Spiritual, Mental, and Practical
“After that, I never heard from the man again. I figured he was just another worthless guy. But then the real problem started at our office. Our youngest employee's parents farmed out in the countryside—not on their own land, but on someone else's that they rented. Suddenly the owner changed, and they were thrown off at once. They tried to lease other plots nearby, but no one would rent to them. Meanwhile she abruptly handed in her resignation. She wouldn't say why. I bought some time, asking her to think it over, but it seemed connected, so I hired people to dig into it. Two days into the investigation they said they were dropping the case. Of course they wouldn't give a reason.”
A thread of anger was beginning to cut into Yeonsu's expression. She paused, mastered her feelings, then went on. Seasoned—that was the word that came to me.
“One by one, the rest of the staff resigned, each with their own story. I rejected every resignation and told them we'd take some time. Right now none of them are working, and the office has completely lost its income.”
I pulled Yeonsu into a light embrace. She nestled against my chest and murmured.
“I know that telling you this, Jisin, won't solve anything. But I was so frustrated, my head so full of thoughts, that I needed to confess it to someone.”
I patted her back.
“You did well. I may not be able to solve every practical problem for you—but when it gets too hard, come to me and let me hold you. I hope that for those brief moments you can forget everything. That rest will give you strength.”
Yeonsu nodded and murmured again.
“I wish this could end here, but I'm worried the trouble will spread to our families.”
“It won't. It must not...”
I gave her a baseless assurance. We talked of this and that until dawn. As the sky brightened, Yeonsu and I made love once more, fiercely, until we collapsed in exhaustion. After an hour or two of sleep we showered together and left the hotel. Yeonsu drove me as far as Simanjeong; I staggered the rest of the way to my quarters.
Yeonsu's situation was genuinely pitiful. The people who knew about the development plans were squeezing her with the most cowardly methods—strangling her through the people around her. The sheer meanness of it made my blood boil. All I could do was get angry; there was nothing I could actually do. More precisely, I couldn't even begin to imagine what to do. I kept seeing Yeonsu as she had told me her story, looking so hollowed out, and I thought about the heart that still refused to let go of that land even under such pressure. What did that land mean to her? When everyone around her was suffering, wouldn't the sensible thing have been to sell it and wash her hands of the whole affair? In the end, was it simply greed for money?
From that morning on, tangled thoughts filled my head, and my shoulders sagged under a heavy heart. That was when Myeongsuk came to see me. She stepped through the door, stripped off her clothes, said she wanted to speak with me alone, and led me into the inner chamber.
“Did you meet Gu Yeonsu?”
I nodded and explained in detail everything Yeonsu had told me. Myeongsuk listened with intense concentration. When I finished, she bowed her head and sank into deep thought. Her expression was so grave I hardly dared speak. I simply watched her in silence. We stayed like that for quite a long time. At last Myeongsuk opened her mouth.
“So that's what happened...”
She was speaking, but her face and everything about her remained unchanged—still lost in thought. Then she nodded. I was sure every small movement of this woman carried meaning. Her gaze returned to me.
“It seems Yeonsu has touched a reverse scale.”
The moment I heard that, something came back to me.
“Ah—I forgot to mention. The blackmailer said something similar. ‘You touched something you shouldn't have touched.’”
When I said that, a smile rose to Myeongsuk's lips.
“Exactly. So that's the tail they've shown us...”
What was she talking about?
“What do you mean?”
Myeongsuk only smiled in silence, looking at me. She was looking at me, but her focus didn't seem to be on me at all. A chill ran down my spine. A moment later her usual expression returned.
“Ah... sorry. I was thinking for a moment...”
She brushed her hair back as she spoke.
“What should we do?”
I let out a hollow laugh.
“What do you mean, what should we do? There's nothing we can do. Even if we contact the police, Yeonsu would be the one to do that...”
“And if we could do something? Do you want to help Yeonsu, Jisin?”
“If I could, of course I would...”
Myeongsuk smiled meaningfully.
“Let me look into a few things first. I'll report back to you.”
I said, a little petulantly,
“What? Are you going to wait until everything's finished and then tell me, like last time? Using me is over now, right?”
Myeongsuk laid a hand on my cheek with a motherly smile.
“I told you that wouldn't happen again. I'll investigate thoroughly first and then tell you. And let's save Gu Yeonsu together. Spiritual and emotional salvation is important—but let's save her in the real world too.”
Ugh... that was cool. Then Myeongsuk lightly kissed me and rose from her seat. She dressed in a hurry and went outside. As I watched her leave, Jeongmi came over, rested a hand on my shoulder, and said,
“I don't know exactly what she said, but I can guess well enough. That's the look Aunt gets when she's found something she's sure of. Just wait.”
I looked at Jeongmi. The thought struck me that nakedness suited her even better now. I smiled and nodded. I was about to head for the sofa where Yunchae and Miryeong were sitting when Jeongmi caught my arm and pulled me back into the inner room. Why did this aunt and niece act exactly the same?
“About what I mentioned earlier...”
I blinked at her with a what-now look. Jeongmi frowned.
“The bodyguards...”
“Ah... the dog collars?”
Jeongmi shot me a sidelong glance.
“I've already placed the order. I'm picking them up tomorrow. So tomorrow evening, hold a ceremony to bestow them.”
“A ceremony?”
“Yes. If you do it right, they'll be willing to lay down their lives for you, Jisin. That's why this kind of ritual is necessary.”
I laughed again.
“Is this position really so dangerous that people would throw their lives away for it?”
Jeongmi laughed with me.
“Well, that depends on how you handle things, Jisin... But from where I stand, I think we'll need them. Maybe even more people.”
I couldn't laugh anymore. Jeongmi continued.
“Anyway, tomorrow there will be a ceremony, and we'll prepare it. All you need to do, Jisin, is accept their sincerity. And...”
“And?”
Jeongmi started to say something, then shook her head.
“Never mind. Later...”
I had no idea what she had been about to say.
The next morning, Jeongmi left early. And as always, Minhwa arrived first thing. She had spent the previous night out for her parents' birthday. Calling it “spending the night out” felt oddly backwards somehow, but lately Minhwa had been eating and sleeping here almost every day. I honestly didn't understand why she would leave her large, comfortable, luxurious house to live here.
“Then why don't you live with me at that house, Jisin? What if all the Jiseonnyeo move there too?”
Honestly, I wanted that more than anything. Still, I thought it would be good to visit her place from time to time—for her sake.
Our strange naked daily life began once more. By now Yunchae and Minhwa had grown somewhat close and could be seen talking at length. Minhwa spoke with Miryeong now and then as well, but Miryeong herself was always buried in a book or a tablet and rarely joined the general conversation. I went over to Miryeong and asked what she was working on so hard.
“I'm writing a variety of materials. Materials for missionary work, promotional materials, guidelines, a simplified doctrine book for minors... Since I was the one who built the scripture and the doctrine, if I don't produce these myself, they might not be transmitted accurately. So I'm making them all myself.”