An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 42

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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 42
Part 6. You Should Meet My Parents Too (1)
Clink!
Beer droplets scattered as the glasses collided crisply in mid-air.
We were at the Pajeon Restaurant, where the savory aroma of oil whetted the appetite.
“Double blessings. Double blessings!”
Gwak Young-ho, who had gulped down a 500cc beer glass, shouted with unbridled joy.
“Director, aren’t you getting a bit carried away?”
“What are you talking about, Manager Shin? A day like this calls for celebration.”
Shin Jung-ah picked up a piece of pajeon with a skeptical expression, while Namgoong Min-ah across from her swayed her flushed face side to side as the alcohol took effect.
Kang Hyung-seok simply laughed as if he were thoroughly enjoying the moment, setting his beer glass down on the table.
“Manager Kang, what’s wrong?”
It was then that Shin Jung-ah’s concerned voice reached him.
“Are you feeling unwell? You’re barely drinking.”
“No, it’s nothing like that. I drove here, remember?”
Shin Jung-ah relaxed her worried expression and raised her glass.
“I’ll cover the designated driver fee. Just drink.”
“No, really, I’m fine.”
“Ugh, how boring. Why’s the main character backing out?”
Shin Jung-ah set her glass down with a clatter, and Kang Hyung-seok picked up the water cup beside his beer glass, his smile fading slightly.
“Aren’t I the only main character? This manager is one too.”
“That’s right, that’s right!”
Gwak Young-ho beside him clapped his hands with a flushed face and nodded vigorously.
“Our manager here woke up. He’s a main character too.”
“Director, please take it easy.”
“I’m fine, I’m telling you.”
Gwak Young-ho thumped his chest, but it was obvious bluster.
He’d started too hard from the beginning.
So despite having only two beers, he was already as drunk as someone who’d downed two bottles of soju.
“How could I not drink on a day this good? Right?”
Still, Gwak Young-ho could smile broadly because good things had piled up.
Namgoong Min-ah’s conversion to permanent employment.
Imprinting Kang Hyung-seok favorably in the minds of the executives.
Receiving a call that Lee Jin-pyung, who had been hospitalized in an accident, had regained consciousness.
As a department head, he knew all too well that days when he could have a company dinner feeling this comfortable and good were rare.
Bzzzzt!
“Your wife’s calling, Director!”
“Oh!”
Gwak Young-ho, receiving the phone from Shin Jung-ah, snapped alert and pressed the answer button.
Then, with an awkward demeanor, he took the call while grabbing a cigarette and stepped outside the Pajeon Restaurant.
“Hehe, Kang Hyung-seok, congratulations!”
Kang Hyung-seok poured water for Namgoong Min-ah, who clung to him like glue, while giving her a bewildered look.
“You’ve had too much to drink, Min-ah. You can’t even hold your liquor—why are you pushing so hard?”
“Huh? Why aren’t you using my title? Use it when you talk to me.”
Ah, so this is how she gets when she’s drunk.
Kang Hyung-seok exchanged a glance with Shin Jung-ah, then gently pushed away the clinging Namgoong Min-ah.
“Yes, yes, Namgoong. Drink some water and get your head straight.”
“Yes! Understood!”
Finally satisfied, Namgoong Min-ah gulped down the water and then went limp.
“…What do we do with her?”
“What can we do? Not much we can do.”
Shin Jung-ah took a sip of beer and pointed at the sprawled-out Namgoong Min-ah with her chopsticks.
“I’ll drop her off on my way home. She can take a taxi, no big deal.”
“It’s getting late, but I don’t mind doing it.”
“No. That’s something a supervisor should handle.”
Then she took another sip of beer with a regretful expression.
“To be honest, I was thinking of bumming a ride in your car.”
“Just come with us in my car.”
“I said no. I have some pride, at least.”
Shin Jung-ah cut off the conversation decisively, as if she didn’t want to discuss it further, and gazed beyond the pajeon restaurant door with half-lidded eyes.
Gwak Young-ho out there was stammering like he was dealing with a difficult client.
“Looks like it’ll be a wrap when our director gets back.”
“Yeah, it does.”
“Kang Hyung-seok, anyway, it’s the holiday break soon. Got any plans?”
Kang Hyung-seok paused at the sudden question.
After a moment, he made up his mind and nodded as he spoke.
“I’m thinking of going home for a bit.”
“Home?”
“Yes. The director told me to call my parents before. It’s been a while since I’ve visited them, so I should stop by.”
“Where do your parents live?”
“Gangwon Province.”
“Really?”
Shin Jung-ah’s eyes widened, as if she found it unexpected.
Kang Hyung-seok could tell roughly what she was thinking, so he shook his head with a smile.
“I’m originally from Gyeonggi Province. My parents just moved down to Gangwon Province.”
“Ah, that explains your accent. But why did your parents move?”
“There were some people they knew there. After I got my job, they wanted to live more peacefully, so they moved down.”
“Um, is it maybe because of that thing with Kang Hyung-seok?”
Kang Hyung-seok tore into a seafood pajeon with his chopsticks as he answered.
“I suppose so, yes.”
Shin Jung-ah nodded with a look of understanding.
“You must have been through so much.”
Kang Hyung-seok nodded silently.
His parents had endured tremendous hardship.
They had to watch their young son suffer because of a ghost, and they wore out their shoes searching for Lee Geum-kyung.
What must they have felt?
Even adults find the shamanic ritual terrifying.
The heart of parents who had to witness their young son undergo such a thing—
“I do think it’s right to show your face at least once.”
“Do your parents know, by any chance?”
Shin Jung-ah glanced at Namgoong Min-ah, who was snoring softly, and at Gwak Young-ho speaking outside the door, then asked carefully.
“They don’t know yet. So I’ll have to tell them this time.”
“You’ve been through a lot. You too.”
“As for hardship… I think they’ll find peace of mind.”
Kang Hyung-seok, who had suffered at the hands of ghosts without receiving a divine spirit.
Now that he had received a household deity, he might not be able to rejoice, but he would certainly set down the burden in his heart.
At least now he wouldn’t be swayed by ghosts.
Clink.
Kang Hyung-seok set down his chopsticks with a heavy expression.
The pajeon, fried until golden and fragrant with all the oil drained away, tasted good.
Yet a bitter taste lingered in his mouth.
‘What will they think of me receiving a divine spirit?’
One who receives a divine spirit is called a shaman.
A mudang, in other words.
It was questionable whether his parents, who had even performed a suppression ritual on their young son, would welcome the news that he had received a divine spirit.
Perhaps that’s why he hadn’t been able to tell them this truth until now.
“You said you’re going during the holiday?”
“Pardon?”
Kang Hyung-seok watched Shin Jung-ah drain her beer glass, and she set down her cup with a loud clink before speaking.
“Given that expression—hey, call me when you head down. I’ll go with you.”
“No, you don’t have to do that…”
“If something comes up, you need someone there to listen to your complaints, don’t you?”
Kang Hyung-seok gazed at Shin Jung-ah with eyes that were both awkward and grateful.
She picked up a piece of pajeon and murmured to herself, “I’ve got nothing to do during the holiday anyway, so this works out.”
Whether it was sincere or not, he was grateful for the sentiment.
“Then I’ll tell you once I see how things go.”
“Just call me. Just do it. I owe you something too.”
“You mean when you moved before? That was a long time ago, wasn’t it?”
“There’s also the time you helped when I got a strange talisman from a shaman.”
It was while the two of them were exchanging such words.
Ding.
Gwak Young-ho returned with his shoulders sagging, collapsing into a chair like a man whose soul had been drained away.
“Director, are you alright?”
“Manager Shin, I’m sorry about this. I think I need to go.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for. If your wife is looking for you, you should go.”
“Is there a bakery nearby…? I think I should buy a cake or something.”
“A cake? Why?”
Gwak Young-ho turned his gaze toward Kang Hyung-seok with a miserable expression.
“It was our wedding anniversary today.”
“Ah.”
“Geez, that’s your mistake, Director!”
“I’m going crazy. How could I forget this?”
Gwak Young-ho sighed and rubbed his face, while Kang Hyung-seok quickly searched his phone for nearby bakeries.
“There’s a bakery in the alley next to here. And there’s a flower shop right beside it.”
“Really?”
“Let’s get going. You can pick them up on the way.”
“Thanks, Kang.”
The director hurriedly gathered his belongings and bag, and Kang Hyung-seok and Shin Jung-ah prepared to leave as well.
Namgoong Min-ah was supported by both Shin Jung-ah and Kang Hyung-seok.
Ding.
As they stepped outside, whether from the night breeze or from learning the bakery’s location, Gwak Young-ho seemed to have calmed down.
“By the way, what were those two talking about?”
“Kang said he’s going to visit his parents during the holiday break.”
Before Kang Hyung-seok could answer, Shin Jung-ah replied, and Gwak Young-ho even clapped his hands like someone who’d heard good news.
“That’s great! Yes, that’s how it should be—visit your parents and all that.”
Gwak Young-ho walked toward the bakery while lighting a cigarette.
“Tell your parents that good news should be coming soon, brag about it a bit, and tell them the director approves of you.”
“Understood.”
As Kang Hyung-seok answered with a smile, Gwak Young-ho suddenly remembered something and checked his phone calendar.
“Actually, Kang, just take tomorrow off too. And leave right away.”
“Pardon?”
“I can do that much. And no one will say anything about you taking time off. No one!”
His sincerity made Gwak Young-ho’s eyes serious.
“Just keep your head down for now, and I’ll make sure no one at the company gives you any trouble. Just rest well by attaching it to the holiday break.”
So Gwak Young-ho knew after all.
That Lim Jin-gil had come looking for a fight.
And that there might be others who didn’t look favorably upon Kang Hyung-seok, not just Lim Jin-gil, but also executives who’d dined with him.
“Director.”
“Worried about losing vacation days? I’ll talk it over with Director Jo Tae-sik and convert it to paid leave, so don’t worry about anything.”
Jo Tae-sik is Lim Jin-gil’s direct supervisor.
And during this meal with the executives, he was the one who had worn an unusually bitter expression throughout.
If Jo Tae-sik, the HR and General Affairs Department head who had unexpectedly revealed his weakness, were to follow Gwak Young-ho’s lead, there was a reasonable chance he might comply.
“Well, there is work to be done, isn’t there?”
“The holidays are coming up soon—what work? During this period, visiting clients usually means missing the person in charge and wasting the trip. It happens all the time.”
Kang Hyung-seok reluctantly nodded his head.
“Director, then can I submit a vacation day too?”
“Huh? You as well, Manager Shin?”
“I can just make calls anyway. And with the holidays approaching, it’s hard to develop new business.”
Gwak Young-ho narrowed the space between his eyebrows while glaring at the calendar, then let out a heavy sigh.
“Manager Shin, make it field work. Field work only.”
“That’s even better then.”
“But pay attention to the work log. Just in case, visit one client and create a record.”
“Yes, sir!”
Right after, Gwak Young-ho whispered something quietly to Shin Jung-ah—it seemed to be a request to take good care of Director Shin Chang-yong.
Kang Hyung-seok watched Shin Jung-ah with a bewildered expression.
‘So she really meant it when she said she’d go with me.’
Well, it shouldn’t be a problem.
It didn’t seem like she’d be accompanying me continuously in Gangwon Province anyway.
It should be fine if we just travel together on the way down and the way back up.
Ding, ding.
As if confirming that thought was correct.
Or perhaps something else was at play—the Shaman’s Bell in my bag chimed softly twice.
The sound seemed almost like a harbinger of the two of us traveling together, so Kang Hyung-seok glanced at the bag in his hand, but the Shaman’s Bell did not ring again.

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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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