The Unbelievers Chapter 23

Eunseong’s expression hardened in an instant. The soft sensation that had been blooming inside his chest seemed to turn into a cold lump of stone, falling with a hollow thud. With a stiff face, Eunseong retreated two steps. After entering the space Eunseong had vacated to check the north through the lens, Yoo Siun took his eye away and spoke while stepping quite a distance back again.

“That’s right. You found it well. It isn’t easy to find it on the first try.”

“…”

“Now, the thing up there is the finder. See that small lens? If you look inside, there’s a crosshair.”

“I’m done.”

“…Hm?”

“I don’t have time for this. I have to study. I have to eat dinner, too.”

“…”

Despite how his eyes had been sparkling with curiosity just moments ago, Eunseong now wore a flat face as if he had lost all interest. He stood up from the blanket, grabbed his books and pencil case spread across the desk all at once, and stomped out of the study.

Yoo Siun merely stared blankly at Eunseong’s retreating back as he thudded away.

At the dinner table where they sat together, only an awkward silence flowed. There was only the sound of food being chewed and swallowed, and the occasional clink of utensils.

“Shouldn’t you be taking medicine if it’s that bad?”

Eunseong asked abruptly. Yoo Siun looked at Eunseong, who was sitting sulkily across from him, with eyes that asked what he meant.

“Your germ phobia. I’m asking if it’s at a level where you should be taking medicine.”

Only then did Yoo Siun realize why Eunseong was grumbling like someone whose feelings were hurt. It seemed he was deeply upset by Yoo Siun’s behavior in the study—trying to keep a distant, awkward gap while teaching him how to use the telescope.

“I should take medicine.”

“You really need to take medicine, Mister. I think you have a mental problem.”

“I intend to.”

“…”

Eunseong, who had been making his sulkiness as obvious as possible by saying harsh things like it was a mental illness and telling him to take meds, felt his fighting spirit vanish. Seeing Yoo Siun accept those words so casually instead of looking offended made his anger feel hollow and deflated.

A while ago, when the man was calmly explaining how to use the telescope piece by piece, Eunseong had liked it so much his heart fluttered. Regardless, it was true that he was kind to him. It was also true that he didn’t get angry even when Eunseong entered his room without permission, never raised his voice no matter what Eunseong did, and didn’t let his emotions take over to snap or say unpleasant things. He was a completely different person from his father.

“I’m not saying you should take medicine right this second.”

“Right.”

“…I just said it because I was a bit annoyed earlier. Don’t take it to heart.”

“Right.”

There was no significant reaction to Eunseong’s apology.

His fifth cousin was a man of few words. At first, being in the same space as him was uncomfortable and nerve-wracking, but as he grew accustomed to it, Eunseong no longer felt awkward even during long silences.

“I think I’m going to need a tutor for math. It’s too hard; I can’t do it alone.”

“I’ll mention it to the Manager.”

“Aren’t you good at math, Mister? Isn’t Cornell an Ivy League school?”

He asked subtly, wondering if it wasn’t a university that only top students could enter. Realizing the meaning, Yoo Siun answered.

“I’m not good at teaching anyone.”

“Give it a try this time. Who knows? You might be good at it.”

“I wonder.”

“Ah, because of the germ phobia… you’re doing this because you’re uncomfortable with me being close by, right?”

“It isn’t that bad.”

“Then why can’t you teach me, Mister?”

“The time… I’m sorry. I don’t think the time will work out.”

“…It can’t be helped then.”

It was a polite refusal. He had expected to be rejected anyway, but he couldn’t help the disappointment. Eunseong’s lips immediately poked out in a pout.

“I’ll set you up with a good teacher.”

“Whatever. I suddenly lost interest. I’m not going to study or anything.”

“…”

What was the point of just speaking kindly? In the end, he wouldn’t even let Eunseong get close to him.

Shoveling the remaining rice into his mouth with his spoon, Eunseong stood up from the table first. He gave a bow to the man sitting far away on the opposite side and left the dining room.

Yoo Siun, who had pushed himself to adjust his schedule and come home early because of Eunseong’s words about wanting to show him something, had to finish a dinner that felt like it would give him indigestion all alone. Eunseong was quiet in his room, doing who knows what.

Because he had come home early for nothing and had nothing to do, he finished his shower and went into the study to needlessly organize the bookshelves. Then, he pulled out a scripture hidden in the most secret part of the library. It was a copy of a scripture written in a dead language that those without special training could not even read; the original was kept by the Council in a temple. The value of the original scripture, which was over two thousand years old, could not be measured in money. It was older than the Dead Sea Scrolls found in the Qumran caves near the Dead Sea, and it was a scripture mentioned even in the Codex Vaticanus.

In the scripture, the existence of a prophecy mentioned in the Apocalypse of the Codex Vaticanus was recorded.

《A pale horse shall appear from within the rain clouds along with the sound of thunder.》

“…A god who came by a side path shall appear like light from within the darkness through a massive rift; this is the savior, the one to be worshipped, lips sweet as honey, eyes as beautiful as lilies, a swarm of snakes residing in the abyss, visible only to those whose spiritual eyes are opened; the keys to the entire world shall be held in his hand. Stamp the mark of the knight upon the forehead and the hand.”

Yoo Siun’s finger followed the scripture vertically as he read.

“Lips sweet as honey… eyes as beautiful as lilies.”

He shook his head as he thought of someone. In the Apocalypse, it was written regarding the knight:

《And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. Revelation 6:8》

If he could seize control of the Council, he would be able to enter the secret vault where the family treasures were kept. If he could destroy the original scripture and burn it, perhaps he could stop this nonsensical behavior. Could he stop the things they were doing by clinging to it?

He knew it wasn’t a group that would be shaken by just that much, but he still wanted to destroy at least the original scripture. The more he saw Eunseong, and the more he interacted with him and realized the boy was a normal, lovely child, the more Yoo Siun could feel a massive destructive urge to wipe them out growing within him.

To call that lovely, ordinary child a ‘massive rift.’

A loathing welled up toward those who truly believed that. If before it had merely been a feeling of hatred toward inhumane people, now it had become a perfect form of rage. His determination to protect Eunseong so that such a thing never happened was also growing stronger.

After staring at the pale horse in the scripture for a long time, he let out a frustrated sigh and closed the copy. He stood up and pushed the copy into a place where Eunseong’s hands could not reach.

He leafed through other books, but the content didn’t register. Since he couldn’t even follow the context, he skimmed them with his eyes before standing up.

Even before Eunseong moved into this house, Yoo Siun’s space had been filled with his hobbies. An astronomical telescope sat in the study so he could observe the stars, and high-end equipment was set up so he could enjoy proper audio.

Since he began living with Eunseong, he hadn’t done anything. Because he deliberately came home late to avoid running into him and left at dawn, his own space had become as unfamiliar as someone else’s.

His consciousness flowing toward Eunseong again, Yoo Siun felt uneasy about having refused the request to teach him math earlier, so he went to the front of Eunseong’s room. Even if he couldn’t help with everything, he could explain one or two problems that were stuck.

He wasn’t supposed to get close, but he didn’t want to refuse to the point that Eunseong’s feelings were hurt. Eunseong was already someone who had been subjected to violence by his father, his only guardian.

Knock, knock. Yoo Siun knocked on the door. There was no sign of life inside. After knocking again and waiting, he felt something was wrong and opened the door.

“…”

Only the traces of studying were scattered on the desk; there was no one in the room. He went inside to check if there was any sound coming from the bathroom. There was no sign of Eunseong inside either.

Having just come through the living room, Yoo Siun left the room in confusion and looked around the kitchen and dining area. After checking every corner of the house and realizing Eunseong had disappeared, he hurriedly pulled out his cell phone.

“Did someone go outside just now? Check the garden CCTV to see if Seo Eunseong is visible.”

A drizzling rain was falling. Although the lights were on, the night was well past dinner time, so it was dark outside the window.

A security employee informed him that Seo Eunseong was out in the garden. Yoo Siun, relieved after confirming the location, grabbed an umbrella and headed outside.

Just as the employee said, he saw Eunseong sitting crouched among the garden trees. Eunseong was wearing rain gear. His back looked cute, like a doll wearing a cloak.

There was no way such a lovely being could be a ‘massive rift.’ Yoo Siun felt it was unpleasant just to think such a thing.

Yoo Siun approached Eunseong. Hearing the approaching footsteps, Eunseong slightly pulled back the hood he was wearing on his head and looked back.

“…”

“What are you doing out in the rain?”

“I was looking at something.”

“What were you looking at?”

Because he had searched every corner of the house with all the lights on to find the disappeared Eunseong, his words came out bluntly.

“I told you this morning that there was something I wanted to show you, Mister.”

“…”

“I was looking at it alone because I didn’t want to show it to you.”

He leaned down between the trees where Eunseong was crouching. A small nest was visible among the bushes Eunseong was looking at. In the palm-sized nest, there were blue-green bird eggs.

“I looked it up on the internet, and they say it’s a crow-tit’s egg. It’s tiny, right?”

“…”

“I told you I heard a bird sound.”