An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 257

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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 256
Part 3. As If Speaking to Oneself (2)
—The affairs of the world are like floating clouds, and human pleasures flow like water.
Shin Yoseph understood.
The Wandering Spirit before his eyes was being guided to salvation.
—Dim and faint, who will follow the path of the living to rely upon?
The Wandering Spirit’s form was growing translucent.
—In the desolate mountains shrouded in mist, the lonely soul cries out in vain; how pitiful the scattered spirit, how lamentable beneath the pale moon and clear wind.
It seemed as though Kang Hyung-seok’s sutras—which should have been inaudible—were resonating, yet conversely, the world lay silent as if asleep, and not even a breeze stirred.
“…Is there nothing you wish of me?”
Shin Yoseph asked the Wandering Spirit in a voice thick with emotion, and the spirit’s hand grasped the ring held in his palm.
An attachment.
Everything was nothing but futile attachment.
Yet it was not an obsession with this ring itself.
And so Shin Yoseph twisted his lips and exhaled a burning sigh.
—How pitiful, wandering soul—who will you follow to rely upon?
“I will resolve it.”
Shin Yoseph met the Wandering Spirit’s gaze and continued in a soft voice.
“I will deliver your message. If that brings you peace, I will do so.”
I could not find peace.
So may you, at least, find it.
Shin Yoseph earnestly hoped his sincere longing would reach the Wandering Spirit.
—Is not the spirit that changes with the seasons the very essence of transience?
“So find your rest.”
—The flowers that fall in the east wind bloom again in spring; the verdant grasses of the royal garden remain green through countless years.
“That is my wish for you.”
May you possess what I could not.
As Shin Yoseph spoke with sincerity, the hand of the Wandering Spirit clutching the ring released it.
Then, as if expressing gratitude, the spirit nodded deeply and brought both hands together, bowing its head to Shin Yoseph.
The Wandering Spirit’s facial bones had been twisted in the accident.
Thus it could not speak, yet its mind remained intact, and so it could convey its gratitude.
—The bright moon of the fifteenth day has waxed full, yet soon it shall wane again.
“…Go in peace.”
Those who must depart shall depart, and those who remain shall stay.
—Farewell to the human realm, the parting from the world leaves one bereft.
“Depart with an unburdened heart.”
As Shin Yoseph spoke in a subdued voice, the Wandering Spirit turned its body while keeping its gaze fixed upon him.
Then it began to walk slowly toward the darkness.
Even as it did so, the Wandering Spirit continued to look back at Shin Yoseph.
As if apologizing for finding peace first.
The king returned to his dwelling and performed the final rites with reverence.
The monk rode the white clouds and offered incense to the departed.
He returned to the Pure Land and was reborn through guidance.
Shin Yoseph responded to the Wandering Spirit with a faint smile.
It was a smile that said there was nothing to apologize for, no need for regret.
And as the Wandering Spirit vanished completely from view, he fell silent for a moment before speaking.
“Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.”
Psalm 130 from Scripture.
Reciting that passage like a prayer, I gazed into the darkness where the Wandering Spirit had disappeared.
“If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we serve you with greater devotion.”
My soul waits for the Lord, and I wait for His word.
“My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.”
I knew the scripture had ended.
So this was not for the salvation of the Wandering Spirit, but for the spirit and myself.
“With the Lord is mercy and with him is plentiful redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”
Grant eternal rest.
Let eternal light shine upon him.
Shin Yoseph spoke earnestly, his voice low and reverent.
“Amen.”
A silence so profound it was terrifying descended, pressing down upon the space.
Whoooosh. Shhhhh.
But the silence did not last long.
Wind swept through and rustled the undergrowth, while vehicles on the road sped past, scattering light and noise in their wake.
Yoon Sang returned, gasping for breath.
Crunch.
As he approached through the rustling brush, he was about to call out to Shin Yoseph from a distance.
But he quickly closed his mouth, letting his hand holding a bottle of clear water fall to his side.
“Ugh! Uuugh!”
In the gentle breeze and silence, he heard the sound of sobbing.
Shin Yoseph, his mouth covered, was weeping, his shoulders trembling.
So Yoon Sang waited.
He offered no clumsy words of comfort, standing at a distance, unable to even bring himself to look at him, his head turned away.
Waiting for Shin Yoseph’s tears to cease.
Waiting in silence.
***
Friday arrived.
Bang!
Shin Yoseph burst through the door without knocking, and though Kang Hyung-seok frowned, he didn’t complain.
Shin Yoseph was brazenly holding a black card between his fingers as if to say, “Look at this.”
You don’t provoke the person footing the bill.
“Why haven’t you changed out of those clothes yet? Did you grow that attached to this place?”
“Don’t say such horrible things.”
Kang Hyung-seok changed out of his hospital gown into everyday clothes and grabbed his bag.
It felt somewhat heavier than before.
Everything he’d purchased during his hospital stay was packed inside.
“How’s your body feeling?”
“I’m sick of being hospitalized. The hospital food is terrible too.”
“That works out. Let’s grab some food first.”
“No way. You’re already paying the hospital bills—I’ll at least buy us dinner.”
“I’m afraid you’ll buy something cheap and pathetic, so that’s not happening. Let’s eat somewhere nice.”
“I said I’m paying.”
Tsk!
Shin Yoseph clicked his tongue and shot me a sharp look.
Then, as if to say no more talking, he left the Hospital Room first.
‘…I was planning to treat him to something expensive.’
Kang Hyung-seok slung his bag over his shoulder and began following Shin Yoseph.
This was the first time they’d met since the Wandering Spirit’s salvation.
I had things I wanted to ask, and I wanted to check if he was doing okay now, but Shin Yoseph was already standing far ahead by the Elevator.
Ding!
Exiting the Elevator, Shin Yoseph paid the expensive hospital bill in full as if it were nothing.
Then he headed to the Parking Lot and had Kang Hyung-seok sit in the passenger seat first.
Click.
Even as I fastened my seatbelt, Shin Yoseph didn’t get in the car.
I didn’t need to ask why—I already knew.
No grave exists without a story, and no person exists without one either.
Sigh.
With thoughts weighing heavily on him, Shin Yoseph gazed at the Emergency Room and the Morgue with downcast eyes.
Then he drew in a deep breath that swelled his chest, and immediately after, his face became expressionless as he climbed into the driver’s seat.
Vroom!
As Shin Yoseph drove out of the Hospital Parking Lot, he spoke in an indifferent tone.
“You’re not asking.”
“About what?”
“How it was handled.”
Whirr.
As the barrier lifted, Shin Yoseph pulled onto the Road and put on his sunglasses.
Kang Hyung-seok exhaled a laugh and shook his head.
“I must have handled it well enough.”
“I was fortunate. In many ways.”
Shin Yoseph clicked his tongue audibly, then fixed his gaze forward and continued speaking.
“It passed on well, didn’t it?”
“Why?”
“Because it went peacefully.”
Shin Yoseph spoke with an emotion subtly woven into his voice.
I could sense what that emotion was.
A Wandering Spirit finally at peace.
A soul that had shed its burden and found freedom.
Sadly, Shin Yoseph envied that Wandering Spirit.
The living envying the dead.
“Without you, it would have been difficult. Or perhaps it would have been easier if I were Catholic.”
“If our religions were different?”
“I can’t convert, so I suppose I’ll have to evangelize instead.”
Kang Hyung-seok burst into laughter at the flippant joke.
Shin Yoseph laughed along with him, then watched the Hospital recede through the rearview mirror and continued speaking.
“The spirit had attachments, you know.”
“What kind?”
“It had a Wife.”
The reason the Wandering Spirit had wandered through the Hospital was to find a ring.
Shin Yoseph had delivered that ring to the Wife.
“She cried a lot. She thought she’d never see him again, but then she did.”
“…You’ve been through a lot.”
“When haven’t I?”
Shin Yoseph exhaled deeply, as though emptying his lungs of all their air.
“Ah, that kid Yoon Sang, you know?”
“Yeah.”
“I had a conversation with him this time, and the kid’s actually kind.”
Kang Hyung-seok smiled bitterly at the remark that carried an edge to it.
“He didn’t mention the Horror Broadcast?”
“Actually, I was going to bring that up. I told him to send the script once it was written, but he never contacted me. So I asked him about it—do you know what he said?”
I could guess what the answer was.
But it didn’t seem like a question expecting an answer, so Kang Hyung-seok simply watched Shin Yoseph in silence.
“He said it wouldn’t be right to air the story on the Horror Broadcast.”
“Really?”
“But the kid’s desperate. He said he has nothing to broadcast lately. So he asked me to speak to you about it.”
Kang Hyung-seok nodded with a bitter smile on his face.
The kid who had even visited him in the Hospital.
And though he tries his best to help in every way, the fact that he cannot broadcast means he must feel like he’s literally withering away.
“I should contact him later.”
“Yeah.”
The conversation seemed to be winding down naturally.
But the car showed no signs of stopping, so I looked around and realized we were heading out on the Road toward the outskirts of the city.
“By the way, where are you going?”
“Namhansanseong.”
“What?”
It wasn’t terribly far from here, but it wasn’t exactly the kind of place you’d go just to grab a meal.
“There’s a place nearby that makes excellent samgyetang. Let’s eat in a place with good air.”
“Ah, really.”
“Why? Do you need to go to the Company?”
The Company knows too.
That Kang Hyung-seok is being discharged on Friday.
Gwak Young-ho had sent a message telling me not to worry and to come in Monday with a smile on my face.
But honestly, my real intention was to come in during the afternoon.
“…Let’s go. Let’s get some samgyetang.”
I decided not to live so fiercely anymore.
It won’t always be possible, but let’s not end up in the Hospital again.
“Right, there have to be times like this.”
Shin Yoseph lifted the corners of his mouth and accelerated the car.
Inside the car speeding smoothly along, Kang Hyung-seok leaned back against the passenger seat while clutching his bag.
The Wandering Spirit had departed.
Kang Hyung-seok had also decided to change his way of thinking.
‘But what about you?’
Have you changed?
Have you found peace of mind?
Can you escape the pain?
Kang Hyung-seok slowly turned his gaze toward Shin Yoseph, but he was simply focused on driving in silence.
Because of the sunglasses, his eyes were not visible.
But I felt I could sense what kind of gaze lay behind them, so Kang Hyung-seok turned his attention back toward the passenger window instead.
“Sigh.”
“What’s with the sigh?”
“I’m exhausted.”
“How long were you hospitalized? Your stamina is pathetic.”
Kang Hyung-seok started to respond but closed his mouth and shifted his gaze to the sky.
The weather seems to be getting colder.
Not a single cloud in the sky.

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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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