By Zephyria Click. How long had it been since I’d pretended to pray, clasping my hands and closing my eyes?
The door to the Merit Prayer Room opened. Joo-oh languidly opened one eye to scan the first escapee.
Tsk. Not them. Two men with red-rimmed eyes, probably from crying during their prayers. Their faith was so strong that even after coming out, they sat in the common seats, closing their eyes again as if meditating, muttering in awe.
Considering Jin Mu-hae would be waiting, I wanted to knock on the door, but the Holy Mother Church’s rule was that no one should be disturbed during Merit Prayer.
Just a little longer. After all, Joo-oh was an Aberrant—no, a person—who was used to waiting.
Thinking about the waist Jin Mu-hae had touched inside, and the skin he had licked so much, staying still wasn’t that difficult.
Click. Clunk.
The door opened twice again. The light footsteps suggested that one of them was a short, light-bodied human.
I snapped my eyelids open and, sure enough, it was the man and woman I had been expecting. There was a hint of excitement and secret anxiety on the woman’s face, probably from whatever conversation they had.
Joo-oh conjured up Jin Mu-hae’s image and wore a similar calm expression. The always-smiling lower face took on a serious light, making him look completely different from when he was fluttering outside the prayer room.
“I am moved, Sister.”
The man took his place in the center of the prayer room first. Joo-oh bowed slightly to the woman who hadn’t quite caught up, and she responded with a slightly flustered gesture, clasping her hands together.
This man was a researcher from Central. A person who had been taught the greatness of Blue Energy by a man belonging to the Vegan Society.
A discomfort that only Joo-oh could detect surfaced on the man’s face as he twitched his lips and turned around.
“There was a mistake in the ‘sincerity’ offered to the Holy Mother, so I would like to ask for it to be reprocessed. Would that be alright?”
Lowering his voice as much as possible, pretending to be considerate of the woman, she nodded in relief.
“It should be a generous account, but was it perhaps not delivered?”
“There seems to have been a computer error. I am embarrassed that there was a mistake in your precious sincerity.”
It was a good thing I had read Teacher Jung’s books. Thanks to his nagging questions, I was able to use difficult words, albeit in a limited way.
This time, I hadn’t even memorized the lines in advance… Joo-oh was so proud that his chest swelled greatly, as his efforts made in secret from Jin Mu-hae bore fruit.
‘It’s a relief that my head is working so well.’
The woman seemed to interpret his shoulder shrug as embarrassment. She gestured to the man as if to say it was okay, and left the prayer room with Joo-oh first.
As he guided the woman through the side door in the chapel, Joo-oh casually struck up a conversation.
“Every time I see faithful brothers and sisters, I am always grateful and filled with joy. Isn’t it because the Holy Mother sent the blessing of the Blue Bird to us humans, for children who deserve such grace?”
Was this the right way to start? Jin Mu-hae would have certainly led the conversation in a similar way.
Having put my heart and soul into each word, I suddenly felt a little hungry. If my head gets fuzzy too, I need to finish this quickly.
“…Blue Bird?”
“Oh. I thought you had been told by the Brother. I apologize for my rudeness.”
“No, it’s not that. I just didn’t know that the Server would know about it…”
“I was dispatched from Central to help the Brother. Apparently, some doctrines can only be accessed by chosen children.”
The woman’s neck, which had been full of tension, relaxed softly at the fact that the Server was in the same group as the man, and even confidently mentioned ‘doctrine.’
Joo-oh licked his lips without realizing it, and then imitated the way Jin Mu-hae spoke after entering the Holy Mother Church.
“You haven’t been invited to a meeting yet, have you?”
“Ah, um… no. It hasn’t been long since I’ve been associating with Jun-kyung, no, Brother.”
“Especially since meetings outside the Comfort zone can be dangerous. Just as the value of a person is divided from Central to outside the formal residential area, the creatures of the Blue Bird also have different levels.”
They must have had a similar conversation inside the Merit Prayer Room, so this would make it easier for her to open up.
Or not? I don’t really know. This was Joo-oh’s limit for now.
“…Do you really think so?”
“Yes?”
“That Aberrants are incarnations of Blue… Is that what the Server also believes?”
Hmm. Joo-oh, who was slowly losing his mind, licked his lips once more.
I want to rub my cheek against Jin Mu-hae’s hand and smell him. Forcibly suppressing the rising desire, Joo-oh recited Hawkins’ words echoing in his head.
“As if to balance the entropy, a very powerful and beautiful intelligent being was magically created, so what else could it be if not the will of the Holy Mother?”
“I understand that preserving Crystal Blue and maximizing its use is God’s will. But Aberrants… they are beings that attack humanity. Even if they have intelligence, it’s only at the level of beasts, so I don’t know what’s the point of waiting for a perfect creation that may not even exist. Is it because my faith is lacking…?”
“But they also eat Beasts and let trees become forests.”
“Yes?”
“I didn’t mean to, but if people came, they would have all disappeared a long time ago… Never mind.”
He barely managed to grab hold of his mind, which was about to fly away. Joo-oh quickly clasped his hands together and turned around.
I overdid it. Although some of my past memories have returned, I’m still using all my energy to hold onto the flickering darkness, so I can’t wear these uncomfortable clothes, pretend to be a Server, and use my head for so long.
But I did confirm one thing I was curious about. The Vegan Society, like the NPS, and now the disappeared Hawkins, seems to yearn for the ‘ultimate Blue.’
After watching the woman head out of the building with a sullen expression, Joo-oh returned to the chapel with a blank face.
Mu-hae, who was still pretending to clean under surveillance, was delighted to see a familiar face.
“Where have you been, Brother?”
“……”
“Brother?”
“I’m hungry.”
Haaam. I don’t know anymore. Jin Mu-hae’s lips twisted slightly at the stupid answer.
There was no particular change in expression, but a sense of dismay was faintly present on his lower face.
“Puhaha. Jin Mu-hae’s clothes are the best.”
“Wear your own clothes. Don’t take other people’s clothes.”
Joo-oh, who was wearing a white T-shirt as he pleased, swayed and went to the sofa, collapsing onto it.
Jin Mu-hae glanced at his smooth, wide thighs, sighed, and unpacked his luggage.
Candy wrappers kept rustling out of the small bag. Joo-oh had eaten them all.
I brought them just in case, but I didn’t expect him to devour more than three handfuls. I thought he would infiltrate properly this time, but he soon looked like he was about to drool…
“The man is Vegan Society. The woman is a researcher. Right?”
“Yeah. Blanket? Pillow?”
“Bedding.”
“Bedding factory. Name is Jun-kyung.”
He managed to extract information with that brain. It was an experience that made me realize how much power clothing has for a socialized human.
Even if he threw out random words with a lack of vocabulary, they must have treated him without suspicion because he was someone involved in religion.
“Good job. I’ll listen to the recording after dinner, so if you’re tired, watch TV and go to sleep first.”
“I’m not tired.”
“It looks like it.”
Mu-hae retorted sarcastically, watching the guy take out the Tinkle Friends figurines and line them up on the armrest of the sofa.
To think I was making out with a guy like that in a religious facility. The belated sense of shame felt like it was pulling on my ears.
If there really was a god, he would have struck me with lightning. Doing unspeakable things with a fool.
But what could I do when that fool was the one who clung to me first? He’s still shaking his legs without even wearing pants, not knowing the danger. Damn it, really…
‘By the way, now that I know the Vegan Society is operating under the surface in Goryeo City, should I be more careful?’
Judging from the fact that Teacher Jung doesn’t know about them, they probably haven’t been openly active now or in the past.
Only limited people in Central have sensed them. People like CEO Gil, who grew up there, or his family.
If so, it’s highly likely that ‘Kang Ju-seo,’ who is in the political arena, has also noticed the Vegan Society. Considering he was said to have a talent for handling people, he would have sensed even more suspicious signs.
“…You can eat dinner alone.”
Information that seemed to be separated began to be woven together like a spider web. Now that I’ve opened up even my personal affairs, I should quickly tell CEO Gil this news.
Since I’ve returned to Starlight Road, I can visit him before he goes to sleep. Jin Mu-hae turned off the device with a serious face and connected it to the speaker.
Jijik- A small sibilant sound was heard, and soon the recording file was played, and Mu-hae’s fingertips turned cold with a small tension.
-Brother.
-What.
-I came to pray.
“Oh.”
Oops. It starts here. Mu-hae, recalling what happened half a day ago, hurriedly pressed the Link Watch to move the playback time.
-Ah, euung…!
It seems I didn’t skip enough. Brown eyes squeezed shut at the moan full of breath. Joo-oh, who was lying on the sofa, covered his mouth and laughed, giggling.
Damn it. I can’t show my face because I’m doing that in a place where I put the device. Mu-hae, whose head was hot, turned off the speaker.
“I want that.”
“Go inside if you’re going to talk nonsense.”
Even after hearing the harsh words, Joo-oh still giggled. How glad I was that I didn’t take this to CEO Gil as it was and listened to it in advance.
Ignoring the guy who had come up and was clinging to his back, Jin Mu-hae edited the recording file with a sullen face.
Only after cutting off the beginning did the conversation between the suspicious man and woman play. The story of the ‘Blue Bird’ as Joo-oh had found out.
Secret meetings, Crystal Blue, and Aberrants…
“Should we go to CEO Gil now?”
“What about your dinner?”
“I have something to eat.”
Joo-oh ran to the corner and picked up his backpack. What came out of the bag was a star-shaped cookie he had bought in Bay City.
To think he’s still eating that. Vowing to give him something with a shorter shelf life next time, Mu-hae gestured to the cupboard.
“Take out some jerky too. Can you survive without meat?”
“Okay!”
He’s so clueless that he still has a good face even with a sharp reaction…
Haa. Letting out a deeper sigh in a row, Mu-hae put on a jacket over the black shirt he hadn’t changed yet.
Joo-oh was beaming even while shoving jerky into his mouth, wondering what was so good about that unbalanced outfit.