An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 111

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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 110
Part 5. Sales Team 1 Workshop (3)
‘A water-drowned spirit.’
A ghost that died by drowning.
A water-drowned spirit cannot leave the place where it died.
Water carries yin energy, and yin energy binds spirits powerfully.
That’s why saving a water-drowned spirit is difficult, and for it to leave its place, it needs another person.
It requires someone to take its place and be trapped in the water instead.
Splash, splash!
Gwak Young-ho, oblivious to everything, waded in first and let out an impressed cry.
“The current isn’t even strong, and it’s perfect! Not deep at all.”
“I’m going in too, sir!”
“Don’t jump! You’ll get hurt.”
Splash!
Namgoong Min-ah leaped into the valley stream.
“I said it’s dangerous.”
“Wow, it’s so refreshing! It feels amazing!”
“There might be glass shards or something, so be careful. Let’s come back later with sandals on.”
“Got it!”
While my team members reveled in the moment, I gazed at the water-drowned spirit with conflicted emotions.
“…Is it dangerous?”
Shin Jung-ah spoke quietly while looking elsewhere—a deliberate attempt to avoid drawing the spirit’s attention.
“Do you have any snacks?”
“Huh?”
“Something to eat. Even something small is fine.”
Shin Jung-ah rummaged through her pocket and produced a sour candy.
It was the kind with a rough, bumpy surface and a sharp sour taste—something she’d kept in case I grew tired during the drive.
“Is something like this okay?”
“Yes.”
As we exchanged quiet words, Gwak Young-ho’s voice suddenly cut through.
“Manager Shin, Manager Kang! Come on in. How is the water this nice?”
“I’ll go later!”
“Alright. What about you, Manager Kang?”
I slipped the candy into my pocket and answered Gwak Young-ho.
“I’m going to look around up there for a bit.”
“Why?”
“To check if there’s anything dangerous.”
Gwak Young-ho’s face lit up with admiration.
We were similar in that way.
Both of us wanted to eliminate potential hazards.
“Be careful.”
I heard Shin Jung-ah’s low warning as I approached the water ghost.
I’d left both the Shaman’s Bell and the spirit blade back at the pension, so I was unarmed, but I could manage regardless.
I’d received the divine presence.
Creak.
The water ghost, bloated like a balloon, turned its head to look at me, and as the skin on its neck tore open, putrid liquid poured out.
A grotesque and nauseating sight.
Had I not received the divine presence, I would have fled that very instant.
Step, step.
Yet I continued toward the water ghost.
It was fine now.
The divine presence was with me.
I’d faced far worse things than this.
And since this was my destiny, I approached the water ghost’s vicinity and pulled a hard candy from my pocket.
Crackle.
I showed the candy to the water ghost and set it on the ground.
The water ghost’s gaze fixed on the ground as a creaking sound emerged, and the acrid stench of fish and decay stabbed at my nostrils.
“Man lives seventy years, the whale finds joy; woman lives eighty, finding pleasure in play.”
I recited the Ipmuun Prayer for the Dead quietly, so the others wouldn’t hear.
The water ghost’s face turned toward me, and my gaze remained fixed on the Victim Spirit.
“In the dance of transformation, a hundred years of mortal life, the glassy light of fleeting moments—one hundred sinners, thirty won—all are original sinners.”
Rather than drive the water ghost away, I offered solace to its soul.
“To the desolate reaches of Bukmansan Mountain, where no one treads, the weary spirit returns; the soul ascends to heaven and descends to earth. How pitiful is your form. Where do you go? It is an unavoidable path.”
The water ghost continued watching me as I recited the Ipmuun Prayer for the Dead. When the sutra ended, it vanished without a sound.
“Manager Kang! What’s over there?”
Gwak Young-ho’s question came flying, and I looked down at the ground.
The hard candy I’d set down was wedged between the rocks, dissolving into the valley stream.
“No. There’s nothing here.”
***
“Ah, that felt wonderful. It’s been ages since I’ve had my feet in the water.”
“It’s been a year for me.”
Namgoong Min-ah interjected quickly, while Lee Jin-pyung rolled his eyes in thought.
We’d entered the valley nearly an hour ago.
“You stayed in far too long.”
Shin Jung-ah, who had spent the time gazing blankly at the valley stream, grumbled, and Gwak Young-ho laughed awkwardly.
“Sorry. I forgot I didn’t have spare socks.”
Since there were no towels to dry off with, it took a bit longer to air-dry everything.
In any case, thanks to that, we’d genuinely enjoyed the valley, so the atmosphere on the way back to the pension was lively enough, if not entirely pleasant.
“Then Kang, just grab your car keys and come out. Or should we take mine?”
“Because of the shopping? Let’s take my car.”
That was when it happened.
Gwak Young-ho’s smile vanished the moment he answered the incoming call.
“Yes? A guest?”
His bewildered tone made everyone else fall silent, and Gwak Young-ho narrowed the space between his eyebrows as he adjusted his phone.
“No, who is this? We came for a company workshop, so there shouldn’t be any guests… Yes?”
Gwak Young-ho’s gaze shifted toward Kang Hyung-seok, and his voice quickened.
“Yes, yes, I’m coming now. Could you tell them to wait just a bit longer? And about the coffee… Ah, you’re already having some? Understood. I’ll be right there.”
Click.
“Who came looking for us?”
Kang Hyung-seok asked urgently, but Gwak Young-ho looked as though fire had fallen on his feet.
“Wait, hold on. Kang, did you have some kind of issue with Director Shin from Shinjin Construction?”
“What?”
“No, he’s here now waiting for you. At that pension.”
“What…?”
“This isn’t the time for this. Let’s hurry inside and find out why he came first.”
Gwak Young-ho didn’t look like fire had merely fallen on his feet—he looked like he was burning alive.
“Manager, I’m coming with you!”
Even as Shin Jung-ah tried to stop him, he bolted forward.
“Huff, huff!”
Once Gwak Young-ho slowed to a stop in front of the pension, he wiped away the sweat and immediately approached the man sitting on the terrace.
Black dress shirt, impressive height.
The man wearing sunglasses with silver frames so stylishly was Shin Yoseph.
“My goodness! You must have waited so long?”
“No. I only just arrived.”
Shin Yoseph took a sip of his cool coffee and waved his hand toward Kang Hyung-seok approaching from behind.
“Ah, you came to see Manager Kang?”
“You said you wouldn’t meet during the workshop. So I took the liberty of coming anyway.”
“Ah, goodness, then you should have told me. Kang, come greet him quickly.”
At Gwak Young-ho’s flustered exclamation, Kang Hyung-seok bowed respectfully.
My smile was pleasant, but my jaw was clenched tight.
‘This bastard said he’d contact me after it was over.’
No one knew.
The relationship between Kang Hyung-seok and Shin Yoseph.
Even Shin Jung-ah didn’t fully understand the reasons why the two of them were entangled.
Shinjin Construction was simply a major client, and that’s why even Gwak Young-ho found it difficult to dismiss them.
“Manager Kang can be a bit taciturn. If there was anything that made you uncomfortable, I sincerely apologize.”
“No. There’s no need for that.”
Shin Yoseph swirled his iced coffee and gestured toward me.
“He’s sincere and talented. Honestly, I started dealing with Daejeong Materials specifically because of Manager Kang, so it’s all good.”
“Ah, yes, yes of course!”
Gwak Young-ho was completely deferential to Shin Yoseph.
It was no exaggeration to say that Sales Team 1’s performance depended on his every word.
“But how did you find this place….”
“I called the office and they told me you were coming here.”
“Ah! Sorry about that—we should have chosen somewhere closer.”
“On the contrary, I enjoyed the drive.”
Shin Yoseph waved his hand dismissively and took another leisurely sip of coffee.
Then he picked up the car key he’d placed beside the cup and remotely opened the trunk.
A sleek black SUV that looked like it could handle unpaved roads with ease.
As the spacious trunk opened, everyone’s eyes turned toward it in unison.
“Since you mentioned you’re in the middle of a workshop, I brought some meat. Please, help yourselves.”
“Oh, you really didn’t need to….”
“You don’t need it?”
“We absolutely need it. We definitely need it!”
Shin Yoseph laughed and gestured for me to follow him.
As I started toward the trunk, Gwak Young-ho quickly moved with Lee Jin-pyung to help carry the supplies.
“Why did you bring so much? I’ll handle the organizing, so please just relax and talk with Manager Kang.”
“You don’t have to do this.”
“No, I insist!”
Gwak Young-ho was adamant, making it clear he wouldn’t be any trouble to Shin Yoseph.
Thanks to that, I was able to have a conversation with Shin Yoseph behind the pension in peace.
Click, whoosh.
As Shin Yoseph lit a cigarette with his lighter and exhaled a long plume of smoke, I rubbed my forehead with my palm.
“You….”
“If we’d met right away, it would’ve been better for both of us.”
I looked at him incredulously, and Shin Yoseph adjusted his sunglasses and took a deep drag on the filter.
“Phew—I’m in a hurry too. So don’t forget that we’re in this together.”
I pressed my lips firmly shut.
Then I nodded and let out a sigh.
Shin Yoseph has a story behind him.
That’s why everything he does now—mimicking a chaebol heir, leisurely smoking cigarettes—is like wearing a mask over his true face.
“What is it?”
Shin Yoseph touched the bridge of his sunglasses, signaling me to stay quiet.
It meant we needed to be careful since Gwak Young-ho or someone else could appear at any moment.
“I found the source of the scissors from before.”
Kang Hyung-seok stared at Shin Yoseph silently, his brow furrowed.
Those scissors—the ones hidden in the building’s ceiling that made the Haunted House seem like a place where ghosts emerged.
They appeared to be a tool for human sacrifice, and both Kang Hyung-seok and Shin Yoseph agreed they were no ordinary object.
“It’s connected to a Heretical Sect. The location is estimated to be Gapyeong.”
Northern Gyeonggi Province.
Kang Hyung-seok narrowed his eyes, turning over Shin Yoseph’s words in his mind.
The unease filled his mouth with a bitter taste, precisely because the location was Gapyeong.
“You said a Heretical Sect?”
“It’s probably connected to what you’re thinking of.”
“Tsk.”
Gapyeong and a Heretical Sect.
Had Professor Kim Jae-sik heard these two keywords, he would have named a specific religion without hesitation.
‘Baekbaek Church.’
A pseudo-religious cult that expanded its influence wildly from the 1920s through the 1930s.
It deceived people with fears of the apocalypse, and its leader—with a serpent’s tongue—exploited people’s wealth and commanded the deaths of those who resisted.
Three hundred and forty-six bodies were discovered.
In reality, there were likely far more, making it a truly demonic enterprise.
“But wasn’t Baekbaek Church connected to Donghak?”
I posed the question in a tone that asked whether this would be acceptable to Shin Yoseph, who hunted demons.
“Religions adapt quickly. Especially pseudo-religions.”
Baekbaek Church was most active during the Japanese colonial period.
If they truly sought resurrection, Baekbaek Church would have changed its name and form.
Into something more familiar, a shape people recognized, disguised as just another common pseudo-religious sect—in the form of Christianity.
“And demons don’t discriminate by religion.”
Shin Yoseph rubbed the inside of his mouth with his tongue as if troubled, then spat.
“I’ve seen a Young Girl possessed by a demon who wasn’t even a Christian.”
In fact, that Young Girl was Buddhist.
“…I see.”
“Whoosh—!”
Shin Yoseph lit a fresh cigarette and flicked the old one into the ashtray.
“If the thing I’m hunting is really there, I can’t do it alone.”
Neither Eastern shamanic rituals nor Western exorcisms could be performed alone.
Even hidden behind the sunglasses, the intensity of Shin Yoseph’s plea for help was unmistakable.
“Understood. Just set the date.”
“Will you come with me?”
“What’s the point? You’d just cling to me even if I refused.”
Kang Hyung-seok cast a disapproving glance at Shin Yoseph, who had followed him all the way to the pension.
“Well, I’ll make sure the compensation is generous.”
“When I need help later, you’ll return the favor.”
“Of course I will.”
Shin Yoseph lit a cigarette, his expression somehow lighter than before.
“Director Shin?”
Gwak Young-ho suddenly poked his head out from the side of the pension building.

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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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