A Regrettable Incident
“Ah, my wrist already hurts like hell. What an unfortunate incident this is, right?”
“I have nothing to say for myself. dBP Corporation will take full responsibility and cover your treatment. If you wish, we can feed every last one of those guards to the fishes.”
“What? No... no need to go that far. Just cover the medical bills.”
My uncle scratched his head sheepishly and continued. “Anyway, shall we go over the contract details first?”
Uncle eagerly pulled out the contract and handed it to Bae Jeong-hwan. Bae Jeong-hwan received it like it was solid gold, making a huge fuss.
“First, dBP Corporation will donate three high-quality holy artifacts produced by our company to the Voodoo Cult.”
Uncle explained the contract terms with the smug face of a creditor facing a debtor. His tone and expression were so sleazy, you’d believe he was a loan shark.
“Second, offer the specified amount as a donation. Of course, only in cash. Can’t have any records left behind.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Oh, and absolutely no leaking information about the Voodoo Cult. If anything happens to the Cult Leader, your wife’s life could be in jeopardy too, you know?”
“Of course. How could I ever betray my benefactors?”
Bae Jeong-hwan was ready to agree to anything we said. It made sense—we were the ones who’d saved his comatose wife. In his eyes, we were no different from gods.
“That covers it. You can bring the donation next time you attend worship, and let’s schedule the holy artifact donation for sometime next week.”
Uncle said that and moved to stand, but I grabbed him and sat him back down. I had a few things to say about his son—Bae Seong-hyeon.
“Your son is a student at Florence Academy, correct?”
Bae Jeong-hwan’s eyes widened in surprise at my words. Soon, his pupils darted wildly, and even his lips trembled. He seemed afraid of me.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Doesn’t your son come home late at night lately?”
“H-how did you...!”
Fear deepened on Bae Jeong-hwan’s face.
“Haha, the Cult Leader can sometimes peer into our hearts.”
Uncle lied without changing his expression. I had no ability to read minds. I just knew Bae Seong-hyeon’s usual behavior because we went to the same school. Anyway, that wasn’t important.
“You should cut back on the money you give your son. Things like allowance or donations to Florence, for example.”
“Pardon? May I ask why?”
“Money handed out without consequence is leading your son down the path of delinquency. For his future’s sake, reduce what you spend on him. A good scolding might help too.”
“The Cult Leader can sometimes glimpse our futures too, haha.”
Uncle chimed in after I spoke. I can’t even see my own future, let alone someone else’s. Why was Uncle Lee Jin-seong spouting such nonsense? Still, Bae Jeong-hwan seemed to believe every word. His eyes sparkled with faith and devotion. Well, people deep in religion tend to swallow anything hook, line, and sinker. Not that I, the Cult Leader, should say that.
“It’s not a demand—just advice for your son’s future.”
I shot a glance at Uncle Lee Jin-seong, who was lying so smoothly, and added that.
“Aigoo, you saved my wife, and now you’re looking out for my son too. I’m truly, deeply grateful—there’s nothing else I can say.”
“No need. We’ll be going now.”
With that, I stood from my seat.
Once we were in the elevator and I removed my mask, Uncle Lee Jin-seong spoke up as if he’d been waiting.
“Hey, why’d you bring up his son?”
“Just... the kid’s got a weird personality.”
“Why? Does he bully you or something?”
“Not me. He bullies other kids.”
“Huh, really? The chairman’s son should have plenty of money. Why would he do that?”
Uncle furrowed his brow in confusion. I couldn’t understand Bae Seong-hyeon either. A kid from a wealthy family with everything handed to him—why bully others? I’d only mentioned it to Bae Jeong-hwan hoping it might straighten Bae Seong-hyeon out a bit. He’d have to get the hint now. Dismissing it lightly, I left dBP Hospital and got into Uncle’s car in the parking lot.
As promised to Bae Jeong-hwan, all CCTV footage from dBP Hospital today would be erased.
*
The rest of the weekend after Bae Jeong-hwan’s request. Alone in my studio apartment, I was honing my divine power.
Successfully synthesized a low-grade blessing circle. But mid-grade ones kept failing.
For reference, every other Florence student could handle mid-grade blessings. Meaning I was the only one lagging behind.
An hour of intense focus on drawing mid-grade blessing circles.
“Yes!”
Finally, I succeeded in drawing one.
[It worked? Yeah, right. Total failure.]
But no light of blessing emanated from the circle I’d drawn. It lost color and crumbled to dust in the air, crumbling my hopeful heart along with it.
“Haah.”
I sighed deeply and, out of frustration, drew a spell circle with voodoo magic. Mid-grade and even high-grade ones formed effortlessly. A mystical purple mist billowed thickly from them.
Handling voodoo magic was this easy, so why was divine power so damn hard? Did I lack talent for it? Without talent in divine power, how could I become a high priest—or even graduate? Anxiety and despair I’d buried deep welled up.
[It’s fine. You’ve got talent in voodoo magic, right?]
Legba spoke as I wallowed in despair. As always, it didn’t comfort me—just amplified the emptiness.
With “that class” tomorrow, I had to master mid-grade blessing circles today. But failures piled up no matter how many tries, with no sign of success.
[Again!]
Whenever my resolve cracked from repeated failures, Legba’s voice pulled me back. With effort and will, nothing was impossible—I clung to that belief.
*
The next morning dawned. Sleep-deprived, my head spun. My steps to school felt like lead weights. If I let my mind wander, my legs might give out.
Staying up all night to nail that mid-grade blessing circle had been a mistake. Still, I made it on time without being late, and morning homeroom passed in a blur.
Then, the class I’d been waiting for began.
“Hello~ We did greetings during homeroom, so let’s jump right in. Ready to start?”
Ha Ye-jin’s cheerful voice signaled the lesson’s beginning. She picked up chalk and wrote on the blackboard.
Understanding and Application of Divine Power
The current subject name. As it said, a class on divine power—which was why I’d pulled an all-nighter drawing blessing circles.
“This is our class’s first time with this lesson. Anyway, as you all know, we’ll cover three ways to use divine power, starting with blessings.”
Ha Ye-jin unleashed her divine power, drawing two blessing circles. Her divine power’s quality dwarfed any student’s. Even more astonishing: it took less than three seconds.
Florence teachers really are on another level, I thought, impressed anew.
“I just drew two blessing circles. They look identical at a glance, but they’re distinctly different kinds. Fundamentally so.”
Ha Ye-jin continued her explanation.
“Question: How do you distinguish them? Anyone care to explain?”
Ha Ye-jin scanned the room with a bright smile. Students ducked their heads, avoiding her gaze. A chilly silence blanketed the Charity Class room for seconds.
As Ha Ye-jin’s face hardened in disappointment at the lackluster response—
“I think I know.”
Someone raised her hand. All eyes turned to her in shock. Jeong In-ah opened her mouth with a faint smile.
“The core—the ‘nucleus’—seems slightly different in shape.”
“More precisely. Can you elaborate a bit?”
Ha Ye-jin’s face lit up.
“As for the nucleus shape, one is spherical, the other ellipsoidal. Um, and...”
“Good, great. Can you say more?”
Jeong In-ah’s face flushed noticeably as she presented. She was aware of the stares. Oblivious, Ha Ye-jin egged her on.
“The spherical nucleus one looks like a blessing circle, the ellipsoidal one a healing circle... Not certain, but that’s how it seems.”
“Perfect!”
Ha Ye-jin beamed and clapped. Students awkwardly joined in. Jeong In-ah sat amid the applause, shyly pleased.
“These two look the same, but their nuclei differ subtly. A slight nucleus tweak can change a blessing circle’s essence. You’ve drawn them by feel so far, but minding the nucleus will let you create more precise, complete circles.”
Ha Ye-jin explained enthusiastically. In short: focus on the nucleus when drawing for ease. Vital info for me, who couldn’t even manage mid-grade ones. I jotted it in my notebook.
“Like this, we use divine power by drawing blessing or healing circles. Now, another question!”
Ha Ye-jin’s Q&A time returned. Students bowed their heads preemptively.
“Besides blessing and healing circles, any other ways to use divine power?”
“I’ll answer.”
This time, Bae Seong-hyeon.
“Oh, good. Explain.”
“Besides blessing and healing circles, there’s using ‘miracles.’”
“Yes, well done.”
Ha Ye-jin smiled satisfiedly—no applause this time. Bae Seong-hyeon scowled and sat, displeased.
“You all only know blessing and healing circles now, but at higher levels, you’ll handle ‘miracles.’ Easier to show than tell.”
Ha Ye-jin clasped her hands demurely over her chest. Eyes closed in prayer-like murmur, viscous divine power oozed from her. It formed heavy, dark clouds laden with rain.
The nimbus filled the ceiling.
Shwaaaaa—!
Rain poured down.
“Like this: humbly recreating miracles once shown by saints and the divine above. Technically ‘miracle recreation,’ but we shorten it to ‘miracle.’ Whew, the rain’s heavier than I thought.”
Ha Ye-jin clasped hands again. Divine power flowed, becoming a small sun that warmed and dried our rain-soaked selves.
“You can’t use miracles yet. No need to despair—that’s normal at your age. With effort, you’ll get there someday.”
Ha Ye-jin smiled gently and continued.
“Some never do without talent, even with time. Anyway! Let’s dry off with a quick break. One minute.”
Ha Ye-jin, ever energetic, suggested rest. Her fast-paced lesson drained us listeners; she must’ve been exhausted. I got it.
“Clothes seem dry, so let’s resume.”
A minute later, revitalized, she restarted. Incredible recovery. She brimmed with energy only in class.
“Next needs two skilled divine power users. Hmm, who...?”
Ha Ye-jin scanned like a hawk. I stared out the window, pretending obliviousness. Our eyes met accidentally. Hers sparkled ominously.
Bad feeling.
“The top scorers from diagnostics would be best.”
And hunches like that never miss.
“Do Seon-woo, Bae Seong-hyeon. Come up front, please.”
(To be continued in the next chapter)