By Zephyria 
Most people think that construction can be done easily as long as they get permission. Since they aren’t the ones personally leveling the ground or carrying rebar, it seems as if they just need to partner with moderately diligent companies.
But that process is fraught with all sorts of issues. It’s common for people to fight over land ownership even after the seals have been officially stamped, or for them to hold out, claiming they can’t vacate the premises, causing accidents large and small. There are even cases where they block off the entire alley to prevent materials from being brought in.
Whenever such things happened, Gyu-oh was the one tasked with handling them. It was dirty and dangerous work, but for a company to move forward in the right direction, it needed a cleaner to pave the way.
The person Gyu-oh was waiting for now was also of the type that dirtied the path.
A rumor had spread that the redevelopment shopping complex Woo-won intended to take over was haunted. In reality, several people in the complex had died or been injured in accidents, and employees of the construction companies or subcontractors attempting the demolition had also suffered various mishaps. After a few such incidents, other firms began to hesitate to take on the project.
Woo-won, on the other hand, didn’t mind. He knew that money was stronger than ghosts, and people were scarier than ghosts. Their motto was to get the job done no matter what, as long as it was entrusted to them.
After observing for a while, he discovered that the husband of the representative for the union opposing the demolition had been a well-known gangster in the past. He had even operated several nightclubs nearby, but after marriage, he had become a devout Catholic.
So, Woo-won exploited that gap. He was certain that if the man’s touch had reached the haunted land, he would eventually step foot here as well.
—Won Gyu-oh, have you arrived?
“Drop the surname.”
—I asked if you arrived at the cathedral.
Whenever Gyu-oh told him to drop the surname, Min-ho would either stop calling his name altogether or call him by the nickname he’d acquired long ago: Viper. In the past, he might have felt slightly slighted, but now Won Gyu-oh didn’t ride the emotional rollercoaster of Cha Min-ho’s every reaction. He simply felt he should be generous toward his shy lover.
“You’re so cute.”
—…I’m just hanging up.
“Ah, alright. I’m at the cathedral, and I’m wearing priest robes.”
The frequency with which the union representative’s husband visited the cathedral was irregular, but there was usually a gap of less than a month. It had been over a month since Gyu-oh started frequenting the cathedral, but he firmly believed the man would show up soon.
Moreover, just the day before yesterday, another death occurred at the shopping complex. It was a pedestrian unrelated to the complex, but the body was found cold inside the tightly closed building.
—Hasn’t it already been over a month? Well, I don’t know if he’s caught the scent yet.
“He’ll still come. There’s such a thing as inertia in repentance. You might think that confessing your sins alone here makes the wrongdoing disappear, but it makes your heart feel lighter, right? That guy already knows the taste of that relief.”
—…Does just speaking the things on your mind make it lighter?
If the man’s touch had reached, he would surely wish to confess his sins in words and receive absolution. If he came to the confessional, it would be the perfect opportunity to secure testimony.
Of course, words exchanged inside a confessional are supposed to remain secret, but this was a special situation, and since he wasn’t actually a priest… he could only hope for wide understanding.
“Of course. If you’re curious, Hyung, you should come and empty out all your overdue sins. You’d probably have to stay up all night.”
He joked that if he counted the times Min-ho had refused him or tried to hurt him, it would probably be a felony-level offense. But who was Cha Min-ho? He was a man so conditioned by Won Gyu-oh that he wouldn’t bat an eye at such comments.
—Ah. Is that why you’ve been at the cathedral for a month? Because you have so many sins.
“I’m in a special situation. I’m a Father right now.”
—You’re not even a real priest. Since you’re sitting there anyway, do some repenting yourself.
A smirk escaped Gyu-oh as he heard the retort come back exactly as he’d poked. They had only just reached a point of mutual understanding and become a proper couple, so being apart this often was quite difficult.
Thinking back, when they dated before, not only was it normal to be out of contact for days, but there were times they hadn’t seen each other’s faces for over a month. He had endured it well back then, so why couldn’t he now? If contact with Cha Min-ho was cut for even an hour, his legs trembled and his lips went dry. He had no idea how he had dated so leisurely and as if he had nothing to lose in the past.
If I’m going to be this anxious, it feels right to just slip a GPS in while Hyung isn’t thinking straight. If I put it somewhere deep where a finger can’t even reach, Hyung won’t be able to find it.
—You might not be able to come home for a few days.
“Uh… huh?”
Gyu-oh, who had been continuing his secret imagination, stuttered in surprise. A blunt yet somewhat disappointed voice followed.
—Well, it can’t be helped.
“No? I’ll come back. I’ll be back for a bit in the early morning.”
Honestly, splitting his time to go home and rest would be fucking exhausting, but since they were still newlyweds, he could overcome it all with sheer vigor. Rubbing his stiff eyes, Gyu-oh let out a wide yawn and quickly scanned his surroundings. After checking both ends of the hallway to see if anyone had seen him yawn, he turned toward the confessional. After the death accident at the complex, that spot had become Gyu-oh’s fixed seat.
—Forget it, if you can rest there, just rest. Don’t wear out your body just because you’re young. You’ll regret it later.
“I think I’ll regret it more if I don’t go home.”
As he replied with a giggle, a small sigh scattered from the other end. Soon, the sound of a car horn honking followed.
“Not at the company yet?”
—…Yeah, let’s hang up.
“Mm-hmm, I’ll send reports and photos every hour, Director. You have to approve them without ignoring me.”
Since they were physically apart, he contacted him almost without break. A man who would have just given a few half-hearted responses and ignored him in the past now answered every single one, albeit slowly. He was giving him special treatment because he was his lover.
—Got it. You answer the phone promptly too.
“Ung-ung. I will, Darling~?”
As he playfully raised the end of his sentence, a sudden silence fell. If they were facing each other, he could have properly observed the embarrassed expression. It was a pity it was over the phone.
—Seriously, I like that you have no shame and are so bright. Just grow up healthy.
Anyone listening would think he was a parent. After adding a reminder to be careful of his body and other people, Min-ho hung up first. Gyu-oh let out a laugh as he looked at the screen where the seconds were no longer ticking.
“Idiot. You should’ve received a peck before hanging up.”
Smiling foolishly, he pursed his lips and made a chu sound. Perhaps Min-ho had hung up quickly knowing he would do this. He was a man who had been horrified the first time Gyu-oh had kissed the phone.
Having recharged with his lover’s voice, he stepped into the confessional with a light stride. Sitting in the silent space, his mind naturally became calm.
In a space where some confessed wrongs and regrets, Won Gyu-oh used to think about Cha Min-ho. The process of winning his heart, the time spent watching Cha Min-ho wander. After chewing over these memories one by one, his heart grew firmer.
“….”
As a close younger brother, a colleague, a friend, and a lover, his shoulders felt heavy. Having finally shouldered a responsibility that no one had forced upon him, he even felt an unknown sense of stability spread through him.
After smiling silently for a long while, he sensed someone’s presence on the other side. Gyu-oh, who had been leaning back comfortably, quickly uncrossed his legs and tensed up.
Thanks to some coordination with the cathedral, almost no one came this way. There were occasional people who entered by mistake, but he quickly guided them elsewhere.
That meant there was a high probability that the person on the other side was the union representative’s husband he had been so eagerly waiting for. But, that’s strange. Those footsteps sounded familiar.
“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.”
“….”
Gyu-oh’s movement to turn on the recorder stopped abruptly. The voice flowing from the other side was extremely familiar. It was the voice of Cha Min-ho, which had been rummaging through Gyu-oh’s head and pouring in incessantly through the phone until just a moment ago.
“I’ve never done the sign of the cross. I’d rather not do it than do it clumsily.”
The other person continued speaking as if he knew exactly who was on the other side. Min-ho’s presence was felt through the thin wall.
Am I dreaming because I’ve been thinking about Cha Min-ho so much? Or can there be ghosts in the cathedral too? While all sorts of questions followed, Min-ho’s calm voice pooled in his ears.
“Do I just speak?”
When did the man who said he was going to the company come here? Did he really come because I told him to do confession? Is this part of a surprise or something?
“…Yes.”
Suppressing a laugh, Gyu-oh quietly set down the recorder he was holding. Then, he turned his body and looked in the direction where Min-ho would be.
“Hmm.”
The sound of a hesitant breath, as if hesitating over something, lasted for a long time. Suppressing the urge to kick open the door and face Cha Min-ho immediately, he listened quietly.
As the silence lengthened, his excited heart settled, and a loud pulse echoed through the stillness pressing against his ears. In the strange tension, Gyu-oh unconsciously moistened his dry lips.