Jeongmi
Myeong suk's expression did not soften, even at my smile.
"From now on, you have to become a true cult leader, Jisin. You need to take on at least some of the presence ordinary people expect from one. Otherwise you'll never be more than a smooth-talking young man. There is no cult leader in the world who sees people off after a gathering with a smile and a friendly goodbye. Even if that's how it's been until now, it has to change."
"Come on… Christian pastors and Buddhist monks all do that."
"They aren't cult leaders. They're shepherds. That kind of work is for the four of us."
I could feel Myeongsuk's emotions rising as she spoke. I lifted a hand.
"All right. Don't get worked up. I get it. Fine. Like I said earlier, I'll do whatever you tell me. I won't act that way again. Happy? Was that what you wanted to say? What does any of this have to do with the fifth candidate?"
Myeong suk took another deep breath and continued in a calmer voice.
"You have a strange power to draw people in, Jisin. I was trying to speak a little more forcefully so I wouldn't get pulled into your words, and it ended up like this. In any case, you can no longer be someone who shows himself freely in front of people — not outside of when you speak at gatherings."
I nodded, making every effort to keep quiet. Myeongsuk's face cooled again as she went on.
"Simply put, we are going to build an image for the believers: that Jisin is a mysterious being — someone they must never take lightly."
"That mystique thing you've been talking about since last time… I understand," I said. "I don't particularly like it, but I'll go along with it. If it's essential to what we're doing."
Myeong suk bowed her head in a brief, light gesture of thanks, then continued.
"Thank you. It may feel awkward now, but you'll grow used to it with time. Addressing us with such casual familiarity felt strange at first for you too, but you're comfortable with it now."
I smiled. Honestly, I suspected that had more to do with the fact that we had been sharing our bodies. Myeongsuk pressed on.
"Once you withdraw from the congregation outside of official gatherings, your surroundings may grow empty. You yourself might start to feel isolated. Of course we'll be nearby, but we can't stay glued to you twenty-four hours a day."
I smiled again.
"It's fine. I've got Yunchae, and Yongjin hyung too."
Myeong suk shook her head.
"This is different from people you're close with… How should I put it… Think of them as your personal attendants. People who will fill the space around you. We need people like that."
I simply stared at her, blank-eyed.
"Just do as I say and it will be fine. The fifth candidate will be placed in the Seongyodan, but her real primary role will be to look after you at close quarters."
"Isn't Yunchae already doing that?"
Myeong suk's expression did not ease.
"She follows you spiritually. This is someone of a different kind — someone who will serve as your hands and feet. For now, just keep that much in mind. Understanding will come later."
I started to say something, but Myeongsuk turned sharply on her heel and walked toward the building. I stayed where I was and looked out at the river again. Because this gathering wore the form of a religion, I knew it needed a focal point to gather their faith into one. In the vague way this whole thing had begun, I had gone along with everything people said without questioning it — and I had forgotten something. That focal point was me.
Not long after I returned to my room, I got word that the candidate Myeongsuk had mentioned had arrived. Sure enough, a short while later Yunchae showed a naked woman into the room. Yunchae shot me a less-than-pleased glance and left. The woman had doused herself so heavily in perfume that the moment she stepped inside, the room filled with her scent.
"I'm Kang Jeongmi."
She was the same age as Yunchae. Her face was clearly pretty, and her figure excellent. Yet something about her atmosphere seemed to smother every advantage of youth and physique. To put it unkindly, she looked cheap — so much so that the "university student" written on her file felt almost laughable.
Jeongmi showed not the slightest shame at being naked. If anything, she seemed to enjoy my gaze on her body. And what startled me most of all was the tattoo on her right hip. I had seen that design before. It looked very much like the dragon tattoo on Myeongsuk's shoulder.
She had no pubic hair. Plenty of young women waxed these days, so that alone would not have been strange — but her overall air made it hard to write off so easily. Something about her appearance was oddly overwhelming, and I was working hard not to let it show. With as casual a gesture as I could manage, I pointed to the chair in the middle of the room. She crossed to it with a seductive walk and sat. The cleft of her sex was clearly visible.
"I was told to address you as Jisin."
I nodded. A faint smile never left the corners of her mouth. I cleared my throat and spoke.
"Seonja Go Myeongsuk already filled you in, I assume?"
The faint smile at her lips widened.
"Yes. I will do my utmost for you, Jisin."
I shifted out of my lounging posture.
"No. Not for me — for our Cheonsiman-gyo—"
She stood up so abruptly that I stopped mid-sentence, startled. She walked slowly toward me and held out something she had been carrying in one hand. It was a leather choker. When I stared at it in surprise, she looked at me with that same smile.
"Auntie must have told you. About my real role."
She gave the choker a slight shake. Half in a daze, I took it. She then sank to her knees in front of me, looking up.
"Put it on my neck."
"What?"
Her sudden request left me frozen, unable to move either way. She smiled a little more freely.
"It's only a symbolic act, so don't be alarmed. It's also a reminder and a vow to myself — that I am someone bound to another."
I slowly reached out and took the choker. She gathered her hair back. I fastened the collar around her throat and pressed the snap closed. The moment I took my hands from her neck, the sly smile drained from her face and it went hard. She bent at the waist, pressed her forehead to the floor, and bowed to me.
"From this moment on, I will be your hands and your feet, Jisin. I will give you my absolute loyalty."
I was stunned. Loyalty? It was like watching a medieval knight swear an oath. Honestly, from the moment Myeongsuk had first spoken of this, I had known something unusual was coming — but this was beyond even that expectation.
I leaned forward a little.
"Earlier, though… you called Seonsa Go Myeongsuk 'Auntie,' didn't you?"
Jeongmi did not lift her head.
"Yes. Go Myeongsuk is my aunt."
"Your actual aunt? Or just a way of addressing her?"
Still she did not raise her head.
"My actual aunt. My mother is Go Myeongsuk's older sister."
I straightened up. What the hell was this? That woman had pushed her own niece into this place? What was she thinking? My head began to spin. Paying no attention to my turmoil, Jeongmi slowly raised her upper body.
"My aunt and I have a complicated, delicate relationship most people couldn't begin to understand. You may learn about those personal matters someday… but what matters right now is that I have become yours, Jisin."
I pushed my chair back a little as I spoke.
"It's enough that you're willing to work for Cheonsiman-gyo. I don't think you need to swear that kind of oath to me personally—"
She rose to her feet. Her entire, excellent figure filled my vision. Her face was utterly serious; her eyes had gone sharp and frightening. It was nothing like the sly smile she had worn when she first walked in. A chill ran through me.
"Cheonsiman-gyo is Jisin — and Jisin is Cheonsiman-gyo itself. Never forget that from this day on."
I lost every word I might have said and simply stared at her face. Truthfully, if a woman of her caliber said something like that, most men would be saying okay, thank you very much without a second thought. And looking at me frozen like this, they would probably call me a eunuch or worse. But the air around this woman was not that kind of air. The dragon tattoo on her hip, shifting with every movement of her body, only deepened the impression.