Byeon Gap-tae of Seongmul Church, Part 2
Mi-ho said she had people to greet and pulled him downstairs to the first floor.
The place was packed shoulder to shoulder. Familiar faces clustered in little groups, chatting among themselves. He was introduced to several of them.
The most memorable was a couple.
The man looked to be in his early thirties—the classic church-brother type. He had a sincere, thoroughly gentle air about him. Slender frame, glasses, a faintly frail impression, yet he seemed like a genuinely good person.
The woman was around the same age, with a pure, clear-faced beauty. She stood maybe a hundred sixty-three or sixty-four centimeters, yet her chest was noticeably full for her delicate features. She, too, looked as if she had been made for church, the sort of woman who would draw plenty of attention from the male congregants.
“Hello, I’m Assistant Pastor Byeon Aram.”
“Ah, yes—I’m Kim Hanpan.”
“Haha, Sister Mi-ho’s told me so much about you. Your mother couldn’t stop boasting about her proud son… At last we meet, hahaha.”
Hanpan glanced sideways at his mother and said,
“Ahaha, that’s embarrassing… Whatever she said, don’t believe a word of it, hahaha.”
“Haha, she said you were a kind, good son.”
“Ah—thank you.”
Hanpan offered a broad smile.
“Our Assistant Pastor Byeon is the senior pastor’s son… And this is the assistant pastor’s wife, Jo Su-yeon.”
Hanpan could hardly believe that this man was the son of the short, stocky pastor he had seen earlier. The looks and the presence were completely different.
“Hello! Brother Kim Hanpan! Welcome to our church.”
The woman called Jo Su-yeon beamed, and the pure smile that showed her even white teeth struck him as thoroughly charming. She was the very picture of a church sister. The simple, pure-white shirt and the pastel skirt that fell below the knee suited her perfectly. Especially striking was the thick white headband holding her hair back in a clean, pulled-up style.
They exchanged greetings and a few polite compliments. Hanpan’s eye caught the rather large diamond ring on Jo Su-yeon’s left hand.
That was how the introductions went—until someone tapped Mi-ho on the back.
“Mi-ho unnie!”
Hanpan turned. There stood Mi-jo and Hye-seon with their families. Mi-ho lit up and welcomed them.
“Oh my! Mi-jo, Hye-seon!”
“Unnie, good to see you!”
“So you two are coming back to church now?”
“Yeah, we hadn’t been for a while, but Hye-seon unnie kept pestering me, so I finally showed up.”
“Good, good. Smart decision.”
“It’s so nice to see you kids here!”
Hye-seon and Mi-jo recognized Hanpan, dipped their heads in a short greeting, and he returned the nod. Naturally he greeted the husbands and sons who had come with them. They had already grown comfortable with one another at previous family gatherings.
Mi-jo’s husband, Seo Seongil, was ordinary itself. He had the classic kind-man face, looked diligent, and gave off the gentle air of a husband who would be good to his family.
Hye-seon’s husband, by contrast, was thin and carried a distinctly severe look. Silver-rimmed thin glasses, the cool image of a sharp-eyed surgeon, elite presence radiating from him—almost no expression at all. The conservative vibe was intense. He felt stiff, the sort of man who would be hard to get close to.
Hanpan offered each of them a greeting. Mi-jo’s husband smiled and accepted it; Hye-seon’s husband merely nodded without a change of face. The man didn’t seem to have much manners either. He looked like the type who would meddle in every little thing Hye-seon did, and Hanpan suddenly understood why the obedient-seeming Hye-seon had married him. Marriage always has its reasons, he thought, then turned his attention to their sons.
Mi-jo’s son still had a rather boyish face—freshman-college energy, and he looked shy. He stood close by yet seemed uncomfortable among people he didn’t know well.
Hye-seon’s son, on the other hand, took after his father in looks but had a bright, open impression. Hanpan had met them a few times at family gatherings before; Mi-jo’s son Hyeongwo was the hard-to-get-close-to type. So he naturally fell into conversation with the easygoing Hanseo.
Both Hyeongwo and Hanseo had inherited their mothers’ good builds and handsome faces—the kind that would stand out anywhere.
Suddenly Hanpan remembered the filthy things he had done with those same mothers two nights ago while drinking. He almost laughed imagining what the sons would think if they ever learned their mothers’ true natures.
The women were dressed as demurely as Mi-ho herself. Completely different from Friday night.
Mi-ho, Hye-seon, and Mi-jo chatted and laughed among themselves.
“Hey, how come Eun-yeong unnie’s nowhere to be seen today?”
“Right… Something come up?”
Last night’s memories rose in Hanpan’s mind. Given her personality, her absence made perfect sense.
“Who knows—maybe she just skipped today… Hoho.”
Mi-ho laughed brightly.
They were talking again when a voice cut in.
“My, what are you all chatting about so happily without me?”
He turned. Eun-yeong was walking toward them with Won-cheol and a man who looked to be her husband. She, too, was dressed for church—and looked astonishingly demure. For Hanpan, who had already slept with her twice, the sight was startling. Almost bare of makeup, she was the very image of a virtuous wife. He was so surprised by this pure version of her that he wondered whether she had ever possessed such a face; it was the complete opposite of her usual glamorous self.
Beside her stood her husband, Gwak Ducheol—rough-featured and powerfully built. Hanpan had heard from his father that the man worked in shady circles. Yet for all the intimidating face, his expression was surprisingly soft, which felt oddly dissonant.
Eun-yeong, Won-cheol, and her husband came over, exchanged greetings, and soon the whole group was talking as if they were all one big extended family. Everyone already knew one another, so conversation flowed even among the men.
Won-cheol sidled up to Hanpan and spoke in a low, casual tone.
“Get home all right last night?”
“Ah, yes, hyung. You?”
“Yeah, I got back fine, haha.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“We should grab a meal sometime!”
“Sure, I’d like that!”
“Great—I’ll hit you up.”
He pulled out his phone, asked for Hanpan’s number, saved it, then dialed right away.
“Save my number, haha.”
He kept chatting with his usual cheerful face.
They stood around talking about this and that until Assistant Pastor Byeon Aram announced that the small-group meetings were about to begin and left.
Mi-ho turned to Hanpan.
“Hanpan-ah, Mom has to go to the sharing circle too…”
“Huh? You have to go there as well?”
“Yes, I really have to attend.”
“Oh… okay…”
Hanpan wanted to go home, but her pleading made him sigh and follow after her.
Just then Mi-jo quickened her steps, came up beside him, and whispered into his ear.
“Don’t forget the shoot tomorrow.”
Hanpan smiled and nodded. Mi-ho gave them a puzzled look, then turned and joined the stream of people heading downstairs.
Hanpan glanced ahead at the assistant pastor couple and noticed that Jo Su-yeon was wearing white high heels of a height that hardly suited church. They stood out among the other congregants, yet somehow matched the large diamond on her finger perfectly.
He turned and went down to the basement with his mother.
The underground space beneath the sanctuary was large enough to hold a great many people. Tables and chairs filled the room; assorted food and snacks had been laid out. Crowds were already gathered in small clusters, talking.
Mi-ho said goodbye to Eun-yeong, Mi-jo, and Hye-seon’s families—“See you later”—then cheerfully greeted the people already seated. Most of them were around Mi-ho’s age, yet her overwhelming beauty made her look far younger by comparison.
Hanpan thought, Mom really takes care of herself, and stole a glance at her. Living under the same roof every day, he hadn’t noticed, but with her baby face and careful maintenance Mi-ho easily looked like she was still in her thirties.
Conversation continued. Looking at their mild expressions, Hanpan decided they seemed like good people. Mi-ho proudly introduced him; everyone was delighted that her son had come to church and offered him warm, encouraging words.
The gathering got under way. The group leader guided the discussion, and a short while later the pastor who had conducted the service appeared together with a woman.