The perfume of love (rain-bi)

chapter 18

about half a dozen members of the crew were already seated in the launch. she recognised young ji, but the others were strangers; men from the galley and the engine room who were normally never seen in the passengers part of the ship.

seconds before the appointed time jihoon appeared, dressed more casually than for Pineapple Hill in a short-sleeved navy cotton knit shirt and pale khaki cotton pants.

as she sat next to him in the launch, jenna felt herself being stared at by the other men in the boat. was it idle curiosity? or did everyone know about hana? were they wondering if the younger sister was also a girl any man could have if he had enough money?

at the small boat harbour the crew dispersed in the general direction of front street, the man in charge of the launch headed back towards Ocean Wanderer to be ready when the owner wanted to come ashore, and jihoon took her by the elbow and steered her round to the side of the columned Court House on the waterfront side of the banyan tree. here, steps led down to the basement where bar-enclosed cells indicated that it had been a jail before its conversion to an art gallery.

the audience attending the lecture was very small. jenna concluded that either it had not been well publicised or not many people in Maui were interested in the history of Hawaii.

at the end of her talk Miss Zambucka invited questions. afterwards jihoon asked jenna to excuse him while he introduced himself as an admirer of the artist's paintings.

watching him, during the first few moments of his conversation with the gifted New Zealander, she knew she would much rather be having supper with him, and discussing the slide lecture, than going to the party with the others.

the woman sitting next to her made a remark which led to a conversation they continued until jihoon returned. seeing him waiting for them to stop talking, jenna took the first opportunity to say, "i must go now. good night."

it wasn't until they were outside that she noticed what he was carrying.

"you've bought one of her books. which one? the new one, or one of the others?" a number of books by the speaker had been on display.

"i bought two" he answered.

"the new one for myself and this one for you" to her astonishment, he handed her the book about Princess Kaiulani which she had been tempted to buy in the Upstart Crow that afternoon.

"i don't know what to say" she exclaimed. "it's terribly kind of you, but...."

before she could find a gracious way to protest that she couldn't accept so extravagant a present, jihoon cut in, "let's call it an amende honorable for being unnecessarily sharp with you on your first night with us. I'm not in the habit of swearing at women. i apologise."

they were words which, in the first twenty-four hours of their acquaintance, she would never have expected to hear on jung jihoon's lips.

she smiled. "i deserved that broadside. i should have apologised to you for acting so stupidly. as for this...."

she looked down at the book, "i'm overwhelmed. it's much too generous gesture, but thank you. thank you very much."

when you've read it, i should like to borrow it, and you can borrow this" he said, indicating the other book. "what did you think of the lecture?"

"i was rather amazed so few people turned up."

"they're probably exhausted from playing golf and sumbathing all day and would rather watch television than make the effort to drive into town" was his sardonic comment, as they strolled back to the quay.

"but they missed meeting remarkable woman."

jenna remembered lee yong telling her that the Engineer was a Kiwi not korean. "did Mr lee know about the lecture?" she asked.

"i mentioned it to him, but i knew he wouldn't want to hear it. lee yong has two interests in life.... his engines and fishing."

"talking of fish, when you told me a local fisherman had trapped some sharks close to shore, were you serious? or were exaggerating to impress the dangers on me?"

"not at all. the Maui News had reported that a mackerel fisherman caught three tiger sharks and seven hammerheads a hundred yards off Kauai."

she remembered how blithely she had been swimming and floating until he had surfaced beside her with the peremptory command ti return to the yacht. had a twelve-foot hammerhead been near....

a shudder of horror went through her. "we might both have been torn to bits!"

"not necessarily. they say that if you don't panic and wait for a shark to come close, then punch it on the nose, it will usually scare it away" jihoon said. "but i have to admit I'd prefer not to put it to the test" he added dryly.

"you may have nerves of steel... I'm sure you have... but i should panic" said jenna. "how on earth did the fisherman manage to catch all those sharks?"

"he rustled them by their tails and then, one by one, tied on spherical floats. the float stops the shark moving and being able to force fresh seawater through its gills. without fresh seawater it run short of oxygen and suffocates."

"Oh, poor things!"

her reaction made him laugh. "you think he should have left them alone?" he asked quizzically. "that's a bit inconsistent, isn't it?"

"not really. they belong in the sea. they're part of the balance of nature. we just disport ourselves in it.... and despoil it with oil leaks and sewage. why should sharks be annihilated?"

"there's not much danger of that. young ji would tell you a more dangerous fish is a big onggo.... a barracuda. inside the reefs, during daylights, you're unlikely to run into either. don't let them put you off swimming. far more tourists are injured or drowned by the surf than by accidents with shark or barracuda."

"dong won says you're an expert surfer. to catch the big waves you have to go outside the reef, don't you?"

"yes, and very occasionally a surfer goes missing and his board may be found with a chunk bitten out of it. but in general surfing is alot safer than driving."

she said, "you seem to have spent the greater part of your life at sea. how Australian do you feel even though you are a Korean?"

he considered the question for a moment. "i suppose, when it comes down to it, the sea is my country. i feel more at home when i step on a deck than i do when i go ashore."