Heavenly Army, Doraon dorai_ By Ooahan JS
I hurried to the monk’s residence after my mother gave me the address. I couldn’t stop wondering—how did he know I’d been praying to God every day to end my life? How did he know I was barely surviving, soaking my pillowcase with tears each night just to fall asleep? My mind was a whirlwind of questions as I made my way there.
When I finally found his place, it was pitifully shabby—a clear fraudster’s lair. Everything about it screamed fake monk. I stood outside, hesitating multiple times before carefully pushing the door open.
“Ah, you’ve arrived,” he said the moment I stepped in, as if we were long-acquainted.
What in the world? How could he act so familiar?
“Do you… know me?”
“Of course I do.”
“How? Did my mom tell you about me?”
“Let’s just say she did. Anyway, forget about dying. It’s not happening.”
“What?”
“Even if you throw yourself in front of a car, the car will crumple. If you drown yourself, someone will pull you out. So, stop trying to die. You’ll just end up half-paralyzed, causing your family a ton of grief. Just endure it. That bastard will face punishment soon enough.”
I froze, a chill running down my spine. I hadn’t told anyone about the accident attempts. How on earth did this monk know?
“H-how do you know about… him? That bastard, I mean.”
“Not just a bastard,” he said with an oddly amused tone. “He’s a full-blown—”
“Wait, wait! How do you know what happened to me? Do you actually know something?”
The monk leaned back, looking at me with an air of self-assurance. “Let’s just say I can see far and wide without leaving my seat. I even know your future.”
“My… future?” My voice trembled. “Isn’t my future already over?”
“You’re so frustrating,” he sighed, shaking his head. “Where there’s darkness, there’s light. After winter, spring always comes.”
“That’s just a cliché,” I shot back.
“Maybe. But the problem is that you don’t know when the water will start boiling. It’s a certainty that it will, but not knowing the moment makes it hard to endure.”
“What if it takes fifty years?”
He groaned loudly, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “Listen, just hang in there for three years. Treat it like you’re on an extended vacation. Enjoy it, if you can.”
“Are you saying that my life will change in three years?”
“Right now, you’re stuck in a tunnel—a void in time, so to speak.”
“A void in time? What does that mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. But there’s a way to get through it faster. A special ritual for two million won. That’ll clear the path ahead for you.”
Unbelievable. Of course, he wanted money. So much for spiritual wisdom—just another con artist looking for a payday. My life, which started spiraling with a scam, had now come full circle to meet another one.
“Forget it! Do you think two million won is pocket change? What a joke.”
I spat the words at him and stormed out of the shabby little house. Still, on my way home, his words lingered: a tunnel, a void in time.
Did he mean my life as it was now didn’t even count as existing? The idea gnawed at me. Even after I dismissed him as a fraud, his words wouldn’t leave my mind. They clung to me like a curse, echoing over and over every day.
Perhaps I wanted to believe in the hope they offered. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t let them go.
But now, three years have passed.
And nothing has changed. No miracle, no salvation. Not a single thing has happened.
Once again, I’d been deceived. Completely, utterly deceived.
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