Outdoor Stream
A short walk from the café brought me to a small neighborhood park.
It was the same park where I'd run into that high school student last time.
With no one around, I claimed a shaded bench and sat down.
"Let's rest here a moment. I can hardly keep carrying this cake around."
I set the gimbal on the bench, angled so it wouldn't face me, and opened the cake box.
A disposable fork had even been tucked inside.
One bite, and it melted on my tongue.
As expected — things that look expensive usually have a reason.
"Delicious."
"I must respectfully decline."
I set down the fork and opened my mouth.
"That said, everyone — we ought to reflect on the situation just now. I never ordered a cake, yet a cake appeared. In effect, I received a gift without any price attached. But does such a thing as a truly free gift even exist in this world?"
"A gift may look like pure goodwill at first glance, but there is always an invisible fishhook hidden inside — the obligation to reciprocate. Accept a gift and never repay it, and you lose standing within the community. So what did that clerk want from me in return? Most likely my goodwill, and an ongoing connection."
Judging by that part-timer's reaction earlier, anyone should have been able to guess this face was above average — yet a fair number of viewers were still refusing to face reality.
"Everyone, you need to confront reality. Just a moment ago…"
I was about to continue when a voice came from beside me.
"Excuse me."
I looked toward the sound. A woman who looked to be in her mid-forties and a young woman in her early twenties were looking down at me.
"Yes?"
When I asked back, the older woman smiled warmly and spoke.
"I happened to notice you as we were passing by… You have such a lovely presence. Your energy looks so clear, too."
Ah…
This was a first since becoming Jeong Eun-gyeol.
I'd dealt with this plenty of times as a man, though. At first I'd been flustered, but eventually the neighborhood proselytizers had started going out of their way to avoid me.
Well then — shall I exercise my mouth on some missionaries for old times' sake?
"Oh."
I put on a deliberately delighted expression.
"Energy, you say. Perfect timing. Please, have a seat."
I patted the spot beside me on the bench.
Both of them froze. No doubt I was the first person who'd ever reacted like this.
"Ah — no… Standing is fine…"
If they didn't want to sit, so be it.
I opened my mouth.
"Energy. In that case, I'm curious how you define it. What exactly is energy?"
"E-excuse me?"
"How do you sense energy, ma'am? Do you see it visually? Can you touch it? Or does it have a scent, a temperature — something of that sort?"
The older woman looked flustered.
"Well, energy isn't something you see with your eyes… You just feel it. Once you've studied long enough, it comes naturally…"
"A feeling. Very well. Then one more question. The two of you have surely told countless people that their energy is clear. Have you ever once told someone, 'Your energy is murky'?"
The older woman and the young woman exchanged glances.
"I thought not. But well, that's a minor issue."
I pushed the cake box aside and adjusted my posture.
"The real point begins now. There's something I'd like to ask the two of you."
Looking up at them with the most earnest face I could manage, I asked:
"Do you believe lying is wrong?"
"…What? Of course. Obviously."
The older woman answered in a dazed tone.
"Good. Then is claiming to know something you don't a lie?"
"That… would be a lie, yes?"
"Then let's return to what we were discussing. You were unable to explain what energy is. And yet you claimed to know that mine is clear. So it has to be one of two things: either you know but cannot explain it, or you don't know but claimed that you do."
"It's just hard to explain… That doesn't mean I don't know…"
"Knowledge that cannot be explained. Fine. I'll grant that for now. But how did you come to learn something that cannot be explained?"
"…What?"
"Unless you arrived at it entirely on your own, someone must have taught you — that thing you 'feel.' And I rather doubt this knowledge simply fell out of the sky."
"W-well, our teacher who instructs us…"
"Ah, so there is a teacher."
I nodded.
"Then I suggest you bring that teacher here. As it stands, the two of you seem rather short on knowledge, and I'm finding it difficult to put much faith in what you're saying."
Having said that, I glanced at my secondary phone to check the chat.
Sweat was beading on the older woman's forehead.
The young woman beside her hurriedly cut in.
"Um — hang on! It's not that complicated! Looking at you right now, I can see your ancestors are helping you. But something's blocked. You're meant for a big breakthrough, only right now it's stuck…"
Ancestors, was it.
"Ancestors. Excellent. Let's organize this, then. Your ancestors are helping me. Is that correct?"
"Yes!"
"And yet I am blocked. Is that also correct?"
"…Yes."
The young woman's voice had grown quieter than before. She'd clearly sensed something ominous — but it was already too late.
"Then let me ask. Who blocked me? Was it my ancestors, or was it not my ancestors?"
"……."
Silence fell.
"It's not a difficult question. It's one or the other. If my ancestors blocked me, then the claim that they're helping me is a lie — because helping and obstructing at the same time makes no sense. Conversely, if something other than my ancestors blocked me… then my ancestors are the sort of people who can't even clear a single obstruction. Help like that is the same as no help at all, is it not?"
"Th-that's because you haven't been devoted enough, and that's why if you meet our teacher, he can clear what's blocked…"
"Oh."
There it was at last.
"So a living teacher can clear what the deceased ancestors cannot. You're saying your teacher is more powerful than my ancestors… In that case, why bring up the ancestors at all? From the beginning, only one sentence was necessary: 'Pay us, and our teacher will resolve your anxiety.'"
"W-we never said anything about money…"
"No, not yet. I've just saved you about five minutes."
I looked from one of them to the other.
"Let's summarize. Today the two of you tried to sell me three things: energy that cannot be defined, ancestors who serve no function, and groundless anxiety. All three are items I never ordered."
Then I patted the empty seat beside me once more.
"But I'm not angry. On the contrary, I think this is a fine opportunity. Please, sit. Let's carefully work through what energy is, from the very beginning, together. We have plenty of time. I'm quite happy to stay up all night."
Both of them took a step back at the same time.
"We have… another appointment!"
"Take care!"
The older woman grabbed the younger one's arm, and the two of them hurried out of the park at a brisk pace.
In the end, I never did get a definition of energy.
I picked up my secondary phone and checked the chat.
"Well. They weren't a particularly difficult opponent."
I finished the rest of the cake, tidied up the empty box, and stood from the bench.
"Shall we head to our next destination?"
The next destination was a bookstore.
It wasn't a major chain, but it was still the largest one in my neighborhood.
After getting permission to film at the counter, I stepped inside.
Ignoring the viewers' chat, I headed for the philosophy and humanities section.
Needless to say, the shelves were so quiet you could have heard a fly buzz.
"…There's no one here."
I swung the camera around to show the bestseller section on the opposite side.
Unlike the philosophy corner, there were a fair number of people.
I walked over and trained the camera on the titles of the bestsellers.
How I Made Ten Billion Won by Forty
Earn Ten Million a Month with Stocks
The Unbeatable Real Estate Investment Method
"A perfect scene demonstrating how matter governs the spirit."
I'd turned off the TTS before entering the bookstore, so no sound played — but the message floating on my secondary phone screen caught my eye just the same.
I cleared my throat.
"Ahem. Moving on."
I turned my steps back toward the philosophy and humanities section.
I was pulling a book from the shelf and looking at its table of contents when a man's voice came from beside me.
"Excuse me."
He looked to be in his late twenties, neatly dressed.
Hmm. Surely not.
I adjusted the gimbal so his face wouldn't appear on camera.
"Can I help you?"
When I asked, the man hesitated, swallowed hard, and then spoke with a serious expression.
"You're so completely my type… If you don't have a boyfriend, would you mind giving me your number?"
As expected.
His ears had gone bright red; he'd clearly worked up real courage to approach me…
Unfortunately, I had absolutely no reason to accept.
I'd considered at least pretending to think it over, but that would have been rude in its own way.
"I'm sorry."
At those words, the man's shoulders sagged, and he trudged out of the bookstore.
He hadn't come here to look at books in the first place, by the looks of it.
I checked my secondary phone.
Needless to say, the chat was flying by at high speed.
"…Please don't make a scene. It was merely a minor incident."
Of course, the chat showed not the slightest sign of quieting down.
He himself had no idea, but that man's pure-hearted confession had just been live-streamed to a thousand people in real time.
I'll pray for his soul… no, for his good fortune.