“I don’t feel like it.”
Ugh... this guy, seriously.
Jung Tae-ui’s eyes instantly turned sharp and triangular.
“Jung Tae-ui. When someone talks nicely, you listen obediently.”
His voice dropped a notch, and the smile that had been there vanished, replaced by something less pleasant. The tone now carried a clear command.
Jung Tae-ui tilted his head slightly and looked at the screen. On it, Illay was also looking straight at him, expressionless.
At some point, his thoughts twisted sharply. Very impulsively. Suddenly, without even realizing it himself.
Jung Tae-ui leaned forward. Pressing his face close to the screen, he looked Illay straight in the eyes and smiled. Then he spoke slowly.
“I’ll leave for sure, way before you come back in a month.”
“Jung Tae—”
Before the name was fully spoken, a voice three times harsher cut off the call abruptly.
With the voice cut mid-sentence and the screen going black, Jung Tae-ui gripped the phone tightly and stared at the screen as if expecting the fierce face to flash back again. Then, startled, he pulled the phone cord out. Even after that, he stared at the phone for several more seconds.
“...Me...”
Finally, letting out a small sigh, Jung Tae-ui slowly put the phone down and muttered like a groan.
“How did I have the nerve to do that...?”
Muttering absently and looking at the phone like a lost soul, at some point he clasped his head with his hands.
I must be crazy. How am I supposed to handle this? Muttering self-reproach, Jung Tae-ui only snapped back to his senses when he heard footsteps in the hallway far outside. Only then did he realize he was sitting naked in a dark, empty room, quickly gathering his clothes. Still, he kept muttering under his breath: I’m crazy, totally crazy...
Some worries don’t reach a conclusion no matter how many days pass; they drag along secondary regrets and self-blame.
Why did I say those things? Why did I do that? As he wallowed in such regrets, a pitiful feeling struck his chest.
Thinking it over calmly, he knew his fault wasn’t that great, yet he still felt weak and pathetic for having to mumble regret so timidly.
Having spent nearly a sleepless night doing nothing but regretting and whining, Jung Tae-ui staggered out of his home and now awkwardly stared up at the sky.
What fickle weather.
Still, in the past two or three months, the rain had almost stopped, and the sky was so sharply blue that it felt like proper summer weather had arrived.
When Jung Tae-ui left the house, some dark clouds were scattered across the sky, but between them, the blue was clear and vivid.
But now—
Outside, thunder and lightning came with a heavy downpour. The wind howled as if the whole world was drowning in rain.
“It’s pouring like someone ripped a hole in the sky...”
Jung Tae-ui clicked his tongue, staring outside.
It wasn’t far to his home from here. About a five-minute run. But the rain was heavy enough to soak a mouse completely in that time.
Actually, getting a little wet wasn’t a problem, but there was nothing important enough to make him run back through this storm. So he waited for about an hour for the rain to stop or at least ease.
Maybe I should just go. Consider it a shower in the rain.
As Jung Tae-ui reached for the door handle, a lightning bolt suddenly lit up the dim world like it was on fire. The flash was so bright his eyes widened involuntarily. Frozen in place, a moment later the thunder crashed with a grand roar as if the sky was collapsing.
“...Since I’ve waited this long, might as well wait a bit more...”
Jung Tae-ui withdrew his hand from the door handle and stepped back inside.
The church was quiet, without a soul.
Inside the modestly sized church, statues were placed around the walls with some distance between them. Behind them, stained glass windows decorated the walls. New chapters come out on novelping dot com first.
Though it was a sacred and solemn place, with the thunderstorm raging outside and no one around, it felt eerie.
Jung Tae-ui sat randomly near the door and looked at the crucifix a little ahead.
He had no religion. No one in his family was particularly religious, and he himself had never cared.
When he was a cadet, his immediate superior was a devout Christian, so on Sundays he had been dragged along several times against his will. But that never left any impression on him.
So far, he had remained indifferent, without liking or disliking any religion.
But perhaps when one’s spirit grows harsh, it’s natural to want to cling to something.
...But even so...
Jung Tae-ui scratched his head. His mouth tasted bitter.
He still seemed to hear Kyle’s quiet voice, suppressing a laugh.
“Where are you going?”
That morning, after finishing breakfast a little late and rushing to get into the back seat of James’s car, Kyle saw Jung Tae-ui walking quickly toward the gate and asked, puzzled.
Jung Tae-ui answered the gloomy thoughts in his mind.
“I’m going to the church to repent for my karma from my past life... just for a bit...”
Kyle hadn’t really understood the deep feelings behind Jung Tae-ui’s words, but suddenly his expression changed strangely. Jung Tae-ui immediately read that odd expression—a mixture of laughter and patience.
Kyle had already asked at breakfast if Jung Tae-ui had had a bad dream since his expression was so bad. Jung Tae-ui had absentmindedly answered that Illay had called him last night.
Kyle had blinked, putting down his fork with parsley on salad, and asked, “That guy, why?”
To that, Jung Tae-ui murmured half out of it,
“He called just to check on me.”
Kyle made a strange face but seeing how lost Jung Tae-ui looked, kindly didn’t ask further.
After hearing Jung Tae-ui talk about his “karma from a past life,” Kyle must have guessed why.
Kyle often looked at Jung Tae-ui with pity, wondering how he’d gotten into trouble with that guy.
This time, too, Kyle didn’t smile openly but asked thoughtfully with a voice as if trying to comfort.
“If going to church to repent for your past life’s karma gives you peace, that might be good, Tae-i, but can I point out some flaws in what you said...?”
“If you tell me later, I’d appreciate it...”
But when Jung Tae-ui replied gloomily, Kyle nodded and fell silent.
Declining Kyle’s offer to drive him to the church, Jung Tae-ui went by himself to the church a few minutes from his house.
And now.
Because the church was so quiet and deserted, or maybe because he barely slept last night and was tired, or perhaps because he had unconsciously let go trying to repent for sins he didn’t even fully understand, he suddenly realized two or three hours had quietly passed.
Looking at the clock, surprised, he decided to leave but saw that it was now raining cats and dogs outside.
“...”
Jung Tae-ui clicked his tongue and scratched his head.
Nothing’s going my way today. The weather, my mood... everything.
Sitting inside the church staring at the statues, he sighed.
Come to think of it, he had dozed off earlier and hadn’t really repented for his past life’s karma.
Maybe he should try that thing called confession. But he wasn’t Catholic and rarely came to a church.
He shook his head thinking, “They probably wouldn’t do it for someone like me,” but then imagined himself confessing.
“Um, I guess I really committed a lot of sins in my past life. I got caught up with terrorists and became a wanted man myself. And I suffered so much humiliation from those terrorists I can’t even say it out loud. Just last night...” This chapter was copied from novelping dot com without permission.
Imagining himself rambling like that, he shivered and shook his head violently.
I really do dumb things sometimes, he sighed bitterly and hung his head low.
The church was quiet, filled only with silence when suddenly the sound of rain grew louder.
He looked up and saw someone opening the door and entering. Through the open door, the pouring rain was visible. The rain wasn’t stopping anytime soon.
Who would come to a church in this heavy rain? Jung Tae-ui absentmindedly stared at the person.
The person was wearing a hooded raincoat reaching down to his toes. He stepped inside and froze when he saw Jung Tae-ui. Apparently, he hadn’t expected anyone.
Muttering something, he came further inside and took off his hood. Drops of rainwater ran down the edges of his clothes.
The next moment, Jung Tae-ui was speechless.
The young man, with faint light reflecting softly inside the dim church, brushed raindrops off his platinum blond hair and clicked his tongue.
He looked as if he had stepped out directly from the stained glass window behind him.
Beautiful as a painting. Like a sculpture. Just standing there, the space itself seemed different.
All those words were meant for that young man.
Jung Tae-ui, dazed for a moment, caught himself when he noticed the young man glancing at him. Though he knew staring was rude, he couldn’t look away.
“Are you alone?”
But the young man seemed used to such attention and bluntly asked. His voice reminded Jung Tae-ui of fine porcelain, white and delicately crafted. Jung Tae-ui foolishly asked “Huh?” then stammered, “Uh, no, yes, um, yeah.”
Calm down. No need to freak out just because you unexpectedly saw such incredible beauty.
He tapped his chest two, three times, a bit firmly. After the taps, he felt more composed.
The young man looked puzzled as Jung Tae-ui tapped his chest, glanced around, then looked back at him.
“So.”
“...?”
“Were you here by chance, or were you waiting for me?”
“...I don’t even know who you are...”
Jung Tae-ui thought the young man’s appearance was extraordinary, and even his way of speaking felt unusual.
“Alright, then that’s fine.”
The young man answered casually.
What a random and confusing guy.
Jung Tae-ui tilted his head and rolled his eyes. He wondered why these days he often encountered conversations he couldn’t keep up with.
But with that kind of looks, he wouldn’t be out of place as a movie star or famous model. So it wouldn’t be strange if he had crazed fans waiting everywhere he went. Yeah, maybe he was that kind of person.
Jung Tae-ui silently concluded and nodded. Looking at the young man again, he felt his conclusion was very reasonable and was even pleased.
“You don’t look devout enough to come pray in this pouring rain.”
After quietly observing the church, the young man spoke again suddenly. His words might have sounded rude to some, but since Jung Tae-ui wasn’t devout at all, he nodded without issue.
“I came this morning, dozed off for a bit, and woke up to rain. So I was waiting for it to stop.”
“Why come to a place like this so early in the morning?”
Jung Tae-ui muttered to himself, thinking that the visitor was hardly in a position to ask that. The young man glanced at him after looking around distractedly.
Whatever. Even if I can’t confess, maybe I can at least pour out this aching feeling to someone. Who knows, maybe the one up there, pitying me, sent an envoy to me.