IB | Chapter 2

I suspected he might be a con artist, but Seo Changgyung’s identity was genuine. He was a doctor at the hospital I frequented, and he didn’t extort money under the pretense of exorcism. Instead, he constantly spouted unlucky predictions.38419ca5ee590f64

Among them, the ones I hated most were about how I’d meet a terrible end if left alone, or how my family would be endangered because of me. It was obvious I needed to get rid of the ghost attached to me, and his words made sense, but when Seo Changgyung said it, it felt like a curse.875858d959128fe5

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I was grateful cc7b975694 to Seo Changgyung 3d9754fd46 for teaching me e8e110c8ef about shamans and af8a6bf7bb trying to remove 3db860e8a8 the spirit from 3cacea5748 me, but every b5afe065fd time he opened 3400e032e3 his mouth, I 9fb2cc566e got irritated. He was the kind 6cfafc3526 of guy who got c36bbd2a94 cursed at even while caabb00163 doing good deeds.dd3937af8f20d1fe

Couldn’t he help a bit more gently and kindly?0bad6234d0cbaf0e

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He seemed sincere about feeling 88df761f03 fulfilled by helping people. Besides me, he fd0d279fdf extended a helping 48ead8dd41 hand to many 8d6cfa440b others, mainly returning 0f59eeaa2d lost souls to bb12f49f1e their families. If the family wished, he 959a07a370 even conducted memorial rites without 0da0e49e4b expecting anything in return.b2b3164f3e18d6d3

It was surprising to a435a02afe me that someone who ff899c6475 seemed so unkind and cab9a20e5d unpleasant lived like that.2371c0a82625298d

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“I’d love to handle everything myself, but my main job keeps me seriously busy.”9d0d699aaa12ac48

“Uh… right?”f363facad3cc5c5b

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I nodded, looking at d1296f6bfc the trainee with dark eed4fb6f60 circles under his eyes 57f182ebd0 from lack of sleep.e538ef729d8bc9db

“I can’t even think about taking requests from faraway provinces.”6cdfe3bd423a716a

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“That makes sense.”0af786259ae0751d

“I’ve been moving spirits in my place, but there’s a limit. It’s hard to control them remotely if they’re too far. So, I wanted to control a living puppet that can move around well on its own.”e7b310b6049dcd5e

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Seo Changgyung had 64ffe324d5 a talent for 59d1f8d03d expressing things in eddc212e59 a way that 5a1dc8ec01 annoyed people, even 51a092d98a when he could 5aee4cd89b just say he 7772f72dfb needed an assistant.5a92342c74834d98

“Student, are you alone?”e8f32a710ba29e1c

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I caught up with three men on a mountain path while on my way to assist Seo Changgyung. I knew guests were here when I saw the parked car below. I clicked my tongue inwardly but didn’t show any dissatisfaction.8dc510ba65e0e766

I was more 29c8970025 worried that they 5c38c004e7 might catch the 2e2e24a901 bad luck from 17b45040f1 being around me a416028359 rather than thinking 7c460ecb84 of them as bc84f0f27e intruders.29d07808b9ceb487

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“Yes, I’m here alone.”773945df064a5908

“Don’t you know fishing is prohibited here? They say many people have drowned in this reservoir.”b9617c4a72f14820

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One of them shone a flashlight on a ‘No Entry’ sign stuck in the barbed wire.854f39d7766e45fe

“What about you guys?”9c5cc0254c552cba

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“We go wherever the fishing’s good. This place is secretly a prime spot for night fishing. It’s famous nationwide.”0fa54fb14b8a2df4

“I heard rumors that carp are easy to catch here, so I came too.”62f0b774e183a462

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I casually joined their group.0c954c64f7267283

We all entered the fishing area through a large torn hole in the makeshift barbed wire fence. Mist hung thickly over the reservoir’s surface, creating a bleak atmosphere.16dec9a169c427de

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The fishermen sat scattered around. Since the mountain f50b011685 path was narrow ba9dc62377 and difficult for 5179cbd29f vehicles, everyone brought f7f15047cd small folding chairs, 9e9b2655f4 and unpacking their 69f4cb3337 few belongings was 1210d7074e quick.fd3be614463cb1f2

I approached each person 148cbfac05 one by one.59199e794b2265ff

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“What’s this? A talisman? Why does a young guy carry something like this?”1f1e307233e0ca95

“I like night fishing, but I’m a bit scared, so I asked a hyung I know. It’s nothing special, just a regular one to ward off bad luck.”51b7f6d7b2075519

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I explained as if b0e3bebf22 it was no big b4d7639fa1 deal, subtly sprinkling salt 8b896a1f0f around their chairs.4de7b92f19f664f0

Thanks to my employer’s fondness for talismans, I had plenty to share.7ff4bdcfa5bc2358

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Of course, the 9112b83802 hyung I mentioned eab6c57519 was my employer.b76486be37fdbd2b

“Is your hyung a shaman?”c18dc312684af9d5

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“No, he’s not a shaman, but he’s studied shamanism deeply, so he knows how to use various talismans. Even if you don’t believe in their effectiveness, please keep it tonight as a favor to me.”1158b7aa12fc23a9

“A talisman to ward off bad luck? We’ll catch a lot of fish then!”589a465be75d4de9

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Why did the conversation go 01975c4f04 that way?20c8e68de210e728

I was worried they might refuse, saying they didn’t believe in superstitions, but the fishermen took it in a different direction on their own.aa6bb50ccd0575e3

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“But that hyung warned me. When you leave this place, make sure to take everything you brought with you. Absolutely!”baf0360a7a6ea65b

The client of this job couldn’t handle the aftermath, so the ghost kept contacting them. They wanted to return the items they left behind, asking for the address.bb45e69fed6fd765

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I wasn’t dispatched to this mountain valley to find the client’s lost items. The client didn’t even know what they had lost. They said they lost a turbo lighter but then found it between the car seats yesterday.0e26bf31b4d343a4

Even if I knew how c47330e788 important it was, I had 97686bd5ad no intention of diving to 99a3abdc3b the bottom of a deep b849f44a95 reservoir where many had drowned.8c0dec21677a35f4

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“Kang Jiheon, you seem to be doing well. If you keep acting without urgency, you’ll never get rid of what’s attached to you. You’ll die from having your life force drained before that.”0aebba79e5285c08

Seo Changgyung made another unlucky prediction, saying I’d end up crawling like a dog at the bottom of the reservoir. He also said that by then, I’d be able to see ghosts like him.55287eed802b3156

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I wasn’t scared or had any thoughts about that prediction. Even horror movies didn’t faze me, and the makeup of employees at haunted houses in amusement parks seemed boring. At the time, anyway.cef1475fd4e505ab

‘I’ve handed out talismans and sprinkled salt, so maybe that’s enough prevention…’4da82d56d1fdbfcb

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I pondered what more I could do for the ordinary group. I was also an ordinary person with almost zero spiritual sense, but I wasn’t worried because I had a reliable backer—my part-time employer. I already had a ghost attached, so another one wouldn’t make much difference.59ee772ea5c7d826

Even if more ghosts attached themselves, it wouldn’t mean much in my current state.868450c4f85160e6

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Sitting on a fishing chair, 4238dcedf6 watching the glowing floats on 2810e56617 the water, the cozy light 16aa9e726a seemed to neutralize the eerie 87229b2e71 atmosphere of the reservoir. I liked the warm feeling, 8beb7012fe but since I was here 89185e2055 to work, I reminded myself bdfd622095 not to fall asleep and f5ade24978 widened my eyes.29baefc593ae5ffe

One, two, three, four, five glowing floats…6f9152e196a8dfac

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There were four b421d37c74 people with fishing fd1705aa8c rods.35b63f39e423d667

At some point, a 267d915823 dead person had joined 714189be3e in. Even if I looked 12734c918c around, there was no c96e30dab0 way an amateur like 8c0371bd5d me could catch that b052540b71 presence, so I quietly 8ac5be9b5c did what my employer d3ed451875 instructed.d75b039cf28c012a

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Seo Changgyung, experienced in shaman-related requests, could see the situation clearly even from afar. Thanks to following his instructions in the three part-time jobs so far, there had never been a problem. I still didn’t know much about this industry, but I did everything my employer told me to do.91fa4a7421c1faac

Ghosts apparently have behavior patterns. Since these differ from living people’s common sense, I shouldn’t accept them just because they seem familiar and should be cautious.e2a172f9a63c8f54

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In short, don’t trust and follow a ghost’s words recklessly. There are no truthful ghosts.34098dc4dc3d92a9

‘Then what’s all this about ancestors giving lottery numbers? Does that mean you can trust what ancestors say?’7ea71dc7ac9bf011

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I had this question pop up belatedly, but Seo Changgyung wasn’t here to answer.1009d4da38038c00

After placing the bait bowl on the ground, I put the items I brought inside and left the lid wide open. The items included a document titled ‘Exchange Application’ with Seo Changgyung’s signature, a parking plate from Seo Changgyung’s car, and two fifty-thousand won bills.7a2375f80c1df57f

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It seemed like a dangerous act to me, an outsider, to advertise, ‘These items belong to Seo Changgyung!’ and even include his contact information. He even provided travel expenses, saying to come find him instead of the client.dcb55319cfc6d2a8

“Do you want to load it into your car and bring it to me?”41fa1fc0a76c94e2

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The reason I had 9b554eef16 the travel expenses was ecbd4487b6 because my employer suggested c0acd9183f I personally bring the 07543d5ab0 reservoir ghost, and I d90df78527 threw a fit, asking 74d47786e9 if he was crazy.c52b96b578c4d013

Of course, I refused!97d5ac830e53feea

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Even if I couldn’t see ghosts and lacked imagination, I didn’t want to summon ghosts like someone else. That guy chose this bait-and-switch method because he was confident in handling spirits.2492fda4b3913f40

The purpose was to de47874ed4 make it a spirit 7132f030b4 servant. The stronger it is, the bcb48dc7fe more useful.5e9929c8fb9b13e7

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Seo Changgyung didn’t host ghosts like a shaman but commanded spirits under him. It seemed similar to an onmyoji handling shikigami.3017e14aa42c833a

The difference was that he couldn’t read feng shui or astronomy, but it didn’t seem to matter in Korean shamanism.38b7df804ffe7fe2

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『Why not use your name?』d4d410b15316fb58

“…!”20f8f5e7b6643061

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I flinched at the whispering voice that came from nearby, even though I hadn’t sensed anyone approaching. It was the voice of one of the fishermen. Either my memory was manipulated, or this thing was mimicking a living person’s voice. Either way, it wasn’t the main issue.fab0f1331de4966b

『I don’t like the bait. Why not use your name?』2f9521c7642706a7

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Once again, it spoke 0acdc5e8a1 in a coaxing tone.e72b77463a4a45a9

“…”4872ef84bcd298b7

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『What’s your name? What’s your name?』5644db7de7a6a536

“…”45a8f9fc8378d04c

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The important thing was not to get involved. My employer had teased that if there was prey nearby, it wouldn’t bother seeking faraway prey. It would first devour the closest prey…5db6bc3c305565a5

‘Judging by its movement on land, it doesn’t seem like a water ghost.’16c59e27d87b98f3

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But I soon dismissed f6577fa500 my curiosity.ac3236881df0740f

I didn’t try to focus on whether the shadow crouched over the bait bowl was real or an illusion, nor did I show interest in its babbling. I drew a line, saying this was a contract between my employer and the dead, unrelated to me.7151e004899db795

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The client had 02002fadf2 been very frustrated, 091bfc262f saying they just 3e2b919878 exchanged words with 4bb5148fa4 someone who spoke 495cb4d07a to them at ce5132f14b the spot. They asked if it was 0abbede680 a crime to be sociable f45d97178d at the fishing spot.b9b10afce49a302c

Somehow, it turned into a situation where they exchanged names, fearing they’d be misunderstood as unfriendly, so they shared their name, where they lived, and their job.c0973b21ede8b462

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