BIA Ch. 90

After that, wanting to see him, He attended mass several more times just to see him, but he didn’t get to see him as often as he had hoped. It was something he learned later, after he left the orphanage, from the brothers talking amongst themselves: they originally didn’t often entrust altar serving to high schoolers. But when Bran served, the offertory increased twofold, and especially the female sponsors reacted well, so they purposely had him serve at major holidays or large-scale masses.

Seriously, you have to give it to him for his ability to charm people.

Isaiah clicked his tongue without realizing it. It was because he was reminded of high schooler Bran leading a group of middle-aged female sponsors around the orphanage, showing them around. Of course, the ladies didn’t care about the orphanage facilities; they were all too busy staring at Bran’s face. There was no other reason they would have had such pleased expressions.

……If those rich aunts heard the things Bran was spouting yesterday, they would have a fit.

Isaiah chuckled, putting his hands in his coat pockets.

However, the twisted delusion born from spite eventually returned as a boomerang tormenting him, not the imaginary group of noble ladies. It was because Bran’s voice, which had been stuck to his eardrums and tormented him all night after returning to his apartment last night, was revived again.

— Why are you resisting? Isn’t offering one’s body a requirement for a pseudo-cult follower?

— Isn’t it boring? Just lying there like a corpse and taking it.

— How is it? You’re already wet, should I just let you c*m like this? If you have a g*ngbang fetish, I’d recommend that.

The expressions themselves were actually on the mild side. After all, most guys, when they get excited, immediately start yelling, ‘bitch,’ and searching for a nonexistent vagina. This was about as poetic as a Bob Dylan song lyric.

The problem was that these words came from Bran’s mouth. He never imagined a day would come when he would hear such things from him. Of course, he also didn’t imagine a day would come when he would be stripped naked, or when he would be thrown onto a table and forcibly masturbated. He knew that when he was Isaiah Dias, when he didn’t have his memories, he had done worse, but that was literally something he didn’t remember.

Looking back, yesterday’s actions felt very impulsive and sudden, like an unplanned accident.

So, if he had to pick the most shocking and surprising thing Bran had said to him last night, it would probably be this one phrase.

— That’s for next time.

Was it him who had asked to be entered, or had asked to be ridden… Anyway, it was what Bran had said when he was rambling mindlessly.

Could he have misheard? He wanted to ask, but he couldn’t. It was even more confusing because Bran’s attitude as he drove him back to his apartment was extremely cold.

‘Don’t worry about me for now. Just do what you were going to do. That’s the only way Chester won’t be suspicious.’

Despite what they had just done, Bran didn’t say a word about what happened in the greenhouse the entire time he was driving him to his apartment, and only explained the plans for the future. Then, when they arrived at the apartment, he handed him a paper bag. Bran had briefly stopped by a 24-hour Walgreens on the way, and had bought something there.

Inside the bag was a patch-type anti-inflammatory pain reliever.

‘Put it on your wrist and sleep.’

‘This is truly a case of hitting and kissing.’

When he said it in disbelief, Bran said with a nonchalant face, ‘I didn’t hit you.’

‘I can kiss you if you want, though.’

Seriously, what a smooth talker. Those rich aunts should’ve seen Bran right now. Oh, then would they have liked him even more?

Isaiah took his hands out of his coat pockets. He placed his hands on the pew where hymn books were placed and looked them over. Maybe it was thanks to the patch he put on before bed, but the pain was almost gone. The belt marks had also faded a lot, so much so that you wouldn’t notice them if you weren’t paying attention. When he had gotten tangled up with a guy who was into this kind of thing before, the rope marks had lasted for days. Was it because he had been tied with a belt yesterday? Or was there a trick to it?

Wait a minute. If we’re talking about tricks, shouldn’t that guy have been better at it? He must have tied someone up dozens more times than Bran. ……Or maybe not. Could it be that Bran also…….

“Looks like the patch worked well?”

An familiar voice suddenly spoke from beside him. Isaiah unconsciously turned his head to look beside him. Bran’s phantom was looking at him.

What is this…?

Isaiah blinked and looked up at the phantom standing next to him. When their eyes met, the phantom smiled. Even the slight wrinkle around his eyes like a dimple, it was a shockingly clear phantom.

The first thing he thought of was, of course, the patch Bran had given him yesterday. He had heard that patch-type drugs were rampant these days, could that be it, had it been so flawlessly made that it couldn’t be detected and was even being distributed on the market, he had been so careful but was he going to become a drug addict again like this…

While he was thinking all sorts of things, Bran’s phantom smiled and sat down next to him. The rustling sound of his coat and the solid sensation of his elbow and knee touching him made him realize that it wasn’t a phantom. Isaiah, belatedly surprised, moved his body away and said.

“What, why are you here?”

“Because it’s my church.”

It was a tone as if it were obvious.

“What? Since when?”

When Isaiah looked at him with a dumbfounded expression, Bran nonchalantly replied, “Since Tuesday.”

“I’m taking catechism lessons on Cedric’s orders.”

“What kind of catechism lessons?”

“Catechism lessons to get baptized.”

Originally, in the Irish Presbyterian Church, you had to study the catechism for one hour a week for four weeks to be baptized, but Bran was taking lessons with Pastor Benjamin for one hour every day for ten days, and was going to be baptized next Thursday.

“Can you even do that?”

“If you’re going to become a pastor, you can.”

To be precise, Cedric was going to become one, so he said he would become a pastor too, but well, he wasn’t sure if he should know that much.

“Seeing as he’s even having you get baptized, it seems like he’s planning to hand over the boss position to you.”

“It could also be an intention to make it seem that way.”

Baptism. Isaiah looked at the cross above the altar. Maybe it was because the last facility he had stayed at was a Catholic foundation, but the crucifix without Jesus nailed to it felt very awkward.

“Trying to become a mafia by converting religions.”

Isaiah sighed without realizing it.

“I haven’t been to church since I left Don Bosco, anyway.”

It was a tone that said there was no need to make a big deal out of it. Well, that was probably true. In the first place, it would have been a semi-mandatory baptism to enter the orphanage. Isaiah himself hadn’t even been baptized until the very end. But why.

“Why do you sound disappointed?”

Yeah. Why is he so disappointed? Why is Bran so nonchalant, but he’s disappointed?

“It’s just, I was reminded of when you used to serve mass.”

Isaiah said honestly.

“When was that?”

Bran laughed as if he couldn’t believe it.

“It was a while ago.”

“It was too long ago.”

“I know.”

Still, Isaiah said, putting his hands in his coat pockets.

“It was impressive. You, wearing pure white clothes, standing behind the priest, ringing the bell and making the sign of the cross.”

“Hmm.”

Bran’s expression was not very impressed. The way one corner of his lips was slightly raised in a subtle manner almost made it seem like he was a bit sulky. Was it his imagination? Yeah, it must be his imagination. What part of the story he had just told would have been upsetting? It was the moment Isaiah came to that conclusion on his own.

“By the way, you seem to like the coat?”

At the sudden mention of the coat, Isaiah said, “Huh?” and looked at Bran. Then, he belatedly realized that he was wearing his coat.

Damn it.

Seriously, his timing was terrible. He had only worn it once since then, and he had to run into Bran without warning at a time like this.

But in these kinds of situations, the last thing you should do is show that you’re flustered. Isaiah said as calmly and nonchalantly as possible.

“Why, do you need it right now? Should I give it back?”

“What are you giving back?”

Bran asked with a nonchalant face. Then, before Isaiah could even open his mouth, he said.

“That’s yours.”

“What?”

This time, Isaiah was truly flustered.

“What are you talking about…”

“It’s yours.”

Bran said again as if driving a nail.

“Because I gave it to you.”

“……”

“You don’t remember, though.”

His mood instantly sank. He couldn’t explain it exactly in words, but he felt even more upset because it seemed like Bran had an intention and had deliberately brought up the coat at this timing.

“I’m leaving.”

Isaiah got up from his seat as he was. Bran didn’t bother to stop him. There was no reason to stop him anyway.

When he came out of the chapel, the sky was already full of dark clouds. It looked like it was about to pour, but at least it wasn’t pouring yet. That was good enough.

After completely leaving the church, Isaiah immediately crossed the road and headed towards the residential area. It was to find a sniper spot. Since it was impossible to snipe from inside the church, it was better to aim for when he came out after the service.

Since he didn’t know the weather on the day, it was best to resolve it within a 1000-yard radius. Since it was a residential area, there would be no wind rushing between the buildings, so he started looking for a location with the priority on securing visibility and having a place to hide, but it wasn’t easy at all. Unlike when he had seen it from across the road, the houses were more densely packed, and there were more people as well. In this kind of recession, there should be one or two abandoned shops anywhere, but there weren’t any. He did find one, but it was only two stories high, and there were too many obstacles blocking the view of the church.

Should he go to the other side? There seemed to be some buildings with decent height over there.

He was roughly counting the stories of the tall building in the distance when a drop of water landed on the tip of his nose. And then, thick raindrops started to obscure his vision.

He was looking around for a place to take shelter when a loud honk sounded from behind him. When he turned around, a familiar car body came into view. It was Bran.