An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 183

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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 182
Part 7. An Unpleasant Gaze (4)
“Look, look, Manager Kang.”
The next day, right after Kang Hyung-seok had picked up Shin Jung-ah from the Apartment Complex and placed her in the passenger seat.
“Here! This, this.”
Shin Jung-ah, who had appeared anxious even before getting into the car, suddenly thrust her phone forward. Kang Hyung-seok examined the marks etched on the window glass intently, then clicked his tongue.
“It’s moved.”
“What?”
“The spirit that Lee Jang-woo saw. It seems to have come looking for you last night.”
It appeared Shin Jung-ah had heeded the warning to keep the protective charm close.
Had she not, she would have met a terrible fate by now.
The worst scenario he could imagine was Shin Jung-ah, entranced by the spirit, hurling herself out the window.
“Sigh.”
Kang Hyung-seok exhaled heavily as if troubled, while the Security Guard standing near the barrier gate watched with an uncomfortable expression, glancing repeatedly.
“Let’s go for now.”
“Y-yes, okay.”
“There’s nothing attached to you right now, so rest assured.”
“Hmm…”
After Shin Jung-ah fastened her seatbelt, Kang Hyung-seok turned the car around and exited the Apartment Complex.
Only then, watching the Security Guard’s expression relax in the rearview mirror, did Kang Hyung-seok speak.
“I think my suspicion was correct.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s not a curse. It’s a spirit attached to that person.”
“Wait, wait a moment—yesterday it came looking for me.”
Thanks to the protective charm, Shin Jung-ah had been able to sleep without knowing anything.
But what if she hadn’t had the charm?
What if she’d taken it off?
The mere thought was so horrifying that Shin Jung-ah trembled.
“There was a strange spiritual scent at the Motel where Lee Jang-woo was staying.”
Shin Jung-ah swallowed dryly and listened intently, while Kang Hyung-seok continued in a measured tone.
“It was the smell of decaying perfume. A female spirit, and she’s obsessed with Lee Jang-woo.”
“Then, no, why did she chase after me? What’s that about?”
She seemed quite aggrieved.
The more she spoke, the higher her voice became.
“Because she’s a vengeful spirit born of unrequited love.”
“A vengeful spirit born of unrequited love?”
“Yes. Those who die from heartbreak or die while obsessively loving someone become such spirits.”
That’s what made this problematic.
They don’t detach easily, and they become excessively wary of approaching members of the opposite sex.
Without a formal betrothal, it was similar to having undergone a spirit marriage, which was never a good thing for the living.
“Sigh….”
Shin Jung-ah rubbed her eyes as though she’d endured every conceivable misfortune, and when her hand fell away, her pupils blazed with fury.
“This is infuriating. Tsk.”
I understood.
She was naturally susceptible to spiritual influence.
To experience such a thing in what should be a sanctuary—her own home—would frustrate anyone.
Shin Jung-ah, in particular, had become acutely sensitive to encountering spirits within her residence.
‘She’s suffered so much at home before….’
In the first rental house, a spirit crawling across the ceiling.
In the second, she’d struggled with talismans, and now a vengeful spirit tapping at the window.
“So we’re going to see Lee Jang-woo again today?”
Perhaps because she’d identified Lee Jang-woo as the root cause, Shin Jung-ah omitted his honorific.
“No. I spoke with Shin Manager before coming here.”
“Then….”
“He hasn’t been a heavy equipment operator for very long.”
“Hmm?”
“He’s done various things in the past, and there’s something troubling about his previous work history.”
Shin Yoseph seemed to sense something was amiss as well.
He’d investigated the man’s background and cross-referenced it with evaluations from his current coworkers.
“So where are we heading now?”
“Ansan.”
Completely opposite from where Lee Jang-woo was located.
“His former coworkers spoke fondly of Lee Jang-woo. They said he was quite entertaining at drinking gatherings and possessed considerable knowledge on related subjects.”
Shin Jung-ah’s expression grew increasingly tense.
She clearly sensed something as well.
“Apparently, he used to work as a waiter at a bar.”
“Ah….”
Shin Jung-ah gazed up at the car’s ceiling with an expression of reluctant understanding.
Lee Jang-woo’s facial features and the subtle aura he exuded certainly suggested as much.
“So the bar where he used to work is in Ansan?”
Now she didn’t even use his name.
Kang Hyung-seok nodded gravely and spoke as I steered toward the highway.
“Get some rest. I’ll wake you when we arrive.”
“No, never mind. I’m fine.”
Shin Jung-ah propped her elbow against the passenger window and rested her head on her clenched fist.
A bar, a vengeful spirit, a woman.
And Lee Jang-woo, the former waiter.
An ominous premonition crept over me—that something unpleasant awaited us in Ansan.
***
Growl.
Shin Yoseph was the one who greeted Kang Hyung-seok and Shin Jung-ah as they arrived at the destination he had marked.
“What? Why did you come?”
“I didn’t think you’d know anyone here.”
Kang Hyung-seok scanned Shin Yoseph’s attire.
In black cotton pants and a flashy shirt, he looked neither like an office worker nor like Shin Yoseph, the director of Shinjin Construction.
Pop! Crackle!
When he lit a cigarette with an expensive lighter, he gave off the impression—in an unflattering way—of a wealthy heir.
Which made sense.
On a street with so many bars nearby.
“How about food? Have you eaten?”
“Oh, it’s fine. I had breakfast before coming.”
“You haven’t had lunch yet?”
Shin Jung-ah, who had joined the conversation, checked the time on her phone—it was definitely lunchtime.
“There’s an Italian Restaurant right ahead.”
“First time avoiding pork.”
“I don’t want to touch it today.”
Shin Yoseph quickly finished his cigarette and began walking ahead.
He too seemed to be thinking about something unsettling, just like Shin Jung-ah and Kang Hyung-seok.
Well, all the information gathered so far had that quality.
Several possibilities came to mind immediately, but the worst one was Lee Jang-woo’s murder.
‘No, no. It couldn’t be that.’
A Victim Spirit. A Victim Spirit.
Unless it were a Vengeful Spirit, why would it follow the person who killed it?
Kang Hyung-seok’s mind grew complicated, and I rubbed my forehead.
Then I entered the Italian Restaurant where Shin Yoseph had gone in first.
Stick.
Seeing how my palm stuck to the table, it didn’t seem like a particularly good restaurant.
“One salad, one wood-fired pizza, and one pasta each?”
“Yes, yes.”
Shin Jung-ah answered nervously, and I took the menu from Shin Yoseph.
Bolognese, pomodoro, peschiera.
Though the unfamiliar words made me frown, the friendly explanations put my mind at ease.
“I’ll have this one. Manager, what would you like?”
“I’ll just have any cream pasta.”
“Then one cod roe cream pasta for me, and I’ll have aglio e olio.”
As soon as the order was placed, the smell and sound of onions sautéing in olive oil came from the kitchen.
Clink.
After I filled the water glasses and placed one in front of each person, I opened my mouth with a heavy expression.
“That Lee Jang-woo person—have you checked his criminal history?”
“I already checked that first. It’s clean.”
“Phew.”
“If he’s a victim, it’s right that we help him. If he’s the perpetrator….”
Clatter.
A server set down garlic bread roasted in the oven and olive oil infused with balsamic vinegar on the table, cutting short Shin Yoseph’s words.
“…then it’s right that we settle things.”
In a way, it was a remarkably cold statement.
So Kang Hyung-seok glanced at Shin Yoseph, who was drinking water, and found understanding reflected in his eyes.
“If he were a Shamans member, I’d risk my life to help him, even if he were a criminal.”
But Lee Jang-woo is not a Shamans member.
“I simply do my job. Right now, my job is to keep the business running smoothly.”
“…I see.”
Kang Hyung-seok shared similar thoughts.
There were many people who needed help.
There were many Victim Spirits who needed help too.
We couldn’t afford to extend our hands to those who didn’t deserve assistance.
Yet the three of us sat at this table waiting for pasta because we couldn’t ignore the possibility that he might be an innocent victim.
“They say that when karma accumulates, heaven punishes.”
Shin Yoseph and Shin Jung-ah’s gazes converged as they reached for the garlic bread, and Kang Hyung-seok continued, creating space in the center of the table.
“That is divine punishment—something humans cannot control.”
It is heaven that delivers punishment.
But it is humans who can extend a hand.
“Just in case, let’s pay attention until the very end.”
Shin Yoseph answered with a nod, and Shin Jung-ah brought the garlic bread to her mouth with a thoughtful expression.
In the meantime, the food arrived.
Clatter, clatter.
The meal proceeded in an atmosphere that wasn’t particularly pleasant.
Still, perhaps because there was work to be done, the pace of eating wasn’t slow.
The salad disappeared first, while the pasta and pizza diminished at a similar rate.
Then it happened.
Jingle.
The Shaman’s Bell rang from Kang Hyung-seok’s bag placed at his feet.
Shin Yoseph didn’t seem to have heard it, but Shin Jung-ah noticed, her eyes flickering.
And Shin Jung-ah spotted a passerby through the restaurant’s glass wall behind Kang Hyung-seok.
“Oh!”
“What is it?”
“Over there, look.”
Shin Jung-ah wiped her lips with a napkin and pointed out the window, and Kang Hyung-seok and Shin Yoseph’s gazes immediately turned in that direction.
‘Lee Jang-woo?’
Lee Jang-woo, who had been trembling in the Motel until yesterday, was now walking past here like a corpse.
“Give me the card!”
Shin Yoseph immediately took the wallet from me and pulled out the black credit card he’d given me yesterday.
Then he cast a glance at the two of us, urging us to go quickly.
“I’ll contact you!”
“We’re heading out first!”
Kang Hyung-seok and Shin Jung-ah gathered their things and immediately ran toward Lee Jang-woo.
The two of them followed without getting too close, careful not to be noticed, even holding their breath.
‘Where on earth is he going?’
Really, what happened at the bar where he used to work?
Was that Vengeful Spirit someone connected to you?
My eyes narrowed as my tongue brushed against the inside of my mouth, where the taste of pasta still lingered.
Thud.
Lee Jang-woo stopped walking.
Near a road not far from the bar.
Whoooosh!
On this desolate road, the speed of passing vehicles was terrifying.
Lee Jang-woo’s lips trembled as he stared blankly at the road.
Then he buried his face in his palms, and from lips dripping with clear saliva came a sobbing murmur.
“Damn it, you bastard, Kim Hee-hyun, damn it.”
Whoooosh!
The wind from a passing vehicle shook Lee Jang-woo’s clothes.
And when Shin Jung-ah silently murmured “Kim Hee-hyun?”, my gaze shifted to the road.
‘So it’s you. Kim Hee-hyun.’
Scrape, skreeeech. Scrape, skreeeech.
The Vengeful Spirit with dried blood caked black across her entire body.
With no lower half and wearing revealing clothes on her upper body, the Vengeful Spirit crawled toward Lee Jang-woo from the road.
“Hnngh, hnngh.”
The Vengeful Spirit approached the groaning Lee Jang-woo as if he were the most beloved thing in the world, crawling up his body.
Watching her cling to him like a child, my brow furrowed even deeper.
‘Now I understand.’
The history of that Vengeful Spirit is beginning to reveal itself.
The relationship between one person and one Vengeful Spirit as well.
And even Lee Jang-woo’s sin.

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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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