TE 3

The car was silent.

“Tae-beom, can you hear me?”

What felt like silence was an illusion. The coquettish voice coming from the phone was anything but quiet.

“Tae-beom, that old man—”

At a red light, the man reached out and turned off the speaker, bringing the phone to his ear so Seo-ha couldn’t hear. But she had already guessed what Park Hee-jung was saying.

She probably wanted to say that her husband , who she wanted to call ‘old man’ had left, so it was safe to come over.

Secretly, thrillingly, let’s enjoy ourselves.

“This isn’t a good time.”

The man seemed to be politely declining Park Hee-jung. His attitude in placating her was less like addressing a lover and more like a skilled employee handling a difficult customer.

There was definitely an emotional distance between him and Park Hee-jung.

Without being madly in love, he had entered into a dangerous affair with someone he shouldn’t have touched. All just for what?  For a mere physical pleasure?

Moreover, this man didn’t seem interested in hiding their relationship from Seo-ha.

Well, pretending not to know each other had become impossible since that moment their eyes met at church.

“…To the church.”

But still.

She couldn’t just sit there while he brazenly talked to Park Hee-jung in front of her.

“Take me to the church.”

His shameless gaze met hers through the rearview mirror.

Those pitch-black eyes, devoid of any light, looked almost like those of a dead person.

That made them even more chilling.

The way those lifeless eyes intently studied her.

“I’ll call you back later.”

The man ended the call with Park Hee-jung in a low voice. Just then, the light turned green, and he skillfully steered the car toward where Seo-ha had requested.

The suffocating silence that followed was worse than when he had the phone on speaker. It was maddening that she felt troubled when he was the one who had committed the sin. But what was even more frustrating was how that moment, the scene she desperately wanted to forget, kept replaying in her mind.

Seo-ha had grown up listening to her father’s ministry.

Due to her father’s disapproval of close interactions with men, she had been homeschooled in a closed environment. Her only chance to communicate with people was during church visits.

Though she knew her father wasn’t a typical pastor, completely breaking free from the education and values she’d received since childhood was impossible.

Her father often criticized how the times had become depraved, how young women were becoming increasingly lustful and disregarding the importance of purity.

Park Heejung, being already married to her father, was far from pure, but she had committed an even greater sin. She had committed adultery with another man, and not just any man—her husband’s subordinate.

Perhaps she too was sinning. After all, she kept recalling their filthy act like some lustful woman.

It was her first time seeing a naked man so close. Though she had accidentally seen her father’s limp form during his nighttime activities with Park Hee-jung, that had only disgusted her, and she had quickly purged those dirty images of flesh colliding from her mind.

Having never watched dramas or movies, Seo-ha hadn’t even seen male actors’ shirtless scenes. When she was very young and showed interest in an idol’s music, her father had accused her of already chasing after men and locked her in a wardrobe for twelve hours of penitent prayer. Since then, she had tried her hardest to avoid showing interest in such things.

And yet…

‘It’s disgusting.’

Their act was certainly disgusting.

It was something done purely for pleasure by people who weren’t even married. There was no reason to see it as beautiful.

“We’ve arrived.”

She already knew they had reached their destination. Though the scenery outside hadn’t registered due to her mind being consumed by memories of that time like a giant movie screen, she was definitely aware that the car had stopped and the engine had been turned off.

It was frustrating that she could only see the back of this shameless man’s head from the backseat, but he got out first and came around to open her door.

“…”

Though knowing she needed to get out, Seo-ha remained seated for a moment, trying to calm her agitated breathing.

She was aware that she was excessively angry.

Was it because their relationship might negatively affect Seo-chan? Or fear of witnessing another death in the household?

Even combining all those reasons couldn’t explain her current state of heightened irritation. Perhaps it was because of this man, who even while opening her door, never appeared truly submissive.

Looking at him kept bringing back that filthy act, his body embracing Park Hee-jung, the movement of his muscles. It was too disgusting.

“Follow me.”

One thing, at least, was certain.

If possible, she needed to end the relationship between Park Hee-jung and this man.

The man followed Seo-ha’s words silently, his expression unchanging like a doll.

Entering the church, the dust and paint smell from ongoing construction assaulted their noses. As she aimlessly looked around the church interior, she spotted the corridor leading to the nursery room in the corner.

‘That happened in the nursery’ room…’

Taking a deep breath, Seo-ha turned around to face the man. Intending to scold his still-brazen face, she instead retreated a couple of steps like she was fleeing.

The man was closer than she’d expected.

“Y-you startled me!”

Though the man hadn’t really done anything wrong, her voice rose in surprise.

His pitch-black pupils stared intently at her startled face, sending chills down her spine.

The man, who didn’t even offer a polite apology for startling her, met her gaze with those black eyes.

Those eyes she’d thought were as lifeless as a dead person’s flickered for a moment. Like a predator’s eyes lurking in the bushes at night, that savage gaze traced from her forehead down her cheeks to her chin.

Feeling goosebumps rise where his gaze touched, she meaninglessly rubbed her cheek and glared back at him, trying not to appear intimidated.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

She thought it was a reasonable question given his overwhelming gaze. However, the man tilted his head as if surprised she would ask such a thing.

His answer didn’t come immediately.

While Seo-ha grew uncomfortable with the silence, the man seemed undisturbed by it, remaining quiet for a long time. Just as Seo-ha was about to say something, anything, to break the silence—

“I was considering the intent.”

The man finally spoke. Seo-ha furrowed her brow, not understanding his meaning. It didn’t take long to grasp what he was implying.

“When a woman secretly leads a man to a deserted place, I only know of one reason…”

A woman,

Secretly,

Leading a man,

To an empty place…

Heat rushed up from her neck. She instinctively started to step back, creating more distance between them, but that felt like becoming frightened prey.

People see what they want to see.

Her contempt grew for this man whose mind seemed filled with nothing but dirty thoughts.

“I’m different from that woman. The reason I came here…”

There was no particular reason for coming to the empty church.

She had named any destination that came to mind because she couldn’t stand watching him brazenly talk to Park Hee-jung while she sat behind him. But telling this man, who was painting her with impure motives, that she had come here without any reason wouldn’t be convincing.

Better to make up a reason, even if it made no sense.

The reason for bringing this shameless sinner to church…

Seo-ha’s gaze fell on the large cross hanging on the wall.

“Do you believe in God?”

“I’m not religious.”

“That’s a relief. At least you’re not Buddhist.”

Father particularly avoids Buddhists, she thought to herself.

Seo-ha looked up at the man who was at least eight inches taller than her, almost glaring.

Moon Seok-ho disliked all churches other than his own, but he especially despised Buddhism, which was completely resistant to evangelism. Though this wouldn’t apply to his subordinate anyway.

“Follow me.”

Seo-ha turned away from the man and led the way.

“Going to the nursery?”

“…”

“Though I’m not religious, I quite like church’s nursery room.”

This man had maintained an expressionless face and spoken in a flat, low voice throughout. If she detected mockery in his voice now, was that just her imagination?

“I have quite good memories there.”

She didn’t want to see anyone die.

Hearing him seemingly mock her, she felt an urge to run straight to her father and expose this man’s sins.