Chapter 34: Visit the church.

Inserting their heads into the statue,
Lee Hyejin and Hwang Gilsu seriously discussed while looking inside.

As I watched the two of them, a thought suddenly came to mind.

‘Yes, I have to admit it.’
‘Hwang Gilsu, you’re on the same level as Lee Hyejin.’

With a bitter expression….
In fact, with a look of disgust, I shook my head,
and naturally walked towards the inside of the church, pretending not to know them.

What appeared then was strangely not the interior of the church.
For some reason, a short, dark corridor stretched on, and soon, a woman sitting at a desk with a small lamp on, a word like ‘counter’ coming to mind, came into view.

‘……Is this what a church entrance is usually like?’

Even I, who didn’t know much about churches, felt a sense of unfamiliarity.
As I tilted my head at the sight, strongly feeling that something was strange.

“A-A-Angel…!”

The woman, who noticed me belatedly, was startled and quickly bowed her head.
Her body was trembling so much from nervousness that it was visible to the naked eye, even from some distance.

“Hello. By any chance, where do I go to enter?”
“Uh, oh, inside? Oh, you’re here for the first time today… right?”
“Yes.”
“Uh, th-then, I d-dare… re-recommend that you first try the path to the right over there.”
“……Yes.”

What was this….
She was too polite; it made me even more uncomfortable….

Feeling somewhat uneasy about her attitude, I walked as guided.

“…….”

And so, I entered a pure white corridor,
where many of my photos were neatly lined up and plastered on the walls.

‘Is this… truly… a church?’

It was a sight that made me wonder if I had been too prejudiced about religion all this time.
Nevertheless, for now, I slowly walked and looked at the photos.

A scene of myself that I was seeing for the first time.
A photo appeared showing me drenched in some kind of liquid, lying face down on the floor,
covered with something like a blanket.

‘…When was this?’

A photo with a subtle feeling, as if I understood yet didn’t.
So, tilting my head, I read the caption written below.

[– XX/XX/20XX, Korean Angel’s Birthday.]

‘Ah.’

I quickly realized that this photo was from the day I had awoken from a place like an egg.

‘Hmm, it’s not bad, surprisingly…?’

Despite seeing the first photo, I somehow felt quite alright, contrary to my expectations.
So, I moved on and immediately checked the next photo.

[– XX/XX/20XX, The Day the Korean Angel’s Ring Recovered.]

‘Oh, so that’s how it was?’

I realized that the photos were not simply arranged randomly.
But were organized based on the day I woke up,
in chronological order of events.

Thanks to that, I inadvertently recalled those perplexing moments like memories.
And as I looked at them with a slightly nostalgic feeling….

‘Huh…?’

The deeper I went,
the more the photos seemed to become strange.

No, to be more precise.
The photos themselves were still of me, so they remained the same.
But the once sentimental arrangement was becoming noticeably odd.

[– XX/XX/20XX, Cute Angel.]

Even the description consisted only of a single, meaningless phrase.
A room where hundreds of photos of me smiling were plastered everywhere.

‘…Th-this is a bit… scary….’

Feeling somewhat fearful of the eerie atmosphere of this room, I quickly moved on.
And as similar rooms continued to appear afterward, I genuinely became increasingly scared.

Anyway, after moving for a long time like that,
This time, I entered a corridor where various writings were abundantly inscribed on the walls.
So, out of curiosity, I read one of them.

“Before the Angel forgave me, I was nothing more than a criminal. But when the Angel forgave me, only then did I… Oh, no, what is this….”

I ended up being a little flustered by the completely unexpected content.

Pitter-patter.

I walked, and walked again.

Pitter-patter.

Passing through rooms filled with Hwang Gilsu’s useless writings.

Pitter-patter.

I also passed through rooms filled with my merchandise everywhere.

Pitter-patter.

Whether this place was truly a church.
Around the time I was getting dizzy, wondering where on earth I had come to.

“Oh.”

I found an entrance covered by a curtain.
I carefully lifted it.

Then, I finally saw the true appearance of a church, faintly remaining in my memory.
Where chairs were lined up, and people were praying.

“Ah, oh, so it really was a church…?”

As soon as I saw it, a sense of relief filled a corner of my heart.
If this place turned out to be some bizarre space for brainwashing about me.
Then I was seriously considering whether I should use telekinesis to demolish the building.

Therefore, I thought it was incredibly fortunate that I discovered this place before that.
And with much lighter steps, I entered.

Gaze-Gaze.

The gazes of the people, who were deep in prayer, gathered one by one.
Since it seemed to be a designated prayer time, and the atmosphere inside was very solemn.
My presence was probably quite bothersome.

So, feeling apologetic, I bowed my head slightly as a sign of apology.
And the people also turned their heads back to my apology and started praying again….

“A-Angel!?”
“It’s, it’s the real one!”

But then, they suddenly stood up from their seats.

This time, it was like a domino effect in reverse,
where if one person stood up, the person behind them would stand up as well.

‘Today, I seem to be seeing this kind of scene quite often….’

A sight that could, in a way, be called performance art.
As I watched the scene, which I had already grown somewhat accustomed to,
This time, without being flustered, I cautiously said.

“Ev-everyone… you can just continue praying….”
“…What?”

Then, the man whose eyes I first met.
He seemed quite flustered.

‘…Huh? Why is he like that…?’
‘Was there something strange about what I just said…?’

However, I couldn’t possibly guess the reason.
Because of that, as I tilted my head several times in confusion, he said.
“Well… we were praying to the Angel….”
“……What? Yes.”

Uh… so what?
Anyway, shouldn’t they just continue doing what they were doing…?
Or not…? Am I being a fool…?

It felt as if he was intentionally explaining it again.
Yet, I still couldn’t understand what meaning was contained in it at all.

So, as I stared blankly at him, still flustered.

“Angel. By any chance, do you remember me…?”

Suddenly, a quite familiar face appeared among the people.
It was a woman working in the Angel Center’s CS team.
A woman with impressive dark circles under her eyes, Kim…….

‘Kim…… what, what was it!?’

It was Kim Something.

‘Uh… uh-oh… S-sorry….’

At that moment, I felt incredibly sorry that I couldn’t remember her name.
In fact, it wasn’t that big of a deal when you thought about it.
But I had received some help from her before, so it bothered me immensely.

Moreover, not just one or two gazes were focused on her.
So, if I said I didn’t remember, the situation would be incredibly awkward.

For that reason, I tried my best to remain composed.
And answered quite calmly in my own way.

“Oh, it’s been a long time…! Nice to see you!”
“Gasp, you remember me…! Sniff… It’s an honor!”

Then, the greatly moved Kim…… Dark Circles Woman.
Ah, no, this might be a bit too much, too…?

‘Th-then CS team woman…?’

Thinking of a title I couldn’t possibly fathom what to call her,
My guilt intensified as I looked at her expression.

‘P-please, don’t let a situation arise where I have to call out her name…?’

As I felt sweat forming on my hands at the sudden thought of the worst-case scenario,
She cautiously walked forward and asked.

“Anyway, if it’s not too much trouble, could I add a little explanation to what that person said…?”
“What? Yes, sure.”

Ah, now I see, she saw me in a difficult situation,
And kindly stepped forward to help with the explanation.

‘Thank you, Kim…… Yes…. Thank you anyway…!’

Perhaps because I felt sorry for forgetting her name, that gratitude felt even more touching.
So, as I unconsciously smiled brightly and looked at her,
She suddenly slapped her own forehead hard with her palm.

Smack!

The force was so strong that the sound echoed inside the church.

“A-are you okay…? Why suddenly….”

I was startled by her utterly perplexing action and asked.
She, with a red palm print left on her forehead, smiled faintly.

“Oh, I’m fine! Perfectly fine! My head sometimes tries to malfunction, so I have to hit it a bit like this.”
“…What? Yes, yes… I-is that so?”

‘…You, are you a robot, by any chance?’
‘Huh…? Surely, is this person also a bit of a strange type…?’

Somehow, a doubt suddenly crept into a corner of my heart.
Perhaps because there were so many strange people nearby,
I was quite confident in my ability to detect such individuals.

Of course, I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing….
Anyway, sensing a subtle chill, I tensed up a little, and her explanation continued step by step.

Summarizing it in one line, it was this.

“Uh… so, you want me to grant a prayer…?”

As I tilted my head, asking if I had understood correctly,
She hastily waved both hands.

“Oh, of course! Of course, if the Angel isn’t busy and isn’t bothered!”
“It’s definitely not something important enough to trouble the Angel!”
“Is that so…?”

Hmm, if she had simply insisted, I might have just done it.
But giving me the option made me hesitate to choose.

Honestly, I wasn’t the type to voluntarily take on tasks.
And even now, the bother outweighed the desire to do it.

“…I’m not that busy today, though.”

But despite that, I ultimately gave a positive answer, and the reason was simple.
It was just that so many people were gathered around, and it felt a bit awkward to just leave unkindly.

“S-so, you can…?”

Anyway, Kim… -ssi asked again with wide eyes.
I, after a moment’s deliberation, set a condition.

“Instead, I don’t think I can do everyone here…. Would about 10 people be okay…?”
“Oh, of course! It’s all entirely at your convenience, Angel!”
“Is that so? Hmm… then shall we start right away?”
“Yes!”

Kim…… rapidly nodded her head like a spring doll.

And so, somehow, the 1st ‘Confession’
or ‘Trouble Counseling’ session began.