1440 - Chapter 27

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 27
Screech, screech-screech-screech……
It was a tiny sound. But So Yeon, who had experienced it once before, felt her frozen feet move before her mind could even process and decide what it was.
“Ugh!”
Her foot slipped from her high heel, and So Yeon, who had been trying to sidestep, collapsed where she stood. The next moment.
“Aagh!”
The Moving Light suspended from the ceiling plummeted to the floor.
A sharp, heavy whistling sound cut through the air as it fell fast—and caught on the Safety Wire just before impact. People who had already imagined the fixture shattering, glass spraying everywhere, stood frozen in shock.
So Yeon, still sitting on the ground, stared at the lamp swaying and clattering right beside her face. She couldn’t even breathe.
If she hadn’t dodged. If she hadn’t stumbled. Her skull would have been crushed flat by that heavy chunk of metal.
“Ah, what a shame. Such a shame. Lucky bitch.”
A mocking laugh scraped across So Yeon’s ears. The voice that had been circling her with gleeful snickers faded as the manager and crew rushed in to help her up. So Yeon barely stifled her scream.
Deok Woo, watching from behind as the staff enveloped the ashen-faced So Yeon, fixed his gaze on the ceiling.
“Insane……”
He couldn’t look away. On the rigid batten crossing the ceiling, dozens of black hands were tapping and toying with the light fixture.
Soon it stretched with a viscous, tar-like malice. Hands descending from the ceiling crept over So Yeon’s head, caressing it with giddy laughter.
***
“This is the second accident already. The second lighting accident. There’ve been minor traffic accidents, misfortunes—plenty of small things. The problem is that all of this happened within the past month.”
At the Baek Family’s Separate House. So Yeon, her face concealed behind sunglasses and a scarf, sat across from the Baek family men.
She spoke as though this was not her first visit to a spiritual practitioner’s house; she wasn’t startled by the oppressive interior of the separate house and calmly laid out her situation.
The treatment was different now that a famous actress had come—nothing like when Jang Doo Hee had visited. Instead of a shabby thin cushion, So Yeon was offered a plush cushion made of finest silk and a fruit tray filled with premium snacks.
26
So Yeon accepted it as a matter of course. After taking a sip of tea, her face pale but not cowed, she fixed her gaze on In Eum, the man at the center.
“And I started hearing malicious voices—mocking, cursing—exactly a month ago too. That’s why I’ve come. I wondered if some hex or curse had attached itself to me.”
There’s a saying that no profession sits closer to shamanism than entertainment. And So Yeon was not unfamiliar with such strange phenomena.
In fact, her debut drama had rumors circulating that a ghost had appeared on set, and it went on to achieve impressive ratings. She won both the Best New Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards that year.
But if that entity was causing her harm, she couldn’t simply accept it. Beyond the loss of success, she’d already suffered significant financial losses from two accidents in recent weeks, compensating audiences beyond refunds.
And now, stepping onto the stage itself had become something she dreaded.
That was the real problem. Not being able to take the stage.
What terrified So Yeon most was her body refusing to move, no matter what her mind willed.
Acting was everything to her. Ghost or no ghost—if it took that from her, she would never simply endure it.
In Eum listened to all of So Yeon’s words, then nodded quietly. Unlike with Jang Doo Hee, he made no mention of money. He simply asked one question.
“Are you aware that we specialize not in Curse Removal but in throwing curses?”
“Yes. I’m not exactly naive either. If there are vengeful spirits that have messed with me, I can’t just let it slide.”
Having said this, So Yeon turned her gaze not to In Eum but to Yeon Soo, deliberately ignoring Yeon Hyeong with a clear tilt of her head—as though she already knew his face.
“You’re Yeon Soo, aren’t you?”
At So Yeon’s question, Yeon Soo smiled and nodded.
“Yes. I’m Yeon Soo.”
Then So Yeon smiled faintly. For the first time since entering the separate house, her tension eased. Her face was already brimming with trust.
“Deok Woo introduced me. He said you’re the spiritual practitioner who just completed major training and returned. I trust you’ll handle my situation well.”
At that, Yeon Soo quietly bowed toward her, ignoring the bewildered stares In Eum and Yeon Hyeong were exchanging.
Sure enough, after So Yeon left the separate house and the three returned to the main residence, Yeon Hyeong immediately began to pick a fight.
“Hey. How the hell does that woman know you? Are you going around spreading rumors? That you’ve got ghosts attached to you?”
At that, In Eum patted Yeon Hyeong’s shoulder to stop him.
“Rumors travel. An actress as famous as So Yeon might’ve heard about us somehow. People with wide networks have their own channels of information. ……But how did she already know about you? Deok Woo? Who’s that?”
Yeon Soo’s expression turned apologetic as he explained.
“He’s Park Deok Woo—my spiritual sibling. We trained together, but instead of opening his own shrine, he works in the entertainment industry. It seems he introduced me to her through that connection.”
Having said that, Yeon Soo turned to address Yeon Hyeong.
“The commission fee becomes the family’s income regardless. If I may, I’d like to take on this case myself. I believe I need more practice than you do.”
Just then, as Yeon Hyeong’s wife entered carrying a fruit plate, Yeon Soo continued speaking.
“Perhaps you and your wife could take a trip and rest for a while? During the years I was away for training, didn’t you handle the family’s affairs alone? I’m ashamed to have left you that burden.”
Yeon Hyeong’s wife, hearing this, beamed with delight, glancing back and forth between Yeon Soo and Yeon Hyeong.
She had been quietly upset that she hadn’t had a proper honeymoon since arriving at the Baek household not long ago.
Seeing her joyful face asking if it was really all right, Yeon Hyeong couldn’t bring himself to refuse.
Though she was said to be indifferent, the marriage had been arranged by the families. The woman was the daughter of a mid-sized company, and the wealth she’d brought into the family couldn’t be overlooked. So he needed to keep her reasonably satisfied.
As Yeon Hyeong reluctantly nodded, Yeon Soo smiled inwardly. He was relieved—this way he could separate Yeon Hyeong from his side for a while.
In Eum, unaware of Yeon Soo’s true motives, was feeling pleased, thinking that Yeon Soo was showing proper respect to his elder brother.
“All right. You handled the last matter well enough. Take this one too. Just keep it quiet—nothing too conspicuous. Understand?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll remember that.”
As Yeon Soo bowed, In Eum finally laughed heartily and popped a piece of fruit his daughter-in-law had peeled into his mouth. The sound of him chewing the juicy flesh was crude, so Yeon Soo’s lips curled upward again. He could only laugh. For now.
***
The next afternoon, Yeon Soo decided to visit So Yeon’s house together with Deok Woo. It made sense to check the place first—the house had to be secure, after all, and they could search for any traces of Yang Bab’s handiwork while they were at it.
So Yeon’s house was a villa in Hannam-dong with exceptionally tight security. Yeon Soo navigated through three layers of checkpoints, turning the wheel slowly as he drove through.
“If things are like this, the house should be fine. Unless we’re dealing with a truly exceptional spiritual practitioner, you need to place a curse’s focus object near the target before you can even cast it.”
“Well… unless it was done by people close to her.”
At Deok Woo’s words, Yeon Soo glanced sideways at him. In that look was a question: surely not her inner circle? Deok Woo lifted his shoulders with a shrug and exhaled like a sigh.
“I don’t think it was her managers or family either. What I saw didn’t feel like a vengeful spirit so much as concentrated malice, you know? But then again, So Yeon isn’t the type to have made enemies wherever she goes.”
Yeon Soo finished parking and stepped out of the car, a long sword wrapped tightly in cloth held in his hand.
“You can’t know that for certain. You haven’t seen into the depths of that person’s heart.”
“…… Fair point. Still, So Yeon really is a good person.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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