Chapter 38
Yang Juhee asked.
"Did you tell the police about this story?"
"No. I don't think they'd believe me if I told them. For now, only we know."
"That's good. If my mom finds out about this, she'll be very sad. My mom forced my sister to go to Yeongji High even though she didn't want to. So..."
"You mean if she had been sent to a different high school, she might not have gone missing... something like that?"
"Yeah. If she sees this, she'll think of my sister again. It might make my mom even crazier about church, so let's keep quiet for now."
Well, I didn't want to spread it around either.
I'm the bad guy. The impostor. I don't want to draw people's attention unnecessarily.
"But why did your mother want your sister to go to Yeongji High?"
"My sister originally wanted to go to a vocational high school to get a job right away. But mom insisted she go to a regular high school. They fought a lot about it then."
So Yang Do-hee wasn't very good at studying. She barely got into Yeongji High, which is a bottom-tier school.
"Come to think of it, our maternal grandmother also said my sister must go to Yeongji High no matter what. She said that's how everyone would survive. Grandma had dementia, so she was a bit unstable. She also said there was a river flowing underground."
"A river? A river flowing underground?"
"I don't know much about it either. My mom would know this story well. She took care of grandma until she passed away. Before she got dementia, grandma was really amazing."
Swish-
Juhee held out her phone to me.
I was quite surprised when I saw the photo of her maternal grandmother, who had been a head shaman.
The grandmother was wearing a kimono, Japanese traditional clothing.
"Isn't this Japanese clothing?"
"That's right. They say our grandmother lived in Japan when she was young. Then she was called to perform some pressing ritual when they were building Yeongji High, so she settled down in Gaeryong."
I had heard this story somewhere before.
Wasn't this in the materials I researched about the feng shui ghost?
The local notable, Mr. Cheon, was trying to tear down his mansion and build a school in its place, but there were continuous unfortunate incidents, so he tried to perform a pressing ritual.
"So your grandmother was living in Japan and was invited to come to Gaeryong?"
"Yeah. It was a huge deal back then. They say she got into a big fight with the local land shaman who was guarding the village guardian tree, and they were at each other's throats. That woman was against building the school."
I knew this story too.
The story of the famous 'Gaeryong head shaman' who opposed building the school and refused to perform the pressing ritual. So the local owner, Mr. Cheon, brought in a 'Japanese shaman' from outside!
"In the end, our grandmother won, performed the ritual, and Yeongji High was built. They say we were rich back then because we received a ton of money from Mr. Cheon... but my mom donated it all to the church, so now we're in this state."
I see...
I understood something, but at the same time, I had some doubts.
Honestly, I had thought the shaman ghost in the old school building might have been Yoo Dahee's grandmother or someone from her maternal line. But that eyeless shaman was wearing Korean colorful clothes, not Japanese-style clothing.
As for the identity of the head ghost... let's say it's Bong Se-yeon.
But what's the identity of that shaman ghost?
Come to think of it, two shamans appeared in the 'school building' story just now.
The native shaman of Gaeryong City, and the foreign shaman from Japan.
If the possibility of the shaman ghost being Juhee's grandmother disappears...
In conclusion, only one remains.
It's the turn of the native shaman, the head of the village guardian tree, who had lived like a local deity in Gaeryong City.
"Do you know what happened to the native shaman who lost to your grandmother?"
"...Native?"
"Your grandmother was Japanese, right?"
"No. Our grandmother is Korean. She just went to Japan to study."
I see.
So Juhee is a native Korean too.
"I don't know what happened to the native shaman. But I know what happened to where that shaman's house was. They cut down the village guardian tree and built a church there. Glory Church. It was a big deal then too. Everyone said they'd be cursed for cutting down the guardian tree."
The village guardian tree.
That's not just a tree, but a sacred and miraculous tree, isn't it?
To cut it down. Aren't they afraid of divine punishment?
They probably weren't afraid at all!
For a pastor with such deep faith that he would think of building a church there, the village guardian tree would be nothing more than a thick and large tree!
It was 20th-century believers who destroyed Buddha statues and beheaded Dangun statues, so why would they fear a mere tree?
"The village guardian tree is just a big tree."
For some reason, such a conversation played in my head.
Juhee said,
"Hey. But you actually went to that scary school with Yoo Dahee? Both you and Jung-seok are total cowards."
"She said she'd grant a wish if I went with her."
"What?"
Juhee frowned.
She was about to say something but closed her mouth, then finally spoke.
"Hey. Will you really come to church with me tomorrow? Don't you want to hear what happened to the village guardian shaman? The church pastor should know well."
"Are you suddenly evangelizing?"
"My mom's been nagging me lately about not going to church. I don't want to go alone. If you come to church with me, I'll grant you a wish too. Nothing weird."
Oh, shit!
If all the evangelists on the streets were like Juhee, churches would be bursting with people.
"If I go to church with you tomorrow, will you make up with Yoo Dahee?"
"......"
"It seems like Dahee had her circumstances too. Her sudden memory loss might have been real, like what happened to my mom."
"...Well. I'll talk to her."
She pretended to dislike it, but it didn't seem bad to visit Glory Church once.
Since Jung-seok said the 'culprit' of the high school girl beheading was working as a facility deacon at that church. It would be good to meet him while I'm at it... and also take a look at Pastor Cheon Ae-su.
...But I was a bit worried about Yoo Dahee.
I had sent her a message, but not only was there no reply, the '1' indicating an unread message hadn't disappeared.
***
Until elementary school, I was a pastor's son.
That means I know the church system better than anyone.
Sunday.
The day that church-goers call the Lord's Day, the day the Lord resurrected. I headed to Glory Church with Juhee.
The high school service was at 11 AM.
At the entrance, people who looked like evangelists or high school teachers were greeting students cheerfully.
"Yang Juhee! Juhee! It's been so long!"
"Juhee gets prettier every time I see her!"
Yang Juhee was popular.
Pretty girls are popular everywhere. Naturally, they're popular in church too.
"......"
I stepped away from Juhee, who was surrounded by people, and looked at the church building.
It's big. This could easily be called a medium-sized church.
I saw the words "Presbyterian Church of Korea" written.
While the Presbyterian Church of Korea has several branches, it's the largest faction in Korea, surpassing Methodist and Baptist churches. It meant this was an orthodox church, not some obscure cult.
I had wondered if Deaconess Kim Yeook might be attending a cult church, but that guess was way off the mark.
"Juhee, who's that?"
"Is that your boyfriend?"
The church sisters made a fuss over Juhee.
Juhee smiled awkwardly at the people.
"He's a classmate. I evangelized him."
"Juhee, who hardly comes to church herself, evangelized someone!"
"Wow, the sun must be rising in the west tomorrow!"
Yeah, yeah.
That's the expected reaction. Soon, a friendly-looking woman with her hair tied back spoke to me.
"What's our friend's name? Have you been to church before? Or is this your first time? I'm Joo Chan-mi from the new believer team, nice to meet you."
Joo Chan-mi!
A sister with a unique name and a cool look with her hair casually tied back. She'd be perfect as the object of my crush.
"I'm Ha Young-won."
"Hmm. Then, could you write down your name, address, and phone number here?"
Pretty sisters are being friendly and asking for my phone number. The atmosphere makes it impossible not to write down my address and phone number.
Newbies would fall for this completely.
But if I write my name and phone number here, it's over in many ways! They'll contact me every weekend if I don't come to church!
Although passionate churches like this are gradually decreasing these days... judging by the atmosphere of this Glory Church, they'd definitely call every week.
This is a very passionate church.
"I... just came to look around today. Just to observe."
I pretended not to know anything. Let's act like a complete beginner.
Then Sister Chan-mi, who was looking at me, smiled skillfully.
"Ah! Then let's do that!"
"What? Did Chan-mi just get rejected while trying to get a high school boy's number?"
Giggle, giggle.
What a cheerful atmosphere this church has.
As you've just seen, church people are generally kind to new believers they've just met.
When I just heard about it, this 'Glory Church' sounded like a cult den, but seeing it like this, it seems quite normal.
"Hey, damn. Yang Juhee. It's been so long!"
"The deaconess complained a lot about you not coming to church."
There were ordinary church oppa's too.
The term 'church oppa' sounds a bit off... but actually, while a few weird guys muddy the waters, they're mostly kind and friendly people.
They soon became interested in me.
"Wow, Juhee evangelized? Same class?"
"I heard Juhee was known as a scary kid. You weren't forced to come, were you?"
"...You weren't dragged here against your will today, right?"
These perceptive insiders.
But originally, the people in charge of new believers were often these types of insiders.
New believers tend to be shy and passive.
To break down the walls of such people, you need outgoing and friendly insiders to deal with them.
Soon, the women flocked to me too.
"Are you Juhee's boyfriend?"
"Are you dating Yang Juhee?"
"Kyaa!"
Giggle giggle.
What a commotion.
This isn't because I'm great, but because 'Yang Juhee', who brought me, is such a big insider at Glory Church.
It's like they're curious about who Juhee brought!
Usually, they don't pay this much attention even to new believers.
"Ha Young-won? Your name has a lot of circles."
"Your face is red!"
It's a bit embarrassing. When does the service start anyway?
Soon, the pastor in charge of the high school division entered the chapel and stood at the pulpit.
He's young.
Maybe early 40s at most?
It wasn't 'Cheon Ae-su', the senior pastor.
Pastor Cheon Ae-su probably presided over the 'main service' at 10 AM, not the high school service.
The service order was typical with hymns, sermon, prayer, benediction, etc.
I wonder what the sermon will be like?
"Today's scripture is Matthew chapter 3. Please find it in your Bibles. For those without Bibles, it's on the screen here... Alright, let's read together─"
It's ordinary.
Was I being too suspicious and skeptical?
"Alright, now we'll end with the benediction. Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ─"
The service lasted an hour, moderately long and moderately short.
After the service, they had something called a pasture meeting.
Derived from the pasture of sheep, it's like a group meeting for socializing.
I participated in the same pasture meeting as Juhee.
The meeting place was a cafe near the church.
Everyone was chatting about how they lived last week, laughing loudly, and while this atmosphere was familiar, it was also a bit uncomfortable.
How many years has it been since I came to church?
No. This isn't the time for this.
I want to somehow hear about the 'facility deacon' who attends this church. That's when it happened.
"So this is where everyone was."
A big man entered the cafe and greeted us like he knew us.
Soon, people stood up saying "Hello, Pastor" or "Pastor!" to welcome him. I could tell that this bear-like big man was Pastor Cheon Ae-su of Glory Church.
He seemed to be around 50. He looked more like a retired martial arts fighter than a church pastor. Pastor Cheon Ae-su came into the cafe, finished ordering, and approached us.
"I heard Juhee came to church after a long time? Ah, our Juhee is harder to see than a celebrity. At least you can see celebrities on TV or MeTube."
"Y-yes, Pastor. Hehehe..."
The atmosphere was so awkward that Juhee laughed uncomfortably. However, Pastor Cheon Ae-su's eyes were directed at me, not Juhee's face.
"You must be Young-won. I've heard a lot about you from your mother. You're better-looking than I heard!"
"Excuse me?"
I was really taken aback.
Something I never expected came out of Pastor Cheon Ae-su's mouth! It felt like all my armor and cape had suddenly been stripped away.
"...You know my mother?"
"Of course I do. It was on my recommendation that your mother moved here from Seoul and got a job. Do you have some time? I'd like to talk about your father."
Drip.
Buzz buzz buzz buzz-
Sweat ran down my back and cicadas started chirping all around.