An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 226

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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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Episode 226
Part 7. A Plea to the Heavens and Earth (3)
“Huff! Gasp! Hiiiieee!”
A man fleeing in panic.
“Grab him! He went that way!”
“What are you doing! Chase him faster!”
“Catch him and kill him!”
The villagers pursued him from behind.
It was the dead of night, not far from the village.
Kang Hyung-seok could sense and perceive the gasping Mentally Ill Man fleeing and the villagers seething with venom.
And the boy blocking the man’s path.
“You bastard!”
The boy’s face, streaming with tears and twisted in anguished fury, was familiar.
‘Jo Un-su…?’
The man with a prosthetic eye.
The man who cultivated medicinal herbs and was once a disciple of the Buddhist Order.
That man now appeared as a boy, attempting to block the man’s path.
I could understand the reason.
“Give me back my brother! You bastard!”
The emotions roiling within the boy’s frame were too violent and dark.
‘The dead baby was his younger brother.’
The guilt of failing to protect his sibling.
That guilt only deepened each night as he watched his parents weep.
And when he saw his swollen brother’s corpse pulled from the well, despair consumed him entirely.
“Uuuuuugh!”
The man’s face contorted with intense hatred toward Jo Un-su blocking his way, his fingers curling like hooks as he extended his hand.
Squelch!
“Aaaahhh!”
Jo Un-su’s eye burst, and he screamed as he collapsed.
As the man tried to step over him, Jo Un-su, bleeding and weeping, seized his ankle.
“Don’t go! Don’t go! Aaaahhh!”
“Uuugh! Aaaahhh! Argh!”
The man struck and trampled Jo Un-su’s back and head repeatedly.
The pursuing villagers drew steadily closer.
“Uuuaaahhh!”
“Aaaahhh!”
The man tore at Jo Un-su’s hair and wrenched free, his eyes darting around for a place to hide.
Then the well came into his view.
He never considered that he might die.
“No! You bastard! No!”
The man bolted toward the well, and the villagers screamed as they rushed after him, but seeing their terror-stricken faces, he hurled himself into the darkness below.
Whoooosh.
At the sound of the man falling, Jo Un-su stared blankly into the well.
His enemy was dead.
Yet rather than satisfaction, an indescribable emotion flooded through him far more powerfully.
A man had died before his eyes.
In the very well where his brother had perished.
Jo Un-su knew he would never forget this moment for the rest of his life—and he never did.
‘That’s why you became a Monk….’
The moment Jo Un-su came of age, he became a disciple of the Buddhist Order to find peace of mind.
He learned the virtue of forgiveness, but the monastic life never felt like his true path.
So Jo Un-su left the temple.
Shhhhh.
The wind blew in.
It carried the scent of medicinal herbs.
The herbs Jo Un-su had begun to cultivate.
‘This must be my calling.’
Tending the herbs near the well was how Jo Un-su honored the brother who had departed before him.
What kind of person would his brother have become if he had lived?
Would he have become someone who helped others, like these healing herbs?
Each time Jo Un-su gazed upon the profusely blooming herbs, he remembered his brother, and buried the man who had taken him away deep within his heart.
Shhhhh.
The vision began to fade, swept away by the incoming wind. Then, from far in the distance, he heard the Heart Sutra being chanted, and he lifted his head.
The night sky came into view.
And Yoon Sang’s face.
“Are you there?”
The rope around Kang Hyung-seok shook.
“Hyung-seok! If you can hear me, pull the rope! Hyung-seok!”
Kang Hyung-seok chuckled and grabbed the rope, pulling hard.
“Yes! Ahhhhh! Hyung-seok!”
Yoon Sang’s voice was incredibly loud with joy.
Clang.
With the Shaman’s Bell and ritual blade tucked into his pockets, Kang Hyung-seok gripped the rope with both hands.
As he began to climb, pressing his feet against the well’s stone wall, the rope suddenly started being pulled upward with force.
‘What’s this?’
Yoon Sang alone couldn’t generate such strength.
Someone else must be helping.
“Hold tight! We’re pulling!”
Jo Un-su’s voice rang out.
Only then did Kang Hyung-seok’s expression clear, and he smiled bitterly.
Screech, screeeech!
The rope being pulled guided him upward, out of the well.
Come out.
Your task is finished now.
It’s all over—come into the light.
Screeeech.
The rope seemed to speak these words to him as it pulled.
Kang Hyung-seok gazed toward the opening of the well drawing closer, then glanced back.
The pitch-black depths of the well receded into darkness.
“Uuuugh!”
Yoon Sang’s strained voice echoed loudly from above, and Kang Hyung-seok reached out his arm.
Thunk!
It was Jo Un-su who grasped his hand.
Emerging from the well, Kang Hyung-seok caught his breath and met Jo Un-su’s gaze.
I witnessed your past down there.
I want to say it, but it doesn’t feel necessary.
“…Thank you. Thank you. Truly, I cannot thank you enough.”
Jo Un-su gripped his hand tightly, his entire body trembling.
What began as a demon summoning ritual ended with the resolution of the well’s curse.
Kang Hyung-seok squeezed the hand of Jo Un-su, whose heart had finally grown light, and nodded solemnly.
Then he spoke with only his eyes.
That all was well now.
That his sister had found peace.
“Thank you….”
Jo Un-su, still sobbing, nodded repeatedly as if he understood.
***
“Gasp!”
Park Jo-hyuk’s ragged breathing caught Shin Yoseph’s attention.
Whoosh.
Shin Yoseph wiped the blood from his sleeves with the fabric, then turned toward Park Jo-hyuk, whose head thrashed from side to side.
Fwap!
He yanked away the blanket still draped over the man.
Park Jo-hyuk seemed fine now.
At least, that’s how it appeared.
“W-what… what happened?”
“It’s over.”
Shin Yoseph placed a cigarette between his lips but didn’t light it.
Instead, he rolled the lighter in his palm while meeting Park Jo-hyuk’s gaze.
“Uh… uh…”
Still dazed, Park Jo-hyuk moaned like a man possessed, and Shin Yoseph cut through the cable tie binding his ankles.
With his limbs finally free, Park Jo-hyuk scrambled to his feet and looked around—the state of the rental house was beyond description.
“This… how did this happen…?”
“You’re cleaning this up.”
Park Jo-hyuk stared at Shin Yoseph with wild, darting eyes.
His gaze burned with urgent questions.
Is it really over?
Am I going to be okay?
“You won’t be.”
Shin Yoseph raised one eyebrow, his sharp gaze piercing, and Park Jo-hyuk’s head drooped.
“Do you understand what you’ve done? Do you realize what nearly happened because of you?”
“That is… I…”
“Don’t give me that ‘I had no choice’ nonsense.”
Everyone faces desperation.
Everyone yearns for a better life.
Yet few among them extend their hands to demons.
Most people either strive harder themselves, or even if they pause to curse the world, they eventually rise again.
A human life belongs to humans alone—it leaves no opening for demons to exploit.
“It’s called karma.”
Shin Yoseph twisted his lips as he continued speaking to Park Jo-hyuk.
“You bear the responsibility for your own actions.”
“What? I… what do you mean…?”
Park Jo-hyuk asked urgently, but Shin Yoseph retrieved the crucifix hanging on the wall and prepared to leave.
“P-please, say something! What responsibility? What did I do wrong?”
Creak.
As Shin Yoseph opened the door, he cast a terrifying look back at Park Jo-hyuk.
Park Jo-hyuk’s mouth sealed shut, and Shin Yoseph closed the door silently behind him.
Then he lit a cigarette in front of the entrance.
“Exhale—!”
Beyond the closed door, Park Jo-hyuk’s ragged breathing echoed out.
He was likely confused and terrified.
It would remain that way for a long time.
‘Redeem yourself.’
Park Jo-hyuk’s sin was attempting to summon a Demon.
He harbored an evil heart and acted upon it—his future could never be peaceful.
Only if Park Jo-hyuk redeemed himself, confessed his sins to God, and engaged in deep repentance could he ever find peace.
“Exhale.”
Shin Yoseph descended the stairs, scattering white and bluish cigarette smoke in his wake.
The heaviness in his steps came from more than just the cigarette.
‘…Pathetic wretch.’
He couldn’t think kindly of someone who’d attempted to summon a Demon.
Yet despite his contempt, Shin Yoseph found himself hoping that Park Jo-hyuk would one day find peace.
***
Crack—pop!
All eyes in Sales Team 1 turned to Gwak Young-ho as he opened a bottled beer.
They were at a Hof Bar near the Company.
It was a small place with a draft beer machine that seemed more decorative than functional, so bottled beer was ordered more often.
Since Kang Hyung-seok wasn’t here, it was a modest gathering, so they hadn’t bothered going somewhere upscale.
“Manager, please. Let me pour for you.”
“No, no. Don’t pour my drink. I’ll do it myself.”
“Come on, don’t be like that.”
“I’m really sorry about this, you know.”
Gwak Young-ho held out his glass with genuine embarrassment, and Shin Jung-ah poured the beer with both hands.
While this happened, Lee Jin-pyung sat with a vacant expression until Namgoong Min-ah spoke to him.
“Deputy Manager, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s just that we came without the Manager…”
“Come on! The Manager is busy right now anyway. Right?”
Gwak Young-ho nodded and took the beer bottle from Shin Jung-ah.
He poured beer into Lee Jin-pyung’s glass, and Lee Jin-pyung quickly brought both hands to the glass.
“Kang Manager is with Shin Executive Director right now. He’s probably eating something better than us. What’s there to apologize for?”
Everyone except Shin Jung-ah nodded in agreement, unable to even imagine that he’d eaten nothing but convenience store meals and triangle kimbap.
“Sigh, but Manager Kang went to close a contract, didn’t he?”
“That’s right.”
“Do you think it’ll go well?”
“It’s a contract. If it goes well, great. If not, so be it.”
Glug, glug, glug.
Gwak Young-ho spoke matter-of-factly as he poured beer into Namgoong Min-ah’s glass, while Shin Jung-ah reached for the dried snacks with a slightly disgruntled expression.
“Come on, that’s not the look of someone tired.”
“I’m exhausted, that’s all. What’s there to worry about? Shin Manager went to handle it.”
Everyone knew that Kang Hyung-seok had an exceptional track record of closing contracts.
So even if no one said it outright, they all harbored hope that things would work out.
“All right, let’s make a toast first!”
It was the moment Gwak Young-ho raised his glass, lamenting Kang Hyung-seok’s absence from the gathering.
Ding!
“Oh? Manager, you’ve got a text message.”
“Hm?”
Namgoong Min-ah pointed to the phone on the table, and Gwak Young-ho’s gaze snapped toward it immediately.
“Oh! It’s from Shin Manager.”
“Gasp.”
“What did he say?”
It was after Namgoong Min-ah and Shin Jung-ah rushed forward with their questions, while Lee Jin-pyung blinked in surprise.
Gwak Young-ho opened the message, and the shadow of regret that had lingered on his face vanished in an instant.
“Incredible! He’s drawn up the contract!”
“Wow! Really?”
Beside Namgoong Min-ah, who was even clapping her hands, Lee Jin-pyung checked the time.
It was an oddly peculiar hour.
“Wow! How did this happen? How did he manage to draw up a contract at this hour?”
Gwak Young-ho couldn’t hide his joy and bounced in his seat, while Shin Jung-ah placed some dried snacks in front of him with a look that suggested he should calm down.
“You can ask him about it tomorrow!”
“Right, right? That makes sense, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Wow! Really, incredible! How on earth did he manage it?”
With no word from him, I had resigned myself to thinking this deal would be difficult.
Yet Kang Hyung-seok had still managed to secure the contract—he was truly impressive.
“Come on, I’m telling you to ask him tomorrow. Let’s just make a toast, Manager. A toast.”
Shin Jung-ah raised her glass, and Gwak Young-ho and the other team members lifted their beer glasses as well.
Clink!
The beer glasses collided sharply, sending golden droplets of liquid spraying before they settled.

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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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