Laughter in the Sanctuary
The usually quiet sanctuary rang with the laughter of children for the first time in a long while. As a dozen or so kids ran around the front of the church, giggling brightly, a soft smile spread across Sua's face.
As a child, she had once run around this very spot. Whenever she stopped to admire the flowers blooming in front of the sanctuary, Sister Agnes would come out and gently teach her their names.
“Sister!”
At the sweet little voice, Sua looked down to find a round-eyed girl blinking up at her.
“Sister, what’s this flower called?”
Sua smiled faintly at the girl, who proudly thrust the flower in her hand upward.
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Julia!”
“That’s a lovely name, Julia. Where did you find this flower?”
“There’s lots over there.”
It looked like she had picked one of the tiny wildflowers growing between the cobblestones. Sua bent her knees so she was eye-level with the child.
“Would you like to go look at them with me?”
“Yes! Let’s go!”
Taking the girl’s hand, Sua began walking toward the stone path, only to stop abruptly. A man in a black suit was approaching with an indifferent expression, his gaze locking directly onto her.
He watched her with the lazy intensity of someone observing prey, then spoke.
“I didn’t realize you had a child.”
“A child? What are you—”
When she saw Tezuman’s quiet chuckle, Sua realized he was teasing her and felt a pang of embarrassment.
“...Don’t tease me.”
“I would never. How could I possibly tease you, Sister?”
“Um? Who’s the handsome mister?”
His dry gaze dropped to the child before his head tilted slightly.
“Why don’t you ask the sister?”
The innocent eyes immediately turned to Sua.
“Sister?”
“Ah...”
Sua deliberately avoided his relaxed face as he waited for her answer and finally spoke.
“This person is...”
Even though she had opened her mouth bravely, she couldn’t continue. It felt insufficient to simply give his name if she couldn’t explain who he was.
“I’m the one the sister saved.”
At his voice, Sua’s gaze reflexively shifted. The moment their eyes met in midair, the look in his eyes clung to her, thick and heavy. Just from meeting his gaze, a tremor ran through her lower belly.
“W-what brings you here...?”
The way her delicate eyelashes trembled faintly stirred something primal in him. Though she tried to appear calm, her tense posture was exactly like that of prey standing before a predator.
“Father Vincenzo asked for my help.”
“Pardon?”
She must not have heard him properly. While he had been pondering how to bring Sua to him more quickly, a timely call had come from Father Vincenzo. The priest had asked whether a portion of the church donation Tezuman had given could be used for the orphanage. There was no way Tezuman would let such an opportunity slip.
Pretending he had been looking for a suitable place to donate, he asked the priest to help him contribute to the orphanage. Unaware of Tezuman’s dark intentions, Father Vincenzo had readily agreed and invited him. As it happened, the orphanage children would be staying at the church for a few days.
“I brought gifts for the children.”
Behind him, several men in suits stood holding armfuls of items.
“...Huh?”
Among them, she spotted a familiar face. Eyes the color of dull khaki hair turned toward her.
“Hello, Sister.”
Sua’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Leroy, who greeted her so casually.
“Do you two… know each other?”
“We’ve gotten rather close, haven’t we?”
“Don’t tell me… you work with Mr. Tezuman…?”
Just then, Father Vincenzo’s voice rang out.
“Sua. Oh, Mr. Tezuman, you’ve arrived as well.”
Tezuman offered the warmly greeting priest an extremely businesslike smile.
“Hello, Father.”
“When Mr. Tezuman said he would donate to the orphanage, the director was overjoyed. The furniture the children use has grown quite worn, so they decided this was the perfect time to replace it.”
“I’m glad it was of help.”
“God’s grace will surely be with you always.”
Grace, he thought. His gaze shifted to Sua standing beside Father Vincenzo. If God truly existed and could bestow grace, there was only one thing he wanted.
“I hope so.”
Having barely suppressed his desire to speak those words, Tezuman gestured, and Leroy stepped forward from behind.
“I heard the church was short on bedding for the children.”
“How thoughtful! Thank you so much. Please, come this way.”
Father Vincenzo hurried ahead. Julia, who had been tightly holding Sua’s hand, spoke with an excited expression.
“Are these blankets for us? Wow! They look like they have pretty pictures on them! I want to go see!”
“Ah…! Julia…!”
Sua couldn’t stop the girl as she scampered after Father Vincenzo and let out a small laugh. She really was just a child. Seeing Julia so thrilled over new blankets made Sua feel as though she were looking at her younger self. As she was about to slip back into memories of her childhood, someone stepped up beside her.
“...Tezuman?”
This had been his goal all along—to clear away all the obstacles and be alone with her.
“You’ve been standing for quite a while.”
“Ah, the monastery cafeteria is open… there are chairs there. You could go rest…”
“All the way there?”
“Of course?”
“Don’t you need to look after the children?”
Sua paused for a moment to consider what he meant, then waved her hand.
“No, I have to stay here.”
“Exactly.”
He smiled faintly and looked down at her with gentle eyes.
“If the sister is here, why would I go there alone?”
The nuance that he wanted to sit had clearly meant he wanted to sit with her. Why couldn’t Sua understand that? Even her obliviousness seemed adorable to him as he quietly waited for her response.
“...Ah, then…”
She should have firmly refused, but the affectionate gaze pouring over her made it impossible for Sua to turn him down. As she looked around, her eyes caught the large zelkova tree near the church entrance.
“Then… let’s sit over there.”
There was an old bench beneath the zelkova tree. The sanctuary was visible directly across from it. It was perfect—a place where she could sit and rest while watching the children.
As Sua began walking, his footsteps fell over hers. He had been quietly following when he suddenly moved ahead and came to stand beside her. Sua flinched at Tezuman’s sudden closeness but soon resumed walking.
It was truly an old bench. The seat, heavy with years of use, looked as though it might collapse with a loud crack if several grown men of Tezuman’s size sat on it at once. As if sensing his concern, Sua sat down and said,
“It’s fine. It may not look it, but it’s incredibly sturdy.”
She patted the spot beside her.
“See? It’s okay, right?”
He was impressed. There was no way the bench would collapse from a few taps of her slender wrist. He looked down at her quietly before sitting exactly where she had patted.
“W-wait… that’s too close…”
“You said it was fine here.”
“Ah… that’s not what I meant.”
“It’s fine.”
Watching him calmly fix his gaze straight ahead, Sua let out a small sigh. She had known from the start that words wouldn’t work on him, so she gave up quickly.
“Everyone, come look! There are rabbit blankets and lion blankets too!!”
Julia, who had gone inside with Father Vincenzo, came back out and shouted to the other children. The kids who had been playing outside rushed in with bright laughter.
“I want to see too!!”
“Whoa! I want the lion blanket!”
Seeing the children laugh so happily, a smile naturally bloomed on Sua’s lips. She watched until they disappeared into the sanctuary, then her gaze quietly slid to the man beside her. Whatever he was thinking, Tezuman simply stared straight ahead with an expressionless face.
Almost entranced, she fixed her eyes on his profile. Although he was the one who had taken her lips, he wasn’t a bad person. The only time he had used violence was when that man had tried to assault her. Of course violence could never be justified, but Sua thought—
—that his true nature was incredibly kind. It was clear from the way he not only donated to the orphanage but personally brought bedding in case the children staying at the church for a few nights didn’t have any.
Completely unaware that all of it was part of Tezuman’s scheme.
“Now that you’ve seen enough, is it my turn to look?”
His head, which had been facing forward, turned toward her.
“Ah...”
“What’s your impression?”
Her red lips hesitated as if searching for the right words before finally parting.
“Mr. Tezuman...”
After the children returned to the orphanage, she would leave for Korea as well. She would never see him again after that.
“You seem like a truly kind person.”
For a moment his eyes widened as if hearing the word “kind” for the first time, then he let out a soft laugh.
“Kind?”
“You donated to both the church and the orphanage… and you even brought blankets for the children yourself.”
There was no need to be cold toward the man who had come all the way to the church for the children’s sake. It seemed all right to treat him a little more comfortably, without barriers. Sua desperately rationalized her reasons for not needing to put up walls against him. She added the word last time in her mind.
“So… Tezuman.”
Her eyes, cruelly clear and innocent, held only him. Completely. Solely him.
“You really are a good person.”