CS Chapter 5

Seowoo returned home two days later. She had spent the nights at a nearby jjimjilbang (Korean public bathhouse) and returned during Hyunsook’s work hours. 

 

Fortunately, only Junseo was home. Her younger brother, with a pale face, asked after her well-being.

 

“Noona, where were you? You didn’t answer your phone… Mom and I were so worried.”

 

Without a word, she passed by her brother and pulled out her backpack from the corner of the room, abruptly starting to pack her belongings.

 

“Noona… where are you going?”

 

“Junseo, I’m at my limit.”

 

She busily packed only the essentials, like toiletries and clothes. More important than anything else were her GED textbooks. She hadn’t even dreamed of going to college, but she felt she needed at least a high school diploma, so she’d started studying bit by bit last year. 

 

“N-no. Don’t go, Noona. Let’s try to persuade Mom together, okay? Mom’s just feeling very vulnerable right now.”

 

“Junseo, when she brought the shaman to the house, I tried to persuade Mom countless times.”

 

Since Junseo became ill, Seowoo had lived her life practically in surrender. Even when Hyunsook gave all her money, every last penny, to the shaman, driving their family to the brink of bankruptcy, Seowoo hadn’t resented her mother for a single moment.

 

Just as Junseo said, life had become so difficult, her heart so pained and weary, that she thought her mother must have lost her mind momentarily and made a mistake. The shaman had disappeared on their own, so she thought they could just pull themselves together and carry on.

 

She even dropped out of high school, juggling caring for her brother and part-time jobs because she desperately wanted to help her mother and brother. Yet her mother, that very person, was scheming to offer her only daughter as a bride to a cult leader…

 

It was miserable. So utterly miserable that she couldn’t bear it. She thought this must be what it felt like to have one’s heart ripped apart. She wanted to scream dozens, hundreds of times, I’m your child too! Why do I have to be this unhappy?

 

Having quickly packed her bag, Seowoo hurriedly slipped on her sneakers. She hadn’t decided on a destination, but she intended to run far away for now. She wanted to escape to a place without her mother, without her brother, and live, even for a single day, a life entirely for herself.

 

Just then, Junseo hugged her tightly from behind. Her back quickly became damp and she realized he was probably crying.

 

“Noona… sob… I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. If I weren’t sick… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Noona. I’m just a burden to Mom and you… Something like me should have died a long time ago…”

 

“Junseo… Please understand me, okay?”

 

“Sob, N-Noona, I’m sorry… Mom told me to hold you tight so you wouldn’t run away.”

 

At that moment, Junseo, sobbing loudly, plunged a needle into Seowoo’s arm. It was the same syringe she usually used for her brother, but the liquid inside wasn’t psoriasis medication. It had a much cloudier hue.

 

“What are you doing…!”

 

“Noona… I want to get better. If I recover from this illness, I’ll make both you and Mom happy. I promise. So, Noona, please just hold on until then, okay?”

 

Her brother’s sobbing voice gradually faded, and then Seowoo’s vision went completely black.

 

***

 

“Have you gone weak?”

 

Standing with his hands shoved into his suit pants pockets, Minjun openly mocked his grandfather.

 

While one might expect Jinwoong to get angry at such disrespectful behavior, for some reason, he only looked anxious.

 

“If a heavenly Bosal¹ visits in the early morning, it’s certainly not something to be taken lightly.” 

 

“So, what you’re saying, Grandpa, is that my bride will fall from the sky soon?”

 

“Oh, how many times do I have to tell you it’s not like that!”

 

“And she’ll be wearing a white dress, too?”

 

“The Bosal clearly saw it. They specifically urged me to prepare to welcome the bride.”

 

Minjun scoffed as he listened to his grandfather. A bride in a white dress? It sounded like she was escaping from a mental hospital. No longer wanting to respond, Minjun gave a perfunctory nod and turned to leave.

 

“I’ll be going then.”

“Keep yourself pure at all times, you never know when or where the bride will appear.”

 

“As if I don’t know that already.”

 

Not even 30 minutes after leaving the mansion, Minjun’s face was filled with annoyance. He was utterly disgusted by his grandfather’s attitude, ordering him around for this useless nonsense. He felt like grabbing just any woman and marrying her just to escape this ordeal.

 

His grandfather’s reliance on Bodhisattva and fortune tellers was increasing day by day. He had turned a blind eye, thinking, How much longer could the old man, over eighty, live anyway? But everything has its limits.

 

Getting into the driver’s seat, he immediately called his secretary, Joo Chanyeol.
“Look into the shaman thing. Anything will do.”

 

As soon as he hit the accelerator, a sudden downpour erupted from the clear sky. Thud, thud, thud, the thickening raindrops fiercely lashed against the windshield.

 

It had rained this hard the day he lost his parents in a car accident.

 

***

 

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was an unfamiliar ceiling engraved with geometric patterns.

“Ugh…”

 

Seowoo’s brows furrowed deeply, her head pounding.

“Seowoo, are you awake?”

“Mom…?”

 

And right before her eyes was Hyunsook, smiling kindly. Before Seowoo could properly grasp the situation, her eyes widened in shock. Right behind Hyunsook, a portrait of an elder with a halo sat prominently displayed.

“Wh-where am I?!”

“Seowoo, it’s okay. This is the church Mom goes to.”

“What are all these clothes…!”

 

Only then did Seowoo realize she was wearing a strange dress. It was a ridiculously old-fashioned dress with excessive frills on the shoulders and sleeves.

 

Despite her bizarre and mismatched appearance, Hyunsook seemed to find her daughter lovely, stroking Seowoo’s hair with a contented smile.

“Oh my, our Seowoo is so beautiful. Mom is so happy. To think my daughter will become the Elder’s bride.”

“Mom!”

 

A sharp scream erupted from Seowoo’s mouth. She realized at once that the clothes she was wearing were a wedding dress.

 

Finally, tears began to fall from Seowoo’s large eyes. Not only had her mother abandoned her, but she had also been betrayed by the brother she trusted. Her heart felt like it was plummeting endlessly.

 

 “Mom, don’t do this to me……. I don’t want to marry that old man……. Mom, you’re crazy……. You’re out of your mind!”

 

“Seowoo, I really want to save our Junseo.”

“So, it’s okay for me to die? Am I not your daughter?”

“Why would you die! If you become the Elder’s bride, you’ll gain eternal life. Mom has been attending church diligently for a year, donating so much, all so I could give you this opportunity.” 

 

Hyunsook pulled Seowoo tightly into her arms, saying it was all for her. But her mother’s embrace wasn’t warm at all. It felt completely alien, making Seowoo doubt if this was even the mother she knew.

“Mom! Please come to your senses! That’s all a cult! A heresy! Don’t you remember what happened with the shaman?” 

 

“How can you say such awful things? Ji Seowoo, you’re the one who needs to come to your senses. The Elder is closer to the Lord than anyone else. He is the Messiah.”

“I want to get out of here. Let me out! Aaah!”

“No. Seowoo, you can’t leave here until the wedding. Let’s stay here together, praying and studying the scriptures.”

“No! I want to leave, I’m going to leave!”

Seowoo, seemingly half out of her mind, rushed towards the door. She pulled on the doorknob with all her might, her body staggering, but the tightly shut door wouldn’t budge.

*Bang, bang, bang, bang-! *

“Is anyone out there? Help me! Please get me out of here!”

She pounded on the door, begging for help until red marks appeared on her hands, but all she heard was a chilling silence.