An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 98

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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 97
Part 1. Please, Trust Only Me! (3)
Whoooooosh—!
Rain fell as if the world itself were being swept away.
Though the surroundings lay shrouded in darkness, I could see a single crimson plum blossom tree in full bloom.
The plum tree, red as if saturated with blood, was so vivid that its color pierced through the gloom.
Yet this was not the season for crimson plum blossoms to bloom.
‘A dream….’
Even beneath the torrential downpour, I turned my gaze from the profusely blooming crimson plum blossoms toward the darkness.
Because it was a dream, I could discern where I was.
A mountain forest.
Thud, thud.
I moved forward through the vivid darkness, battered by rain that struck my entire body, as if being drawn toward something.
And I caught the scent—a distinct, unmistakable reek that even the rain could not mask.
It was a familiar smell.
The stench of decay and predation.
That scent from the Tiger Spirit still assaulted my nostrils with crystalline clarity.
Aaaaaaaah—!
Ugh, ugh! Cough, cough!
Let go. Let me go, please.
I want to live. I don’t want to die like this.
Don’t eat me.
Mother, mother!
Screeeech! Coughhhhh—ahhhhh!
The cacophony of screams pierced my ears, yet they were not the voices of the living.
As my eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, I could see the entities shrieking from beyond the gloom.
‘Malevolent Spirits.’
Those with parts of their bodies missing, their forms drenched in blood.
Those who had fallen victim to the Tiger Spirit’s predation.
And at the center of them all sat a massive, pitch-black Tiger Spirit, its yellow eyes rolling slowly, perfectly still.
Who said it?
That the tiger is the king of the mountains.
My face twisted as I wondered if perhaps that saying had not originated from the tiger that commanded these Malevolent Spirits.
The Tiger Spirit, commanding dozens of Malevolent Spirits, emanated an aura of regal authority.
Then it happened.
Ding, ding.
A Shaman’s Bell rang softly, and the Malevolent Spirits fell silent—but it was not mine.
There was a Shaman here.
Beneath the cascading downpour, before the Tiger Spirit, stood a figure cloaked entirely in black rain gear.
A faint voice reached my ears.
However, the downpour was too fierce and his voice too faint for me to make out what he was saying.
‘What is this? Who is that person?’
Kang Hyung-seok turned his gaze toward the man in the black raincoat and moved forward cautiously.
I was in the Dream Realm.
If I was careful, he wouldn’t perceive me.
Yet strangely, my mouth had gone completely dry. It was as though my instincts were warning me not to approach any further.
Squelch.
It was as I stepped forward, my shoes sinking into soil saturated with rainwater, crumbling beneath my weight.
The Tiger Spirit’s yellow eyes moved.
From the person in the raincoat to Kang Hyung-seok.
The Tiger Spirit’s gaze was far too deliberate to be mere coincidence—it was fixed squarely upon me.
My entire body froze, and in that moment when even my legs went rigid, I became aware of the countless other presences surrounding me.
Patter, patter, tap, tap.
Hehehehehehe.
Hehehahahahehe.
Hehehehehehe.
Things drawing ever closer, their laughter sickening and vile.
Four-legged creatures that reeked with a metallic, suffocating stench.
‘…Changgwi.’
They crowded in densely around me—beings with human heads and tiger bodies, as though the souls of humans and tigers had become grotesquely entangled.
These too were Changgwi.
They were Changgwi of pure malice, not those bound within the categories of Gwalgak, Yeol, or Yukhon.
Those whose souls had been ensnared by the tiger after falling victim to its curse.
They had become the tiger’s limbs, wandering in search of victims.
Such Changgwi emerged from the earth, from branches, from treetops, from crevices in stone—all grinning wickedly at me.
There were far too many of them.
It was just as the noxious miasma and spectral aura emanating from the Changgwi and the Tiger Spirit made me retch.
Knock knock knock knock!
The sharp rapping sound pulled my consciousness back to reality.
“Gasp!”
Jolting awake, Kang Hyung-seok turned his head toward the source of the sound, breathing heavily.
“Hyung-nim! It’s me. Yoon Sang.”
Whoooosh—!
Yoon Sang, holding an umbrella right in front of the driver’s side window, was grinning brightly.
Only then did Kang Hyung-seok fully realize he had awakened from the dream, and he exhaled heavily as he unlocked the car.
Click.
Yoon Sang climbed into the passenger seat and folded his umbrella, but his cheerful expression vanished instantly when he saw my face.
“H-Hyung-nim? Are you alright?”
“Yeah. It’s nothing.”
“That doesn’t look like a nothing face. Shouldn’t you go to the Hospital or something?”
Kang Hyung-seok rubbed his face to shake off the lingering drowsiness.
Cold sweat drenched his palms, leaving them clammy.
Rub, rub, rub.
Yoon Sang then tore open a tissue packet from his bag and offered it with a worried expression.
“Wipe the sweat off. You’re really okay, right?”
“It’s nothing. I just had a nightmare.”
Yoon Sang’s face showed disbelief.
From his perspective, Kang Hyung-seok was a remarkable Shaman, and a nightmare experienced while exorcising spirits hardly seemed like an ordinary dream.
In truth, Kang Hyung-seok thought the same.
Of all times, to have such a nightmare now, in this situation.
Everything I saw in the dream felt so vivid, so tangible, that I couldn’t dismiss it lightly.
‘…Is this a revelation?’
My Guardian Spirit told me to save myself.
In the past, I picked up the Shaman’s Bell and saved myself from Changgwi.
Now I must save myself from the Malevolent Spirit who commands Changgwi.
I must completely break free from Changgwi.
This was likely what my Guardian Spirit truly wanted to tell me.
As I exhaled slowly and gathered my thoughts, Yoon Sang turned to look at the back seat and forced brightness into his voice.
“Oh, looks like you’re alone today.”
“Huh?”
“That woman from before. The really beautiful one.”
Was that how Shin Jung-ah appeared to Yoon Sang?
Well, I suppose he could see her that way.
Even I had to admit Shin Jung-ah’s appearance was remarkable.
“I’m alone today.”
“That’s too bad. It seemed like you two were getting closer before.”
Hard to say.
Since the Goblin incident, Shin Jung-ah seemed to avoid me, though she didn’t completely shut me out either.
We’ve exchanged brief conversations a few times, but Shin Jung-ah never once mentioned Yoon Sang.
There was no reason to bring it up.
So I silently started the engine and fastened my seatbelt.
Whoooosh!
The car’s wipers activated as it drove through the rain, and Yoon Sang pulled out a triangle kimbap from the plastic bag he was holding and handed it to me.
“You haven’t eaten, have you?”
“Huh?”
“When you sent me your location. I saw where it was and figured you were resting in the car. So I bought you something to eat.”
Rustle.
Yoon Sang held up a hefty bag and smiled with satisfaction.
An unexpected kindness.
I exhaled with a slight laugh, unwrapped the triangle kimbap Yoon Sang handed me with one hand and my teeth, and thanked him.
“But hyung, where are you heading right now? Banyasa Temple?”
“No, but I’ve just figured out where I need to go.”
“…Where?”
Yoon Sang asked with a tense, serious expression, and Kang Hyung-seok answered after taking a large bite of his triangle kimbap.
“The Large Mart.”
“What?”
“We need to buy some supplies there.”
If the dream truly was a revelation and there were many Changgwi to face, it would be no different from walking into a tiger’s den.
There was much to prepare.
Just as salt and glutinous rice were necessary when driving away Malevolent Spirits, there were specific items needed to confront Changgwi.
“Ah… yes.”
Unaware of this, Yoon Sang looked down awkwardly at the convenience store bag resting on his lap.
Had he bought too much for no reason?
That was the look in his eyes.
***
“Heave!”
Thunk—!
Yoon Sang and Kang Hyung-seok struggled to load the sacks into the trunk.
Plums.
They had scraped together every plum in the mart, and on the ground lay another pile of plum juice and lemons yet to be loaded.
“Hyung, I’m really curious about this.”
Yoon Sang carefully asked his question while photographing the plums and lemons with his phone, perhaps for later broadcast use.
“Why did you buy all of this?”
Clunk!
After placing a box of lemons beside the plums, Kang Hyung-seok reached for the plum juice.
“Changgwi are fond of sour things.”
“What?”
“It’s a folk tradition. That’s why we primarily use plums when dealing with Changgwi. We also use the fruit of the soguinamu tree, but that’s what they do on Jeju Island.”
Such a tradition existed.
That Changgwi are drawn to sour things.
So they cannot pass by plums and the fruit of the soguinamu tree, becoming obsessed with them mindlessly.
By using this, one can lure Changgwi or bind them while escaping.
Most importantly, it distracts the Changgwi’s mind, creating an opening for the hunt.
But Yoon Sang, apparently unaware of all this, merely blinked repeatedly.
Indeed, in this modern age where tigers had vanished, who would fear or even pay attention to Changgwi?
“Hyung, then wouldn’t cat treats be useful too? They’re felines, after all.”
Wait, does that logic actually work that way?
Kang Hyung-seok, who had paused to consider, shook his head with a frown.
“No. Let’s not take unnecessary risks.”
“Doesn’t sound like a good idea?”
“There’s no mention of treats in the texts.”
“Ah.”
Yoon Sang opened his bag with an awkward expression and began packing plums.
Kang Hyung-seok watched Yoon Sang’s bag swell larger and larger, his face heavy with thought.
‘Please, let nothing happen to this boy.’
Yoon Sang had to help Kang Hyung-seok.
But they couldn’t move together—they had to move separately.
What they needed to find was the lair of the Malevolent Spirit.
Whether Yoon Sang or Kang Hyung-seok found it first didn’t matter, but interference would surely come.
When it did, those plums would save Yoon Sang’s life.
“I’ve packed everything.”
“Grab some plum juice too.”
“Yes, yes.”
Yoon Sang stuffed plum juice in one pocket and lemon in the other.
Once Kang Hyung-seok confirmed all preparations were complete, he climbed back into the car and entered Banyasa Temple into the navigation system.
Now it was truly time to go catch the Tiger Spirit.
“Phew!”
Tense, Yoon Sang exhaled deeply until his cheeks puffed out, clenching and unclenching his damp hands. Beside him, Kang Hyung-seok started the engine.
***
The motel where Kim Jae-sik was staying.
Park Mi-ryung, dressed in shaman’s robes, was affixing talismans to the walls. The talismans, written in red cinnabar, possessed the power to ward off spirits.
Whoosh.
After sprinkling glutinous rice flour around the door and window frames, she whistled with pursed lips.
“Whiiiii—”
This motel too carried a troubled history.
There were no suicides, but far too many people in despair had passed through.
The negative energy they left behind lingered everywhere, and such things attracted malevolent spirits.
Having washed away and purified these energies, Park Mi-ryung murmured with tension etched across her face.
“Elder, will this suffice?”
She was alone in the motel room.
So the one she addressed was no human.
The Great Goblin.
The Great Goblin who could tear a Malevolent Goblin to shreds with his bare hands was her deity.
Thump, thump, thump, boom.
She tapped the drum bearing the Goblin’s image softly, then suddenly cast her gaze toward the window.
She stopped drumming and opened her mouth.
“Yes, I understand.”
The Goblin had told her.
They were coming.
Like flesh flying through the air, four-legged Changgwi were rushing toward this motel where she and Kim Jae-sik remained.

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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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