Chapter 122: Cheonggyecheon's Urban Legend (3)

I couldn't help but feel conflicted.

That church was where my dad had been ministering.

About five years ago, how much uproar had the church caused due to the incidents my dad had caused? Many church members left, and there was a lot of criticism.

And Yoo Dahee, who was involved in that incident five years ago, was right beside me.

The chicken shop owner told us to go quickly to the place written on this address. He also said that if we didn't, Jung-seok's friend Jin Seo-yeon would die.

"What a strange man. He's a shaman but recommends a church? Is that okay?"

Jin Seo-yeon, the person in question, was just brushing off the salt on her body as if nothing was wrong.

"Yeah, let's go. I know the way to the church well."

We shouldn't hesitate if someone might die.

I led my friends to the church, and Jung-seok marveled at the church building as if overwhelmed.

"It's not a church, it's like a castle. How much tithe and offerings must a church like this receive?"

"An enormous amount. Even politicians attend this church."

Whenever there were general elections or presidential elections, men in suits would visit this church, shaking hands with the elders and having meals with the pastors.

Of course, those suited men would go to Buddhist temples the next day to eat with monks, but what I wanted to say was that this church was big enough to have political influence.

The main building alone was nine stories high. 

As we pushed through the transparent glass doors, a woman sitting in the lobby saw us.

"Oh, you're..."

"Noona. It's been a while."

These days, churches had few new believers. Most of the congregation consisted of people who had been attending church since birth.

It means that kids who grew up in the church get bigger, marry, have kids, and those kids grow up in the church, marry, have kids, and so on.

Go Eun-young noona, sitting in the lobby, was also someone who had been attending church since she was very young. I remembered her face, and it seemed the same was true for her.

"Who do we have here. Isn't it Young-won. It's been so long. When did you get so tall? What brings you here? It's good to see you. You've grown taller, but your face is still the same as back then!"

She's greeting me warmly.

Honestly, I thought she might tell me to get lost, at least halfway.

But... that's how churches are. It's a place where they can't easily drive people away, even if they're heinous sinners or monsters.

"Could we possibly meet with the pastors?"

I asked the guide noona in the lobby.

The church noona looked at what seemed like a freshly printed bulletin for a while and said, "The others are busy with Bible school or preparing for joint services these days... but the senior pastor is in his office now."

By the way, a senior pastor refers to a retired pastor who remains in the church out of respect. They also receive a stipend from the church for retirement preparation.

We ended up heading to the senior pastor's office.

It was on the fifth floor. As we were going up in the elevator, Bong Ji-yeon asked.

"Ha Young-won, you said you're from Seoul, right? Did you attend this church?"

How should I explain this?

I thought that depending on how today goes, who I am and who my dad is might all be revealed. So I still felt conflicted.

Soon, Jung-seok said.

"It's fortunate that Young-won has connections in Seoul. If it weren't for Young-won, it would have taken more time to explain and find our way, right?"

***

The senior pastor's office was as grand as a CEO's office of a large corporation.

All the furniture seemed to be made of mahogany, the nameplates looked like they were carved from ivory, and the chairs were crystal.

The senior pastor, Kim Do-cheol, was an old man close to 60 or 70 years old.

I don't know. Honestly, I couldn't tell his exact age. All old people looked pretty much the same to me.

"It's been a long time."

Pastor Kim reached out his hand to me. When we shook hands, I felt the touch of his quite rough palm.

He was a skinny old man. And old people generally liked to talk about the old days when they saw young people. Pastor Kim Do-cheol was such a person.

"When I put your father in as the lead pastor, there was so much opposition. It was unprecedented in Korea for someone in their thirties to be the lead pastor of such a thriving church. It was quite noisy. Do you remember?"

I remembered, but that's not the kind of reminiscing I wanted to do. 

I just wanted to get things done quickly and leave this place if possible.

"Pastor. The reason I came here is not for that. There's a bit of a problem..."

"A problem? Is it with your mom, Chae-yeon? Is Chae-yeon's health still not good these days?"

"What? No, my mom is perfectly fine."

"Your birth was a very difficult delivery. I prayed at the hospital with your dad and the deacons. You've been causing your parents trouble since birth. You look healthy now."

......

I was born through a difficult delivery? That's the first time I've heard of this. There were many things that bothered me, but that wasn't the important thing.

"This is my friend Seo-yeon. The chicken shop owner in Cheonggyecheon gave us this church's address and told us to come here quickly."

"Chicken in Cheonggyecheon?"

Pastor Kim raised his eyebrows as if he couldn't understand, and stroked his graying beard. Soon, Jung-seok stepped in to add an explanation.

"My friend says she saw a headless chicken. She's been having nightmares since then, so we wanted to ask the pastor if there might be some spiritual problem."

Jung-seok, who doesn't even go to church, requested counseling quite plausibly.

Pastor Kim picked up a Bible with a worn-out leather cover. It was the only worn-out thing in this grand office. The pastor, holding the Bible in one hand, looked closely at Jin Seo-yeon's face.

"These days, we can't talk about Satan, devils, or demons. Even church people only want to talk about lofty and impressive things like love, truth, and service."

Swish-

Pastor Kim moved his finger back and forth in front of Jin Seo-yeon. It was like a doctor's attitude, as if checking the movement of her pupils.

"But those who want to talk about God should also be able to speak clearly about ghosts and demons. Ghosts, Satan, demons are in the Bible. The words of the Bible don't lie."

Slap slap-!

Pastor Kim slapped Jin Seo-yeon's back with his palm.

Jin Seo-yeon frowned as if displeased, saying "What are you doing?", but Pastor Kim seemed to pay no attention and took out a cross from his pocket to press against Jin Seo-yeon's forehead.

"It's not easy to distinguish between possession and mental illness. But people like me who have stood at the pulpit for a long time have ways to figure it out. Let's see. There should be one left here..."

Swish-

Pastor Kim opened his drawer with a rattle. He took out a piece of paper, put it in a crystal cup, and set it on fire.

Whoosh-

In an instant, only ashes remained of the paper. He added water to it and held it out to Jin Seo-yeon.

"Drink this. It's effective in driving out the demons inside. I've cured many people with this."

"......"

Jin Seo-yeon looked at the cup with a very dubious expression.

Perhaps feeling conscious of everyone's gaze, Jin Seo-yeon finally started gulping down the water with burned paper, but when she finished drinking it, something unexpected happened.

"Ugh, uuuugh!"

Jin Seo-yeon started vomiting everything in her stomach.

It felt like vomiting from food poisoning, but it was surprising that the vomit was pitch black like ink. It kept coming out endlessly.

"Uuuuuugh!"

『Congratulations! You have driven out an 'Unidentified Animal'! 

Starting calculation for 5 survivors' share.

You acquire 50P.』

Only 50P? It was less than the daily points from the rabbit piggy bank.

I was disappointed after expecting more. Is it because it said 'driven out' instead of 'victory'?

Somehow, I felt a chill. As if something was clinging to my back...

***

Scrub scrub, scrub scrub scrub-

I cleaned the floor diligently. Jin Seo-yeon, who had been retching, seemed to feel much better.

"...I feel refreshed. And extremely embarrassed... But my shoulders feel lighter. Until I threw up, I really thought I was dying..."

Honestly, I found these experiences hard to believe, but since Jin Seo-yeon herself said she felt better, I decided to just accept it.

At that moment, Yoo Dahee, who was cleaning the floor with me, whispered so only I could hear.

"What that old man just burned looks exactly the same as the escape talisman."

Really?

If Dahee wasn't lying, I couldn't help but wonder why Pastor Kim had an escape talisman. I asked.

"Pastor. What exactly was that paper you just burned?"

"I got it from somewhere. It was the last one I had left. Your dad gave it to me. Your dad had quite a few strange objects."

My dad?

I remembered Kwon Suho. When Kwon Suho was suffering from his quirk, he had said something like, "If there's a talisman, the quirk can be cured!"

Talismans can cure quirks-

Was that true?

Wang Ja-hyun's gang must be exploring the corridor with the danger of quirks on their backs too. Are they possibly dissolving talismans in water to cure quirks?

It was quite plausible.

"Now go quickly. I'm fine, but there are many people who will make a fuss when they see you. Send my regards to your mom and dad too. Especially tell your mom to call me more often."

"Yes."

I hurried out of the church, afraid of running into other people. Only when I left the church building did I feel my stuffy heart ease a bit.

"Was I really possessed by a ghost or something?"

On the way home.

Jin Seo-yeon, who had seen us off to the station, tilted her head. It seemed she couldn't believe today's experiences, as if they were a dream.

"Jung-seok. I'll be in touch."

Vroom vroom-

We boarded the train, leaving behind Jin Seo-yeon waving her hand. Exhausted from the heat and hardship, we fell asleep and woke up at Gaeryong Station.

Honk honk-

"My son! Mom got a car! Everyone get in!"

Mom picked us up in the parking lot in front of the station.

When did she get a car? It was a small compact car. When we got home, Mom asked.

"Young-won, so what's that?"

"Who, Bong Ji-yeon? Jung-seok likes her."

"No, the one clinging to your back."

Something's clinging to my back?

I felt a chill. When I reached for my back, I caught something strange.

It was very soft and cool.

"What's this?"

━Geck geck geck.

It was a lizard making a strange cry.

It was about the size of a palm and pitch black in color. The color was so ominously black that it sent chills down my spine.

"You went to Cheonggyecheon today, right? Did you buy a lizard there? It's cute. Look at its chubby tail. How much did you pay for it? What does it eat? Is this a gecko?"

━Boom boo boom pow, gari gock gock-

Its cry was especially strange.

What kind of lizard in the world cries like this? It might fool others, but it couldn't fool me, Ha Young-won, who had been through thick and thin.

"This thing..."

The unidentified animal that was clinging to Jin Seo-yeon! It came clinging to me!

"In our house..."

I need to get rid of it!

Just as I felt like I was about to foam at the mouth…

"Out!"

━Geck ko. Geck ko.

Pop-!

The black lizard, moving at an incredibly fast speed, pounced on a cockroach clinging to the wall. Then, something amazing happened.

Hiss hiss hiss hiss-

As if ink was draining, cockroaches hidden in every corner of the house seemed to rush out, and they all escaped through the open window!

Mom marveled at this miraculous sight.

"The lizard chased away all the cockroaches! Is this what they call a food chain or something?"

Lizards were also dinosaurs in a way.

I should give it a name. How about Giganoto? 

As I was thinking this, Mom took out an old fish tank from somewhere, carefully put the lizard in it, and said.

"I heard you met Pastor Kim Do-cheol in Seoul? He called. I didn't expect you to go to that church again. What made you do that?"

I pondered for a moment at Mom's question. Since it's come to this, I should ask honestly.

"Mom. Did you ever join something like a film club in the past?"