An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 30

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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 29
Part 2. The Raven Cried (1)
Ominousness crept in.
A chilling presence, profanity and revulsion.
A premonition of moving toward a place one should not approach.
All of it struck me like an arrow, sharp and piercing, the moment I heard the Shaman’s Bell ring—it cut right through my body.
“What’s wrong?”
It must have been because I suddenly fell silent.
Lee Jin-pyung cast a questioning glance my way.
I pressed down on the bag resting on my lap with my forearm. The bell continued to ring, yet I felt no vibration transmitted through my forearm.
“Did you happen to hear a strange sound? Something like a bell?”
“No.”
I clamped my lips shut until they turned pale.
‘It’s exactly the same.’
There had been times before when the Shaman’s Bell rang while others were present.
Back then it was Shin Jung-ah, and she had reacted as if she heard nothing at all.
Just like Lee Jin-pyung now.
‘The Household Deity is warning me through the Shaman’s Bell.’
The Shaman’s Bell was a sacred object, a spiritual instrument that facilitated the connection between me and my Household Deity.
The fact that only I could hear the bell’s ring meant it was a warning of danger.
‘What are you trying to tell me? What danger are you warning of?’
Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw!
A raven suddenly swept across the front of the car, and dread flooded through me completely.
“Phew, that startled me.”
Despite nearly causing an accident, Lee Jin-pyung showed only an indifferent reaction.
Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw!
As the raven’s cries continued, I exhaled sharply and asked quietly.
“How much farther to the Warehouse?”
A moving car is dangerous.
We need to stop.
Ideally right now, or at least as soon as possible.
“Soon. It’s right ahead.”
The distance was too short to ask him to pull over.
I gripped the seatbelt tightly and shifted my gaze to the Spitz Victim Spirit sitting on Lee Jin-pyung’s lap.
It seemed to sense something too.
-Whimper, whimper.
The creature trembled with its tail tucked between its legs.
The remaining 500 meters to the Warehouse felt impossibly long—as if it were five kilometers instead.
“You have arrived at your destination. Navigation complete.”
Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw!
Why were there so many crows today of all days?
Crows so numerous that the power lines sagged under their weight surrounded the area, watching intently, while Shaman’s Bell rang ceaselessly.
Stepping out of the car, I faced the Warehouse.
Graffiti covered every inch of the walls.
Shattered windows, thick iron chains securing the metal door.
The surroundings were clean, but it felt as though someone had just swept them with a broom.
Damn it, something feels wrong.
It was the moment I was about to speak to Lee Jin-pyung.
“Over here. Right here.”
A middle-aged man reeking of cigarette smoke emerged from the corner of the Warehouse. Lee Jin-pyung bowed first, and I shifted my gaze toward him.
‘Focus. Stay focused.’
No matter how ominous and unsettling the feeling, this was business.
And my guardian spirit protects me.
I took a short, discreet breath and pulled a business card from my wallet.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Kang Hyung-seok, Deputy Manager at Daejeong Materials.”
“Ma Jin-su. Let me show you inside first.”
Ma Jin-su retrieved a key from the pocket where he’d placed the business card.
Clank, clatter!
He unfastened the chains securing the Warehouse and pulled the metal door open.
The lights weren’t on, so despite the bright afternoon, the Warehouse interior appeared dim.
“Feel free to look around. It’s been vacant for a while, so the exterior is a bit rough, but the interior is clean. Once you sign the contract, I’ll have it repainted and everything.”
Ma Jin-su simply stood by the doorway like a hotel bellhop.
“Aren’t you coming inside?”
“Another client is coming, but they seem to be getting lost. I should probably head out front to look for them.”
Before I could say anything.
Lee Jin-pyung entered the Warehouse first and switched on the lights, gesturing for me to hurry inside.
I glanced at Ma Jin-su before stepping into the Warehouse.
“It’s cleaner than I expected. The size is good too.”
Inside the cool Warehouse, the insensitive Lee Jin-pyung expressed satisfaction.
I, on the other hand, did not.
‘The crows have gone silent.’
The crows that had been crying out as if the sky itself were being torn away fell silent in an instant.
Looking outside the Warehouse, countless crows stood with their beaks closed as if in prayer, staring at Lee Jin-pyung and me.
As my face hardened, Ma Jin-su spoke up.
“If you look over there, there’s air conditioning too. You can store pharmaceuticals or food products.”
“Would it be alright if I took some photos?”
“Of course, feel free to look around.”
Lee Jin-pyung began walking around the Warehouse with his phone in hand. I examined every corner of the Warehouse with a sharp, piercing gaze.
I had to understand the source of this foreboding.
‘If this truly is connected to the Warehouse….’
I cannot contract with this Warehouse.
For some reason, my nape prickles with an inexplicable chill.
As if I had just stepped into a cursed house.
It was then.
Ting-a-ling.
The Shaman’s Bell chimed, as if pointing the way.
I glanced down at my bag, then shifted my gaze toward the source of the sound.
A corner of the Warehouse—where stairs led up to the second floor.
Thud, thud.
As I drew closer to that spot,
Ting-a-ling-a-ling!
The Shaman’s Bell drove away the surrounding energy, revealing its form.
‘What the hell….’
It resembled a spider with its head torn clean off.
A round body sprouting an grotesquely profusion of legs.
Movements that writhed with nauseating fluidity.
And covering its entire body—eyes like those of a cow.
Not a malevolent spirit, but something far more sinister.
Meeting its gaze, I felt a paralyzing cold grip my entire body.
‘A Sha.’
An entity that descends like an arrow, dealing lethal harm.
It existed in this Warehouse.
***
“This warehouse won’t work. I think we should look elsewhere.”
(Why?)
I was standing a block away from the warehouse.
I called Gwak Young-ho while lingering at a distance from the warehouse, while Lee Jin-pyung remained within sight, conversing with the warehouse owner.
(You said you saw the contract. You said there wouldn’t be any major issues. So why?)
I exhaled a quiet sigh.
‘How am I supposed to explain this?’
The warehouse had a corpse stuck in it.
He wouldn’t want to sign a contract that would lead to a funeral. I had to stop this.
How could I possibly say that?
So I had no choice but to make excuses.
“The warehouse is more deteriorated than I expected. All the windows are broken, so there might be theft issues.”
(You can just write in the contract to have them replaced.)
“The transportation access is also problematic. The roads are narrower than anticipated, so it would be inconvenient for trucks to come and go.”
(When I checked on Street View, it didn’t seem that bad?)
“It’s different when you see it in person.”
Even I thought my excuses were pathetic.
But I had to prevent this contract from being signed, no matter what.
(Kang, be honest with me. Is there something?)
Gwak Young-ho’s question shot at me like an arrow.
“…No. There’s nothing.”
(Be honest. Why are you like this? Is the warehouse owner standing next to you? Is that why you can’t speak freely?)
Gwak Young-ho spoke with the frustration of someone whose plans weren’t going as intended.
“No. The warehouse owner is with Lee Jin-pyung.”
(I don’t understand. Why are you acting like you’ve seen something you shouldn’t have in the warehouse?)
Suddenly, I wished Gwak Young-ho were Shin Jung-ah instead.
Then at least I could speak honestly.
(Kang, I told you. We need the warehouse urgently. This is important.)
“If you could give me a little more time, I’ll find a better place.”
(We need to move things out of the old warehouse right away—there’s no time for that. And I’m just mentioning this now, but the chairman is also considering business expansion.)
“Expansion?”
(Direct overseas purchasing is trending these days. We’re planning to launch a business in partnership with purchasing agent websites. If things go well, we could even handle shipping services.)
“I see….”
Now I understood why he was in such a rush to secure a warehouse.
I turned my head toward the direction of Pyeongtaek.
This warehouse was indeed not far from Pyeongtaek Port.
Aside from the corpse, there truly wasn’t another warehouse with such excellent location, price, and conditions.
(If the new business settles in well, there will be organizational restructuring too. You understand what I’m getting at, right?)
“I understand.”
Words that offered hope.
It meant there might be an opportunity for promotion.
It also meant that whoever scratched the itch at this time of business expansion would receive those privileges.
‘So that’s why he told me to go to the Warehouse.’
Gwak Young-ho had been looking out for me, but the problem was that the Warehouse had become a sticking point.
(So be honest with me. What’s the problem?)
“…The energy here isn’t good.”
(What?)
I rubbed my eyes, which had grown dry for some reason, and opened my mouth with difficulty.
“I apologize for being unable to explain this better. But if we sign a contract with this Warehouse, I believe it will be dangerous.”
(You said your major was folklore, right?)
“Yes.”
(I don’t see what you learned there has to do with a warehouse, but that’s all superstition.)
A typical statement from someone who doesn’t believe.
I listened to Gwak Young-ho’s continued words with a heavy heart.
(I’m not dismissing what you learned, but it’s not something you should connect to work.)
I knew this would happen.
That’s why it’s so difficult to speak up.
I pressed my lower lip against my upper teeth and nodded.
“I apologize, Manager. I misspoke.”
(My wife goes to the Shamanic Temple, you know. If you’re really anxious, I’ll get a talisman and put it up for you. Got it? That should take care of everything.)
Whether he sensed the mood or not, Gwak Young-ho spoke brightly as usual, but it wasn’t particularly comforting.
Still, I managed a bitter smile and said.
“No, Manager. There’s no need to do that.”
A talisman wouldn’t fix something this serious.
(No. No. If you’re anxious, Kang, I can’t just ignore that. So trust me and just go ahead with the contract if you can. But don’t forget to examine it carefully.)
“Understood.”
(Then I’ll hang up! Fighting!)
The call with Gwak Young-ho ended.
I turned toward the Warehouse with a face that looked like I wanted to smoke a cigarette.
“Huh?”
Unexpectedly, Lee Jin-pyung was standing at a distance, holding two canned coffees in his hands, watching me.
“Kang, are you done with your call?”
“Oh, yes.”
Standing there awkwardly, Lee Jin-pyung approached and held out one of the canned coffees.
“Have some.”
“Where did this coffee come from?”
“There’s a vending machine over there. I thought you might be thirsty.”
I had seen it on the way, but that vending machine dispensed paper cups.
To get canned coffee, I would have had to go to the Convenience Store, which was a bit farther away.
I looked at Lee Jin-pyung’s face, wondering if he had been concerned about me talking alone, and his eyes showed that he had truly brought the coffee for me.
“Here you go.”
“Ah, yes, thank you.”
Kang Hyung-seok took the can of coffee, its chill already fading, and offered an awkward smile.
“I appreciate this. I never would have imagined it.”
“Who were you speaking with?”
“The director. He said to go ahead with the contract if there are no issues.”
“Then let’s proceed with that.”
“By the way, nothing unusual happened at the Warehouse, did it?”
“It was just cool and pleasant.”
Sigh, Lee Jin-pyung, this man really.
Despite his taciturn nature, his exterior and interior were identical, which put my mind at ease.
“I’ll enjoy it.”
Kang Hyung-seok opened the can of coffee and took a sip.
Then he toured the Warehouse once more with Lee Jin-pyung, and reluctantly pressed his seal onto the contract that Ma Jin-su had drawn up.
A contract executed only because of Gwak Young-ho’s directive.
But had I known the contents of the phone call that came that night, I would never have signed it.
It was news of Lee Jin-pyung’s accident.

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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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