Sacred Grace
"I broke up with him while I was working for Cheonsiman-gyo. He was against it. He told me to choose — him, or that cult. Looking back, that might have been what set me off even more. I told him I would choose Cheonsiman-gyo, and he left my side."
I turned and lay on my side, facing Mireyeong.
"I threw myself into Cheonsiman-gyo even harder after that. Maybe I was trying to heal the wound of losing him."
So that was why she had worked so strangely hard ever since joining us.
"The pain of that heartbreak wasn't small. It was the first love I had ever felt so deeply in my life. So I clung even more tightly to the work of Cheonsiman-gyo, and I never missed a single word from Jisin whenever you spoke. Everything you said felt like it was meant for me alone, and every time, I shed tears of emotion."
Mireyeong had always been so guarded with her feelings that I had never known any of this. Even living with her, I hadn't sensed a thing.
"But thinking about it now, I realize that new flesh was growing over my wounded heart — and every bit of that new flesh was a heart that turned toward you, Jisin. I saw him today, and I felt no longing and no regret. If anything, it became the moment I understood that there is nothing in my heart but you."
Mireyeong slowly sat up. She looked straight at me as she spoke.
"The reason I haven't been more forward with you until now was partly that my personality simply isn't as outgoing as Min-hwa's or Jeongmi's — but also that I never had the chance to look into my own heart, and I simply didn't understand it clearly. Today, though, I know for certain. I felt that my body and my heart are filled with your sacred grace, Jisin."
Mireyeong pressed her lips to mine. Her mouth was impossibly sweet. I couldn't say a word. When she drew back, she spoke again.
"I will live as your woman forever, Jisin. I will never let my eyes wander again, and I will never entertain another thought. You are my eternal shepherd and my savior."
With Mireyeong's confession, we made love. An affection for her was seeping into me in a way that felt almost strange, and my sexual excitement climbed to its peak. Breathing hard, I poured my love into her body without restraint. Since I had first taken her into my arms, it was the night she was the most aroused, the most eager, she had ever been.
Afterward, Mireyeong told me she had stopped taking the medicine she had been on for some time, but I paid it little mind. In my relations with the Jiseonnyeo I had never used contraception myself; they handled it on their own. Whether they took pills or underwent procedures, I never concerned myself with the details of their birth control one by one.
A few weeks later, Mireyeong came to me and told me she was pregnant. I was surprised, but I was neither flustered nor thrown into confusion. If anything, from that day on she simply began to look more beautiful to me. The other Jiseonnyeo all learned of her pregnancy as well, and I started looking after her even in front of them.
I had drifted into thought for a moment, and when I stepped out of Simanjeong I saw two people standing and looking out over the river. One of them turned, spotted me and Myeongsuk, and came running. It was Ma Juri.
"Jisin. I'm leaving on a morning flight tomorrow."
I smiled and nodded.
"Thanks to you, everything seems to have worked out. Now you should be able to set down a little of that past you regret from the burden on your heart."
Juri nodded.
"Yes. Even after I go to Japan, I mean to do everything I can to carry your words to as many people as possible. As you said — if those thoughts and that heart of mine reach Heaven, who knows what miracle may be granted. And even if nothing comes of it, I intend to accept that without regret."
Juri seemed to have come to depend on us completely, spiritually. More deeply than I had expected. On one hand, I thought it could be a real problem if someone this deep into a cult were anywhere near me in ordinary life. Still — this woman had fallen into a cult and, through it, had done something good for society. That, at least, I could be satisfied with.
As if something had just occurred to her, Juri pointed toward the person she had been speaking with a moment before.
"That woman is the grandmother I told you about — the one who donated the ancestral mountain land. I'm so glad everything worked out this time, and that we can carry out her final wishes properly."
I nodded. From a distance, the grandmother wrapped thickly in her coat was hard to make out. It was late, and the dark didn't help. Looking both regretful and pleased, Juri said her goodbyes to Myeongsuk and me and left Simanjeong. Myeongsuk wore an odd little smile as she spoke to me.
"That grandmother was the trigger that shook Ma Juri's heart. So you should at least go say hello."
I nodded and approached the old woman. Hearing our footsteps, she turned. I nearly collapsed from the shock. Standing there was Chairman Park of the Gangha Group. In those shabby clothes, I hadn't recognized her at all.
"Ch-Chairman…"
Chairman Park smiled as she spoke.
"It's been a long time since I've met you personally like this, Jisin."
Too stunned to speak, I looked at Myeongsuk. She wore a thoroughly pleased smile.
"This whole affair… Myeongsuk…"
Without taking her eyes off Chairman Park's face, Myeongsuk said,
"I went to see the Chairman to consult about the land issue. That was when she said she would make contact with the woman herself, and…"
Chairman Park cut in.
"I didn't think there was any other follower who could convey what Cheonsiman-gyo is as well as I could, or who could move her heart the way I could. And I also felt I ought to take the lead in stopping that kind of wrongdoing."
I stammered,
"Then the person who offered to help cover Gu Min-hwa's losses…?"
Chairman Park nodded, still smiling.
"Handing over money outright felt a little wrong, so I assigned her our corporation's real estate transactions. Between commissions and incentives, I mean to make her whole. One deal wouldn't be enough, so for the time being I plan to entrust her with all of our group's real estate business."
I quickly reached out and took Chairman Park's hand.
"Thank you for helping us like this every time."
Chairman Park shook her head.
"What I've gained can't be measured in money. This is nothing at all."
We stood there talking for a while, and just as I was about to invite her inside for tea, a car pulled into Simanjeong. A familiar woman stepped down from the passenger seat and opened the rear door. Lee Hyeonji, Chairman Park's secretary. As she climbed into the car, Chairman Park looked at me and said,
"That lecture at our company I mentioned before… our side's preparations are more or less finished now. Whenever your schedule allows, Jisin, I'd like to ask for your help."
I bowed at the waist. Lately I had almost never used formal speech or bowed to anyone — but for Chairman Park alone, I made an exception. Lee Hyeonji shut the door, glanced my way with a light nod of greeting, and took the passenger seat. Chairman Park's car pulled away. Once it was gone, I put my hands around Myeongsuk's throat.
"How long are you going to keep making secrets out of things and hiding them from me?"
Myeongsuk giggled, and we horsed around there for quite a while. In any case, knowing that Chairman Park was still watching over us from the edges of our lives left me feeling solid and secure. Even beyond the purely financial help, the fact that someone was steadily cheering us on was an enormous source of strength. I decided I would have to put real care into the lecture for the Gangha Group that she had asked of me.
I entered Byeolchae with Myeongsuk. While she undressed in the entryway, I went on into the house. As usual, only Yunchae and Jeongmi were sitting there; Min-hwa was nowhere to be seen. When I asked after those who were missing, they told me Min-hwa had gone out for personal business and still hadn't returned. As she said it, Jeongmi jerked her chin toward the private chambers. She was probably trying to let me know that Mireyeong was waiting for me there.
I was smiling and about to turn when my eyes met Yunchae's, who was staring straight at me. There was a great deal packed into that look, but I only offered a light smile and turned away. Even so, the light in her eyes snagged at me like a thorn in my throat, again and again. Myeongsuk, naked now, was coming into the living room; she gave me a faint smile as she watched me head for the private chambers.
When I went in, Mireyeong was lying on the bed looking at a tablet. Her firm, full hips were in full view. I stripped off the robe I was wearing, lay down beside her, and put my hand on them. Elasticity, shape — by every measure, they were worth a million dollars. Even as I ran my hands over her body, Mireyeong didn't take her eyes off the tablet.
"Just a moment… I have to finish reading this and get it organized…"
I paid her words no mind, rubbing my body against hers as I kept caressing her hips. At last Mireyeong turned off the tablet and looked back at me.
"Why are you acting like such a baby today?"