Divine Seat
"Yujin. I have a request."
Kang Jiwoo said to me.
"A request? What kind of request?"
"I'd like you to experience the Gwangwon Sect — and while you're staying with us, please follow our rules."
"Well, that much is only natural. You're free to treat me as just another believer."
"Thank you, Yujin. But I can't simply treat you as an ordinary believer. You're a special person, after all."
"Haha. You keep saying that — you're going to make me blush."
I was not blushing in the slightest. If anything, the special treatment only put me in a better mood.
I followed her into the office. Every clerk was dressed in training robes as they went about their work. They greeted Kang Jiwoo as she entered, then returned to their tasks.
Kang Jiwoo retrieved something from a storage room at the back of the office.
"This is a training robe. I'll show you to your quarters — please change there."
I accepted the robe without protest. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I had no intention of making a fuss over something this trivial.
"Though this looks a bit different from what everyone else is wearing."
The design was just as tacky, but it was covered in patterns here and there. The finer details were slightly different.
"That robe is for the Noble One."
"The Noble One?"
"Yes. The Noble One. Because you're a special person, Yujin."
"I see."
Well, I was rather precious, if I said so myself.
I entered the quarters I'd been shown to. It was about the size of an ordinary studio apartment, clean and neatly arranged. No refrigerator or kitchen, but it wasn't bad.
"I'll wait outside the door. Take your time changing and come out when you're ready."
I changed clothes. The most important thing — my smartphone — went into the pants pocket of the training robe. For a cult, they seemed surprisingly free about these things.
"You're out. It suits you well, Yujin."
"Thank you."
"First, let's head to the dining hall for lunch. Today's menu is seaweed soup. Do you dislike it?"
"No. I haven't met many people who hate seaweed soup."
"That's a relief."
We entered the dining hall.
A great many people were already inside, eating. And right as we came in, I ran into Park Su-ho. He was glued to his girlfriend's side.
"Hyung. We meet again."
"Gotta eat lunch, don't we."
I took a tray of food and sat down.
Kang Jiwoo, Park Su-ho, and the other believers closed their eyes and clasped their hands before eating — praying to someone. I watched them with my eyes wide open. They finished their quiet prayer and began their meal.
I scooped up a spoonful of seaweed soup and put it in my mouth. Oyster seaweed soup wasn't exactly my favorite, but the broth was outstanding.
Still… a lot of eyes on me.
People around me had been glancing my way for a while now. At first I'd thought they were looking at Kang Jiwoo, but a closer look confirmed they were staring at me. Not with hostility — more with curiosity. It had to be this Noble One training robe.
What's with them?
Even for me, it was a little overwhelming.
"Hyung. Why'd you suddenly go quiet?"
"…Nothing. My water glass is empty."
Water was self-serve. I was just about to stand and get some when a man at the next table shot to his feet and shouted.
"The Noble One requires water!"
"I'm sitting right next to the water cooler! Allow me to fetch it and present it to him!"
"Ohh! What fortune for that believer!"
The believer who offered me the water cup with both hands bowed his head as if it were only natural.
What the fuck is this.
I took the cup on reflex, but something felt off. They were being excessively devoted. The way they'd been watching me with shining eyes since earlier… it seemed they were waiting for any chance to help me.
"Hyung. If you'd said you needed water, I would've given you mine…"
"Are you insane. Why would I drink something you've been drinking."
"I haven't taken a single sip yet. If you need anything, please tell me. I'll help however I can."
"Hey. What's gotten into you all of a sudden. If I said I needed a girlfriend, would you hand over yours?"
"You need a girlfriend? I'll look into some women for you. Ah… or if it's my girlfriend you want… well. That's a bit much, but… you're the Noble One, so it can't be helped. I'll give you my girlfriend. Chun-hee will understand."
An unexpected answer came back to what I'd said half-jokingly. I stared at Park Su-ho in shock. His expression was more serious than I'd ever seen it. He genuinely intended to hand his girlfriend over to me.
"Hey. Have you lost your mind? Why would you give me your girlfriend. She's going to cry."
"No. If you need me… I'll become the Noble One's girlfriend."
Moai said. I swallowed back the bile rising in my throat and gulped down the water.
"What the hell! This isn't cold water!"
The water was lukewarm, and it irritated me. What I needed right now was ice-cold water that would cool me down from the inside out.
"Eek! Forgive me! It was my failure! I thought cold water would be too cold and hot water too hot, so I brought lukewarm — but I was too stupid to realize you needed cold water! I'll bring it at once! O Noble One! Please, calm your anger!"
"Honestly…. Do Koreans not even know what cold water is. Tsk tsk."
I clicked my tongue and downed the cold water they brought me next. Finally, my insides felt refreshed.
"Hey, Park Su-ho. What exactly is a Noble One? In the Gwangwon Sect, a Noble One seems special even by special standards."
I handed the empty cup back to the believer who'd brought the water — meaning I wanted another. This time he had the sense to pour cold water immediately.
"Ah, about that—"
"I'll explain."
Kang Jiwoo, who hadn't spoken a word throughout the meal, cut in. The bowl in front of her was spotless — not a scrap of food left.
"You will, Jiwoo? That works for me."
"In our Gwangwon Sect, a Noble One is a human chosen by the Light God."
"The Light God…?"
"Yes. Written with the character for light — the God of Light. Just as the 'Gwang' in Gwangwon Sect means light, the Light God is the god of light."
"Ah. I almost misunderstood. But if a Noble One is a human chosen by a god…. Then the Light God chose me?"
"Yes. In fact, the day before you arrived, the Light God appeared in my dream and instructed me to serve you well. The Light God selected you, Yujin."
"That was just a dream."
"No. It was an oracle delivered by the Light God."
Kang Jiwoo spoke with a serious face. Looking at that expression, I knew she wouldn't listen no matter what I said. She truly believed it was an oracle.
"And the Noble One is written into our doctrine as well. On the day the Noble One chosen by Him appears, He shall ascend to the Divine Seat."
"…What's the Divine Seat?"
"It means the position of a god. The seat that the Light God — who dwells so far away — rightfully ought to occupy. We interpret it this way: a few days after the Noble One appears, the Light God will descend and save this world!"
Kang Jiwoo spoke with rising excitement. Every time she mentioned the Light God, madness welled up in her eyes. The believers around her were the same. Before I knew it, all of them had dropped to their knees on the floor and begun to pray.
"Ohh…! O Light God! Have mercy upon us!"
"Send down a single ray of light upon this darkened world!"
"O Light God! Save this world!"
Among the believers kneeling in prayer was Park Su-ho.
Did they actually brainwash him? Traces of brainwashing…. I can't tell.
The Park Su-ho I'd met in person seemed perfectly fine in every respect that didn't involve the Gwangwon Sect.
"Anyway, so I'm that important a figure. That explains why you've been treating me so well, Jiwoo."
It had struck me as a little unusual from the moment she'd personally taken a bus out to meet me. That kind of work was normally left to low-ranking believers.
"Yes. Because you're the Noble One, Yujin. If there's anything you desire, please don't hold back — just say the word."
"…Well. It's a bit much, but… all right. That would be more comfortable for everyone, I suppose."
I crooked a finger at a believer sitting beside me. He shot up from his seat and hurried over.
"Noble One! Do you require assistance?"
"……."
I kept my mouth shut and jerked my chin toward the dishes in front of me. One did not converse with the lowly.
"I'll clear them at once, Noble One!"
Fortunately, the believer had enough sense to clear my dishes immediately.
It's a burden, but what can I do. This is the Gwangwon Sect — I have to follow Gwangwon Sect doctrine.
"My mouth feels a bit dry. I'd like some cool, sweet fruit."
"Right away!"
Believers raced one another toward the kitchen. In less than five minutes, cut watermelon appeared before me. At a rough glance, it looked like they'd sliced up three whole melons.
"Not as good as I'd hoped. Seems you bought the wrong watermelon."
"We'll go into town and buy sweet ones!"
"Ah. Will you. Then as for the ones here… throw them into the forest. The forest should get a taste of watermelon too. And just so we're clear — none of you are to eat them. If I, the Noble One, were to eat the same food as all of you, wouldn't the Light God find that displeasing?"
"Of course, O Noble One. Your words are a hundred times correct. We'll dispose of all the remaining watermelon in the forest."
I nodded.
I was about to rise from my chair when a woman caught my eye. Not quite on Kang Jiwoo's level, but a woman of considerable beauty.
"You there — female believer."
"Yes, O Noble One! How may I serve you!"
"There's no television here, and it's rather dull. Why don't you dance the Zero Two dance for me."
"The Zero Two dance…? Wh-what is that?"
"Haa. You don't even know that? Look it up online."
The female believer pulled out her smartphone and searched for the Zero Two dance.
"Ah! So that's the dance! Understood! I'll dance to relieve the Noble One's boredom!"
An upbeat rhythm blared from her phone, and the female believer launched into the Zero Two dance. I watched her with satisfaction, then turned my head to the side.
"Won't you dance as well, Jiwoo?"
"…Me?"
"Yes. I very much want to see you dance the Zero Two."
"If the Noble One requests it, I suppose I have no choice."
Kang Jiwoo stood and joined the female believer in the dance. As expected of a former idol — the way she shook her hips was no ordinary skill.
"Female believer over there! You dance too! Quickly!"
I felt about seventy percent inclined to join the Gwangwon Sect myself.
After lunch, Kang Jiwoo gave me a tour of the grounds.
"This isn't a rented space — the Gwangwon Sect owns the building."
"Even if it's outside the city center, the price can't have been ordinary…. The Gwangwon Sect must have a lot of money."
"Our believers donate generously, so we have no financial problems. Ah — that said, we didn't purchase this building ourselves. A kind-hearted believer donated it."
"What remarkable faith."
Sucking the believers dry down to the marrow, then. I'd have to be careful. I had no intention of giving a single coin to a cult.
I followed Kang Jiwoo around the building. Overall, it was well maintained. Clean. The patterns on the walls and ceilings, though, were a little strange. Plenty of designs that didn't match the interior. In particular, there were odd motifs that somehow made your eyes tired if you looked at them from a distance.
"This is…."
Entering the main hall, I saw a massive painting hanging on the wall. It was right by the entrance — impossible to miss.
It was a horrific painting.
Countless people lay dead, the earth soaked in blood, black monsters flying through a crimson sky. And at the center of it all was a single light.
"It's a painting of the future that is to come. A future filled with fear… but look at the center. Do you see the light? That's the Light God refusing to abandon us — saving us."
Given that the light sat at the center of monsters and corpses, it seemed rather far from salvation — but I nodded without picking at it.
"Well then… it's time for the prayer meeting."
She checked her watch as she spoke. Ten minutes before one in the afternoon.
The hall doors opened and believers filed in.
"You hold the prayer meeting in the main hall?"
"Yes. It's the largest space we have. Oh — and you can't bring a smartphone to the prayer meeting. Would you hand yours over to me?"
I swallowed hard and passed her my smartphone.
At last — the naked prayer meeting begins!