An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 338
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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 338
Part 1. What’s There? Nothing, Right? (3)
Time passed, and the day arrived for my return visit to the Vinyl Factory.
It was the moment I finished urgent matters and was about to prepare for the business trip.
Ding.
My phone, resting on the wireless charging dock, captured my attention.
It was Cha Byung-gun.
Ding.
My hand didn’t immediately reach for it—held back by an awkwardness I found difficult to articulate.
When I didn’t answer right away, Namgoong Min-ah shot me a questioning look, and Gwak Young-ho, who had just emerged from the Break Room, turned his gaze toward me as well.
Click.
Unable to delay any longer, I answered the call and brought the phone to my ear.
“Hello? Manager Kang?”
“Good afternoon, Director. I was just preparing to head out.”
“Well, you see… that is… ah.”
I recognized this response pattern.
Business partners always reacted this way when they found themselves in deeply awkward situations.
“Is something the matter?”
Namgoong Min-ah, sensing the unusual tone of the conversation, placed a notepad and pen on my desk, while Gwak Young-ho stood beside me, sipping his coffee.
“The visit. Let’s postpone it to next time.”
“May I ask the reason?”
I thanked Namgoong Min-ah with a glance and picked up the pen, preparing to take notes.
“Someone has died.”
The pen I was about to use on the notepad hesitated.
Still, given the gravity of the matter, I jotted down “Factory Employee Death” on the notepad.
“What? How did that happen… Who was it?”
“There’s a friend who came from Thailand, someone who’s worked there for a long time. Anyway, that friend was on night duty.”
“I see…”
“He must have heard the rumors. He didn’t show up when he came in this morning, so we called around and searched everywhere… and found him there, of all places! Ah!”
Cha Byung-gun didn’t specify the exact location.
But I felt I knew precisely where it was.
The Basement of the Old Building I had seen.
That place where ghosts supposedly appeared—a person had died right there.
“So the Police are here now, and everything’s in chaos. I was so busy handling things that I suddenly remembered to call you.”
“I understand. My condolences to the deceased.”
“Goodness! This has never happened before—I don’t even know how to handle this.”
“First, contact the family. The funeral arrangements should be decided in consultation with them.”
“…Yes, yes. That’s right. That makes sense.”
Cha Byung-gun likely wasn’t ignorant of proper procedures.
But death always shakes the minds of those around it.
Especially if we’d been sharing cigarettes or meals together just yesterday.
“Director, I’ll make sure to visit you later. For now, please take time to compose yourself. And if you decide to hold the funeral domestically, please let me know.”
(Yes, yes. I will. Yes.)
Cha Byung-gun answered like a man whose soul had left his body.
Shortly after, someone’s voice calling out “Director!” echoed from a distance, and Cha Byung-gun ended the call.
“What did he say?”
“One of the Factory Employees has passed away.”
“Oh my.”
Gwak Young-ho rubbed his forehead with a bewildered expression.
But he offered no further words.
One Factory Employee had already quit because of the ghost sighting, and now someone had died.
Even someone who didn’t believe in ghosts couldn’t brush aside a situation like this.
“Kang, if a funeral does take place domestically….”
“Yes. I’ll make sure to pay my respects.”
“If they mention anything like a ritual, I’ll ask you to handle it the way we discussed before.”
“Yes.”
Squeeze.
Gwak Young-ho grasped Kang Hyung-seok’s shoulder firmly, as if to convey his sincere gratitude.
***
It was quitting time that day.
With my scheduled visit to Cha Byung-gun’s place cancelled, my body felt at ease, but my mind remained troubled through the afternoon—and now Shin Jung-ah and I stepped into the Elevator together.
Click.
As the doors closed, Shin Jung-ah leaned her head against the wall and turned her gaze toward me.
“I heard. You got assigned to some strange case?”
“Ah, you heard about it too, Deputy Manager?”
“Is there anything I can help with…?”
I laughed deeply and shook my head.
“Your concern alone is more than enough, thank you.”
“No, seriously.”
“I don’t think I’ll need your help this time.”
Nothing has been clearly established yet.
But it didn’t seem to be the kind of work involving serving deities or anything like that.
It was a matter of a Vengeful Spirit, and if that were the case, it would inevitably involve people.
“Ugh! Seriously.”
Shin Jung-ah exhaled a long sigh as if frustrated herself, then rubbed the back of her neck vigorously.
“Really nothing I can help with? Even something trivial. Your expression right now looks really bad, Kang.”
I glanced at the Mirror attached to the Elevator.
Certainly, my face didn’t look like that of someone at peace.
Perhaps it was even more pronounced because it was quitting time.
“Listen, Deputy Manager.”
“Sure!”
Shin Jung-ah agreed readily, and after a moment’s hesitation, Kang Hyung-seok continued.
“Would it be possible to arrange a meeting with Attorney Ha Yoon?”
“With Ha Yoon?”
Kang Hyung-seok nodded in response.
There were too many eyes watching.
The director didn’t believe in ghosts, so I couldn’t move freely either.
But leaving it alone risked another casualty, so I had to do something immediately.
“I’m concerned about the previous owner. They say contact has been lost, so I was wondering if there might be a way to find them.”
“Got it.”
Shin Jung-ah immediately picked up her phone.
She then pointed to the first floor and looked at Kang Hyung-seok, who nodded to indicate he could come along.
Click.
Shin Jung-ah pressed the first floor button and called Lee Ha-yoon.
(Hello…)
“Hey, get out here.”
(What, all of a sudden!)
Her voice was so loud that Lee Ha-yoon’s words came through clearly despite the phone not being on speaker, and Shin Jung-ah replied in an equally loud voice.
“You’re not busy, right? Hyung-seok needs your help.”
(Hyung-seok? Oh, okay. Got it.)
“We’re heading to the office, so wait out front. You’re getting off work around now anyway.”
(Hey! But please give me a heads up about things like this…)
Click.
Shin Jung-ah hung up and gave me a look that said ‘appointment set’.
Not knowing how to respond in such situations, Kang Hyung-seok could only express his gratitude.
Vroom.
The car was silent as we drove toward Attorney Lee Ha-yoon’s office.
All I heard was the occasional ‘tap-tap-tap’ of Shin Jung-ah sending texts, and the way she clicked her tongue suggested the conversation wasn’t going smoothly.
“I apologize for arranging this meeting so suddenly.”
“No, it’s fine. She’s the one being inconsiderate.”
“Why is that?”
“She’s asking me to buy her Korean beef.”
So this must be how Shin Jung-ah feels watching the conversation between Shin Yoseph and me.
Kang Hyung-seok thought this as he slowed the car, seeing the lawyer’s office ahead.
Tap, tap.
Lee Ha-yoon then tapped on the driver’s window, nodded, and soon opened the rear door to get in.
“It’s been a while! How have you been?”
“Well, thanks to you. And I apologize for contacting you so suddenly.”
“No, I made a deal with Jung-ah to get something expensive out of this.”
“When did I ever!”
Shin Jung-ah raised her voice sharply, while Lee Ha-yoon carefully raised her middle finger where Kang Hyung-seok couldn’t see.
Then it happened.
“I’ll pay for the meal.”
“No way! Why would Manager Kang? I’ll get it.”
“No, please. I made the request, after all.”
Kang Hyung-seok searched for a nearby Korean Beef Restaurant and steered the car in that direction before speaking.
“Actually, there’s something I wanted to ask you about.”
“Oh, yes, yes. Please go ahead.”
It had been a while since they’d seen each other, and the awkwardness made Lee Ha-yoon’s tone stiff as she replied. Kang Hyung-seok kept his focus on driving as he continued.
“The thing is, one of my new Business Partners acquired a Building, but something about it seems off. I was hoping to meet with the previous owner—would that be possible?”
I had to find out without the current owner, the Vinyl Factory, knowing.
It was questionable whether this was even possible, given that I had to keep it secret from the Company as well.
Though I didn’t want to let it show, the weight of my concern pressed down on my vocal cords, leaving my voice low. Lee Ha-yoon’s response, however, was refreshingly upbeat.
“When did they acquire it?”
“I heard it was relatively recent.”
“Hmm.”
Shin Jung-ah sent a tense glance toward the pondering Lee Ha-yoon before speaking.
“Then it’s easy. There’s something called a Real Estate Registration Certificate—they used to call it a Registry Abstract back in the day.”
“A Registry Abstract?”
“It’s been a while since you moved, hasn’t it?”
Lee Ha-yoon spoke playfully, and Shin Jung-ah muttered a silent “right.”
“You can look it up online, and it shows the previous owner’s name, the first digits of their resident registration number, and the address at the time of the transaction.”
“Really…?”
“Yes. There might be a fee—maybe a thousand won? It shouldn’t be expensive.”
Perfect.
Kang Hyung-seok swallowed a sigh, his expression suggesting he’d been overthinking a simpler problem than he realized.
“But about that Building—is something seriously wrong with it?”
“Apparently it was an Abandoned Building that had been vacant for a long time.”
“At that point, there’s bound to be rumors. I’d suggest approaching a local real estate agent.”
“A real estate agent?”
Kang Hyung-seok asked, and Shin Jung-ah jumped in eagerly.
“Should I do it? You don’t want to be exposed, right?”
Lee Ha-yoon twisted her lips at Shin Jung-ah in response.
“Are you crazy? If someone from the same Company asks around, word definitely won’t get out.”
“You….”
Shin Jung-ah’s eyes narrowed sharply, and Lee Ha-yoon quickly turned to Kang Hyung-seok.
“I’ll handle it. I can visit in person when I have time, or just call and ask—that should work.”
“…You’d do that for me?”
“It’s your request, Hyung-seok. This much I can do.”
I hadn’t done anything significant enough to warrant such a favor.
So Kang Hyung-seok cast an apologetic yet awkward glance toward the rearview mirror, but Lee Ha-yoon simply smiled brightly as if to say not to worry about it.
“It’s fine! Ever since that hat incident before, I’ve had some things work out for me too.”
“You’re talking about the case where your aunt killed the victim’s son, right?”
“Yes. The one where Hyung-seok helped with the ritual as well. Back then I worked with some big names, and word spread well, so these days I have plenty of customers and breathing room.”
So that’s how it was.
Kang Hyung-seok smiled faintly with relief and nodded.
“Hey! Then you should pay! Come on!”
“What are you saying? The person who called should pay.”
Shin Jung-ah and Lee Ha-yoon started bickering again, and Kang Hyung-seok let out a wry smile.
“I’ll just pay for it.”
Then, gazing at the Korean Beef Restaurant visible in the distance, he gradually slowed the car’s speed.
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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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