An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 353

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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 353
Part 6. A Son’s Fate (3)
Click.
It was Monday morning.
Despite Kang Hyung-seok’s insistence on staying another day, Park Jung-im ushered her son out the door, telling him to go rest.
“I’ve packed dried side dishes for you, so make sure you eat properly. Don’t just order delivery all the time.”
“I don’t order that often. And you really don’t have to pack so much.”
“A mother’s heart is what it is.”
Park Jung-im had prepared an almost excessive amount of food.
From kimchi to the side dishes she’d spent all of Sunday afternoon making, they filled the trunk to capacity.
“If you can’t eat something right away, just put it in the freezer instead. You know which ones to eat first, right?”
Kang Hyung-seok laughed with a look that said he’d never actually freeze kimchi.
“Yes.”
“Good. Then get going.”
Park Jung-im pulled Kang Hyung-seok into a tight embrace in front of the car.
Behind them, Kang Doo-seok gave a look that seemed to ask “why is she acting like this today?”, and Kang Hyung-seok silently held his mother close.
“I’ll head out now. Take care of yourselves.”
“Next time you visit, just come to rest. Just that.”
Don’t struggle like you did this time.
The words she couldn’t bring herself to say pressed against her throat, making her voice come out thick with emotion.
“…Yes.”
Kang Hyung-seok understood her heart, so he spoke calmly and bowed his head toward Kang Doo-seok.
“I’ll be going now, Father.”
“Yes, yes. Will you come back for the next holiday?”
“I’ll make time.”
“Good! Then we’ll have a drink together next time, just us men.”
Kang Doo-seok chuckled and patted Kang Hyung-seok’s shoulder.
Click.
Sliding into the driver’s seat, Kang Hyung-seok flashed a smile at his parents seeing him off and called out, “See you next time!”
I was leaving my parents’ house.
The car had grown heavier with all the supplies, but my heart felt even heavier.
All the more so because I could see my parents waving through the rearview mirror.
“Sigh.”
It was always like this, but at moments like these, I felt like an ungrateful son.
With a heavy heart, I drove slowly, honoring my parents’ words to drive carefully.
My parents’ house receded into the distance, and my own house drew steadily closer.
My heart grew heavier and a bitter taste filled my mouth, yet paradoxically my mind seemed to sharpen.
It was because I knew I had to return to my ordinary life now.
Bzzzzt!
The vibration of my phone announcing an incoming call felt cruelly timed today.
Click.
Kang Hyung-seok answered the call, his gaze fixed forward as he spoke.
“What is it?”
(Can you talk? Are you on a business trip?)
“No. I took a day off and I’m visiting my parents’ house.”
(Wow, what a dutiful son.)
“Don’t call me that.”
Park Jung-im’s expression when I finished the ritual to guide the spirits dwelling in the coal to the afterlife would linger in my memory for a long time.
“So why?”
(When you have time, let’s meet up for a bit. It’s been a while.)
Vroom.
The vehicle merged onto the highway, and as it reached sufficient speed, the heavy engine sound filled the interior completely.
The subtle vibration seemed to quicken my heartbeat, and the nearby scenery rushing past felt like cold needles flying toward me.
Shin Yoseph wasn’t the type to ask to meet without reason.
“What’s going on?”
Kang Hyung-seok asked in a low voice, and Shin Yoseph’s voice flowed through the Bluetooth-connected speaker.
(It’s not pleasant news, that’s for sure.)
“Did you find out something?”
(To be honest, yes.)
“What is it?”
(There’s a village with an abandoned coal mine, and they found a strange corpse there.)
“A corpse?”
Suddenly, the air inside the car felt heavy and stale.
Kang Hyung-seok rolled his tongue in his mouth and exhaled a sigh through his teeth.
The time I’d spent with my parents seemed to abruptly fall away from the speeding car, and simultaneously, a cool and frigid air seemed to take its place.
(This isn’t something to discuss over the phone. I’ll head toward your place. What time will you arrive?)
Kang Hyung-seok checked his watch and the remaining time displayed on the navigation system, then opened his mouth.
“Leave now. We’ll arrive around the same time.”
(Got it.)
Click.
The call ended, and Kang Hyung-seok realized something belatedly.
Today was Monday, the time when office workers should be at the company working.
But Shin Yoseph had said he’d come right away without any hesitation.
It must be quite urgent.
“Tsk.”
Kang Hyung-seok clicked his tongue and pressed down on the accelerator.
As if acknowledging the urgency in my heart, my car also increased its speed and began racing swiftly down the highway.
***
Thud.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one in a hurry.
Shin Yoseph, who had arrived first, was smoking a cigarette beneath a utility pole near the house, and the garbage bag at his feet was littered with cigarette butts crammed inside.
“You’re here?”
“Let’s talk inside the house.”
“This is the place, right?”
Shin Yoseph pointed accurately at my house, but I opened the trunk without answering.
“Just help me carry the luggage.”
“Damn it, seriously.”
Shin Yoseph’s face twisted with irritation, and my eyes narrowed as well.
“My parents packed this for us. You want me to throw it away?”
“No, that’s not it.”
Shin Yoseph immediately changed his attitude and picked up what looked like the lightest item from the trunk.
“That’s a kimchi container, so be careful the broth doesn’t spill.”
Though Shin Yoseph looked like he had plenty to say, he followed me without complaint, carrying the kimchi container.
Thud.
I opened the refrigerator door and organized the food Park Jung-im had packed one by one.
I put the side dishes I could eat right away in the refrigerator compartment, and stored things like marinated short ribs that seemed like too much for one meal in the freezer.
Click.
After finishing organizing the refrigerator, I crouched down and looked up at Shin Yoseph.
“What’s this about a corpse?”
Shin Yoseph’s eyes, which had been rubbing his sore hands, opened narrowly.
Then he took out his phone from his pocket, manipulated it briefly, and showed me the screen with an article displayed.
“It’s faster if you read it yourself.”
I took the phone and slowly read through the article.
An article about a man in his forties found dead in the mountains.
The corpse was damaged, and the prosecution was tracking down the victim’s identity.
But there were no photos.
“My attendant was the one who discovered the body. I sent him to investigate, and things ended up this way.”
Whoosh.
I handed the phone back to Shin Yoseph, and he took it back, touched it for a moment, then handed it to me again.
I wished I hadn’t looked at it.
It was a gruesome photo that made me think that.
“What is this?”
“Don’t you think it’s strange?”
A decomposed corpse.
It was rotted and falling apart just like Kim San’s body I’d seen before, and what stood out was that the chest was wide open.
A small electric chainsaw, blackened from decay, lay nearby.
The location itself was strange too.
It was in the middle of the forest, yet there were no large rocks or trees around the corpse.
It looked as though someone had deliberately arranged it, or chosen a location like this with intention.
Swish.
Kang Hyung-seok examined the surroundings while enlarging the photograph, then turned his gaze toward Shin Yoseph.
“What’s your take?”
“A sacrifice.”
“Sigh.”
Already feeling a dull ache forming in his head, Kang Hyung-seok pressed his palm against his forehead.
A sacrifice.
The moment he heard it, a cult came to mind.
But there was something unsettling about dismissing it as merely a cult.
“It doesn’t seem like the work of a person.”
Shin Yoseph’s low voice had an oddly captivating quality, and it was only after Kang Hyung-seok cast a questioning look seeking explanation that he continued.
“It’s suicide.”
“Suicide?”
“Why else would you investigate this place?”
Creak.
Shin Yoseph sat down in a dining chair, and Kang Hyung-seok took the seat across from him.
“It happens every ten years. People dying in strange ways. This is the third confirmed case.”
“…But you just said it was a sacrifice.”
“Offering oneself is also a sacrifice.”
Kang Hyung-seok recalled the photograph he’d seen on Shin Yoseph’s phone moments ago.
Despite being merely a photo, it conveyed an unnaturally vivid sense of presence.
The damp scent of the forest.
An unnamed bird crying out, the wind itself feeling desolate, a man in the forest depths splitting open his own chest with a chainsaw.
“Does that even make sense?”
“You know cases like that exist.”
With eyes lost in deep contemplation, Kang Hyung-seok nodded.
He knew of instances where humans committed inhuman acts and displayed superhuman strength.
“Possession.”
“This time, it could be the work of a demon.”
Kang Hyung-seok exhaled a long breath through his lips.
It was an unsettling story, as strange as this house itself felt.
“I can’t spare the time right now. I’m on leave until tomorrow.”
It seemed like something that couldn’t be resolved in just a day or two.
That’s why he’d mentioned it, and Shin Yoseph opened his mouth with eyes that already anticipated his meaning.
“Then let’s move on Wednesday.”
“I’ll contact the Manager, so you come up with a reasonable excuse.”
“Sneaking in some sales calls?”
As if to lighten the serious atmosphere, Shin Yoseph tossed out a playful remark.
Kang Hyung-seok let out a short laugh and nodded emphatically with an exaggerated motion.
“You’re heading straight on a business trip after your vacation ends. Take care of yourself.”
“Expensive guy. Got it. Once we wrap this job up cleanly, I’ll make sure you get a performance bonus.”
The two of them had to move again.
Not as office workers and an executive, but as a Shaman and an exorcist priest.
This wasn’t work to be taken lightly—it required resolve, and they had no way of knowing what dangers they might face.
Because of that, the two of them seemed desperate in their attempt to savor the precious moments of everyday life as much as possible.
“I’m heading out. I have work to do.”
“Want me to see you off?”
“Don’t bother.”
Shin Yoseph waved his hand lightly and left the house.
Click.
Once he closed the door and departed, the house grew so quiet that the hum of the refrigerator became audible.
Left alone, Kang Hyung-seok swept his hair back and pressed his lips together firmly.
If only this wouldn’t turn out to be something serious.
If only it were just some bizarre incident born of coincidence.
His heart yearned for that, yet the worry that had settled in his eyes refused to fade easily.
And as time passed, that night arrived.
Click.
Kang Hyung-seok turned off the light and lay down on his bed.
He pulled the blanket up to his neck, closed his eyes gently, and released the tension from his facial muscles.
He knew intellectually that he needed to sleep.
But the photographs he’d seen during the day and Shin Yoseph’s voice echoed through his mind, making sleep elusive.
‘Can you hear me.’
Seeking inner peace, he spoke to the Guardian Spirit with his eyes closed.
‘If you can hear my heart, please answer. If this incident truly wasn’t caused by human hands, what should I be careful of and wary of.’
Kang Hyung-seok clasped his hands together in prayer.
It was then.
Jingle.
The Shaman’s Bell, placed near his desk, chimed softly.

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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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