EXAMPLE PAGE - EBOOKS - THE PROMISE OF THE TEA GODS - Flipbook - Page 22
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H. K. O'HARA
That the designated place to meet and greet was Binnie’s beach
house, made the deal even sweeter. Soo-kang loved going there—the
house was stunning, a palace made of glass, built on the most beautiful,
private, beachfront property he had ever seen. He hadn’t been there
much, because Binnie wasn’t there much—but it was a wonderful place
to just relax and get away from it all. Walking along the secluded shoreline—which seemed to go on for miles—always put his thoughts in order. And the house itself was like something out of a dream—especially
the room Binnie called the “glass room.” He had never been in a room
like it—it was so open and spacious, yet so warm and comfortable. One
could easily sit down in that room and not get up for a hundred years.
Binnie’s house in Seoul was only a few miles away from Soo-kang’s
apartment, and usually where they ended up meeting for drinks or dinner or an impromptu game of chess—which Binnie always won. But his
beach house was the favorite meeting place of all who had ever been
there. Just like the man who had built it, it was a statement of authentic
character—tucked away, like a priceless jewel, hidden on the edge of
the sea.
Binnie himself was an eternal fascination. He was one of those people who was always smiling and laughing; he didn’t worry about anything—he simply enjoyed life and encouraged everyone around him to
enjoy it with him. Soo-kang could never quite put his finger on it, but
he knew that Binnie knew things no one else knew. With an ever-present
cosmic sparkle in his eyes, it seemed as if he knew some great secret of
the universe—and took immense pleasure in just sitting back and waiting for everyone else to figure it out.
That he was eccentric was an understatement. He was something far
beyond that. A multifaceted master-of-mystery was a better description.
He talked in circles. He had a passion for riddles. And he loved games,
especially the ones he invented himself. Furthermore, although it blew
every circuit in Soo-kang’s brain every time he thought about it, Binnie
also had several seemingly magical qualities, such as reading minds—
which could be a bit unsettling—although Binnie never admitted to it,
always saying that the eyes tell a story a thousand words could never
