Expanding the Faith
I nodded with a smile, though I doubted anything of the sort would come about so easily. After Minhwa left, Jeongmi said she had things to do and took her time getting ready before heading out. Yoonchae lingered at my side, watching my face, then started to leave. I caught her by the wrist. She looked at me and said,
"Shall we… sleep together?"
When I nodded, Yoonchae climbed onto my bed.
We made love once, then lay resting in each other's arms. Something suddenly occurred to me, and I asked her,
"Are you on birth control, Yoonchae?"
She answered without hesitation.
"Yes. I was taking the pill, but it kept upsetting my stomach, so I got an implant procedure called Implanon a little while ago."
Hearing that she had gone as far as a procedure left me feeling a little guilty. While I was still at a loss for words, Yoonchae spoke again.
"If you ever want me to have a child, I can have it removed anytime. They said I'd be able to get pregnant right away once it's out."
Whoa. A child. Pregnancy. That was something I had never considered at all. While I sat lost in thought over words I never expected from her, Yoonchae spoke again.
"Minhwa… is that woman going to be with us every day from now on?"
I looked at her.
"Why? Does it bother you?"
Yoonchae shook her head.
"No. I don't think that way at all. It's just that Jeongmi, Myeongsuk, and I go to the hospital regularly once a month."
I was surprised again.
"The hospital? Why?"
Yoonchae said flatly,
"Just checkups. Myeongsuk brought it up first, and I'm the one who makes the appointments. I was wondering whether that woman should join us for the regular exams as well."
My jaw dropped. Myeongsuk had prepared even for this. The women around me had already made arrangements for the frequent sex we were having. I was starting to find Myeongsuk a little frightening. I couldn't find an answer to Yoonchae's words.
After that day, for nearly a week, Minhwa came to us every morning and left in the evenings. We talked together, shared meals, and even went for walks as a group. Yoonchae and Jeongmi occasionally stepped out for personal errands, but we spent almost all our time together.
The three women remained naked all day long, and though I wore a robe, I didn't wrap myself tightly, so I was practically naked as well. By now, caressing one another's bodies meant nothing special—it had become as casual as a gesture of affection. Sometimes I lay with a woman nestled against each side of me, and for almost every waking moment I was fondling their breasts. Being human, desire would rise from time to time living like that, and when I chose one woman, the other two would quietly slip away. We still couldn't quite bring ourselves to watch or join in while someone else was having sex. Of course, I didn't boldly suggest it either.
Once sex with one woman was over, the other two would come back in, clean up after us, and lounge around as if nothing had happened. In truth, Jeongmi had initiated and guided this entire pattern of living. Minhwa, who had first found it awkward to be with them, had begun to fit in like a friend, and she would occasionally buy them gifts.
Even so, the regular gatherings were held without fail on Wednesdays and weekends. On those days they all dressed properly and helped with the work, then stood by my side and matched their behavior to mine once people left. Myeongsuk had forbidden them from greeting the people who came to the gatherings, so when a meeting ended I withdrew from the crowd. Of course my women stayed with me. To anyone looking on, I must have been enviable. The sight of three ultra-stunning beauties escorting me was something to envy purely on a human level, never mind the religious angle.
The number of believers had grown visibly. According to Yongjin and Myeongsuk, registered members now exceeded two thousand, with over three hundred at weekday gatherings and about a thousand on weekends. Of course the weekend services ran morning and afternoon over two days, so the crowds were spread out.
With that growth, practical problems began to surface. Seating in the hall was starting to run short. Yongjin talked about plans to remodel the entire first floor into a hall soon. How long that would last was still an open question. Parking outside had also become an issue. There was a courtyard-like space in front of the building, but on weekends traffic was a mess with cars coming and going. We hired parking attendants and even valet service, but weekends were still a war zone.
There were problems that came with more believers, but offerings were increasing too. Unlike the early days when it started with housewives' pocket money, high-dollar donors were appearing one by one. Naturally we never told the general congregation who gave how much, but in our meetings Yongjin neatly organized the rankings and trends into reports. At the top of the high-donor ranking sat the name of Park Hyeonja, the building's owner and chairwoman.
Chairwoman Park often called me. Her company affairs still weren't fully settled, she said, but she never missed our gatherings. Because of outside scrutiny, she came thoroughly in disguise. She also said her offerings came from her personal funds, not the company.
What surprised me was that Minhwa's name was also on the high-donor ranking. I knew she was a wealthy woman, but she was contributing a substantial sum every time. Once I quietly asked her about it. Minhwa smiled with an innocent face and said she could easily afford that much. Compared to the bags and clothes she used to buy every day and every week, it was nothing, she said.
There were also donations from people whose names I didn't know, and corporate contributions. I was certain Myeongsuk was the one who had gotten them to give, which made me wonder if some of them had fallen for one of her schemes. Yongjin added that some of the corporations were giving as a tax-saving measure.
In any case, our following kept growing, and with help from Chairwoman Park—who had seen the parking nightmare firsthand—we were able to use the vacant lot by the entrance to Simanjeong as a parking area. That idle land was also her personal property. My Byeolchae under construction was nearly finished as well. According to Yongjin, it would be complete next week, interiors and all. I still didn't feel any need for the space, but I said nothing.
As the work piled up, the number of people employed at Simanjeong grew too. There were hands for running the cafeteria, and stewards responsible for the upkeep of the whole place. It was only about ten people, but it was strange to think we had permanent staff on payroll.
After an ordinary week like that, the invitation from Minhwa I had been waiting for finally came. She told me before she went home, and I accepted gladly. Minhwa sent her address to my phone and said she would prepare dinner for the evening, so I should come on an empty stomach. Looking like a girl giddy with excitement, she headed home.
On the day of my appointment with Minhwa, Jeongmi said she had plans too. Yoonchae went out to meet her stepmother, who had come up from the countryside for the first time in a while. Simanjeong, always bustling with people, suddenly fell quiet. Excited by the rare outing, I took a very long time getting ready. Then I left well before the actual appointment time. I figured I would buy a coffee on the street for the first time in ages and drink it on the way.
I stepped out onto a busy street for the first time in a long while. Of course no one recognized me. I wasn't famous enough for that yet. I stopped at a coffee shop, bought a cup, and walked. As quitting time approached the streets filled with people, and countless nightlife venues lit up their neon signs to draw customers.
Minhwa's address was in a luxury villa neighborhood behind this entertainment district. I already knew she owned considerable wealth, so that was no surprise, and I braced myself for far more things that would astonish me once I entered her home. I checked the clock on my phone, confirmed I still had time, and whiled away the minutes browsing the shops around me. I saw young couples out on dates. Only a few months earlier I had been a college student not so different from them. A student with no vision and an uncertain future, yes—but now I was something else entirely. Was I satisfied with who I was now? Was this truly what I had wanted? I couldn't answer myself.
I had thought being out among crowds would lift my spirits, but my heart only grew heavier. And then the sudden worry: what if Mom found out I had taken a leave of absence from school? Yoonchae and Yongjin had also taken leaves, but they seemed to have no lingering attachment to school at all. Was it because, unlike them, I hadn't thrown everything into this? My footsteps carried me out of the entertainment district.