The Church's Lewd Secrets
He's completely lost it.
"Let go of this!! Eunseol!! Yu Eunseol!!!"
People poured into the aisle to block Baek Sihyeon as he vaulted down toward the pulpit, and the whole place turned into pure chaos.
Even in the middle of all that, Yu Eunseol stayed frozen exactly as she was—still on her knees from a moment ago.
This is my chance.
Riiip!
I dropped into a crouch and tore a small slit in Yu Eunseol's clothes. This time I controlled my strength properly and only ripped the sleeve of her T-shirt—nothing that would really matter if it got torn.
"......"
"Eunseol!!!"
"No good..."
Failure.
A tear that small apparently isn't enough.
Do I seriously have to shred it completely open like I did in the bathroom, until the front hangs free?
"No!!"
"Grab him!"
"Stop him!!!"
Urgent voices rang out from every direction.
Baek Sihyeon had carved himself a brand-new path. He started leaping over the tiered seats that stepped down from top to bottom, dodging the people clogging the aisle.
Thud! Thud-thud!!
Of course the others weren't just standing around watching. Hands shot out from every side; people threw their whole bodies at him, desperate to catch him somehow.
But Baek Sihyeon slipped every single attempt and reached the front of the pulpit in a blink.
Then he charged straight at me, still crouched beside Yu Eunseol.
Wham!!!!
From the way he moved just now I already knew his agility was roughly on par with mine. I just didn't expect his strength to be this high too.
Protagonist privileges, huh?
"Get away from Eunseol..!!!"
Baek Sihyeon glared down at me like he wanted me dead, but he couldn't move another inch. The right foot he'd swung at me like a soccer ball was locked against my arm; the jungle knife dripping blood from his right hand was pinned by Suho; and Jaeyeol had already slipped behind him and locked an arm around his throat.
Then that crazy bastard lost it too.
"Keh-keh-keh..! You guys having fun?"
He'd clearly gone back and sat in the chair deeper inside the pulpit, yet somehow he was already looking down at us again, fingers twitching restlessly.
I can't write the fake cult leader off as a joke. When it comes to raw combat power, that guy is the real deal.
"Everyone, please stop."
"Ah..."
The voice of the real cult leader—disguised as an elder—snapped Yu Eunseol out of her daze. She'd been kneeling blankly the whole time.
"E-Eunseol!!"
"Sihyeon... oppa..?"
"Are you okay?! Are you really okay?!"
"....Yes. I'm fine. But what are you doing here?"
"Wh-what do you mean, what am I doing?! I came to save you!"
"Ah... yes. Thank you."
"N-no... it's only natural..."
Wow. Even I feel secondhand embarrassment stuck between them.
Yu Eunseol's reaction was so completely devoid of emotion that Baek Sihyeon, who'd been hyped out of his mind, cooled off just as fast.
"Brother, would you hand me that thing you're holding? As you can see, no one here is carrying anything that could harm another person."
"Free Eunseol first."
"We are not forcibly restraining anyone."
"Then may I take Eunseol and leave this place?"
"Of course. But the road ahead will not be smooth. It would be best if you stayed here for the night and left tomorrow."
"......"
Huh? What is this?
Suddenly the story is flowing a little too close to the original.
In the original, the protagonist's party had been thrown into a department-store reclamation op with the soldiers, failed, and fled—only to end up at this church. The National Assembly was right in front of them, but zombies had swarmed so thick they couldn't move any farther. So they had no choice but to knock on the church doors and ask for help.
They were still worried, though. The rumors about the church were terrible. Among the survivors and soldiers at the Assembly, word was that this place was no longer a church at all—just a cult compound where unspeakable things happened.
So they planned to accept the help, hide only until the zombies outside scattered, and leave. But one of the party suggested staying and checking whether the rumors were true. Baek Sihyeon and the rest agreed, and the church episode began.
Compared to that original plot, the rest of the protagonist's party isn't here and nobody's proposing to investigate the rumors—but ending up stuck because of the zombies outside is still roughly the same flow.
"Elder Kim and Elder Oh will show you somewhere to rest for a while."
"First, please wash up and change clothes."
"Just follow us."
We followed the two elders assigned as guides to the showers. The men went into the men's shower room; the women headed a little farther in to theirs.
"We'll bring you clean clothes shortly."
"Thank you for looking after us."
The elder answered the thanks with a gentle smile, gave a slight bow, and left the shower room.
Grab!
Ah, impatient much.
A hand clamped onto my shoulder. I turned and found Baek Sihyeon glaring at me; he let go as he spoke.
"As promised, I didn't say a word to the soldiers about that matter. So you keep your promise too."
"Fine."
"Really..?"
"Yes."
By now the soldiers should be convinced the culprits were the church people, so there's no more need to keep Yu Eunseol locked down. Baek Sihyeon could always go back and claim we did it, but as a reader who stuck with the series through chapter 283, I know the protagonist wouldn't pull something that petty.
"Then one more question. Why is Eunseol wearing your clothes?"
"Hers got torn, so I gave her mine. Is that a problem?"
"So why did Eunseol's clothes get..!!"
If I admit I tore them, he'll jump me on the spot.
Guess I have to lie. Yu Eunseol isn't going to tell him I ripped her clothes off and left her standing there in nothing but underwear either.
"They just got torn somehow. In a world like this, that's nothing special, is it?"
"......"
Could've been zombies grabbing her, could've snagged on something. Clothes getting torn is everyday life now, so even though he stared at me full of suspicion, he didn't push any further.
"Phew....! Ah... this is heaven..."
"Is a zombie apocalypse always this busy? There's no time to rest..."
"Right...? Oh, but hyung. Why'd you call us over here?"
I couldn't tell Jaemin we were about to get a quest, so I brushed it off again.
"I was bored."
"Huh??"
"Just me and Jaeyeol gets boring. So I called you guys to hang out."
"Ha..."
"I seriously cannot understand this hyung..! What the hell is there to be bored about?!"
"Crazy bastard... we almost died on the way here, you know that?"
"Cold!!"
"Hyung can stand to be a little colder!"
"Splash him! Splash him!"
"You little..!!"
Watching them cup freezing water from the showerheads and fling it at each other, you'd think we were on a school trip. This place is nothing like that peaceful, though.
It only looks that way on the surface.
"You left some people back there, right?"
"Yeah."
I nodded at Suho's short answer.
Not everyone came to the church. The rest of Suho's group is still holed up in a safe second-floor commercial building. Nari pulled a decent amount of food out of her inventory for them, and I told them to leave a couple of guns behind, so nothing should go wrong until we get back.
"But hyung."
"What?"
"Can't we just bring everyone here and stay? There's a lot of people and it seems safe."
"Oh! And earlier was insane! The zombies were chasing us hard, then suddenly they all just stopped like we'd vanished and scattered every which way!"
"Yeah! It's true!"
I wanted to tell Younghoon and Jaemin, who were chattering excitedly while toweling off, that it was just a skill—but right then the elder walked into the changing room with a few others, arms full of soft, clean clothes.
"That is the power of our Cult Leader."
"No—it's not the Cult Leader's power. It's the power the Lord has bestowed upon him."
"Same difference~"
"No it isn't! Those are completely different!"
"Brothers, please don't argue. Whether it is the Cult Leader's power or a blessing from the Lord, what does it matter? What matters is that the Lord's protection watches over us."
"As expected of an elder."
"Yes, exactly."
"Wise words."
"And if he received the Lord's power, doesn't that mean the Cult Leader is essentially the Lord himself?"
"Huh..?"
"That's right! That's exactly what I was saying!"
"Ah... yes.."
I can't listen to this.
He just got lucky and rolled a good skill. No—it's just a setting cooked up by that perverted bastard of an author-god.
"What do you brothers think?"
"Ah... well...."
"Haha.. I'm not religious, so..."
"That's fine. Faith can be cultivated slowly. Please change and come out. We'll guide you to where you'll rest."
The elder and the others left after making the atmosphere thoroughly awkward. Everyone looked like they had plenty to say, but they kept their mouths shut, threw on the clothes fast, and headed out.
We were led into a large room stacked with neatly folded blankets and pillows and nothing else. We sat around talking in low voices until the women finally finished showering—taking more than three times as long as the men—and came in.
"Women over here, men over there."
"Hey! We've got more people—why split it fifty-fifty?!"
"Then measure the room, count heads, divide it perfectly, and redraw the line yourself."
"Sorry. Let's just split it half and half. But why are you crossing over?"
"The line only counts when we're sleeping, right?"
"Ah~"
Heejin crossed the line the second it was drawn, and the rest of the women followed, settling into a circle on the men's side.
"You two come over too~"
"Yeah. Isn't it boring just the two of you?"
"We're fi—"
"Okay."
"Huh?? W-wait for me..!"
Why does Baek Sihyeon seem even more henpecked in real life than he does in the webtoon?
Maybe showering naked together made them closer; Yu Eunseol sat down between Nari and Seonye. Baek Sihyeon, left standing awkwardly, glanced at me once and then came over and sat beside me.
"Earlier Eunseol called you oppa—how old are you?"
"Twenty-three."
"What? We're all twenty-three too~"
"Friends, then—friends~"
"Then.."
"You look obviously older. Those oppas are twenty-six, that unnie is twenty-four."
"Ah... so you all knew each other from before?"
"Talk casually. We're friends."
"Ah.. yeah.. did you already know each other..?"
"Jaeyeol over there and Nari here have been friends since we were kids. The rest of us met in high school. And Juhan oppa and Kihun oppa have been friends since childhood; everyone else we met after the zombies showed up."
"I see..."
"What about you and Eunseol?"
"What's the deal with you two? Are you dating?"
"Earlier you were screaming so desperately—Yu Eunseol~~~"
"D-don't..!!"
"Hahahaha~"
"His ears are bright red~ Pfft!!"
"Cute~"
"Popular, huh? 'Cause you're handsome?"
"N-no.. not really...."
While everyone was busy teasing the flustered Baek Sihyeon, Yu Eunseol answered the first question.
"I worked at the same café as Sihyeon oppa."
"So you started dating while working together?"
"You two look so good together!"
"Right? Pretty and handsome."
"Stop it already..!! Eunseol and I are just... like oppa and little sister... for now.."
"For now??"
"Did you hear that?! He said 'for now'! He's gonna confess soon!"
"Kyaaa~!!!"
"What the~~!"
"......"
"......"
This time he didn't deny it.
Baek Sihyeon's face was bright red as he ducked his head and snuck a glance at Yu Eunseol. Yu Eunseol, for once not completely blank-faced, bit her lower lip and turned her head away.
Are those three shameless college girls already shipping them?
And I still have to tear Yu Eunseol's clothes.
"This is driving me crazy..!"
"Hm??"
"Nothing, never mind."
"......"
Jihye, sitting next to me, jabbed me hard in the side and tilted her head toward the door like she wanted me to follow.
"We're gonna hit the bathroom for a sec~"
"I'll come too!"
"Then me too..."
"Aigoo~ Younghoon-ah, let hyung lie down a bit."
"Why are you using someone else's leg as a pillow?! There's pillows right over there!"
"Your leg's more comfortable."
"What's wrong with this hyung..!!"
Has Kihun always been this sharp?
Thanks to him we made it out into the hallway, found a quiet empty spot, and I could get some advice from Jihye and Nari—while flashing the finger signal that meant "quest."
"I have to tear it."
"Tear what?"
"This."
"Clothes?"
"Yeah."
"You're seriously turning into a total pervert now..!!"
"Whose clothes? Unnie's? Mine?"
"......"
"D-don't tell me... someone else's..?"
I nodded, and Jihye and Nari immediately started slapping me with their open palms.
"You're lying, right?! There's no quest like that, right?!"
"Who is it this time?! Two people aren't enough for you?!"
"Aagh!! That hurts! It's a real quest! And it's not about my satisfaction, okay?! What am I supposed to do when the quest is like that!!"
"So who is it?!"
"Who!"
"The girl who was sitting next to you."
"....Eunseol??"
"Hey! She was just...!"
"Baek Sihyeon."
"Right, Sihyeon! She's the one he's got a thing for!"
"That's exactly why I'm asking for advice. How do I tear them naturally."
"How do you tear clothes naturally?!"
"What if you just tear the edge a little?"
"Tried that earlier. Didn't work."
"Th-then..?"
"Like this—rip it straight open. Have to fling it wide."
"......"
"......"
I didn't get an answer, but at least it's a quest with no time limit. Sure, if too much time passes it'll count as a failure, but I don't have to tear them right this second, so I decided to watch the situation a little longer.
Maybe a natural chance will just present itself.
"Oh, right. Can you pull out a gun and some mags? I'll load them ahead of time."
"Okay."
Before heading back to the room I had Nari take a gun and magazines out of her inventory and pre-loaded them so I could draw and fire the second I needed to.
"But what's even here?"
"Huh?"
"Yeah. If there was nothing, you wouldn't have told us to come."
"What is it?? Is that a quest too??"
I wanted to explain to the now-sharp Nari and Jihye, but I still couldn't say anything yet.
Once I confirm it with my own eyes, I'll probably be able to talk.
About this church's hidden secrets.
Late that night I snapped my eyes open, carefully pushed the blanket aside, and slipped out of the room.
Time to go check.
Originally this was something the protagonist's party was supposed to do, but since that isn't happening, I have to handle it myself.
The church episode doesn't even show up until past the midpoint of the Yeouido arc, though. Can I clear it with my current stats?
"Where are you going?"
"Jesus..! Why are you up and out here..?!"
"I couldn't sleep. And I have something I want to ask."
"Something you want to ask?"
"......"
Yu Eunseol stared straight at me, then dropped her voice even lower.
"When I was kneeling in front of the pulpit. I don't know why, but... I just felt like I had to kneel, so I did. And I don't remember anything after that. Not until I came back to myself."
"And?"
"You know, don't you? What happened to me."
"Why do you think I know?"
"We arrived in Yeouido the same day. When I asked, you said you'd never set foot in the church. Same for the National Assembly. But you knew everything. That there were people in this church. That the soldiers had stashed the stolen money in that building. You knew it all."
"......"
Sharp observation.
So I decided to show her.
Not just that I somehow know information I shouldn't—but why she ended up on her knees in front of the fake cult leader.
Through this church's secret.
Except....
"Hngh!! Aaah!!"
"Hah!!"
"Aahngh..!!"
Why the hell is everyone fucking in a group?!
This webtoon was rated 15+!!!!
Did the age rating just vanish when it became real?
Yeah, that tracks.
In a world like this, of course people aren't just killing each other—they're going to fuck too.
So why are my cheeks burning?
"......"
"N-no..! This isn't what I was trying to show you...!"
"Who's there!"
Oh, shit..!!