The Final Puzzle
As I listened, I found myself strangely relating to it. I figured the middle-aged women already had their hearts wide open, which made things far easier for me as the one doing the talking. Yunchae spoke up.
"I get it too — the way people listen to Donghyun's stories like they're under some kind of spell. And how they keep wanting to come back, like addicts. The people who come for fortune readings are the same. On the outside they act like they're not, but deep down they're drawn in, wanting something to lean on. I can tell."
Yongjin nodded as he answered.
"Right... so for people like that, let's become a real pillar they can rest their hearts on."
I blinked. Yongjin seemed to think this was the highlight of his speech, but I still couldn't quite grasp what he was getting at. Seeing my expression, he spoke with a look of disappointment.
"What's wrong? Don't you get it?"
Yunchae cut in.
"So you're saying we should start some kind of religion?"
Yongjin pointed a finger at her and shot to his feet.
"That's exactly it!!"
He turned his words on Yunchae.
"Even if you pretend otherwise right now, you basically think of Donghyun as your body god, don't you? The people who come here don't think of this guy as a god either, but they're treating him as something damn close. Of course they haven't realized it themselves yet, but taking time out of their weekends just to hear a regular high school guy's personal anecdotes isn't simple time-killing. And throwing money at it on top of that? That's proof. They want you. Or rather, they wanted someone to lean their hearts on, and you just happened to appear. Add to that the gift of gab that pulls people's hearts in, and a shaman's testimony that the god she served has moved over to him... when you look at it that way, isn't it perfect?"
Yunchae and I just stared at Yongjin with blank faces. I couldn't say for certain, but her mind was probably as empty as mine right then. I pulled myself together, shook my head, and spoke.
"No... sunbae. It's not that I completely disagree with what you're saying, but that conclusion went in a really weird direction. In other words... what you're proposing is that we create a new religion. That's... a cult. Cults cause a lot of social problems... and how would we even manage with just our strength..."
Yongjin raised a hand and cut me off.
"A cult is a group that wears the framework of a religion to deceive people and fill its own pockets. The key point is that they harm their believers for personal gain. We don't even need to slap a religious label on it — we just keep going exactly as we are now. Of course it'd be nice if the numbers grew, but if we hold down our greed and impatience, we can pull it off."
I looked Yongjin straight in the eyes.
"Sunbae. It's not like I don't know you... you're not the type who wants to start some community service organization. Tell me what you really want. You know Yunchae-sunbae and I aren't going to judge you for it, right?"
Yongjin smiled as he looked at me.
"You're right. At least in front of you two, I'll be honest. When people gather and their hearts come together as one, that itself is power. I want to use that kind of power as a foundation to do the things I've wanted to do. Not the things you can just do with money — the things you can only do with real power... I want to do those. I don't have anything specific in mind yet, but first I want to gather that power."
I leaned forward.
"Isn't that the self-interest that defines a cult?"
Yongjin smiled.
"If I wanted to live large and flashy, then yes. But it's a little different. I want to use the power I have to do the things I want to do. If the benefits happen to come to me, that would be self-interest, but I have no intention of making that the goal. I just want the sense of accomplishment..."
It felt like wordplay, but Yongjin's eyes didn't look like those of a liar. As I was studying them, Yunchae spoke.
"So what do we need to do right away?"
Yongjin nodded.
"Actually, Donghyun said something good just now. The moment the public figures out what our endgame is, we become a cult. For the time being, we just keep holding these gatherings and grow our Sindo... no, our attendees."
I asked,
"How?"
Yongjin, who had been pouring out his passionate speech, slumped his shoulders at my words and let out a sigh.
"Yeah. That's the final puzzle piece I've been thinking about. Once that clicks into place, our plane takes off."
Yunchae and I looked at each other. At least as far as I was concerned, this whole conversation was just Yongjin's wild delusion. And I had no desire to argue with him over something that had no chance of becoming reality. When neither of us offered much of a response, Yongjin took it as basic agreement and stood up from his seat. He promised to see us tomorrow and headed home.
After Yongjin left, I cleaned up what was left at Yunchae's house and locked up. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, I prepared to sleep there. When I sat down on the sofa, Yunchae came over beside me and said,
"Don't you want to? Shall I get ready?"
I nearly laughed. Considering it had only been a few days since Yunchae started showing this changed side of herself, the transformation was incredibly sudden — a stark contrast to the way she'd whined about the pain during her first time.
"Get ready for what? We can just go in and sleep..."
Yunchae gave a faintly shy smile.
"I should wash up a little... and I bought some contraceptives. Taking the pill felt a bit much..."
She quietly got up, went into the room, and came back with both hands full of something. What she was holding were boxes of condoms. She'd bought a truly impressive variety of types.
"I didn't know they came in different sizes and thicknesses... so I bought a bunch of different ones."
I found that side of Yunchae so adorable. I pulled her into a tight embrace, and in my arms she said in a small voice,
"I... have things I want to do too..."
Still holding her, I said,
"Alright... go wash up first..."
We took turns washing and lay side by side in the room. I thought that if I could keep living like this, I wouldn't care if it was a cult or whatever.
The next day, Yongjin arrived early again, and we prepared together for the gathering scheduled that day, finishing even earlier than the day before. His face was heavy, weighed down by a lot of thought, and he looked extremely serious. He seemed to be fretting over that final puzzle piece he'd mentioned yesterday. I wondered if he was taking something so unlikely a bit too seriously, but I didn't bother bringing it up.
There was still time left. Yunchae was preparing snacks and tea, and Yongjin was searching hard for something on his phone. That was when the front gate sounded. Thinking it was still early for people to arrive, I went outside. The person who opened the gate and came in was the middle-aged woman who had handed me an envelope yesterday.
"Ah... Jisin-nim is the first to welcome me..."
She beamed. She looked to be in her early forties or late thirties — on the younger side compared to the other middle-aged women who gathered here. She fawned over me, calling me by the name Yunchae used to use: Jisin.
"You're here early..."
I greeted her with the gentlest expression I could manage. She slipped quietly inside the gate and said,
"Everyone's inside, right?"
I nodded and gestured for her to come into the house. But she hesitated slightly. After wavering for a moment, she spoke as if she'd made up her mind.
"How do the people inside feel about this gathering?"
Surprised by her unexpected question, I tilted my head.
"How... do they feel? What do you mean?"
"Are you planning to hold this gathering a few times and then stop? Or do you want to keep going while bringing more people in?"
I wondered if I'd heard her right. For a moment I couldn't figure out why she was asking something like that. I gave a rough answer for now.
"Well... I hadn't really thought about it..."
A meaningful smile appeared on her face.
"Of course. Our Jisin-nim wouldn't have been thinking about that. But those two inside have been, haven't they?"
I felt the atmosphere grow strange. Sensing the change in my expression, her eyes sparkled as she said,
"Talk it over with your companions. Whether you want to keep holding gatherings like this on an ongoing basis. If you do, I can be of help."
"Help?"
Her expression turned a little chilling.
"I can gather people for you."