Chapter 23: To reflect.

The First Quiz Show to Elect the Head Pastor of the South Korean Angelic Faith.
The unprecedented conditions of no qualifications or restrictions whatsoever for participation.
That naturally began to attract a great deal of public attention.

Of course, that didn’t mean it satisfied everyone.
Surely, there would be many who were dissatisfied with it, even if they couldn’t openly express it.

However, honestly, I was in a position where it didn’t matter to me who became the pastor.
Therefore, I had no intention of proceeding with this quiz show only with the people sent by the higher-ups.

Originally, for such big events, the more people participated, the more enjoyable and exciting it became.
I had hoped that since we were doing it anyway, it would become a grand festival that everyone could happily enjoy.

For reference, this was absolutely not because I wanted to have fun like that.
Nor was it because I thought it would be interesting for many people to study about me.

Absolutely not!

Rustle, rustle.

Lee Hyejin was diligently writing something on a white piece of paper.
For the first time, her paperwork here was enjoyable, and she hummed to herself.

“Hehehe.”

This was because what she was writing without hesitation was going to be the questions for the most talked-about quiz show in South Korea.

Thanks to this, she was pondering what questions to torment people with….
No, no, to make them difficult….

No, she was carefully considering what questions to use to check people’s faith in Our Angel.
For her, it was a situation where she couldn’t help but feel excited.

Rustle, rustle.

For that reason, Lee Hyejin wrote down questions without a break, with a concentration she had never shown before. Park Kyutae, who was staring at her, subtly asked.

“By any chance, how many questions have you made so far…?”
“Right now? Let’s see… 120 questions!”

It had only been 30 minutes since she started working.
Because of that, a look of shock immediately appeared on Park Kyutae’s face when he heard her answer.

His expression also contained the meaning of, ‘Were you that good at your job? I really can’t believe it.’
Naturally, Lee Hyejin, unaware of this, wore a proud expression.

“How is it? I can do it when I put my mind to it!”
“Y-yeah… I acknowledge it…. You are the strongest in that field….”
“That field? Well, anyway, thank you.”
“…Yeah. But how many questions are you going to make? You’re not planning to have them pass all 120 questions, are you?”
“Huh? Of course, I am?”
“…….”

Lee Hyejin’s unhesitating answer.
Thanks to it, shock reappeared on Park Kyutae’s face.

“Hey, hey, man…! Then no one will pass that!”
“Huh? Hmm…. But isn’t this much basic if you want to serve Our Angel properly? What would they do if they don’t even know this…?”
“…If that’s the case, why don’t you just do it? Head Pastor.”
“Huh? Oh, no! I don’t want to! Then I wouldn’t get to see Our Angel up close often!”
“…….”

An answer that could be seen as bordering on madness.
Park Kyutae shook his head, looking disgusted.

“So, how many more questions will you make?”
“80. I was basically thinking of up to 200 questions.”
“…….”

At Lee Hyejin’s words, Park Kyutae was speechless and stared blankly at her.

No, on earth, what quiz show asks 200 questions and expects people to answer them all correctly?
From his perspective, this was not much different from indirectly saying that no one would be given the position.

So, he quietly stood up without a word and slowly went through the questions Lee Hyejin had written.

• On what date did Our Angel awaken?

• What is Our Angel’s favorite snack?

• What are the names of Our Angel’s care staff?

“Hmm.”

The questions were quite normal, more so than he expected.
Due to the slightly different outcome than anticipated, Park Kyutae naturally tilted his head.

He had thought that Lee Hyejin, usually, would not prepare such ordinary questions.
He had expected her to prepare a lot of strange things, of course.

Perhaps it was too obvious on his face, as Lee Hyejin spoke from beside him.

“Excuse me, Senior. What is that expression? What did you usually think of me?”
“Oh? Oh… um… I’m sorry. Was it that obvious…?”
“Yes! Very much!”
“Ahem….”

Lee Hyejin’s sullen expression.
Park Kyutae awkwardly stroked the back of his head, then subtly turned his body and continued reading the questions.

• What was the first picture Our Angel drew in the art therapy test?

• In the analysis of the first art therapy picture, what do black and red each represent?

• What is the full name and price of Our Angel’s favorite mango bingsu?

• What was the first raw gem Our Angel crushed in the telekinesis test received in Korea?

Then, the questions seemed to become more and more unhinged.
Park Kyutae naturally glanced at Lee Hyejin as things increasingly went as he expected.

Rustle, rustle.

But she had already re-entered a state of extreme concentration.
The atmosphere had become quite awkward to try to talk to her again.

‘…Surely, she’s not just pretending to concentrate, is she?’

Park Kyutae felt a vague sense of doubt but continued to read the questions silently for now.

• What is the name and price of the first snack Our Angel bought at the folk village?

He couldn’t help but be horrified by the next question he saw.

A week passed, and the day the quiz show would take place in South Korea arrived in an instant.
If short, it was short, if long, it was long, but what did I do during that preparation period?

‘…Ah, as long as the child is healthy, that’s all that matters….’

Actually, I did nothing much besides sleeping.

The venue, schedule, quiz show questions, etc….
Lee Hyejin and Park Kyutae had already taken care of everything that was needed.

Thanks to that, I felt a slight pang of guilt for having brought up the idea, but.
Since Park Kyutae and Lee Hyejin had firmly told me to rest comfortably anyway, I decided not to worry about it too much.

Anyway, I stared blankly out the car window while moving.
At that moment, Lee Hyejin pointed somewhere with her finger.

“Our Angel! Do you see that big building over there? That’s where the quiz show is!”
“…Huh? T-that big? Over there…?”

At that, I was startled, and my eyes automatically widened.
I had already heard that the venue was the ‘Jamsil Olympic Main Stadium.’
But I had never imagined it would be such an enormous scale.

“Of course! There were 3.2 million applications, you know? Everyone had a really hard time narrowing it down in the preliminary rounds to fit in there.”
“…….”

Oh, I see….
Do they all want to be the head pastor of the Angelic Faith that much…? Why…?

From what I heard, the head pastor of the Angelic Faith was a position with extremely low pay and many restrictions on their every action.
But seeing everyone eagerly stepping up to do it, it was truly a situation that was hard to comprehend.

Because of that, full of bewilderment, I finally entered the building.
Inside the building, it was immediately clear that people filled every single seat, densely packed.

For reference, those directly participating were sitting in comfortable positions on a grass field covered with mats.
The seats were filled with spectators.

“Wow… there are so many.”

I looked around from what was called the VIP lounge, amazed.
Indeed, hearing numbers and seeing them directly was a completely different experience.

Thump-thump.

I felt my spirits soar, as if it were a real festival.
Thanks to that, I unconsciously smiled contentedly.

“Oh, Our Angel is coming out!”

Suddenly, my face appeared prominently on the large electronic display.
At that moment, a colossal cheer that made the stadium rumble was a bonus.

[ Wooow! We love Our Angel! ]
[ Wow! Our Angel is cute! ]
[ Our Angel! Just wave your hand once! ]

Shouts echoed endlessly from all directions.
On the electronic display, even flattering text, as if written by Lee Hyejin, flowed across.

‘W-what…?’

It was such a sudden situation.
There had been no warning at all, so I was greatly flustered, and my eyes automatically started trembling.

‘L-like this, all of a sudden…?’

I had been receiving the attention of many people continuously until now.
So, I thought I had adapted to this kind of situation to some extent….

‘Not at all…! Not at all!’

This was the first time I had experienced such an overwhelming scale of attention, to the point of being breathless.
This was definitely not the kind of thing one could get used to in that way.

‘D-did I make a presumptuous request for a quiz show…?’

I-is that it…?
Can’t everyone just stop tormenting me…? Huh…?

I covered my flushed face with both hands and muttered inwardly.

‘I-I was wrong…. That’s enough now….’

For some reason, I kept reflecting on myself and wanted to repent.

[ Waaahhh!!! ]
[ You’re the best! ]

Of course, the cheers, unaware of my thoughts, still spread throughout the stadium, loud enough to make it rumble.

Each country’s Angels each have at least one distinct image that comes to mind.

For example, in the case of the American Angel, it’s indifference and stoicism.
In the case of the Japanese Angel, it’s liveliness. Like that.

So, if you ask people about our South Korean Angel, what kind of answers would you get?
Most ordinary people would surely talk about gentleness or meekness.

‘Well, that’s not wrong….’

It was certainly true.
If you limited that answer to ‘ordinary’ people, that is.

Naturally, Choi Eunju, who was on a different level from ordinary people, could not accept that answer.
It was an answer no different from admitting she was a ‘rookie’ who had just recently gotten to know the South Korean Angel.

The true image of Our Angel that a ‘pro’ like her liked was actually different.
It was the sight of her now, filled with embarrassment and shyness.

‘Ahhh… so happy….’

Choi Eunju watched Our Angel’s flushed face, overwhelmed with emotion.
No matter when or how many times she saw it, it was so lovely and cute that her mind was getting dizzy.

She took a long, deep breath to calm her frantically pounding heart.
Just then, Our Angel subtly hid behind her.
Feeling her legs almost give out at that, she screamed inwardly.

‘How! How can she be so cute…! Ugh!’

She bit her lip tightly and barely managed to hold onto her sanity.
Since Our Angel showed such cute reactions every time in these situations, it was a very natural process for more and more people with similar tastes to increase.

In a word, the current situation was certainly intentional, so to speak.
It was safe to say that a large group with the same preferences was thinking one thing and acting with one heart and mind.

‘This is true national unity…!’

Therefore, she was deeply moved by this strong bond united as one.