An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 350

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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 350
Part 5. A Place to Rest (3)
Vroom.
I had driven a long distance.
The road hadn’t been blocked or anything, but by the time I arrived at my parents’ house, the sun was beginning to set.
Click.
After unfastening my seatbelt, I grabbed the large box from the passenger seat and stepped out of the car.
I’d picked it up at a Warehouse Discount Mart on the way here, and it was packed with health supplements, beverages, and meat for my parents.
Ding dong.
I’d arrived without calling ahead.
I knew it might seem childish.
But I didn’t want to see my parents scrambling to prepare things, saying their son had come after so long, and I especially didn’t want to see them apologizing if they happened to be away from home.
If parents hold love for their children, then children too must hold love for their parents.
‘Are they not home?’
It was the moment I was about to check my wristwatch with a disappointed expression.
Footsteps sounded from inside.
The door opened, and soon my mother Park Jung-im’s astonished face filled my vision.
“Oh my! Oh my!”
Park Jung-im gasped in surprise, covering her mouth, and I broke into a broad smile as I lifted the box I’d set on the ground.
“I suddenly had some free time, so I stopped by.”
“You should have called first!”
“I was in the area handling some business and suddenly thought of home.”
“Come in. Come in. That must be heavy. Why did you buy all this?”
I set the box down near the dining table and looked around the house.
It felt like about six months since I’d last been here.
The house hadn’t changed much in that time, but unfortunately, my mother’s face had not remained the same.
Just six months.
Yet the corners of my mother’s eyes, which I was seeing after so long, bore wrinkles that seemed deeper than before.
“Have you eaten?”
“Not yet. How about you?”
Park Jung-im said as she organized the things I’d brought, and I opened the refrigerator door to help her.
“I took care of it on the way here. There’s no need to prepare anything special. Did Father go fishing with Uncle?”
“No, your father is out drinking with his friends. He said he’d be back late.”
“Is that so?”
“Sigh, the older he gets, the more childish his behavior becomes. Your father, I mean.”
I let out a bitter laugh at my mother’s complaint.
“You’re staying the night, right?”
Park Jung-im asked, her voice tinged with hope she couldn’t quite hide, and my hands, which had been placing meat in the refrigerator, came to an abrupt stop.
“Yes, of course. I have time off until Tuesday.”
“Really? That’s wonderful!”
It seems she’s quite pleased.
I could tell from the happiness in Park Jung-im’s laughter.
“I’ll head up Monday night or Tuesday morning.”
“Go on Tuesday. Driving at night worries me.”
“Understood.”
“You brought fruit too? I’ll wash it so you can eat it tonight. Oh, would you like some tea? A friend of mine just returned from Taiwan and brought me oolong tea as a gift.”
“I’ll get it.”
“Sit down.”
Park Jung-im forced me into a seat at the dining table and began preparing the tea.
She retrieved a ceramic teapot that appeared to be from a home shopping network, measured out tea leaves from a metal canister, poured hot water, and served the tea into two elegant cups.
Sip.
I took a sip of the tea.
I don’t know much about tea.
But I could immediately sense that the flavor and aroma were delicate enough to feel distinctly like a gift.
“You’ve been well, Mother?”
“Me? Always the same, what else.”
Park Jung-im answered as if delighted by my concern, and I continued with a subtle smile.
“You haven’t experienced any discomfort or anything unusual?”
“Goodness, why? Are you planning to give me a talisman?”
“I haven’t learned how to make talismans.”
I took another sip of tea and surveyed the house.
This is my parents’ home, a place I’ve come to simply be their son.
Yet I find myself examining it like a Shaman, unable to help but be concerned about my parents.
“You’ve attended a funeral recently?”
After examining the Entrance, Living Room, and Inner Room, I spoke, and Park Jung-im’s expression stiffened slightly.
“You can sense such things?”
That probably wasn’t what Park Jung-im truly wanted to ask.
Most people would have asked if it was serious.
But because I’m her son, she asked in this way instead.
I shook my head to tell her not to worry.
“It’s nothing serious. You don’t need to be concerned.”
“And you… you’re not struggling?”
“I have to accept it.”
I answered with a somewhat subdued expression.
Now I understand.
I’ve come to know how great an existence my spiritual master is, and therefore I understand that the path I must walk is not a light one.
“I’ll place some protective barriers later. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”
Park Jung-im smiled, pulling up the corners of her mouth, and gave a small nod.
It was then.
Beep beep beep beep.
The sound of the door lock being pressed echoed through the space, and both Park Jung-im and I turned our attention toward the entrance.
Soon after, Kang Doo-seok stumbled in carefully, his face flushed crimson from intoxication.
“Honey, I’m home.”
“No! How much did you drink?”
“I only meant to have a little… oh?”
Upon spotting me, Kang Doo-seok’s expression transformed into that of someone who had just encountered their savior.
“Who’s this? Isn’t it Hyung-seok? How did you get here?”
“I just stopped by. How have you been, Father?”
“I’m doing well. Ah, you rascal. Let me get a good look at your face.”
Kang Doo-seok approached me with the nimbleness of a loach evading Park Jung-im’s piercing gaze.
Then he pulled me into a tight embrace, and Park Jung-im’s palm came down squarely across his broad back.
Smack!
“Ow!”
“Stop bothering the boy and go wash up! Goodness, you reek of soju.”
“Sorry. Sorry.”
Kang Doo-seok laughed sheepishly and gestured toward me as if tilting a soju glass.
It was a signal for us to share another drink later as father and son, and naturally, Park Jung-im’s palm found its way to Kang Doo-seok’s back once more.
Smack!
“Ow!”
***
Click.
Leaving the Small Room, I made my way to the Bathroom with careful, deliberate steps to avoid making noise.
Throughout this, Kang Doo-seok’s snoring continued unabated—a long-standing habit whenever he drank.
‘Mother must be exhausted.’
If the sound was audible even with the door closed, it must be truly unbearable for the person sleeping beside him.
“Cough! Cough!”
Whether Park Jung-im had covered his nose or done something else entirely, Kang Doo-seok coughed loudly, and soon after, the snoring subsided.
The realization crystallized within me: I was truly at my Parents’ House.
Whoosh.
Standing in the center of the darkened Living Room, I lifted my head.
Then, rounding my lips, I exhaled slowly.
My parents were sleeping, so I couldn’t make loud sounds.
Thus I could only produce a whisper far too faint to be called whistling, and I began examining the Ceiling and corners of the house with focused attention.
Wheeeee.
For some reason, there was spiritual residue lingering within the house.
Normally, spiritual residue in a household either originates from the land itself or is brought back from funerals in the form of mourning-related spiritual contamination.
‘What is this?’
But something felt different.
There was something present—distinct from mourning contamination, faint in presence yet unmistakably there.
It was the kind of sensation akin to catching a faint whiff of perfume from someone across from you on an escalator.
Click.
I scooped red chili powder and salt into my palm from the kitchen, mixed them together, and sprinkled the blend across the ceiling corners, the shoe rack, and the entrance door.
The simple ritual dulled the malevolent energy dwelling within the house, yet a faint trace still lingered against my nostrils.
Where exactly was it emanating from?
Pad, pad.
As I wandered through the house, I came to a halt before the dining table.
My brow furrowed, and I reached out to pick up a metal canister.
The tea leaf container my mother had received as a gift.
Pop.
I opened the container and inhaled the aroma of oolong tea leaves, then replaced the lid.
I brought the canister close to my nose.
Here it is.
The scent I couldn’t detect while drinking tea—masked by the fragrance—was emanating from this very place.
Like fingerprints smudged on a mirror, malevolent energy clung to the tea leaf canister.
***
The next day arrived.
Bubble, bubble, bubble.
A bowl of soybean paste stew was placed on the table, and Kang Doo-seok, looking drained from his hangover, picked up his spoon while gauging Park Jung-im’s expression.
“Good grief! You really need to cut back on the drinking. How can you make a promise and not keep it for even three days?”
“I’m sorry.”
Park Jung-im took her seat, and I poured a glass of water for each of my parents and set them before them.
“The table is quite lavish now that our son is here.”
“I prepared it this morning together with Hyung-seok.”
“Really?”
Kang Doo-seok was startled and looked at me, while Park Jung-im released a small sigh and opened her mouth.
“More importantly, I have a gathering this morning. Can you give me a ride?”
“Where to?”
“A cafe downtown. Gyeong-soon wants to see me once more before she leaves the country.”
“That family travels overseas quite frequently.”
“They’re doing well now. They spent their whole lives in the house and at the factory, so now they can afford to do this.”
Whoosh.
So couples really are couples, after all.
Watching Park Jung-im send a lukewarm glance toward Kang Doo-seok, who appeared severely hungover, while still pushing meat side dishes toward him.
“You eat plenty too, Hyung-seok.”
“Yes.”
I began my meal, mixing the warm and savory soybean paste stew with white rice.
Then my gaze drifted toward the oolong tea canister placed on one side of the table.
“Mother, that friend of yours—”
“Hmm?”
“The one who gave you that oolong tea?”
I asked just in case.
“Yeah. Even when I tell her there’s no need, the moment I mention going overseas, she insists on packing all sorts of things for me.”
Kang Hyung-seok gazed at the oolong tea container with a look that said, “Just as I thought.”
“Why? Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing.”
There was clearly something on his mind.
Kang Hyung-seok watched Kang Doo-seok continue eating in silence for a moment, then met Park Jung-im’s eyes.
“I’ll take you today.”
“You?”
Kang Doo-seok looked up at Kang Hyung-seok in surprise, and Park Jung-im’s eyes widened noticeably.
“Yes. Since I’m here anyway, let’s go together. Father, you should rest at home.”
“Well, that works for me.”
Kang Doo-seok spoke cheerfully before receiving a stern look from Park Jung-im.
After that, Kang Doo-seok’s gaze returned to his rice bowl.
“Sigh, you’re better than your father.”
“What time should we go?”
“We’re scheduled to meet at 11 in the morning, so we can have a coffee and then head out.”
As Park Jung-im sent a grateful look his way, Kang Hyung-seok nodded with a faint smile.
Then he lowered his head to resume eating, though his gaze and thoughts remained fixed on the oolong tea container.

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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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