An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 141

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

Chapter 141
Part 1. The Heart Reaches Heaven (2)
“Kang Hyung-seok, Lee Deputy Manager!”
The next day arrived.
The moment we arrived at work, Gwak Young-ho called out to Kang Hyung-seok and Lee Jin-pyung, who had just reached the office.
His voice was loud enough to startle Namgoong Min-ah, who had come in earlier than them, causing her to lift her head in surprise.
“No, no. Min-ah, sorry for startling you.”
“Nothing’s wrong, is it, Manager?”
“If something were wrong, would my face look like this?”
Namgoong Min-ah, seeing the smile playing at the corners of the Manager’s lips, seemed reassured and lowered her head again, while Gwak Young-ho waved his hand urgently, beckoning them over.
Click.
As the two men entered the Manager’s Office, Gwak Young-ho leaned against his desk with a grin like a boy on Children’s Day.
“Man, putting you two together really does create immediate synergy.”
Kang Hyung-seok, guessing what was coming, chuckled softly and waited for him to continue.
“Kim Young-chan contacted us! He’s bringing the contract. And for some reason, it seems he wants to place a massive order. I mean, what kind of wood is he ordering so much of? I was genuinely shocked when I took the call.”
That made sense.
Kim Young-chan’s father had spent his entire life running the Health Shop, sacrificing countless dogs in the process.
Now that he intended to create memorial tablets for each and every one of those dogs and even build a Memorial Shrine, he would need a considerable amount of timber.
“Huh? Kang Hyung-seok, you’re awfully composed about this?”
“Things went well yesterday. I had anticipated this.”
“Then you should have at least given me a heads up.”
Under the gazes of Gwak Young-ho and Lee Jin-pyung, Kang Hyung-seok laughed awkwardly.
“Yesterday ran late. I was planning to report it this morning, but I didn’t expect him to contact us first.”
“Ah! Anyway, you two head over there right away. I’ll prepare the report to submit upstairs, so contact me as soon as the contract is signed!”
Gwak Young-ho seemed eager.
He turned on the computer while facing the two men, and the fan whirred to life with a low hum.
As he prepared the report, his gaze turned to Lee Jin-pyung as well.
“And Lee Deputy Manager, you really did great work. You went through a lot.”
“Thank you.”
Normally, Lee Jin-pyung would have responded with a simple “Yes.”
At this longer response, Gwak Young-ho looked at Lee Jin-pyung with slightly surprised eyes, and Kang Hyung-seok cast a similar glance his way.
“Huh? Did something happen?”
“No, nothing at all.”
“Well, anyway, congratulations to you both. I’ll make sure to report this impressively, so feel free to take your time. If there’s nothing urgent, you can even take it easy, alright?”
It was his way of turning a blind eye to minor indiscretions.
Kang Hyung-seok smiled silently and nodded, while Gwak Young-ho pushed both their backs, saying, “Now get going!”
The two men had no time to even sit down before they had to head straight to the Underground Parking Lot.
Thud.
Once in the car, Kang Hyung-seok confirmed that Lee Jin-pyung had fastened his seatbelt before starting the engine.
Vroom!
The engine rumbled to life with a heavy, quiet sound that seemed almost like a petulant complaint.
I’d just started resting, and now you want to go somewhere else?
If cars had mouths, wouldn’t they say something like this?
Vrroooom.
I rubbed the steering wheel apologetically as I pulled out of the Underground Parking Lot, and Lee Jin-pyung spoke to me.
“Um, Manager.”
“Yes?”
“I’m glad things worked out.”
“Yes. But did something happen?”
I glanced at Lee Jin-pyung’s profile before returning my gaze forward.
Then Lee Jin-pyung’s voice reached me from beside.
“I had a dream last night.”
“What kind of dream?”
“I used to have a Spitz.”
Lee Jin-pyung continued, his face slack as though still lost in the dream.
“Her name was Baekseol, and she was a dog I was very attached to and raised for a long time.”
Vrroooom.
Inside the moving car, I briefly glanced down at Lee Jin-pyung’s lap, then looked away.
There sat a Spitz with her eyes closed, ears perked up, listening intently to Lee Jin-pyung’s words.
“She appeared in my dream last night.”
“Is that so…?”
“Yes. Right here in front of me like this.”
Lee Jin-pyung raised his hand and traced a small circle right before his eyes.
It seemed like the moment for words to continue naturally.
But Lee Jin-pyung lowered his arm as though deflating, unable to speak for some time.
A considerable silence fell, and after swallowing several times, Lee Jin-pyung forced his lips upward into a smile.
“I was so happy to see her.”
It was the first time. Lee Jin-pyung’s voice was trembling.
I pressed my lips firmly together and eased off the accelerator.
It was a weekday morning after rush hour, and though we were downtown, there weren’t many cars, but I didn’t want the engine noise to intrude on our conversation.
“You must have missed her very much.”
“…Yes.”
“Do you still?”
“…Yes.”
The Spitz I glimpsed was gazing up at Lee Jin-pyung’s sunken face.
“They say the heart is transcendent and can overcome many things.”
Since I’d never spoken like this before, Lee Jin-pyung’s gaze turned toward me.
“Sometimes it even transcends death, they say. As much as you wish to see Baekseol, I’m certain she felt the same way.”
“…”
“I think a miracle happened because your hearts reached each other.”
“Manager….”
The moment I saw Spitz’s face, I understood.
Lee Jin-pyung had called it a dream, but it was no dream.
Last night, when I had opened the celestial path to guide the Dog Spirits to their eternal rest, a miracle had occurred in that very moment.
Two beings, though close, yearning for each other—their hearts had finally touched.
Human and animal.
A bond some might dismiss as trivial.
Yet how could anyone dare speak such words?
Vroooom.
I accelerated once more, stealing a glance at Spitz.
Then I offered a faint, unmistakable smile.
‘It truly is a miracle.’
There is such a thing as merit.
The accumulation of good deeds and kindness shown to others.
Spitz had protected Lee Jin-pyung.
Twice, by my own recollection.
In the hospital when Lee Jin-pyung lay unconscious, and again last night—each time, Spitz had stood guard, accumulating merit through those acts of devotion.
Last night’s reunion was the reward for that merit, and the reward did not end there.
Upon Spitz’s forehead rested a sacred, ethereal radiance.
‘A Shin-gu, or perhaps a Sam-mok-gu.’
A spiritual creature bearing three eyes.
An entity that banishes evil and destroys malevolent spirits.
Unaware—or perhaps aware—of this transformation, Baekseol stretched languidly across Lee Jin-pyung’s lap, yawned widely, and drifted into slumber with her head bowed.
I drove with unusual care, taking pains not to disturb Baekseol’s peaceful sleep.
***
“Where are you headed, sir?”
“Oh, it’s nothing much. I’ll be back soon.”
At the factory, Kim Young-chan smiled awkwardly at the employee who had addressed him.
“Someone from Daejeong Materials will be coming by soon. Could you prepare the contract documents?”
“A contract? You’re really going through with it?”
“Yes, that’s the plan.”
The employee’s brow furrowed slightly as one corner of his mouth twitched upward.
Despite his bewilderment at Kim Young-chan’s sudden change, joy was evident in his eyes.
“But you said you were winding down the business before.”
“No, I’ve decided to keep going.”
“So your son will be taking over?”
At this, Kim Young-chan smiled with a distant, contemplative expression.
“Yes, that’s what he says.”
“That’s wonderful! Wasn’t passing the family business to your son your lifelong dream?”
“Ha, ha.”
Watching Kim Young-chan’s hollow laugh, the employee’s brow furrowed even deeper.
“Is something troubling you?”
“No, nothing like that. Anyway, I’m counting on you.”
“If they ask where you went…”
“Just tell them I went with my son. They’ll understand.”
The employee’s expression grew even more confused.
But there was nothing to be done about it.
Kim Young-chan now had to create the Memorial Shrine and memorial tablets. The quantity was too vast to handle alone, and his son Kim Young-jun, who had inherited the trade, needed to take it on as well.
Beep!
Kim Young-jun honked the horn as if to hurry him along.
“Alright, I’d better go. I’m counting on you to hold down the fort!”
“Yes, sir. Have a good day!”
Kim Young-chan hurried over to the car and opened the passenger door.
He climbed into the vehicle where Kim Young-jun sat at the wheel and fastened his seatbelt.
“How are you feeling? Any pain?”
“I’m fine.”
Kim Young-jun’s response was listless, his expression heavy with thought.
“What’s this? When did you put this up?”
“This isn’t a car we’ll be sharing anymore. I decorated it a bit this morning.”
When Kim Young-chan touched the photograph of a puppy mounted on the dashboard, Kim Young-jun spoke irritably.
It was the dog he had raised.
Vroom!
Kim Young-jun started the engine and drove following the address he had already entered into the navigation system.
The employee waved toward the departing car, but inside the vehicle carrying Kim Young-jun and Kim Young-chan, a heavy silence settled.
“Father.”
“Why?”
“I’m sorry for calling it superstition.”
I had resented Kim Young-chan for frequenting the Shamanic Temple at all hours.
When my son offered an apology, Kim Young-chan looked up in surprise, and Kim Young-jun twisted his lips with a strained expression.
“Damn it, I still don’t understand what’s what. Honestly, I’m not even sure why I have to do this…”
Kim Young-jun twisted his lips further as he gazed at the photograph of a dog hanging from the dashboard.
“If this is my calling, I’ll bear it all. Not because of Grandfather, but because it just feels like the right thing to do.”
The resentment of dogs abandoned by their masters.
Kim Young-jun, who had been possessed by the Dog Spirit, could feel it vividly.
Now I understood how profound that loss was, how immense that suffering had been.
“Young-jun…”
“I never thought I’d end up going through something like this because of a dog.”
Kim Young-jun sighed, then pressed his lips together before opening them again.
“Once we’re done with everything, let’s get a dog again.”
Not to appease karmic debt.
The memories of raising a dog, the affection we had given.
A longing to feel that once more.
“Yes, let’s do that.”
“There’s a lot to do.”
Kim Young-jun looked at the sun entering his field of vision and drew his lips up into a faint smile.
“We should start with the real estate agency first, right?”
“That’s right. We should start there.”
“Sign the land contract, handle the building-related matters with the Civil Servant…”
“Have you grown up?”
Kim Young-jun shook his head as if asking what I was talking about, then pointed backward with his thumb.
“I’ll handle the work, so Father, you carve the memorial tablets in the back.”
Clatter, clatter.
Only then did Kim Young-chan turn to look behind.
I couldn’t remember when he’d prepared all this—a leather case containing carving tools and wooden pieces of suitable size for crafting memorial tablets were arranged in a box on the back seat.

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