He's got the whole world in his hands | Jeongin

Chapter twenty-six

She was an itch that couldn't be scratched. Minsi Park dug herself beneath Jeongin's skin and kept burrowing and burrowing and burrowing. She was something that couldn't be tamed; an unholy addiction and Jeongin couldn't stop the blaze once it ignited.

"I'm so glad you stopped by again. Minsi is my only child and I wish we got along like we used to, but something changed within her after her dad died."

Jeongin watched Nari carefully pour a stream of steaming hot water over a bag of tea leaves. The pair were sitting down at Nari's dining room table. Off to the side of the kitchen, the round oak table was small. It wasn't much of a surprise considering that it was mainly only used by Nari and occasionally her daughter.

"I wasn't aware that h-"

"Most aren't. I still wear the wedding ring, but it's been so long since I lost my husband." She glanced at the simple golden band around her ring finger. She had lost weight over the years. The grief of her husband and the neglect from her daughter had taken a mental toll. It used to be a struggle to take off, but now it barely stayed on without slipping. "I miss him a lot."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Jeongin uttered. He sat with his hands collapsed together as he watched Nari make them cups of black tea.

"It's alright, it's been a while now. I've gotten over it for the most part, but it still aches at times."

Jeongin's eyes went up to her face. She blinked rapidly and he could tell she was fighting back tears. She had that same aura around her that his parents had, the lost lingering feeling of grief. It hung around them like a cloak and it tightened around their shoulders on their worst days.

"It still must be awful. I'm sure everything you've been dealing with alongside Minsi isn't much help."

Nari shook her head with a frown. "I know it seems silly to think she's possessed, but I truly believe it. Father Yang, my daughter refuses to go to church with me nowadays. Every time I bring up the Bible, she gets aggressive. I don't know how to describe it, but she looks lost."

"The first time I saw her after she left for college, she was just skin and bones. She said it was because her college classes were stressing her out. I offered to pray for her and she burst into tears. She sprinted back into her car while she sobbed. She refused to discuss it again. Over the years, she just seems to get further and further from the light."

"I'm supposed to be her mom. I'm supposed to lead her in the right direction, but I don't know how. She doesn't want to sit down and talk to me. I've tried to get her to see a few of my friends that are therapists. She refuses to talk to anyone."

"It sounds hard to deal with."

Nari nodded, pushed the cup of tea towards Jeongin, and added a small glass dish of sugar cubes beside it. "It's always the same old things. The same old fights. For her birthday last year, I got her a Bible and she chucked it back at my face screaming. Ever since Suki died, her aggression has gotten worse."

Jeongin's attention went down to the cup of darkening water. The earthy scent floated up to his nose and calmed his jittery nerves. "Have you tried talking to her one-on-one? Maybe she just wants to talk to you without the mention of religion. It seems like a sore subject for her an-"

The sound of a door creaking open caused them both to stop what they were doing. Nari's eyebrow raised and she pushed herself to her feet. The house slippers on her feet shuffled across the tile as she moved to the front door. "Hello?" She called out.

"Mom?" Minsi's voice was faint. "Do you remember what you did with my high school yearbooks? I met a new person today and I want to check to see if we went to school together. They seem so familiar, but I can't place where I-"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Nari beamed and rushed towards the bookcase in the back of the living room. There were three tall bookcases and each one contained numerous books. Most of them were religious non-fiction stories, but a few of them were fiction.

"They should be right here." She pressed two fingers along a row of books and began pulling out copies. A sense of rejuvenation began to fill her. She couldn't remember the last time Minsi asked her for help with something so simple.

Curiosity got the better of Jeongin as he stood up from the kitchen table. His feet seemed to move automatically to the living room where he found the pair standing near a shelf. Minsi had a purple backed book open and her eyes scanned it. "Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?" She muttered.

When Jeongin took another step closer into the living room, a creaking of old floorboards gave away his location. Nari glanced over her shoulder and smiled upon seeing him. She turned to Minsi and gently nudged her in the shoulders. "Are you going to greet Father Yang?"

She didn't respond and Nari frowned. Jeongin walked over to them and glanced down. Minsi skipped through class after class trying to find someone. Her big brown eyes scanned the faces, but none of them were the right ones.

"Who are you looking for?" Jeongin asked softly. "Maybe I know who they are."

"His last name is Hwang."

"H-Hwang?" Nari uttered. Her eyes widened and she grabbed the edge of the book to stop Minsi's flipping. "Hwang what?"

"Huh?"

"First name?"

Minsi's eyes furrowed, but she responded anyway. "Hyunjin. His name is Hwang Hyunjin."

"The satanist!" Nari roared. "You met the son of the satanist family? No! No! No! No!" She stomped her foot and clenched her fists. "Stay away from him! Do you hear me?" She shot forward like a bolt of lightning, grabbed the front of Minsi's shirt, and began to shake her. "Stay away!"

Minsi shoved her back. "What the hell are you talking about? Satanists? What are you saying?"

"The devil is coming! You brought him into this house!" Her finger nearly poked Minsi in the eye. "He's inside you!"

"Mrs. Park," Jeongin tried to step in. His hand went to her shoulder to reassure her. "Maybe we should give Minsi a chance to explain what happened earlier."

"I don't need an explanation!" She swatted his hand away. Minsi's heart thumped in her chest as she watched her mother's reaction in shock. "You brought the devil in this house! You brought him in and he's not going to stop until you're dead! We have to pray!" She tried to grab Minsi's hands, but Minsi jerked back into herself.

"Minsi Jean Park!" She screeched in a high pitched voice.

Even Jeongin took a concerned step back. Nari's face twisted and contorted. A high pitched screech fell from her parted dry lips. Fear vibrated through every bone in her body. What had her daughter done? What did she bring into her mother's house? The devil was looming above and Nari could feel it. First the ouija board and now the satanist.

"Mrs. Park!" Jeongin cried and rushed out to catch her as she collapsed. Her knees buckled and her eyes went back into her head. He barely got his arms beneath her back before he softened her landing towards the ground. His own wide eyes met Minsi's and all she could do was stare back.

Nari Park feared the devil and his wrath so much that, right in front of her daughter and her priest, she fainted from fright.