An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 57

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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 56
Part 2. We Recognized Each Other (3)
Whoooosh! Splatter, splatter.
The rain that had been falling in droplets transformed into a downpour.
Gloomy. In every way.
Kang Hyung-seok watched the wipers sweep away the rainwater, his hand drifting unconsciously toward the gear shift.
But the coffee he’d been hoping for wasn’t there.
‘Should’ve grabbed one before leaving.’
Never mind. The atmosphere hadn’t called for it.
If Kang Hyung-seok had gone to the Break Room during that urgent situation, Gwak Young-ho would’ve tried to pull out his hair instead of offering coffee.
Amused by the ridiculous thought, Kang Hyung-seok chuckled and glanced at the navigation system.
The destination was nearly here.
‘That’s quite a building.’
Kang Hyung-seok gazed at the tall structure looming in the distance, his eyes tinged with envy.
Daejeong Materials wasn’t a bad company.
But compared to a true major corporation, the headquarters building was worlds apart.
Reinforced glass exterior, bold yet restrained design.
Anyone could tell it was a large construction company’s headquarters, and even the overcast weather and torrential rain couldn’t diminish its imposing presence.
‘You have arrived at your destination. Navigation complete.’
Click.
After parking in a nearby lot, he headed straight into the Shinjin Construction Headquarters.
“What brings you here today?”
Naturally, a building like this required a person like this.
A well-built man in a uniform that conveyed exactly that impression stepped into Kang Hyung-seok’s path.
“I’m Kang Hyung-seok, manager at Daejeong Materials. I was contacted and came as requested.”
“Ah.”
The man, who appeared to be a receptionist, touched his radio and exchanged a brief communication with someone.
When the response came back, he furrowed his brows as if troubled.
“I apologize. Due to internal circumstances, would you mind waiting outside?”
“Pardon?”
This wasn’t how one should treat a guest they’d invited.
“I’m truly sorry. They’ll be down within ten minutes. If you could wait at the smoking area out front, I’d be grateful.”
The man fumbled apologetically, as though he himself had been treated unfairly.
A bitter taste filled my mouth.
Unable to protest, Kang Hyung-seok offered a professional smile and headed in the direction the man had indicated.
‘This is what a major corporation is like, huh?’
The disadvantage wasn’t theirs—it was Daejeong Materials’.
Still, feeling the sting of it, Kang Hyung-seok bought the one thing he’d been craving on his way to the smoking area: a coffee.
Click!
Though called an external smoking area, the space had a roof overhead.
Beneath the eaves, I sipped warm coffee and gazed at the rain cascading down the gutter.
What could the reason be?
There had to be some reason he’d asked me to wait here.
As these thoughts accumulated in my mind,
Tap, tap.
A young man emerged from the Shinjin Construction Headquarters building.
He wasn’t particularly striking at first glance.
He walked alone, dressed in a black dress shirt and black casual slacks.
Whoosh! Flick!
Only when he approached and ignited his premium lighter—rotating the flint wheel to the side—could I register his presence.
Just as I was about to bring the coffee to my lips again,
“Kang Hyung-seok?”
The young man addressed me.
I immediately set down the coffee and offered a respectful greeting.
“It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Kang Hyung-seok, Manager at Daejeong Materials.”
“Please, be at ease. I’m Shin Yoseph, Executive Director here.”
The man appeared to be around my age, yet the gap in our positions was considerable.
Upon closer inspection, he had the bearing of a nobleman born into privilege.
He was slightly taller than me, and with two buttons of his dress shirt undone, a gleaming silver necklace was visible beneath.
His attire seemed rough at first glance.
Yet his expression prevented it from appearing unrefined.
‘What is it? Those eyes….’
For someone who possessed everything, his gaze was as damp and profound as the rain itself.
Swish.
After exchanging business cards, I spoke lightly, mixing courtesy with sincerity.
“You’re quite impressive. I must admit, I’m surprised.”
“Ah, yes.”
The conversation abruptly died in that awkward moment.
An uncomfortable silence hung in the air, unmasked even by the sound of rain, and Shin Yoseph, smoking his cigarette, finally spoke.
“I’ve heard quite a lot about you.”
“About me?”
“Yes. That you helped people at the site who were in trouble because of alcohol.”
“That’s not quite right. It was a site where my Uncle works.”
“How did you do it?”
I shifted my gaze to Shin Yoseph, who was smoking.
The conversation seemed to be taking an odd turn.
A simple expression of gratitude should have been the natural response here.
“Pardon?”
“Are you a Shaman?”
Shin Yoseph asked, his tone tinged with curiosity, as the damp sound of rain seemed to swallow the world around us.
Whoooosh!
In the silence broken only by the sharp patter of rain against my ears, Kang Hyung-seok pressed his lips together before reaching for the coffee he’d set down.
“You seem quite interested in that matter.”
“You asked me how I handled it, didn’t you?”
Kang Hyung-seok smiled, pulling the corners of his mouth upward, and met Shin Yoseph’s gaze.
“I sought assistance from someone I know, and I’ve been looking into it myself as well.”
“Who is this person you know?”
“There’s a rather renowned Shaman.”
Shin Yoseph’s eyes narrowed slightly, and Kang Hyung-seok watched him as he brought the coffee to his lips.
The coffee had been warm just moments ago.
But now, perhaps due to the peculiarly cool air, it had grown lukewarm.
Much like the atmosphere flowing between Shin Yoseph and me.
“I’m not sure why you’re asking me this.”
“Don’t you sense anything from me?”
Shin Yoseph, speaking in an informal tone, tilted his head slightly.
At first glance, it resembled the arrogance or haughtiness peculiar to those born with a silver spoon.
Yet curiosity surged before any displeasure could take root.
‘…What is this?’
From Kang Hyung-seok’s perspective, Shin Yoseph appeared to be interrogating him, yet also seemed desperate.
That gleam in his eyes—so earnest, so yearning—made it all the more apparent.
“Go on, tell me.”
Repeated pressure.
Kang Hyung-seok pressed his lips firmly together and exhaled through his nose.
The rich aroma of coffee brushed against my nostrils before dissolving into the rain-scented air.
And it was then that Kang Hyung-seok swirled the coffee can and opened his mouth.
“I’m Kang Hyung-seok, a manager at Daejeong Materials.”
Then, holding Shin Yoseph’s gaze, he continued calmly.
“Did you want to see an employee of Daejeong Materials? Or did you simply want to see me?”
Shin Yoseph regarded Kang Hyung-seok in silence before twisting his lips and laughing—a low, breathy sound.
Then he drew deeply on his cigarette and exhaled a long plume of smoke, thick as mist.
“I wanted to see you—the Shaman.”
It was right after this.
“Who are you?” Kang Hyung-seok asked quietly, the mask of the Daejeong Materials employee now discarded.
A brief flash of light flickered across Shin Yoseph’s pupils.
Ordinarily, they shouldn’t have been speaking to each other this way.
Yet rather than displeasure, Shin Yoseph’s eyes gleamed with welcome at Kang Hyung-seok’s shift in demeanor.
I understood now.
Why he’d chosen to meet in this desolate place rather than inside the Shinjin Construction Headquarters.
“I asked first. What do I look like to you?”
Kang Hyung-seok observed Shin Yoseph in silence for a long moment, studying him intently.
His gaze was cold and serene.
It was the distinctive look of one who had received a spirit, and also the eyes of someone in sales who had glimpsed into the depths of human nature.
Whoooosh—!
As the rain grew fiercer, Kang Hyung-seok broke the silence and spoke.
“Our side.”
“Our side meaning?”
“Shamanism.”
In that instant, Shin Yoseph’s eyes shifted subtly.
A look where admiration and disappointment coexisted.
It was a difficult answer to guess, yet the reaction one would show when it turned out to be only half-correct.
However,
“Not someone who has received a spirit.”
The disappointment began to fade at Kang Hyung-seok’s immediate follow-up.
“…Then?”
“One who serves a spirit.”
Shin Yoseph looked at Kang Hyung-seok with a tremor running through him.
The anticipation gleaming in his eyes intensified, and uncontained curiosity spilled across his expression.
Kang Hyung-seok continued speaking as he observed Shin Yoseph’s face.
“I’m not entirely sure what it is. But you’re not an ordinary person.”
The Shin Yoseph I perceived was both familiar and utterly alien.
A figure dressed in black, holding an incense burner that trails white smoke in his hand, wandering deep within the forest.
Such an image came to mind, yet it was too unfamiliar to state with certainty.
“Are you a religious person?”
At Kang Hyung-seok’s blunt question, Shin Yoseph’s lips curved upward toward his ears.
“Yes.”
“Catholic?”
This time Shin Yoseph answered by nodding his head.
Having obtained a major clue, Kang Hyung-seok rubbed the space between his eyebrows while holding the coffee can.
“A priest, then.”
“How did you know?”
“I saw it.”
I am one who has received a Guardian Spirit, and those who receive spirits in this way are called Kang Seung-mu.
And Kang Seung-mu often perceive forms through the spirit.
Lee Geum-kyung is also a Kang Seung-mu, and when performing divinations, she uses the images the spirit reveals.
Such an image had simply appeared to me as well.
“I don’t understand. Why would someone who could live without envy take the path of a priest?”
Kang Hyung-seok raised one eyebrow as he looked at Shin Yoseph, who appeared more worldly than anyone.
A priest is different from a Shaman.
They do not suffer from spirit sickness.
It is not a predetermined path, and harm does not befall oneself or those around them if one does not follow the will of the spirit.
Yet I couldn’t fathom Shin Yoseph—a priest who walked the priestly path, yet remained entangled in the secular world.
“Does it relate to why you’re searching for a Shaman?”
At his question, Shin Yoseph’s eyebrows twitched momentarily.
Then, erasing his expression, he turned eyes hardened with tension toward Kang Hyung-seok.
“How skilled are you? Do you have much experience exorcising spirits?”
Kang Hyung-seok studied Shin Yoseph for a moment, then exhaled silently and sipped his coffee.
This man clearly carried some burden—a terrible one at that.
Though he had many questions, he offered answers instead of asking.
“I haven’t been possessed by my Guardian Spirit for very long.”
“That’s fortunate. I’ve heard that the newer the possession, the more potent your shamanic power becomes.”
“That’s not always the case.”
“Which are you, then?”
Kang Hyung-seok scratched his head and looked up at the Shinjin Construction Headquarters.
Who could have imagined moving into a building like that and having a conversation like this?
“Why are you asking all this anyway? A priest wouldn’t be doing this just to read fortunes or divinations, would he?”
Shin Yoseph fell silent.
The sound of rain pattering filled the silence, and as the night deepened, the lights in the Shinjin Construction Headquarters began extinguishing one by one.
Some people emerged from the building to leave for the day.
Yet they seemed to recognize Shin Yoseph from a distance and deliberately avoided the External Smoking Area, taking a wide detour instead.
Whoooosh—!
The world continued to exist and time flowed on, yet an awkward silence settled as if only two people existed in an empty void.
And then, Shin Yoseph opened his lips with great weight.
“I have something I must do. I need a Shaman’s help.”
“Hmm.”
“If you’re truly a skilled Shaman, I hope you’ll help me.”
Kang Hyung-seok narrowed the space between his brows as he regarded Shin Yoseph, then spoke.
“Is there a spirit you need to exorcise?”
Shin Yoseph, his eyes heavy with untold stories, nodded.

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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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