💌 419. The Second Eldest Uncle Burnt down My Mother’s intact House

When Simpyeong Ajae (*a man from Simpyeong) saw my mother’s house the next day, the roof whose slates had been removed was too unsightly, even to his eyes. Simpyeong Ajim (*a lady from Simpyeong) and Simpyeong Ajae couple lived in a neighboring house not far from my mother’s which stood in a secluded area in the mountains. Their house was just in front of my mother’s with only their vegetable garden and yard in between. So, my mother’s house was clearly visible from their room inside.

Then, the very next night after the slate was removed, Simpyeong Ajim woke up from sleep at the continuous, noisy sound of “Crack! Crack! Crack!” The noise that woke her up was apparently the sound of a huge fire breaking out. Startled by a bright light coming from the direction of my mother’s house, she woke up her husband. “Honey, I keep hearing a loud noise and it is so bright outside. What is happening?”

Simpyeong Ajae, after opening his eyes, found it unusually bright outside, so he opened the door. To their astonishment, my mother’s house right across from theirs was on fire, engulfed in fierce flames. The fire was raging as if it would swallow the entire house at any moment, even illuminating the interior of their house with its intense and towering blaze.

“Oh my, something serious is happening. I need to go there.” His wife said, “Let us go together.” They immediately rushed to my mother’s house. After saying, “Why is the empty house on fire?” he arrived there and found that not only the house but also the separate two-space toilet outside were all blazing.

The toilet had been excellently crafted out of wood by my mother’s brother-in-law who lived in Cheolcheonri district after the completion of my mother’s house. One space beside the toilet was intentionally constructed larger to serve as a storage area. Therefore, it stored firewood and belongings that my mother would use.

It was unclear whether the firewood had been also set on fire or taken away by the maternal uncle but everything including the storage area was completely consumed by the fire.

“Oh my, oh my, oh my! What should we do about this?” Simpyeong Ajae was so shocked and startled that he shouted loudly, pacing around frantically and yelling, "Fire! Fire!"

Then, he saw someone emerge from behind and it turned out to be my second eldest maternal uncle. Around my uncle’s feet, there was an oil can rolling. Simpyeong Ajae could not possibly understand the situation, so he asked him, “You, brother..? Did you pour oil on the house to set fire?”

But, my uncle replied nonchalantly, “After I removed the slate, I found it too unsightly, so I was going to burn it away. I thought it would not burn well if I just lit it up, so I bought some petroleum and poured it to make it catch fire.” When my mother heard the whole story, it shattered her heart once more.

After saying those words, he left. Even at that time, Simpyeong Ajae and his wife wanted to put out the fire quickly by fetching water, but it was too late because the structure of the house had already collapsed due to the intense flames. On the burnt ground where my mother’s home had once stood, everything lay in ruins, only ashes scattering in the wind. My mother let out a sorrowful cry, clutching her chest.

After hearing the whole story from my mother, I was greatly shocked and felt drained of my whole energy, all of which rendered me speechless. Only endless tears were flowing down my cheeks. My mother and I cried out loud for quite a while. My mother’s house keeping myriads of stories and memories had vanished overnight. I kept repeating to myself, ‘I will practice Semchigo as if the house had never existed from the beginning,’ but I found myself unable to stop the cascade of tears tracing down my cheeks.