51
Eunjeong looked down at the small buildings and people. Occasionally, she could see people occupying the roads.
Though there was no way she could see their faces, Eunjeong kept scanning the roads with her eyes. If she were to find her mother among those people, she thought she might want to die. Eunjeong anxiously chewed on her lips.
“Sunbae, are you feeling carsick?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Quickly answering Hoyoung’s question, Eunjeong looked at the back of his head. Being carried on his back was fortunate as she didn’t have to show her face.
Hoyoung checked the red dot displayed on his wristwatch and landed on a wide athletic field. It was a school building located quite far from the city center.
One or two windows were broken, and judging by the lack of building maintenance, it seemed to be an abandoned school.
“They’re really good at finding places like this.”
“…Indeed.”
Weeds had grown throughout the field. The peeling paint on the building exterior created a rather gloomy atmosphere despite it being afternoon with the sun out.
Hoyoung and Eunjeong approached a large door on the first floor. There was a chain lying on the ground, suggesting that the door had originally been secured with chains and locks.
“…Is anyone here?”
Eunjeong and Hoyoung made eye contact. Just a moment. Hoyoung quickly lifted himself into the air. He then examined the visible corridors and classrooms from outside.
After a while, Hoyoung came back down in front of Eunjeong.
“As far as I can see, there’s no one.”
Eunjeong opened the door and stepped inside.
In the corridors and classrooms, they occasionally spotted bags that seemed to contain collected garbage, gas burners, and dishes. There were also rather grimy blankets and small mattress toppers that looked like they could support one’s back. It meant people had been staying and living here.
They searched through drawers but found nothing useful. Being a school, sometimes they found workbooks in lockers that seemed to have been left behind by someone.
While there were items showing signs of habitation, the absence of bags or clothes suggested that the occupants had abandoned this place and moved elsewhere, or had no intention of returning.
“Did they know we would come here after they left?”
“Are they a group with such good intelligence?”
Hoyoung responded to Eunjeong’s muttering. God has a purpose for everything. Eunjeong recalled the words her mother always had on her lips.
What thoughts drive people with such beliefs? Where does such conviction come from? Was there really something that warranted such certainty?
Clang!
There was a sound like a dish rolling and falling.
Eunjeong moved quickly towards the upper floor where the sound came from. Then she began to thoroughly search all the classrooms.
When Eunjeong entered the classroom at the very end of the corridor, she felt something was strange. A white cloth was sticking out of the janitor’s closet. The cloth had stains and marks that would make sense for it to be in a janitor’s closet, but its position was odd.
A small gasping sound could be heard. Eunjeong opened the closet door.
“I’m sorry…”
The child spoke while shrinking their body. It was a young child who appeared to be about six or seven years old. Eunjeong froze in place. Hoyoung, who had followed Eunjeong in, approached.
“Oh, why is a child in a place like this…”
Hoyoung, who was about to ask reflexively, closed his mouth. Even without asking, it was somewhat obvious.
“…Your parents? Do you know where they went?”
Eunjeong asked. The child quietly shook their head.
“They said we had to go…”
The child couldn’t finish the sentence and fidgeted with their hands.
“Didn’t you want to go?”
Eunjeong asked. The child glanced at Eunjeong and then nodded slightly.
“Then would you like to come with us?”
“…Who is that mister?”
The child asked cautiously. Hoyoung showed the white wing-shaped embroidery on his work uniform sleeve.
“I’m a person who rescues people.”
Hoyoung soothed the child with quite a skillful attitude. At first, the child seemed scared, but gradually opened up to Hoyoung, who continued to treat them kindly.
The child, held in Hoyoung’s arms, trembled for a while but then fell asleep, probably from exhaustion. Having found no other clues besides the child, Eunjeong and Hoyoung left the school.
“…Don’t they feel sorry for the children?”
Hoyoung muttered as he gazed at the child’s face. When his eyes met Eunjeong’s, he smiled slightly as if embarrassed.
“Since my siblings are very young, I keep thinking about it. What on earth are parents who agree to this kind of thing thinking? They seem out of their minds.”
“…You’ll wake the child.”
Hoyoung, who had been getting angry by himself, glanced at the child after Eunjeong’s words and closed his mouth.
Eunjeong looked at the sleeping child’s face. To have a child living in such a space meant these were people who had excessive belief in The Crow to the point where they couldn’t make rational judgments. Eunjeong gave a bitter smile.
“Let’s go.”
Eunjeong took the child from Hoyoung and adjusted her hold. Before checking other places, they needed to take the child to the Center.
***
The main building of The Crow was in a rather unexpected place. A location just a bit away from the busy downtown area. A modern building with no sign.
The building, which could be either someone’s home or an office, had something visibly suspicious about it, but it didn’t particularly stand out.
According to the woman who had offered to help, it was a place frequented by upper-tier members among the devout followers.
Minjae surveyed the front of the building. Who might be guarding it? Jihwan blocked Minjae as he tried to approach.
“What?”
“I’ll go first.”
Jihwan’s expression was solemn. Minjae thought Jihwan’s face looked a bit funny.
“Okay.”
Go ahead and try. Minjae nodded. But after taking a few steps forward, Jihwan came back.
Minjae recalled how Jihwan had expressed fear not long ago. Perhaps he was feeling afraid now that he was actually about to enter?
Minjae was about to say that he would go first, and Jihwan should follow. But before he could speak, Jihwan placed his hand on Minjae’s shoulder.
“If something happens, Sunbae, please turn around and run.”
Heh. A hollow laugh escaped Minjae’s mouth. Minjae lightly flicked Jihwan’s forehead with his finger. Ah! Jihwan let out a small groan.
“Don’t be silly.”
Minjae grabbed the doorknob.
“Sunbae, don’t!”
Flustered, Jihwan quickly moved ahead of Minjae.
But nothing happened. Don’t they even secure the door properly? Minjae thought.
“There’s no one here.”
Jihwan was still on high alert. Minjae left Jihwan to maintain his vigilance alone and began to look around. The first floor was quite neat. It looked like an ordinary lobby.
“The main building’s chapel is on the third floor.”
Recalling the woman’s words, Minjae headed to the third floor. Even if most followers had gone to the streets, some might remain to pray or perform rituals. Jihwan walked closely beside Minjae, looking around anxiously.
The two entered a large auditorium-like space on the third floor. The ceiling was high and open. At the front center was a white arch-shaped structure and a podium. At the back, black curtains covered the entire length of the wall.
And beside the podium stood a crow model that looked close to the real thing.
Minjae approached and examined the model. It was fixed with something like black wire connected to the high ceiling. It was an elaborate model with feathers and bird eyes precisely depicted. It was very similar to the real thing.
Is there really no one here? It was strange. It seemed like they had deliberately emptied this space. Or they had all moved for something.
Did the cult leader leave something behind before disappearing? Or is there another agitator? Minjae looked at the corridor after leaving the auditorium. Since it was a four-story building, it seemed like they should check the floors below and above.
“Hey, go check the lower floor. I’ll look at the upper floor. If you find any documents or anything suspicious, call me right away.”
“Let’s go together.”
“No…”
Minjae was about to say why do such an inefficient thing, but he closed his mouth. Jihwan was holding onto Minjae’s work uniform sleeve as if he would never leave Minjae’s side.
Minjae swallowed a sigh. Anyway, sending someone who was anxious by himself wouldn’t result in a proper inspection. Since time was of the essence, he’d have to let Jihwan tag along. Minjae headed to the fourth floor.
There were spaces with desks and computers like a study, and small rooms. Inside the rooms, there were also folded bedding. The computers were turned on and examined, but all data had already been deleted.
The second floor had a dining area and shower facilities. All those spaces were clean. There were traces of people having been there, but no belongings.
It was when they returned to the chapel.
“Oh? Sunbae, there’s something here.”
Jihwan pulled out a paper that was slightly sticking out from under the podium and handed it to Minjae. It was a flyer. Images of a crow, a sunset, and what appeared to be a human figure representing a god — only showing a silhouette like a shadow — were crudely combined.
It looked like a person who knew nothing about design had crammed symbolic elements into random positions.
-The crow carries God’s message and plunges into the golden wave.
The phrase was inscribed in red. It was a statement Minjae had heard before.
Minjae examined the back of the flyer. There was a rough map drawn on the back. It was a drawing with sparse information to be called a map, but the form was close to a map.
Water was flowing in the middle, and several places were marked with red X marks. There were arch-shaped symbols at the places marked with X.
It seemed to be the river flowing through the center of the city and the bridges there. Is this where the so-called message of God is carried out? Minjae thought. What is the message? The golden wave?
Minjae pulled open the curtains behind the podium. The sky was turning red and yellow.
“…Sunbae?”
Jihwan called Minjae with a puzzled voice. Something is happening. Something is going wrong. Minjae took out his phone from his pocket.
-All espers are being redeployed. Move as quickly as possible to the locations I’ve directed.
Fuck. Which of these places? All of them here? What are they trying to do? Minjae’s mind was in turmoil.
Jihwan grabbed Minjae’s hand and pulled. Only then did Minjae realize he had been pulling at his own hair.
“Where should we go?”
Jihwan asked.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
