Book 2: Chapter 106
“…Church of Eternal Life? Isn’t this the Korea Branch Headquarters?”
When he heard this, the expression on the guard’s face became a bit strange.
“I’ll explain in a little bit. Let’s go inside first.”
Kim Min-chul stepped forward, cutting off the conversation. The guards bowed once more before opening the doors.
After going inside the building, they went into an elevator and went up.
When they stopped at the 5th floor, Kim Min-chul guided them to a room.
“Please wait here for a moment.”
“Ah, uncle. Wait a minute.”
“What is it?”
“Where are my younger siblings now?”
“…”
Min Ha-rin’s face was a bit flushed when she said this.
Although she didn’t want to admit it in front of Lukas, the main reason why she agreed to come to Korea this time was because she was worried about her younger siblings.
Of course, she knew that they were older now and she didn’t need to baby them, but it had been a few years since she’d last seen them, and she was a bit worried.
It would also be a lie to say that she didn’t miss them.
Kim Min-chul’s expression darkened slightly. He stood there for a moment before muttering briefly.
“…I’ll bring them to you. Wait here.”
After saying that, Kim Min-chul left the room. As soon as he was gone, Sedi sat on the well-made bed and shook her hips a little before frowning.
“This place is unpleasant.”
Her gaze then turned to where Kim Min-chul had been standing before.
“Especially that guy. I have a bad feeling about him.”
“Uncle Min-chul is not a bad person.”
“Who said he was a bad person? I just have a bad feeling. More importantly…”
Sedi turned to Min Ha-rin.
“You… Why do you keep talking informally to me?”
“I should be the one asking you that.”
Strangely, Min Ha-rin felt that she didn’t want to lose to Sedi. She’d felt this way the moment she learned that she was Lukas’ daughter. In other words, from the very beginning.
Although this little girl was probably strong enough to survive being hit by a truck, she didn’t intend to lower her head.
“I’m older than you.”
“You bare-faced liar. You look younger than my younger siblings.”
“You cheeky mortal…”
Lukas ignored the two bickering women and opened the window.
He blocked the dirty air from entering the room with a barrier and looked at the landscape outside.
The streets below were so hazy that it was hard to believe it was only midday.
In all honesty, Lukas felt quite frustrated at that moment.
The streets were narrow and seemed to have not been built with any consideration for the locations of the buildings. The sizes were also different, so there was no uniformity even if one squinted one’s eyes. It was completely different from the sophisticated streets and skyscrapers that he saw in North America. It also felt even worse because of how close together they were. (TL: If Lukas thinks Korea is bad, he should never come to my country.)
To make matters worse. Most of the streets were built on a mountainside, and there were many side streets, which seemed much more complicated than even the worst slums.
‘It’s a country with a small territory compared to its population.’
When he recalled the characteristics of Korea, Lukas understood to an extent.
Click.
Then the door opened again. Kim Min-chul had returned.
“It’s too late for today, so I’ll arrange for a meeting with the Saint tomorrow morning. Is that all right?”
When Lukas nodded, Kim Min-chul smiled.
“And Ha-rin, I brought your younger siblings.”
He then turned around and beckoned.
“Ha-min, Ha-yun, come here.”
Min Ha-rin turned to look behind Kim Min-chul.
But when she saw her younger siblings for the first time in quite a few years, her heart sank.
* * *
In confirmation of Min Ha-rin’s earlier words, although they were clearly teenagers, they both looked older than Sedi.
But it wasn’t their age that Min Ha-rin noticed.
She hadn’t seen them in years.
But there was one reason why her heart sank instead of becoming filled with pleasure at their reunion.
Both of them were covered in injuries. Of course, they couldn’t be called serious injuries, but they both had scars all over their bodies. Some of them appeared new, some looked like they were almost finished healing, and some were completely healed.
Min Ha-rin had never seen these scars before.
“…you guys…”
For the first time in a long while, she called out to her younger siblings.
Her call caused them to flinch back before slowly raising their heads to see who was calling them.
Their eyes, which were half-filled with doubt, grew wider before becoming filled with tears.
“…Big sis.”
“B-, big sis!”
Then they rushed over to Min Ha-rin and hugged her.
“Big sis!”
“H-, huk.”
As she wrapped her arms around her crying brother and sister, Min Ha-rin felt like crying as well. Forcibly suppressing the tightness of her throat, Min Ha-rin spoke slowly.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to contact you. Why are you guys so injured? What happened to you?”
Now that she could see them up close, Min Ha-rin was in a rush to find out what happened.
The pain she felt at that moment was much greater than when she suffered from serious injuries.
When she mentioned their wounds, the two flinched and exchanged glances.
“Th-, these wounds…”
“They are…”
“They are medals.”
This answer came from Kim Min-chul.
He was watching the reunion of the three siblings with a pleased expression.
“…medals?”
“Your younger siblings are currently undergoing trials to enter the Church of Eternal Life. Originally, they wouldn’t have been able to contact outsiders while undergoing their trials, but we made a special exception for you, Ha-rin. After all, you haven’t seen your younger siblings in years.”
Min Ha-rin’s gaze became sharp.
She slowly turned to Kim Min-chul and asked in a pointed tone.
“These trials… are they taking them voluntarily?”
“Of course.”
“…that’s impossible.”
Unlike herself, her two younger siblings had never dared to undergo any hardships. They were naturally gentle and timid, and they had never even fought against others when they were younger, let alone Demons.
She knew that better than anyone.
She had raised them by herself since they were babies.
She would never believe that her younger siblings would willingly undergo any kind of painful trial.
Min Ha-rin looked down at Ha-min and Ha-yun. Their lips twitched slightly as though they wanted to say something, but in the end, they both lowered their heads, remaining silent.
This sight made her stomach churn.
Min Ha-rin’s eyes turned to Kim Min-chul once again.
“I will never forgive anyone who dares to touch my family.”
“I know. You’ve always loved your younger siblings dearly.”
“…What the hell is the Church of Eternal Life?”
“It is the light, the only hope that we can get through these desperate times.”
After saying this, Kim Min-chul’s calm expression became serious.
“Ha-rin, you should join our church as well. I’m sure the Saint and the Bishop would accept you with open arms. At your level, you wouldn’t even have to undergo the trials.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t intend to follow some kind of mysterious religion like that.”
Kim Min-chul’s expression became one of displeasure.
“…are you insulting our Church of Eternal Life?”
“With the things you did to my-”
“We have no intention of doing that. Ha-rin is just overreacting a little.”
It was Lukas who interrupted Min Ha-rin before her tirade could begin. Then, Min Ha-rin’s aura, which had begun to rise, slowly settled back down.
Kim Min-chul watched this with a slightly surprised expression.
‘Ha-rin listened to him so easily.’
The Min Ha-rin he knew, while not rude, was very independent and stubborn at the same time as being extremely hot-headed.
She was the type who would never back down if she thought something was wrong, so she was often called ‘the child who grew up too quickly to be cute’ by the adults.
That was why Kim Min-chul found it strange that Min Ha-rin listened to Lukas’ words so easily.
Lukas walked over to Min Ha-rin’s siblings, kneeled, and looked them in the eyes.
Min Ha-min, and Min Ha-yun.
Both of them looked very similar to Min Ha-rin. The boy appeared to be a few years older.
“Hello.”
“Ah, hello.”
“Hi… who are you, oppa?”
“I’m Ha-rin’s Master.”
“Her Master?”
“Right.”
Lukas smiled gently after saying that, and one of the eyebrows of Sedi, who was standing behind him, twitched slightly.
Suddenly, Kim Min-chul coughed in his hand.
“It’s getting late, and you must be tired after a long-distance teleportation, so we’ll get going. Now, children. It was nice to see her again after a long time, wasn’t it? It’s time to go back now.”
The warm atmosphere, which had just formed, was destroyed by his voice.
Min Ha-min and Min Ha-yun lowered their heads, not daring to refute him.
“W-, we’ll see you later, big sis.”
Min Ha-min turned around first. But Min Ha-yun hesitated a bit before looking up at Min Ha-rin and opening her mouth.
“H-, hey, big sis. By chance…”
Min Ha-rin realised what her little sister wanted to say, and spoke in a firm tone.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Ah.”
“Don’t worry, just trust me. Everything is going to be all right.”
“M-, mhm.”
It was only then when Min Ha-min and Min Ha-yun’s expressions brightened for the first time.
Kim Min-chul sent them away first, but he didn’t leave immediately.
“Ha-rin.”
“Yeah.”
There was a big change.
There was no longer any affection in their voices.
“The Leader and the Branch President want to meet you. Can you meet them right now?”
“…the Branch President.”
The person he referred to as Leader should have been the head of the Church of Eternal Life. In all honesty, she wasn’t fond of the offer.
‘However…’
She had to meet the President of the Korea Branch.
If she met him, she would be able to find out what the hell happened here.
“Understood.”
“Good. Let’s go right away… why don’t the two of you wait here for a while?”
Kim Min-chul looked over to Lukas and Sedi as he said the last part.
In an unexpected display of cooperation, Lukas nodded.
“No problem.”
“Thank you for your understanding. Let’s go Ha-rin.”
“Yeah.”
Min Ha-rin made eye contact with Lukas before following Kim Min-chul. Lukas simply nodded without saying anything, but that alone was enough to fill Min Ha-rin with confidence.
She didn’t know what the Church of Eternal Life was or what was going on there. However, she didn’t think they would be a threat to her with her Master here.
Min Ha-rin clenched her fist and walked confidently behind Kim Min-chul.
Tak.
The door closed.
Sedi looked at it for a while before muttering softly.
“That was unexpected.”
“What was?”
“That girl. Min Ha-rin or whatever. I feel like she’s different when she’s with you. I think I just saw an expression I never saw her make before.”
She saw an unexpected side.
Lukas nodded.
“That’s because you’ve only seen her rely on me. But there are things that Min Ha-rin has to protect as well.”
When he protected those weaker than himself, he grew stronger.
Min Ha-rin appeared to be the same. Without even giving herself enough time to grieve after losing their parents, she steeled herself to raise her two younger siblings who were more frightened and anxious than she was.
“Perhaps what you’re seeing now is Min Ha-rin’s true form.”
“That’s enough of your human anthem. In any case, this place is suspicious. The <Church of Eternal Life>.”
A condescending smirk spread across Sedi’s lips.
“That’s not a concept mortals should talk about.”
“…”
“So what are you going to do? Are you going to stay here?”
“No. I need to go for now.”
Lukas was silent for a moment before looking up.
“There’s something that concerns me.”
When he heard this, the expression on the guard’s face became a bit strange.
“I’ll explain in a little bit. Let’s go inside first.”
Kim Min-chul stepped forward, cutting off the conversation. The guards bowed once more before opening the doors.
After going inside the building, they went into an elevator and went up.
When they stopped at the 5th floor, Kim Min-chul guided them to a room.
“Please wait here for a moment.”
“Ah, uncle. Wait a minute.”
“What is it?”
“Where are my younger siblings now?”
“…”
Min Ha-rin’s face was a bit flushed when she said this.
Although she didn’t want to admit it in front of Lukas, the main reason why she agreed to come to Korea this time was because she was worried about her younger siblings.
Of course, she knew that they were older now and she didn’t need to baby them, but it had been a few years since she’d last seen them, and she was a bit worried.
It would also be a lie to say that she didn’t miss them.
Kim Min-chul’s expression darkened slightly. He stood there for a moment before muttering briefly.
“…I’ll bring them to you. Wait here.”
After saying that, Kim Min-chul left the room. As soon as he was gone, Sedi sat on the well-made bed and shook her hips a little before frowning.
“This place is unpleasant.”
Her gaze then turned to where Kim Min-chul had been standing before.
“Especially that guy. I have a bad feeling about him.”
“Uncle Min-chul is not a bad person.”
“Who said he was a bad person? I just have a bad feeling. More importantly…”
Sedi turned to Min Ha-rin.
“You… Why do you keep talking informally to me?”
“I should be the one asking you that.”
Strangely, Min Ha-rin felt that she didn’t want to lose to Sedi. She’d felt this way the moment she learned that she was Lukas’ daughter. In other words, from the very beginning.
Although this little girl was probably strong enough to survive being hit by a truck, she didn’t intend to lower her head.
“I’m older than you.”
“You bare-faced liar. You look younger than my younger siblings.”
“You cheeky mortal…”
Lukas ignored the two bickering women and opened the window.
He blocked the dirty air from entering the room with a barrier and looked at the landscape outside.
The streets below were so hazy that it was hard to believe it was only midday.
In all honesty, Lukas felt quite frustrated at that moment.
The streets were narrow and seemed to have not been built with any consideration for the locations of the buildings. The sizes were also different, so there was no uniformity even if one squinted one’s eyes. It was completely different from the sophisticated streets and skyscrapers that he saw in North America. It also felt even worse because of how close together they were. (TL: If Lukas thinks Korea is bad, he should never come to my country.)
To make matters worse. Most of the streets were built on a mountainside, and there were many side streets, which seemed much more complicated than even the worst slums.
‘It’s a country with a small territory compared to its population.’
When he recalled the characteristics of Korea, Lukas understood to an extent.
Click.
Then the door opened again. Kim Min-chul had returned.
“It’s too late for today, so I’ll arrange for a meeting with the Saint tomorrow morning. Is that all right?”
When Lukas nodded, Kim Min-chul smiled.
“And Ha-rin, I brought your younger siblings.”
He then turned around and beckoned.
“Ha-min, Ha-yun, come here.”
Min Ha-rin turned to look behind Kim Min-chul.
But when she saw her younger siblings for the first time in quite a few years, her heart sank.
* * *
In confirmation of Min Ha-rin’s earlier words, although they were clearly teenagers, they both looked older than Sedi.
But it wasn’t their age that Min Ha-rin noticed.
She hadn’t seen them in years.
But there was one reason why her heart sank instead of becoming filled with pleasure at their reunion.
Both of them were covered in injuries. Of course, they couldn’t be called serious injuries, but they both had scars all over their bodies. Some of them appeared new, some looked like they were almost finished healing, and some were completely healed.
Min Ha-rin had never seen these scars before.
“…you guys…”
For the first time in a long while, she called out to her younger siblings.
Her call caused them to flinch back before slowly raising their heads to see who was calling them.
Their eyes, which were half-filled with doubt, grew wider before becoming filled with tears.
“…Big sis.”
“B-, big sis!”
Then they rushed over to Min Ha-rin and hugged her.
“Big sis!”
“H-, huk.”
As she wrapped her arms around her crying brother and sister, Min Ha-rin felt like crying as well. Forcibly suppressing the tightness of her throat, Min Ha-rin spoke slowly.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to contact you. Why are you guys so injured? What happened to you?”
Now that she could see them up close, Min Ha-rin was in a rush to find out what happened.
The pain she felt at that moment was much greater than when she suffered from serious injuries.
When she mentioned their wounds, the two flinched and exchanged glances.
“Th-, these wounds…”
“They are…”
“They are medals.”
This answer came from Kim Min-chul.
He was watching the reunion of the three siblings with a pleased expression.
“…medals?”
“Your younger siblings are currently undergoing trials to enter the Church of Eternal Life. Originally, they wouldn’t have been able to contact outsiders while undergoing their trials, but we made a special exception for you, Ha-rin. After all, you haven’t seen your younger siblings in years.”
Min Ha-rin’s gaze became sharp.
She slowly turned to Kim Min-chul and asked in a pointed tone.
“These trials… are they taking them voluntarily?”
“Of course.”
“…that’s impossible.”
Unlike herself, her two younger siblings had never dared to undergo any hardships. They were naturally gentle and timid, and they had never even fought against others when they were younger, let alone Demons.
She knew that better than anyone.
She had raised them by herself since they were babies.
She would never believe that her younger siblings would willingly undergo any kind of painful trial.
Min Ha-rin looked down at Ha-min and Ha-yun. Their lips twitched slightly as though they wanted to say something, but in the end, they both lowered their heads, remaining silent.
This sight made her stomach churn.
Min Ha-rin’s eyes turned to Kim Min-chul once again.
“I will never forgive anyone who dares to touch my family.”
“I know. You’ve always loved your younger siblings dearly.”
“…What the hell is the Church of Eternal Life?”
“It is the light, the only hope that we can get through these desperate times.”
After saying this, Kim Min-chul’s calm expression became serious.
“Ha-rin, you should join our church as well. I’m sure the Saint and the Bishop would accept you with open arms. At your level, you wouldn’t even have to undergo the trials.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t intend to follow some kind of mysterious religion like that.”
Kim Min-chul’s expression became one of displeasure.
“…are you insulting our Church of Eternal Life?”
“With the things you did to my-”
“We have no intention of doing that. Ha-rin is just overreacting a little.”
It was Lukas who interrupted Min Ha-rin before her tirade could begin. Then, Min Ha-rin’s aura, which had begun to rise, slowly settled back down.
Kim Min-chul watched this with a slightly surprised expression.
‘Ha-rin listened to him so easily.’
The Min Ha-rin he knew, while not rude, was very independent and stubborn at the same time as being extremely hot-headed.
She was the type who would never back down if she thought something was wrong, so she was often called ‘the child who grew up too quickly to be cute’ by the adults.
That was why Kim Min-chul found it strange that Min Ha-rin listened to Lukas’ words so easily.
Lukas walked over to Min Ha-rin’s siblings, kneeled, and looked them in the eyes.
Min Ha-min, and Min Ha-yun.
Both of them looked very similar to Min Ha-rin. The boy appeared to be a few years older.
“Hello.”
“Ah, hello.”
“Hi… who are you, oppa?”
“I’m Ha-rin’s Master.”
“Her Master?”
“Right.”
Lukas smiled gently after saying that, and one of the eyebrows of Sedi, who was standing behind him, twitched slightly.
Suddenly, Kim Min-chul coughed in his hand.
“It’s getting late, and you must be tired after a long-distance teleportation, so we’ll get going. Now, children. It was nice to see her again after a long time, wasn’t it? It’s time to go back now.”
The warm atmosphere, which had just formed, was destroyed by his voice.
Min Ha-min and Min Ha-yun lowered their heads, not daring to refute him.
“W-, we’ll see you later, big sis.”
Min Ha-min turned around first. But Min Ha-yun hesitated a bit before looking up at Min Ha-rin and opening her mouth.
“H-, hey, big sis. By chance…”
Min Ha-rin realised what her little sister wanted to say, and spoke in a firm tone.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Ah.”
“Don’t worry, just trust me. Everything is going to be all right.”
“M-, mhm.”
It was only then when Min Ha-min and Min Ha-yun’s expressions brightened for the first time.
Kim Min-chul sent them away first, but he didn’t leave immediately.
“Ha-rin.”
“Yeah.”
There was a big change.
There was no longer any affection in their voices.
“The Leader and the Branch President want to meet you. Can you meet them right now?”
“…the Branch President.”
The person he referred to as Leader should have been the head of the Church of Eternal Life. In all honesty, she wasn’t fond of the offer.
‘However…’
She had to meet the President of the Korea Branch.
If she met him, she would be able to find out what the hell happened here.
“Understood.”
“Good. Let’s go right away… why don’t the two of you wait here for a while?”
Kim Min-chul looked over to Lukas and Sedi as he said the last part.
In an unexpected display of cooperation, Lukas nodded.
“No problem.”
“Thank you for your understanding. Let’s go Ha-rin.”
“Yeah.”
Min Ha-rin made eye contact with Lukas before following Kim Min-chul. Lukas simply nodded without saying anything, but that alone was enough to fill Min Ha-rin with confidence.
She didn’t know what the Church of Eternal Life was or what was going on there. However, she didn’t think they would be a threat to her with her Master here.
Min Ha-rin clenched her fist and walked confidently behind Kim Min-chul.
Tak.
The door closed.
Sedi looked at it for a while before muttering softly.
“That was unexpected.”
“What was?”
“That girl. Min Ha-rin or whatever. I feel like she’s different when she’s with you. I think I just saw an expression I never saw her make before.”
She saw an unexpected side.
Lukas nodded.
“That’s because you’ve only seen her rely on me. But there are things that Min Ha-rin has to protect as well.”
When he protected those weaker than himself, he grew stronger.
Min Ha-rin appeared to be the same. Without even giving herself enough time to grieve after losing their parents, she steeled herself to raise her two younger siblings who were more frightened and anxious than she was.
“Perhaps what you’re seeing now is Min Ha-rin’s true form.”
“That’s enough of your human anthem. In any case, this place is suspicious. The <Church of Eternal Life>.”
A condescending smirk spread across Sedi’s lips.
“That’s not a concept mortals should talk about.”
“…”
“So what are you going to do? Are you going to stay here?”
“No. I need to go for now.”
Lukas was silent for a moment before looking up.
“There’s something that concerns me.”
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