An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 41

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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 40
Part 5. They Talk About You a Lot at the Company! (3)
Scrape!
The Executive Vice President was the first to stand, followed quickly by the other executives and Kang Hyung-seok.
Then a middle-aged man with hair streaked in white and black entered, drawing back the crimson curtain.
“The Chairman has arrived!”
The Executive Vice President called out toward the man, bowing deeply.
It was Lee Beom-seok, the Chairman of Daejeong Materials.
His eyebrows were thick for his age, and his face bore the unmistakable bearing of a businessman—someone accustomed to wielding authority.
“You were already eating, weren’t you? Why stand?”
“We had only just arrived, sir.”
Lee Beom-seok handed his jacket to the Executive Vice President and took the seat of honor at the head of the round table.
As if on cue, the servers brought out the dishes.
Clink, clatter.
When most people think of Chinese cuisine, they picture jjajangmyeon, jjamppong, sweet and sour pork, or malatang.
But not a single one of those dishes graced the round table.
All manner of unfamiliar dishes began to be arranged—the only recognizable elements were the ingredients themselves.
“Kang Hyung-seok.”
The moment the server left after setting down the food, Lee Beom-seok addressed me.
“Yes, sir.”
I straightened my posture and replied. Lee Beom-seok sipped the jasmine tea the Executive Vice President had poured for him, then spoke.
“Is the company worth working for?”
I glanced briefly at Jo Tae-sik, the department head who was Lim Jin-gil’s superior.
His complexion had turned ashen.
Though he had a rough temperament and a quick temper, he wasn’t a bad man.
But if he returned to the company, wouldn’t he grind Lim Jin-gil down mercilessly?
“Though I have much to learn, Director Gwak Young-ho takes good care of me, so I’m doing well.”
“Is that so?”
The Chairman smiled, fine wrinkles forming at the corners of his mouth, while Gwak Young-ho watched with a moved expression.
“I heard a lot about you from Professor Kim. He bragged so much about what a sincere fellow you were. That was already three years ago, wasn’t it?”
“Have you known the Professor for a long time, sir?”
“We’ve been close since high school. Didn’t Professor Kim mention it?”
“No, sir. He doesn’t speak much about himself.”
The way the executives looked at me had shifted.
I had been hired on the recommendation of Professor Kim Jae-sik.
And I had heard that Professor Kim Jae-sik was friends with the Chairman.
My status in their eyes was changing—from a conscientious employee who had been given a good opportunity to someone connected to the Chairman.
“No one’s been giving you trouble?”
I didn’t need to look to know Jo Tae-sik’s face had gone pale.
“Not particularly, sir.”
“There might be talk within the company. Petty people who resent those who accomplish things are everywhere.”
Lee Beom-seok’s eyes held the unmistakable gleam of someone recalling old memories.
“Don’t let yourself be swayed by such people. The mediocre are only satisfied when they’ve dragged the talented down to their own level.”
It was the kind of life advice anyone could offer.
Yet coming from Lee Beom-seok’s lips, it carried a weight that demanded careful contemplation.
Perhaps that was the difference between one who had lived through such experiences and one who hadn’t.
“I will remember that.”
“In that sense, you’ve been a tremendous help to the company. Business is fundamentally about momentum, you see. I’m grateful you set that momentum in motion so well.”
Something hot surged within me.
Lee Jin-pyung lying in a hospital bed, my own significant role in the warehouse renegotiation—
Lee Beom-seok seemed like someone who saw through the entire situation so completely that such thoughts could strike like a sudden gust of wind.
‘He may not know about the Vengeful Spirit… but still, I’m grateful.’
The company’s president understands what happened at the office.
And he’s expressed his gratitude.
This was the first moment I truly experienced how much comfort and strength such acknowledgment could provide.
“President, the food is getting cold.”
“Ah yes, let’s make a toast first.”
The Executive Vice President poured drinks into the president’s glass as if he’d been waiting for this moment.
For a second I tensed, wondering if he was about to propose a toast, but the president simply raised his glass and left it at that.
This really is a good company.
I marveled anew, and only after the executives had picked up their chopsticks did I transfer food to my own plate.
“Eat plenty. This gathering is for you, after all.”
The Executive Vice President patted my back heartily as he spoke.
It certainly felt that way.
I could sense the executives’ consideration for me in countless small gestures.
The table itself seemed to rotate, with the best dishes arriving in front of me first.
“By the way, if you study folklore, you’d know about Shamanism and such things, right?”
The Executive Vice President, whose face had flushed from weak alcohol tolerance, spoke to me in a casual tone, but Gwak Young-ho quickly answered on my behalf.
“Of course! Sir, this fellow here—he even met with Shamans during his university days, I hear.”
“Is that so? Then you must know some skilled Shamans.”
The executives showed interest in this topic, their eyes turning toward me with expectant gleams.
Nudge!
Gwak Young-ho jabbed my ribs, signaling me to speak up.
This was awkward. Genuinely awkward.
I didn’t want to reveal my entanglement with Shamanism, but Gwak Young-ho had no sense of discretion.
Nudge.
When Gwak Young-ho jabbed my ribs again, I released a silent sigh and opened my mouth.
“I only know one person.”
“You really know one?”
The Executive Vice President laughed as if amused, then his smile faltered at my response.
“So you’re referring to Lee Geum-kyung, the teacher….”
Clatter.
The chopsticks that the Executive Vice President had dropped bounced several times across the table before settling.
“Lee, Lee Geum-kyung the Shaman?”
“You know of her?”
“Know of her? She’s the most renowned in this area. Don’t you need to book an appointment with her at least three years in advance?”
Since I visited her sporadically whenever the need arose, I hadn’t realized it would take that much time to meet with Lee Geum-kyung.
“Wow, this guy is really something. Wait, can we also request a shamanic ritual or something like that?”
“Um, why do you ask?”
The Executive Vice President’s reaction was more enthusiastic than expected, and an answer came before Kang Hyung-seok could even finish his bewildered question.
“When you’re running a business, you do these rituals and such things. What does the CEO think?”
“There’s no harm in doing it.”
“Yes, sir!”
The Executive Vice President stuck close to Kang Hyung-seok’s side, earnestly requesting that he speak well to Lee Geum-kyung.
He wanted him to convey that he hoped to invite her once before starting a new venture.
He repeated this request with utmost sincerity.
The atmosphere of the meal continued like this until 2 PM.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“Go on in!”
“CEO, please go inside!”
In front of the restaurant, the executives each climbed into the vehicles they had driven.
Executives were executives, after all.
Though not a major conglomerate, the company was well-established, so the executives’ cars were uniformly high-end vehicles.
In the rapidly emptying parking lot, Gwak Young-ho gazed at Kang Hyung-seok with a peculiar smile.
“Feels surreal, doesn’t it?”
“I’m not entirely sure. Honestly.”
The fact that a mere employee had just shared lunch in such a harmonious atmosphere with the executives felt like something happening to someone else entirely.
“Well, and I have something for you. The Executive Vice President asked me to give it to you in the bathroom earlier.”
“Pardon?”
Gwak Young-ho pressed a yellowed envelope into Kang Hyung-seok’s hand.
“If this shows up in the system, it might cause unnecessary rumors at the company, so he prepared it in cash from the start. He said to count on you for many things.”
“Ah….”
Kang Hyung-seok held the thick envelope and watched the Executive Vice President’s car receding into the distance.
Then he burst out laughing.
It was because the Executive Vice President’s hand, extending from the car window, was waving.
***
Wheeeesh.
The humidifier expelled a plume of pristine white vapor.
It was the Hospital Room where Lee Jin-pyung lay.
Scritch, scritch.
A middle-aged man bearing an uncanny resemblance to Lee Jin-pyung peeled an apple with clumsy, unfamiliar movements.
Thick strips of skin fell away, revealing rough, pale flesh beneath.
His eyes dimmed with age and frustration etched across his weathered face, he placed the crudely sliced apple on a small tray and offered it to his wife seated beside him.
“Dear, please eat something.”
“….”
“Just staring at him won’t make him open his eyes, will it? The doctor said so himself. We’ve passed the critical point—he’ll be fine.”
Swish.
Though he offered the tray, his wife did not take the apple.
Instead, she pushed the tray away and dabbed at the tears pooling at her eyes with her wrinkled hands.
“I don’t want to eat.”
“But still….”
“I said I don’t want to eat.”
A heavy sigh.
Lee Jin-pyung’s Father turned his gaze toward the innocent ceiling, crossing his arms.
Then he shifted his eyes toward the window.
Cruelly, the weather was beautiful and the sky brilliantly blue.
Seeing such things made him wonder: “Does God truly exist?”
If He did, the heavens could never appear so serene while a father and mother’s hearts rotted away in anguish.
“Can we postpone the flight?”
“What?”
Lee Jin-pyung’s Father furrowed his brow at his wife.
“No, we can’t do that. How could we possibly postpone it?”
“He hasn’t opened his eyes yet. What if Jin-pyung still can’t open them by the time we have to leave?”
It was rare to see his wife wear such a desperate expression.
Lee Jin-pyung’s temperament resembled his mother’s, and this woman was indeed the bear-like wife people often spoke of.
Watching her eyes tremble with such raw emotion felt as though his heart might tear in two.
“Just one week. Can’t we postpone it for just one week?”
“…You know it’s not that simple.”
“I don’t usually ask for things like this.”
Lee Jin-pyung’s Mother gripped her husband’s hand with both of hers.
Then she curled her body inward, her small shoulders trembling noticeably.
“What if he opens his eyes and we’re not here? What if he wakes up with no one by his side….”
Lee Jin-pyung’s Father gazed out the window with a frustrated sigh.
Though his heart felt heavy and tangled, he could not bring himself to pull his hand away—because part of him desperately wanted to grant her wish.
It was about their son.
Not someone else’s child, but their own son who had suffered this accident.
-Kang!
It was then that the Spitz Victim Spirit perched upon Lee Jin-pyung’s chest began to cry.
The spirit, once a member of the same household, wagged its tail as it watched Lee Jin-pyung’s Mother weeping silently and his Father gazing out the window, exhaling one heavy sigh after another.
-Kang kang! Kang! Kaang!
The Spitz Victim Spirit knew its voice could not reach them.
It also knew that even if it could, they would not understand.
Yet the spirit continued to bark.
As if imploring them not to grieve, not to worry.
As if insisting: I am here, so take comfort.
-Kang kang! Kaang!
In that moment, as the two carried their heavy emotions with bowed heads, and a single spirit cried out to console them.
“…uh.”
A faint moan escaped Lee Jin-pyung’s lips.
It was so quiet that even his parents, who desperately wished for him to awaken, could not hear it.
-Kang! Kang kang!
But the spirit heard it clearly.
It wagged its tail vigorously, licked Lee Jin-pyung’s face, and its eyes grew moist.
“…uh, ah.”
A second moan.
This time, his mother heard it.
“Jin, Jin-pyung? Jin-pyung!”
His mother called out to her son urgently but dared not reach out carelessly. Even with her hand resting on his torso, she feared he might lose consciousness again.
“Mom… ma.”
“Yes, yes! Mom’s here, Mom! Do you recognize Mom?”
Lee Jin-pyung’s eyes fluttered open hazily, and his father quickly seized his son’s shoulders.
“Son! Hey! Come to your senses!”
“Honey! What are you doing!”
“He, his eyes are….”
“Call a doctor! What are you doing! Hurry!”
“Right, right. Son, Jin-pyung. You have to hold onto consciousness, understand? You can’t let go! Do you hear me! Hey!”
“Honey! Go, I said!”
Lee Jin-pyung’s father was pushed out by his wife.
Before leaving the hospital room, he turned back to look at his son.
“Jin-pyung, oh, Jin-pyung.”
-Kang kang kang kang!
His wife held Lee Jin-pyung’s hand tightly, tears streaming down her face, while the Spitz Victim Spirit wagged its tail so hard it seemed it might fall off, barking incessantly.
His father’s gaze shifted to the window that had come into view.
Looking at the blue sky, he harbored resentment and believed there was no God.
‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Thank you.’
Expressing his apologies and gratitude to the heavens, he ran down the hospital corridor.
Today is a good day.
It was such a wonderful day.

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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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