Chapter 315

Ji-Ah and Sun-Woo exited the underground chapel. Although it seemed like Ji-Ah always stayed cooped up in the underground chapel all day, she also went outside sometimes.

Of course, she rarely went out for personal reasons. Instead, she mainly went outside for work-related matters. For example, she would go outside if she needed to launder the identity of a Voodoo Cult executive or if she needed to gather information to ensure the Voodoo Cult’s safety.

Sun-Woo also mostly stayed in the underground chapel unless he had to work at the Central Paladin Order, attend school, or exercise.

Thus, this was the first time they both left the underground chapel purely for a change of mood, and it was also almost the first time they went out as a pair.

"The weather is nice today," Ji-Ah said as she looked up at the sky.

A cloudless, blue, and clean sky spread out before them. The weather was really nice.

It was a bit hot, but not too hot to walk around. However, Sun-Woo did not look at the sky. Instead, he stared into the air, looking at a point that resided somewhere between the boundary between the ground and the sky.

His unfocused gaze weighed heavily on Ji-Ah's heart. Calling Sun-Woo the Cult Leader outside was dangerous, so she carefully observed her surroundings before she spoke.

“Isn’t the weather really nice, Cult Leader?” Ji-Ah asked again.

Sun-Woo looked at Ji-Ah as if he was slightly surprised. Then, he slowly raised his head and gazed at the clear, clean, and beautiful sky for a while.

"Yeah, it's nice."

His gaze remained weak, but it seemed to regain some of its focus.

It was difficult to tell whether he had regained some clarity of mind or if it was just the reflection of light. However, Ji-Ah was satisfied with how he raised his head and looked up at the sky. Ji-Ah took it as a sign of progress, indicating that Sun-Woo was gradually improving.

“You aren’t hungry, right?”Ji-Ah asked.

Sun-Woo nodded and replied, "Not yet."

"Shall we walk a bit then?" Ji-Ah suggested as if she had been waiting for such a response.

She took Sun-Woo to a large park. It was not a small and ordinary park that people would typically find in a neighborhood, but a popular park for family outings and couple dates.

Ji-Ah had researched the park before going out, so she knew which facilities the park had, which course was good for walking, what restaurants were nearby, etc.

They went to the lake in the park.

"The lake is really big and people are taking lots of photos."

"Why take photos in such a dirty lake?"

They also went to the grassy area with a path for walking dogs.

"There are many people are walking their dogs. They're cute."

"There are still people that are not using a leash..."

They also went to the forest with towering trees.

"The trees are so huge!"

"Really? Oh, they must look big to you, nuna."

"Excuse me?"

Ji-Ah was triggered by what Sun-Woo said, but she held back.

After walking for a while, Sun-Woo pointed to one of the benches and said, "Let’s rest a bit."

Ji-Ah nodded and looked at Sun-Woo. He was sweating excessively, to the point that it was strange. Although the weather was a bit hot, it wasn't hot enough to make someone sweat that much. Moreover, they hadn't walked much. Upon closer inspection, Sun-Woo’s face looked a bit pale.

"Are you tired?" Ji-Ah asked.

Sun-Woo nodded. "There are too many people..."

Ji-Ah nodded without asking further questions. Then, she sat down on the bench with Sun-Woo.

Ji-Ah looked around while sitting. Many people were in the park, most of whom were families or couples.

Some people held hands as they walked in the park with smiles on their faces. They weren’t necessarily grinning from ear to ear, but they certainly had gentle smiles.

In fact, there wasn't much to see in the park. The lake looked dirty rather than pretty due to its murky color, and the trees were just common trees that could be seen anywhere. The grass was flattened due to people walking on it. That was about all the park had to offer.

However, even so, that was more than enough to bring smiles to the faces of the people walking in the park because the location didn’t matter much. What was more important was who the people were walking with.

Ji-Ah looked back and forth between the people walking in the park and Sun-Woo. "It does seem like there are quite a few people here. Still, it's better than having no one here at all..."

At that moment, Sun-Woo screamed, "Arghhhh—!"

He was so scared that he hid behind the bench. He was trembling, breathing heavily, and sweating profusely. Ji-Ah had never seen Sun-Woo so terrified before.

The reason he was startled was because of a puppy. It was just a single puppy. It wasn’t even a big one, but a very cute and adorable puppy.

The owner had a good hold on the leash, and the puppy was gentle. It didn't bite or bark. The puppy just seemed happy as it stuck out its tongue and panted while looking at Sun-Woo.

"S-sorry! Come here, Star. Quickly! Oh my. I'm sorry. Why is this one suddenly not listening to me..."

Seeing Sun-Woo, the owner was also startled and pulled on the leash. However, the dog did not return to him.

The dog stared at Sun-Woo as it panted heavily and stuck out its tongue. Sun-Woo also looked at the dog. He was breathing heavily and gazing at the dog with fearful eyes.

"Are you okay?" the owner asked.

Ji-Ah approached Sun-Woo and observed his condition. Sun-Woo was panicking, but he was slowly starting to regain his composure.

"Are you okay?" Ji-Ah asked.

Sun-Woo looked at Ji-Ah, then the dog, then the owner, and finally at all the people in the park.

Then he looked up at the sky, which was still clear. After staring blankly at the sky for a while, Sun-Woo suddenly sprang up. Then, he slowly approached the dog that had surprised him so much.

"Oh, wait..." Ji-Ah said as she tried to stop Sun-Woo.

She was worried about what he might do to the puppy and the owner. It felt like Sun-Woo was currently in a state where it wouldn’t be strange if he did anything abnormal. He might kick the puppy and then beat the owner of the puppy to a near-death state.

“...”

Ji-Ah was about to run towards Sun-Woo, but she stopped in her tracks. Sun-Woo neither kicked the puppy nor hit the owner. He simply gently petted the small and adorable puppy's head.

The owner holding the leash looked at Sun-Woo with a puzzled expression. "Are you okay...?"

"I'm fine. I was just a little surprised earlier."

"Ah..."

"Can I pet the puppy?" Sun-Woo asked.

The owner nodded.

Sun-Woo crouched down and continued to pet the puppy. Ji-Ah was relieved by Sun-Woo's behavior. She also found the situation both cute, pitiful, and unfortunate.

"It’s okay, now..." Sun-Woo murmured as he petted the dog.

Ji-Ah was unsure whether his words were directed toward the dog or someone else.

*

Jin-Sung was driving. Soo-Yeong was in the back seat, and her older brother Soo-Hyun was in the passenger seat. They were heading back home. More precisely, they were going to the Chungcheong Branch’s underground chapel to meet their father, Ha Pan-Seok.

Soo-Hyun broke the silence and said, "Executive Jin-Sung."

He vigorously scratched his arm. Despite trimming his nails short, his arm was already red from the amount of scratching. He kept doing so ever since he arrived at the underground chapel.

He kept saying his body was itchy and that he couldn't bear it if he didn't scratch. A restoration spell had healed all the wounds on Soo-Hyun's body. However, the spell only treated visible wounds and did not eliminate the pain.

He continued writhing in pain even as his body recovered. The pain did not completely disappear. Even several days after he escaped from the underground prison, he still experienced phantom pain due to the aftermath of the torture he had been through.

"Speak. And stop scratching your arm. It's annoying," Jin-Sung said coldly while gripping the steering wheel.

Soo-Hyun stopped scratching his forearm and asked, "How many years have passed?"

He didn't speak to anyone while inside the underground chapel. He didn’t ask how much time had passed, what had happened during that time, or anything else.

He was so preoccupied with the pain that he never had the luxury of thinking about such questions. Now, he could finally ask what had happened while he had been trapped in the underground prison.

"The Holy War ended eight years ago. It’s been about seven years since you were in the underground prison."

"What happened during that time?"

"Well..."

Jin-Sung pondered how to respond. What had happened? Many things had occurred over the past eight years. Eight years was definitely not a short time. He couldn't explain everything that had happened during that time.

Jin-Sung tried to mention only a few important events. However, he couldn't distinguish what was important and what was not.

"It feels like there weren’t that many important events. I suppose what happened isn’t important now," Jin-Sung said resignedly.

Soo-Hyun quietly nodded his head. He seemed to understand what he meant.

"Please at least tell me in detail about the situation of Voodoo Cult. About the Second Cult Leader, the Prophet, and the current Cult Leader..."

"The Second Cult Leader died a long time ago. You probably already knew that. As for nuna... I mean, the Second Prophet, she’s also dead. Their son is the current Cult Leader. He is both the leader of the cult and the Prophet."

"Ah, is the Prophet..." Soo-Hyun muttered. He suddenly felt the itchiness intensify. He then vigorously scratched his neck and arms before continuing, "...alright?"

Jin-Sung snickered at Soo-Hyun's question. It was both amusing and surprising. It was incredibly surprising that he was able to ask such a humane question after enduring years of torture in an underground prison.

Jin-Sung couldn’t help but think that Soo-Hyun was incomparably stronger than himself as a person.

Initially, Jin-Sung let out a light snicker, but his laughter grew in severity. Eventually, he was laughing out loud. Then, his laughter stopped. The eerily loud laughter disappeared, leaving only silence.

"I didn't do anything," Jin-Sung muttered. "I didn't do anything. So..."

He closed his eyes tightly and then opened them.

"So, he’s neither alright nor is he not alright," Jin-Sung said.

*

After enjoying a walk in the park, Ji-Ah and Sun-Woo returned to the underground chapel and had a simple meal.

Perhaps due to the vigorous walk, Sun-Woo ate quite well. Ji-Ah watched Sun-Woo gulp down his food with a worried expression.

Sun-Woo read a book in his room again, and Ji-Ah did her own tasks. Before they knew it, it was night and time for bed.

Ji-Ah entered the storage room where she always slept and covered her body with a blanket before going to sleep. Although a bed had been prepared for her in the underground chapel, she always insisted on sleeping in the storage room.

"Cult Leader?"

She woke up when Sun-Woo entered through the storage room door. Sun-Woo opened the door and stared blankly at the sleeping Ji-Ah.

His unfocused eyes and pale face made it difficult to distinguish whether he was a corpse or a living person. He was sweating profusely—so much so that sweat streamed down his forehead, collected on his chin, and then dripped down to his chest.

"Are you not able to sleep, Cult Leader?" Ji-Ah asked.

She thought that Sun-Woo couldn't sleep, which was quite possible. Ji-Ah tried to check the time, but she had no chance.

Clang.

Sun-Woo slammed the door shut and started walking briskly toward Ji-Ah.