An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 272

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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 271
Part 1. The Three of Us Again (1)
Screeeech!
Kang Hyung-seok hurled himself out of the tent.
He immediately swept his phone’s light around the tent’s perimeter, but saw nothing.
The Goblin was gone.
‘A mistake…?’
Ding-ding, ding-ding, ding-ding.
Seeing the Shaman’s Bell ringing on its own, Kang Hyung-seok’s lips twisted silently.
It was no mistake.
The Shaman’s Bell continued its warning.
Crash!
After grabbing the Shaman’s Bell and the Spirit Blade, I burst from the warehouse and the factory district bathed in moonlight came into view.
That was when it happened.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
Shin Jung-ah’s piercing scream tore through the air and pierced my heart.
“Manager!”
I immediately rushed toward the container where she was.
Clang!
Damn it, the door was locked.
Boom!
I threw my shoulder against it and the door shook violently as if it might shatter, but it wouldn’t budge.
Bang bang bang bang!
“Manager! Are you alright? Answer me!”
As I pounded on the door frantically, my gaze shifted to the window.
‘What on earth is happening?’
No more screams followed, and my heart raced even more wildly because of it.
Something had to have happened.
Could she have been possessed?
The Goblin is not a Malevolent Spirit.
So perhaps the Walnut Bracelet and talismans couldn’t exert their full power against it.
My mouth dried as if I’d swallowed burning coals, and my heart felt scorched.
Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!
The Shaman’s Bell rang as if it might shatter.
I cast my gaze beyond the darkness.
Lee Jung-woon, having heard Shin Jung-ah’s scream, was running toward us with labored breath.
“What, what’s happening!”
To Lee Jung-woon, who hadn’t even properly put on his shoes, I shouted urgently.
“The key!”
“H, here!”
Lee Jung-woon pulled a key from his pocket and hurled it forcefully toward Kang Hyung-seok.
The metal jingled sharply.
Catching the key mid-air, Kang Hyung-seok immediately wrenched open the container door.
Those few seconds of stepping inside, guided only by the pale glow of his phone’s flashlight, pressed down on him like a suffocating weight.
“M-Manager Kang.”
Shin Jung-ah emerged from the darkness, hugging her knees on the sofa, illuminated by the phone’s light.
I drew a sharp breath, my chest heaving as I surveyed the interior of the container.
A loud crash echoed through the space.
Lee Jung-woon stumbled in a moment too late, making a tremendous noise, while Shin Jung-ah trembled and rubbed her forearms.
Meanwhile, I shook the Shaman’s Bell and began chanting sutras under my breath.
The bell rang out in rapid succession.
“Heavenly King of Earth, Great King of Paradise, King of Prosperity, King of Lightning.”
Searching for the invisible Goblin, I moved slowly through the container’s interior.
“White Emperor King, Black Emperor King, Yellow Emperor King, Water Extreme King.”
Where is it? Where could it be?
Though nothing was visible, a fishy stench permeated the air.
A smell I hadn’t detected during the day.
“Jade Emperor, Blessing King, Spirit of Wind in the Mortal Realm, Kunlun King.”
Is this the smell of a Goblin?
If so, what has changed about this Goblin?
Is this truly a Goblin’s territory?
“Spirit of the Mortal Realm, Celestial Wind King, Kunlun King, Malevolent Spirits, depart. Om, urgent urgent, command by law.”
The chanting concluded, and the fishy odor that had permeated the air vanished without a trace.
Yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t over.
“Manager.”
Turning around, both Shin Jung-ah and Lee Jung-woon stared at me, their faces drained of color by terror.
“Are you alright?”
Shin Jung-ah’s pale face nodded before she grimaced with a soft groan.
“What’s wrong?”
“Wait, just a moment.”
Shin Jung-ah began rolling up the sleeve of the arm wearing the wooden bracelet.
My phone’s light illuminated the space before her, and the suffocating air still hung thick around her.
As she pulled her sleeve back completely, revealing her forearm, the atmosphere grew disturbingly heavy.
“…What is this?”
Shin Jung-ah looked up at me in shock.
Even I could do nothing but shake my head—this was beyond my ability to resolve.
Handprints in the form of dark bruises covered her forearm.
Marks left by something inhuman, gripped with monstrous force.
A sickening crunch echoed in my mind.
Wordlessly, I gripped the Shaman’s Bell tightly, my knuckles whitening.
***
When the nightmare of a night finally ended and dawn broke, Kang Hyung-seok and Shin Jung-ah found themselves in the car.
Though Lee Jung-woon appeared half-dazed, he insisted they eat something before leaving, but the two politely declined.
Neither had any appetite.
Grrrrowl.
As we drove away from the factory district, Lee Jung-woon’s eyes reflected in the rearview mirror burned with desperate intensity.
It looked like he was seeing off someone who would never return, yet simultaneously pleading for us to come back soon.
“…Sigh.”
Shin Jung-ah leaned her head against the passenger window and exhaled heavily. Kang Hyung-seok spoke to her quietly.
“Are you feeling alright?”
“I’m fine.”
An uncomfortable silence descended upon the car like a Goblin itself, settling in with unwelcome permanence.
Kang Hyung-seok exhaled a thin breath between his lips before speaking.
“I apologize.”
“Hmm?”
“I should have been more cautious.”
Lee Jung-woon had said he saw it in a dream.
During the day, there was nothing conspicuous about it.
So I hadn’t anticipated any real danger, yet clear wounds now marked Shin Jung-ah’s forearm.
“It wasn’t just a simple Goblin’s lair. I honestly don’t know what it really was.”
Shin Jung-ah squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her palm against her head, exhaling heavily several times in succession.
She seemed to be suppressing the memories of last night from surfacing, so Kang Hyung-seok could only keep silent.
In moments like these, silence helps.
Even if it’s an uncomfortable silence, waiting is better.
“What’s your take on it, Deputy Manager Kang?”
Vroom.
In the car, quiet enough to hear the engine’s rumble, Kang Hyung-seok finally spoke after careful consideration.
“There is a Goblin.”
Shin Jung-ah flinched and gently touched her forearm, where handprint-shaped bruises had formed.
The sight of it pained me.
Of all things, it had to be a Goblin.
Shin Jung-ah’s first possession had been by a Goblin, and now she had endured a nightmare in a Goblin’s lair.
“That’s why I’m asking you, Deputy Manager.”
Shin Jung-ah’s eyes, trembling faintly, turned toward me. As I merged onto the expressway, my voice emerged low and measured.
“That thing which gripped your forearm last night—was it truly a Goblin?”
“…What?”
“You would be able to recognize it, Deputy Manager.”
The road was at that awkward hour between rush and calm.
On the empty expressway with no pedestrians or traffic lights, I could spare her a glance for a moment.
“Was that thing a Goblin?”
Shin Jung-ah swallowed hard, the sound audible in the silence, then let her gaze drop between her knees.
She rubbed the corner of her mouth with her hand, her eyes deep as if sifting through memories.
“…No.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Something’s different. At least from what I’ve experienced before.”
Shin Jung-ah’s answer helped me organize my thoughts.
I nodded heavily, and Shin Jung-ah’s gaze turned toward me.
“Then what on earth was it?”
“You didn’t see it?”
“…I was asleep.”
Shin Jung-ah fingered the Palbogja wood bracelet still hanging on her wrist.
Beyond that, there was also a talisman protecting her body.
Both were objects that drove away malevolent spirits, so an ordinary Malevolent Spirit couldn’t lay a finger on her.
If it was neither a Malevolent Spirit nor the work of a Goblin, then what had gripped her forearm so forcefully as to leave marks?
“We need to find out.”
“Do you have any guesses?”
“Since it’s related to the site, it must be connected to what happened there.”
I was still walking through thick mist.
But I hadn’t lost my direction and purpose.
Even if I couldn’t see an inch ahead, what I needed to do was clearer than ever.
“There’s a lot to do. We need to investigate too.”
“So we just need to investigate the Factory District?”
“That’s true, but I’m not sure we’ll have the time.”
I smacked my lips at the weight of unease pressing down on me.
“As you’ve seen, Manager, the business won’t operate normally unless we resolve this as quickly as possible.”
“Right. Employees are already running away as it is.”
That wasn’t all.
To meet Shinjin Construction’s orders next year, I needed to diligently produce insulation materials starting now.
Time was tight.
‘Wait….’
Perhaps because my expression suddenly hardened.
Shin Jung-ah stiffened and looked at me, and I shook my head before speaking.
“It’s nothing. I just thought of Shinjin Construction.”
“Shinjin Construction?”
“Yes. I thought we might be able to get help if we play our cards right.”
Shin Jung-ah thought quietly for a moment, then made a small sound of realization.
Shin Yoseph from Shinjin Construction would certainly be helpful.
Not because he’s an exorcist priest.
He has information networks backed by capital, and if we handle this well, couldn’t he provide the thread that unravels this case?
“Can you arrange the meeting right away?”
“It should work if I ask to see it.”
“Kang Manager, just drop me off somewhere convenient. I can make my own way into the office.”
“No, I’ll take you all the way to the company entrance.”
“Then you’ll have to come back. I’ll go in alone, so you head straight to Shinjin Construction and use the insulation sample as your excuse.”
Shin Jung-ah gestured urgently toward the thermal insulation samples in the back seat.
“I’ll smooth things over with the Manager. Understood?”
“Manager…”
“Don’t you trust me?”
I did.
More than anyone else at Daejeong Materials.
“Thank you. Really.”
“Don’t worry about it! Don’t give it another thought. Talk with Director Shin and send me a text afterward.”
“Yes.”
Vroooom!
My heart pressed down on the accelerator along with my foot.
Even though I could have arrived at work leisurely, I rushed down the expressway with urgency.
Then I dropped Shin Jung-ah off at a nearby subway station that connected to the downtown area.
“Take care!”
Click.
Shin Jung-ah waved her hand as soon as she stepped out of the car.
Despite what must have been weighing on her mind from last night, she wore a smile as if forcing herself to hide her anxiety.
“See you later.”
Thunk.
As Shin Jung-ah closed the car door to signal me to leave, I changed the navigation’s destination.
It was Shinjin Construction, where Shin Yoseph was.

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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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