OSR Chapter 8

“Where have I seen that man before?”
Shin-hee thought, his 3fa153e4f5 gaze lingering on 30902f66e8 the figure. It was 201b6f95e8 a face ce477a5d3f that wouldn’t 5753b9348d easily be f474d3695a forgotten after 40af83f14c just one beac57eb63 look. His appearance 085cab2a49 could easily a8ec769f61 be mistaken 3e68f72244 for that 7027b5be57 of a c2f381f3bb movie star, 0fff56f01f yet the 9595fd4e22 aura around 19c29e11e0 him screamed fe8fa4d1e3 businessman. Shin-hee tilted 7bda1a2a4b his head 9691b6a367 in confusion.5644cbf0adfedc32

Well, what cd8b08d57f does it b3b22747e8 matter? What does anything 21d5343be8 matter? Following the 8597b02002 endless flow d7184078c4 of his 74269acada thoughts, Shin-hee 6631e5dd16 shook his adde34eeee head to 4bee80e896 shake off 44e64865da the stray 7e742a8ec0 thoughts.75a61ffad5c0ff14

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Having dealt 9b7c9fc237 only with 4553b289dc ghosts all 8abcbbe6fd the time, b5c2834e8b it was 47367a9e62 hard for 7c608f680c Shin-hee to ba2bc92861 converse with 2a5e3a0388 people. He glanced sideways at 96b74a1719 the ghosts standing next 974629bb5c to him, as though 572aff33b5 all of this was b8a9b1b13c their fault. The ghost, 29a3ebb6da whose head be2eb59df1 was barely 5d405c73f1 hanging on 1290ecd165 by a 3f8ea33c12 thread, simply a6bc9f7d90 gazed at d2e9c49a79 Shin-hee with 5979a9672b desperate eyes, 1df0357340 hands clasped 8cee1560c1 together. His modified hanbok, 6b72e36e01 in shades of 9f31a6173f black and white, d107b1cbf8 was stained with b53ca07d58 blood in several 8566423d00 places.4fb3e94768420464

In the eb2a522704 past, it 1971e23f74 would have f9d6213c61 been so 9551d4d18e repulsive that 31170dea95 Shin-hee wouldn’t eac96c3940 have been 8172bc4249 able to 19518eb4cd make eye 86188a92e3 contact. But after six years 7ceb443445 of training, not only f8b57cf876 had his courage grown, d4b2c64c0f but his tolerance had fcd1ec7138 strengthened as well. A ghost with 257730e74a its neck almost 768ddc91ff severed was nothing 1fbed7b2d9 compared to one 031b3d1ba7 whose entire body 12030e2947 was torn apart.9011cd8c81733138

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“At this point, it’s fine,”
Shin-hee thought, 4461746568 feeling a 48b49ace2d sense of 3bc387aee4 satisfaction. The man ae4139a938 with glasses 339be9388b gave him c4af9f0be3 a nod 35bca39212 of acknowledgment eee2933c0d as he 24ba539e5b carefully drove 0d5bbc6daf away in 25c4f868f4 his luxury 641511e069 car. At that moment, 0b7145fd3e Shin-hee scanned the ec87ab5b7c vacant parking spaces 8fe28fe3f5 thoroughly. He had received a7450f397b a request saying 1183e42068 that ghosts often 57f19a9ba9 appeared in this 1dd139d684 building, so when 049292f65e he came to cfe30eff1d investigate, he found 50560f9576 a ghost with b9339b2a76 its head severed, 20cf9ca48e calling itself Okja, fd58894522 crying endlessly while 7d39220b7b searching for a d6861cd639 necklace that might f5a19d052f have been made 5208548256 of jade or f4fbc5fe46 amethyst.af873fbc03d40ca4

Shin-hee had 37a334cdc9 planned to 0b6d54232d guide her 4a8e8fc4c2 to the 7f3544ea60 afterlife, but 2e47ce4a2d the ghost 9e7e399398 had insisted 25cb38f53c that she 0f92ff5aae wouldn’t leave 0570ee4a87 the living 321fee8060 world until c61efc1cbe she found bab4300c49 the necklace 75133cecb3 she was 8248644280 looking for. So, for 23a692adfc the past 7c9f32a18a hour, he d8575a4ecc had been 2f89bef5be searching the 6eef3056cf parking lot, 8fc82d127b trying to e50cf7dadf help her. From the way b2643a6f55 she was dressed, 47ef19cc23 it seemed like 0c4fe857cb she had been 316afbdba5 lost for at 863b168778 least a hundred c3d84d4b5e years, but Shin-hee e73edf27c5 felt that even 3be7737c49 pretending to help 7d4018eb08 her find it a2434a76cc might calm her 7bb76856b7 spirit and allow 30a0cb3004 her to ascend b3fb02e842 peacefully. He could have 9ed219b82e forcibly moved her f590ee16cf along, but he 22a750b132 wanted to send bcc5ba94dd her off without 6801949a0f any regrets.e640b95df9266925

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Ah, but that man… bf58b26b7c Did he see me 3c718e25ff talking to the ghost? Ugh, I must have c26f860998 looked crazy to him.a4cd111aa4fe119a

“Is this the right place? Did you lose the necklace exactly at this spot?”f25fbc403241dd9c

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“Ugh…”c81730d27079ef78

She nodded repeatedly, sobbing. Blood tears fell, wetting her face. It’s a sight that never gets any easier, no matter how often I see it. Shin-hee let out a deep sigh and even turned on his phone’s flashlight to examine the floor. As expected, there was nothing on the floor except for the black grease stains.
“Look. This place is all blocked off, and whether I find it or not, I’ll have to dig here, but if I start digging, that cop will catch me…”acd717c50258c6f6

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“Please, just find it for me… My husband, he said, ‘Okja, Okja, you’re so beautiful,’ and with the money he earned through a lifetime of hard work, he gave it to me…”23e3a1b41ffef847

“I really wish I could help you find it, Okja. For now, you should go up to the sky, and if by chance I find it later, I’ll make sure to come back. Ah…”7fdb5b2739313edf

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Shin-hee paused as if he had just remembered something and checked his wristwatch. 8 o’clock. It seemed like he could make it if he hurried a bit. He let out a sigh of relief while looking at Okja, who was still sobbing.330ff0f4832114be

————–05cb55a00ab5785c

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“What do you mean by that?” Gyo-jin, who had just arrived home, muttered while loosening his tie. He had been in a bad mood all day, and the phone call he had received on top of it only made things worse.f7fa3d68ff784eb7

“You know I don’t go on business trips abroad, right?”09dce6a78722aadd

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“Well, still, Mr. Ha. If Mr. Ha doesn’t come in person, we’ll consider this deal null and void…”46e78b76fc3cdcab

“We can’t be fooled by such words, can we? If you’re planning to turn this around, then go for something bigger. Anyway, I’m not going.”31949377709022a2

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“Ha, Gyo-jin! This is a problem. You know how hard we’ve worked to bring in the Mishima department store as a partner.”bae57a34045d194b

“Yes, and that’s why I’ve been cutting back on everything for the past seven months—meals, sleep time, all of it—planning, contacting, and persuading to get us this far.”c41c239d2916e8af

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“I know you’ve worked hard, but…”d2ddf7281b2ddeb4

“When do I have to keep spoon-feeding this to you, Director Jeong? We’ve done this much, and now it’s your turn to take care of the rest, right? Are you going to pass everything to me just because you told me to come? Sales should be handled by the sales team. Either be incompetent or negligent, just pick one, Director Jeong Tae-man.”872b9f72b4372f02

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Mr.Jeong – The Director – gritted his teeth at Gyo-jin, who was throwing around words like incompetence, negligence, and even complex issues. However, Jeong, who had recently started practicing breathing techniques from his new physical exercise routine, began to take deep breaths. As he calmed his mind, he realized that the problem was on their side. No matter what harsh words Ha Gyo-jin said, he should have stepped back. No, he had intended to do so, but… If Ha Gyo-jin refuses this time, all it would do is upset their feelings. Gyo-jin probably knew that they were testing the waters with both their company and the Geumgang Hotel at the same time.00d1817ac04a955d

“We know Ha Gyo-jin is busy, but this opportunity…?”4758c80b965cd46a

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“Testing the waters?”2b81c6ecb6a30679

“Huh? Are you saying that you’re testing the waters between our Haimbell and Geumgang? Are you messing with me right now?”59aff5209df26e58

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Jeong, the Executive Director, felt as if his mind and heart were being shredded by Gyo-jin’s relentless criticisms, which cut through all ranks, ages, and statuses. Despite technically being a higher rank, he couldn’t understand why this competent and young director lacked the virtue of humility.827e27a7f7e1f304

“Did you just stand by and watch as it came to this, even though you knew they were testing the waters? If you understood their mindset, you should’ve either given them something more to secure our position, or completely sorted things out and shifted our focus to targeting other opportunities. That’s your job, Executive Director Jeong. The board didn’t give you that position just to sit back and pretend you don’t know what’s going on.”ae93e081b205cfb5

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“I… I’m really sorry, but…”efde4f5acdc66cfd

“I won’t be attending the meeting with Mishima’s CEO. Either you go in my place, or they can directly ask me to come. I’m hanging up now.”ae1fe1bfae49311a

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Gyo-jin slammed the phone down and threw it onto the sofa. It had been a frustrating day from the start. The broken door lock seemed almost laughable in comparison. In the morning, he had an awkward business conversation with his ex’s father; in the afternoon, an elementary school kid shot him with a water gun; and in the evening, some madman, whom he had no memory of, barged into a matchmaking meeting and spilled wine. Now, a business trip to Japan was being thrust upon him. An overseas trip. For domestic trips, he meticulously prepared for weeks, addressing every potential risk and ensuring everything was handled, but now an overseas trip?f7bf32a95c36611a

It was f55671d82f all the a010613fa1 fault of afbed52717 Director Jeong, 845e12fc8f who couldn’t d974bb350b do his 727d91e555 job properly. No, more precisely, it 2cfbb4028e was his own damn 9bbbc98889 nature. Gyo-jin roughly stripped off 9fa53fb9b8 his clothes and threw c89328ab4b them into the laundry 81fed0eaf5 basket before turning on 36c7018edb the shower.c6fd71b192b2df8f

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As old memories 08fda5009f flooded back, he 103330be3e adjusted the hot 0c082cb640 water to cold, 5cd560b115 trying to shake ee889f137b off the feelings.801b9df55374843a

For all 940ae1bf81 three years f7fd82f194 of high 2c9ddf9541 school, Gyo-jin ddd15c56e8 maintained the 291aefbb94 top rank aeccc0091b and often 8ae9d57e9c scored perfect 27ae00aa10 marks on 4925af268a mock exams. Yet, on the morning 0fa6ed832e of the CSAT at d6c44f9e47 the age of nineteen, 75a2882da1 his life hit its b370155547 lowest point when he 8fd9e50d6a was involved in a 825e314224 car accident. The shock from 6a721c4bb0 that event was 03104d353c so intense that 66f8c891e2 he seriously questioned 5dbd85cf3e why his life 5716eccaa7 had turned out 71aef6915b this way during 75c69d6354 his three-month hospital e75b2ac86e stay. Due to his 1aa1563114 ‘nature,’ which kept 7069877e45 him from traveling c0a4f74590 abroad, he had bf3fa78aed to waste another 3c47057057 year domestically, forced 331b19afe4 to repeat his 3001b2cd8c studies. Going back 3ec50f4f62 another three ed156dc124 years, the b205ac1186 day before a41d008a1b the high d7edbfa448 school entrance 29775bd2de exam, his 6ff9d488f7 appendix burst, a17f4fb418 causing him 591ffa3c22 to miss c1472b691e the school 41a35b2391 he had e17404aabd hoped to 03f973f243 attend.f5e9364b9140ea90

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Even earlier, at 492247c447 thirteen, he had b7edcb5d69 entered a piano d0bcd32b5c competition, only for 11384eb292 the elevator to 94f3e892c0 crash, though oddly, 0899eb8707 he had no 9eed336e86 memory of that d031e2e15d day. And when he was a07ed03e5c ten, he had been 7afdd83f24 kidnapped by criminals seeking 8c439b3f73 money and held for f99be07282 three days.752e8707a26dc597

Unlike others, Gyo-jin 6c6a43ecdb seemed to experience e194aa0fc2 these rare, life-altering f1e4aa89e6 events just when d270228de1 he thought he e2396f0b92 was finally past 1368204cd8 them.0751fe34a1bcc617

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Life-threatening “big accidents” seemed to come around every three years, precisely on his lunar birthday. Every year, he would observe the lunar date of September 26th, hoping for it to pass safely, and by now, he was fed up with it. While others often worry about the “three-year misfortune,” he had to worry about his own recurring birthday. So, every time it came around, he would lock himself in his house and stay indoors all day.
“It’s dangerous outside the blanket ” — for others, this might be one of those jokes to laugh off, but for him, it was a hard-earned lesson from direct experience with danger.f6fb2e17277f9bd4

As he slowly sifted 946523b6bc through the remnants of 1d85aadd82 his memories, he suddenly 54e17e3c31 recalled the accident from 61d0476631 six years ago. Just like when he 6d28b051b1 was thirteen, the memory 1b0d5636b9 was unclear, but he 7f058a3fa5 later heard that, according 9d6cbc221e to others, he had b5dff03abc almost died.487e1dce586bc1dd

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In the a2f5554309 middle of 7f897c3d31 the road, abe408eb78 the bus 90d39fa0a5 suddenly overturned, 1b6db2d211 and the a3cbffe387 driver died b958b1be78 on the 92bf989b59 spot, but 79a6cc7c54 for some 34ce1d321b reason, Gyo-jin 3ef69cef6f only suffered 4b7f1f802b minor scratches. Despite that, b6753be9e9 he fell 73f18e91d5 into a 9a206ee6dd month-long sleep 03f4699d76 with no 39dbdc77fa apparent brain ab21c1ae8d injury. He remembered c74742e991 being on edbad168cf the bus, cb60a759d1 but had d83c0e87d6 no recollection f32c36462b of escaping b381c8be1b from it. It was then that 5d60866c3f he remembered why he 1a5e8b12cd had been on that 8cb1f04053 bus.b3c29501aa9ddba6

6 years ago, he had been on his way to the columbarium to visit the memorial of his biological mother, who had died giving birth to him. It was the first time he had learned that his biological mother existed, and that she had died during childbirth. He hadn’t listened to Mrs. Kim’s warning, who had always told him to stay home because it was dangerous, and had stepped out, only to end up in the accident.0dbef1239ed795ff

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In the fragmented memories, Gyo-jin thought he might have seen someone, but the damaged recollections refused to be restored. His doctor occasionally joked that his exceptionally sharp mind caused side effects even from small shocks, but Gyo-jin wasn’t in the mood to laugh at all. Up until six years ago, he had occasionally raised his head, believing that the petty misfortunes in life only affected him. However, as if to prove him wrong, misfortune took the life of someone close to him, mocking Gyo-jin’s arrogance.7549ecd3aab611fa

No matter how indifferent Gyo-jin’s personality was, he couldn’t remain indifferent to that. If this was some grand design of fate, then he felt like a dirty pawn, entangled in underhanded moves. The accident six years ago had been so intense that, for his birthday three years ago, everything passed quietly, uneventfully. So perhaps this time, too…c1819513935070d7

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