“What is ‘Israel’?”
Jinhyeok asked from the edge of the bed. Red marks from the rope still circled the insides of his wrists. Gaon glanced at them, then quickly looked away.
“Before that, one thing. We look about the same age, so let’s drop the formalities.”
Jinhyeok clicked his tongue inwardly. Who knocked someone unconscious, tied him to a chair, and then suggested they speak casually? He kept the thought to himself.
“Fine. Then that ‘Israel’ you mentioned earlier. What is it?”
Gaon was silent for a while, as though deciding where to begin.
Then he slowly opened his mouth.
“To put it simply, it’s a cult.”
He walked over to the desk and picked up the case.
“Its roots go back a long way. Sajaam at the foot of Guksabong Mountain, the Hosaeng Prayer Retreat movement that began nearby, the splinter groups that broke away from it… They became tangled together over time and eventually took the form Israel has today. People on the outside know very little about it. They kept changing names, splitting into smaller organizations, and hiding behind other groups.”
Jinhyeok raised his eyebrows without realizing it. None of what Gaon was saying made much sense to him.
“They believe they’re the descendants of the twelve tribes mentioned in the Bible. The leader stands at the center, with a council of elders beneath him and the followers below them. From the outside, it can look like an ordinary church. Sometimes more like a prayer retreat. But once you get inside, it’s a completely different story.”
“How different?”
“The end of the world. That’s all they ever talk about. The appointed time is near. The world is going to end. Only the chosen will survive. That’s how they bind people to them.”
Jinhyeok listened in silence.
To be honest, half of it still did not feel real. A stranger had broken into his home, tied him up, and was now telling him about a religion he had never cared to know existed.
“There’s a passage in Revelation about a hundred and forty-four thousand people being saved. Israel interprets that number in its own way. They believe the end will begin once they’ve gathered all one hundred and forty-four thousand.”
Jinhyeok nodded occasionally as he listened.
A brief silence followed.
“You said earlier that you didn’t think I was with Israel. How did you know?”
Gaon took a smartphone from his pocket. After swiping through several screens, he held up a series of saved images for Jinhyeok to see.
Twelve symbols had been arranged in order.
A man.
A fortress.
A lion.
A donkey.
A ship.
A serpent.
A doe.
A knight.
A tree.
An ox.
A horned horse.
A wolf.
“There are twelve tribes within Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin.”
He moved through the images one by one with his finger.
“Each tribe has its own symbol. Most members have that symbol marked on the back of their right hand.”
“How?”
“Not in the usual way.”
Gaon reached inside his coat and took out a small flashlight.
When he switched it on, an unpleasant bluish light spread through the room.
“An ultraviolet tattoo. You can barely see it without this light.”
He glanced at Jinhyeok’s right hand.
“I checked while you were unconscious. You didn’t have one.”
Jinhyeok almost objected, then decided against it. It had already happened, and complaining would not undo it.
Instead, he gestured with his chin toward the case in Gaon’s hand.
“Then what’s that?”
Gaon lowered his eyes to the case.
“One of the objects they call sacred relics.”
“A relic?”
Gaon slowly opened the case.
Inside lay the same fountain pen Jinhyeok had handled earlier. Although he had already examined it himself, Jinhyeok pretended to be seeing it for the first time.
Gaon removed the pen and carefully began taking apart its inner structure.
A compact solid block and an elongated metal component appeared from where they had been concealed in the lower part of the pen. When Gaon peeled away the bottom of the case, he revealed something that resembled a square rubber pad.
“What is that?”
“The pen and the case are only disguises. Inside are explosives and components for a detonator.”
Jinhyeok caught his breath.
A chill ran through him at the thought that he had been holding the device in his own hands only moments earlier. He leaned away from it.
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m not.”
Gaon returned the components to the case.
“The relics are disguised like this. They look like ordinary objects, so no one finds it suspicious when someone carries them around.”
Jinhyeok wet his lips.
“What are they planning to do with them?”
“That’s the problem. I don’t know exactly. Not yet.”
Gaon closed the lid and pressed his palm against it for a moment.
“But I think my brother did.”
“Your brother?”
Gaon briefly closed his eyes before opening them again.
“My older brother. Ju Sion.”
The way he said the name was different.
Until now, his voice had been firm and controlled. This time, something in it seemed to sag beneath its own weight.
“My brother infiltrated Israel. He went in pretending to be one of their followers and investigated them from the inside. A week ago, he learned that the relics had been completed. That night, he stole them.”
A lonely smile crossed his face.
“He could have destroyed them. But that would only have been a temporary solution. This isn’t the kind of group that stops because a few objects go missing. He intended to use the relics to trace their plan. He wanted to uncover the operation and bring down the organization itself.”
“And then?”
Gaon did not answer immediately.
He stared at the empty cup on the table.
“He was discovered. And he’s probably dead.”
The air in the room grew heavy.
Jinhyeok awkwardly rose, went to the sink, and poured a glass of water. He had no idea what he was supposed to say. Without a word, he held the cup out to Gaon.
Gaon hesitated before accepting it and taking a sip.
“I’m sorry,” Jinhyeok managed to say.
Gaon shook his head.
“My brother knew it could end like this.”
He set the cup down.
“That’s why he prepared for it.”
Gaon took out the smartphone and switched on the screen.
A message was already open.
Soongsil University Station ESC(atom numb13) # 1 / p . ə . p . p . ə . q . w . ə
Jinhyeok stared at it for a long time.
“Is that a code?”
Gaon quietly nodded.
“Probably.”
“Have you deciphered it?”
“Not yet. But this can’t be the only clue he left behind. Each relic must point to something. The Hebrew written on the bottom of this case is probably part of it.”
Jinhyeok looked at the case again.
Until a few minutes ago, it had been nothing more than an object he hoped might be worth money.
Now it looked entirely different.
“So what’s this favor you need from me?”
Gaon did not answer at once.
He studied Jinhyeok in silence.
“Well, strictly speaking, it’s less a favor than the fact that I need you.”
Jinhyeok wrinkled his nose.
“Me?”
“Yeah. I’m probably already marked. I’m connected to my brother, and simply coming here today may have put me on their radar. If I move around myself, I’ll draw attention immediately.”
“So?”
“You’re still an ordinary person. At least on the surface. You can walk into a station looking like you’re on your way to the neighborhood convenience store, stand in front of a storage locker, or sit in a café, and no one will give you a second glance. That’s exactly what I need right now.”
Jinhyeok said nothing for a while.
The remark was irritating, yet strangely persuasive.
He felt mildly insulted that his entire existence had just been reduced to the word ordinary. But it also meant that his very ordinariness could make him useful to someone.
“If we follow the clues my brother left behind, we may be able to find the other relics. They could also reveal the outline of Israel’s operation.”
“Why don’t you do it yourself?”
“I already told you. I stand out.”
Then Gaon quietly added,
“You, on the other hand, haven’t. At least, you hadn’t until now.”
Jinhyeok felt a chill at the end of the sentence.
“Until now? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Gaon tapped the case with one finger.
“Things may have changed the moment you picked this up.”
The room fell silent.
“I can’t be certain, but the people hunting my brother wouldn’t have left the surrounding area unchecked. They may have reviewed the security footage. They may already know who picked up what. Maybe they haven’t noticed you yet, but I can’t promise that you’re completely safe.”
The color began to drain from Jinhyeok’s face.
The overpass outside his house.
The convenience store.
The flower bed.
His own hand reaching down to pick up the black case.
The scene returned to him with perfect clarity.
“Then… I might be in danger too?”
Gaon hesitated before nodding.
“Possibly.”
That single, irresponsible word landed with greater weight than Jinhyeok expected.
He sat on the edge of the bed and interlaced his fingers.
Suddenly, his room felt unfamiliar.
Until a few minutes ago, it had merely been dirty and suffocating. Now it seemed like a place someone could break into at any moment.
Just as Gaon had.
“Can’t we just go to the police?”
Gaon took a moment before answering.
“We could. You accidentally found an object containing explosives, and then a stranger came looking for it and broke into your home. We can explain that much. There’s nothing stopping us from telling them.”
His gaze settled on Jinhyeok.
“The problem is what happens afterward.”
“How much of your story will the police believe? And while they’re deciding, do you think Israel will quietly back away? More importantly, can you be certain they don’t have people inside the police?”
Jinhyeok could not answer.
Gaon continued.
“I can’t promise that getting involved will make you safe. But it may be better than sitting here and waiting without knowing anything.”
Jinhyeok kept his head lowered for a long time.
He was frightened.
He could hardly believe any of it.
Everything still felt like a dream.
“What if I refuse?”
Gaon watched him before answering.
“Then do what you said. Take the case to the police station right now.”
He paused.
“But as I said before, I don’t know whether that would truly be the safe choice.”
The ticking of the clock seemed unnaturally loud.
After a long silence, Jinhyeok finally raised his head.
“What exactly would I have to do?”
Gaon’s expression changed.
Relief and tension passed across his face at the same time.
“We follow the clues my brother left behind. Stations, storage lockers, hidden locations. You check the places where I would attract attention. I understand how my brother thought and how Israel works. You’re still an outsider.”
“Because I’m ordinary?”
Gaon studied him for a moment.
“Sorry, but right now, that’s your greatest advantage.”
Jinhyeok gave an incredulous laugh.
He could not deny it.
“Help me. I don’t want what my brother left behind before he died to be buried and forgotten.”
This time, there was no edge in Gaon’s voice.
A little of the emotion he had been holding back finally leaked through.
Jinhyeok looked from the case to the smartphone screen, then to Gaon’s face.
He knew exactly how his life would have gone if none of this had happened.
He would wake up late, walk to the convenience store, waste the day, and lie to himself that tomorrow would be different.
But now things were different.
He was afraid, but at least he was no longer standing still.
“All right.”
He finally spoke.
“But don’t hide anything from me.”
“I’ll tell you as much as I can.”
“That phrase doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.”
“I don’t know everything myself.”
After a short silence, Jinhyeok let out a quiet sigh.
“Fine. Then tell me what we do first.”
Gaon turned the smartphone toward him.
Sion’s coded message was still displayed on the screen.
Soongsil University Station ESC(atom numb13) # 1 / p . ə . p . p . ə . q . w . ə
“First, we have to decipher this.”
Jinhyeok stared down at the message.
The air in the room felt slightly different now.
The fear remained.
But now, that fear had a direction.
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