An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 17

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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 17
Part 6. The Fraudulent Shaman Will Fear Young Master (2)
Ding!
“First floor.”
I stepped into the elevator.
By now, police cars would be arriving, and the car owner was probably shedding tears of blood.
But this was no time to concern myself with such matters.
I stared at the floor display inside the elevator, clenching and unclenching my fists.
My palms were damp with stale sweat.
‘This is bigger than I thought.’
Nothing was certain yet.
A brick that fell from above?
It could have been some poorly-raised brat throwing it from the rooftop as part of a science experiment.
But the unease that grew more vivid as the elevator climbed was far from ordinary.
Whirrrrr.
The elevator had just passed the eighth floor.
Jingle, jingle, jingle, jingle, jingle, jingle.
The Shaman’s Bell in my bag rang frantically, making my heart lurch,
Ding!
The elevator stopped at the ninth floor.
I stared out through the elevator doors with wide eyes.
“…Damn it.”
No one was there.
The elevator, which no one had called, slowly closed its doors as time passed.
Whirrrrr.
The inside of the elevator heading upward felt like a cattle truck bound for the slaughterhouse.
I clutched my bag firmly against my side and yanked the zipper open.
Whatever was happening, I couldn’t leave the elevator—if I ignored this, the situation could spiral into something far too difficult to handle.
Whirrrrr, ding.
Tenth floor.
The elevator stopped again and the doors opened.
Again, no one boarded, so I shut my eyes, determined not to look ahead.
Whirrrrr, ding.
Thirteenth floor.
I kept my eyes closed.
There was no sign of anyone boarding or any presence outside the doors.
“Capacity exceeded. Those who just entered, please take the next elevator.”
This was really something else.
I cursed under my breath and stepped out of the elevator.
I just needed to climb the stairs a bit further.
Clenching his molars, he pushed open the Emergency Exit and climbed the stairs one step at a time.
The sun hadn’t set yet.
The Emergency Exit had windows too.
So why did it feel so oppressively dark?
‘It’s transforming into a cursed place.’
Cursed places harbor something sinister.
Ghosts.
Spirits that could harm people, that posed a threat to the living.
Which meant even a New Apartment Complex built just recently could easily become cursed.
Thump, thump.
Reaching the landing where the staircase bent, I pulled the Shaman’s Bell from my bag.
‘Unit 1501 is Manager Shin’s apartment.’
Kang Hyung-seok squeezed his eyes shut, then snapped them open and bolted up the remaining stairs in one burst.
Then he rapidly punched in the passcode that Shin Jung-ah had texted him into the door lock.
Beep beep beep, click!
In that instant, I understood.
Why Shin Jung-ah had been terrified to enter her apartment.
The interior was unnaturally dark.
A metallic, ghostly stench permeated the air.
Silverfish and cockroaches swarmed across the walls and ceiling.
Shin Jung-ah’s Apartment was uninhabitable—a cursed place.
‘It’s happening too fast. Transforming into a cursed place at an abnormal pace.’
Kang Hyung-seok exhaled through his slightly parted lips and adjusted his grip on the Shaman’s Bell.
Please protect me.
Illuminate the path I walk.
Grant me the strength to do what is right.
Ding-a-ling-a-ling, ding-a-ling-a-ling.
As the Shaman’s Bell poured forth its pure spiritual energy, the insects began retreating in panic.
Kang Hyung-seok stepped into Shin Jung-ah’s Apartment with his shoes still on.
Ding-a-ling-a-ling! Ding-a-ling-a-ling!
It was suffocating.
No matter how much the Shaman’s Bell protected me with its sacred power, I couldn’t shake the overwhelming sense of dread.
It felt like descending into an endless swamp while wearing a diving suit.
Ding-a-ling-a-ling!
Shaking the bell vigorously, Kang Hyung-seok opened his mouth.
“Grow old, grow old, eternal night. Never shall youth return.”
He chanted the incantation while surveying his surroundings.
No malevolent spirit appeared.
Yet something could be felt.
“Though heaven be distant, dew falls at dawn; though the north be far, white hair follows the years.”
They were hiding.
Behind curtains, behind glass windows, beneath the floorboards.
Under the TV stand, beneath the bed, in the darkness between sink cabinet doors.
In places untouched by light, wedged into narrow crevices, they glared at me with malevolent intent.
“Though the road to the afterlife be long, one careless misstep in death and the world beyond awaits just past the gate.”
Even for such malevolent spirits, I chanted a sutra for their salvation.
Wa-ra-rang! Wa-ra-rang!
I rang the Shaman’s Bell and concentrated deeply, reciting the sutra for a long while.
I could feel the murky, oppressive energy that seemed it would never fade gradually dissipating.
But this alone would not resolve the matter.
The root cause was a talisman.
I had to find it and destroy it.
“Spirit, come forth. Whose spirit is this? Poor departed soul of the Kim family, come forth. If you have manifested as a spirit, I shall place you upon the spirit altar and guide you to salvation.”
I turned my gaze toward the bathroom door.
There it was.
The strongest malevolent energy emanated from that direction.
Wa-ra-rang! Wa-ra-ra-rang! Wa-ra-rang!
I approached the bathroom and flung the door open without hesitation.
Inside, the insects had firmly established their presence as well.
Wa-ra-rang!
As I shook the bell forcefully, the insects writhed and fled. The mirror, which had been covered in insects, was revealed, and the talisman appeared.
I immediately tore away the talisman, which was crawling with centipedes.
My face contorted—not because of the insects.
It was because I recognized what kind of talisman it was.
‘That insane shaman bastard—where did they get such a talisman!’
It was a talisman that opens the Gate of Ghosts.
The bathroom, where yin energy is strongest. And placed on a mirror at that—it was inevitable that Shin Jung-ah’s Apartment would become a den of spirits.
I brushed the insects crawling up the back of my hand away and bolted to the kitchen.
Click-click-click-click, whoosh!
I turned the gas range and created a flame, then immediately burned the talisman.
The thin talisman transformed into gray ash and black smoke the moment the fire touched it.
Click.
I extinguished the flame and turned my head while gripping the sink.
The Gate of Ghosts was closed, and I had performed a simplified ritual.
The malevolent energy that had filled the apartment was rapidly dissipating, and the insects were fleeing the space.
Wa-ra-rang, wa-rang!
Like a shaman concluding a ritual, I shook the bell and left Shin Jung-ah’s Apartment.
I suddenly remembered that I had entered a young woman’s home wearing my shoes.
Click! Scrape.
After locking the door securely, I leaned my back against the wall beside the elevator and stared at the entrance.
I managed to extinguish the immediate crisis, at least.
But I couldn’t say it was completely over.
‘That Shaman. Insane bastard.’
If I didn’t deal with that charlatan Shaman first, several people would end up holding funerals.
***
“Is it all done?”
The moment I got in the car, Shin Jung-ah greeted me with a look of surprise.
Kang Hyung-seok, sitting in the driver’s seat with a weary expression, answered with a nod instead.
“Um, what happened? Was it the talisman that was the problem?”
“Just let me rest for a moment.”
I hadn’t meant to show it, but exhaustion was evident in my voice.
I had just come back from a house that had transformed into a haunted mansion.
The malevolent energy had pierced through my entire body, leaving me with a profound fatigue.
Rustle.
Shin Jung-ah pulled out a drink from the Convenience Store bag placed between the driver’s and passenger’s seats.
Then she opened the cap and handed it to me.
“Drink this. Your lips are completely chapped.”
I sent Shin Jung-ah a grateful look and accepted the drink.
But I didn’t drink it right away, instead studying the beverage for a moment.
‘She went to the Convenience Store dressed like that?’
It was hard to imagine that Shin Jung-ah, who always presented herself so neatly, would do such a thing.
Moreover, this drink in her hand cost nearly five thousand won per bottle.
It was an expensive beverage for a Convenience Store drink, so I’d never been inclined to buy it myself.
Who could have known it would end up in my hands like this?
“…Can’t you drink it? Are you okay?”
At her concerned voice, I shook my head and gulped down the drink.
The pleasant sweetness effectively chased away my fatigue.
“Phew, thank you.”
I read Shin Jung-ah’s expression and continued with a slight smile.
“You don’t need to worry about the house.”
“Really? No more ghosts coming out?”
The house wasn’t just a ghost problem, though.
I recalled the insects that had filled the house and Shin Jung-ah’s particular fear of them, and shook my head.
“They won’t come out anymore.”
I deliberately didn’t mention the insects.
“Whew, you really went through so much, Manager Kang.”
Shin Jung-ah, who had been under considerable emotional strain, began to voice her grievances.
“Actually, I was thinking of asking you, but because of what happened last time, I felt so sorry, so I went to the Shamanic Temple I usually visit instead. I never thought it would turn out like this.”
Shin Jung-ah pressed her forehead with her clenched fist, her expression full of bewilderment.
“I even received a talisman, so why did it end up like this…”
Kang Hyung-seok’s lips moved slightly.
Should I tell her the truth?
Or would it be better to bury it?
After deliberating, he exhaled and voiced his decision.
“The talisman was the problem.”
If I told her the truth, Shin Jung-ah would never return to that Shamanic Temple.
That way, I wouldn’t have to experience something like today again.
“Huh?”
“That talisman. It was summoning spirits. That’s why you saw ghosts in your apartment.”
Shin Jung-ah’s face hardened, her eyes wavering.
It was difficult for her to believe that she had suffered such a fate because of a talisman she had paid money for at the Shamanic Temple.
“Are you sure? Was it really the talisman that was the problem?”
“Once I burned the talisman, the problem was resolved.”
Shin Jung-ah’s face went rigid, and sparks of fury flashed in her eyes.
If burning the talisman had truly solved the problem, then to someone unfamiliar with shamanism like her, what was wrong became painfully clear.
Kang Hyung-seok took a sip of the drink he’d set on the cup holder and started the car’s engine.
In that moment, Shin Jung-ah’s eyes posed a silent question about where he was going.
“Where is that Shamanic Temple? I need to see that shaman’s face.”
Kang Hyung-seok spoke with an expression that suggested he was ready to throw a punch at the man.
“….”
“Please tell me honestly. That way, there won’t be any other victims.”
“Kang.”
Shin Jung-ah’s low voice captured Kang Hyung-seok’s attention.
“Yes.”
“Wait a moment. Let me change clothes and I’ll be right back. Let’s go together.”
It wasn’t a face asking for permission.
As Kang Hyung-seok watched her silently, Shin Jung-ah got out of the car with a hardened, furious expression.
“Wait here. I’ll be back soon.”
Kang Hyung-seok acknowledged her as she walked away.
Then he opened his phone and reviewed the list of Shamanic Temples that Chung-geum had provided.
It was a list of fraudulent shamans that Lee Geum-kyung had compiled.
I didn’t know if this person was already on it, or if this place would be added as another line.
But in any case, it was certain that this was a shaman who had caused harm rather than help to people.
The car door opened.
Shin Jung-ah, who returned shortly after, seemed to have prepared only the bare minimum for going out.
A face with only basic makeup.
Light-colored jeans and a bright-toned shirt.
Kang Hyung-seok entered the address she had given him into the navigation system.
“Why are you smiling…?”
Shin Jung-ah asked in a cool voice, and Kang Hyung-seok shook his head as if it was nothing.
Damn it—the Shamanic Temple that Shin Jung-ah visited was on the list Lee Geum-kyung had organized.
The engine hummed.
As I pulled out of the apartment complex, I spoke up.
“Chief, I have one request.”
“Say it.”
Shin Jung-ah’s words came out shorter than usual, a clear sign of her irritation.
“Going forward, please avoid visiting Shamanic Temples if possible. And if you must go, ask me first.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to experience something like today again.”
It wasn’t easy to move around on a day off for a workplace superior.
Whether Shin Jung-ah understood my intention or not, she stared at me for a moment, then drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
“Fine. I’ll do that.”
The engine hummed.
In the car, heavy silence settled as I drove toward the Shamanic Temple.
Beside me, Shin Jung-ah sat with her lips pressed firmly together, suppressing her anger like a time bomb.

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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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