Heredity #1
Yang Ju-hui asked, “Did you tell the police about this story?”
“No. I don’t think they’d believe me even if I did. For now, it’s just between us.”
“That’s probably for the best. If my mom finds out, she’ll be devastated all over again. She’s the one who forced my sister to keep going to Yeongji High even though she didn’t want to. So…”
“If she’d gone to a different high school, maybe she wouldn’t have gone missing… something like that?”
“Yeah. Seeing this would just make her think of my sister again. Then she might get even more obsessed with church. So let’s keep quiet for now.”
Fair enough. I didn’t exactly want to go shouting it from the rooftops either. I’m the villain here. The imposter. The last thing I need is more attention.
“By the way, was there a reason your mom wanted your sister to go to Yeongji High?”
“My sister originally wanted to go to a vocational school so she could get a job right away, but Mom insisted she go to a regular academic high school. They fought a lot over it.”
So Yang Do-hui hadn’t been a great student. She barely got into Yeongji High, which was already known as a school for delinquents.
“Come to think of it, our grandmother was the same. She said my sister absolutely had to go to Yeongji High. That it was the only way everyone would survive. Grandma had dementia by then, so she was pretty out of it. She even used to say there was a river flowing underground.”
“A river? Underground?”
“I don’t really know. Mom would know more about that story. She took care of Grandma until the very end. Before the dementia got bad, Grandma was an incredible person.”
Yang Ju-hui held out her phone. When I saw the photo of her maternal grandmother—the former village shaman—I was genuinely surprised. She was wearing a kimono, traditional Japanese attire.
“Isn’t that Japanese clothing?”
“Yeah. Grandma lived in Japan when she was young. Then when they were building Yeongji High, someone called her over saying they needed to perform a suppression ritual. That’s how she ended up settling in Gaeryong.”
I’d heard something like this before. It matched the records I’d looked up while investigating the feng shui ghost. The local influential Cheon family had wanted to tear down their mansion and build a school on the site, but strange accidents kept happening, so they tried to perform a suppression ritual.
“So your grandmother was living in Japan and got invited to Gaeryong?”
“That’s right. It was a huge deal at the time. She got into a massive fight with the original land shaman who protected the village shrine tree. They were practically trying to kill each other. The other woman was apparently against building the school.”
I knew this story too. The famous “Gaeryong village shrine shaman” had opposed the school construction and refused to perform the suppression ritual. So the Cheon family head had brought in an “outsider shaman” from Japan instead.
“In the end, our grandmother won, performed the ritual, and Yeongji High was built. She got a huge amount of money from the Cheon family back then, so our household used to be wealthy… but Mom donated everything to the church, and now we’re like this.”
I see… I understood, yet something still felt off. Honestly, I’d suspected the shaman ghost in the old school building might be connected to Yu Da-hee’s grandmother or her maternal side. But that eyeless shaman had been wearing Korean rainbow-colored robes, not Japanese attire. If we set aside the possibility that the shaman ghost was Yang Ju-hui’s grandmother…
Then only one conclusion remained. The original village shrine shaman who had lived in Gaeryong like a local guardian spirit.
“Do you know what happened to the original shaman who lost to your grandmother?”
“…Original?”
“Your grandmother was Japanese, right?”
“No, she was Korean. She just went to Japan to study.”
Right. So Yang Ju-hui was Korean too, then.
“I don’t know what happened to the original shaman. But I do know what happened to the place where she lived. They cut down the village shrine tree and built a church there instead. Yeonggwang Church. People made a huge fuss back then too, saying everyone would be cursed for cutting down the sacred tree.”
The village shrine tree. It wasn’t just any tree—it was sacred and spiritually powerful. To cut it down anyway… weren’t they afraid of divine punishment?
Of course they weren’t. If a pastor was devout enough to build a church on top of it, then to him the shrine tree was nothing more than a thick old tree. These were the same people who had smashed Buddhist statues and beheaded the Dangun statue in the twentieth century. Why would they fear a mere tree?
—The village shrine tree is just a big tree, that’s all.
For some reason, that conversation replayed in my head.
Yang Ju-hui spoke up. “Hey. You actually went to that terrifying school with Yu Da-hee? You and Jeong Seok are both total cowards.”
“She said she’d grant my wish if I went with her.”
“What?”
Yang Ju-hui frowned. She looked like she wanted to say something, then closed her mouth before finally speaking again.
“Hey. Do you actually want to go to church with me tomorrow? Don’t you want to hear what happened to the village shrine shaman? The pastor there probably knows.”
“Are you suddenly trying to convert me?”
“My mom’s been nagging me about not going to church lately. It’s awkward going alone. If you come with me, I’ll grant you one wish too. Nothing weird, though.”
Oh, shit. If every street evangelist looked like Yang Ju-hui, churches would be packed to the brim.
“If I go to church with you tomorrow, will you make up with Yu Da-hee?”
“……”
“It seemed like she had her reasons. Maybe she really did suddenly lose her memories, like my mom.”
“…Fine. I’ll talk to her.”
She acted reluctant, but going to Yeonggwang Church once didn’t sound like a bad idea. According to Jeong Seok, the “culprit” behind the female high school student’s beheading supposedly worked there as a facilities deacon. While I was at it, I could meet him… and get a look at Pastor Cheon Ae-soo too.
…Though Yu Da-hee was still on my mind. I’d sent her a message, but she hadn’t even read it. Not even a single checkmark.
# # #
Until elementary school, I had been a pastor’s son. Which meant I knew the church system better than most.
Sunday. People who attended church called it the Lord’s Day, the day the Lord rose again—ju-il. I headed to Yeonggwang Church with Yang Ju-hui. The high school service started at 11 a.m.
At the entrance, people who looked like assistant pastors and high school teachers greeted the students warmly.
“Yang Ju-hui! Ju-hui! It’s been so long!”
“Ju-hui, you just keep getting prettier!”
Yang Ju-hui was popular. Pretty girls were popular everywhere, and church was no exception.
“……”
I stepped back from the crowd gathering around her and looked up at the church building. It was huge. Big enough to be called a semi-megachurch. The sign read “The Presbyterian Church in Korea.” While the denomination had several factions, it was still the largest mainstream group in Korea, larger than the Methodist or Baptist churches. Not some shady cult, but a proper orthodox church. I’d briefly wondered if Deacon Kim Yeo-ok might be attending a heretical church, but I’d been completely off the mark.
“Ju-hui, who’s that over there?”
“Is that your boyfriend?”
The church sisters fussed over Yang Ju-hui. She smiled awkwardly at them.
“He’s a classmate. I invited him.”
“Even Ju-hui, who barely comes to church herself, brought someone!”
“Wow, the sun must be rising in the west tomorrow!”
Yeah, that reaction was expected. Soon, a woman with her hair tied back in a neat ponytail and a friendly face turned to me.
“What’s your friend’s name? Have you been to church before, or is this your first time? I’m Joo Chan-mi from the new members’ team. Nice to meet you.”
Joo Chan-mi! Even her name had character. With her casually tied hair, she looked effortlessly cool. She’d make a fine crush.
“I’m Ha Yeong-won.”
“Alright, then. Could you just write down your name, address, and phone number here?”
When pretty older sisters asked for your number so warmly, it was hard to refuse. Newbies would’ve fallen for it completely. But writing down my name and number here would be the end of me in more ways than one. They’d start calling every weekend if I skipped church!
These days, passionate churches like this were supposedly becoming rarer, but judging by the atmosphere at Yeonggwang Church, they’d definitely call every week. This place was very enthusiastic.
“I… I just came to look around today. I just want to see what it’s like.”
I pretended to know nothing. Act like a complete beginner. Joo Chan-mi, who had been watching me, smiled smoothly.
“Ah! In that case, feel free to do that!”
“What? Did Chan-mi just get rejected after asking for a high school boy’s number?”
Giggles and squeals filled the air. The mood here was really warm and friendly. As I’d just seen, church people were generally kind to newcomers. From what I’d heard, I’d expected Yeonggwang Church to be some kind of cult den, but it seemed perfectly ordinary.
“Hey, damn. Yang Ju-hui. It’s been forever!”
“The deaconess was complaining nonstop about you not coming to church.”
There were regular church guys too. The term “church oppa” had a weird ring to it, but really, it was just a few weirdos who ruined the vibe. Most of them were decent and kind. They quickly took an interest in me.
“Whoa, Ju-hui brought someone? Same class?”
“I heard Yang Ju-hui was supposed to be scary. Did she extort money from you or something?”
“…She didn’t drag you here against your will, did she?”
These guys had good instincts. Then again, the people in charge of new members were usually the popular, outgoing types. Newcomers tended to be shy and passive, so you needed sociable, friendly people to break the ice.
Soon the women gathered around me too.
“Are you Ju-hui’s boyfriend?”
“Are you dating Yang Ju-hui?”
“Kyaa!”
Giggles and squeals. It was absolute chaos. This wasn’t because I was special—it was because the person who brought me, Yang Ju-hui, was such a popular insider at Yeonggwang Church. Everyone was curious about who she’d brought. Normally, even newcomers didn’t get this much attention.
“Ha Yeong-won? Your name has a lot of circles in it.”
“Your face is turning red!”
It was a little embarrassing. When did the service even start?
Soon the pastor in charge of the high school department entered the sanctuary and took the podium. He was young—maybe in his early forties at most. It wasn’t Senior Pastor Cheon Ae-soo. Pastor Cheon was probably leading the main 10 a.m. service instead.
The service followed the usual order: hymns, sermon, prayer, benediction. How would the sermon be?
“Today’s passage is from Matthew chapter 3. Please find it in your Bibles. If you don’t have one, it’s on the screen here… Alright, let’s read together—”
Ordinary. Had I been overthinking this? Suspicious for no reason?
“Now let’s close with the benediction. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ—”
The service lasted an hour—neither too long nor too short. Afterward came the “pasture meeting,” basically small group gatherings for fellowship, named after a sheep pasture. I joined the same group as Yang Ju-hui. The meeting was held at a café near the church. Everyone chatted about what they’d done last week, laughing and talking. It felt familiar, yet somehow uncomfortable. How many years had it been since I last came to church?
No, this wasn’t the time to get nostalgic. I wanted to find out about that “facilities deacon” who attended this church.
That’s when it happened.
“So everyone’s here.”
A large man walked into the café and greeted everyone. People stood up, saying “Hello, Pastor” or “Pastor!” I realized the bear-like man was Pastor Cheon Ae-soo of Yeonggwang Church. He looked around fifty. More like a retired mixed martial artist than a church pastor. After ordering at the counter, Pastor Cheon approached us.
“I heard Ju-hui came to church after a long time? Ah, our Ju-hui’s face is harder to see than a celebrity’s. At least you can turn on the TV or YouTube for celebrities.”
“Y-yes, Pastor. Hehe…”
Yang Ju-hui laughed awkwardly, clearly intimidated. But Pastor Cheon Ae-soo’s eyes weren’t on her—they were fixed on me.
“So you’re Yeong-won. I’ve heard a lot about you from your mother. You’re even more handsome than I was told!”
“Excuse me?”
I was genuinely flustered. I never expected those words to come out of Pastor Cheon Ae-soo’s mouth. It felt like someone had suddenly stripped away all my armor and cloak.
“…You know my mom?”
“Of course I do. I’m the one who recommended she come here from Seoul and get a job. Do you have a minute? I’d like to talk about your father.”
Drip, drip, drip.
Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz—
Sweat ran down my back as cicadas began screaming from every direction.