“Do you know why people seek out shamans?
To fill in the blanks.
“Because I want to fill the emptiness and accept it.”

God left one morning.
Miss Jaerim, who was showing off her new look in Yeouido, also disappeared in an instant.
A year later, Hyeonjae-rim and her daughter Hyeonmirae arrive at the 'Ghost House' Muyeon Mansion at 1 Muyeon-dong.
Jaerim tries to get the residents of Muyeon Mansion to leave on their own and bring back God.
To return to one's seat.
And to protect his daughter's future.
The exciting game of the shaman's second coming begins now.

“Whether you lied or not, let’s sit down and talk.
“Because the night is long.”
It was a voice that was neither loud nor high, but it was one that drew attention.
Although I thought it was rude to treat someone like a puppy, I was entranced by the voice and ended up pulling up a chair and sitting in front of Jaerim.
It might be a ghost.
Seeing how much people are being captivated.
A ghost I once heard of who would invite you into his story with just one word.
A story always begins with a question.
Did you know?
“This is the Muyeon Mansion, the location is nice.”
--- p.40

“But still, the child grew up a bit brighter…
“It’s easy.”
On the day when I first asked for the talisman, Kang Eun-eun described her younger brother like this.
It was not surprising that Jaerim grew up to be a bright person.
The added word was refreshing.
It's easy.
A person who has innate talent, whether good or bad, and can overcome the most obvious situations or stories that humans can imagine is called brave.
The second coming of a shaman was an expression I had never heard before.
--- p.42

“I am a shaman.
It's my job to predict the future.
Most people try to live according to their horoscope.
I try to be careful with tea and water, reflect on important decisions, be courageous, and make decisions.
That's just how humans are, so what's wrong with giving them a little push in the direction I want? You have talent, after all.
“You’re doing a better job than I thought.”
--- pp.67-68

That night, Mirae thought about getting closer to the bottom.
It's okay to fall, just don't get hurt.
Those words were comforting.
There were many things that could not be helped.
Dreams that are dreamed regardless of one's will, the life and career of one's mother, the disappearance of the person who sat across from me, ate with me, and took care of my daily life, the longing that does not subside even though I know it is over, the world that crumbles little by little with each fall.
If I could survive all this without getting hurt, I wanted to.

--- pp.84-85

The second coming knew.
That God does not come in direct form, but in metaphor.
It doesn't feel like it's coming or it's going to come, it's come or it's come.
So I have no choice but to close my eyes again and do this.
It will come.
It is supposed to come.

--- p.124

The Second Coming did not draw a line anywhere except between God and man.
As I prayed around the tower, which was piled high with the stories of all kinds of people, I realized that there was no problem as ambiguous as good and evil, right and wrong.
The path that humans must take and the future that will come are not necessarily right or good.
Not everything necessarily leads to the right conclusion.
It was God who intervened in human destiny.
It was also God who helped.
I don't know how to do that now though.

--- pp.149-150

A look of worry still settled on Yu-gyeong's shoulders.
Jaerim thought that it was also the shaman's job to shake this off.
“As people live, there are bound to be times when they feel miserable and cannot resolve things, and at those times, the ugly aspects that were hidden are revealed.
If you stay in a bad state for a long time, you will get hurt more easily than you think.
Like meat left at room temperature.
“It’s just… …that’s how humans are.”
--- p.204

If all of our life choices and daily actions turn into karma, what will be the karma of the Second Coming?
It has been said that human help, human goodwill, and human heart cannot shake the destiny that has been set.
How should I live? As it is set in stone.
As God says, as fate takes you.
Now that God has left and fate continues to play tricks, the second coming is something I just want to grab hold of and ask anyone.
How should I live? How long must I rely on human help? I believed it would be temporary, but how long is that temporary?
--- p.221

Do you know why people seek out shamans? Just out of curiosity? He even remembered Jaerim laughing at Kangwoo's thoughtless answer.
Mr. Moon Kang-woo has an unpredictable and obvious side.
Then what was the reason? When I asked again, what did he say?
To fill in the blanks.
When something happens, people want to find a reason.
I want to fill the emptiness and accept it.
It tells you why you are sick, why you died, why you are sad, why you can't get over it.
--- p.256

A person saved him.
The hearts of everyone living in the smokeless mansion and the ordinary people who shared their luck by enduring misfortunes big and small were saved.
Using this answer as a hint, you should solve the real final problem.
I couldn't tell if this pledge was the voice of my heart or the voice of an inseparable being in my current life.
But I knew this.
So far I've been wrong many times, but I'm sure the last question won't be wrong.
Because I admitted it.
It could not be a short time that humans lived with the help of humans.
--- pp.292-293

Even the world's greatest present, the arrogant Jaerim, had things she couldn't do.
I couldn't sing, and I couldn't accept reality.
I didn't know how to live without God and the future, so I might not live well in the future.
If you want to get good at something you're not good at, the only way is to try.
If you keep doing it, you might get good at singing someday, and so will life.

--- p.359

“It’s Mom’s amulet.
Take it.
“Don’t tear this.”
I started learning Korean at daycare when I was around seven years old, which is when Mirae started having nightmares.
I wrote my name and the word mom.
I also wrote my mother's name.
It was a combination that looked like pictures or hieroglyphs, but it was clearly readable.
Current Rim.
At first, I wrote in red because I only had one colored pencil in my hand, and someone said that the person would die.
What is death? It's not being able to see each other again.
Mirae took a black ballpoint pen and covered the red writing.
I'm afraid I won't be able to see my mom again.
I pressed down hard until no red was visible and wrote my mother's name again.
Jaerim always carried that paper with him.
So I knew that each person's talisman could be different, and that Aaron's drawing could become Deokjin's talisman.
--- pp.360-361

Jaerim and Mirae, Kang Woo, and the residents of Muyeon Mansion took me away.
There were days when it was difficult to keep up with the pace at which the story, which even I, the writer, didn't know the process of, was heading toward its conclusion, but I wasn't lonely because we could walk together.
It's always been like that while I'm writing novels.
I don't believe in fate as in the Second Coming, nor do I believe in science as in the future, but I now know that "Even If God Leaves" is a story born with a destiny that can put a period to it.
The fate of this story pushes me to go further.
Towards a future where nothing is known and the future is uncertain.
I will continue to use it from now on.

--- From the author's note