LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 47.1
I Am Your Father (1)
“Hello. It’s nice to meet you.”
I didn’t get discouraged by his superior presence and offered him a handshake. However he just stared at me intently. Sang-Ho, who was standing next to me, grabbed my hand and lowered it.
“Godfather-nim does not like to make physical contact.”
Ah. I had forgotten.
Jeom Mal-Seok wasn’t just a man who preached his own made-up scriptures while calling himself the representative of the Heavenly Father. Here, his words weren’t just law, they were upheld as divine truth.
One of the integral parts of many cults was claiming that they could miraculously cure any disease with a touch. So while saying that his hands were divinely blessed by the Father, he had pervertedly groped the bodies of his female believers. I remembered hearing that he had done all sorts of things to them with the excuse of recharging his depleted spiritual energy.
“Handshakes are a meaningless gesture.”
With a cold smile, perhaps an attempt to appear void of human emotion, he ran his gaze over us. His eyes stopped when they reached Chief Kim, who had taken out his cell phone and was attempting to contact the boat’s captain.
“Also, the use of communication devices are forbidden on Sakgui Island, in order to keep things orderly. Please follow our rules during your stay here,” he stated in a cold and piercing tone.
Although I had previously listened to a recorded version, now that I was hearing it in real life, I had to admit that his voice truly did have a mysterious timbre that gave it the power to sway people’s emotions. That was why this guy was so dangerous. If you let your guard down even slightly, you could end up captivated by his speech and mannerisms.
“Umm…” Chief Kim held on tight to his cellphone as he awkwardly glanced at me.
It looks like he hadn’t been able to contact the captain. From the way he shook his head at me with a helpless look, it seemed that he hadn’t even been able to get a signal. A man standing by the godfather’s side held his hand out to Chief Kim.
“We will take good care of it.”
Bearing intimidating scowls, the men stood between us and any chance of escaping into the sea. On top of that, as we had children with us, we couldn’t make any hasty movements. Chief Kim reluctantly handed his cellphone over.
“Now then, why don’t we go get something to eat. Since you’re Sang-Ho’s younger brother and friends, let’s take this rare chance to serve some meat.
“Prepare the feast!”
His appearance was just like that of a king. Jeom Mal-Seok strode ahead of the group, while his high-ranking devotees followed at his side. Then came Sang-Ho and the rest of the villagers. It really showed that they were all in a strict hierarchical pyramid.
“Sang-Ho may prepare the grace for the meal.”
“Yes, Godfather-nim,” he said while performing the cult’s signature greeting, raising both hands obsequiously to his chest.
The godfather and his believers walked past the giant tree and entered the town hall. That place was the true heart of the village. Sang-Ho looked back towards us with an apologetic smile.
“Since things have turned out like this, you can at least have a meal before you go. I can’t help but feel envious at all the care the Godfather is showing you.”
How frustrating. Rather than showing his care, he’s trying to trap us here so that he can brainwash and convert us. He’ll probably be preaching his doctrine to us during the whole duration of the meal.
Sang-Ho handed his copy of their scriptures to us and pointed to a pavilion.
“You can rest over there. I need to get my grace ready. I’ll call you over once preparations are finished.”
A grace was a prayer of thanks said during the serving of a meal and was meant to arouse gratitude for the food. Since food variety on this island was so limited, it seemed that such prayers were said at every meal to prevent anyone from feeling dissatisfied with the meagre offerings.
We entered the pavilion built in the shade of the giant tree and plonked ourselves down, though Chief Kim looked more like he was collapsing. The pavilion was built right beside the altar, and was probably used whenever they held a special ceremony.
“Something about all this really smells fishy.”
“I feel like I’m going to get indigestion.”
The children started muttering helplessly.
And as expected, Chief Kim expressed similar concerns, “Will we be able to return safely… What if I never get to see lovely Yeo-Jin again….”
“Don’t worry too much,” I replied while scanning our surroundings. All the villagers seemed to be heading to the town hall in order to prepare the feast.
The reason why I felt so sure of our safety was ironically due to the island’s own enforced ‘isolation’. The Past Life Church had managed to conceal its identity for so long because its member’s disappearance from society was voluntary, and because ‘isolation’ was the most treasured aspect of the cult. As such, they would definitely want to avoid attracting the police’s attention by causing any problems, since they couldn’t bear to destroy the kingdom that they had worked so hard to build.