Chapter 92
I raised my head and stared into Yu-Hyun's eyes. His eyes were so remarkably dark that it was impossible to fathom. Suddenly, I felt fear. The alias Cult Discerner... The name Yu-Hyun was associated with filled me with terror. The eerie and intense smoke of The Starless Night loomed before my eyes.
"When I saw you during the appointment ceremony, I had my doubts, but you..." Yu-Hyun murmured with a meaningful tone while staring directly into my eyes.
My lips dried up. I wanted to swallow my saliva, but I resisted the urge. I couldn't show any signs of apprehension. I couldn't explain why, but instinctively, I felt that way.
Yu-Hyun silently stared at me with an inscrutable expression. Then he slowly nodded and said, "You're quite handsome. What's your name?"
"...Do Sun-Woo."
"Alright. Let's hang out after school. Just to get to know each other."
Yu-Hyun pretended to be friendly and casually made plans. It looked like he hadn’t realized that I was the Cult Leader of the Voodoo Cult. No, perhaps he had realized it but was just pretending not to know. It was hard to tell. I could only hope that he hadn't noticed. While relaxing my tense body, I belatedly attempted to answer, but the words didn’t come out easily. If I opened my mouth now, ?I would definitely stutter.
"...Well, if you're busy, I’m fine with not hanging out. Why aren't you answering, though? It's unsettling."
"Can I go too? If Sun-Woo is going, that is." Dae-Man answered for me.
Yu-Hyun frowned and replied, "Dae-Man, I can't. The girls tell me not to bring you along because you look too scary."
"It's fine if you don't bring the girls."
"That's not allowed. I'd rather you not come," Yu-Hyun said and turned his gaze toward me.
His sharp eyes observed me. It was a gaze that was difficult to adapt to.
"So, are you coming? I think the girls will like you if you come."
"Girls?"
"Yeah. They’re not from F.A., they’re just girls from here and there. They’re a bit dumb, but... Their faces are to my liking."
Girls from here and there... From what I was vaguely hearing, it seemed like meeting them wouldn’t be pleasant. In the first place, Yu-Hyun was known to associate with bad people frequently. The ‘girls’ that he mentioned were probably of that type as well. Just when I was thinking that it would be better to refuse, Jin-Seo gently grabbed my sleeve from her seat next to me.
"D-don't go," she said firmly, with a hint of urgency in her tone. Her eyes were desperate.
"I won't go. I already have plans." I firmly refused.
"Really? That's a shame. Then let me know when you have some spare time. We can hang out then."
I nodded in response to Yu-Hyun's words, and Jin-Seo grabbed my sleeve again. Then, she whispered, "Don't go next time either."
This time, her tone felt cold rather than desperate. I nodded in response to Jin-Seo's words as well. As we whispered to each other, Ha-Yeon tilted her head as she looked at us, and Su-Ryeon let out a silent scream. I wasn’t sure about Ha-Yeon, but? Su-Ryeon clearly had a misunderstanding about our relationship.
Min-Seo was sitting blankly for a while when she suddenly snapped out of it and looked around. Then, with trembling eyes, she looked toward Yu-Hyun and ordered, "Yu-Hyun, sit down."
"Sit down?"
"Yeah, sit down... Please, so we can start the meeting."
Min-Seo's tone was not as aggressive as usual. Yu-Hyun finally sat down, seemingly satisfied. Min-Seo raised her head and sighed as she looked up toward the sky. She seemed to be trying to calm herself down, but it didn't seem to be working well.
"The next agenda is about the long-awaited operation to investigate the Satanist."
Min-Seo let out another sigh in succession and quickly resumed the meeting. Investigating the Satanist was a topic that intrigued me. Because of the Satanist bastard hiding in Florence Academy, my house burned down, Ji-Ah almost died, and the Basar Market exploded.
Min-Seo skimmed through the documents and continued speaking. “First of all, it says here that the investigation has to be done in secret so that the students do not know.”
“Why?” Dae-Man asked as if he was truly curious.
“The teachers requested it. They said something about how it would create a sense of unease among the students.”
"A sense of unease! The justification seems plausible."
"F.A. always only has plausible justifications. Anyway, the investigation will be carried out next week. With the Holy Name of Humility, Yu-Hyun, as the cornerstone of this operation, the teachers and the rest of the student council members will secretly proceed with this operation together."
According to Min-Seo's explanation, the plan was to identify the Satanist by using holy artifacts prepared by the teachers, along with Yu-Hyun's talent and a ‘special method’ prepared by the elders. She didn't reveal the special method, but even Min-Seo didn't know what it was.
"The elders are always like that. They think they’re special because they’re the only ones who know something. They’re a bunch of old people with too much vanity. Who knows when they'll die."
"Min-Seo, you... sigh. No, never mind." Su-Ryeon was about to stop Min-Seo, but she let out a resigned sigh. No matter how much Min-Seo listened to Su-Ryeon, she couldn’t get used to Min-Seo’s manner of speech. It was similar to how she couldn’t get used to Yu-Hyun's gaze.
"The investigation will target all first-year students. However, the teachers and I have selected 'promising candidates' which we will investigate more thoroughly."
"Promising candidates?" I unconsciously repeated Min-Seo's words. Min-Seo glanced at me and nodded.
“Despite the fact that we’re calling them ‘promising candidates,’ there are too many of them. What, do you want me to list them out?”
“I’m curious whether I’m under suspicion as well. I would like for you to list them out.”
"Right. Everyone must be curious about that. I'll list them out just to confirm."
Min-Seo recited the list. “Yoo Chan, Im Dan-Myong, Han Dae-Soo, Yoon Woo-Jin, Jung Sung-Hee...”
Names endlessly kept popping out from Min-Seo's mouth. There were definitely too many to call them promising candidates.
"Kim Gu-Hak, Myeon Jeong-Nam... Do Sun-Woo, Gu Jun-Hyuk."
"...What? What's the criteria—"
"Lastly, Yeo Min-Seo."
Ignoring my complaints, Min-Seo listed out her name. It seemed like that was the end of the list of ‘promising candidates.' For a moment, I was so dumbfounded that I stared blankly at Min-Seo. Even if I overlooked the fact that I was on the list... No, it was natural for me to be on the list. I was a student of Florence Academy leading a double life as the Cult Leader of the Voodoo Cult. I may have unknowingly done something suspicious.
What was truly questionable was... Why was Min-Seo's name on the list of promising candidates that the teachers and Min-Seo selected together?
“No one will probably understand, but... Based on my speculations and the teachers’ speculations, the characteristics of the Satanist are as follows...”
I wasn’t the only one who had doubts. All the other student council members looked at Min-Seo with doubtful eyes. This was also the case for Yu-Hyun.
Min-Seo seemed willing to answer our doubts and said, "First of all, they’re smart. They have good tactical thinking skills, OCD, and a tremendous amount of self-esteem. Considering that they try to display their crimes for the world to see, they have a tendency to show off. And more than anything else...”
Min-Seo stopped speaking and took a moment to catch her breath.
"The possibility of them having a split personality is very, very high. So... there is a possibility that they may not realize that they are a Satanist. When I considered that aspect, I came to the conclusion that I am also not free from suspicion."
"I knew it! I have been suspecting for a long time that you might be a Satanist. My judgment was correct," Dae-Man said.
"I'm not saying that I am a Satanist. I’m saying that there is just a 'slight' possibility that I’m a Satanist. Dae-Man, you brickhead."
After pouring out a string of curses at Dae-Man, Min-Seo sighed once again.
"...That's it for this meeting. See you next week."
***
Even as I left the student council room, my heart felt heavy. It was not only because Jun-Hyuk and I were on the list of suspects, but the biggest reason was that Min-Seo had said that the Satanist might have a split personality. There was a possibility that the Satanist might not know that they were a Satanist themselves... The possibility of someone around me, or even myself being a Satanist felt extremely unpleasant.
"Are you going straight to the classroom?" Jin-Seo suddenly asked while we were walking together.
I nodded my head. "Yes, I should."
"It’s in the opposite direction."
I was planning to head straight to the classroom, while Jin-Seo seemed to be thinking of going to the gym. The building where the first-year classrooms were located and the building where the gym was located were in completely opposite directions.
"That’s a shame."
"What is?"
"...I don't know."
Jin-Seo mumbled words that I couldn't understand and then waved her hand slightly while heading toward the gym. Her pace was slightly faster than usual. After she completely disappeared from my sight, I started walking toward the classroom.
"Excuse me."
The path to the classroom felt farther than usual today.
"Excuse me?"
Even the stairs somehow felt higher and more treacherous today. I hurriedly moved toward the classroom.
“Excuse me, please don’t ignore me—”
“Gah, what is it?!”
I kept trying to ignore her, but because she kept following me, I couldn’t help but respond. Ha-Yeon was chasing after me. She was holding her hands up in an awkward position and looking at me with scared eyes. It looked like she was surprised because I had suddenly shouted.
"...Yes, what is it?"
I thought I had shouted too suddenly, so I corrected my response. Ha-Yeon finally adjusted her posture and cleared her throat.
"Um, well. Don’t you have something to say to me?"
"Something to say to you?"
"Yes."
Something to say to her. What did I have to say to Ha-Yeon?
"Um, go away?"
I couldn't think of anything, so I decided to say what I wanted to say.
"...Not that."
"Stop following me, or maybe shut up?"
I tried saying a few more things that I wanted to say, but it seemed like none of them was the right answer. Well, to be honest, I knew from the beginning that they weren’t the right answer. Ha-Yeon creased her eyebrows and looked up at me as if she was angry.
“...The reason why you became the Holy Name of Charity is all thanks to the International Theological Association. Are you even aware of that?” Ha-Yeon said.
“So?”
“So, shouldn’t you say thank you?”
Ha-Yeon crossed her arms and looked at me with an attitude as if asking me to say that I was grateful.
There were two organizations that helped me become the Holy Name of Charity. One was Kim Chang-Won's Florence Foundation. The other was Sung Yu-Da's International Theological Association. Kim Chang-Won, of course, helped me because of Jin-Seo. However, I had no idea why Sung Yu-Da's International Theological Association helped me.
From the way she was talking, it seemed like Ha-Yeon had requested Sung Yu-Da for something. So, why did Ha-Yeon try to help me? To get me into the International Theological Association? There was absolutely no way that she helped me out of the kindness of her heart. She definitely wasn’t that kind of person. Whatever the reason was, it seemed like there was no reason for me to be grateful to Ha-Yeon.
"...Excuse me, where are you... Where are you going? No, why do you keep—!"
I tried to quickly enter the classroom and ignore her, but Ha-Yeon blocked my way. I was getting annoyed.
"What is it again?"
"Is it so difficult to say thank you?"
It was difficult, just like how it was difficult to hear even a single word of apology from Sung Yu-Da. It was so remarkably difficult that I still hadn't heard any sort of apology from him till this day. In fact, Sung Yu-Da probably didn’t even know whether I was still alive or dead. He probably didn’t care whether I was still alive or dead in the first place.
"Do you hate me by any chance?" Ha-Yeon asked.
I simply clutched my forehead without nodding or shaking my head.
"Can’t you see that I’m talking to you?"
"I just think...that it would be nice if you didn’t appear in front of me.”
Whenever I saw Ha-Yeon, Sung Yu-Da came to mind. And whenever I thought of Sung Yu-Da, my father came to mind. When that happened, my head would start to hurt. I was reminded of the Sung Yu-Da that I had seen in the illusions that my father had left behind, and I was reminded of my father, who had been reduced to a pile of ashes. I disliked Ha-Yeon because of the memories that came flooding back every time I saw her and because of the recurring headaches that occurred because of those memories.
"You hate me that much? ...Why?"
Behind me, I could hear Ha-Yeon’s voice that was mixed with doubt. I ignored her and entered the classroom. I felt dizzy.
***
"Sun-Woo?"
After school, just as I was about to go home after the closing announcements, Ye-Jin called me over.
"Yes?"
"Do you know where the conference room is?"
I didn't know. I shook my head.
"Really? Then come with me. It'll be better that way."
Without knowing what she was talking about, I followed Ye-Jin to the conference room.
"How are you feeling? Are there any lingering symptoms?" Ye-Jin asked while glancing back at me as we climbed the stairs.
"I've completely recovered."
"Really? Your recovery rate is incredibly fast."
“Ah, yes, I heard that my recovery rate was quite fast.”
"Oh... I guess that makes sense," Ye-Jin said while nodding in understanding. Soon, we climbed to the top of the staircase, and we arrived at the highest floor in the building. At this point in time, Ye-Jin was sweating profusely and breathing heavily. She seemed on the verge of collapsing at any moment.
"Huff, huff, huff. Yes, here. Huff, to this meeting room. Phew. Just go in."
She silently pointed with her chin and opened the door to the meeting room. The spacious room was filled with darkness and silence. Only a single light struggled to push away the darkness. Under the dim and precarious light, Do-Jin and Bok-Dong were sitting side by side with their arms crossed.
"...Am I having an interview today, by any chance?" I tried to casually ask, feeling that the atmosphere was too heavy.
Do-Jin let out a wry laugh as if he was flabbergasted.
"Well...something like that. We're not the interviewers, though."
"Hahaha! That's right. You could say that the interviewer is Sun-Woo, and not us,” Bok-Dong replied with a carefree laugh at Do-Jin's words.
Ye-Jin belatedly entered the meeting room while exhaling rough breaths and took a seat between Do-Jin and Bok-Dong.
Clap!
She clapped as if trying to refresh the mood of the room and then said, "Um... Where should I start? Sun-Woo, come over here and sit down first!"
It was so sudden that I felt a little flustered, but I sat down as instructed by Ye-Jin.
Bok-Dong, Ye-Jin, and Do-Jin sat in front of me while taking turns watching me. Bok-Dong and Do-Jin's gazes were especially burdensome.
Within the silence, Ye-Jin said, "Sun-Woo, you were absent for ten days because of your hospitalization, right? Coincidentally, we had the department selection during those ten days. Other students have already chosen their departments, but you haven't made a choice yet..."
I didn’t even have time to feel baffled. It was because Bok-Dong suddenly stood up from his seat. I was startled and slightly shifted my body backward.
"That's right. We called you here for the department selection."
He approached me confidently and said, "Thus, we, the teachers from different departments, will now advertise our departments in an attempt to recruit you. Are you ready to listen?"
"Huh? No, I haven't prepared myself mentally yet—"
"I’ll start first."
Just like that, the department selection suddenly began.
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