Clairvoyant - Changlix

41 - Disbelief

(This is basically the end of my prewritten story. I have one chapter after this, and that's it! I was really debating whether to make a time skip after this chapter to end it, or keep building on the world I've created. I'm still undecided. But this at least cleans up the church service after retreat. KK, have fun reading!)

"What the hell?" Minho screamed.

To some degree or another, everyone jumped away from Changbin after he spoke the question aloud. He slowly blinked, readjusting to his first person view of the situation instead of what he was seeing before. Knowing exactly where pastor Jung was, he turned back and to his right to look at him. Taking Felix's arms and settling them around his waist, taking his hands away from the adults, Changbin spoke calmly and with conviction.

"What's your answer? Why did Jesus destroy the tree when God is the creator?"

"Do you have to be with him like that?" Jung gestured towards where their arms were overlapped.

"I'll make it explicit if you don't answer my question..." Changbin challenged.

"Wait, I don't understand." Chan couldn't help but intervene. "Why are you so aware of what's going on? Usually you're disoriented."

Changbin sighed, snuggling further into Felix's embrace. "I saw it all. I'll explain later." He still stared pastor Jung down, but now the lobby was starting to fill up.

"I'll explain it later too." Jung's voice was full of sarcasm and mockery.

"Bullshit!" Minho and Seungmin yelled in unison. Some of the passersby gave them cold glares.
"Look, let's go to my office and we'll talk about it."

"Who do you mean by us?" Felix was suspicious he might do something to Binnie if they went alone.

"Eight or none." Chan said hesitantly.

"Honestly, ten or none." Ms. Seo spoke up, keeping her hand on Changbin's shoulder the entire time. "I want to hear what you're telling my son after where you sent him."

Jung smiled his classic pastor smile. "It was a leadership re.."

"Bullshit!" Mrs. Lee snarled at him, and the boys were impressed.

"Should we go to the bigger room in the youth building?" Han finally spoke up after observing the oddities playing out in front of him. Seeing how close Changbin and Felix were, he had leaned further into Minho to try and calm himself down.

"Showdown part two, let's gooooooo!" Hyunjin was so loud so suddenly that everyone had to plug their ears, even the stragglers trying to eavesdrop on what was going on.

"Alright, to the youth room. Let's settle this."

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If the 1v6 was intimidating last time, a 1v10 was 100 times more so.

And it made Changbin a bit claustrophobic.

Like last time, Chan and Minho were towards the center of the cluster of concerned friends and family. However, they took the second row, allowing Felix and Ms. Seo to flank Changbin closest to the table. The addition of Jeongin and Mrs. Lee, sitting near each other and Felix, gave the room an extra fire and intensity it didn't have the first time.

Even still, having gone to the conversion camp, it would have been this tense anyway. Pastor Jung deceived them. There was no way around it. If he had the opportunity, he probably would have sent Seungmin and Jeongin too.

Though, knowing Seungmin's sharp tongue, Laz senior would have gotten the verbal beating he deserved.

"So, your question is why Jesus cursed the fig tree when he had the power to restore it. Is that right?" Pastor Jung stayed calm despite having 10 pairs of judging eyes on him.

Changbin nodded. "My friends created a beautiful scene out of a deserted landscape with their words and encouragement. It gave me greater protection and comfort than the barren desert I first found myself in with the withered fig tree."

"Wait..." Jung shook his head in disbelief. "You had a vision about the fig tree?"

"I don't question anymore." Changbin quickly dismissed his shock. "The point is, the love and words of my friends made my surroundings beautiful and kept me safe from the elements. Isn't that what God should do? Create in love and not destroy in anger?"

"Wait..." This time it came from Felix. "You heard us?"

"Heard, saw, felt your arms around me." Changbin gave Felix a sly smile and a wink before focusing back on his pastor. "Again, I don't know why."

"Come on, none of this is relevant, just like last time." Seungmin snapped, losing patience with the discourse. "You just want to be a homophobic prick, and I won't let you do that to my friends."

"I never said that."

"But your actions have spoken volumes! You sent them to a camp to make them straight and they came back flaming."

Seungmin put one hand on Han's shoulder and the other on Changbin's. His desire to storm out of the room, yet again, was strong. When he heard his friends laugh, he loosened up ever so slightly.

"Pastor Jung," Ms. Seo spoke softly as everyone leaned in to hear, "My son deserves to be happy as much as anyone of any gender or sexuality. I support him in his relationship with Felix, as does Mrs. Lee." The latter gave a firm nod. "If you don't accept them, we will find a different place of worship that does."

The room was stunned silent. The Lees would have no problem moving, but everyone else grew up in this church. They made their life long friendships here. Their ministry and leadership roles meant so much to them, and yet how could they stand to serve a leader who wasn't in favor of love?

"If you can't accept my friends being in love, I will find somewhere else who will. Eight or none." Chan felt sad that it had to come to this. "No more sermons calling out my friends. No more hate. Jesus was about love and faith. I wish you had faith that we still love God."

"I..." It was the first time pastor Jung had shown the compassion they had grown to respect. The look he gave Chan was genuine for the first time in weeks. "I will consider it."

"I have passages for you to read if you want!"

Chan's friends groaned and laughed, easing the tension of the room. Even if it wasn't romantically, the eight friends had come to love and respect each other. They just wanted respect from others too, even if it was hard to find. Changbin imagined the paradise his friends helped to create, and found comfort in the mental image. He smiled behind him so his friends could see how grateful he was for them.

They talked a bit more, and left the room on peaceful terms for now.