Chapter 24: Watch a quiz show.

The long, long period of endurance.
Having withstood it, the first quiz show finally began.

All the participants sitting on mats on the grass field had received a white whiteboard each.
It somehow created a distinctly different feeling from the quiz show I had referenced.

Of course, I wasn’t too concerned, assuming Lee Hyejin and Park Kyutae had prepared everything well.

“But are you the host, Kyutae-nim?”

I sat down and asked, staring intently at Park Kyutae, who was holding a microphone and displayed on the electronic screen.
I had naturally assumed Lee Hyejin would take on that role too.

She then smacked her lips, as if disappointed.

“Ah, Senior said he’d do it because if I hosted, I might actually get hit with rocks because of the questions I made this time.”
“…Huh?”

Huh…? What does that mean…?
Why would she get hit with rocks just for making questions…?

As I tilted my head, unable to easily understand her words.
Just then, Park Kyutae finally began to read the first question.

[ Alright, here’s the first question. When was the date Our Korean Angel awakened? ]

…Oh. When was it…?
I don’t even know…?

Caught off guard, the question was much more difficult than I expected.
I was considerably flustered and worried, so I asked.

“…Can everyone get this right?”
“Oh, come on, of course. If you can’t get this right, honestly, you don’t deserve to live in Korea!”

Lee Hyejin’s expression and tone were filled with a seriousness rarely seen from her.
At that, I subtly averted my gaze and thought.

‘…Me, since I’m the person in question, I’m an exception, right…?’

Anyway, the time to write the answer was very short, about 10 seconds.
And so, with the reveal of the answer, the person who was eliminated in the first question was….

[ Wow, surprisingly, everyone got it right! The participants’ affection for Our Angel is very well felt. ]

“Huh…?”
“Hmm, everyone meets at least the minimum qualification.”

There was truly not a single one.

‘…No, what kind of people are all of you?’

I stared blankly at the people on the grass field, astonished.
Of course, regardless of my thoughts, the quiz show continued.
[ Alright, second question. How many days did it take for Our Angel’s Angel Ring to recover? ]

‘Ah, this is something I know…!’

While listening to the questions, feeling bewildered.
When something I knew came up, I felt a very welcoming feeling.

So, I happily shouted the answer in my mind and asked.

“By the way, how many questions are there, by any chance?”
“Oh, dear… about that.”

Lee Hyejin sighed deeply with a very disgruntled expression.

“Originally, there were 200 questions, but I specially added 100 more, so I made up to 300, you know?”
“…Huh?”

Huh…? 3, 300…?
……I must have misheard, right…?

“But Senior said if I put all of them out, it would be a huge problem and told me to reduce them no matter what, you know!?”

Y-yes, of course…. I wouldn’t be able to answer all of those even if I tried….
Though I was already eliminated in the first round, for now….

I examined Lee Hyejin’s expression, wondering if she was truly serious, and asked.

“…So, how many questions did you reduce it to?”
“Oh, don’t even get me started! We’re revealing all 300 questions, but only asking 50 of them! It’s really annoying!”

Her indignant voice continued.

“Honestly, how can we know how much they know about Our Angel with just 50 questions? Right!? And on top of that, past exam questions… Honestly, this isn’t some kids’ game or something….”

Her anger showed no signs of easily subsiding.
Just then, perfectly timed, Park Kyutae’s voice began to be heard.

[ There are still many questions left, but unfortunately, half of you have already been eliminated. Alright, here’s this question. What kind of vehicle and license plate number did Our Angel ride in when visiting the folk village?! ]

It was such an absurd question that it left me completely speechless the moment I heard it.

‘I-is that even related to me…?’

I suddenly began to genuinely worry about this quiz show again.
And so, this thought naturally came to my mind.

‘Um… Hyejin-nim. Hyejin-nim, it might actually be a good thing you didn’t get hit by rocks…?’

Of course, I didn’t mean it seriously.
If someone had actually thrown rocks, I would never have forgiven them.

But it was true that the subsequent questions were all equally outlandish, to the point that such a thought crossed my mind.

‘…Only Kyutae-nim is pitiable.’

The stadium atmosphere buzzed every time a question was read.
Looking at the bewildered expressions of the audience, I felt anxious myself.

The participants, since these were past questions, generally knew what to expect and would likely answer without much thought.
But the audience, who had come, would have no idea what the intention behind a question asking for the ‘price of a spiral potato’ was.

I couldn’t even imagine how dumbfounded they would be the moment they heard it.
After all, I was feeling that way myself.

Because of that, I sighed deeply, feeling sorry for Park Kyutae, who was profusely sweating.

Hwang Gilsu, who had somehow become the most famous person in South Korea.

Through an interview, he expressed his ambition to establish the Angelic Faith.
From that moment until now, he had been receiving contempt and persecution from all kinds of religious organizations, not missing a single day.

The reason was quite simple, more so than one might think.

It was because Hwang Gilsu had no connection to religion.
He was just an ordinary small business owner of a restaurant.

Of course, this was merely a greatly condensed version of the story from Hwang Gilsu’s perspective.
From the perspective of religious organizations, there were certainly enough reasons to be angry.

After all, Our Angel was a venerable being who could be called the symbol of Korea.

The Angelic Faith was an incredibly honorable church that directly served such a being. Yet, a man with no foundation whatsoever.
Moreover, a man who had even outright cursed at that being had arbitrarily declared his intention to establish it.

Furthermore, they themselves had already been constantly observing Our Angel for a long time.
When should they establish the church? Who would be best suited to be the head pastor? They had been continuously engaged in a long battle of nerves over such questions.

“Why don’t you just quietly continue with your restaurant?”
“Yes, weren’t you originally irreligious and not interested in this field at all? If a person suddenly changes so drastically, it can lead to illness, you know.”
“I fully understand your joy at being forgiven by Our Angel, but is there really a need to be so brazen…?”

So, how much resentment and injustice must Hwang Gilsu, who suddenly appeared, feel?
It was, in a way, natural for religious organizations to dislike Hwang Gilsu.

“Haha, perhaps because you are all at an age where your memories are fading, it seems you’re not confident in getting all the answers correct?”

Hwang Gilsu, too, equally resented them, who had been using their followers to commit store review and phone terror.

“…Thinking about worldly matters so easily will lead to trouble.”
“Yes, yes, I’ve never thought of it easily. The start time is approaching, so please return to your seats.”
“…Tsk.”

The group of pastors walked away with expressions full of dissatisfaction and annoyance.
Their seats were not too far, so they could see each other very well through the crowd even from their sitting positions.

They were still glaring at him intently.

“Phew… it’s not easy.”

Hwang Gilsu sighed deeply, feeling exhausted from the unwelcome argument with the old men since early morning.
The quiz show hadn’t even started yet, but he was already fed up with the current situation to the point of wanting to go home.

‘I merely wanted to repay the grace I received from Our Angel….’

Was this the burden a commoner had to bear to serve a precious being?
Hwang Gilsu looked up at Our Angel in the VIP lounge with a reverent heart.

‘Ahhh… my fatigue is melting away….’

As expected, her appearance today was also cute, lovely, and utterly flawless.
Feeling his depleted energy gradually recovering, he firmly resolved again inwardly.

‘Yes, no matter what crisis comes, it doesn’t matter! I will definitely pass and serve!’

With his resolve firm, Hwang Gilsu quickly pulled out his memorization notebook and rapidly reviewed all 300 questions before the quiz show began.

[ Alright, we will now begin the First Quiz Show to select the Head Pastor of the South Korean Angelic Faith! ]

And so, the fated time finally arrived.

‘Phew… don’t be nervous, and trust in your efforts so far.’

He recalled how he had closed his restaurant and studied through the nights for the past week.
He quickly wrote down the answer to the first question, ‘The date Our Korean Angel awakened.’

Then, as he confidently proceeded through the questions, on just the fourth question.
He discovered several old men falling out and laughed scornfully.

Those whose eyes met his looked visibly indignant, but.
So what could they do? They were already eliminated.

‘To participate in a quiz show with such little resolve, they’re hopeless.’

It was a refreshing moment, as if something blocked within him had finally burst open.
Thanks to this, he continued to concentrate in peak condition.

And after a long while, when he was solving the 46th question.
Finally, the last elderly pastor who had remained until then was eliminated.

For some reason, that old man had written the words [Sorry, my followers.] on his whiteboard, which made Hwang Gilsu think.

‘…Is that old man senile…?’

It seemed the shock of being eliminated from the quiz show was quite significant.