A Strange Religion (2)
A Strange Religion (2)
"Actually, the wanted person your little sister reported this time is a fairly dangerous individual, Seong-hwan-ssi."
"If it's a wanted notice plus an Interpol Red Notice, well..."
They were probably dangerous on a nationwide scale in the Republic of Korea.
Given that foreign countries were even cooperating on the arrest, they must have caused some major incident.
"What were the charges?"
"The leader of a pseudo-religion. They forced three followers to commit suicide and then fled."
"That... Odaeyang..."
"No, it's a separate case from that one."
Right, that made sense.
Odaeyang was an incident where 32 followers committed suicide.
You couldn't really compare the scale of the two incidents, but in terms of the number of victims, there was a clear difference.
But how had I not even known that such a case had happened?
"...Maybe Seong-hwan-ssi just hasn't been paying much attention...?"
"Hmm... I suppose so?"
I had never really been interested in politics or society at large.
I'd treated A-ra, someone everyone else would have killed to get close to, with total indifference, and maybe she liked that about me, because she'd gradually approached me.
In a way, maybe the reason I'd been able to marry A-ra was precisely because I hadn't shown much interest in the world.
Though recently I'd started paying attention in various ways...
That was probably A-ra's influence too, wasn't it?
"Seong-hwan-ssi?"
"Ah, my apologies."
I'd gotten lost in thought mid-conversation.
The reporter lifted her iced coffee to her lips and took a sip.
Even though summer had already passed, the heater was running inside the coffee shop, so it was a little warm.
I took a sip of my own iced Americano to cool down.
"So I came looking for you, just in case. There are apparently still followers who seem to worship that person."
".....? There are still followers left for someone who made other followers kill themselves and then fled?"
"Amazing, right? That's what pseudo-religions are like."
If it were me, I'd have run for my life out of sheer terror.
Leading others to suicide while staying alive yourself — wasn't that the very epitome of human depravity?
Following someone like that, when they themselves could be pressured to commit suicide at any moment.
No matter how cult-like it was, they couldn't be in their right minds.
"Now that they've been arrested... at minimum, it'll be life imprisonment, and they might even receive the death penalty."
"Then..."
"The followers might target Seong-hwan-ssi and your little sister. The case itself has been largely forgotten, but one of the followers once carried out a sulfuric acid attack in the subway."
"I think I might have heard about that before..."
The sulfuric acid attack was quite famous, after all.
As I understood it, it was a deranged terror method where acid was thrown at men's faces before the attacker fled.
I'd heard that sulfuric acid attacks targeting East Asians were still being carried out in places like Europe...
This was why foreign countries were terrifying.
"So you came looking for me out of concern for me and my little sister?"
"Of course. Seong-hwan-ssi has given me so many gifts, after all."
The 'gifts' she was talking about weren't material things, but information that came out of the entertainment industry and various other channels.
The CEO maintained embargos, and when something was ready to be released, it was often given out as exclusive reports first to agency employees or the members' acquaintances, under the pretext of taking care of their own people.
Since she was the only reporter I knew,
I'd given her all the information I'd received.
"So don't go out alone, and make sure to hire a bodyguard or something when you're out and about. You, Seong-hwan-ssi, could certainly afford to hire a bodyguard, couldn't you?"
"Yes, well... but I declined that."
It would be inconvenient... and anyway, the only places I go back and forth to are home, school, and the agency.
Wherever I went, it probably wouldn't be a big problem.
"What about your little sister?"
"Hmm... my little sister's a dental college student, so she's quite busy, but..."
"Isn't a hospital even more vulnerable when it comes to drugs?"
"I'll tell her to be as careful as possible. Thank you."
If she could be careful, it was best to be as careful as possible.
I was nothing but grateful to the reporter who'd come to find me in person, just in case, to warn me.
*
"Got it? I'll drive you around for a while."
"Huh? I'm fine with it... but won't it be a bother for you, oppa?"
"Bothersome... it's only for a week anyway. You got your license before, right? Let's go look at some used cars this time."
"Ah..... you're going to buy me a car?"
I'd originally planned to buy her one when she started her clinical program, but after hearing talk of sulfuric acid attacks and all that, I thought it'd be better to get her one quickly.
Hojun was already earning money through his startup, but Minji was a university student with plenty of places to spend money, wasn't she?
Transportation costs would be a burden on her allowance, and once she became a clinical student, time would essentially determine her grades.
If reducing her commuting time even a little could help her studies, a used car was something I'd happily buy for her.
"Though I don't really know what kind of cars girls like."
"Ah... anything's fine..."
"Really? Then does Minji want to drive an SUV like your oppa?"
It could carry lots of luggage, and since it was mid-size or larger, she'd feel more stable while driving.
As expected, the pinnacle of automobiles was the SUV.
"Yeah, I'll drive whatever you pick out for me, oppa."
"You sure? A chance like this won't come again, you know?"
Normally, at Minji's age, people had vanity and all that...
An SUV had a somewhat rugged feel to it, so women would typically want something sleek like a sports car.
"Can't you just pick something that looks decent to you, oppa?"
"Nothing says I can't... alright, let's go and take our time choosing one."
Still, just in case, maybe I should check if there were any decent cars.
Which area was famous for used cars again? Was it the Incheon area?
***
Maybe because it was spring, it was a weekend with rain pattering down steadily.
I was out in Incheon to buy Minji's car.
It seemed A-ra had wanted to come along too, but she'd had a prior appointment with the Director, so she couldn't help but miss out.
If she had a prior appointment, it couldn't be helped.
"So I looked into some decent cars, right? And you know what, there are some incredibly cheap ones out there."
"Huh? You didn't actually look online...?"
"Yeah, there was a car listed at less than 30% of market price?"
This was my first time looking at used cars, but at that price, anyone who didn't buy it would be a fool.
It wasn't a car with an accident history, nor was it a flood-damaged vehicle or a lease — yet it was that price.
"Oppa... isn't that a scam?"
"Come on, what are the chances of that? Just trust your oppa."
Just in case, I was also planning to visit a place the Director had introduced me to, but what could possibly go wrong?
Nothing much would happen.
After driving for over an hour like that, we arrived at a famous used car sales district in Incheon.
It was an area formed by a cluster of various used car dealerships.
Anyway, were all the cars visible here used cars?
If they were this well-managed even in the rain, that was impressive.
"Hmm.... something feels off."
"I said it's fine."
Minji, still feeling uneasy to the very end, started looking around.
I couldn't quite tell if she was looking at cars or being wary of other people.
"Let's see... it definitely said 3rd Floor F-5..."
It was such a vast complex that if you wandered around alone, you'd probably end up lost like a missing child.
It was laid out like a parking garage, which made it kind of an interesting facility, but that same feature was also a drawback — it was inconvenient.
In America, used car lots had everything set up at ground level.
As expected, a country with wide-open land was quite different from cramped Korea.
"Oppa, isn't that it over there?"
"Oh, Minji, you've always had such sharp eyes."
A place I'd scanned several times without being able to spot — Minji had found it in an instant.
I ruffled Minji's hair enthusiastically and then slowly headed toward F-5.
When we arrived, several people were already standing there waiting.
Maybe that was because they'd told us roughly when to come?
"Hello. Are you perhaps customer Kim Min-ji, who called ahead?"
"Yes, that's right."
I was wearing sunglasses and a mask, and since it was better to minimize name exposure, I'd made the consultation appointment under Minji's name.
Minji didn't seem to have any complaints either, so it was fine.
"Can we see the car we discussed right now?"
"Yes, customer. Please follow me this way."
The car I'd had my eye on for Minji was an SUV called the Palisade.
The exterior was pretty, and I liked that it was a full-option model — it seemed like incredible value for money.
On top of that, the price was reasonable...
"Would you like to open the hood and take a look?"
"Then, if you'll excuse me."
I didn't know much about the internals, but they seemed like genuine parts.
The parts also looked clean, as if they'd been well-maintained.
"Minji, what do you think?"
"Hmm... it looks clean, doesn't it?"
Since Minji also liked cars, she'd know how to inspect the internal parts.
The way she examined them carefully, dusted off her hands, and nodded — it didn't seem bad.
"Parts aside, what do you think of the car itself?"
"It's really nice. It's accident-free, right?"
"Yes, there have been no part replacements whatsoever, and it's an accident-free vehicle."
"Oppa, I like this one."
"Shall we sign the contract for it, then?"
I felt like teasing her, so I poked Minji in the side as I asked.
My little sister, her face and ears turning red, unable to say a word and just nodding her head — she was so adorable...
"Then let's go inside and fill out the paperwork."
I didn't know it then.
What kind of trick those bastards had been planning to pull on me.
And how I would end up serving it right back to them.
Only God knew that.
But my god was already dead.
Something you bastards probably didn't know either.