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

Chapter seventy-one

Nari Park stood on her front porch wrapped in that same bathrobe. Behind her, soft footsteps began to approach. "Mom?" Minsi croaked out sleepily. "What are you doing? It's nearly midnight." 

"Father Yang showed up." 

"Huh?" Minsi reached up and rubbed her eyes. Still half asleep herself, she assumed her mother was the same way. "What do you mean?"

Nari didn't explain, but she shifted to turn towards her daughter. "He's okay, right? I mean he has to be. He asked to pray and seemed distraught. He took off again afterwards and I just...I don't know, honey, I have a bad feeling about it. I think I need to head inside and start to pray again." 

"Did he say anything?" 

"The Lord's prayer. He turned away my offers of food and a place to stay. I'm not sure what kind of inner demons he's fighting. He wasn't at church today, so Satan must be giving him a rough time. I can't imagine the kind of trials and tribulations that it must cause. Being a priest in this world is hard." 

Minsi blinked a few times and shook her head. "Head back inside and I'll see if he's still somewhere in the area. Did he drive here?" 

"He said he was walking." 

"Come on." A hand fell on Nari's shoulder. "Let's get you back inside and I'll take care of the rest. Maybe he just needs someone to talk to." 

"Don't you study that at college?" 

"I do." 

"So you can help him?" 

"I'll try my best." 

Minsi swore she saw a flash of pride in her mother's eyes. Maybe it was because she was tired and a part of her was still chasing after her mother's praise. Despite it all, her mom was still her mom. She wanted to be loved by her mother too. 

Today felt nice. After the service, she spent the afternoon with her mom. She texted Han and Minho to let them know. Surely, they'd be confused and when she got home, she'd have to explain. Even if she was playing pretend, it was still enjoyable. 

She didn't care about the service. It all went in one ear and out the other, but her mom paid attention. Her mom dissected the entire thing over their chicken dinner. Her mom baked chicken breasts and paired it with baked potatoes. As Minsi ate her food, she realized just how long it had been since she enjoyed her mother's cooking. It had been months since they had a meal together. 

When the meal finished, they spent the afternoon making pie. Nari didn't believe in premade pie crusts, so the pair took time creating it in a bowl. Vegetable shortening was mixed with a handful of other ingredients. The kitchen was filled with the scent of cherries and laughter. 

The cherries stained their lips and their fingers. The bright cherry concoction stained a wooden spoon as it simmered over an open blue flame. While Nari slowly stirred the mixture, Minsi took a moment to savor everything. For once, the pair wasn't fighting. When Nari started to go down a path that Minsi didn't want to travel down, she quickly brought up another topic and her mother dived right into it.

She made sure that Nari was back inside before she stepped out into the darkness. Nearby houses were quite a distance away from them. She sighed and took off in the direction that her mom said Jeongin disappeared towards. 

She didn't know where he was going. Last she knew, Seungmin and Felix were still looking for him. Seungmin texted her an update earlier this afternoon. Now that she knew he was in the area, she could update him. 

While she looked, she stepped further and further away from the house. The darkness wrapped its hands around her with an eerie embrace. After being unable to find him, she turned off her flashlight, and sighed. Her body leaned over against a bare oak tree. 

She scrolled through her recent contacts and clicked on Seungmin's number. It rang and rang and rang, but it didn't pick up. When she was met with his voicemail she let her eyes shut. 

"Hey, Seungmin. I'm sorry for reaching out so late, but I wanted you to know that Jeongin's in the area. I'm at my mom's house and he showed up to pray with my mom randomly. I was asleep and woke up to find my mom searching for him. He ran off into the dark and she said he seemed distraught." 

"I'm outside currently and searching for him. I don't see him out here, but if I do, I'll let you know. Thanks for keeping me in the loop, I really appreciate it." She gave him the address of her mother and ended the call. If he got the message, maybe he or Felix could explore the area. 

She took a step to head back to the house and something crunched beneath her foot. She cursed and jerked backwards. Her phone went down to illuminate the ground and that's when she saw it; a black rosary. 

Her face fell and she quickly scooped up the cold beads. On the end, a silver cross dangled with Jesus strung across it being crucified. She lifted it up, so she could see it better. It sparkled beneath the bright white phone flashlight and she frowned. 

"Jeongin?" She called out. "Jeongin? Where are you?" Her voice seemed to echo across the empty set of trees, but there wasn't a response. The faint sound of crickets continued and her shoulders slumped in defeat. 

"Fuck," she muttered beneath her breath. She let out a sigh and clutched the beads tighter. For the first time in a long time, she began to silently pray. Maybe it was because of the rosary beads or maybe it was because she wanted to believe that God would truly keep Jeongin safe during whatever was happening. She took off back in the direction of her house. 

"The devil may be smart, but God is smarter." Hunched about ten feet from the ground, Jeongin was curled over a thick branch. His feet hung off the end and dress shoes lightly swung. "You can't outsmart me, demon. In the end, love and light always win." He didn't know how, but he was going to prove that the devil wore Minsi's skin as a disguise.  

He watched Minsi's phone flashlight fade smaller and smaller until it disappeared altogether.