An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 258

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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 257
Part 3. As If Speaking to Oneself (3)
Time flowed like the changing seasons.
When Monday arrived, Kang Hyung-seok reached the office earlier than usual.
It wasn’t intentional.
His eyes had simply opened a bit earlier than normal, and having nothing to do, he’d left a touch sooner—the road hadn’t been congested.
“Sigh.”
A week. An entire week.
Despite returning to work after so long, I couldn’t easily enter the office because everything felt unfamiliar.
I glanced toward the elevator in the corridor, but no one appeared to be coming up.
‘Just go in.’
Once I started working and tapping at the keyboard, the awkwardness would fade quickly.
The moment I reached for the door to enter.
Bang.
The door suddenly swung open.
I flinched and stepped back, while Gwak Young-ho, holding coffee in one hand, cried out in surprise.
“Whoa! What—what is it? Oh! Manager Kang!”
“Good morning, sir.”
“You’re back at work?”
Gwak Young-ho asked with startled eyes, and I bowed deeply toward him.
“I’m sorry. You must have had a difficult time because of me.”
“Difficult? Never mind that—how’s your health? Are you fully recovered now?”
Gwak Young-ho examined me carefully with concerned eyes.
I smiled bitterly in response.
Not from embarrassment.
But because I could see the dark circles beneath his eyes.
“I’m fully recovered now. The hospital said I was fine too.”
“Phew, really. You’ve been through a lot.”
“Were you heading out for a cigarette? Should I join you?”
“No. It’s cold outside. Come in. Come in.”
Gwak Young-ho gestured for me to enter the office, covering his bulging pocket with his hand.
I forced the corners of my mouth upward to conceal my apology as I was about to enter the office.
Ding.
Shin Jung-ah stepped out of the elevator with the typical expression of an office worker arriving on a Monday morning.
“Oh, Manager Shin!”
“Huh? Sir. Manager Kang is here too?”
Gwak Young-ho gestured for her to hurry in, and Shin Jung-ah entered the office with quick steps.
“Manager Kang, how’s your health?”
“I’m fully recovered. Thank you for your concern.”
“No, there’s nothing to thank me for….”
Shin Jung-ah subtly gestured with her eyes toward Gwak Young-ho.
She was indicating that while I had been hospitalized, Gwak Young-ho was the one who had suffered the most.
But he already sensed it.
Before I could even express my gratitude, Gwak Young-ho spoke first with an awkward expression.
“Well, Manager Kang, about your work assignments?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I’ll share the details with you later. I’ve handled all the urgent matters, and there’s nothing particularly pressing this week.”
“Really?”
Shin Jung-ah, who had been watching Gwak Young-ho handle my work from right beside me, wore a subtle smile, while Gwak Young-ho waved his hand dismissively.
“It was shingles, after all. I was concerned, so I’ve taken care of even the minor details to let you work at a comfortable pace this week.”
Gwak Young-ho had also spoken well to the higher-ups.
He had strongly emphasized how well I normally performed my duties, and he had firmly driven home the point that he would take responsibility since there were no urgent work matters pending.
“So don’t get too excited just because you’ve been discharged, Manager Kang. Take care of yourself while you work.”
“…Department Head.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry. Because of me.”
“Enough! Why would a department head be a department head otherwise? A department head is one because they lead the department.”
Just as a patriarch must protect his household, Gwak Young-ho’s belief was that a department head must protect their department.
“Still, thank you.”
“If you’re grateful, then take care of your health. You’re the pillar of our team, and if you collapse, it’ll be difficult for me.”
Gwak Young-ho glanced at his wristwatch and looked at Shin Jung-ah, pointing upward.
It was a signal to have a quick smoke before work started, and Shin Jung-ah sent me a look telling me not to follow as she set her bag down at her desk.
The door swung open.
“Good morning!”
In the meantime, Namgoong Min-ah arrived at work with a weary expression.
“Oh, Manager?”
“It’s been a while.”
“Wow! Are you coming back to work now?”
I nodded to Namgoong Min-ah with a gesture wishing Shin Jung-ah and Gwak Young-ho a good time.
The two left with cigarettes and coffee, and soon after, Lee Jin-pyung, who had just arrived, approached me in surprise.
“Huh? Manager, are you feeling better?”
“Yes, thanks to everyone.”
“Please don’t overexert yourself.”
Even Lee Jin-pyung, whose tone was blunt but whose emotions ran deep, made me realize it now.
I had returned to my ordinary life.
This thought, which I hadn’t had outside the office, came to me now.
***
Beep!
I pressed the remote in the parking lot, and the car’s headlights flared to life.
I climbed into the vehicle and set my bag down on the passenger seat.
“Sigh.”
The breath escaped unbidden.
Clocking out. Finally clocking out.
Gwak Young-ho had handled all the urgent matters, so my workload was light, yet it didn’t feel like I’d been idle at all.
‘Being hospitalized was more comfortable than I thought.’
When I lay in that hospital bed staring at my phone until my back ached, everything in the world felt tedious, but now that I think about it, those days were genuinely peaceful.
That said, I don’t miss it.
Vroooom.
I started the engine and began driving toward the rental house I’d been longing for.
That’s when it happened.
‘Maybe I should give him a call.’
Probably because the hospital crossed my mind.
Yoon Sang came to mind—the one who’d even visited me during my stay.
I checked my phone to confirm Yoon Sang wasn’t broadcasting, then pressed the call button.
(Gasp, hyung!)
“Are you busy?”
(How could I be too busy when you’re calling me, hyung!)
“Don’t joke around. Can you talk?”
(Yes. I was just preparing for the next broadcast.)
This guy really does live diligently.
I placed the phone back in its holder and focused on driving before speaking.
“Nothing’s wrong—I just wanted to thank you for visiting me at the hospital.”
(Come on! It was only natural!)
“And you decided not to air what happened at the hospital on your broadcast, right?”
(Ah, yes. Well, that’s right. Hehe.)
His tone carried laughter, but the response reeked of someone burning inside.
“How’s the broadcast going these days?”
(Always the same, you know. New viewers have dropped off a bit, but the loyal fans keep things stable.)
His broadcast ranking must have plummeted.
No matter how long you broadcast, experience doesn’t accumulate in this field, so every single day must feel like bleeding dry.
If he could just get exposure on the rankings, viewership would surge, but lately even that seemed impossible.
“I know you’re always looking out for me.”
(Huh?)
Yoon Sang responded as if asking, ‘Suddenly?’
“Let’s do something together sometime. A collaboration broadcast would be fine, or we could just go somewhere together.”
As I spoke, I suddenly wondered if Gwak Young-ho had felt the same way I did.
(Huh? Really? Y-you really mean it?)
Now that I think about it, Kang Hyung-seok had never been the one to suggest anything first.
It was always Yoon Sang who brought things up, and even then, he tried not to burden me.
“Alright. So go ahead and set up a schedule.”
As Kang Hyung-seok spoke calmly, I heard Yoon Sang draw in a sharp breath.
Then came the sound of water boiling in a kettle.
(Ah… ah. Hyung, I’m really grateful. Truly grateful.)
Yoon Sang responded like someone who had received an unexpected precious gift.
“I should have paid attention to this sooner. I’m sorry I didn’t.”
(More than that, hyung—are you sure you’re feeling alright?)
“I’m fine, I said.”
Even now, concern came first for him.
Kang Hyung-seok smiled wryly at that thought.
(How about Friday night?)
His answer came with such eagerness, as if he’d been waiting for this moment forever, that my raised lips suddenly fell.
“Friday night?”
(Yes! I was actually planning to visit a place for research around that time. If you could go with me, hyung, I’d be really grateful!)
His words came so quickly that I thought it would have been a disaster if I hadn’t made the offer.
“Alright. Then I’ll contact you when I leave work on Friday. Is it far from here?”
(It’s in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, so it’s not too far.)
“That place? Fine, I got it.”
(Oh, and that day won’t be a broadcast. I’ll be going with an informant, so you’ll just need to wear a mask.)
Overall, the conditions were undemanding.
Kang Hyung-seok nodded and turned the steering wheel toward a side road.
“So what’s the case this time?”
(Right. That’s the most important part, but I forgot. I guess I’m just happy thinking about going with you after so long.)
Yoon Sang chuckled and continued.
(It seems to be a case of grave wind.)
That wasn’t something to laugh about.
Kang Hyung-seok’s expression hardened, and he asked in a cautious tone.
“Grave wind? What’s the reason?”
(Ah.)
Realizing he’d spoken too lightly, Yoon Sang cleared his throat and answered in a serious voice.
(It’s someone who recently lost their grandmother. After that, misfortunes have been happening in the family one after another.)
“Is that so…?”
(Yes. That’s why I wanted to go check it out. If it wasn’t a false report, I was planning to bring a geomancer along.)
Tsk.
Kang Hyung-seok unconsciously drew in a breath through his teeth.
‘Grave wind.’
Something had gone wrong with the burial site.
When the deceased is not at peace, misfortune befalls their descendants—in a way, it’s similar to spiritual discord.
It wasn’t just the characteristics related to the location—tomb wind was as dangerous and lethal as possession itself.
If tomb wind took hold improperly, entire bloodlines could be severed.
It meant an entire family could perish.
(Hyung, should I contact a geomancer first and visit the site ahead of time?)
“No. If it’s tomb wind, I should verify it first.”
A geomancer was a specialist in feng shui.
If this were a grave relocation, that would be different, but when tomb wind was suspected, it was proper for a Shaman to investigate.
“Understood for now. I’ll call you when I leave work this Friday, so ring me when you arrive at the nearby station. We’ll move together.”
(Yes!)
Kang Hyung-seok exchanged a few brief words with Yoon Sang before ending the call.
‘Tomb wind, tomb wind….’
A graveyard and the deceased.
And tomb wind.
What had begun as a light-hearted attempt to look after Yoon Sang had spiraled into something far heavier.
Perhaps because of that, my mouth felt strangely rough.
As if needles were rolling around inside it.

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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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