Saint of Yeonok-dong (2)
"Anywhere else that hurts?"
I ignored the solemn atmosphere and asked with the same composed expression.
"Not me—my husband."
"I don't know what the illness is, but shall we go see him anyway?"
"Would you?"
Kim Sun-ja Grandma was, at best, on the level of a general believer. For the first time, her eyes flickered with expectation, reliance, and hope directed at me. It was the mindset absolutely essential for a devout follower.
The gathering wrapped up in a haphazard fashion.
I headed to Kim Sun-ja Grandma's house.
"Come to think of it, this is my first time going to your house, Grandma."
"What, it's not like it's anything to brag about."
I'd been active in Yeonok-dong, but I only had one body. It was physically impossible to visit every elderly person's home individually. So at some point, I'd started giving massages and companionship to the seniors in the elderly association building that Heo Grandpa had arranged. That was where I'd first helped Kim Sun-ja Grandma, too.
"There, the one lying over there is my old man."
Stepping into the moderately rundown old house, a thick bachelor smell wafted over like a fan breeze.
"Where does it hurt?"
"Everywhere."
"Pardon?"
"All of it. Especially the head."
I examined the frail old man lying on the mat, staring blankly at the TV. He was wearing an adult diaper on his lower body.
Wh-who...! M-Mom? D-Dad?
The old man spotted me and started rambling incoherently.
Dementia.
This was tricky. With my current healing skills, I couldn't cure an incurable disease like dementia. I'd need at least Bishop rank for that.
"Seop-ah, can you heal my old man too?"
Kim Sun-ja Grandma's voice trembled.
"Ahem! Even if a full cure is tough, it'd be great if he just improved a bit... Ahem!"
Heo Grandpa's voice came from behind her. Outside the room, Heo Grandpa—who had followed without me noticing—along with about ten other Yeonok-dong regulars had gathered in a crowd. They were the elite elders from that era who'd gone to college.
"Seop-ah... it's been ten years, ten years. Ten years of taking care of a husband who can't even control his bowels because of dementia. Before you came, Seop-ah, there wasn't a single spot in my arms, legs, back, or shoulders that didn't ache."
Her pleas continued in my ears.
"Please, Seop-ah. How much longer do I have to live like this? Please help my old man. Free me, just a little."
Perhaps all her pent-up resentment was bursting out; the old woman's voice quivered wetly.
"....."
There was only one thing I could do for Kim Sun-ja Grandma.
"With my current abilities, I can't cure an incurable disease like dementia. I'm sorry."
The truth.
"But even so, I'll do my absolute best."
I approached the old man lying there and carefully massaged his arms and legs.
Heal(C) used. Divine Power decreased by 10.
As I imagined the system message in my head, the Divine Power activated effectively. The old man seemed to like my touch; for the first time in a while, he smiled with a peaceful expression.
Passive skill Emotion Reading(C-Rank) activated.
In reality, the old man's emotions were pure comfort.
This grandpa doesn't have much time left.
On the contrary, my expression hardened.
"Mother of All Things, Weaver of Providence, please bestow your blessing..."
After finishing the massage, I placed both hands on the old man's forehead last. This was closer to last rites than healing.
Bless(C) used. Divine Power consumed: 20.
I continued imagining the system messages, channeling the Divine Power.
Whoooooom
A small, warm light flowed down my arm from the faint halo above my head and seeped into the old man's head. The light of Divine Power and the faint halo were visible only to the devout. So those here probably couldn't see it. A slight shame.
Hm?
That's when it happened. I felt the passive skill Luck activate suddenly. Back-to-back, even.
Passive skill Luck(C-Rank) activated. (4/5)
Passive skill Luck(C-Rank) activated. (3/5)
Now it popped up automatically in my mind like a habit.
The first Luck applied to Grandpa. And the second one...
I glanced back.
".....!"
".....!"
Starting with Kim Sun-ja Grandma, Heo Grandpa and the other Yeonok-dong elders stared at me in a daze.
Heo Jae-su and the Yeonok-dong regulars had taken a liking to this young man named Lee Seop. Of course, there were still suspicious points. But setting that aside, he was a fine young man. Ever since he arrived, the neighborhood vibe had changed for the better. Above all, there was something unknowable, some mysterious power about Lee Seop. First, his presence put people at ease. Second, praying while thinking of him inexplicably lifted moods and smoothed out daily troubles—that gut feeling. The clincher was third: his touch. As people age, their bodies break down everywhere. Joints, shoulders, backs especially act up. Clinics offer no real relief. But one touch from Lee Seop fixed it all. A single massage kept you comfortable for at least ten days.
There's definitely something there!
That's when Heo Grandpa sensed something was off.
Could he really be an angel sent by God?
The older you get, the closer to death, the more you lean on religion. Not just religion—superstitions too. So lately, Heo Grandpa and the sharp-eyed elders of Yeonok-dong had been watching Lee Seop closely. And today, the moment of conviction arrived. They used Kim Sun-ja, who'd been suffering caring for her dementia-stricken husband.
"Seop-ah, can you heal my old man too?"
"Ahem! Even if a full cure is tough, it'd be great if he just improved a bit... Ahem!"
Arriving at Kim Sun-ja's house and examining the dementia patient, Lee Seop spoke honestly.
"With my current abilities, I can't cure an incurable disease like dementia. I'm sorry."
"!!!!"
He clearly said he couldn't, but that's precisely why Heo Grandpa felt a fresh shock. Cult frauds usually blame the victim's lack of faith in such situations. "It's because your faith is weak. Donate this much and it'll work." That kind of dogshit gaslighting. But this young man didn't.
"Even so, I'll do my absolute best."
Lee Seop acted with sincerity and truthfulness.
Lee Seop is different! He's the real deal!
Heo Grandpa, along with Kim Sun-ja and the Yeonok-dong regulars, weren't disappointed—they were deeply moved. They saw hope.
Soon, Lee Seop began massaging the old man's limbs. It was the usual sight, but this time it felt different. Kim Sun-ja's dementia-afflicted husband wore the world's most serene smile.
"Ahh..."
"God! Jesus!"
"Namu Amida Butsu..."
The scene was so reverent and holy that some elders crossed themselves, prayed, or bowed right there.
"Aigoo... Hnngh..."
Kim Sun-ja sobbed uncontrollably, tears flowing like tap water, overwhelmed by sorrow and gratitude.
"Mother of All Things, Weaver of Providence, please bestow your blessing..."
But the miracle wasn't over. Finishing the massage, Lee Seop gently placed both hands on the dementia patient's forehead.
Whoooooom
A faint halo glowed from Lee Seop's head.
"!!!!"
"Gasp!"
"My God!"
A small orb of light trickled from the faint halo. It flowed down Lee Seop's shoulder and arm to touch the old man's head.
"I've done my absolute best for now. I've bestowed the blessing too."
A moment later, a somewhat fatigued Lee Seop spoke.
"....."
"....."
Everyone simply gazed at him in dazed reverence.
"Lee Seop-nim? How did it go?"
In the silence, Kim Sun-ja mustered the courage to ask. After that miracle, she couldn't call him casually like before.
"Just call me Lee Seop comfortably. And regrettably, I couldn't cure the dementia. I just made him comfortable and blessed him."
"Ahh..."
"And... he doesn't have much time left."
"I figured as much. He was always on his last legs anyway."
Even hearing her husband had little time left, Kim Sun-ja wasn't surprised.
"So I did my best to ensure his final moments are peaceful and meaningful. I'm sorry I couldn't do more."
"No, sorry? Absolutely not. I'm grateful. Seeing my old man with such a peaceful face... it's been so long."
Kim Sun-ja bowed her head to Lee Seop with a satisfied expression.
"That's all the treatment I can do. And... please keep what you just saw quiet, if possible. It's not time yet."
Finishing his talk with the patient's guardian, Lee Seop turned to Heo Grandpa and the Yeonok-dong representatives. They knelt, gazing up at him in awe.
"I'm tired from pushing myself. I'll head out first."
"Pardon? Yes! We'll escort you home."
As Lee Seop moved to leave after the treatment, Heo Grandpa and the representatives snapped out of the miracle's afterglow and scrambled to their feet.
"No need. Stay here, everyone. Handle the aftermath, please."
"!!!!"
"Ahh..."
With the passive Warm Conversation flowing effortlessly from his words, amplified by the halo, they were at a loss. Lee Seop just smiled softly and left.
With the center of the miracle gone, the rest finally came to their senses and discussed what happened.
"You all saw it, right? Not just me?"
"Saw it... saw it... that halo on his head."
"Holy light flowed from the halo to his fingertips!"
"Lee Seop... Lee Seop... Backward it's Provi-dence! My God! He really was an angel!"
"Messiah! Lee Seop-nim is the Messiah!"
"Such glory! Does that make us his first disciples?!"
"Providence Church! Let's found the Providence Church! We'll be the Messiah's hands and feet!"
"Providence Church? Hey, can we do that without Lee Seop-nim's permission?"
"He entrusted us with the aftermath. That must mean this!"
The neighborhood representatives and regulars—Yeonok-dong's old guard—shouted in excitement and awe.
"......"
Their leader, Heo Jae-su, silently pondered.
Time passed into late night.
Kim Sun-ja Grandma's house was still crowded. She gazed blankly after her dementia-afflicted husband, surrounded by Heo Grandpa and the Yeonok-dong regulars. They faithfully carried out the mission Lee Seop had given before leaving: the "aftermath." They planned founding the Providence Church and checked on Kim Chang-su's condition. Honestly, they focused more on the former.
"Honey... honey..."
That's when it happened. Kim Sun-ja's peacefully sleeping husband woke and called her.
"Wh-what?!"
Kim Sun-ja was too shocked to speak properly. Ten years. Seeing her husband's focused eyes, hearing his voice call her wife.
"Honey! Are you okay now? Is your mind clear?"
Regaining her wits late, she rushed to him.
"You've worked so hard taking care of me all this time. I'm truly sorry and grateful."
But his words were odd. Like preparing for the end.
"You damn old man! Your mind clears and the first thing you do is leave last words?!"
At his wife's outburst, the husband just smiled faintly.
"Stop the inauspicious talk and get up. You know who treated you? Lee Seop-nim..."
"Lee Seop, huh. His name was Lee Seop."
The husband shook his head, cutting her off.
"Tell him I'm truly grateful. For giving me such a happy, peaceful, regret-free end."
"....!"
Kim Sun-ja understood what he meant.
"...We'll take our leave."
"But Lee Seop-nim entrusted us with the aftermath?"
"That's why we should go now."
Heo Jae-su and the Yeonok-dong elders, who'd watched silently, quietly left the house.
"Honey, remember? Back when we worked together at the factory."
"How could I forget? I was slaving away to support my siblings, and you helped me so much."
"Hahaha, yeah. That time you sent all the money home and had none left, staying alone in the dorm? I took you out to the city for snacks."
"Everything else is black-and-white, but that memory's still full color. That's why I couldn't abandon you even with dementia. That date was too good. I wanted to do it one more time."
The old couple lay in bed talking through the night. Conversations they'd missed for ten years, right up to falling asleep.
The next morning.
Kim Sun-ja looked at her husband, dead with the world's most peaceful face.
"You damn old man... You left without giving me that date."
She murmured softly at her departed husband.
"Wait for me up ahead, honey. I'll repay Lee Seop-nim's grace and follow."
The old woman stepped out with a bittersweet yet refreshed smile.
"You were here all night?"
"Ahem! Lee Seop-nim entrusted us with the aftermath."
Heo Grandpa and the regulars stood at the door.
"Come in. Help with the aftermath or whatever."
"Right, right."
Returning to Kim Sun-ja's house upon hearing, the Yeonok-dong elders saw the peacefully sleeping deceased and said,
"What a good death. A good death."
They were genuinely envious. Dying peacefully in sleep. The ultimate end every elder facing death yearned for.
Soon, an ambulance came and took the body.
"Death by natural causes due to old age. May the deceased rest in peace."
The doctor at the hospital pronounced it.
"This is all thanks to Lee Seop-nim's grace."
Looking at her husband shrouded in cloth, Kim Sun-ja said with relief. No sorrow or resentment on the old woman's face. The Yeonok-dong elders felt the same. Though Kim Chang-su died after Lee Seop's treatment, it only deepened their faith.