Chapter 157
Eunseong waited until the elevator door completely closed before turning around. He walked toward Yoo Siwoon, who was waiting for him.
Siwoon’s handsome face emanated a soft glow even in the dim night. His stature, standing firmly on both legs, was attractive enough to turn the heads of passersby at least once.
When the main entrance opened and Eunseong came down the stairs, Siwoon’s expression softened.
“Did you eat something? Did you eat a lot?”
“…Do you like it when I eat a lot?”
“Of course. Did you eat many delicious things?”
“Yes… I ate a lot. My stomach… my stomach is very full.”
Eunseong touched his sunken, nearly skin-only lower abdomen while looking at Siwoon. Siwoon’s eyes gazed at Eunseong’s face and the stomach he was caressing, smiling as if finding it endearing.
“Ah, that’s a relief. What were you craving so much?”
“Just… I guess I wanted the home-cooked meals Jung-eon’s mother makes.”
Eunseong spoke while keeping a few steps away from him. Siwoon also maintained his distance, not approaching carelessly.
“You must be tired. Get in the car. Let’s go home.”
“…Yes.”
He opened the back door of the car for Eunseong. It was a courteous and affectionate gesture, like escorting a date.
As Eunseong got into the car, Siwoon took the driver’s seat.
“You’ll need to keep eating well. Should I ask Jung-eon’s mother? Invite her to our house? We’ll compensate her, of course.”
“That’s not necessary. I’ll eat well from now on. I think I’ll be able to eat well.”
“I’m glad you went. I was worried.”
Siwoon’s voice was still thoughtful toward Eunseong, just like it had been yesterday, and before that, and when they first met, and when he sent the picture of the sparrow…
“Ahjussi.”
“Yes?”
“…Can you bring Director Nam back now?”
“…”
“I feel bad about this, but your smell… I used to like it, but strangely, it feels nauseating to me. Even now… I still don’t like it.”
Eunseong shivered slightly as if just thinking about being in Siwoon’s arms made him shudder, beyond just disliking it verbally.
“Do you know why I’m like this?”
“I don’t know. Why you’re suddenly acting this way.”
“…It’s because my body feels strange. I can’t eat… I vomit… I’m lethargic all day… I suddenly dislike your smell… Something’s wrong. My body doesn’t feel like my own. I don’t… feel like myself.”
“It’s okay. These things happen. I’m fine, so don’t worry about it.”
Siwoon said it was okay if Eunseong kept his distance, and it was okay if he found him repulsive, telling him not to worry. Eunseong frowned slightly.
“But I’m not okay…”
“…”
“I said I’m not okay.”
Siwoon’s eyes met Eunseong’s in the rearview mirror as he looked back.
Eunseong was glaring at him. Looking at him fiercely. It was similar to that day when he had behaved unpredictably. Siwoon’s brow furrowed in confusion as he watched Eunseong, but his gaze quickly shifted to the front when the car ahead unexpectedly changed lanes.
“I said I’m not okay. Did you hear me?”
“…I heard. You’re not okay?”
“I’m not okay.”
Eunseong was staring intensely at the back of Siwoon’s straight head.
“So bring Director Nam back. Otherwise, I’ll… continue to dislike you.”
“What kind of talk is that?”
“It’s right here.”
“…Director Nam went to the provinces for work. How can you force him to come for personal reasons? And just because you want him to. Director Nam is not a servant.”
“Yes, he is.”
“…”
“Yes, he is. So bring him back immediately. I don’t like those people, those enforcers or whatever they are, your staff.”
A cold silence fell between them after Eunseong’s sharp urging. Eventually, Siwoon responded as if he had no choice, with the tense atmosphere showing no signs of easing.
“…Alright, fine. I’ll call and ask him to come back.”
The gaze that had been glaring at the back of Siwoon’s head, as if angry that he wouldn’t obey, immediately lost its intensity and turned to look out the window, almost as if it belonged to a different person.
Siwoon looked at Eunseong’s profile in the rearview mirror with a meaningful gaze.
Even after returning home, Eunseong’s attitude hadn’t changed much, but his behavior and speech in the car clearly wasn’t Eunseong.
Siwoon couldn’t get close to Eunseong, nor could he touch his body. If he got even a little closer, Eunseong would shudder though nothing was visible. He would startle and look back at Siwoon’s approach with horror. While it wasn’t to the point of being unable to control his nausea as before, he still rejected Siwoon’s approach, just not to the point of vomiting.
After confirming that Eunseong was lying in bed, Siwoon quietly closed the door and left, calling an enforcer to his study.
“You called for me?”
“Bring Director Nam Giwoo back. Eunseong is asking for him.”
“…Director Nam Giwoo shows no respect for the Great Crevice. He treated him like an ordinary human… very irreverently. That man is a non-believer.”
The enforcer spoke politely and solemnly, joining his hands in front of Siwoon.
“I know. As I’ve said before, Eunseong was raised normally and has lived normally. It’s better that he doesn’t know. And in fact, he needs someone who will treat him that way.”
Siwoon didn’t mention that Director Nam had said they should eliminate the god that Eunseong might be carrying. If he had, the enforcers, who already considered Director Nam a thorn in their side, wouldn’t have let him live.
“Eunseong’s condition has deteriorated significantly. He needs someone to protect him.”
“…Understood.”
Seeing the enforcer hesitate instead of leaving right away after answering, Siwoon asked curiously, “Is something wrong?”
“I heard that the Apostle underwent an audit.”
“That’s just a routine procedure. Isn’t it something we do every year?”
Despite having secretly initiated the audit on Director Nam, Siwoon feigned ignorance, answering casually that it wasn’t a challenge to the Council of Elders’ authority but just an annual practice.
While in the past it had been merely a formality, this time the difference was that they had deliberately investigated him.
“They say the Apostle was… diverting offerings overseas.”
“What did you say?”
“They say evidence has emerged that he was diverting offerings overseas.”
“Oh my…”
Siwoon let out a mechanical sigh.
The enforcer bit his lip firmly. He looked extremely pained. Siwoon unbuttoned his shirt, sighed, and said:
“You seemed to rely heavily on the Apostle. You must be very disappointed.”
“…”
The enforcer bowed his head even lower in dejection. Something unthinkable had happened among those who were especially devout.
“I heard there’s a Dohyeonja among the enforcers.”
“What? Why are you suddenly asking about the Dohyeonja…”
The enforcer asked curiously why Siwoon was suddenly looking for the Dohyeonja.
The Dohyeonja was the highest position among the enforcers who could succeed to the position of Apostle. And that Dohyeonja enforcer, Cheon Gwanghangja, was standing right in front of Siwoon.
“The authority of the Apostle comes from unblemished dignity. That’s why our Council of Elders has been able to sustain the Yongse Pacheon Church unwavering for so long.”
Cheon Gwanghangja, the Dohyeonja himself, looked at Siwoon with somewhat surprised eyes. He already anticipated what Siwoon was going to say. The enforcer’s chest swelled as he caught his breath.
Siwoon continued, pretending not to know:
“I’ve heard that the Apostle is usually nominated by the Dohyeonja. Since there is a successor… wouldn’t it be better for the Dohyeonja to immediately take the Apostle’s position rather than making this a bigger issue? This is just my opinion.”
“…It’s not impossible. That’s how it’s been done until now.”
“Touching the offerings is unacceptable. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear about this. It would tarnish the reputation of the Council of Elders. I understand if individual punishment is necessary.”
The enforcer’s eyes flashed ominously at the suggestion that it would be okay to eliminate the Apostle without a trial, and that it was only natural for the Dohyeonja to become the next Apostle, essentially encouraging him to secretly handle the current Apostle.
After the enforcer bowed his head and left, Siwoon stopped unbuttoning his shirt once the enforcer was out of sight.
He sat in his chair as if exhausted. He leaned back and let his head hang.
“…Hah.”
Slowly but surely, things were going according to his plan. The Council of Elders would be replaced with his people, and that way, the Yongse Pacheon Church and Seongha Group would fall into Siwoon’s hands.
By seriously coveting Eunseong, he had swiftly accomplished what he had thought might never be possible in his lifetime.
Now, as his father wished, he just needed to put things back in their rightful place. Enter the main church’s vault and destroy the original scriptures, eliminate the human sacrifice rituals, continue to remind and inform them that Eunseong was not the Great Crevice but merely an ordinary person… just show them the emptiness and falsity of their beliefs.
Siwoon thought while tightly gripping the armrest. However, as he slowly recalled the identity of Eunseong, the actual Great Crevice, his entire body trembled as if shuddering.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
