Episode 25: Chinese Hackberry Tree (3)
‘No matter where people live, it’s all the same.’
I still remembered how hard it had been at my previous job, where the staff had split into two factions.
After graduating from university and obtaining the relevant certifications, I had joined a tax and accounting office. It hadn’t been my original major, but wanting to earn money quickly, I had prepared to get a job in that field.
It was a small company with only about ten employees in total, but the tax accountant was a good person, and the staff all got along well.
But problems began to arise when the tax accountant’s younger sister joined as an accounting clerk.
The monthly team dinner budget disappeared, and the snacks in the break room gradually began to dwindle.
The employees weren’t happy about having less to eat, but because she was the tax accountant’s sister, everyone understood that she was trying to cut costs and let it go.
But when she tried to cut lunch allowances as well, the conflict with the employees grew worse.
On top of that, when the sister’s friend was hired at the office too, the employees gradually began to divide into factions.
The chief, who handled the most work and had taught me so much, fought especially often with the sister. I tried my best to remain neutral, but I eventually ended up on the chief’s side.
The tax accountant tried his best to help them reconcile, but the chief couldn’t contain his anger and resigned, leaving me in limbo.
I had tried to switch companies then too, but the tax accountant said he would raise my salary and promote me, so I decided to endure it a bit longer.
I had decided to just quietly do my own work and collect my paycheck, but the tax accountant’s sister seemed to hold a grudge about me having been on the other side, so I was under a lot of stress at work.
The stress I had endured then probably contributed to my developing anxiety issues.
And looking at the village head, I somehow felt he was very similar to that sister.
‘A selfish and calculating person.’
I had heard that there was such a thing as local prejudice in the countryside too, but I had hoped our village wouldn’t have that.
But seeing people in this small countryside village unable to get along and dividing into factions, I felt a pang of regret.
‘Since it’s already come to this, it can’t be helped.’
If I keep my distance from the village head, I’ll be excluded from village support projects, but it doesn’t matter. Living without that kind of support isn’t a big problem.
"I just need to keep living like now, growing the crops I want to grow and eating delicious food."
Meow.
While I was lost in thought, Nabi came up and rubbed against me, as if asking me to play with her too. I picked Nabi up and held her in my arms.
"Okay, I’ll play with you too."
I was taking Nabi to finish watering the vegetable patch when my phone rang.
> Areum: Are you free this weekend?
I smiled seeing the message. Areum had been contacting me often asking to hang out. She must really be bored on the weekends.
I looked at Nabi in my arms and said,
"Nabi, it looks like there’s someone else here to play with you."
****
"Wow, it’s just like I remember?"
"Is it?"
Areum, who had come over to my house to hang out, looked around here and there, recalling old memories.
"Yeah, I don’t think anything has changed."
"It’s not bad for living quietly alone."
"It seems like it. The scenery is amazing."
Areum climbed onto the wooden porch and looked down. From there, the view opened up all the way to the village, making it great to take in the scenery.
I stood beside her and enjoyed the view too, when Areum suddenly asked me,
"Do you want to go on a blind date?"
"A blind date?"
"Yeah, my coworker who was there with me last time saw you and took a liking to you. If you’re interested, I’ll set you up."
Being asked so abruptly about a blind date was a little disconcerting.
Come to think of it, my friends in Gwangju had often asked me if I wanted a blind date opportunity too. But my answer was always the same.
"Really? I’m grateful she thinks well of me, but I don’t want to go on blind dates."
"Why? You don’t have a girlfriend."
"Meeting someone through a blind date feels unnecessarily burdensome, and if she’s your coworker, it’ll be awkward later if things don’t work out."
"Really? You prefer to meet someone naturally too, huh?"
"That’s right, I prefer a natural meeting."
"Then I guess it can’t be helped."
At my answer, Areum jumped down from the porch and said to me,
"Give me a tour of the house."
Areum had asked me to show her around, and I was about to show her my vegetable patch when I remembered Nabi.
"I’ll show you Nabi."
"Right, you said you had a cat, right?"
"Nabi!"
I called Nabi, but she was nowhere to be seen. I kept calling, and then I suddenly remembered her climbing the tree a while back.
I went to the Chinese hackberry tree with Areum, and as expected, Nabi was resting on a branch.
"Nabi!"
When I called her, Nabi opened her eyes and jumped down from the tree. She came over and started rubbing against me, and Areum found it incredibly cute.
"Wow, so cute? Can I pet her too?"
"Sure, try petting her."
I grabbed Nabi to let Areum pet her, but Nabi suddenly squirmed and ran far away.
The sudden behavior startled Areum, who had been about to pet Nabi, and me as well.
"I guess she doesn’t like me."
Areum said, looking slightly disappointed.
"Nabi is a bit shy around strangers... it took me a while to get close to her too."
"Really? I’ll have to visit often and get friendly with her."
Areum watched Nabi run away with a disappointed look, and I felt a bit awkward since I had been the one trying to introduce them.
Then Areum looked at the Chinese hackberry tree and said,
"But was this tree this big before too?"
"It’s already been over ten years since you were last here, so isn’t it bigger than it was back then?"
Areum also started circling around the tree and looking at it, then said to me as if amazed,
"Minwoo, I think this tree might be an interlocked tree?"
"An interlocked tree?"
"Yeah, when trees with different roots grow together with connected trunks, it’s called interlocking... if branches connect, it’s called 'interlocked branches,' and if trunks connect, it’s called 'interlocked trunk.'"
"Ah, I see."
I had thought the trunk looked unusually shaped compared to other trees; so that was because it was an interlocked tree.
"I’m in the Tourism Planning Department right now. I learned about it because there was an interlocked tree there too while I was making promotional materials for Daeheungsa."
Daeheungsa was a great temple in Haenam, a famous temple counted among the nation’s finest.
"Is that tree famous?"
"Of course. That tree is probably designated as a protected tree by now."
"A protected tree?"
"Yeah, it’s similar to a natural monument. They’re trees designated and managed under the Forest Protection Act to protect giant or rare trees."
Hearing Areum’s words, I suddenly had a thought.
"Really? Then could this tree possibly be designated as a protected tree too?"
"This one too?"
"Yeah, actually there are people pestering me saying they want to buy this tree. If it’s designated as a protected tree, I don’t think they’ll touch it anymore..."
Now that she mentioned it was rare, I understood why Jeong Mintae kept coming by.
Seeing that even the village head had gotten involved, I had a feeling they would keep coming even if I refused to sell. I started to think it would actually be better if the tree were designated as a protected tree instead.
"So that’s what happened. But protected tree designation isn’t my area, so I can’t tell you exactly. Instead, I’ll ask the official in charge when I go to work tomorrow."
Areum started taking pictures of the tree to ask the person in charge, and I felt grateful to her for helping out so actively.
"Thanks, Areum. If it works out, I’ll treat you to something delicious next time."
"Really? Then instead of something delicious, do something else for me."
"Something else?"
"I want to see the sunrise over Maemseom at Ttangkkeut Village."
At Areum’s words, a photo came to mind.
It was a photo my father had sent me. They say if you go to Ttangkkeut Village in Songji-myeon, you can see the Maemseom sunrise, where the sun rises between two rocky islands.
It had left a deep impression because it was so beautiful, and it seemed Areum wanted to see it too.
"You mean the sun rising between the rock islands, right?"
"Yeah, I’ve only seen it in promotional materials. I’ve never seen it in person, but I’ve always wanted to."
"Sure, let’s go together next time."
"Promise."
Areum held out her pinky and grinned; it was something she’d done often since middle school.
I was dumbfounded, but I hooked my finger with hers and said,
"Okay, promise."
****
"Minwoo! Are you free to talk?"
Come Monday, Areum called me right away.
"Yeah, go ahead."
"I showed the photos to the forestry official in charge and asked. He said this tree is extremely rare."
"Really? You did say interlocked trees were rare."
"No, interlocked trees are rare, but this is called a Love Tree, so he said it’s even more valuable."
"A Love Tree?"
Those words piqued my curiosity, and Areum began to explain.
"Originally, Chinese hackberry trees are dioecious, with separate male and female trees. But he said this one grew separately as a male and female tree before becoming an interlocked tree and merging into one."
"Can that happen?"
"Yeah, they say the female tree and male tree loved each other and merged into one, so they call it a Love Tree. Isn’t it cute?"
Hearing Areum’s words, I thought it was a truly fitting name.
"It is."
"There’s a tree exactly like this on Jeju Island, and that one is designated as a protected tree too, so he said this one might also be possible."
"Really? That’s good to hear."
"I’ll find out about the designation procedure and get back to you."
"Thanks for looking into it, Areum."
"Of course I’d help a friend out. But in exchange, we’re definitely watching that sunrise together, right?"
"Yeah. I’ll keep that in mind."
After hanging up with Areum, I felt relieved.
And I began to wonder if Jeong Mintae had truly been unaware.
He had only told me it was unusual and hadn’t mentioned any of this. They said there was an identical tree on Jeju Island, and since he managed an arboretum there, the chances were high that he knew.
Just then, a car began pulling into the house.
Speak of the devil, it was Jeong Mintae, the manager of Sinrim Arboretum. And this time, the village head had come with him.
"Sir, hello."
"Yes, hello."
"Have you given it some thought?"
Again he spoke with a kind voice, but perhaps because I now knew how rare the tree was, he gave off a strong swindler vibe.
"Yes, after hearing what the village head had to say, I thought about it in a positive light."
Hwang Changsik, listening from the side, brightened when he heard himself mentioned.
"I’m glad to hear that. I spoke with the arboretum director and decided to offer you up to fifteen million won."
The price had gone up by five million won in that short time.
Now that I thought about it, the price of this Chinese hackberry called the Love Tree was probably far higher than that.
"I see."
"How shall we proceed with the contract?"
He looked ready to pull out a contract then and there, but I shook my head.
"There’s no need. You don’t have to do that."
"You’re more decisive than I thought. Then shall we just proceed with a verbal agreement?"
"No, what I meant was I’m not selling it to Sinrim Arboretum."
"What? Didn’t you just say you had been thinking about it positively?"
Both Jeong Mintae and Hwang Changsik looked bewildered, and I cleared up their misunderstanding.
"The village head mentioned last time that it would be wonderful for many people to see such a magnificent tree, so I looked into options through a friend at the county office. They said this tree is so rare that it will be designated as a protected tree."
"A protected tree?"
"Yes, it’s an interlocked trunk formed by merged male and female trees. There’s an identical tree on Jeju Island called the Love Tree. Were you not aware?"
I asked, looking straight at Jeong Mintae, and he stammered, flustered.
"Ah...is...that so?"
"If you weren’t aware of that, you’ll need to study harder to manage an arboretum. If it’s designated as a protected tree because it’s rare, it should be good for promoting the village’s name too. What do you think, Village Head?"
"Ahem..."
The village head didn’t answer and coughed uncomfortably at my words.
"I had just received a call from the county office and was about to contact you separately, yet I’ve made you come all this way for nothing. How embarrassing."