An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 71

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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 70
Part 7. He Lived a Good Life (2)
Two days later.
On the Company Rooftop, Gwak Young-ho, Shin Jung-ah, and I were taking a break with cigarettes and coffee.
It was peaceful, though hardly harmonious.
“Manager Kang, you’re not… bothered by this, are you?”
Gwak Young-ho kept glancing at me nervously.
“Not at all. I’m not bothered.”
“You’ve been doing such excellent work lately. You know how it is—sales is always the hardest department.”
I had gone to secure a contract with Samgol Farm.
But I returned empty-handed.
It was the atmosphere.
The moment the cleansing ritual ended, the client’s condition deteriorated as if on cue, and there was simply no opportunity to broach the subject of a contract.
“Just look at Manager Shin—back-to-back failures.”
“Why are you suddenly singling me out?”
“Because it shows how difficult things are! Even a veteran like Manager Shin is struggling.”
Gwak Young-ho fumbled over his words while Shin Jung-ah’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Watching him, I let out a bitter laugh.
Seeing this certainly made it feel like we had returned to ordinary life.
“Given the circumstances, I don’t think it’s entirely finished.”
I remember the Son’s expression as he saw me and the other Shamans off.
He looked both flustered and grateful.
Even as his condition worsened, he could now pass peacefully.
The cleansing ritual had been performed, and the Son understood the effort the Shamans and I had invested.
Tap.
Gwak Young-ho placed a hand on my shoulder and shook his head with a heavy expression.
“Manager Kang, I respect your passion, but you need to let go of your regrets.”
Gwak Young-ho, unaware of what had actually transpired, simply thought I was disappointed.
“Anyway! Let’s not worry about Samgol anymore, understood?”
“…Understood.”
I couldn’t bring myself to say “That’s not it” here, so I answered this way.
“After all, we’re number one among the current sales teams—number one! Who could say anything? Nobody can. Right, Manager Shin?”
“That’s right. Manager Kang has done well all this time.”
“Exactly, exactly!”
Gwak Young-ho nodded with exaggerated gestures, then turned his gaze toward me.
“So, what’s your schedule this afternoon?”
“Nothing in particular. Do you have something for me to do?”
“Something to do? Don’t you remember? We were going to have a company dinner to celebrate Lee Jin-pyung’s discharge.”
Now that he mentioned it, there had been such talk.
“I remember. So we’re doing it tonight then?”
“That works. Are you okay with it too, Manager Shin?”
“I’m fine anytime. Should I look into the location?”
“The Pajeon Restaurant was decent before, but let’s go somewhere a bit fancier this time. How about beef?”
That was when it happened.
Zing.
Kang Hyung-seok’s phone suddenly rang, capturing everyone’s attention.
Gwak Young-ho, his expression hopeful, gestured for him to check it quickly, and Kang Hyung-seok pulled out his phone.
After checking the message, he turned his gaze toward Gwak Young-ho.
“It looks like the dinner gathering won’t be possible.”
“Why? Why?”
“It’s a message from the person who introduced me to Samgol Farm. Apparently, the farm owner’s father just passed away.”
“Oh my goodness!”
The Sales Department dealt with people.
That’s why we knew.
A funeral was a place where you had to show your face, no matter how much a contract fell through.
“You said you had nothing scheduled this afternoon, right? Go quickly. Hurry.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Pay your respects to the deceased!”
You might not be able to attend celebrations, but you had to attend funerals.
Gwak Young-ho’s expression was regretful, but the barely concealed anticipation burning within him had grown even stronger than before.
People remembered those who came to pay their respects at funerals for a very long time.
“Then I’ll depart right away.”
“Wait a moment. Manager Shin, how many paper cups did we have in our Break Room?”
“I’ll just call the General Affairs Department and ask them to prepare a few boxes.”
“Yes! That’s better.”
Shin Jung-ah immediately called the General Affairs Department and asked them to prepare disposable items that could be used at the funeral hall.
Paper cups, disposable bowls, wooden chopsticks.
Everyone from Sales Team 1 helped load them into the car.
“Have a good trip! Call me if anything unusual comes up!”
“Understood.”
Kang Hyung-seok flashed a smile at Gwak Young-ho and started the engine.
***
On the way there, Kang Hyung-seok picked up Lee Geum-kyung.
The atmosphere inside the car was lighter than expected.
Lee Geum-kyung’s friend had passed away.
Yet whether she had sensed this would happen or because the gut ritual had been completed, she remained perfectly composed.
She even reassured Kang Hyung-seok that there was no need to worry.
Screech!
Kang Hyung-seok stopped the car in front of the Hospital Funeral Hall, about ten kilometers away from Samgol Farm.
Carrying only a box of paper cups, Kang Hyung-seok climbed to the funeral hall with Lee Geum-kyung and proceeded according to protocol.
“My deepest condolences to the deceased.”
“Thank you for coming.”
I exchanged respectful greetings with the Samgol Farm Owner, who had become the chief mourner, and performed two deep bows before the Altar decorated with white chrysanthemums, then one more to the chief mourner.
“You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”
It was likely because there weren’t many people present yet.
The Son personally led Kang Hyung-seok and Lee Geum-kyung to a place where they could eat.
On a low table covered with plastic sat braised beef, yukgaejang, pajeon, and rice cakes, and the Son twisted open a bottle of soju and offered a glass to Lee Geum-kyung.
“Did you drive here?”
“Yes. I’d rather not drink alcohol.”
“I see.”
The Son set down the soju with a disappointed expression and rested his hands on his knees.
Silence lingered for a while before Lee Geum-kyung spoke first.
“Your friend’s car has some things in it.”
“Things?”
“The Company gathered various supplies. If you just provide someone, I’ll bring them back.”
“No, ma’am, I should….”
Lee Geum-kyung shook her head.
Her expression was deliberate.
She was saying she would step away since the Son seemed to have something to say.
When Kang Hyung-seok reluctantly handed over the car keys, Lee Geum-kyung picked up a coffee and stood.
“Oh my, this is exhausting.”
Lee Geum-kyung walked leisurely toward the door, and the Son quickly assigned a few staff members to accompany her.
With Lee Geum-kyung gone, only two people remained at the table.
“…You said the Company provided supplies just now.”
“Ah, yes. The Company I work for gathered some items to be used here.”
“Ah! Yes, yes. Thank you so much.”
The Son’s eyes widened as he looked at Kang Hyung-seok.
He had apparently assumed I was a Shaman.
An awkward silence passed, and the Son parted his lips hesitantly.
“Thank you. I’m deeply indebted to you.”
“Indebted? No, not at all. It’s simply what should be done.”
“No, no. You can tell by looking.”
The Son appeared to be of similar age to Gwak Young-ho.
Having lived through many years, one learns much from even the smallest clues.
“My father recited the scriptures during the cleansing ritual, didn’t he? He even procured the jar himself.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
The Son pressed his lips together firmly, then exhaled with a soft sound as his head bowed deeply.
“Thank you. For going to such lengths for my father.”
Kang Hyung-seok smiled awkwardly and glanced once at the Altar where the other family members stood.
“What kind of person was your father?”
His face stiffened momentarily before relaxing.
“Why do you ask….”
“He seemed to be respected even by the Shamans. The teacher spoke of him very highly as well.”
The Son laughed uncomfortably and shook his head.
“He was a busy man.”
Before Kang Hyung-seok’s watchful eyes, the Son fingered a paper soju cup.
“He was always busy. He never stayed home, and whenever he returned, he would leave again after a day or two.”
Loneliness emanated from the Son’s face.
When I most needed love and support, my father chose the life of a Shaman over being a father.
“During school, I was mocked by friends. They said my clothes smelled of incense. I was asked quite often if I could see ghosts.”
“I understand.”
Kang Hyung-seok could empathize to some degree, having suffered from his own spiritual sight.
A brief smile crossed both their faces.
“It’s not that I hated my father for being a Shaman.”
The Son, adding words to prevent any misunderstanding, fidgeted with the paper soju cup.
It was already crumpled beyond its original form.
“I was simply disappointed. I regret never asking what could possibly be more precious than family.”
Kang Hyung-seok nodded heavily.
It was a sentiment he could fully understand.
And it was something he could not voice before Lee Geum-kyung.
How could one ask what Shamanism truly was, that it held value enough to turn one’s back on family itself?
“I’m afraid I cannot presume to speak of your father.”
Meeting the Son’s gaze directed at me, Kang Hyung-seok continued calmly.
“But I believe I can say this much.”
Kang Hyung-seok spoke while observing the Son’s father, whose lips remained firmly sealed among the white chrysanthemums.
“They say one can understand how a person lived by looking at their funeral hall.”
The Son’s mouth closed.
Even he had just moments ago poured out his regrets about his father.
It is said that a hundred graves hold a hundred stories.
The funeral hall is where such varied tales reach their conclusion.
“Those who lived harshly have sparse funeral halls. Those who lived lives filled with greed are surrounded by such people.”
“…”
His son’s eyes seemed to ask a silent question.
In your view, what kind of life did our father live?
“The funeral will proceed for three days. That way, people coming from far away will have the opportunity to pay their respects.”
Kang Hyung-seok continued speaking, offering comfort with a faint smile.
“This is only the first day. You’ll be quite busy.”
“What do you mean…?”
“You’ll understand soon enough.”
Kang Hyung-seok checked the time on his wristwatch.
It was now past the end of the workday.
If his son had sent the news of death through the contacts saved in his father’s phone, then what I anticipated would soon come to pass.
Ding!
The sound of the elevator arriving echoed from a distance.
Moments later, a group of people poured out and entered the funeral hall.
Whoosh.
The chief mourner—the son—rose instinctively, but Kang Hyung-seok merely gestured for him to go greet them.
The son, looking bewildered and confused, welcomed the visitors, and soon more people arrived via the elevator.
Rumble.
Watching the steadily increasing stream of mourners, Kang Hyung-seok picked up his spoon.
‘You’ll understand soon enough.’
For now, he was too overwhelmed to comprehend it.
But he would come to understand.
“Oh, my goodness! Oh, dear!”
“Teacher, how could you leave us like this?”
That people mourning with such genuine sorrow had come to bid farewell to his father.
That was the nature of humanity.
Fragile and weak.
So much so that they had needed to believe in the divine to build society.
The Shaman who had passed had spent his entire life helping such people.
He had lived well.
Truly, he had lived well.
Watching his son bow in return to the mourners, Kang Hyung-seok lifted his spoon to the oxtail soup.

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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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