An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 36

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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 35
Part 4. So You’re a True Person of Fortune (1)
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
The sky was so crystalline it made me wish it weren’t Monday.
With the leisurely atmosphere unique to lunch hour layered atop it, even the Company Rooftop felt like a place where I’d want to spread out a mat and recline.
It would have been even more so if Shin Jung-ah hadn’t been glaring at me with that displeased expression.
“Siiigh—!”
Leaning against the railing, Shin Jung-ah tidied her wind-tousled hair as she smoked.
“I said, don’t you have anything to say?”
I brought the 2,700-won convenience store coffee to my lips while exhaling a quiet sigh.
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“I’m not sure what you mean?”
Shin Jung-ah mimicked my words mockingly, her gaze sharp and cutting.
“You made me come to the office on my day off to sprinkle salt—shouldn’t you at least say thank you?”
Right. The salt.
I had indeed asked Shin Jung-ah to sprinkle salt for me.
I’d completely forgotten about it because of the Vengeful Spirit in the Warehouse, so I lowered my face in embarrassment.
“Thank you, Deputy Manager.”
“Siiigh—!”
Shin Jung-ah exhaled smoke with a face nearly as terrifying as the Vengeful Spirit itself.
“I’ve been forgetting—do you know how much trouble I had sprinkling salt on Saturday?”
“…You did?”
Since she hadn’t contacted me about it, I hadn’t even imagined it.
“People kept nagging me about how salt kills all the roots in the flower beds! The nagging, the endless nagging—!”
Shin Jung-ah poured out her grievances, then pressed her fists against her eyes. Taking a deep breath in that position, she took another drag from her cigarette.
“So, was it resolved?”
I drew in a long breath and shifted my gaze to the sky. Looking at that blue expanse, I found myself thinking of Kim Soon-hee, who had ascended to heaven.
“It’s all been resolved.”
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
I was prepared to accept whatever complaint or regret Shin Jung-ah might pour out.
“Fine then. That’s that.”
But contrary to my expectations, Shin Jung-ah’s voice came out deflated.
“What?”
“You said it’s resolved. So it’s resolved, that’s all.”
Watching Shin Jung-ah suppress her irritation, I offered an awkward smile tinged with apology.
“It’s not entirely finished.”
“I know! There’s Deputy Manager Lee too. But what happens to him?”
“That’s… honestly, I’m not sure.”
“What?”
“The Victim Spirit haunting the Warehouse—the one responsible—has ascended. But Deputy Manager Lee’s injuries are still injuries, aren’t they?”
Shin Jung-ah, understanding Kang Hyung-seok’s words, twisted her lips to reveal her discomfort.
“This is maddening.”
“As for the rest, we can only hope time will heal it. With proper treatment, he’ll recover.”
I had done everything I could.
The realm of Shamanism was finished.
The rest lay with modern medicine and Lee Jin-pyung.
Yet I wasn’t deeply worried.
‘Because there’s someone watching over him.’
Lee Jin-pyung isn’t alone.
The Spitz Victim Spirit.
This creature stands guard at his side.
What must it feel like?
The Spitz’s feelings, having to struggle not to reunite with its master.
The touch it longs for, the face that would welcome it, the voice calling its name—all of it can only happen after Lee Jin-pyung’s death.
“Are you satisfied, Deputy Manager Kang?”
I looked at Shin Jung-ah, uncertain what she meant.
“What do you mean?”
“Whether the result is satisfying. Right now.”
It seemed like a question laden with multiple meanings.
So I pondered for a moment, but still couldn’t think of any other answer.
“It doesn’t feel clean.”
Shin Jung-ah brought a cigarette to her lips with a look that said, ‘You feel it too?’
“Lee Jin-pyung’s situation, and perhaps because I couldn’t witness the end of the guilty party.”
The innocent Lee Jin-pyung lies in a hospital bed.
Then what of those who committed the crime?
Ma Deputy Manager and the Factory Owner?
Perhaps, having committed sins, they never lived comfortably, and in death, they didn’t go to a good place either.
But I don’t know their end.
It simply left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Screech.
Just then, Gwak Young-ho pushed the door open with his shoulder, cigarette still in his mouth.
“Huh? What, you two were together?”
“Did you enjoy your meal?”
I greeted him,
“Taste in the Company Cafeteria? What taste.”
“You should’ve gone somewhere better.”
At Shin Jung-ah’s words, Gwak Young-ho laughed bitterly and waved his hand.
“The mortgage debt I have to pay off is astronomical. Astronomical.”
Click click!
Despite what he was saying, Gwak Young-ho didn’t look displeased as he lit his cigarette.
“Phew, the weather’s nice today. Ah, Manager Shin.”
“Yes.”
Shin Jung-ah answered after stubbing out her shortened cigarette.
“Could I borrow Kang the Deputy Manager this afternoon?”
“Why are you asking me that? More importantly, what for?”
“Nothing major. I just need to go to the Warehouse with him.”
“The Warehouse?”
Shin Jung-ah’s gaze shifted toward Kang Hyung-seok, her eyes clouded with unease.
Anything related to the Warehouse made her anxious.
“Is something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.”
“Then I’ll go instead.”
“No. It’s about contract modifications, so I should be the one to go.”
“But the contract’s already been finalized. Is there really something to change?”
Shin Jung-ah’s brow furrowed sharply.
A change in contract terms was as significant as any incident at the Warehouse.
“They’re saying they’ll rewrite it in our favor.”
“I’m sorry… what?”
“I got a text while eating. Before they change their mind, I need to get a new seal stamped right away.”
“No, I… I don’t understand this.”
The contract was already sealed and signed.
It defied common sense that the Warehouse owner would offer to rewrite an already-finalized contract in the Company’s favor.
Kang Hyung-seok felt the same way, wondering if something was amiss, when Gwak Young-ho’s eyes met his.
“Did you have any dealings with the Warehouse owner?”
“No. I only saw him during the contract signing.”
“Is that so? Hmm.”
“What’s this about?”
“Ma Jin-su, the Warehouse owner, specifically asked that you come along.”
Ma Jin-su?
I narrowed the space between my brows, searching my memory.
Yes, the Warehouse owner did have that name.
‘Wait, Ma Jin-su?’
Ma wasn’t a common surname.
Another figure suddenly flashed through my mind.
‘Ma Deputy Manager?’
He was the one who had pressed the door shut on Kim Soon-hee’s way out, acting on the Factory Owner’s orders.
Could these two men be connected somehow?
I found myself glancing toward Shin Jung-ah without thinking.
But her eyes only asked, ‘Why is he suddenly looking at me?’
***
Upon arriving at the Warehouse in Osan, Kang Hyung-seok headed to the agreed meeting place with Gwak Young-ho.
It was an Unmanned Cafe with five tables and two vending machines.
The building was a converted shipping container, though the interior was decorated reasonably well.
“You’re early.”
Ma Jin-su, the only one seated in the empty Cafe, rose to his feet.
His face bore unmistakable signs of anxiety.
Kang Hyung-seok sat down across from him alongside Gwak Young-ho.
“The roads were clear, so we made good time.”
Gwak Young-ho’s lips curved into a smile—though it looked like barely suppressed laughter.
I understood why.
For a Company planning business expansion, this Warehouse was genuinely crucial.
Renegotiating the Warehouse contract on terms favorable to the Company was no small matter.
It would bring substantial profit to the Company, and credit could even accrue to both Gwak Young-ho and myself.
Still, there was no need to let such unbridled amusement show.
“Deputy Manager?”
“Hmm?”
When Kang Hyung-seok spoke, the smile vanished from Gwak Young-ho’s face.
“I’ll grab some coffee.”
“Oh? Right, right. There’s that one I had before.”
“A caramel macchiato?”
“That’s the one! I’d appreciate it. Thanks, Kang.”
Despite his gratitude, Gwak Young-ho handed over his corporate card.
With two coffee machines, it didn’t take long to return with the cups in hand.
Gwak Young-ho took a sip of the refreshingly cool coffee—crisp enough to make his scalp tingle—and met Ma Jin-su’s gaze with his expression now composed.
“May I ask why you’re hoping to renegotiate the contract?”
“Do I need to explain that?”
“We need to provide the Company with a reason.”
At that moment, Kang Hyung-seok observed Ma Jin-su.
Their eyes met briefly.
As if he were gauging my reaction.
Gulp.
He moistened his lips with coffee, rubbed his forehead, and tilted his head back toward the ceiling.
“I’m not sure where to even begin explaining this.”
“Please, speak freely.”
“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to speak with just him.”
“Pardon?”
Gwak Young-ho’s head turned toward Kang Hyung-seok.
Ma Jin-su had indicated me.
Did you really have nothing unusual happen with the Warehouse owner?
Gwak Young-ho’s question hung in his eyes, and Kang Hyung-seok could only answer with a shake of his head.
Then came the moment.
“This gentleman is my direct superior. Since this concerns company matters, wouldn’t it be better if we spoke openly about it?”
At Kang Hyung-seok’s words, Ma Jin-su pressed his lips together, then nodded firmly as if he’d made a decision.
“I know this might make me sound strange, but my father appeared in my dream last night.”
“A dream? Your father, perhaps…?”
As Ma Jin-su nodded, Gwak Young-ho sighed silently.
The two men were roughly the same age.
That’s why Ma Jin-su’s mention of his father’s passing didn’t feel like someone else’s tragedy.
“It’s been quite a while now. About ten years.”
“I see…”
“But he appears in my dreams about five times a year. Each time, he says he’s in pain, that he’s suffering.”
Gwak Young-ho’s eyes narrowed with both question and sympathy, while Kang Hyung-seok took a sip of coffee with an understanding expression.
‘So it was as I thought.’
Ma Jin-su was Ma Deputy Manager’s son.
Despite the Factory Owner’s orders, Ma Deputy Manager had also taken part in the killing.
It seemed he was reaping the consequences even in the afterlife.
“I’ve been so troubled by it that I’ve visited temples and churches. Strange, isn’t it?”
“Not at all. I’d do the same.”
When Gwak Young-ho agreed with genuine sincerity, a bitter smile crossed Ma Jin-su’s lips.
Yet his gaze remained fixed on Kang Hyung-seok.
“A renowned monk told me something. He said the Warehouse is the problem. Resolve the Warehouse first, he said.”
“The Warehouse? Is there some history to it?”
It was at that moment.
Ma Jin-su rubbed the corner of his mouth.
It looked as though something unspeakable was writhing on his tongue.
“Since it concerns my father’s affairs, I don’t know the details.”
It might have been a lie.
Ma Jin-su’s expression was troubled enough to suggest that possibility.
Even Gwak Young-ho, catching a glimpse of it, seemed to share the same thought, so Kang Hyung-seok shifted his gaze to his coffee cup.
‘It’s difficult to speak of, certainly.’
It was a matter he couldn’t acknowledge even if he knew the truth.
The Warehouse’s ownership had transferred from the Factory Owner to Ma Jin-su’s father, and it appeared some sordid, filthy transaction had occurred between them.
A factory received as payment for participating in murder.
That was likely the nature of their deal.
“By the way, is there something you’d like to ask me?”
Ma Jin-su, considerably older, posed the question to Kang Hyung-seok with courtesy.
Kang Hyung-seok set down his coffee cup and opened his mouth carefully.
“It seems you have something you’d like to tell me.”
Ma Jin-su looked like a man seeking confirmation.
So Kang Hyung-seok exhaled a long breath through his slightly parted lips and posed the very question Ma Jin-su so desperately wanted to hear.
“What sort of relationship did your father have with the Warehouse’s original owner?”
That was when it happened.
Thud!
Ma Jin-su convulsed as though struck by lightning.
Coffee from the table spilled several drops beyond the rim of his cup.

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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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