An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 62

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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 61
Part 4. An Old Connection (2)
Whoooosh.
I steered the car into the mountains.
It was the mountain in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, where Lee Geum-kyung’s Shamanic Temple stood.
I was visiting for the first time in ages, partly as a courtesy greeting.
Bump, bump!
My circumstances had improved considerably, so the passenger seat was filled with gifts I’d purchased, but it had been so long that I couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt.
‘She won’t scold me, but I can’t help feeling sorry.’
Lee Geum-kyung had been away for a while performing a major ritual ceremony.
Since her return, I hadn’t visited once, so the guilt weighed heavily on me.
Boom, boom, boom, boom! Clang, clang, clang, clang!
It was when Lee Geum-kyung’s Shamanic Temple had come quite close.
The sound of traditional Korean instruments, including gongs and drums, drifted toward me warmly.
‘A ritual performance?’
Not only that, but the voices of Dharma Masters chanting scriptures were mixed in as well.
It was a ritual ceremony.
A rather large one at that.
I drove slowly, worried my car might disturb the ceremony, and parked farther away than usual.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
The ritual was taking place on the same flat ground where I’d received a pressing ritual as a child.
Lee Geum-kyung was dressed in shamanic robes.
A red skirt with a white, yellow, and blue robe.
Swish, swish, swish, swish! Clang, clang, clang, clang!
Holding Shaman’s Bell and a divine sword, she was no different now, despite her advanced age, than when she’d performed the pressing ritual for me back then.
I stood beside a tree, watching the ceremony unfold.
You can tell just by watching. What kind of ritual it is.
Each one has its own distinct characteristics.
The prepared food.
The sounds the musicians play.
The scriptures the Dharma Masters chant.
These vary depending on the type of ritual, and even if the purpose is the same, the characteristics differ based on which ritual it is.
Clang, clang, clang, clang! Boom, boom-boom, boom!
It was when the music was reaching its crescendo.
Whoosh.
Chung-geum suddenly approached and held out a plate of rice cakes to me.
“You could have at least said something when you arrived.”
I laughed awkwardly and picked up one of the rice cakes.
“The ceremony was in full swing, so I stayed quiet.”
Chung-geum nodded in understanding and picked up a rice cake to eat.
“Oh my, what a pity, isn’t it?”
“We should think of it as a good deed.”
The Gut ritual unfolding now was a Gunwoong-geori—a purification ceremony.
It was a ritual to console the spirits of those who had died bleeding, and it matched precisely the frightening image of shamanic rituals that ordinary people imagined.
Screech!
Lee Geum-kyung bit into the large pig laid out on the ground with her teeth.
The sight of her biting raw pork and shaking her head side to side appeared grotesque and terrifying at first glance.
Soon, Lee Geum-kyung would smear blood on her body and hoist the severed pig onto her shoulders.
“Is this ritual for that person?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I watched the young woman kneeling at one side of the ritual space with a bitter expression.
The Gunwoong-geori appeared grotesque and frightening at first glance.
Yet its true purpose was different from what it seemed.
“I hope she will be thoroughly cleansed.”
“Isn’t that what the Gunwoong-geori that you perform does?”
The Gunwoong-geori is an act of washing away sin and clearing the path.
For the person who will receive the divine spirit, so that when the deity touches the shaman, not a single trace of impurity remains.
It is the cleansing of sin and impurity.
“Does the divine descent also happen through you?”
“No. Her mother is a shamanic practitioner. The divine descent, I hear, she will perform directly.”
“I see.”
The divine descent is an important act.
So she would want to perform it directly for her daughter.
But entrusting the Gunwoong-geori to me must be because she hopes that not even the slightest flaw remains.
“Another shaman will enter this world.”
Chung-geum watched the young woman who would soon walk the same path as herself, and ate a rice cake with a complicated expression on her face.
“Live well. Don’t become tainted.”
The way she said it was oddly amusing, so Kang Hyung-seok laughed silently.
Then I remained in my seat until the Gunwoong-geori was complete.
“Thank you so much, Master.”
“Live well.”
The middle-aged woman repeatedly bowed her head in gratitude, and Lee Geum-kyung gazed at the young woman standing beside her.
Her face was still confused.
She looked to be barely past graduating university.
Embrace.
Lee Geum-kyung embraced the young woman who now had to receive the divine spirit and patted her back gently.
“Your mother is a wonderful person, so rely on her greatly.”
“Yes.”
“Go well. Serve well, and live well.”
After seeing off the mother and daughter, Lee Geum-kyung expressed her gratitude to the musicians and the Dharma Master, then began clearing away the ritual space.
“Teacher.”
“Hand me that waterproof sheet over there.”
Lee Geum-kyung treated Kang Hyung-seok as though they had been together all along, despite their long separation.
Rustle, rustle.
The remnants of the shamanic ritual were cleared away, and the leftover food was gathered in one place.
Once the shamanic assistants and Dharma Masters withdrew, the sun had already dipped beyond the Mountain, and complete darkness had fallen.
“How have you been?”
“Oh, you know, well enough.”
Lee Geum-kyung examined Kang Hyung-seok from head to toe with her hands clasped behind her back, then smiled faintly.
“You’ve grown considerably. You’ve witnessed much and endured many trials.”
“I still have much to learn.”
“I doubt that.”
It was likely because she had conducted a major shamanic ritual after so long.
Lee Geum-kyung’s eyes gleamed with more vitality than usual, radiating a palpable strength.
“You’ve formed significant karmic bonds recently. Two of them, in fact.”
“Two?”
“Or perhaps three?”
Lee Geum-kyung’s words, delivered with a subtle smile, lingered in my thoughts.
And soon I understood whom she was referring to.
“You knew all along.”
One was Shin Yoseph from Shinjin Construction.
The other was Shin Jung-ah from Daejeong Materials.
Apart from sharing the same surname, they seemed to have nothing in common.
Yet both had recently become deeply entangled with me in the realm of shamanism.
“That’s actually why I came.”
“Which one?”
“Both of them.”
Lee Geum-kyung nodded subtly and gazed up at the yellowing moon.
“One is a person who can help you, but you must be the one to extend your hand. Do not turn away.”
Lee Geum-kyung was reading my fortune through divination.
Though the phrasing lacked a clear subject, it was unmistakable whom she meant.
“They’re concealing their past, and it weighs heavily upon them.”
“Then shouldn’t you be the one to offer your hand?”
“Even though I’m an exorcist priest?”
“Aren’t you both servants of the divine will?”
After a moment of contemplation, I nodded solemnly.
Then came the next part.
“The other is a bond bestowed by heaven itself.”
My brows furrowed.
Could she possibly be referring to someone other than Shin Jung-ah?
That was precisely why Lee Geum-kyung’s words felt so sudden.
“Where there is a moon, there is a sun. Where there is a Shaman, there is a Dharma Master. Such is the bond between us—so when the time comes to rely on one another, do so willingly and ask for help without hesitation.”
“…I’m not sure it will be that easy.”
Since the incident with the sealed room, Shin Jung-ah hadn’t said much.
But she was deeply fearful by nature, and her personality had a fiery edge to it.
Moreover, she was my workplace superior.
“In the end, I will help. That’s what this bond means.”
Would it truly be so?
It was far easier to picture Shin Jung-ah’s stern expression than to imagine her cheerfully saying, “I’ll help you!”
But I kept my thoughts to myself and simply nodded.
“Master! I’ve finished scattering the street offerings.”
Just then, as the ritual concluded, Chung-geum returned with an empty rubber container, having scattered the remaining food along the streets for the spirits.
“You’ve worked hard. Did the victim spirits eat well?”
“As they always do.”
The Mountain after sunset was saturated with yin energy.
Victim spirits gathered easily here, and we offered them rice in their honor.
“Now that everyone is gathered, I have something to tell you.”
Chung-geum, who had been about to rinse the rubber container, widened her eyes and approached Lee Geum-kyung.
“I need to make a business trip soon.”
“Is it somewhere you’ve been before?”
There was clearly something I didn’t know about.
The way Chung-geum’s expression grew serious, her face stiffening, made that clear.
‘Did the Sea King Ritual not go well…?’
That had been the reason Lee Geum-kyung had been away recently.
It was a ritual to pray for the sea’s peace and abundant harvests, but this time she had been gone for an unusually long period.
“No, it’s not that.”
Relief washed over Chung-geum’s face, and Lee Geum-kyung exhaled through her nose, shook her head, and spoke.
“When the time comes, I will return there, but it seems I must visit an old friend first.”
“Ah…”
“I won’t be gone long. In the meantime, you must look after the Shamanic Temple well.”
“Yes, Master.”
Chung-geum replied respectfully, and Lee Geum-kyung’s gaze turned toward me.
“You will accompany me.”
“Me?”
I asked in surprise, and Lee Geum-kyung looked at me as if wondering why I would be so shocked.
“You’ve already proven yourself worthy. There’s no harm in showing your face. Besides, I have something to ask of you.”
I gazed at Lee Geum-kyung with a mixture of bewilderment and emotion.
Being recognized as a practitioner of Shamanism was a joyous thing.
And it was Lee Geum-kyung who had given that recognition.
No one in all of Korea could deny this, and I could hold my head high with such confidence.
But the words that followed weighed heavily.
“How could I possibly help you, sir?”
“It’s something you can do. Don’t burden yourself with worry.”
Kang Hyung-seok smiled awkwardly under Lee Geum-kyung’s gaze, which looked upon him as though he were a grown grandson.
“Then if you could tell me what it is, I’ll prepare myself accordingly.”
“I’m going to send off a friend.”
“…Pardon?”
Lee Geum-kyung pressed her lips firmly together and took a moment to choose her words.
Then she continued, her eyes now holding deeper contemplation than before.
“It’s a friend who doesn’t have many days left. I want to pave the way so they can go to a good place.”
“Ah….”
It was similar to a purification ritual.
The act of cleansing spiritual defilement and paving the way so one could reach a good place.
It was the last gift Lee Geum-kyung could give to a friend who would soon depart this world.
“I understand.”
It was after I answered without hesitation that Lee Geum-kyung spoke again.
“It might take several days.”
“Ah, then I’ll take some time off work.”
I spoke without the slightest hesitation, and Lee Geum-kyung’s face showed gratitude for my answer.
“No. There’s no need for that.”
“But you said it might take several days.”
“The eldest son there runs a large native chicken farm. He’s a good boy who listens well to me, so I’ll have a word with him to help you out.”
If that were the case, it seemed the company would overlook my absence for a while.
After all, I’d be going on a business trip to secure a contract.
But no matter how many products Daejeong Materials handled, I wondered if they’d understand a trip to contract with a native chicken farm.
“Let me think. What did you say the place was called?”
Lee Geum-kyung, reading my expression, looked up at the moon with her hands clasped behind her back and continued.
“Was it Samgol Farm, or Sapgol?”
My eyes widened in surprise at that moment.
“Samgol? Isn’t that the largest native chicken farm in the country?”
“Ah yes, Samgol. That’s the one.”
The most renowned producer of premium-quality native chickens.
It’s known for having better meat flavor and texture than other native chickens on the market.
Moreover, not much of their product reaches the general market.
Everything is either exported for chicken stock or purchased entirely by famous restaurants or large corporations.
If I could establish a business relationship with such a place, I could reliably supply to the already-established distribution networks of major corporations.
“But I understand they already have all their suppliers set.”
“They’re raising black-bone chickens this time, I hear. Apparently the supplier hasn’t been decided yet?”
“I’ll go.”
This was something I absolutely had to secure.
As soon as Kang Hyung-seok answered, a smile bloomed across Lee Geum-kyung’s face.
It was the smile of someone who had expected exactly this.
“We’ll depart in two days. Let’s take your car.”
“Yes!”
Kang Hyung-seok responded eagerly, then remembered the gift waiting in the passenger seat.
Just as I was about to turn toward the vehicle.
“Bring the ritual knife.”
Lee Geum-kyung’s meaningful voice captured my attention.

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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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