Chapter 70

Shin Yeon-jae agreed hastily. “Ah, right, I did. You still speak standard Korean very well.” He nodded along with fervent enthusiasm. His face falling into a deadpan expression, Mu-yeong drew the remaining iced Americano up through his straw.

What kind of sales pitch is this bastard preparing that makes him pretend to know me so desperately? A jade heating mat? Hexagonal structured water? A germanium bracelet?

Come to think of it, asking whether he was an office worker or a student had likely been an attempt to gauge his purchasing power. Without the slightest difficulty, Mu-yeong assumed a mournful, pitiable demeanor.

“Still, you’ve been doing well, right, hyung? Nothing troubling you?” Mu-yeong asked, his eyes brimming with earnest concern. “My life has been so lonely and miserable that you’re truly all I have left. If there’s any way I can help you, I want to do whatever I can.”

A predatory gleam sparked in Shin Yeon-jae’s supposedly benevolent eyes. Rolling his gaze back and forth, he sized Seo Mu-yeong up. He waved a dismissive hand with feigned reluctance. “Well… there’s no need to help me. Rather, there’s something I’d like to recommend because I think it could really help you, though I wasn’t sure if it might make you uncomfortable.”

Mu-yeong tilted his head inquisitively. “Why would I feel uncomfortable when my hyung is offering advice? What is it?”

Though Mu-yeong had posed the question with gentle innocence, Shin Yeon-jae leaned forward conspiratorially.

“Well, you mentioned you’ve been going through so much hardship,” Shin Yeon-jae began, pitching his tone low. “I went through similar tribulations myself, but through various teachings, I came to realize something profound. We are all people called forth to accomplish great deeds. Yet experience alone isn’t enough to understand such divine truths. So….”

Mu-yeong merely observed him without offering an answer. “…”

Shin Yeon-jae leaned in even closer, wearing a radiant beam. “Say, Mu-yeong-ah… would you like to study the Bible with me?”

Having recited the quintessential cult recruiting line with an earnest beam, Shin Yeon-jae waited for an answer. Mu-yeong clamped down hard on the mangled straw with his molars.

How should I obliterate this cult fucker who isn’t even worth dog shit?

Mu-yeong brightened instantly. “Hyung, that sounds like it would help me so much.”

Putting on a face full of delighted gratitude, Mu-yeong rubbed his stomach lightly.

“Still, I’m getting hungry, so it might be tough to keep chatting here,” Mu-yeong offered with a cheerful grin. “Shall we grab some lunch? My treat. Are you alright with hamburgers?”

Shin Yeon-jae perked up at the offer. “Oh, sure. Shall we?” He agreed enthusiastically. Taking the lead, Mu-yeong surveyed the street as they strolled through downtown. Before long, he spotted the two-story burger franchise he had visited with Choi Yook last time.

“Go ahead upstairs and grab us a table,” Mu-yeong said, gesturing toward the interior. “I’ll order down here and bring the food up.”

Pushing open the glass door, Mu-yeong held it open. Shin Yeon-jae gave an eager nod without any pretense of refusal. He rubbed his hands together pleasantly. “Sounds good, thanks. Get me the shrimp one, please. The one with double patties.”

Wearing a cheerful grin, the man headed up the stairs, and Mu-yeong followed close behind. Because the lunch rush was in full swing, the restaurant was packed and noisy enough that he didn’t even need to muffle his footsteps.

The instant Shin Yeon-jae took an empty seat, Mu-yeong deftly snatched the card wallet protruding slightly from the man’s trouser pocket. Completely oblivious, Shin Yeon-jae was already busy typing a message on his phone.

—“Seeker-nim, I believe I will be able to bring another prospective believer. That makes twelve recruits I have fulfilled this year—does that mean I can finally enter the Grand Cathedral where the Angel resides?”

His face was flushed with ecstatic reverence. Heading straight back downstairs, Mu-yeong ordered an order of fries and three burgers—excluding the shrimp burger, of course, and including the new menu item he had enjoyed last time. The card he swiped was, naturally, Shin Yeon-jae’s.

Wasting the time of a man with such an expensive hourly rate is unacceptable. Paying for his meal is the least he can do.

Carrying the takeout bag, Mu-yeong stepped outside. He tossed the card wallet carelessly onto the pavement. Well, surely the Angel will return it to its owner.

Making the Sign of the Cross, Mu-yeong walked back toward his parked car. A colorful banner strung across a utility pole caught his eye. When he had first arrived in Mangcheon, he had seen Choi Yook reading them, but had merely brushed past without paying any mind.

‘Mayor, Revoke the Cult’s Building Permit at Once!’

‘A Cult on Our Children’s Walk to School? Absolutely Unacceptable!’

The slogans seethed with fierce, undisguised hostility. Perhaps I should have read them more closely back then.

Settling into the driver’s seat warmed by the midday sun, Mu-yeong shoved the burger into his mouth. It was the white truffle sauce burger he had enjoyed most during his previous visit.

Yet no matter how diligently he chewed, he couldn’t detect much flavor. Even after washing it down with cola, his throat merely stung instead of feeling refreshed. Maybe contacting Choi Yook will bring back my appetite. Lowering the air conditioning temperature, Mu-yeong sent a text to Choi Yook.

Section Chief, I came to meet my friend. But he was a cultist impersonating my friend, so I left right away.

Mu-yeong took a generous bite of the hamburger. Before long, an incoming call from Choi Yook flashed on his phone.

About to press the answer button, Mu-yeong paused. Only after firmly plugging earphones into both ears did he finally take the call. Choi Yook’s tone was thoroughly indifferent, as if the matter didn’t warrant the slightest exertion.

—“Didn’t I tell you? That he wouldn’t be a decent bastard.”

With all ambient noise completely shut out, only Choi Yook’s voice resonated in his ears. It was a voice that resembled the man’s hands—rough with fine scars and callused edges. Is that why I never tire of hearing it, no matter how many times it repeats? Tilting his head back, Mu-yeong let out a quiet breath.

“Still, he wasn’t my real friend,” Mu-yeong pointed out.

—“Right. And that friend is probably living just fine after forgetting all about you, Seo Mu-yeong-ssi,” Choi Yook offered with dry indifference. “If he went this long without reaching out even once, it’s one of two things. Either he has no use for you, or he wants to stick a straw into you and suck you dry.”

The man seemed to want Seo Mu-yeong to live in bitter cynicism, distrusting the entire world. Yet even if he doubted everyone else, Mu-yeong still believed in Hyung. If he couldn’t trust him, there would be no one left in this world for him to believe in.

Mu-yeong silently repeated the name of his hyung, now made certain after two failed attempts. Im Yeon-jae, Im Yeon-jae, Yeon-jae-hyung…. The unfamiliar name rolled over his tongue.

Though he would finally meet Hyung only after a massive bout of wasted effort, perhaps that was for the best. He was truly prepared now.

He would not be disappointed even if Hyung looked nothing like he imagined. He would not be hurt even if Hyung failed to see him. Nor did he expect Hyung to love him.

Mu-yeong merely wished that Hyung had not forgotten him, and that he would understand and accept that he was the very same person as ■■■. Even if it was merely a single thread as thin as a strand of hair, he wanted it to link his past and present together.

That was why, terrified as he was of the reunion, he desperately needed to meet Im Yeon-jae. Swallowing the mouthful of burger, Mu-yeong turned the conversation toward the man on the line.

“Section Chief, don’t you have any friends you haven’t kept in touch with for a long time?”

—“First off, if you haven’t been in contact for that long, you can hardly call them a friend.” Choi Yook’s tone was brisk and unsparing. “When you have family, there’s no need to keep friends. Things like that are nothing more than useless substitutes.”

It wasn’t as if his relationship with his parents was remarkably good, yet he claimed Choi Sijin alone was enough to substitute even friends. Mu-yeong squeezed the ketchup packet tightly. A thick, crimson stream oozed past his clenched fist, soaking the French fries below.

Then again, it wasn’t as if Mu-yeong wanted to become friends with Choi Yook anyway. Tossing the crumpled packet into the paper bag, Mu-yeong picked up a fry heavily slathered in ketchup with solemn resolve.

Mu-yeong raised the fry to his lips. “Then do you have no need for a lover, either?”

—“A lover?” Choi Yook let out a dry smirk. “If a lover means someone you can call over to fuck whenever you’re horny, day or night, then having one around for convenience would be fine enough.”

Mu-yeong swallowed a bite of the fry. “Your definition of a lover is remarkably unique.”

—“It’s not like that’s any of your business anyway, Seo Mu-yeong-ssi.”

“I was thinking it might have become my business recently,” Mu-yeong murmured.

A brief silence descended. Amplified several times over, the rasp of Choi Yook’s breathing grazed along his eardrums.

—“One minute you claim you live for Sijin’s sake, and now you’re so in heat you can’t tell up from down. There’s a limit to how loose you can be.”

“…”

—“Why can’t you answer? Since you can’t lay a finger on Sijin because of me, but still want skin-to-skin contact, you figured our dicks would be roughly the same since we’re brothers—so you might as well get fucked by me instead. Isn’t that it?”

Mu-yeong shook his head firmly. “No, of course not.” He offered an unequivocal denial.

“Right now, the only person I want to lay my hands on is you, Section Chief.”

—“And you expect me to believe that?”

“If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do,” Mu-yeong said, shrugging lightly. “Still, if that’s the kind of relationship you consider a lover, I don’t think I’d care to be your lover after all. I tend to prefer something a bit warmer.”

He liked French fries. They were served quickly, convenient to eat, and tasty. Yet he would never make them his staple food. And the same likely applied to Choi Yook, who claimed he would eat anything.

—“Seeing as you’re already planning that far ahead, you must have plenty of free time on your hands.” Choi Yook’s voice took on a sharper edge. “Then you must have done enough work to be confident. From this moment on, if you can’t answer the questions I ask, I’m going to start charging interest on your IOU starting today.”

“…Excuse me?”

—“How far did you investigate Yang Ui-ju?”

The question came flying at him before he could even gather his wits. He’s suddenly curious about Yang Ui-ju? Was this the aftershock of the botched exorcism ritual rippling outward?

It was regrettable that Choi Yook showed no interest in Inspector Kim Jae-cheol. Even so, Yang Ui-ju wasn’t a bad second choice. Mu-yeong broke into a gentle smile.

“If you tell me what information you’re looking for, I can give you an answer,” Mu-yeong offered obligingly.

—“Yang Ui-ju’s weakness.”

It was intriguing that he was asking for a weakness. Did he want to take this opportunity to thoroughly crush Yang Ui-ju? In any case, that happened to align with Mu-yeong’s own interests as well, and there was indeed a fresh piece of information he had reeled in while Choi Yook wasn’t seeking him out.

Mu-yeong tapped his steering wheel rhythmically. “You remember Kim Seo-gyeong-ssi, the other disciple, right?”

Leaning back against the headrest, Mu-yeong lowered his voice.

“Kim Seo-gyeong-ssi has gone missing. After saying she was going to meet Yang Ui-ju.”

From his perspective, this was the reason the sweet potato known as Yang Ui-ju had grown all the more plump and substantial. To the point where he wondered if he ought to score its surface, deep-fry it whole, and coat it in sugar syrup. Yet Choi Yook showed not the slightest hint of emotion.

—“Who’s the witness?”

“Kim Seo-gyeong-ssi’s ex-husband,” Mu-yeong explained. “They had already completely parted ways, but she suddenly called him out of the blue to ask a favor. She said she was going to Mangcheon to meet Yang Ui-ju, and asked him to report it to the police if she didn’t call back by midnight.”