Chapter 92
Chapter 92
Demon (3)
At Father Peter’s dependable appearance, young Raphael tearfully recounted what had happened at the Black Night Cult.
“And… Daddy, my daddy…”
“Oh, dear…”
He knelt on one knee and took Raphael into his arms.
“It must have been so hard for you.”
Young Raphael closes his eyes. It was a comforting warmth he had never forgotten.
After putting the child to sleep, Father Peter carefully slipped outside, sighing regretfully as he stood beside the deacon waiting for him.
“To think there are still heretical cults these days.”
“What should we do now?”
“For now, let’s look after those children.”
“But, Father… we’re not well-off ourselves.”
“They’re just children. How much money could they possibly cost? And…”
Through the crack of the open door, he watched young Raphael sleeping, curled up in a ball.
“How can we turn away such a little one?”
Father Peter in 1992 probably didn’t think much of it. And the Father Peter of 2020 would have suddenly recalled young Raphael’s words, investigated the truth behind the incident, and become convinced that the Black Night Cult was a devil-worshipping religion. Though the outcome was not good.
(To Father Raphael.)
The flashback ends, and Father Raphael reads the letter left by Father Peter.
When they had met during medical volunteer work in Africa, Father Peter had only known him as a Korean-American priest, not remembering the child he had met long ago.
The letter’s contents were brief, asking after his well-being, before reporting on the bizarre incidents occurring nearby.
(I have discovered that a heretical cult is behind this. I can no longer stand by and watch. I need your help, Father.)
Reading the last sentence, a small crack appears in Father Raphael’s emotionless expression.
(…Lastly, Father Leo is like a son to me. I know this is a shameless request, but please help him so that he does not go astray.)
As if predicting his own death, the sentence made Father Raphael slowly lower the letter.
While acting this part, Yu Yeon-seo thought back to his conversation with Director Choi Seong-mun.
[Raphael’s emotions are crucial here. Yeon-seo, what kind of feelings do you think Raphael has for Father Peter?]
[Well, I think Raphael is someone who craves affection and isn’t mentally strong, so first, he’d feel a sense of betrayal, right?]
Director Choi’s eyes sparkled. Yu Yeon-seo had become an actor with whom he could communicate, unlike before. He had even matured enough to meet separately and apologize for what happened during the filming of ‘Doll’ when they first started shooting.
What brought about this change of heart… The director gestured with his hand, encouraging him to continue.
[He’d still have memories from when he was seven. For some reason, Raphael was adopted abroad while Leo remained under Father Peter’s care, right?]
[That’s right.]
[He was rejected by society for not having a mother, lost his father, was driven out of the very church he fled to, and then adopted overseas… It’s as if his place in South Korea was erased. And he was probably discriminated against for being Asian in his adoptive family too.]
And at the medical volunteer site they’d encountered relatively recently, Raphael would have recognized Father Peter at a glance. But the other man didn’t remember him at all, so he must have felt hurt.
[Now that he’s the one in need, he finally reaches out, but the letter only asks me to look after Father Leo.]
[…That’s right. It wouldn’t be a welcome request. So, how should Father Raphael act from now on?]
[He wouldn’t ignore a dying man’s last wish, so he’ll help with the request… but his view of Kim Leo won’t be favorable. At first.]
Director Choi clapped his hands. Yu Yeon-seo needed no direction.
With a complex and subtle expression, Father Raphael set down Father Peter’s letter and looked out the window.
“Hey!”
“Pass it here!”
He could see Kim Leo playing soccer with the orphanage children, trying his best to fill the void left by Father Peter.
Watching him, Raphael’s eyes would have been filled with a sense of novelty, seeing that little boy from back then become a priest, and he would have also felt a slight twinge of jealousy. Various emotions flickered in his eyes before vanishing.
“You didn’t remember me, even to the end…”
Father Raphael closes his eyes and leans back in his chair. The scene transitions after his lamenting monologue.
After sending Father Peter off, he begins to earnestly investigate the demon and the Black Night Cult.
“Father! Where are you going!”
“Do not follow me.”
“But won’t you need an assistant?”
To be precise, it was an accompaniment that Father Raphael had not approved. Kim Leo played innocent, and Raphael was half-resigned.
“By the way, how do you know our Father?”
“We don’t know each other well.”
“You came all the way from the Vatican at the request of a priest you barely know?”
Father Raphael stopped walking, sighed, and answered.
“I met him briefly while volunteering in Africa.”
“Oh…”
Ultimately drawn into Kim Leo’s pace, Raphael, though annoyed, takes care of the persistently following priest.
“To perform a rite of exorcism, we need approval from the Vatican.”
“Come on, Father, can’t you be a little more flexible?”
“And aren’t you being a bit too meddlesome, Father?”
“Wow, Father, you lived abroad all this time and you know words like that?”
They bicker but cooperate, united by the common goal of finding who was responsible for what happened to Father Peter.
And in the final scene of episode three, the last of the three main characters appears: Kim Leo’s high school classmate and journalist, Park Su-a.
She couldn’t forget an incident that occurred while she was a war correspondent in a conflict zone in Africa, and when a similar event happened in Korea, she began to investigate secretly.
Park Su-a had returned to her hometown after a long time, having learned belatedly that Father Peter of her regular church had died from spontaneous combustion.
“Huh? Kim Leo?”
“…Park Su-a?”
She looks awkwardly at Kim Leo, dressed in a well-pressed cassock.
“Wow, the punk from Nosang High became a priest?”
“What about it?”
Kim Leo retorted defiantly, jutting out his chin.
Reunited after a long time, they asked about each other’s lives.
“So what do you do?”
“Ah, I work for a small newspaper.”
“A reporter?”
“Yeah.”
There had been malicious articles linking Father Peter’s death to the church’s meager finances. Kim Leo jumps to his feet and tries to throw Park Su-a out of the church.
“Hey, wait. What’s wrong?”
“I’ve sworn off associating with reporter scumbags. If you write another weird article about our Father, I won’t go easy on you, even if we were classmates. Get out.”
“I didn’t write that! And that’s not why I’m here!”
“Then why are you?”
As she was being dragged away by Kim Leo, Park Su-a pointed at Father Raphael, who was praying over water to make holy water.
“If you don’t kick me out, I’ll tell you about that priest!”
“What? How do you know Father Raphael?”
“I saw him in Africa before. How could I forget that face?”
“…It is a face you don’t forget once you’ve seen it.”
Releasing his grip on Park Su-a’s shoulder, Kim Leo crossed his arms. A halo seemed to shine from Father Raphael, who continued his solemn prayer despite the commotion in the church. Sighing in relief, Park Su-a brushes off her wrinkled clothes.
“Let’s hear it.”
“I may be taking pictures of celebrities now, but I used to be a hotshot war correspondent.”
“Oh, that’s unexpected.”
Park Su-a smiled triumphantly and took a tablet from her bag, showing him photos from the scene in Africa. In a corner of one photo, Father Peter and Father Raphael could be seen.
“What, our Father was there too.”
“Here’s what happened there…”
A flashback to the incident in Africa plays.
A minority tribe there had performed a ritual akin to devil worship, and as a side effect, some people went mad and beat their families to death, while others suddenly burst into flames and died horribly—all sorts of bizarre phenomena occurred.
And that’s when Father Raphael appeared out of nowhere and stopped these phenomena through a rite of exorcism.
“But the same strange things that happened in Africa are happening here, in Nosang District. Father Peter’s case, too. It’s too suspicious to ignore.”
“So you came all the way here to cover it?”
“Are you a reporter?”
“Agh, you scared me.”
Kim Leo jumped in surprise at the sight of Father Raphael standing right behind him. Park Su-a covers her mouth with her hand to stifle a laugh at the devastatingly handsome face of Father Raphael up close.
“Wow, he’s incredible…”
“So, can we see what you’ve investigated?”
Snapping back to her senses at Kim Leo’s words, Park Su-a operated her tablet to show them a roadmap documenting the bizarre phenomena in Nosang District.
“So, what do you think, Fathers? Aren’t I useful?”
Park Su-a looks at the priests confidently, and the two priests exchange intrigued glances. With Park Su-a joining their group, the episode ends.
A drama set is busier than a film set, but these days, the 52-hour workweek limit had made things considerably more spacious. When a break for lunch came, Yu Yeon-seo ate with the two lead actors.
“Come to think of it, Yeon-seo, you debuted with One Seven. How did you end up debuting as an idol?”
At the question from Hong Min-a, the actress playing Park Su-a, Yu Yeon-seo chuckled.
“I just went to a decent company and said, ‘Make me an idol.’”
“Wow, you know how to joke?”
“I’m not joking.”
Hong Min-a had made a name for herself after debuting in an independent film. He’d heard she was famous for her acting at a renowned theater academy in Korea, but she still had the fresh-faced quality of a rookie.
“Really?”
At Hong Min-a’s incredulous tone, Yu Yeon-seo nodded with a bright face.
“So the company just accepted you?”
“What company would reject me?”
Hong Min-a’s jaw dropped at the arrogant and cocky reply. She had heard rumors from senior actors, but she hadn’t expected it to be this bad.
“Wow…”
“I know I’m a jerk, so close your mouth. I can see everything inside.”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
Hong Min-a pressed her lips together. Yu Yeon-seo smiled faintly at her. She was an interesting person.
“I wasn’t thinking you were a jerk, I was thinking I was jealous… Anyway, so did you go through a trainee period like Ha-jun?”
“Not for long. I debuted in less than half a year.”
“Oh, well, your singing skills are no joke… Wasn’t it difficult?”
Yu Yeon-seo was about to say something but closed his mouth. He glanced at Seo Ha-jun, the actor playing Kim Leo, who was silently chewing his food.
‘Seo Ha-jun is excessively… nice.’
Seo Ha-jun had started as an idol trainee at the age of eight. Perhaps because he had been trained for an idol debut from a young age instead of socializing with his peers, he seemed to have received a thorough education on how to navigate the entertainment industry.
He was especially careful when dealing with Yu Yeon-seo, and it was obvious he was trying to get closer. His agency had almost certainly told him to get on Yu Yeon-seo’s good side.
‘But this will be a problem if it continues.’
The problem was that Seo Ha-jun’s attitude sometimes carried over into his acting.
The upcoming scenes would involve full-fledged exorcism rituals. In the drama, Kim Leo was a former delinquent and an emotional person, set to clash frequently with the principled and rational Raphael. But with one side being so submissive…
‘Should I provoke him a little?’
That’s why he sometimes felt a lack of chemistry when filming scenes where he clashed with Kim Leo. There should be a synergy from their friction, but there was none. Director Choi must have noticed it too, but he was compromising due to the harsh drama environment that required filming two episodes a week.
Is this what my co-stars felt when I was a terrible actor? It must have been much harder for them, right? Maybe I should start my karma-cleansing project soon… Lost in thought, Yu Yeon-seo let out a small sigh.
“Was it difficult, you ask?”
Then he deliberately sneered.
“Being an idol was way too easy.”
How about that? Annoying, right? Yu Yeon-seo watched Seo Ha-jun’s reaction.
Some people dedicate their childhood just to debut. They struggle to get their face on screen, fighting hard for a lead role in a drama, finally making a name for themselves beyond their group. And then there’s someone else who has it all, who seems to debut and act with ease, right?
‘He took the bait.’
Seeing the deep furrow in Seo Ha-jun’s brow, Yu Yeon-seo smiled inwardly.