Path Of The Wind

Part 17: Being too accepting isn't always a good trait.

I thought maybe it was typos or maybe they had changed venues for some reason. But the whole thing felt off. The mistake turned out to be a blessing in disguise: at least some vulnerable people would stumble upon the wrong details and not be able to find them.

I disposed of the faulty flyers and saved the one with the correct details. It was the only lead I had -a beginning to untangle the mess . But I couldn't do it alone. I needed help from the only two people I could trust: Elijah and Mirae.

Elijah had an uncanny ability to uncover truths others couldn't. Mirae, on the other hand, had a profound understanding of humanity's darker side, since her work dived into the world of crimes, exploitations, and deceptions. Their expertise complemented each other perfectly, and together they brought a clarity I couldn't achieve on my own. Compared to them, they probably thought of me as the ordinary friend who had a normal life in a normal household , who usually think that there was no bad in the world . Yet, their brilliance was exactly what I needed to shed light .

We arranged a meeting, one that avoided any overlap with their professional lives , that demanded a level of discretion that went against the value of friendships : no secrets kept between friends , however The three of us made a pact to keep everything from Eunseo ,until we had solid evidence and undeniable proof, revealing anything to her would do more harm than.

It might evoke suspicion, misconception, and fracture the bond between them. Disappointment and guilt would seep through the cracks, and then comes the distancing.

Friendship was not to be gambled upon, and so we maintained our silence until such time when we can see Eunseo with clarity of purpose and absolute surety in order to maintain the relationship intact.

I have been stalking people who could be the edge of the thread leading me to the net, her mother, her husband, and the couple.  each one of them introduced me to new individuals, different locations, to some secret, minor things i paid attention to, my eyes a witness to-people voluntarily accepting this inhuman treatment inside a building, similar to a church yet definitely not a church.

With a pair of binoculars and an audio recorder both lent by Elijah, I could observe them from a distance. All the details I gathered were passed on to Elijah, who was able to enter the premises and take photos of the disgusting events happening within its walls. Initially, according to Elijah, the scene portrayed what seemed like a valid cultural study-filled with enthusiastic, happy people getting counseling to help themselves with their struggles. Some felt depressed, some felt isolated, and some were seeking fairness or justice. It started like that.

They did not encourage falsehoods from the very beginning, yet falsehood was one of the building blocks. They would quote the most exquisite sayings from all books and create a tale that sounded so motivational and holy. Yet little by little, the participants were being isolated, cut off from their families and friends and old lives.

Meanwhile, Mirae had been on calls to get us confidential documents of the individuals we had listed by using her high-level connections. She reached the criminal records, as well as other sensitive information.

After days of investigation, piecing together facts and evidence, the hidden reality beneath the surface unraveled. We were taken aback with much disturbance after finding out that the church was not based on any recognized religion. It wasn't Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, or Islam. In fact, it was not based on any legitimate faith at all. Actually, it was undeniably a cult operating in the most discreet and sly way imaginable.

We had the ability, by then, to finally convince Eunseo of the dark and terrifying reality that was always looming over her. Determined to take it a step further, we even contemplated pressing charges against him. But this, at all counts, was nowhere near taking an easy road since all evidence we had obtained was through illegal means. Mirae had told us that either we needed to get direct help from the authority or would get evidence obtained from a witness who had been part of the cult and he or she would have enough courage to protest.