An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 179

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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 178
Part 6. The Rain Has Stopped (2)
Vroom!
The engine roared to life, its powerful sound filling the air.
“Park Su!”
The Youth Leader came running and thrust a bundle into Kang Hyung-seok’s hands just as he was about to get into the car.
“I’ve boiled some potatoes and meat for you.”
“Oh my…”
“Please eat it on your way.”
Kang Hyung-seok bowed his head, conveying his gratitude through his eyes.
“Thank you. And please live happily.”
“Ugh!”
The Youth Leader’s reluctance to see him go was so genuine that it was hard to believe this was the same man who had been so wary when Kang Hyung-seok first arrived at the Village.
“Won’t you stay a bit longer?”
“I must go. Those who are meant to leave must leave, mustn’t they?”
To be honest, I had to return to work tomorrow.
“Yes… The Village Chief said he couldn’t come because of the funeral, and asked me to be sure to pass this along to you.”
Kang Hyung-seok glanced briefly at Kim Jae-sik standing beside him, then nodded.
“Thank you. Then I’ll be on my way.”
“Yes! Anytime is fine! Please do visit us! You must come back!”
Kang Hyung-seok shook hands firmly with the Youth Leader and climbed into the car.
Kim Jae-sik got into the passenger seat, and Kang Hyung-seok started the navigation before turning the steering wheel sharply.
Vroom.
The rain had stopped.
The sky was clear as if it had never rained, and no fierce wind blew.
Even through the rearview mirror, the sky was pristine and bright.
And the Youth Leader waving his arms enthusiastically.
“Will you be alright?”
“The Imoogi?”
“No, no, the money. The money.”
“Ah.”
The money Hong Kyung-soo had mentioned was twenty million won.
The Village Chief had tried to give it to Kang Hyung-seok, but he had firmly refused.
“This isn’t a wealthy Village.”
“Alas, what a waste. After all you’ve endured.”
Kim Jae-sik didn’t seem to genuinely regret it.
Because he understood.
People had died, and the cattle in the Livestock Farm had died too.
Twenty million won would be far more essential to the people of this Village than to Kang Hyung-seok.
“Besides, what is there to worry about? The Professor promised to give me something.”
“I’m struggling too, damn it!”
“It’s not quite that bad, Professor.”
Kim Jae-sik chuckled softly.
“Anyway, since you’re the one who resolved this situation, the villagers must have felt a weight lift off their shoulders.”
If it had been Hong Kyung-soo, he wouldn’t have hesitated to take the money.
I wasn’t sure whether he actually liked money or not, but he certainly had that image.
“But why did that person tell you to stay behind?”
It was still a mystery I couldn’t solve.
Kim Jae-sik furrowed his brow and muttered, while I turned right following the navigation’s guidance and answered.
“There must be a reason.”
“Do you have any idea what it is?”
“I have no idea.”
I answered this way because I couldn’t be certain.
But I had my suspicions about the reason.
‘Did he want me dead….’
If I had bothered the Imoogi even slightly, if I had been disrespectful to Lee Nak-yul, I might not be among the living anymore.
The basis for this thought was the cave.
Its structure made it difficult for what was inside to escape outside.
Much like the jar Hong Kyung-soo had buried in Anmok Reservoir.
‘What on earth was his purpose?’
My life?
Or a sacred object?
If it was neither….
“Why the sudden change in mood?”
Kim Jae-sik asked me as I shook my head as if trying to shake off those horrifying thoughts, and I forced the corners of my mouth upward, saying it was nothing.
“Anyway, being with you means experiencing all sorts of extraordinary things.”
“Perhaps that’s just my fate.”
“What was it again? Your reason for not opening a Shamanic Temple.”
Vroom.
I glanced briefly at Kim Jae-sik as I entered the national highway.
A faint smile played at the corners of my mouth.
“You told me to become a shaman within people’s hearts.”
“Exactly. That’s exactly it.”
“Because of that, I never get a day off. It feels like I’m working two jobs.”
“Two jobs don’t count if there’s no money coming in.”
Kim Jae-sik suddenly remembered something and picked up the bundle the Youth Leader had given him.
He placed it on his lap, untied the knot, and opened the lid.
The first thing that greeted Kim Jae-sik was the aroma of boiled meat and potatoes.
“Huh.”
But what drew such a reaction from Kim Jae-sik was something else entirely.
“Why are you doing this?”
“I suppose they were grateful enough.”
“Pardon?”
Kang Hyung-seok hadn’t even turned his head yet.
Rustle.
Kim Jae-sik pulled out a bundle of cash placed in one corner of the lunch box, wrapped in a sanitary pack.
Fifty-thousand-won bills were rolled tightly and secured with a yellow rubber band.
“A side hustle, huh.”
“…Ha.”
“Don’t say you won’t accept it. These people wanted to give it to you this badly. It’s only proper not to turn away their hearts.”
While driving, I caught a glimpse of the bundle of cash in Kim Jae-sik’s hand.
Cash that had to be worth several million won at minimum.
The villagers felt sorry for me after I refused such a large sum of twenty million won, yet were so grateful they conveyed their thanks this way.
How could I not understand such feelings?
My heart aligned with theirs, and I let a silent smile cross my lips.
“Think of it as repayment, and since it’s no small amount, hold it close to your heart.”
“Yes.”
“And let’s eat the lunch box later at a rest stop.”
“Yes.”
It was the last day of the holiday.
I had slept well, and with the major incident resolved, my heart felt at ease.
One day remained before returning to work.
So I focused on driving with a peaceful expression.
‘The breeze is truly wonderful.’
Clouds drifted overhead in moderation, yet the typhoon had shifted direction as if by deception—rain seemed unlikely.
As if the Imoogi, transformed into a dragon, had protected us.
As if heart had touched heart, leading to this reciprocal gratitude.
The sky was clear.
***
Hissss.
“Phew, it’s sweltering!”
Yoon Sang stepped off the bus, shouldering a large backpack as he trudged forward.
Perhaps it was because the rain had just stopped.
The air was so oppressively humid and thick that the words “save me” practically escaped my lips of their own accord.
Whirrrr.
Yoon Sang fanned himself with a portable fan, feeling the muggy breeze wash over him as he adjusted his backpack.
I had come all this way searching for broadcast material.
“Let’s see. Where exactly is this village where strange things are happening?”
Yoon Sang murmured to himself, continuing to walk while checking the map on his phone.
Times like this made me desperately wish I could afford to buy even a used car.
But since I reinvested a significant portion of my earnings back into the broadcast, I couldn’t even consider purchasing a vehicle for the foreseeable future.
“Ugh! I can’t even ask my hyung to come with me.”
Whether it was the car or Kang Hyung-seok.
I regretted coming alone.
Yet I couldn’t depend on Kang Hyung-seok forever.
‘He helped with the broadcast recently, after all. I can’t impose on him.’
Besides, it was a holiday period.
With the hope that Kang Hyung-seok could rest properly, Yoon Sang had made the journey down to South Chungcheong Province alone.
“What?”
But the village’s atmosphere differed from what I had anticipated.
According to the tip, there was a dangerous entity that had caused deaths, yet it appeared to be an ordinary rural village.
“…Huh?”
Something felt oddly familiar.
That sensation of striking out repeatedly before meeting Kang Hyung-seok came flooding back unexpectedly.
“Hey, excuse me! Pardon me.”
Then Yoon Sang spotted an old man walking with a cane and hurried over to him.
“Huh?”
“I’m asking just in case, but has anything unusual happened in this village recently?”
“What?”
The Old Man looked Yoon Sang up and down, and Yoon Sang immediately opened his backpack to reveal his heavy broadcasting equipment.
“I’m a broadcaster, you see.”
“Ah, television?”
“Not quite, but something similar. Anyway, has something been happening in this village?”
“It did happen.”
“Oh!”
“But it’s all over now.”
“What?”
“Why did you come?”
Yoon Sang blinked, then rubbed his forearms as goosebumps rose across his skin.
“Say, um, when you say it’s been resolved… could it be that someone like a company employee came and took care of it? A man?”
I didn’t want to ask this.
Yet Yoon Sang found himself asking the question, his voice growing hoarse without his realizing it.
I had walked all this way under the blazing sun, carrying this heavy burden with great difficulty.
“That’s right… A young shamanic practitioner took care of it and left this morning.”
“Ah.”
“What? Why did you really come?”
Yoon Sang stood dazed for a long moment before bowing deeply to the Old Man.
The Old Man passed by, regarding him as if he were a strange fellow, and I covered my moistening eyes with the palm of my hand.
“Damn it, couldn’t you have given me a heads up?”
When would I go back again?
In this weather, carrying this heavy burden too.
“Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh.”
Yoon Sang wept, overwhelmed by sorrow.
The thick tears that fell bore a striking resemblance to the rain that had fallen upon this village.
***
Whoooosh, whoooosh.
The waves crashed.
Though the typhoon had passed, the strong sea wind created powerful waves.
With the village emptied by the funeral, Lee Nak-yul sat upon a rock, gazing out at the sea as the waves crashed.
“I am sorry.”
She murmured as if atoning, clasping her hands together.
Then she bowed her head toward the sea.
The lives lost when she was an Imoogi.
The family of the Imoogi she had been.
Thick tears streamed from Lee Nak-yul’s eyes as she offered a long and endless prayer for all of them.
“I will live repaying my sins.”
Until the lives I took are reborn through the cycle of reincarnation.
And until their breath ceases.
She intended to continue her penance for a very long time.
“And I am grateful.”
To the heavens that permitted me to become a dragon.
To Kang Hyung-seok.
Had Kang Hyung-seok not existed, I would have accumulated far greater sins.
I would not have become a dragon either.
“I will strive to repay a debt of gratitude too profound to repay, so I pray your future shall be peaceful.”
According to legend, one who calls an Imoogi ascending to heaven a dragon receives the dragon’s blessing.
It was Kang Hyung-seok who called Lee Nak-yul a dragon.
“I shall protect this nation and you, so rest assured and continue to do what is right.”
When heaven intends to bestow a great mission upon someone, it first shakes their heart and spirit, causing them suffering.
Starving sinews and bones to bring deprivation.
Shaking and confounding the endeavors one wishes to pursue.
This is to cultivate the constitution and capacity to worthily bear the mandate of heaven.
“So that you do not crumble beneath that suffering, my protection shall accompany you.”
Lee Nak-yul murmured as if in prayer, her heart plumbing unfathomable depths.
And when the wind blew once more and the waves surged again, nothing remained upon the rock where she had been sitting.
As though nothing had ever existed from the beginning, not a single footprint marked the vast expanse of sand.

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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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