An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 159

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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 158
Part 6. In the End, This Too Is My Burden (3)
Clink.
The stainless steel straw clinked against the cup.
The sound was sharp.
It was only so pronounced because of the profound silence that had settled over us.
“They appear to be close.”
Kang Hyung-seok spoke with such careful gentleness that it bordered on tenderness, his gaze shifting toward Bu-yong.
“Was this person someone you trusted? A friend?”
Bu-yong’s eyes glistened as she nodded with difficulty.
Shock had struck her, but more than that, a wave of profound betrayal crashed over her like a tide, threatening to shatter her heart.
“Tell me. I need to find this person.”
A sharp breath.
Tears spilled from Bu-yong’s eyes as she inhaled deeply, unable to hold them back.
Plop.
When the tear that struck her hand scattered into tiny droplets, Bu-yong drew in another deep breath and rubbed her eyes.
“A friend.”
“A friend…”
A bitter taste filled my mouth.
I stared at the cup with the stainless steel straw protruding from it.
The beads of condensation clinging to its surface looked no different from the tears Bu-yong had to swallow—and that was no coincidence.
“What kind of friend?”
“Someone I’ve known since high school.”
A long exhale.
Friendship is a peculiar thing—light yet heavy all at once.
As we age, making new friends becomes harder, yet letting them go becomes easier.
Bu-yong was at that age.
Where old friends mattered more than new ones.
Which meant trust ran deeper than it could with anyone else.
“Do you know which Shamanic Temple your friend attends?”
“No. My parents don’t believe in such things, so I’ve never gone with her.”
Someone who listens well to her parents.
I wish she’d broken that rule just once.
If she had, this would be far simpler.
“At least give me her contact information. I need to meet her myself.”
“That… it might be difficult to reach her right now.”
What now?
My brow furrowed.
“She said she was going overseas.”
“What is her family situation?”
“I understand she has a mother.”
“What about your father?”
“He passed away a long time ago.”
Kang Hyung-seok recalled the ghost he’d seen in last night’s broadcast.
‘No. That can’t be it.’
I considered the worst-case scenario.
The thought that my friend had arranged a marriage between Bu-yong and himself to console his father over the accident.
Yet it was difficult to believe a person would commit such a heinous act.
Above all, the ghost’s face and my friend’s appearance were far too different.
Different enough that I couldn’t even consider them distant relatives.
“I should visit that friend’s house.”
At that moment, Bu-yong’s expression hardened.
“Why would you do that?”
“Ah.”
Bu-yong’s eyes looked confused as she touched her lips.
She appeared as though struck by a sudden, unbidden memory.
“I… I don’t know. I’ve never been to their house.”
“But didn’t you say you’ve been friends since high school?”
“Yes… but we always parted near my house, and they made excuses to keep me from coming over.”
Bu-yong’s pupils trembled.
The friend had said they lived with their mother.
‘You know how strict my mom is. She absolutely won’t let me bring friends home.’
With such words, the friend had kept Bu-yong from visiting, and back then I’d only thought the household was strict.
But now, considering the friend might be the culprit who’d attached the ghost, suspicion crept in.
“Why would they do that? They’re not that kind of friend.”
Kang Hyung-seok spoke more gently than usual to comfort Bu-yong, who must have been in shock.
“I’ll let you know once I find out.”
“H-how are you planning to find out?”
“You said you’ve been near the area, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
Bu-yong answered with anxious eyes, and Kang Hyung-seok nodded heavily.
“That should be enough.”
At that moment, Yoon Sang’s gaze also turned silently toward Kang Hyung-seok.
His eyes asked if there was a way.
There was a way.
In fact, there were several.
“Would you share the location with me?”
“…Yes.”
Bu-yong took Kang Hyung-seok’s phone and opened the map application.
Then she enlarged a certain point on the map and captured it.
“It’s around here.”
Those who have been betrayed always appear forlorn.
The light in their eyes, the corners of their eyes, the corners of their mouths, their expressions, their emotions.
Everything sinks and withers away.
“For now, I’ll only share some basic preventative measures.”
Kang Hyung-seok gathered his phone and shifted his gaze toward Bu-yong’s House.
“As soon as you enter, sprinkle salt throughout the house. Cover any mirrors inside, and for the one in the bedroom, either block it with newspaper or remove it from the room entirely.”
Bu-yong listened silently, her head bowed.
“Water is also important. Remove it all, and before sleeping, rinse your mouth three times with salt water, then place red beans at the head of your bed. Above all, your mind is what matters most.”
I continued speaking as I watched Bu-yong, who remained perfectly still.
“So please, don’t cry.”
“Ugh.”
Bu-yong, who had been holding back her sobs, began to tremble as her shoulders shook.
The sight was pitiful and heartbreaking.
An unwanted marriage to a spirit.
Betrayal by a friend.
Either alone would be unbearable, yet she had endured both simultaneously.
“You mentioned you had a boyfriend.”
Bu-yong, finding it difficult to speak, nodded in response, and I sent Yoon Sang a glance signaling him to prepare to leave before continuing.
“He is not far from here.”
“…Pardon?”
“Though he cannot approach you now, he watches over you from a distance.”
Bu-yong lifted her head and looked toward where I was gazing, her eyes brimming with tears.
Yet she possessed no spiritual sight.
All she could see was a solitary, forlorn tree in the corner of the Courtyard.
“If you continue like this, your boyfriend will grieve as well.”
It was then that Bu-yong fixed her gaze silently upon the tree.
I rose from my chair and bowed slightly to Bu-yong.
“The juice was refreshing. I’ll contact you again later, so please stay inside the house.”
“Ah, understood.”
Had it been comforting?
Though her eyes were still wet, Bu-yong answered with clear enunciation, and Yoon Sang and I left the house together.
“Phew—!”
And at the end of the Alley, I exhaled a heavy sigh.
“Wow, hyung.”
“Wait a moment.”
I rubbed my eyes and removed my mask.
Then I took a deep breath, though it wasn’t merely because of the mask’s stuffiness.
‘What the hell is that Shaman doing?’
My friend’s mother was definitely a Shaman.
I don’t know the reason why, but he attached a malevolent spirit to Bu-yong.
She’s the Boss’s Daughter’s friend.
He must have known she had a deceased boyfriend, yet he committed such an act regardless.
That suffocating cruelty was almost unbearable to witness.
“Hey, are you alright?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Come on! You’ve got to stay strong, hyung!”
Yoon Sang spoke with characteristic levity, then glanced around in search of a Convenience Store or Cafe.
He already knew that Kang Hyung-seok enjoyed coffee.
“First, let’s track down that Shaman.”
“Oh, right! The atmosphere was weird earlier, so I didn’t get a chance to ask—how are you planning to find him?”
Kang Hyung-seok rubbed his lips with his tongue and picked up his phone.
“If it’s related to Shamanism, I know someone who can help.”
As Yoon Sang furrowed his brows in confusion, Kang Hyung-seok dialed the contact.
***
Crackle, crackle.
It was the Shrine Front Yard of Lee Geum-kyung’s Shrine.
Chung-geum crouched down, and before her, a wild hedgehog with spiky quills was eagerly eating a small slice of cucumber.
Chung-geum held her breath, watching the hedgehog’s movements.
“Oh, oh.”
A wild hedgehog rarely seen in these parts.
Chung-geum watched as the cucumber diminished, and when it was nearly gone, she sliced another piece from the one in her hand and set it down.
Then the hedgehog’s tongue brushed against the tip of Chung-geum’s finger.
“Wow.”
Chung-geum’s eyes sparkled even brighter as she played with the hedgehog.
There was nothing to worry about.
Lee Geum-kyung was away on a business trip, so there were no scheduled clients.
With time entirely to herself, Chung-geum savored a rare moment of leisure.
Then it happened.
Zing!
Suddenly, her phone rang from her pocket.
Chung-geum set down the half-eaten cucumber and rose, pulling out her phone.
Whoosh.
The hedgehog suddenly scurried away in haste, and somehow, a slice of cucumber was stuck to its back.
“Huh?”
Regretting the hedgehog’s departure, she glanced at her phone and quickly composed her expression.
The playful ease vanished in an instant.
Beep.
“Yes, Young Master.”
It was a call from Kang Hyung-seok.
“I apologize for reaching out so suddenly. Were you busy?”
“No. Nothing at all.”
“And you, Teacher?”
“It’s just me today.”
Chung-geum glanced at the spot where the hedgehog had vanished, then turned back toward the Shamanic Temple.
“What’s the matter?”
“Well, I’ve gotten caught up in something rather troubling. But it’s related to Shamans, you see.”
“Yes…?”
Chung-geum’s expression grew grave as Kang Hyung-seok’s voice came through with measured gravity.
“I met someone who underwent a spirit marriage without even knowing it.”
“…Where did you see them?”
Chung-geum’s voice dropped low.
Her fists clenched tight, her eyes narrowing with sharp intensity.
This was a Shaman’s doing.
A Shaman had committed an act they should never have committed.
That was something difficult to forgive.
“More than that, I need to find this Shaman first. I was hoping you could help.”
“I’ll need at least a general location.”
Shamans had affiliations.
Since ancient times, there existed the Shamanic Guild, with the Northern Shamanic Office in the northern regions, the Jeolla Shamanic Office in Jeolla, and the Jeju Shamanic Office on Jeju Island—multiple branches of each.
It wasn’t much different now.
Organizations like the Korean Shamanic Association and the Korean Shamanism Federation also existed.
If someone was a Shaman, they were likely registered with one of these places.
If I knew where they operated, the search would be far easier.
“I have some information on file. I’ll send it to you now, but do you think it might take a while?”
Chung-geum bit her lip.
“Since it’s Saturday, it may take some time. And the Teacher isn’t here either.”
“Sigh—”
A heavy sigh.
And a heart even heavier still.
“Is it a serious situation?”
“There’s something weighing on my mind.”
As Chung-geum listened intently, a voice came through laden with frustration and anger so palpable it seemed to take shape.
“From what I’ve seen, this isn’t something done to just one or two people. I don’t know how many victims there are. It might even be happening right now.”
Evil acts are difficult the first time.
The second becomes easier, the third easier still, and from then on, one grows numb to it.
“Sigh…”
Chung-geum exhaled a weighty sigh, her brow furrowed as she spoke.
“I’ll do my best to hurry.”
“I apologize for asking the impossible of you.”
“What do you mean?”
After ending the call, Chung-geum immediately began scrolling through her contacts and started making calls.
“Yes, I apologize for calling so suddenly. I’m Chung-geum, a disciple of Lee Geum-kyung. The reason I’m calling is….”
To find a Shaman who had committed acts no Shaman should ever commit.
With the determination to save a life.
Chung-geum made calls to every contact within her reach, setting aside all formality and propriety.

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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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