Inside the church, the pews were crowded. No seats were left in the middle section, but Chaewon spotted a bench with just three people. He walked over and asked them to move aside. Han flushed in embarrassment at Hyungwon's boldness.
Chaewon only had one goal — to get Han as close as possible to the priest during the sprinkling of holy water.
The mass began, and the priest entered, walking down the aisle with the silver bowl of water. Han closed his eyes, singing softly with the choir as droplets sprinkled over the crowd.
Chaewon watched closely, waiting. He thought, This is it. The demon inside him will scream and burn alive any second now. His eyes sparkled with excitement.
The priest reached their row and sprinkled a little water on Han.
Chaewon frowned. That was not enough. Using his hands, he started making big gestures, as if telling the father, No, no—pour the whole bowl on him!
The priest blinked at him, confused. He had never seen such a strange request before. But Chaewon didn't stop. He pointed at Han, widened his eyes, and moved his hands like he was throwing water.
Finally, the priest, looking very uncomfortable, leaned forward and poured a lot more water on Han.
Han flinched. The splash was so heavy that it felt like someone had thrown water from a bottle right onto him. His eyes shot open in shock.
Beside him, Chaewon immediately closed his own eyes tightly, folding his hands like he was praying. Inside, he was thinking, Yes, yes! This is it. The demon will scream! He's going to burn alive right now!
But Han just wiped the drops from his face and looked around, confused. Nothing happened. He sat calmly.
Chaewon cracked one eye open, peeked, and almost gasped. What?! He's fine? No smoke, no fire, no screaming? How is this possible?
He quickly shut his eye again and forced himself to keep praying. His shoulders slumped. I really thought the demon inside him would be burned alive… but he's sitting there like an angel.
After mass, they went to greet the priest. Han glanced at Chaewon, silently urging him to mention his "sick nephew." But instead, Chaewon smiled, as though he understood Han's thought, and said, "Father, can you pray for us?" He subtly pointed toward Han.
The priest placed both hands on Han's head and prayed. Chaewon's eyes narrowed, waiting for some kind of reaction — a scream, a shiver, anything. But Han stood calmly, eyes closed. Again, nothing happened.
Chaewon left looking more disappointed than before.
On the way home, Han finally asked, "Why didn't you tell the father about your nephew?"
"Oh… noona said she'd bring him herself," Chaewon answered quickly.
Han didn't buy the lie, but he only nodded, choosing silence over confrontation.
He suddenly remmeber the mass so he looked at chaewon with a straight face and asked,
"Tell me something… why was father pouring water on me like I was a plant? Do I look like a flower pot ?"