An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 216

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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 215
Part 4. I Was Not Alone (2)
“It is done.”
Kang Hyung-seok spoke in a voice strained with emotion, nodding heavily as he gazed upon the Lion Spirit Guide.
“The preparations for guiding the soul to heaven are complete. Through the Entrance Sutra for the Deceased, I shall wash away the remaining resentment and open the path toward ascension.”
Observing the Lion Spirit Guide’s unwavering gaze, I lifted the Shaman’s Bell.
“Furthermore, I humbly beseech you—do not judge too harshly the sins committed after becoming a Vengeful Spirit.”
Though I spoke with desperate sincerity, the Lion Spirit Guide remained silent.
Yet as time passed, the Lion Spirit Guide nodded, and I began to recite the sacred verses.
“Seventy years is the span of human life, brief as a whale’s cry. Eighty years passes like a fleeting dream.”
Release this resentment.
“A hundred years of glory and sorrow, a hundred years of illusion and light intertwined.”
My son and I understand you.
“Of a hundred sinners, thirty die of natural causes, seventy meet untimely ends—sudden deaths that strike them down.”
You were never alone.
“The affairs of this world are like clouds drifting past, human joy flows like water. All fades to obscurity. Who can we follow to find solace on the path of life?”
Release the pain that has flowed away. Return to your whole self, ascend the path to heaven.
Weep.
Pour out all the resentment crystallized in your tears.
“In the silent mountains shrouded in mist, the lost soul wanders helplessly—how pitiful, how sorrowful beneath the moon and wind.”
Pitiful spirit.
“Who can we follow to find solace?”
Is not the transformation of evil into compassion the work of a wandering soul?
The flowers that fall in the spring wind bloom again in bright spring; the grass of the royal garden remains eternally green through countless years.
“The bright moon waxes full, then wanes again—yet in this vast universe, human life is but a hundred years, fleeting as a breath.”
Clang-a-lang-a-lang!
The moment I shook the Shaman’s Bell with all my strength.
Crrrunch!
A sound of something shattering reached my ears.
It was not a sound I heard with my own ears, but one the Guardian Spirit allowed me to perceive—yet I understood what it meant.
‘The Yeolnyeo-gak is collapsing.’
“Ahhhhhhh!”
With each cry Jin-i released her resentment, the Yeolnyeo-gak crumbled further.
It had been buried in the earth for countless years.
Its preservation was poor, and the excavator had roughly torn away the soil—it was no wonder it could collapse at any moment.
Yet now, at this very moment, its destruction seemed far more than mere coincidence.
Crrrunch-crunch-crunch!
The Yeolnyeo-gak that had led Jin-i to her death collapsed completely.
I turned my gaze toward where the Yeolnyeo-gak had stood and recited the final verses in a hushed voice.
“Upon clouds white as frost, ascending to the heavens of eternal peace. Returning to the Pure Land, reborn into guidance and salvation.”
Then I shifted my gaze toward Jin-i.
But there was nothing to see.
No Jin-i, no Son, no Lion Spirit Guide.
Only thick darkness occupied that space.
—Woof! Woof!
Baekseol, who had been silent until now, barked.
A three-eyed dog whose voice held the power to drive away spirits.
As if she knew she no longer had to hold back, Baekseol wagged her tail and barked, and I burst into laughter.
“Let’s go.”
Just as Jin-i had reunited with her son, Baekseol too had someone she wished to see again.
“Let’s return. To your owner.”
—Woof!
Baekseol wagged her tail.
And I began walking alongside Baekseol.
The wind was cold.
It seemed this summer, which had felt like it would never end, was finally coming to a close.
***
Clink, clink.
The next day had arrived.
Kang Hyung-seok and Lee Jin-pyung were finishing bowls of beef head gukbap at a Gukbap Restaurant near the Motel.
Baekseol, as always, stayed close to Lee Jin-pyung, resting with her eyes closed.
Ding!
Kang Hyung-seok’s phone on the table rang.
“Yes, Manager.”
(Hey, Kang! I saw your text!)
Since I had just finished eating, I wiped my lips with a napkin.
(You went to the Police Station this morning? What’s going on?)
“The Yeolnyeo-gak came up from the ground, remember?”
(Right. But why?)
“It collapsed.”
Lee Jin-pyung stood from his seat, and I pulled a card from my wallet and headed toward the register.
(What? Why did it collapse?)
“It appears to have collapsed naturally. It was old, and the preservation condition wasn’t good either.”
(Sigh.)
Gwak Young-ho’s sigh was heavy with concern.
He was probably worried that something had gone wrong with Ha Jang-seo.
Damaging artifacts or cultural properties that emerge from the ground carried serious legal consequences.
Beep, ding!
I collected my receipt, and Lee Jin-pyung pulled two cups of sweet mixed coffee from the vending machine by the entrance.
“You don’t need to worry too much.”
(Why, though?)
“It looks like it’ll be resolved well.”
(It will?)
Gwak Young-ho asked in a bewildered tone, and I accepted the coffee Lee Jin-pyung handed me as I stepped out in front of the restaurant.
Then I sat down on the bench in front of the restaurant beside Lee Jin-pyung and continued the call.
“Yes. Fortunately, we were able to prove it.”
I methodically explained the materials I had submitted to the police station.
The receipt I’d cut from the restaurant the night before.
The dashcam footage of me bringing Ha Jang-seo home.
Since Ha Jang-seo had been so intoxicated that he needed my support to walk, there was no way he could have destroyed the Yeolnyeo-gak, so the proof didn’t seem difficult to establish.
(Thank goodness. Thank goodness.)
Relief seeped through Gwak Young-ho’s voice, and I took a sip of coffee with a bitter smile.
For what it’s worth, free coffee tastes cheap.
Yet there’s a unique coziness that only this coffee brings.
Perhaps it’s the sense of relief that comes after finishing a meal.
“Fortunately. The client manager said they’ll come down later to verify everything.”
(So this is just… ending like this?)
“I think so. The construction will be delayed a bit, but it shouldn’t extend beyond this month.”
(Phew—!)
“You don’t need to worry too much about it.”
This matter ended just like that.
The Yeolnyeo-gak was destroyed, and Jin-i was sent to the afterlife.
Just as the Lion Spirit Guide’s work was concluded, so too were the affairs of the living.
(It’s such a blessing that Manager Kang went there.)
“I didn’t do much of anything.”
(No, that’s really not true.)
Gwak Young-ho, who believed in the extraordinary luck I possessed, spoke in a tone that painted his expression clearly.
(Anyway, what about Ha Jang-seo?)
“They said there’s additional investigation to conduct. He’ll probably be busy for a while.”
(Sigh.)
I drained the coffee I’d been holding.
A sweet aftertaste lingered on my tongue, and the feeling that the call was drawing to a close crept closer.
“Then I’ll head back soon.”
(Yes, yes, come back safely! Safety is always the top priority!)
“Yes.”
(Manager Kang, you’ve worked so hard. Deputy Manager Lee worked hard too!)
“Yes, understood.”
I laughed as if exhaling, and with a final word about seeing them later, I ended the call.
“Was that the department head?”
“Yes. He said I worked hard.”
“You’ve had a rough time, Manager.”
Lee Jin-pyung sipped from a paper cup, then let his gaze drift downward.
Baekseol below wagged her tail happily, but unfortunately, his eyes never quite reached her.
“Are you alright?”
“What do you mean?”
“You seemed to come home quite late last night.”
“…You heard me?”
“Yes. It seemed like it.”
If he heard it, then he heard it—so what did “it seemed like” mean?
When Kang Hyung-seok raised one eyebrow, Lee Jin-pyung pressed the empty paper cup with his thumb, folding it small.
“It sounded like Manager Kang came in last night.”
“Ah, then it seems you heard it clearly.”
Lee Jin-pyung smiled with the look of someone whose mind was racing, then shook his head briefly.
“I’m not entirely sure. I think I heard other sounds too.”
“What kind of sounds?”
“Baekseol barking.”
—Woof!
Baekseol looked up at Lee Jin-pyung and barked.
Seeing her like this, I felt a pang of sympathy first.
Jin-i and her son had been reunited.
But Baekseol and Lee Jin-pyung lived lives that could never quite touch.
“…Do you still miss her so much?”
“I think it will be like this for the rest of my life.”
—Whimper.
Baekseol placed her front paws on Lee Jin-pyung’s shoes, sharing in his sorrow, and I took a brief look at her before gulping down the coffee from my paper cup.
“Take heart. When Baekseol meets Deputy Manager Lee someday, she won’t be sad anymore, will she?”
Lee Jin-pyung raised his eyebrows and looked at me, and I glanced around before folding my paper cup small.
“She’ll always be watching. Always.”
“…Do you really think so?”
“Yes.”
I stood up from my seat and extended my hand to Lee Jin-pyung.
He seemed to think I was offering a handshake and reached out his hand, but seeing this, Baekseol and Lee Jin-pyung really did share something in common.
“No, I’m asking for the paper cup.”
“Oh, I see.”
“It’s right in front. I’ll go throw it away.”
I took the crumpled paper cup from Lee Jin-pyung and shoved it into the pay-as-you-throw bag placed in front of the restaurant.
“Let’s go.”
“Should we not contact Ha Jang-seo?”
“He seems busy right now, but just in case, try calling him.”
“Not you, Manager?”
“It’s your responsibility now, Deputy Manager Lee.”
Kang Hyung-seok chuckled silently and gave Lee Jin-pyung’s shoulder a light pat.
“Ha Jang-seo saw everything we worked on together. He’ll definitely be grateful to you. And if the business expands well, all the credit becomes yours, so do your best.”
“Ah….”
“I’ll start the engine first. Go make your call.”
Kang Hyung-seok adjusted his backpack and turned to leave.
“Sigh.”
He exhaled softly.
Sleep deprivation weighed on him, exhaustion settling deep in his bones.
Yet the successful conclusion of the Yeolnyeo-gak brought him peace of mind.
‘I’m glad it all worked out.’
As Kang Hyung-seok rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand,
“Yes, hello? Hi, this is Deputy Manager Lee Jin-pyung…. Ah, yes.”
Behind him, Lee Jin-pyung’s voice carried through as he spoke with Ha Jang-seo.
Taciturn by nature, the kind of person easily overlooked in society, someone whose competence was hard to recognize—that was Lee Jin-pyung.
Yet watching him give his all even in a simple phone call, Kang Hyung-seok’s lips curved upward.
‘Do well, Deputy Manager Lee.’
You’re my responsibility now.
Don’t grieve too deeply over missing Baekseol. Nurture this new connection well.
With genuine hope for Lee Jin-pyung’s future, Kang Hyung-seok walked toward the car.

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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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