Bishop Vina
Seongnam's sky was eerily blue. The sky was clear and high, yet the city's skyscrapers soared even higher. The Dang Group's headquarters building, visible from anywhere if you tilted your head up, gave the impression it was watching us. Had the suffocating cityscape driven people mad? No—what the hell was that?
The streets bustled with people heading to work. The bus stop was packed, and the roads were already jammed. That much was familiar. But the items sold at the street stalls were unlike anything I'd seen before. Baskets overflowed with unidentified black lumps. The vendor slapped them onto a griddle with a rough hand. The sizzling sound of protein cooking filled the air as a foul stench spread in every direction, announcing its presence. The sign read: "Land Shrimp – 1,500 won each."
…Land shrimp? What the hell was that?
People lined up to eat the unheard-of land shrimp hamburger steak. "What's land shrimp?" "Ah, that?" Han Somang pondered my question for a moment before mumbling, "It's better if you don't know…."
"If you don't tell me, I'm not moving from here."
"Ugh, cockroaches…."
"Cockroaches?"
"C-cockroach bugs…."
What? I wondered if I'd misheard. Selling roasted cockroaches for money? And people actually queuing up to buy and eat them? Staring into the basket, I spotted the poorly ground wings of insects. Urgh… Damn it. This city needed to be cordoned off and classified as an anomaly. I should contact the foundation.
"Hurry up, Raham-ssi… We're late!" Somang grabbed my sleeve and tugged lightly. I let her lead me while lost in thought.
Seongnam. It wasn't my first visit. Before regressing, I'd come here on business about four times. Once to clean up after the Dang Group caused an accident during forced awakening experiments. Twice to deal with mutated creatures after the Odog Sect dumped chemicals into the river. Back then, I'd stayed in five-star hotels provided by the corporations. No wonder they'd warned me not to go outside… The last time was when Hao Capital kidnapped one of our agents. Those bastards. They nearly started a major conflict just because someone was late on interest payments, turning people into octopus sashimi. Haah… When would these insane illegal residents finally get deported? The city would be peaceful without them…
Just then, I spotted a man in a red changpao embroidered with a golden dragon pattern. He was dragging a woman by her hair. She was too drugged to resist. "You fucking bitch, I'll teach you what happens when you shoot up here." "Uwee… ugh…." The man grinned, his eyes scanning her body before heading toward an alley where people were unlikely to pass. A trail of liquid on the ground suggested she'd wet herself. That outfit belonged to Hao Capital… What the hell were those dickheads up to now?
"Hey—" Thud. Han Somang grabbed my shoulder. She shook her head, signaling to leave it alone. "It's better not to get involved," she whispered. She glanced around nervously, worried the man might overhear. "They act like civilian police, but if they find an excuse… it'll get annoying."
"……"
"Raham-ssi!" She sounded flustered as I started walking. Annoying? Troublesome? So what? The sight alone pissed me off. I wanted to beat the crap out of him. I gathered energy in my body while glaring at the man in the red changpao.
Just then, the sharp click of heels echoed through the street. "Brother, would you mind stopping for a moment?" A priest? He wore a black cassock with a white stole. With a stern build, he approached the man in the red changpao directly. "What the hell is this Jesus freak?" "…Do not defile your soul by uniting with one tainted by drugs, brother."
"Fuck off, you cultist bastard. Get lost." "……" The priest placed his hand on the man's head. The motion was so swift the man couldn't react. "May grace rest upon your head. I pray for it."
"Graaah! Let go! You fucking bastard! Let go!" The man was lifted off the ground by the priest's hand. "Lord, grant mercy. Almighty Lord, Lord of Glory. Purge with Your flames the wicked darkness that has swallowed this pitiful soul. In the name of our Savior, I pray…." "Ugh… I! No, I mean, I was wrong! Please let go!" "……" "I'm sorry!" "……" "You fucking— Amen! Amen!!" "…… Amen." The priest slowly lowered the man. The moment his feet touched the ground, the man in the changpao bolted.
Han Somang, apparently knowing the priest, smiled and approached him. "Bishop Vina!" "Ah, Sister Somang. Fancy meeting you here." Bishop Vina turned his gaze to me standing beside her. "And this is…?" "He's a brother from out of town. He's staying at my place, and also… we're…" She linked arms with me. Her chest pressed against my forearm. Swallowing the rest of her words, she glanced at my face. Her eyes sought approval.
"Hello, Bishop. I'm Lee Raham. I'm Sister Somang's boyfriend." Han Somang's face turned bright red as she bowed her head. Bishop Vina smiled at the sight and placed his hands on our heads. Somang released my arm, clasped her hands before her chest in a prayer pose, and closed her eyes. I did the same.
"As the church unites with the Lord, so man and woman become one in Him. May this newly begun couple share His will together. Amen." "Amen!" "…Amen."
When I opened my eyes, Bishop Vina's dark gaze met mine. He soon looked away and approached the woman collapsed on the ground, murmuring. I watched as he supported her legs and neck to lift her. "I'll take her to the hospital." "Yes, Bishop! See you at the Food Distribution Center!" "Indeed. Until later." The bishop carried the woman in his arms and gradually disappeared into the distance.
I looked at Han Somang. "You said getting involved would be annoying?" "As long as it doesn't trouble you, Raham-ssi, it's fine. The bishop is… well… he's okay!" "Ah, right…." Bishop Vina… Was that his name? It didn't sound Western. An Eastern name… It might exist in India or Southeast Asia, but his appearance didn't suggest that lineage. As I pondered, I guessed it was a baptismal name. Catholics often did that. It seemed the most plausible.
"Bishop Vina… So 'Vina' is his baptismal name?" "…Yes, that's right. It's taken from the Tree of Sephiroth I mentioned before." "Ah, that thing?" I recalled what Somang had enthusiastically explained the day before yesterday.
It was the day Somang had come at me demanding sex. "Hehe. About the Tree of Sephiroth…." Han Somang brought out a notebook and drew ten circles. It looked exactly like a soccer formation diagram. 3-3-3-1, with one player sent off with a red card—it was close enough. "This is the universe." "Isn't this too simplified?" "It's a blueprint. A blueprint. You, me, this universe—we were all created based on this." She wrote names neatly beside the circles. Above the spheres, she titled it "Tree of Life." "These spheres are called Sephira. From the top: Kether, Hokhma, Binah—Bishop Vina's baptismal name—Hesed, Gevurah, Tiphereth, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malkuth." "Complicated names. They don't sound English…." "Yes, that's right. They're from Judaism."
Then Han Somang drew winding lines between the spheres. What was that? An earthworm? "What's this?" "It's a serpent. The serpent of wisdom." "Looks like an earthworm." "……" "Fine. On second look, it's a serpent." "Genesis says we fell because we disobeyed God's command, right?" I nodded. "So from Malkuth at the very bottom, we must ascend the Path of the Serpent to Kether." "And if we ascend?" "We can shed our fallen flesh and achieve union with God."
Union with God, I didn't know about, but Somang and I had certainly achieved union. Before I knew it, we stood in front of the Food Distribution Center.