Exorcism Specialist Company: Ghost Soul Trading - Chapter 19

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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 19

I stepped into the elevator at the Underground Parking Lot, clutching the wooden box sealed with talismans.
Thump—thump-thump—
The Building Owner Ghost’s voice still echoed from inside the box.
It seemed to be knocking against the box’s walls from within.
“Ugh. Please, just be quiet. Please.”
As I pressed the elevator button and the doors closed, sudden worry washed over me.
It occurred to me that some employees at Guihon Trading might not know the true nature of this company.
Identity checks only happened in the elevator when heading to the 4th Floor where the Training Team was located.
What if an unrelated employee got on while I was carrying this noisy box? The anxious thought gnawed at me.

[Ding—First Floor.]

The elevator stopped at the First Floor.
I furrowed my brow and moved as far into the corner as possible.
Whoosh—
A man and woman in business suits pushed their way into the elevator.
In an instant, the space was packed.
Thump—thump-thump—thump—
In the midst of this, the Building Owner Ghost inside the box continued to make a racket.
I squeezed my eyes shut and silently prayed for the ghost to quiet down.
Yet the people in the elevator didn’t even glance at me.
Their reactions were all casual familiarity.
Only then did I become certain that everyone in this building knew about ghosts.
“What happened with that American client?”
“The Accounting Team said not to handle it.”
“Those guys always say it’s not their problem.”
“Yoon, did you finish that proposal I requested yesterday?”
“Yes, Manager. I uploaded it to the messenger.”
“Did you watch the Arsenal match yesterday? Man, how do they keep missing shots like that?”
“Tell me about it. Everyone was in terrible form yesterday. I fell asleep watching it too.”
They simply exchanged casual conversation—everyday chatter and work matters—each within their own groups.
I clutched the box tighter, my brow furrowed.
By the time everyone had exited and we reached the 18th Floor, I was finally alone.
I gazed at the elevator’s LED display while holding the box.

[Ding— 20th Floor.]

The elevator arrived at its destination, and Tae-woo stepped out cautiously, surveying his surroundings.
Whoooooosh—
The corridor was remarkably quiet.
“Where is the Incineration Team?”
The hallway looked no different from any other corporate building.
He walked forward, box in hand, checking the office nameplates as he passed.
Chairman’s office, secretary’s office, executive conference room, and so on.
It seemed like a place ordinary employees rarely accessed.
Finding the ‘Incineration Team’ in such a location struck me as remarkably odd.
“Could it be the 10th Floor instead of the 20th? Did the manager misspeak?”
Just as Tae-woo reached for his phone in his pocket, he spotted a directional sign hanging from the ceiling.

[Incineration Team]

Upon seeing it, Tae-woo shrugged and followed the sign.
Strange as it was, the presence of the sign suggested I was heading in the right direction.
Turning the corner, a staircase leading to the rooftop came into view.
And directly in front of that staircase, the words ‘Incineration Team’ were written once more.
Tae-woo ascended the stairs, his skepticism undiminished.

* * *

Whoooooosh—
The moment I arrived, what greeted me was a space unlike anything I could have imagined.
In the center of a vast chamber with walls and ceiling constructed from enormous windows—much like a vinyl greenhouse—sat multiple computers and desks, alongside various ritual implements and offering tables.
And peculiarly, at the heart of this space stood a massive tree, adorned with five-colored cloth ribbons draped like sacred ornaments.
It was unmistakably a space designed for conducting a gut—a shamanic ritual.
“Where have you come from?”
A younger-looking male employee in formal attire approached me.
“I’m from the Training Team.”
“The Training Team? Ah. Training Team 4?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
As I nodded and lowered the box, the employee’s gaze followed it downward.
“You’re from Training Team 4? Ah, so this is what you all captured from the Incheon field operation.”
Then an older-looking employee emerged from behind him and spoke.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
He appeared more seasoned than the first employee who had greeted me.
“Ah. You’re the Founder’s grandson, aren’t you? What was your name again… Kim Tae-woo, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
He had recognized me.
When I greeted him, he smiled.
“Good to meet you. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing each other often. The Training Team and the Incineration Team—how should I put it—we’re in a kind of symbiotic relationship.”
He gestured for me to follow, then led the way while continuing.
“If the Incineration Team and Training Team share a spiritual symbiosis, then the Settlement Team and Training Team share an administrative one. We bring closure to spirits, while the Settlement Team brings closure through money.”
From his words, I could sense that this man held the Settlement Team in low regard.
There was no need to respond to such commentary, so I kept my mouth firmly shut.
“Give me that box.”
The employee spoke.
I respectfully handed over the box, and he carried it to place it before the sacred tree.
“Kim Manager. Let’s prepare.”
The employee called to the female staff member beside him, and she disappeared, only to reappear moments later dressed in a shaman’s ceremonial robes.
My eyes widened at the sight.
Following that, men and women dressed in white mourning garments filed in single file, each picking up instruments like janggu drums and gongs.
“It’ll be over soon, so watch if you’d like, then head back down.”
The employee winked at me as he spoke.
“Yes, understood.”
I stood there in stunned silence, witnessing the spectacle unfold before me.

Clang-clang-clang-clang—
Boom-boom-boom-boom—

Amid the cacophony of instruments, the shaman known as Kim Manager approached the box and lifted its lid.
She withdrew the urn and placed it on the ground.

Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang—

As the instrumental sounds accelerated, the urn began to tremble violently of its own accord.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—

The urn shook, producing a deafening noise against the floor.
That was the moment.
Crack—
The urn shattered, and the Building Owner Ghost that I had encountered revealed itself.
He lay prostrate on the ground as though he had fallen from a great height, his body convulsing violently.
Kim Manager, witnessing this, did not pause—she continued the ritual without interruption.
“This is a transcendence rite. If the spirit passes peacefully here, that ghost will ascend to the afterlife. But if it resists midway, it will be annihilated.”
An employee beside me whispered an explanation.
“There are cases where they resist?”
“Yes, there are. Sometimes they have lingering attachments to this world, or they resist because the pain is unbearable. I’m not entirely sure myself, but apparently transcendence rites are extremely painful.”
He spoke in hushed tones while looking at me.

Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang—
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—

As the instruments grew faster, the Building Owner Ghost suddenly jerked his head upward.
Tears of blood erupted violently from his eyes.
The sight was grotesque and deeply unsettling.
I instinctively took a step backward.
“By the looks of it, he’s about to resist.”
The employee spoke quietly, then went somewhere and returned with a large shotgun from beside his desk.
He aimed it at the Building Owner Ghost and waited.

Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang—

The music grew faster and faster.
That was the moment.
Whoooosh—
The ghost lunged toward Kim Manager with its mouth gaping wide open.
In an instant, the waiting employee pulled the trigger.
BANG—
Tae-woo covered his ears and his eyes went wide at the sudden gunshot.
This was unmistakably the sound of a real gun, not an airsoft rifle.
Splat— Screeeech—
The Building Owner Ghost, struck by dozens of bullets, dissolved into black smoke and vanished mid-air.
Click—
Ping—
As he pulled the pump-action charging handle backward, a red shell casing ejected.
Clang—
The casing rolled and lightly struck Tae-woo’s foot.
It was a real gun.
Tae-woo looked at the employee with a startled expression, and the man smiled, showing him a fresh round.
“These are bullets made using silver and salt. They’re less lethal than regular ammunition, but they’re absolutely deadly to ghosts.”
“Ah… I see.”
“Our overseas branches use these all the time for exorcism work, but here in Korea? Firearms are illegal, so all the Training Team employees carry airsoft rifles, right? The ones that shoot salt pellets mixed with salt water.”
“Yes, that’s what I’ve seen.”
“Sigh. That really needs to be improved for employee welfare. Sometimes when a really powerful ghost shows up, even those weapons might not be enough to handle it.”
“Does that happen often?”
“Of course. Otherwise, why would we in the Incineration Team have such powerful weapons?”
The man tapped the shotgun as he spoke.
Tae-woo swallowed hard.
“You’ll probably encounter that as you continue working in the field. If it’s too difficult to eliminate, just bring it to us in a sealed containment box like this. We can eliminate most of the strong ones.”
“H-how do I contain it?”
“Well, your seniors will teach you that. Just bring it to our team however you can. If you can’t handle the ‘training’ part.”
He seemed confident.
“Oh, you’ll need to take an empty box with you.”
The employee slung the shotgun over his shoulder and walked toward Shinmok, then returned with an empty box and handed it to Tae-woo.
Tae-woo accepted the box again.
“See you next time.”
As he waved, Tae-woo bowed respectfully and turned back, descending to the 4th Floor once more.
Today, I had learned one more thing about Guihon Trading.

* * *

That afternoon.
While everyone else worked busily, I reviewed various posts on the intranet, exorcism cases, and the field reports from Incheon and Ilsan that Yerim had compiled, conducting my own analysis.
Then Cha Jun-ho, who had been handling business elsewhere, entered the office.
“Director, you’re back.”
The moment he stepped out of the elevator, people greeted him.
“Yeah. Good. Did everyone eat? Don’t doze off on me.”
Cha Jun-ho walked briskly between the desks, offering a smile to each employee who greeted him.
Then he spotted me and clapped his hands together.
“Oh. Kim Tae-woo! I read your report. That was incredible, wasn’t it? You’re a real swordmaster.”
He gave both thumbs up and spoke enthusiastically.
“Ah. Haha. No, that’s not it.”
I scratched my head awkwardly.
“If I went with my senior, I should have stayed close behind him. Going out on my own like that isn’t safe, is it?”
But Bang Ji-seok interjected, shaking his head at Cha Jun-ho.
Then Cha Jun-ho patted Bang Ji-seok’s shoulder.
“That’s true, but look at how he responds to the Ghost Blade. I’ve never seen anyone besides the Founder wield a Ghost Blade and move like that. Blood doesn’t lie. I’d say mountain spirits are no match for Kim Tae-woo at this point.”
At Cha Jun-ho’s praise, Bang Ji-seok’s expression turned sour, but he didn’t particularly object.
“Of course, handling vengeful spirits or slash spirits alone might still be difficult, so you’ll need to keep moving with your senior for now. How about it, Kim Tae-woo? Think you can manage?”
When he asked, I nodded awkwardly.
“I’ve posted the next case on the intranet, so check it. Decide who handles what and report back to me.”
He tossed out those words while looking at Bang Ji-seok and Yerim, then headed into his office.
“The next case, huh.”
Bang Ji-seok immediately accessed the intranet to check the request Cha Jun-ho had posted.

Guihon Trading Company – Episode 19

Author
Cha Woo Renz
Publisher
Daon Creative
Planning / Editing / Production
Yoon Tae-ri
Cover Art
Lee Chi

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260318158.0019

ⓒ2026, Cha Woo Renz

※ This e-book is protected under the copyright laws of the Republic of Korea.
No part or all of this work may be reproduced or modified in any form without permission from the author and publisher.

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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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