An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 73

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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 72
Part 7. He Lived a Good Life (4)
Ding!
Shin Jung-ah pushed through the cafe door with her shoulder, looking like a corpse.
I’m dying.
It was the day after the company dinner.
Saturday morning, and the clock was creeping toward 9:50.
That’s why the cafe was absolutely packed.
With dark circles shadowing her face, Shin Jung-ah spotted a long-haired woman waving at her.
Thump.
“Why did you call me?”
“Ugh, you reek of alcohol. Hey, turn your head when you breathe.”
The sharp-featured woman was Lee Ha-yoon, Shin Jung-ah’s high school classmate.
Shin Jung-ah clutched her head, which felt like it might split from the hangover, then deliberately breathed directly into her friend’s face.
“Ack! The smell!”
Lee Ha-yoon recoiled in horror, flailing her hands, while Shin Jung-ah just groaned.
“I’m going to die.”
“Did you have a company dinner yesterday? You’re completely gone.”
“What, you think I’d get like this alone? I drank until I reached this state by myself.”
“Drink less. You’re going to get cirrhosis.”
“Since you’re being so polite, I guess you want to die.”
It was a brutal conversation.
A few nearby customers glanced over, but the two of them didn’t seem to care at all.
That was just how they were with each other.
Clunk.
Shin Jung-ah rose from her chair with a pained expression, and Lee Ha-yoon, looking like she pitied her to death, pulled a card from her wallet and tossed it down.
“What’s this?”
“I’m buying. Don’t get anything expensive or you’re dead.”
“Thanks.”
Shin Jung-ah picked up the card and went to the counter, returning with a single espresso.
“I told you to buy coffee, and you brought back a soy sauce dish. Didn’t you get dumplings? That would pair perfectly with this.”
“Shut up, you.”
Shin Jung-ah set down the small cup of concentrated coffee and tore open a sugar packet with a snap.
She dumped in two entire packets and swirled the cup, while Lee Ha-yoon looked utterly disgusted.
“You’re something else. Seriously.”
Shin Jung-ah didn’t even acknowledge her, taking a sip of the sugared coffee.
“Ahhhh, that hits the spot.”
“Feeling better?”
“Yeah, the alcohol’s finally wearing off.”
Shin Jung-ah shook her head vigorously.
“You’ve always drunk that same thing whenever you had a few too many. Does it actually cure a hangover?”
“Try it. This is the real deal. The genuine article.”
“You’ve already found a place, so there’s no need for that anymore. How’s the company treating you?”
“How is it? One company’s much like another.”
“No, I mean this. This right here.”
Lee Ha-yoon extended only her pinky finger and wiggled it, and Shin Jung-ah responded with a rotten smile.
“When are you going to grow up?”
“Look at you, so carefree. Not seeing anyone?”
“Do I go to the company to meet men? Stop it, you.”
“You’re always so difficult. Honestly, who would want to take you on?”
Lee Ha-yoon recalled Shin Jung-ah from her university days and shuddered as if utterly disgusted.
She had been popular.
But her sharp temperament meant that the boyfriends she met never lasted long.
“Remember that senior who used to chase after you?”
“Huh?”
“That senior apparently still can’t eat meat. Did you really beat him that badly?”
“Ugh! Why are you bringing up that stalker creep? How unlucky.”
Lee Ha-yoon laughed, and Shin Jung-ah sipped her coffee as if it were the elixir of life itself, then opened her eyes slightly.
“But why did you really call me?”
“You ask quickly.”
“Yeah, why did you call me?”
Lee Ha-yoon took her card back from Shin Jung-ah, placed it in her wallet, and pulled out a business card.
“Your sister finally opened an office.”
“Really?”
“So now I’m the boss—call me boss from now on.”
“Wow, congratulations.”
Shin Jung-ah responded as if reading from a textbook and took the card to read it.
“Lee Yoon Law Firm. Hey, divorce specialist? And you’re not even married.”
“Being unmarried creates credibility, doesn’t it?”
Does it really work that way?
Shin Jung-ah rolled her eyes in thought, then returned the card with an expression that said “I don’t think so.”
“Keep it.”
“Divorce? I’m not even married. Where would I use it? Besides, your contact info has been saved in my phone for like five hundred years.”
“Still, keep it. As a memento—it’s killer.”
“Fine, want me to send you a congratulatory wreath?”
“No thanks. I’ve already received plenty.”
Lee Ha-yoon playfully stuck out her tongue and put the card back in her wallet.
Watching her, Shin Jung-ah burst out laughing.
“Geez, you’ve really become a proper person.”
Who would have imagined that Lee Ha-yoon, who seemed like a total airhead until high school, would become a lawyer?
“But isn’t this a prime location? It must have been expensive, yet you signed the contract.”
“Oh, that?”
Lee Ha-yoon chuckled, her expression carrying an oddly ominous quality.
“It came on the market cheap, so I jumped on it right away. I maxed out my credit line and got the entire interior renovation done.”
“Oh… how cheap are we talking?”
Lee Ha-yoon spread all five fingers wide.
It wasn’t a small sum.
Yet there was an undeniable sense that the price was excessively low.
“That doesn’t make sense. It’s way too cheap.”
“Yeah. Ghosts haunt the place.”
“…What?”
Shin Jung-ah’s face went pale, but Lee Ha-yoon remained perfectly serene.
“Ghosts don’t exist in this world. If one did show up, I’d hope it was a bachelor ghost who looks like an idol.”
“…Wow.”
Lee Ha-yoon laughed heartily, and when she caught sight of Shin Jung-ah’s expression, she laughed even harder.
“Look at your face. Come on, where would ghosts even come from?”
“…Yeah, right. Sure.”
“See? You actually believe in ghosts, don’t you? Are you still going to the Shamanic Temple these days?”
“Never mind that. So, where are you sleeping?”
She asked, hoping against hope.
She had prayed the answer wouldn’t be what she expected, but Lee Ha-yoon’s response was exactly as anticipated.
“Of course at the office. I’ve stretched every penny I have, so I need to save.”
Shin Jung-ah pressed her forehead as a splitting headache began to throb.
“Wow, is your hangover really that bad?”
“That’s not it. You’re driving me crazy.”
Shin Jung-ah looked at Lee Ha-yoon with an expression of helplessness.
After encountering Kang Hyung-seok a few times now, she could no longer deny the existence of ghosts.
“You’re going to make me lose my mind. Seriously.”
“Why?”
“Why do you keep saying the same things? Ugh.”
Shin Jung-ah glanced at her nearly empty espresso and furrowed her brow.
Then a memory suddenly surfaced.
The time she had pasted a talisman to summon ghosts in the bathroom.
Had Kang Hyung-seok felt the same rotting despair she felt now back then?
“…Sigh.”
She’d have to buy him a coffee later.
With that thought, Shin Jung-ah rubbed her forehead and opened her mouth with a serious expression.
“You don’t believe in ghosts, right?”
“Of course not.”
“Then just think of it as an old story and listen.”
It was likely the earnest tone of her voice.
Lee Ha-yoon’s expression, which had been smiling brightly, grew somewhat serious.
“If you have any strange dreams or anything unusual happens, do exactly as I say.”
“Huh? Okay.”
Shin Jung-ah crossed her arms and fell into deep thought before continuing.
“Buy red beans. And boil them.”
“…I thought you were going to tell me something amazing, but it’s ridiculously simple.”
“That’s how these things work. When you buy red beans at a large supermarket, if they sell glutinous rice flour, grab some of that too.”
“Why that?”
“Sprinkle it around your bed.”
Having seen and learned these things, Shin Jung-ah spoke as though imparting some great secret remedy.
But the weight behind her words was far too light, leaving Lee Ha-yoon skeptical.
“Ah, yes.”
“Listen seriously, will you? Every word I’m saying is worth its weight in gold.”
“Yes, of course. Absolutely.”
“I’m being serious!”
“Anyway, once you finish your coffee, let’s catch a movie for a change. You don’t have anything else to do this weekend anyway, right?”
“Ugh.”
Shin Jung-ah let out a groan.
She was frustrated that Lee Ha-yoon wasn’t taking her seriously. And she couldn’t deny that having nothing to do on a weekend was a fair point.
Clink.
“And seriously, go meet some people. You’re at an age where it would be great even without a romantic interest, but having no one to see on weekends? That doesn’t make sense.”
“Shut up!”
Feeling her true feelings exposed, Shin Jung-ah forgot all about the cafe and raised her voice sharply.
***
At that same moment, Kang Hyung-seok remained trapped in slumber.
He had pushed himself to run harder because of Gwak Young-ho’s good mood, and Lee Jin-pyung’s alcohol tolerance had proven stronger than expected.
Besides, it was Saturday.
A day when one could forget everything and sleep in comfortably without guilt.
Yet beads of cold sweat dotted Kang Hyung-seok’s forehead as he dreamed.
Whoooosh.
In the Dream Realm, I walked through thick Mist.
Where was this place?
Why was I here?
I tried to find answers, but as with dreams, causality eluded me.
Squelch, squelch.
Walking through a dark path like the Anmok Reservoir, I unconsciously slipped my hand into my breast pocket.
I meant to retrieve the Shaman’s Bell.
But what my hand grasped was only a Shin Blade split in half.
‘The Shin Blade….’
A sacred instrument Shin Yoseph had given me.
The time I’d used it was brief.
Yet its effects had been remarkable.
Each time I wielded it, I felt myself drawing closer to the divine.
If the Shaman’s Bell was a sacred instrument that protected me, the Shin Blade was one that connected me to my Guardian Spirit.
Squelch.
Leaning on the fractured Shin Blade, I continued down the path.
For reasons I couldn’t explain, I felt compelled to walk this way.
And I sensed I would encounter something.
That was when it happened.
Splurch.
Something hot and wet touched my foot.
The shoes I would have expected to be wearing were absent.
So the temperature and texture of the liquid transmitted vividly through my skin.
‘Blood?’
As I looked down at what lay beneath my feet, I suddenly sensed a presence and slowly raised my head.
The thick Mist remained.
Yet the darkness had thinned, allowing me to survey my surroundings.
Religious paintings.
Religious paintings depicting the Four Heavenly Kings had encircled me without warning.
Frightened and awed by the terrifying, majestic imagery, I lifted the fractured Shin Blade.
Simultaneously, a thick, putrid stench rushed in and assaulted my nostrils.
The reek—mingled with the stench of beasts—was unmistakably familiar.
“Changgwi!”
Shrieeeek!
Kang Hyung-seok swept his divine blade through the air, surveying his surroundings.
Yet nowhere could I find any trace of Changgwi.
Instead, the form of the religious painting grew increasingly blurred as a familiar silhouette slowly emerged from the darkness.
A general clad in traditional Eastern black armor.
My Guardian Spirit.
With his face still concealed in shadow, he wielded a general’s sword.
Drip, drip, drip.
Crimson blood cascaded down the blade and pooled upon the ground.
That blood formed a puddle that connected even to my feet.
“…Did you do this?”
I stared blankly at my Guardian Spirit and continued speaking.
“Why is your blade stained with blood? Whom have you struck down?”
The Guardian Spirit before me now resembled a Malevolent Spirit.
Because of this, I could not believe what I was witnessing.
Why did my Guardian Spirit emit such a thick stench of blood?
It was then.
Screech!
A beast with a human head erupted from the darkness.
It came from behind my Guardian Spirit, and before I could even register its presence, a blade swept through the air.
Crack!
The beast’s neck severed in a single stroke, its body crumpled to the ground.
Its form lay limp upon the floor while its head rolled like a ball, coming to rest before me.
The head, twisted in agony, was unmistakably human.
And the body sprawled across the ground resembled a tiger.
I shifted my gaze toward my Guardian Spirit in shock.
Whoosh!
My Guardian Spirit rotated his blade, pointing it toward me.
The direction of his sword hilt seemed to convey a message.
That I must raise my blade.

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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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