An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 102

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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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Chapter 101
Part 3. The Great Drum’s Sound (1)
Boom—! Boom—!
The drum’s resonance was relentless.
The successive drum beats reverberated through the Mountain, through the very air itself.
The Tiger Spirit’s tail bristled, and Kang Hyung-seok’s gaze lifted toward the heavens.
His eyes perceived not only the cascading rain, but something else as well.
It was a deity.
Likely the Mountain Deity of this very peak, the god struck a great drum amid the scattering downpour.
“…It has come.”
The deity’s answer.
To the one who prayed.
Boom—!
A drum sound so profound it commanded reverence thundered forth again, and Kang Hyung-seok clasped his hands together, one holding the Shaman’s Bell and the other the spirit blade.
-Grrrrrowl!
In that same instant, the Tiger Spirit lunged forward, yet the drum’s resonance arrested its movement.
It is not only humans who have need of the divine.
The divine, too, requires humanity.
Thus do Shamans exist, and thus do gods remain gods.
Crash—!
The Shaman received the deity’s protection, and the deity answered the Shaman’s call.
Kang Hyung-seok illuminated the deity’s path with the Shaman’s Bell, and the drum’s sound grew ever louder.
And it was the drum that first liberated my spirit from the Tiger’s grasp.
Boom—!
When the great drum had sounded twelve times, the darkness wrought by the Tiger dissipated.
Whoooosh—!
The surroundings transformed back into the Forest.
And the Tiger Spirit cowered beneath the overwhelming force, its throat rumbling. In the Tiger Spirit’s upturned eyes burned emotions as vivid as any human’s.
Bewilderment and profound rage.
-Grrrrrrrowl!
Crackle!
With hooked claws it tore at the earth, yet the Tiger Spirit could not rise.
The Mountain Deity’s drum pressed down upon the Tiger.
And to Kang Hyung-seok, the drum’s sound carried a different meaning.
Boom—!
The drum was the Drummer’s performance.
The sacred music of shamanic ritual.
And the beginning of the exorcism itself.
Boom! Boom!
As the drum’s resonance shook the Mountain, Kang Hyung-seok drew a deep breath and released it.
The Tiger Spirit was bound, and with it, the Changgwi tethered to it was crushed beneath its weight.
The Mountain Deity’s ritual had begun, yet only one Shaman stood present—Kang Hyung-seok.
He gazed down at the ritual implements in his hands: the Shaman’s Sword and the Shaman’s Bell. Then he lifted his gaze to the Tiger Spirit, and when the drum sounded again, he shook the Shaman’s Bell.
Boom—! Clang-clang-clang!
The drum’s resonance and the Shaman’s Bell’s chime intertwined.
The Tiger Spirit’s roar was devoured by the downpour, and Changgwi’s wails were swallowed by the thunder.
Through it all, Kang Hyung-seok continued to ring the Shaman’s Bell.
He felt the divine presence flowing into him.
Holding the Shaman’s Sword aloft, I waited for the Guardian Spirit to fill me completely.
—Hyung-seok! Hyung-seok!
The Tiger Spirit shrieked in Jang Jun’s voice, desperate to shake my resolve.
Yet my mind, now fully possessed by the divine, remained serene.
Whoosh—!
The fierce rain hammered against my body.
Droplets clung to my hair and fell away, and the heat that had consumed me began to fade.
‘I must save them.’
Jang Jun. Kim Jae-sik. Myself.
From that vile and treacherous Tiger Spirit.
I had to.
“Mu jung ja, ja yeon ja, pyo ja, jang cheon ha na ni.”
—Grrrrrrgh!
“Dong bang cheong je, yeong bo i myeo, nam bang jeok je, mun so i myeo.”
Crackle! Crackle-crackle-crackle!
The Tiger Spirit raked its claws across the earth, its eyes blazing with malice.
Yet with the drum and Shaman’s Bell ringing, the Tiger Spirit could do nothing.
“Seo bang baek je, hyeon gi i myeo, buk bang heuk je, hyeon dong i myeo. Dong ak san sin, weol sang yong.”
Kang Hyung-seok fixed his gaze upon the thrashing Tiger Spirit and extended the hand holding the Shaman’s Bell.
Clang-clang-clang!
“Nam ak san sin, dan jin yeong, seo ak san sin, su il gwon, buk ak san sin, jin so seong, jung ak san sin, ho yeol su. Dong hae sin, a myeong, nam hae sin, chuk ryu, seo hae sin, geo seong, buk hae sin, yong gang.”
—Grrrraaaagh!
The Tiger Spirit’s roar shook the Mountain itself.
Yet it was like the final flicker of a dying candle.
“Won hyeong i jeong eun cheon do ji sang i yo. In ui ye ji neun in seong ji gang i ra.”
The Incantation of Wind and Cloud—a rite of binding.
A scripture to suppress malevolent spirits and pray for their annihilation.
—Grrgh! Grrrrgh!
The Tiger Spirit glared at Kang Hyung-seok, writhing on the ground where it lay pinned.
Even so, I continued to chant the scripture.
“Cheon geum eul i ru jik cheon ji ga jin dong ha go, cheon geum i hwi jik sa cheon yo dong ha go.”
Now I drew near to the end of the incantation.
Whoooosh! Shhhhk!
I locked eyes with the Tiger Spirit.
Then, in a quiet and measured voice, I recited the final incantation.
“Let all malevolent spirits be annihilated.”
It happened immediately after.
The Tiger Spirit lifted its head.
It opened its mouth, but no roar emerged.
Instead, black ash scattered into the air.
The black ash pouring from its mouth gradually spread throughout the Tiger Spirit’s body.
I watched silently as the Tiger Spirit disintegrated into black powder.
Crrrrrack!
Lightning tore through the sky.
The suddenly illuminated heavens revealed the Tiger Spirit being consumed.
Like a talisman burning away, the Tiger Spirit was transforming into black ash.
Boooooom—!
A great drum sound resonated.
The energy drained from the Tiger Spirit’s body, and the bound Victim Spirits began to ascend from this realm.
That spirit was no longer a Changgwi.
Watching the soul return to its pure form and rise toward the rain-soaked sky, I shook the Shaman’s Bell.
Whoooosh, whoooosh. Boooom—!
May all those spirits find peace in the heavens.
I waited until the last spirit vanished, then bowed twice toward the sky in reverence.
It was a courtesy to the Mountain Deity.
“Thank you.”
Speaking with quiet sincerity, I turned away.
Then I made my way down the Mountain as the rain fell softly around me.
The Changgwi could no longer cause harm.
Though completely freed from the Changgwi, my expression remained troubled.
It was because of the person who lingered in my thoughts.
“…Rest in peace.”
Professor Jang Jun.
Walking down the Mountain as the rain gradually ceased, I trudged forward.
***
Creak.
Kim Jae-sik opened the Professor’s Office door as he always did.
A miraculously bright morning.
It was a peaceful, quiet, utterly ordinary day—nothing remarkable about it at all.
“Professor Jang!”
Kim Jae-sik greeted Jang Jun, who sat at the desk, with a cheerful smile.
Jang Jun, who had been reading, let out a soft laugh, and his smile seemed to harmonize perfectly with the bright weather.
“I was about to head out myself. What’s got you in such a rush?”
“Oh, should I leave then?”
As Kim Jae-sik spoke with playful nonchalance, Jang Jun waved him off.
“Never mind, never mind. Sit down. Let’s talk for a bit.”
Amused by Jang Jun’s reaction, Kim Jae-sik pulled over a student consultation chair with a grin and sat.
Then his gaze shifted to the coffee on the desk, but Jang Jun covered the cup with his palm.
“Sorry. I can’t offer you anything today.”
“Ha, all that over one little joke?”
“You’ll understand later.”
Jang Jun smiled with a genuinely apologetic, troubled expression.
“What’s with this unusual formality?”
“Ha ha.”
Jang Jun burst into hearty laughter, then leaned back in his chair and gazed out the window at the students below.
Life seemed so much harder than it used to be.
These students, at an age when they should be savoring life’s pleasures, all bore the worn faces of office workers ground down by existence.
Yet Jang Jun couldn’t tear his eyes away, envying their youth and vitality.
“I’ll miss this. I’ll think of it often.”
“Are you already thinking about retirement?”
“Well, yes.”
“I envy you. I really do. When will I ever get to rest?”
“Enjoy the present, Professor Kim. There’s no moment as precious as now.”
Perhaps because of Jang Jun’s subtly unusual demeanor.
The faint smile gradually faded from Kim Jae-sik’s lips.
“Is something wrong?”
“Wrong? Never mind that. How does Kang Hyung-seok seem to you these days?”
“Huh? Why Hyung-seok?”
“Just wondering.”
Kim Jae-sik paused, thinking of Kang Hyung-seok, then waved his hand dismissively.
“Don’t even get me started. The kid refuses to pursue graduate studies no matter what. I was so disappointed I nearly gave him a piece of my mind.”
“Treat him well.”
It was spoken lightly, but the response came back serious.
Kim Jae-sik’s eyes furrowed in confusion, and Jang Jun took a sip of coffee, then cradled the cup with a thoughtful expression.
“That boy really does love his coffee.”
“…Professor Jang?”
“Take good care of me. Aren’t you my cherished student?”
Kim Jae-sik looked at Jang Jun with a face that said he didn’t understand what was happening.
Jang Jun exhaled as though releasing a long breath, then rubbed his face, which somehow looked weary.
“I’m sorry. It seems my time is up.”
“Is there somewhere urgent you need to go?”
“It appears so.”
Jang Jun smiled at Kim Jae-sik, pulling the corners of his mouth upward.
Jang Jun was certainly strange today.
He seemed to have much on his mind, and there appeared to be far more words he couldn’t speak.
“I should be going.”
“Ha, yes. Let’s see each other again later.”
Kim Jae-sik rose awkwardly and moved the chair back to its original position.
As he was about to leave the Professor’s Office, Jang Jun’s voice followed him.
“Come slowly. I’ll be waiting.”
“What—anyone hearing that would think we’d never see each other again.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t offer you coffee. Next time we meet, I’ll brew you a proper cup.”
Perhaps because of the ominous conversation.
Kim Jae-sik felt an inexplicable unease.
A feeling that this might be the last time.
A feeling that even if he wanted to see Jang Jun again, he wouldn’t be able to.
But since it was too strange to show his concern, Kim Jae-sik waved his hand with an awkward smile.
“Then I’ll see you again later, Professor Jang.”
Jang Jun waved his hand as well.
And Kim Jae-sik closed the door.
Click—
The door closed with a dry sound.
And Kim Jae-sik’s eyes opened.
A dark, unfamiliar room.
On a motel bed.
The dream he had just experienced was so vivid that it took him a moment to realize this was reality.
“Ah….”
It had all been a dream.
Accepting the dark reality like this room, Kim Jae-sik sat dazed before exhaling a long breath.
Then he laughed abruptly.
“That man, always calling me superstitious.”
What was the big deal about coffee?
He had never believed the saying that you shouldn’t eat food given by the dead in dreams.
Jang Jun, who had been concerned lest any small misfortune befall his friend, twisted Kim Jae-sik’s laughing face into something else.
“Hic! Hic-hic.”
Clutching the blanket tightly, I held my breath as tears streamed down my face.
Jang Jun was dead.
I would never see my friend again.
My heart felt as though it were crumbling under the weight of regret—that even in a dream, I hadn’t managed to offer him a proper farewell.
‘Farewell. Go well.’
Kim Jae-sik trembled in the darkness of the room, weeping as though trying to suppress his sobs.
The dead had departed, yet the living remained upon this earth.
It was the natural order of things.
Yet feeling guilty for being alive was precisely because he had been such a precious and cherished friend.
“Sob! Uuugh. Hic!”
That night, Kim Jae-sik wept for a very long time.
Conversely, the rain had ceased and the sky was clear.
As if to receive Jang Jun’s soul without burden.
Though it was night, the sky above the stopped downpour was cloudless and pristine.

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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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