A Heroine Who Can Never Be Abandoned

136 – Epilogue (2)

Epilogue (2)

There was a briefing about Iljigyo.

A detective named ‘Category’ stood in front of reporters with a dark but determined expression.

[Woo Sang-mi, the founder of Iljigyo, claimed that she could hear the voice of God, so she demanded donations from her followers or forced them to do forced labor. She earned her reputation by demonstrating her miracles to her followers, including her prophecies, which led to a rapid expansion of the church.]

He took a break and continued.

[However, Woo Sang-mi became increasingly powerful and enslaved her followers, exploiting her contributions and labor in the name of ‘building a kingdom’. Circumstances were also found where those who escaped were caught and tortured. Iljigyo was first established 20 years ago by ‘Cho Byung-chae’, but 3 years ago, the religious leader was changed to Woo Sang-mi. Cho Byung-chae is currently missing. Based on her sharp intuition and miracles, she quickly took over the organization and created the current Ilji Church. It is known that their goal is to capture the demons that exist throughout the country, and through this holy war…]

Park Se-young changed the screen.

Since the briefing had already been held a few days ago, I knew everything about it.

How many times did she flip through the contents?

Various news channels showed the briefing repeatedly, making guesses between the panelists, and editing and showing the videos they had personally covered.

[This is a space where Mr. Wu lived on a collective farm with his followers. As you can see, it is very narrow to be called the dwelling place of those who show ‘miracle’.]

A reporter said in a news video.

Behind him, he could see plastic barrels and paper boxes in what looked like a warehouse.

[Mr. Wu appeared to have a mental hold on her followers, but one believer, unable to put up with her increasingly heinous situation, apparently murdered her. The police presented several forensic evidence that Wu was murdered. Meanwhile, the murderer of Mr. Woo is on the run, and the police are searching for him and at the same time investigating the followers of Ilchikyo…]

Park Se-young saw other news.

A professor who intensively studies pseudo-religion came out and expressed his opinion.

[There are many mysteries about the sudden decline of Iljigyo, but I think it’s probably in a similar vein to its sudden revival three years ago.]

[Professor, what the hell does that mean?]

The anchor asked with a serious face.

[There is no reason to follow the bishop.]

[What does that mean?]

[He lost his charisma.]

The professor said calmly.

[Three years ago, when the beauty of idols came to mind, she emphasized that she was the Messiah by performing all sorts of miracles. To be precise, she put forward that she was a messenger of God. At the time, as Iljigyo emerged as a social problem, the police and various organizations investigated, but the miraculous trick could not be uncovered.]

[So it was a real miracle?]

[That will never be known. As a scholar, she thinks there must have been a clever device, but Mi Sang Woo lost that miracle a year ago.]

The screen has changed.

Woo Sang-mi was preaching at a church.

In an eloquent and emotional tone, she was asking the congregation if they could see angels.

At the ceiling of the magnificent dome-shaped church, various lights were interlaced to create strange shapes.

Her followers howled and praised her.

[Are you cool?]

The anchor said a little playfully.

Of course, the tone was serious, but there was showmanship unique to general channels.

The female announcer next to me said.

[But wouldn’t it be difficult to call this a miracle? Anyone can see that he was playing with the lighting, right? There’s no such thing as cheating.]

[Yes.]

The professor said.

[This is a show created after Idol Mi lost her ‘her power’. It’s different from the previous miracles. Previously, Sang-Mi mainly prophesied, but she did not say that she would show angels in this way. She was a prophet, not a miracleist.]

He took a sip of water.

In the meantime, the announcer asked.

[Why? Did she lose her powers?]

[I don’t know for sure, but… To use their terms, her god has abandoned her.]

[… God?]

[What is certain is that from a year ago, Woo Sang-mi rapidly declined, and the result is now.]

The data screen was reflected again.

It was a hard-to-see video due to the thick mosaic known when the police first reported it.

A place like a crypt where the idol Sangmi stayed.

Although it was rather ridiculous because of the overly grand and emotional sermons, it was compared to churches as grand as those in the United States in terms of size.

She folded the laptop.

“………”

Park Se-young turned on the phone.

3112.

This is the current volume of 『Kang Hae-rin’s Murder Diary』.

I read the most recent issue.

Kang Hae-rin, who was busy trying to save ‘Lee Dong-hyeon’ in the beginning, used a clever trick to trap him before episode 70.

Notebook.

In the novel, it was described as a ‘red wine-colored laptop’ and had transcendental abilities.

‘What kind of novel is that?’

Shortly after she joined the company, a male senior asked Park Se-young, who was looking at her phone.

‘Ah, a web novel.’

‘Do you read that, is it fun?’

‘Because I’ve been reading it for a long time. It’s kind of fun.’

‘Aren’t web novels really long? Let’s see… What, three thousand…?’

The senior opened his mouth wide.

‘You read all of this? It looks really fun.’

‘Oh, it’s not fun. Just…’

‘What are you ashamed of? I have no particular prejudice. What is the genre? Mystery? Yandere? What’s this? If it’s a mystery, something like Keigo Higashino? Or Po?’

Park Se-young, feeling a sense of déjà vu, roughly explained the contents to him.

‘It’s very complicated.’

He said his feelings.

‘That means that the character in the novel sticks out of the novel and becomes obsessed with the author, and when he can’t get obsessed with it, he takes over. With that weird laptop. The relationship with the writer is reversed, or something like that?’

He took out a cigarette and bit on it.

‘Did I understand that?’

‘Yes, that’s right.’

‘By the way, the situation was sorted out around episode 70, and from then on, you’re saying it’s a Yeoju pace, right? Everything was a trap set up by the female lead, and after the twist is revealed, the content continues to be played by the female lead?’

‘Yes.’

‘Isn’t that the author a bit shady? Are yanderes like that? A strong woman grabbing hold of it?’

‘…I’m not sure about that either.’

‘Why are you watching that? Se-yeong doesn’t look like that, but she has a secret desire to dominate?’

‘………’

‘I’m not particularly into girls like that, but I think it’ll be okay if it’s a pretty woman.’

Is this the main point?

Park Se-young smiled bitterly and replied moderately.

The point of “Kang Hae-rin’s Murder Diary” Is not that women dominate men, but that the relationship between the characters in the novel and the author is reversed.

But this man won’t understand.

No, I don’t think I want to understand.

Park Se-young, who watched over 3000 episodes, thought that this novel was too similar to reality.

No, I was almost certain.

It was also because of this certainty about this novel that she lost her relationship with Lee Dong-min and continued to read it even after graduating from college.

It was a novel that few people read now, and there were a lot of frustrating developments as the story progressed, but at least it was the most ideal content for Kang Hae-rin.

At least she would be genuinely happy.

Park Se-young thinks like that because she is strong over 3000 episodes, and it may be because she has taken a liking to Rin.

Honestly, she was complicated.

I felt pitiful for Lee Dong-hyun’s situation, and I thought that Kang Hae-rin was too much, but seeing that the two of them had a child and seeing Lee Dong-hyun adapt to it, it didn’t seem too bad.

Although he was strong and resistant to Rin at first, he gradually accepted her situation and became her father and husband.

“………”

Of course, all of that happens gradually.

Lee Dong-hyeon was strong and didn’t acknowledge her as his wife until Rin gave birth to her first child.

But as the child grew, she gradually changed her mind.

Should we call this Stockholm Syndrome?

Park Se-young laughed bitterly.

She doesn’t know Lee Dong-min’s current situation.

I just felt a sense of déjà vu that the situation around episode 200 of 『Kang Hae-rin’s Murder Diary』 Was similar to her current situation.

For example, a scene in which the ‘black curtain’ hands over the information of a child s*xual exploiter to a detective for processing, or a scene in which the head of a group that seems to be ‘Iljigyo’ dies.

If this was a reflection of reality, Park Se-young could know everything that would happen in the future.

There were only 200 episodes.

“… Who is the black man?”

Park Se-young muttered as she got off the subway.