The Rat in the Chapel
The chapel was dim and gloomy. The cleverly cast shadows made it impossible to see any faces.
“Then, let us begin with a prayer.”
A man’s calm voice echoed softly. At his cue, everyone simultaneously covered their eyes and bowed their heads.
And a moment later, the prayer began.
“Our most gracious and merciful ‘Father.’ On this holy day of the festival…”
The instant the prayer started, the man’s voice seemed to pierce directly into my ears, as if he were using some kind of ability.
“…Until now, countless prophets have departed to your side…”
The voice hammered itself into my mind. At that moment, the sound of weeping began to rise from various places in the chapel.
“…Even if we cannot shed blood ourselves, let us become living martyrs. We wish to fulfill every purpose our Father has set and truly enter into rest…”
It sounded familiar. It seemed they had stitched together prayer verses from a religion that had long since vanished. Yet it was apparently enough to stir the believers’ hearts—people began to sob sorrowfully.
“…Ahh… Can you hear them? Your children are weeping so bitterly…!”
His skill at seizing control of the atmosphere with quick feedback was extraordinary.
After the frenzied prayer finally ended, the man who had passionately recited the verses let out a heavy sigh and slowly opened his mouth again.
“…Now, we shall begin the regular meeting.”
This was finally the main topic.
“Regarding this period’s prophets—”
“Just a moment.”
Suddenly, a delicate woman’s voice interrupted the man.
This…!
At the unexpected interruption, I—who had been holding my breath—couldn’t help but feel shocked. It seemed I wasn’t the only one; the other believers also jumped in surprise and began looking around, searching for the source of the voice.
Then, the woman’s voice rang out through the chapel once more.
“I stopped the meeting because there’s something I need to confirm.”
Among the Gujae Church executives, who else but the ‘Lady’ would have the power to halt a regular meeting?
It had to be her.
Excited at the thought that I had finally found the Lady, I scanned my surroundings. If I could just identify her identity, then I too…!
“There’s a rat mixed in among us.”
…A rat?
Huh?
By the time I understood what the Lady had said, it was already too late.
Every single believer in the chapel was staring straight at me. The sensation was like facing a room full of soulless corpses.
“Kgh…!”
My cover was blown.
Where the hell did the information leak from…!
I hadn’t expected to survive once I made it this far, but I never imagined I would be caught so pathetically.
“Seize him.”
At the Lady’s resounding command, ominous mana began pouring from the believers’ bodies.
There was no way I could survive surrounded by this many ability users.
“You damn cultist bastards…!”
If it had come to this, I wouldn’t go down alone.
If I poured out every last drop of my mana, I could at least take half of them with me. It was essentially a suicide bombing—at this point, I probably wouldn’t survive either.
…It can’t be helped. This is my choice.
The moment I frantically gathered my mana to trigger an explosion—
“Ugh…!”
A single streak of blood trickled down from the eyes of every believer staring at me.
The believers have been neutralized.
Where should I start…
Lately, every time I go to the mart I’m plagued by happy dilemmas. The place is overflowing with products, and there isn’t a single thing I can’t afford. As a result, I actually struggle to choose what to buy.
…Should I start with snacks? If I buy them now, I’ll eat them eventually.
With that thought, I slowly pushed the shopping cart deeper into the mart.
Today was Friday. The weekdays had somehow already slipped away.
During that time, I had spent quite fulfilling days.
In the mornings, I ate the bread Gong Haeseon baked for me and attended classes with her. Thanks to sitting through lessons together, I had naturally developed my own study habits.
In the afternoons, I practiced practical skills with Min Soyeon, and after school we went grocery shopping together. Min Soyeon had recently started learning how to cook, so we made dinner together. I never knew how fun it could be to teach my daughter how to cook.
After eating dinner together, we played a few games to help with digestion, then finished the night with studying. Honestly, I barely studied at all, but the important thing was that I made the effort, right?
Before, my routine had been miserably cooking bean sprout rice alone, browsing the internet, and falling asleep… but these days, I exchange messages with Gong Haeseon before bed. I don’t even have time to feel lonely anymore.
I had been living each day so diligently that I barely noticed time passing.
Today, I had things to do, so I didn’t stop by Min Soyeon’s house. It might have been my imagination, but she seemed a little upset. Still, it couldn’t be helped.
Tomorrow was the day I would go see my wife.
I had to leave early in the morning to handle the handover, so I wouldn’t have time to shop later. The place where my wife lived was so deep in the mountains that there wasn’t even a convenience store nearby… which meant I had to prepare everything in advance.
Wouldn’t it be enough if I just brought some of the fruits and snacks she used to like?
“Here it is.”
While wandering the snack aisle, I spotted one of my wife’s favorite treats. It was a cookie studded with chocolate chunks—the kind she used to buy occasionally. Since they came individually wrapped, they would keep for a while even if left out. I grabbed two boxes and continued pushing the cart.
My wife’s palate had been perfectly tuned to my cooking. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say my cooking had been tuned to her. After living together for over ten years, it was only natural that we had grown accustomed to each other.
She used to prefer the food I made over eating out. I wondered if that was still the case now.
What if she tasted something I made and realized who I really was?
…If that happened, I think I would be incredibly happy.
I left the mart carrying an enormous amount of groceries, loaded everything into the car Jeon Nando had sent, and returned home.
When I got back, the travel suitcase I had ordered online had arrived.
“Perfect timing.”
I quickly changed clothes, took a shower, and immediately began packing.
I was putting in the clothes and underwear I had set aside and gathering the toiletries I had bought in advance when—
Ding—
A message arrived on the phone I had left on the desk.
Ah. Had it already gotten this late?
I tossed the suitcase aside and checked the phone. Sure enough, it was from Gong Haeseon. A message asking what I was doing, followed by a cute emoticon with a question mark.
I smiled warmly and replied.
She remembered even though I had only mentioned it in passing.
She followed it with a shocked “Heol~” emoticon.
Whenever I talked with Gong Haeseon, I could tell how much love she had grown up surrounded by. If I hadn’t died, would our Soyeon have grown up to be this lovely too?
Well, she’s still lovely now, of course…
At that moment, Gong Haeseon sent me a photo.
Hm?
It was a picture of her with an adorable cat sticking its tongue out slightly. Then another photo arrived right after—Gong Haeseon holding the cat’s paw and smiling brightly.
Was there any cheer more energizing than this?
Thanks to Gong Haeseon’s consideration, I ended the conversation early. I stared blankly at the photos she had sent, and for some reason, I suddenly wanted to hear Min Soyeon’s voice.
Her encouragement would probably give me even more strength.
However…
“The number you have dialed is unavailable. After the tone—”
She must have been busy; she didn’t pick up.
*
Ring ring ring— Ring ring ring—
The alarm blaring in my ear made me crack my eyes open.
“Ugh…”
For someone as weak in the mornings as me, waking up before dawn was pure torture. I flailed around until I grabbed my phone and quickly turned off the alarm.
The house fell silent in an instant. I felt like I could fall back asleep at any second, but I had to get up somehow.
After forcing myself awake with great difficulty, I staggered through my preparations to head out.
Once I was ready, I climbed into the car Jeon Nando had sent and promptly fell asleep again.
I had originally planned to memorize the route, but that plan went out the window. By the time I came to my senses, we had already passed through Gangwon-do.
We drove through the city, then deeper into the mountains. Eventually, we reached a point where there were no buildings in sight at all.
…Wait, was there seriously nothing here? Not even a convenience store, and barely any signs of people.
“The road gets a bit bumpy from here.”
“Pardon?”
Right then, the car began to shake violently. Startled, I looked out the window and saw we were deep in the mountains on an unpaved road.
Did she really want to live in a place this isolated?
After following the winding path a little farther, a single house appeared, standing alone amid a dense forest.
“…”
The driver parked in front of the house and made a call. Shortly after, two housekeepers emerged from inside to greet us.
“Oh, so you’re the one who’s coming this time!”
“My goodness, he’s handsome… The madam will be pleased!”
I greeted them politely and began carrying in the luggage I had brought.
Once inside, I quickly scanned the interior and memorized the layout.
“The pantry is over here, the kitchen is that way. The madam usually eats upstairs, so we only use the first floor… Also… Oh, that’s the restroom, and next to it is the bathroom…”
I had been worried because I heard the condition of the place was terrible, but it seemed Jeon Nando had taken good care of it. The house was livable enough.
“Here, this is your uniform! The size should be about right… There’s only one set, so make sure to wash it properly!”
“…Thank you.”
After being shown to the room I would be staying in, I changed clothes and headed to the kitchen.
“Oh, you’re here. Let’s go greet the madam now!”
“Goodness… Our madam might finally smile again!”
Jeon Nando really had chosen well. The two middle-aged women had wonderful personalities.
As I followed them up to the second floor—
Creak— Creak—
The old floorboards groaned with every step.
One step. Another step.
The closer we got to the second floor, the harder my heart began to pound.
Because of the frantic beating in my chest, I barely registered the explanation of the second-floor layout.
And finally…
“…Alright, that’s the madam’s room over there. We’ll wait on the first floor, so please greet her and come back down!”
The moment to face my wife had arrived.
Standing in front of the door, I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. But the violent thumping refused to settle.
We had been together for so long—there should have been no reason for me to feel this nervous. Yet my heart wouldn’t stop pounding.
…Stay calm.
I am not Min Sungjae.
I am not Ju Yeonhee’s husband. I am Yu Jihwan, Min Soyeon’s friend.
A poor student who was introduced and came to help.
Min Sungjae is dead. I am just an unrelated man.
“…”
The self-deprecating reminder seemed to work; my wildly beating heart calmed down slightly.
…Let’s go.
After one final deep breath, I slowly raised my hand and knocked on the door.
Knock. Knock.