CH 145

I thought he would pester me a bit more about going on vacation, but surprisingly, he didn’t. The travel brochure and map were both tossed in the trash as soon as we exited the café. I thought it was a waste that it was thrown out within hours after it failed to pique my interest. But his next words shocked me so much that I tore my eyes away from the book.

“No, it’s okay.” He suggested that we could go to a place within the country costing around $8,500 a day if I didn’t want to go overseas. If it was $8,500 per day, it would be more than $350 an hour. Even if it were a clean and quiet place, wasn’t that too much? No matter how excellent the customer service was, I doubted that it would be worth it. I don’t know if it was due to his history of renovating an entire mansion, but he reacted blandly at that gargantuan price tag.

“Really? I wanted to go there with you.” He merely expressed his regrets. Then, he started to think about other suitable locations, and I merely watched him tensely. Thinking back, I had never once asked him where he was getting all his money, but I had a feeling I knew what the answer would be, so I kept quiet about it.

For one, the most likely source was life insurance, where one could designate anyone to be the beneficiary. There were many other methods, but this would probably be the easiest approach. Plus, it was one of the most honest ways that I could think of. My hands grew cold, so I tried to massage warmth into them.

We walked around the area for a good while. I figured that this would be enough for the day’s exercise while listening to him chatting away. Maybe because I was exhausted, my thoughts kept going back to the place that I didn’t invest too many emotions into. Then, I touched the place where the other man’s fingers brushed. The sweat on my forehead had long dried, but my skin was tepid to the touch. I squeezed my eyes closed and opened them again.

Before returning to the hotel, we dropped by the church that we saw at the café. All the scheduled events for the afternoon must have ended as many people were crowded in the church’s front yard. Even if we went inside, nobody was concerned. Only the janitor, who was tending to the church, glanced at us silently.

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. God will always love you,” a lady who was coming out of the church said to us.

“Thank you,” he said while smiling benevolently. After exchanging a few blessings with each other, they greeted each other. It was weird to watch. As long as nobody harassed me, he was harmless.

He approached me and said, “She told us we’ll achieve everything we want within the year.” He sounded pleased, so I couldn’t make a snappy retort.

What we wanted—I felt bitter.

The outside walls of the church looked antique like a European castle, but the interior was modern. The hard stone floor, wooden frames on the gray walls, and the ceiling were just like an average office in the city. At the end of the hall, there was a large door. Next to that were fire extinguishers and a water dispenser. Through the slightly ajar doors, I saw a wide hall around 1780 square feet. It seemed to be the chapel.

Then, the cross…

As soon as I was met with the giant cross on the wall, I froze in place.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Let’s get out of here now.”

I realized why he brought me here as soon as I saw the cross. He knew that I was having nightmares, and he knew their cause. These days, I dreamed about crying and pleading with a stranger in a dark space. It was a nightmare that I had for so long that I remembered every detail of it.

‘Please, please, put everything back in its place.’ I was the dead one. My body had long decayed and disappeared. ‘Please return Haeseo’s body.’