Chapter 103
At the break of dawn, when the sky was just starting to brighten, two men were walking along the treacherous mountain path on Taebaeksan.
"Hey, is it really okay for us to come in here? It feels strange. It’s like we're going in circles..." a man with a scruffy haircut whined.
"Ah, if you're going to keep complaining like that, then why don't you just go back down? I can catch the long-tailed gorals by myself, you know?" a man dressed entirely in black said. He was covering his face with the brim of his hat.
The scruffy-haired man cringed and scratched his head as he laughed like an idiot. "Eh, hehe~ That’s not what I meant. I was just worried."
"There's nothing to worry about. Just shut up and stay quiet. Just be careful not to let any of the long-tailed gorals escape, got it?"
"Ah, I got it. Geez, ranting on like just because I got a little worried..." the man with the scruffy haircut muttered while shooting a glance at the man in black.
The man in black ignored his grumbling and swiftly continued along the mountain path. The reason why they came to Taebaeksan was to capture the rare Korean long-tailed gorals that could only be found there. The man with the scruffy haircut and the man in black were brothers—the scruffy-haired man was the younger brother, and the man in black was the older brother. They were illegal poachers who captured rare animals and sold them to Japan as their business.
Rare animals were highly valuable in Japan. This was due to the influence of the native Shinto religion, which worshiped animals.
"...Shh."
The older brother was advancing forward without hesitation, and he lowered his head instantly. Then he brought his index finger to his mouth. The younger brother followed suit and brought his index finger to his own mouth, imitating his brother's movements. The brothers' gazes were focused on the same thing.
Beyond the bushes, a long-tailed goral was wandering while innocently looking around.
"Alright, when I give the signal, we both go at the same time. Got it?" the older brother whispered, giving instructions to his younger brother.
The younger brother nodded as his nostrils flared.
The sheep casually and gracefully walked along the mountain path as if it was still unaware of their presence.
Eventually, the older brother extended three fingers and then began folding them one by one.
"Ready. One, two...!"
"Aaaargh—!"
When the older brother folded his second finger, the younger brother suddenly screamed and rushed toward the long-tailed goral. The long-tailed goral was startled and quickly ran into the forest. The younger brother waved his long arms in a ridiculous manner as he chased after the long-tailed goral.
The older brother stared blankly at the scene as if he was dumbfounded.
"That, that idiotic brat!" the older brother cursed after belatedly realizing the situation.
His younger brother had always been lacking in some aspects, and so he had interpreted the counting of "one, two" as the signal. Counting numbers after promising to give a signal had been a mistake.
Damn it. It wasn't like they had been hunting for a day or two, so how could he make such a silly mistake...He felt a brief tinge of regret. However, now was not the time for regret. The older brother hurriedly chased after the younger brother into the forest. He couldn't afford to lose the captured long-tailed goral that was right in front of him, and no matter how lacking his brother was, he couldn't let his family disappear into the mountains.
Due to the Poodoo Cult or the Voodoo Cult, or whatever it was, Mount Taebaek was known for having the highest number of missing persons and accidents.
"Hey, man! Stop chasing after that and stay still! Stand still!"
"Aaaahhhh...."
"Stop screaming and stand still—!"
The younger brother screamed madly as he chased after the long-tailed goral, and the older brother screamed just as madly as he chased after him. The long-tailed goral was fast, and so were the footsteps of the sibling duo. If even one of them had been slow, the pursuit would have come to an end. But because all three of them were equally fast, there was no sign of the chase ending.
Just when it seemed like the pursuit would never end, it suddenly came to a halt.
Thud!
The younger sibling had been energetically running while pumping his arms, but his legs trembled as he stumbled onto the ground. The younger brother slowly turned his head towards his brother. His face was pale with fear. His trembling lips and clenched teeth clearly showed how terrified he was.
"Huff, huff... Oh, you retard, why didn’t you listen to me when I told you to stop...!” the older brother trailed off.
He was just about to scold his younger brother, but he was rendered speechless as he stared at the scene in front of him with a blank expression. In an instant, his knees gave way, and he also ended up sitting on the ground. The breathtaking sight before them was so overwhelmingly expansive and beautiful that it made even their legs that had hardened from their long life of smuggling, powerless.
A vast forest stretched below the cliff, with a massive road piercing through its center. On the roadside, there were enormous flowers and grass that they had never seen before, spreading out grandly like a crowd welcoming a hero's triumph. As the wind blew, the flowers, grass, and trees on both sides of the road uniformly swayed from side to side. They had never seen scenery like this before, even though they had lived as illegal smugglers in Taebaeksan for three years.
"Ha, hahaha...."
The nickname for Taebaeksan was the Living Mountain. It was a nickname that originated from the fact that the path and scenery would change in the blink of an eye as if a living organism was moving. Taebaeksan was extremely rugged, and the paths were so complex that it could turn inexperienced hikers into lost souls in an instant.
He thought that it was all just a legend. He had thought it was an excuse made by those who were afraid of the mountain because they didn't understand its nature. But the reality was that the mountain had changed. In front of his eyes was a scene that he had never seen even once in his past three years of smuggling. It was as if the mountain was truly alive and breathing.
"Is it really time to believe... Adonai or Dora, or whatever it was called..."
After the national religion became the Romanican Church, he had just been an atheist who pretended to believe in the Romanican Church. He was a so-called ‘Romanican Church follower that rode the trend.' Yet, seeing this scene, it felt as if the sparks of faith were blooming inside his heart.
*
"Oh, Sun-Woo the Kind is here!" In-Ah greeted me playfully as soon as I arrived at the classroom. Her face seemed slightly more gaunt than before, but her infectious smile was still radiant.
"I told you not to call me that," I retorted.
"Why? It sounds cute and nice, doesn’t it?"
"Just what part of it is... Never mind, just call me whatever you want."
She wasn't the type to not call me by a certain nickname just because I told her not to. It was clear that she would tease me even more if I showed a reaction. I resigned myself and took out my book after sitting at my desk, but In-Ah stared at me with sparkling eyes as if trying to distract me from studying.
"...What is it?"
"Just because! It feels like it's been a long time since I've seen you."
Since we saw each other last Friday, it wasn’t really that long ago. Even if people had different standards for what constituted a long time, it was difficult to see how three days could possibly be a long time...
I didn't want to spoil In-Ah's cheerful mood, so I didn't dwell on it.
"Oh, the ice cream that we ate last time at that place was delicious," In-Ah suddenly said as if the thought had just occurred to her.
I had taken her to a franchise ice cream shop last Friday to cheer her up, and it seemed like she wanted to talk about that.
"Wasn't it too sweet?"
“You must be clueless in the art of gastronomy. Ice cream tastes better the sweeter it is,” In-Ah said as if she was lecturing me.
I didn’t dislike sweet things, but I didn’t like overly sweet things either. For some strange reason, I would get a headache when I ate too many sweet foods. In-Ah looked at me and saw the frown on my face. She playfully smiled and said, "You're really picky sometimes. You don’t like ice cream because it’s too sweet, and you don’t like coffee because it’s too bitter. What exactly do you eat? You don’t eat spicy food either, right?”
"Oh, how did you know?"
"You really don't eat spicy food? Holy... I guess I made a mistake in choosing my friend..." she said in a playful manner.
Even though I knew she wasn't being serious, it still made me upset. Of course, I didn't show it.
Suddenly, someone put their arm on my shoulder and squeezed in between In-Ah and me.
"How about me? I eat spicy food well, and I'm not picky about food," Jun-Hyuk said.
His hair was disheveled, and he had a silly smile on his face as he looked at me and In-Ah. His face was covered in cuts and bruises, and he had a cast on his arm. Upon closer inspection, it seemed like he was limping. Quite literally, his whole body was bruised and battered. His condition was more serious than when Jin-Seo had beaten him up.
"Y-your face, why..." In-Ah stuttered as she looked at Jun-Hyuk with a confused expression. Jun-Hyuk raised the arm resting on my shoulder before he scratched his head and answered, "Well... I got hit a little. It just happened."
"What! You didn't get into another fight with Jin-Seo, did you?"
"What are you talking about? The training center has been closed for a while now. I got hit by my mom. I’m telling you it was just my mom."
Jun-Hyuk cut off In-Ah's attempt to get angry as if it wasn’t a big deal. The atmosphere became chilly.
In-Ah opened and closed her mouth as if she was unsure of what to say, and I kept silent. I couldn’t really come up with any words of comfort, and it didn’t seem like giving him words of comfort would be of much use.
"What's with the atmosphere? It's not like it's a funeral... Just pretend like you didn’t hear what I just said before. Hey, the gate inspection was really strict today, right? Did you guys get caught too?" Jun-Hyuk quickly changed the subject.
In-Ah tilted her head with an innocent expression on her face as if she didn't know anything, and I quietly nodded. Today was the first day of the operation to identify the Satanist and the plan was being executed secretly, starting with gate inspections. It was information that only members of the student council would know.
"Yeah, they were pretty strict today. Did you get caught too?" I casually asked while pretending not to know anything.
In response, Jun-Hyuk raised his eyebrows as if he had a lot to say.
"Hey, man. I've been going around like this ever since I first enrolled in the school. Does it make any sense that they catch me today? If they were going to catch me, they should have done it from the beginning. I couldn’t bear it because they suddenly ranted about some kind of dress code violation or something."
"So what did you do?"
"What could I do? I just got demerits and said sorry~ before going to the classroom."
Despite saying that he couldn’t bear it, he was doing a good job of keeping control of his emotions. Jun-Hyuk was wearing casual pants, a school uniform shirt, and a loose tie that was carelessly strapped around his neck. The buttons on the shirt were all undone. I was amazed that he had never gotten caught up until now despite walking around looking like that.
"Hey, did you guys have to do some kind of survey too?"
"Survey?" In-Ah repeated his words as if this was her first time hearing about this.
Jun-Hyuk turned his gaze toward me.
"What about you?"
"I did the survey as well. The questions were a bit strange, though."
"Right? I'm not the only one who felt that way, right? Why ask if someone in the family is hospitalized or not? It was fuck—I mean, really uncomfortable," Jun-Hyuk said with a bitter tone and a frown on his face.
It seemed like he had felt genuinely uncomfortable. Today, along with the general inspections, a survey targeting "potential Satanist candidates" was conducted at the school gate. There were many questions about ideology, family background, and other sensitive issues. I also participated in the survey as one of the ‘promising Satanist candidates.’ There were a lot of questions on various sensitive topics, such as ideology and family history.
I was also one of the promising candidates, so I also had to complete the survey. Of course, I didn't answer truthfully, and I carefully manipulated my answers in order to avoid suspicion.
Slide—!
While Jun-Hyuk was spouting out complaints about the survey questions, the door opened, and Ye-Jin walked in.
"Good morning~ Oh, it's not a good morning, right? Because it's Monday."
The students nodded as if they agreed. Ye-Jin smiled so widely that dimples showed on her face.
"But let's think of it as a good morning as we start our day! There are a lot of announcements today. First of all..."
She began homeroom. As she mentioned earlier, there were indeed a lot of announcements today. From the exam schedule notice, a warning about the recent surge in unprovoked assaults, to the encouragement to work hard as specialization-specific classes were going to start today.
"And you all know about the Voodoo Cult, right? There have been strange incidents happening on Taebaek Mountain recently, and there are suspicions that it might be the doings of the Voodoo Cult Leader. There are rumors that they have recently resumed their activities, and they’re an unpredictable cult, so it's best for everyone to be cautious..."
Ye-Jin continued to warn everyone about the Voodoo Cult in great detail. According to her, the Voodoo Cult Leader was an extremely wicked person, and after the Holy War, his venomous desire for revenge made him even more dangerous.
It was too scary. I had to be careful as well.
[They’re all making a mountain out of a molehill. It seems like those Romanican Church guys like to exaggerate insignificant things,] Legba said with a slightly angry tone.
I sat still without responding. Ye-Jin left after homeroom was finished, and the students started gossiping as usual.
"Are they talking about the same Voodoo Cult that went extinct a long time ago?"
"Yeah, hey, check out this picture. It was uploaded to Grandce. What in the world happened to this mountain..."
"Wow, you’re saying this was done by the Voodoo Cult?"
"They say they can control the weather too. Apparently, there was a sudden earthquake on Mount Taebaek, and the sky split apart..."
I quietly listened to the students gossiping. It was more fun than I thought.
The act of me opening up a way by praying to Granbwa had turned into ‘the Cult Leader caused an earthquake.’ And the act of me failing to control the power of the Loa had turned into ‘the Cult Leader splitting the sky apart.’
While I was listening to the conversations with interest, In-Ah chewed on her lips and muttered, “Voodoo Cult...”
I suddenly felt unwell, so I rested my head on the table and closed my eyes. It was an attempt to fall asleep, but sleep did not come. All I could do was quietly close my eyes.
*
During lunchtime, a meeting was held in the student council room. It was an extremely sudden meeting—the student council members had only been notified by text message around the end of the third period. After finishing my meal and heading to the student council room, Min-Seo looked at the clock on the wall and then at me with fierce eyes.
"You're one minute and thirteen seconds late."
"..."
If I was only late for one minute and thirteen seconds, then I wasn’t really all that late... I was a little dumbfounded, but since it would be a disadvantage to argue with Min-Seo, I quietly took my seat. Looking around my surroundings, everyone was present except for two people. Min-Seo, Yu-Hyun, Jin-Seo, Ha-Yeon, and I were present.
“Where are the other two?” I asked, and Min-Seo pointed with her chin at the wardrobe in the corner of the room.
"I wonder... Try opening that."
Tumble—!
When the door opened, Su-Ryeon fell out of the wardrobe along with a bunch of blankets. She frantically looked around with sleepy eyes. It seemed like she had been sleeping up until now. Su-Ryeon woke up from her sleep, straightened her messy hair and muttered, "Uh, wha-what the... What's going on? Huh?"
"Just sit anywhere. The meeting has started."
"What? A meeting? I didn't know there was one because I’ve been sleeping all morning..."
After roughly stuffing the blankets into the wardrobe, Su-Ryeon sat down. So, the only person who hadn't arrived at the meeting was now Dae-Man. Min-Seo grimaced as if the fact that Dae-Man was late displeased her, and she crumpled the documents in her hand.
"Dae-Man, that bastard... I really want to hit him. No, actually, I want to beat him black and blue..."
"Oh, that's funny. You want to hit Dae-Man just once[1]," Su-Ryeon said while chuckling.
"I'm not joking," Min-Seo said.
"Oh, okay."
At Min-Seo’s sharp response, Su-Ryeon awkwardly smiled and scratched her head with exaggerated gestures. Silence filled the room for a brief moment.
Bang!
Dae-Man broke the silence when he roughly opened the door and entered the student council room. His hair was soaked in sweat.
"Sorry, I'm late!"
"Alright, why were you late, Mr. Dae-Man?" Min-Seo asked sarcastically.
Dae-Man showed off his impressive muscles that looked like they would rip out of his school uniform and responded, "I was exercising! I couldn't resist working out after eating."
"Okay... Sit down. I don't want to talk to you."
"Oh, we're on the same page. I don't want to talk to you either!"
"Just sit down!" Min-Seo yelled sharply.
Their relationship was always strained. Well, to be honest, rather than calling it a bad relationship, it was accurate to say that Min-Seo simply disliked Dae-Man, and Dae-Man didn't seem to care at all.
"Anyway, since we're all here, let's get started. Today, we'll keep it simple and finish quickly. First..." Min-Seo was about to start the meeting when she suddenly stopped talking. Then, she shifted her gaze toward me. Her gaze was so cold that it felt scary.
"Sun-Woo, did you write the proposal I asked you to write?" she asked while narrowing her eyes.
As I looked around, everyone was staring at me. However, there was not even a smidgen of concern in their expressions. They all had expressions that were full of trust as if they naturally believed without a shadow of a doubt that I must have completed the proposals. I was at a loss. I didn't even know that there was supposed to be a proposal or something like that.
"Hey, did you write it?" Min-Seo asked again.
I had to come up with some excuse, but no matter how much I thought, I couldn't find one. I couldn't say that I didn't have time because I went to a Voodoo Cult executive meeting.
"...Was there something like that?" I just admitted it honestly.
Min-Seo's expression slowly froze up in a grotesque manner.
1. Hit once (? ??) rhymes with Dae-Man(???) ?
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