An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 153

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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 152
Part 5. Who Is the Head of the Snake (1)
Ding!
「Kang Manager, did you say you’d come in today?」
A text from Gwak Young-ho appeared on my phone screen where the navigation was displayed.
I called out to Yoon Sang, who had been dozing in the passenger seat, woke him, and handed him the phone.
“Yes?”
Yoon Sang asked in a drowsy voice, and I began by saying, “Sorry for waking you.”
“It’s the company manager. Tell him I can come in this afternoon.”
“Oh, yes, yes.”
Yoon Sang rubbed his eyes and carefully composed a message exactly as I’d said, then read it aloud.
“Yes, Manager. I can come in this afternoon. Is this okay to send?”
“Yeah. Give me the phone back.”
“But hyung, you’re going in to work?”
I know what he’s asking.
But I’m a company employee.
I’m tired, sure, but that doesn’t make my responsibilities disappear.
“I have to. I need to write up the business trip report, and today’s going to be busy.”
“Wow… I really admire you, hyung.”
Yoon Sang tactfully turned his attention back to the navigation screen and returned the phone to the dashboard mount.
Then he turned his gaze out the car window.
It really is early morning.
The sunlight is so beautiful.
The sky with its scattered clouds looks quite magnificent.
Clatter, clatter.
If not for the sound of the shovel and pickaxe rattling in the trunk, what happened last night would feel like nothing more than a dream.
“Wow, really. I don’t think I’ll ever forget what happened yesterday.”
“Why? Trying to get out of the broadcast?”
“Come on! You know how I feel about this.”
I laughed through my nose first, then let my lips curve upward into a smile.
Then came the next moment.
“Hyung, so… does this mean it’s all over?”
“Huh?”
“It just feels incomplete somehow.”
Yoon Sang furrowed his brow, rolling his tongue as if sand had gotten into his mouth.
Hara Seiko became a celestial being, but Rokurokuби remained, and it’s difficult to pursue legal punishment against Kim Ki-ok.
A hammer head stained with blood?
That would serve as evidence, but it’s problematic in many ways.
From explaining how we found something that was in a grave, to the complicated issue of statutes of limitations—obstacles stand hand in hand, blocking the path forward.
“We’ve done everything we can.”
“…What?”
Yoon Sang looked at Kang Hyung-seok with a confused expression.
Kang Hyung-seok continued speaking, his gaze fixed forward as he drove with a serene countenance.
“The rest belongs to the realm of karma.”
“Do you believe Kim Ki-ok will receive divine punishment, hyung?”
“He’ll go along with her. With Rokurokuби.”
Kang Hyung-seok does not know much about Japanese yokai.
But this much he knows.
It is not a benevolent being.
Such a creature, freed from its bindings, would hardly leave Kim Ki-ok—the one who bound it—unscathed.
It would have taken him.
To hell itself, to a place befitting Kim Ki-ok.
“Those who must depart will depart, and those who remain will remain. Now it falls to those left behind to clean up the mess.”
“Ah, well… that’s complicated.”
“You must be exhausted. Get some more sleep. I’ll wake you when we reach the station.”
“No! I couldn’t. I don’t know when I’ll see you again, hyung.”
Kang Hyung-seok chuckled softly and nodded.
“Do as you wish.”
“Hehe, thank you so much, hyung!”
Yoon Sang chattered away cheerfully from the passenger seat.
Thanks to him, the drive to the office was far from tedious.
Mercifully so.
***
Click.
Shin Yoseph accepted the documents from Secretary Jo and raised one eyebrow.
It was early morning, and the location was his office.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes. It’s confirmed information.”
Shin Yoseph exhaled deeply, puffing out his cheeks.
The document Secretary Jo had handed him contained a brief summary of information gathered separately over time, along with urgent information that had arrived this morning, all neatly printed.
Kim Ki-ok’s death.
It was an incident that occurred at his residence—specifically in his bedroom.
“What was the cause of death?”
“It appears to be cardiac arrest due to old age.”
“Appears to be?”
Secretary Jo nodded with utmost courtesy.
“Yes. Since the information came in hastily, there were no signs of foul play, no evidence of external intrusion, and given his advanced age, it seems the matter will be closed as is.”
“An autopsy… well.”
It doesn’t seem likely.
Shin Yoseph set down the document and stared at it silently for a while.
His thoughts grew heavy.
“Shall I bring you a cup of coffee?”
At the mention of coffee, Shin Yoseph unconsciously thought of Kang Hyung-seok and let out a chuckle.
Then he nodded, and Secretary Jo soon returned with a cup of coffee, placing it before him.
The rich aroma of coffee was fragrant.
Shin Yoseph took a sip from the cup and drew in a deep breath through his nose.
“Dispose of this document. And make sure everyone who knows about it keeps quiet.”
“Understood.”
“And if there’s any financial support needed for Na Sung-hwa, help him out. If possible, also look into a job opportunity for him.”
“I was already looking into support for that matter.”
Shin Yoseph turned his gaze toward Secretary Jo, but his eyes showed no surprise.
The man handled work so quickly and decisively, after all.
“Is there something you’re curious about? You have that look in your eyes.”
“The person from Daejeong Materials—is everything alright with him?”
“Ah.”
Shin Yoseph glanced at his coffee and set it down on the desk.
Then he recalled the text message that had arrived from Kang Hyung-seok around dawn.
The origin of Rokurokuби and the liberation of Hara Seiko.
The exhumation and the doll.
The deeds Kim Ki-ok had committed.
There was much written in it, including a note that something might happen to Kim Ki-ok.
“If you’re concerned about his safety, there’s no need to be.”
“Understood.”
“That friend really came through for me this time.”
Perhaps it was because the worry that had plagued me vanished into the distance along with Kim Ki-ok’s death.
My heart felt light.
Even with Secretary Jo standing right beside me, I stretched my arm and leaned back deeply into my chair.
“Move forward with what I mentioned before.”
“Expanding transaction items with Daejeong Materials. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Should we proceed with the items Park Director proposed, as you mentioned previously?”
Park Director was the man who had cast a heavy burden upon my heart.
The one who introduced me to Kim Ki-ok.
Had it not been for Kang Hyung-seok, I would have made a direct contract with Kim Ki-ok, and it would have eventually brought great harm to both Shinjin Construction and myself.
He is a man who believes in Japanese sorcery.
Had even a rumor of association with such a person spread, a horrifying image would have clung to me as an indelible label.
“Yes, proceed with that.”
“Park Director may bring the matter up himself.”
“Well, I’ll handle that myself….”
Rustle.
I flipped through the documents Secretary Jo handed me.
The thick stack of papers contained evidence that Park Director had been entangled with Kim Ki-ok through long-standing connections and capital.
Now that it was confirmed Kim Ki-ok was not a clean man, this information became a sharp blade—a weapon to threaten the noose around Park Director’s neck.
“Leave word for the Chairman that I’d like to meet with him this morning.”
“Understood.”
Secretary Jo bowed deeply.
Then he turned and walked out of the office.
Tap.
Left alone, I sipped my coffee while furrowing my brow.
‘It’s not easy.’
Living as a director of Shinjin Construction.
I touched my neck slowly, sipping my coffee as I read through the documents Secretary Jo had left behind once more.
I intend to give Park Director, who dared to bare his teeth and bite at my throat, treatment he won’t find unsatisfactory.
***
Shin Jin Construction Chairman’s Office.
Brilliant sunlight streamed through expansive glass exterior walls, and the interior air felt refreshingly cool.
It was early morning, and the temperature had been carefully adjusted to be more comfortable than usual.
“I was quite surprised that you asked to see me.”
Shin Ui-ju, the Company Representative of Shinjin Construction, greeted his son with a composed expression that belied his words.
Shin Yoseph bowed his head respectfully and clasped his hands together, while Shin Ui-ju rose from his chair and stood before him.
“You said you had something to tell me?”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“When we’re alone, call me Father.”
“You disliked that, didn’t you?”
Shin Ui-ju, whose features bore bold, striking lines, let out a deep laugh, and the wrinkles around his eyes seemed deeper than I remembered.
“That was true back then.”
Shin Yoseph nodded in understanding, and Shin Ui-ju’s gaze drifted beyond the glass walls toward the sprawling cityscape.
“One day you’ll abandon me to find another father and leave without a trace. Before that happens, I want to hear you call me Father at least one more time.”
His son had left home to live according to God the Father’s will.
And he had returned bearing wounds.
There was no reason for Shin Ui-ju, his father, to turn away from him.
“Stubborn boy. I thought giving you a director’s position would change your mind, but your eyes haven’t changed one bit since you came back.”
“I apologize.”
“Do you know that?”
Shin Ui-ju’s gaze turned toward Shin Yoseph, his eyes mingling regret with understanding.
“So then, why?”
“Park Director proposed a certain place to me this time.”
“Park Director did?”
Shin Yoseph nodded heavily, then briefly glanced at the monitor sitting on the desk.
“I sent an email through the intranet. He introduced me to a strange place.”
Shin Ui-ju’s brows furrowed, and Shin Yoseph continued speaking calmly, as though recounting someone else’s experience.
“It was a place that could have become poison to the company.”
“…Park Director is someone I’ve worked with for a long time. Are you certain?”
“I do not commit sin through false words.”
At words that sounded like those of a pastor, Shin Ui-ju’s brows furrowed further, and Shin Yoseph touched his lips with an expression of regret.
“It seems Park Director has misunderstood. He believes you intend to pass the company on to me.”
“That’s possible.”
It felt as though he harbored no small amount of such intention.
There was an emotion that could be called lingering attachment, and Shin Yoseph deliberately lowered his gaze to avoid acknowledging it.
“Father, you are precious to me.”
A bitter smile spread across Shin Ui-ju’s lips.
Without seeing it, Shin Yoseph sensed the existence of that smile and lifted the corners of his own mouth with a similar feeling.
“This company is equally precious to me, just as you are.”
“….”
“It seems they intended to harm that company. All because of me.”
“Sigh…”
Shin Ui-ju exhaled heavily, as if burdened, then clasped his hands behind his back and turned his gaze toward the landscape visible beyond the glass exterior wall.
“What would you like me to do?”
“I’m sure you received information regarding Daejeong Materials through Secretary Jo.”
“You mean Park Director.”
“This is a decision for the Chairman to make.”
Shin Ui-ju nodded heavily, as if understanding.
Shin Yoseph had told him that both he and the company were precious.
To Shin Ui-ju as well, Shin Yoseph was precious.
No matter that he was a son who would someday vanish like a mirage, who would call another man father and offer prayers to him—Shin Yoseph was undoubtedly a precious son.
Could Park Director, despite being a long-time employee, ever be as precious as a son?
“There will be a shareholders’ meeting soon. Make an appearance there.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll bring up one agenda item.”
Among shareholders’ meeting agenda items, those related to directorial positions were predictable.
Director appointments, dismissals, or chief executive officer appointments, and so forth.
It was clear without even looking what agenda item Shin Ui-ju would raise.
“Even if you happen to encounter Park Director, don’t show it. A person who’s leaving should still work until the very end.”
“Yes.”
Those words felt as though they were directed at himself as well, so Shin Yoseph nodded heavily.
“Is there anything else you wish to say?”
Shin Yoseph met Shin Ui-ju’s gaze.
Eyes speak more than words ever could.
Understanding what Shin Ui-ju desired from that intense look, he offered a faint smile.
“Shall we share a meal together after all this time?”
Despite having conveyed so much through that penetrating gaze.
Shin Ui-ju’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, but soon a warm smile spread across his face.
“That sounds good. Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
“Anything is fine with me.”
“Understood. And thank you, Yoseph.”
Shin Ui-ju placed his hand on his son’s shoulder.
Then he gripped it firmly with all his strength.
It was the touch of a father who, knowing his son would leave the company someday, wanted to hold him once more before that day came.

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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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