An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 283

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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 282
Part 4. Shall We Take a Break? (3)
Vroooom!
Kang Hyung-seok gripped the steering wheel as he drove along the highway.
It was early morning on a weekday, but this wasn’t a commute to work.
I’m not sure if you’d call it a workshop, but in any case, it was an officially sanctioned company vacation of sorts.
With Sales Team 1 in tow.
“Manager, would you like some snacks?”
“Huh? What’s this?”
“It’s a new product. I ordered it online and it’s incredibly delicious.”
In the back seat, Namgoong Min-ah and Shin Jung-ah were sharing snacks they’d bought from a place without olives, while Lee Jin-pyung sat blankly in the passenger seat.
-Woof woof woof!
I know. You’re here too.
Kang Hyung-seok chuckled softly as he watched Baekseol on Lee Jin-pyung’s lap, her tail wagging as she gazed out the window.
“Has the Department Head contacted you?”
Shin Jung-ah answered Kang Hyung-seok’s question while popping a snack into her mouth.
“You know how he is about buying food. And by now, he’s probably excitedly shopping at a fishing supply store.”
“True, he was really looking forward to ice fishing. Still, I hope he doesn’t arrive too late.”
“He left at dawn, so he’ll probably get there before us.”
Kang Hyung-seok smiled silently.
An outing after a long time.
This wasn’t work—we were going to have fun, and so the car was filled with a warmth and peacefulness unlike any other time.
Still, Baekseol seemed bored.
Judging by the way she kept yawning, her black lips parting wide.
Rustle.
Kang Hyung-seok pulled out some dried sweet potato strips he’d stashed in the driver’s side door and handed them to Lee Jin-pyung.
“Manager, why are you…?”
“Go ahead and eat.”
In an instant, the boredom vanished from Baekseol’s face as she stared intently at the dried sweet potato strips.
“I bought several bags as snacks. My hands get sticky while driving, so it’s hard for me to eat them. You should have some, Deputy Manager Lee.”
“Then I won’t eat either.”
-Woof!
Baekseol barked irritably, and Kang Hyung-seok shook his head.
Then he placed the bag on Lee Jin-pyung’s lap.
“You didn’t even eat breakfast. You’ll get carsick on an empty stomach.”
“Manager…”
Lee Jin-pyung bowed his head gratefully.
Then he ate them one by one, and each time his hand cleared, Baekseol also poked her head forward toward the dried sweet potato strips.
“Is it tasty?”
“Yes, it’s delicious.”
—Clang!
I laughed warmly.
Then I returned my focus to driving.
The engine hummed steadily.
It was far.
After two hours on the Highway, and another forty minutes of driving beyond that, the landscape transformed as if we were entering an entirely different world.
“Wow! The snow hasn’t melted at all.”
Like a child on an outing, Namgoong Min-ah pressed her face against the window as she spoke.
I glanced in that direction and confirmed that the snow from last week had indeed accumulated untouched.
Rugged and rough roads.
Wherever I looked, snow-covered mountains stretched across the horizon in pristine white, and whenever the wind gusted, the snow piled on the roadside swirled and danced like cherry blossoms.
It was a sight rarely seen on urban roads.
We were traveling along those winding paths.
“Wow.”
“Oh.”
“Ah.”
Without anyone prompting it, the moment the expansive Reservoir came into view, exclamations burst forth in unison.
Though it was frozen solid and the surrounding vegetation lay dormant in white, the comfort the Reservoir provided was remarkable.
‘Good choice. The Manager will love this too.’
I was pleased with it in many ways.
The open landscape and the coziness nature offered were appealing, but what pleased me most was that no danger was visible.
The engine hummed on.
I continued driving along the route the navigation system indicated for quite some time.
And finally, when I arrived at a secluded Rural House worthy of an “oh?” I spotted Gwak Young-ho smoking a cigarette.
Thud!
After getting out of the car, I approached Gwak Young-ho first.
“Manager, you arrived quickly?”
“Did you see the Reservoir on the way here?”
“Yes. It was enormous.”
“I asked the locals about it, and they said now is the perfect season. When it freezes solid, it gets up to twenty centimeters thick, and you can even drive on it. And the smelt that comes from here—the size of them. Incredible.”
Gwak Young-ho looked excited, like a fish in water.
“You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”
“No, that’s right.”
“Perfect. Then let’s eat first, organize our luggage, and then go fishing together.”
“You’ll go with me?”
“Of course, Manager.”
Gwak Young-ho’s face filled with genuine emotion, and Namgoong Min-ah and Lee Jin-pyung also said they would join us for fishing.
“This is amazing. Really.”
As I smiled faintly at Gwak Young-ho’s genuine happiness.
—Clang clang clang clang!
Baekseol beside Lee Jin-pyung barked fiercely.
When Kang Hyung-seok turned his head, a dog without a leash was watching from a distance.
An Abandoned Dog, then.
In a rural area, it wasn’t uncommon for dogs to roam without leashes.
But how could such an emaciated creature, with ribs so prominently visible, be anything other than an Abandoned Dog?
“Oh, a dog.”
Namgoong Min-ah rustled through a bag to retrieve a snack, but the startled dog bolted away in an instant.
A melancholic atmosphere settled over the group in that brief moment.
“Do people still abandon dogs these days?”
Gwak Young-ho murmured, and Lee Jin-pyung pressed his lips firmly together.
This was the countryside.
Were all outsiders who came to such places merely seeking a rural vacation?
A child is born, a family moves to a place where they cannot keep a dog, someone gets employed, married, the dog grows old, falls ill.
For countless reasons, so many dogs are abandoned.
“Should we grill some meat first?”
Shin Jung-ah spoke to break the awkward silence, and Gwak Young-ho responded with exaggerated enthusiasm, “That’s a great idea!”
“Lee Deputy Manager, could you help me with this?”
“Of course. What would you like me to do?”
“Let’s get the charcoal lit first. I’ll handle preparing the ingredients.”
“Understood.”
Once preparations were complete, I gazed in the direction the dog had disappeared while grilling the meat.
I hoped it would return, but it never came back—not even by the moment I placed the final piece of meat on the grill.
As if it had confirmed I was not its owner.
***
Pitter-patter.
After finishing the meal and cleaning up everything, we settled in.
Everyone gathered on the wooden platform set up in the Courtyard, and Gwak Young-ho poured individual packets of instant coffee into paper cups before adding hot water.
“Ahh, perfect.”
Shin Jung-ah murmured while cradling the paper cup in both hands, and her sentiment reflected what everyone felt.
“Maybe it’s because of this place. It feels just like being at a Rural House.”
“Same here.”
Namgoong Min-ah chimed in, and Shin Jung-ah, who had no memories of Rural Houses, simply sipped her coffee.
“Manager, what do we do now? Should we go fishing?”
“Ah, should we plan the schedule first?”
Gwak Young-ho’s eyes sparkled at the mention of fishing as he looked at Shin Jung-ah.
“Those who want to fish, follow me. Those who want to rest, just rest.”
“What about at night?”
“Well, it’s the same, isn’t it? We eat dinner and relax like this, right?”
Shin Jung-ah, smiling wryly, cast a suspicious glance at Gwak Young-ho.
“You’re not planning another courage test, are you?”
“What? A courage test?”
“You did one before to build memories, remember? You even sleepwalked to the Valley in the middle of the night back then.”
“Ah, right.”
The last workshop had been in summer.
Gwak Young-ho shook his head in embarrassment at the memory of his troubles at the Valley, then took a sip of coffee.
“So this time, I’m not planning any courage tests.”
“Really?”
“I came early and talked with the Village residents. It’s a bit concerning. They mentioned there are Wild Dog Packs around.”
Wild Dog Packs.
The term didn’t feel unfamiliar, probably because I’d seen an Abandoned Dog before.
Not all abandoned dogs are rescued.
Some adapt to nature and become Wild Dog Packs.
So somewhere in South Korea, there exist packs of Wild Dogs made up of purebred dogs.
“Then should we make nighttime free time?”
“Good. But if anyone goes for a walk, either everyone goes together or move in groups of at least two.”
“Understood.”
Shin Jung-ah’s gaze turned toward Kang Hyung-seok.
It was a look that seemed to say she was relieved, and Kang Hyung-seok nodded in agreement.
The cancellation of the courage test was the biggest reason for the relief.
Wild Dog Packs are beings abandoned by their owners.
Betrayed by those they trusted as family—how could their resentment not run deep?
Resentment becomes grudge, and a Dog Spirit bearing a grudge can become a Malevolent Spirit.
“Come on, those fishing, follow me. Shin Manager?”
“I’ll rest. I need to organize the luggage too.”
“Got it. Once the dishes dry, just put them away for me.”
“Don’t stay out too late.”
While Shin Jung-ah sipped her coffee, the rest of the team prepared for their fishing trip.
Since it all amounted to climbing into Gwak Young-ho’s car, I only needed to grab a single bag—that was the extent of my preparation.
Vroom!
Gwak Young-ho’s vehicle roared to life with a heavy engine growl and sped toward the Reservoir, and the moment we left the Village, an expansive landscape welcomed us with open arms.
“Wow, look at that view. Seriously.”
“I want to live somewhere like this when I retire.”
“By the time Min-ah retires, won’t there be apartment complexes here too…?”
Idle chatter drifted through the car as I sat in the passenger seat, my gaze fixed on the window.
An Abandoned Dog.
The possible existence of a Dog Spirit.
‘I hope nothing dangerous happens.’
Until we arrived here, this road had seemed like the most leisurely place in the world.
But whether it was because I’d seen the sorrowful gaze of the Abandoned Dog, or because I suspected something more sinister might lurk here, the same landscape now struck me with an entirely different feeling.
“Manager Kang, what’s wrong?”
Gwak Young-ho asked with concern as I stared blankly out the window, and I turned my gaze toward him and shook my head.
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
“You’re not getting carsick, are you?”
“No. Carsickness, of all things.”
“People who usually drive tend to get carsick in someone else’s car.”
That might be true, but Gwak Young-ho drove so smoothly that I felt no queasiness whatsoever.
“If you’re feeling unwell, tell me right away. Understood?”
“Understood.”
Gwak Young-ho, who looked terribly worried about me, sought agreement from Namgoong Min-ah and Lee Jin-pyung in the back seat before cracking open the passenger window slightly.
The air was cold but crisp—he wanted me to breathe it in.
Whoosh.
As wind rushed through the narrow gap, I took a deep breath.
And in that moment, my eyes darted rapidly toward the distant Snow-covered Mountain.
‘What is that….’
A dog? Or a Dog Spirit?
I couldn’t tell what it was, but something large and pitch-black moved swiftly between the snow-laden trees.
Screech.
As I lowered the window further, the distinctive faint musty and fishy stench of a spirit wafted in.
Growl!
“Hmm, hmm, hmm.”
My drying mouth and Gwak Young-ho’s cheerful humming about ice fishing seemed to clash in discord.

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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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