An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 104

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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 104
Part 3. The Great Drum Sound (3)
Several days had passed.
Kang Hyung-seok was sipping coffee on the Building Rooftop when the hour grew ambiguous as quitting time approached, leaving him alone with no one else in sight.
That was what he believed.
“Manager Kang!”
Shin Jung-ah suddenly thrust her head forward as she spoke, pulling out a cigarette as she continued.
“What were you doing all by yourself?”
“Nothing, really.”
“You looked like you were thinking about something.”
“Isn’t that true for everyone?”
I always have plenty on my mind.
What to eat tonight, when I need to stop by the bank, when to binge-watch that trending drama—things like that.
“Hmm.”
Detecting that it was nothing serious, Shin Jung-ah let out a snort and lit her cigarette.
She exhaled a long plume of smoke, then opened her mouth while keeping her gaze fixed on the distant landscape.
“Do you have time today?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Well, Ha-yoon wanted to see you again.”
“Attorney Lee Ha-yoon?”
“Attorney? Come on. She’s my friend, so you can be casual with her. She’s not your workplace superior.”
Lately, it feels like we’ve been meeting quite often.
Just recently, we had chicken and beer together at a Hof Bar.
“Yes, I’m free tonight. But there’s nothing wrong, is there?”
Shin Jung-ah furrowed her brow with a silent grimace.
“What’s the matter?”
“Well, it’s a friend’s issue, but not Ha-yoon’s—it’s a friend of hers and mine.”
Someone else’s problem.
So Shin Jung-ah rubbed her innocent neck awkwardly, feeling both embarrassed and apologetic.
“Something seems to be troubling them. So I was wondering—could you come along?”
Kang Hyung-seok silently brought the coffee to his lips.
Only a few seconds of silence passed, yet Shin Jung-ah seemed anxious, while Kang Hyung-seok sipped his coffee with a serene expression.
After drinking five more sips of coffee, he spoke.
“Yes, of course.”
“Really? You’ll come?”
Shin Jung-ah asked with a surprised expression, and Kang Hyung-seok nodded with one corner of his mouth raised.
“Why make it so difficult? We’re not strangers.”
“But… I’m taking up your time.”
“You said she’s your friend.”
My relationship with Shin Jung-ah is one of mutual help and support.
And since Lee Ha-yoon had recently received help, the opportunity to repay that debt had arrived sooner than expected.
“But what’s the matter? Why are you looking for me?”
“I don’t know all the details. She’s closer with Ha-yoon than I am.”
“Hmm.”
“We’re all meeting up tonight anyway, so you’ll hear everything then.”
Kang Hyung-seok nodded in acknowledgment.
The sudden scheduling was unsettling, but he had nothing planned after work today anyway.
***
That’s always how sudden plans work out.
When something unexpected happens, it’s no surprise when another unexpected thing piles on top of it.
Just like the situation now.
“I’m sorry. She suddenly said she can’t come.”
It was near Lee Ha-yoon’s Office, and the sky had grown dim past the usual end of the workday.
Lee Ha-yoon looked troubled, and there was no one else beside her.
“Hey! Do you know how hard I worked to bring Manager Kang here!”
That wasn’t true at all.
“I’m really sorry! I truly apologize.”
Caught in the middle, Lee Ha-yoon apologized in greater distress, while Kang Hyung-seok soothed her with a faint smile.
“It’s fine. But what’s this all about?”
“Sigh, she’s a friend who usually works night shifts. Today someone else was supposed to cover for her, but apparently she made excuses and just left.”
So there had been no contact from her friend until now, right after the end of the workday.
“I feel terrible about this.”
“There’s nothing to feel bad about. This isn’t your fault.”
“Still…”
Kang Hyung-seok waved off her bitter smile and pointed to a restaurant in the distance.
“Let’s get something to eat first.”
“Ah… I’m really sorry. Truly.”
Lee Ha-yoon conveyed her gratitude with an awkward smile, and Kang Hyung-seok led the two of them to the restaurant.
It was a Grilled Fish Restaurant.
“Boss, three sets here! And a bottle of soju, please.”
Shin Jung-ah ordered the moment she sat down, and the owner—whose gray hair was permed in tight waves—placed a frying pan on the stove without so much as a glance.
It seemed she was reheating pre-grilled fish, and the taste was something one shouldn’t expect much from.
“So, your friend—what happened with her?”
As Kang Hyung-seok filled a cup with water and asked, Lee Ha-yoon revealed her true feelings with an exaggerated sigh.
“Well, ideally you should have heard this directly from her.”
She then continued speaking, her brow furrowed as she touched her water glass.
“Her family is a bit unusual. They run a Factory, and her parents are quite strict.”
“A Factory?”
“Didn’t Jung-ah mention it?”
She hadn’t.
So Kang Hyung-seok shifted his gaze to Shin Jung-ah, and she wore a smile that seemed somehow sinister.
“She deliberately didn’t mention it. Hey!”
“How was I supposed to know? Just tell him yourself.”
“Honestly, your personality is really something.”
Lee Ha-yoon shot Shin Jung-ah a look, exhaled softly, and turned her attention to Kang Hyung-seok.
“There’s nothing wrong with getting close to her. Especially given what you do, Hyung-seok. She was born with a silver spoon, after all.”
“Ah… is that so.”
“Yes. Her family makes spoons.”
“What?”
Slide!
Lee Ha-yoon opened a drawer attached beneath the table and pulled out some utensils.
Being an old restaurant, the tableware wasn’t uniform in design.
Still, Lee Ha-yoon sorted through the utensils and selected three spoons that bore a consistent mark at the end.
“See, we have them here too. Do you recognize this spoon?”
“Yes. I see them often.”
“That’s where they’re made. Originally it was a place that produced hand-cast bronze ware, but they shifted to manufacturing mass-produced tableware. Though I heard recently they’re planning to try hand-cast bronze ware again.”
“Ah, I see.”
Now Shin Jung-ah’s attitude made sense.
She was trying to introduce someone to me to help me land a deal.
Last quarter, I had focused on sourcing, and Gwak Young-ho had asked me to pay attention to sales channels as well.
A business partner capable of supplying raw materials for bronze ware or utensils would be a tremendous asset to me.
Whoosh.
Shin Jung-ah raised her thumb with a somewhat embarrassed expression, and I laughed heartily and nodded firmly.
“But what line of work is your friend in?”
“She’s currently employed elsewhere.”
“Employed?”
Her family operates a business.
She could simply inherit it, so the fact that she works elsewhere raised questions. Lee Ha-yoon continued her explanation in an understanding tone.
“Her family is like that. Before taking over the family business, they had her work at another factory to learn the ropes. It’s a kind of successor training.”
That made sense.
People find it difficult to understand what they haven’t experienced.
The idea was probably to let her experience the grievances of employees and how the factory operates before she inherited the family business.
“What’s your friend’s personality like?”
“She’s kind. Good-hearted.”
As Kang Hyung-seok nodded, a sizzling sound came from the kitchen.
Given the clattering noises as well, it seemed food would arrive soon.
“So the troubles she’s facing aren’t from her family, but from her new workplace?”
“Yes, yes! Exactly right.”
Lee Ha-yoon, who had been peering toward the kitchen, turned to Kang Hyung-seok and answered, then like a baton pass, Shin Jung-ah cast her gaze toward the kitchen.
And then it happened.
“He’s practically on duty there all the time, and it seems like that place isn’t very good for him. He says his health is getting worse too.”
“On duty…?”
“Yes. He’s been living in the Container Building, from what I heard.”
Kang Hyung-seok took a sip of water, his expression thoughtful.
Containers were never originally designed for residential purposes.
So without special care, soundproofing and insulation could be terrible, and that would quickly wear down a person’s body.
And permanent duty shifts on top of that?
Then it made sense that his health would deteriorate further—Lee Ha-yoon’s concerns felt entirely justified.
“That alone would be weak evidence, though.”
“I see….”
Seeing that I wasn’t flustered, it seemed Lee Ha-yoon had anticipated this response.
After hesitating briefly, she opened her mouth with a grave expression.
“I’m not sure if I should even mention this, but…”
“Please, speak freely.”
“He keeps seeing things like Buddha statues or Spirit Shrines in his dreams. Not just once or twice—almost every other day.”
I am a Shaman.
So I had no choice but to be cautious with my words.
Seeing Lee Ha-yoon more anxious than when there had been problems with the agreement, I tilted my water glass and moistened my throat.
Then I nodded and exhaled a heavy sigh.
“I understand. Let’s set a date.”
“Really, are you sure?”
“I know how important dreams can be.”
I have received divine revelations through dreams before.
And the fact that he was seeing something religious like Buddha statues or an Altar in his dreams—that troubled me.
‘I can’t dismiss the possibility of spirit possession.’
Spirit possession is truly terrifying.
Before receiving my deity, I suffered greatly from ghosts.
But compared to that, I got through this relatively smoothly.
Paralysis of the limbs, death of family, illness with no clear cause.
If it truly is spirit possession, its intensity grows stronger with time.
Then someone who can give a definitive answer early on is needed.
Those who have never experienced how precious a person who can speak the truth during hardship and confusion truly is will never understand.
“Next time, instead of just observing, we’ll go there ourselves.”
“Oh! Thank you so much, Hyung-seok.”
Lee Ha-yoon’s eyes became genuinely moved, and I simply responded with a smile.
Whether the taciturn Factory Owner had been reading the atmosphere or the cooking had simply finished at that moment, he began placing dishes one by one onto the table from the tray.
This restaurant had made a truly poor first impression.
Yet contrary to expectations, as freshly grilled cutlassfish and mackerel arrived, my expression grew contemplative.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that even this might be a sign of what was to come.
***
Click.
Despite the early hour, Chae Young-sik switched off the light.
Though his shift had ended, he lay not in his own home but in the Container Building.
Lee Ha-yoon’s friend and a factory worker.
“Mmm…”
Lying in bed, he groaned and tossed restlessly.
Strangely exhausted, my body felt like it no longer belonged to me.
It wasn’t due to the sudden shift work—my physical condition had deteriorated sharply at some point.
“Ugh… argh…”
Cold sweat poured from me as I desperately hoped to fall into peaceful sleep. But even before drifting off, a faint drumming sound echoed in my ears.
It had begun again.
That strange dream.
Thoom— thud— thoom.
As I sank deeper into sleep, a form began to materialize before me.
A Buddha statue with the terrifying visage of the Four Heavenly Kings.
And between them, an Altar.
With each repetition, the nightmare grew sharper and more vivid.
Thoooom, thoooom.
Amid the faint, repeating drum sounds, Chae Young-sik gasped for breath, his trembling face tilted upward toward the statue.
It was unmistakably a Buddha statue, yet its eyes gleamed with the vitality of something alive, glaring down at me with malevolent intent.

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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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