be honest! Aren’t there some middle school and high school students that drink wine? Soju is the best.”
They could not understand the taste and smell of wine.
It was just bitter!
For Jong Bom Ah, he could not enjoy drinking wine since it was distasteful.
“I don’t understand why its so expensive. Its the worst kind of drink.”
They had insulted all the wine lovers of the world!
Soju on the other hand was good with food like pork and together with friends, as well as creating a more sociable atmosphere.
“A bottle of soju is good in any country.”
Lee Hyun and Jong Bom Ah went to the terrace that was overlooking the Eiffel Tower as they briefly drank two cups of alcohol. Both of the men enjoyed their alcohol even more because it wasn’t costing them anything. Outside of the window was the Seine River and the historical buildings of Paris.
In Europe there was a saying that Paris had the most beautiful streets. In the hotel lobby there were statues and bright, colorful paintings in every corridor. Even the alcohol from the ice chest had a exotic feeling to it. Jong Bom Ah spun the bottle of liquor around as he said.
“Instead of feeling cooped up and watching TV, why do we take a night trip and walk around France.”
“All right.”
“Get a parachute.”
“Yes.”
The was a movie that was playing on the TV that was popular in Europe and the United States. The five star hotel also had Chinese and Japanese broadcasting, but the variety of entertainment did not have the many professional Korean broadcasts. Lee Hyun took his camcorder along with his parachute. Everything will be recorded by the camcorder!
“Huhuhu.”
Jong Bom Ah did a nasty laugh in from of the camera as he walked over to the terrace.
“You were promised that you would get to stay at a five star hotel. Come on, let’s go.”
They did not need elevators. Jong Bom Ah dramatically jumped over the terrace. It looked as if he wanted to commit suicide. The only other thing was the night sky of Paris.
“So these kind of experiences are a part of traveling.”
Lee Hyun quickly followed him. He climbed over the railing and jumped to the ground. He expanded the parachute immediately and he descended slowing to the ground in the night sky of Paris. The hotel they were staying in was very tall so he could view a little bit of Paris’s scenery. However, he was gradually getting closer to the ground! Because Jong Bom Ah was more experience with using a parachute, he had arrived at the ground first. People were looking at them since they had suddenly fell out of the air. Then a French beauty approached them. She asked in her native language.