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.aa31c455e6109af0

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.5f4774de6f431a8f

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I was grateful to Seo b953b2f1f1 Changgyung for teaching me about 4df0d9601a shamans and trying to remove ad0cd6c9c8 the spirit from me, but 9c55e104e8 every time he opened his 18a46706aa mouth, I got irritated. He was the 3a33162022 kind of guy 1d80c4fa12 who got cursed 16185002cc at even while ba5f39e347 doing good deeds.dea9bca15b30f470

Couldn’t he help a bit more gently and kindly?79200580ab88a7ad

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He seemed sincere about 36cc0b05ec feeling fulfilled by helping b05ab4aaf3 people. Besides me, he extended a 17c3e4ee34 helping hand to many others, 97645ab722 mainly returning lost souls to 700c6f8f5f their families. If the family wished, eba4236924 he even conducted memorial cdddb8df76 rites without expecting anything e41cbbd27c in return.6b2af2921a802ecf

It was surprising to me af8184b5ab that someone who seemed so 96be0f46ac unkind and unpleasant lived like a41a03116b that.ba20f9fc854851d2

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“I’d love to handle everything myself, but my main job keeps me seriously busy.”6dcc29a3f6dd7ddc

“Uh… right?”7f1bb4b4345b90d8

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I nodded, looking at f8bf1d569a the trainee with dark 72b7e1607b circles under his eyes db6e357701 from lack of sleep.6bbda041c13b8ec7

“I can’t even think about taking requests from faraway provinces.”6511b698cb303ef1

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“That makes sense.”d867942d3e458975

“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.”6bb4218ce43d1766

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Seo Changgyung had ae79f2e148 a talent for f1c39cd03d expressing things in 17c512b7e8 a way that 00c8c058fa annoyed people, even ad310bb1e9 when he could 0f8220b95c just say he ae8d2e2276 needed an assistant.7f65cb91b4fdaefa

“Student, are you alone?”7305f5af59ae8e82

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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.42c0f3e9716b5bbd

I was more worried that 1b156e397a they might catch the bad 575ec9206d luck from being around me f6091c994c rather than thinking of them f6aa7e3714 as intruders.80be459c9e630337

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“Yes, I’m here alone.”7bfac73f58363f28

“Don’t you know fishing is prohibited here? They say many people have drowned in this reservoir.”ee23e2e15e779034

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One of them shone a flashlight on a ‘No Entry’ sign stuck in the barbed wire.f8cc97719fba84da

“What about you guys?”dddc68963ee31e93

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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.”eab81a752bdac0dc

“I heard rumors that carp are easy to catch here, so I came too.”a7fb91b2d2e47ef2

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I casually joined their group.6027a1490a004a31

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.0938e27f9bf23ec9

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The fishermen sat scattered around. Since the mountain e3348bb3e2 path was narrow 2d8a50caae and difficult for 220747f253 vehicles, everyone brought 3be82b8248 small folding chairs, 49212c1447 and unpacking their 446c3fdf0f few belongings was c49d23fe57 quick.3ef0961e80fd1e5d

I approached each person one 271ad3316f by one.b5c9d3fd3d290b7e

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“What’s this? A talisman? Why does a young guy carry something like this?”7d7dfdd28c2b7828

“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.”a25e7475630d0b26

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I explained as d66c611dcb if it was 957e2ebb4e no big deal, 2104faa20f subtly sprinkling salt b13e30b05d around their chairs.a2fe360f367ac0eb

Thanks to my employer’s fondness for talismans, I had plenty to share.b19d96bba3200532

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Of course, the hyung 7f56fc4f3d I mentioned was my b4af244ffe employer.5acb8c48e2ea89e2

“Is your hyung a shaman?”289b57904d983eaa

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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.”fac312304bfe2eaf

“A talisman to ward off bad luck? We’ll catch a lot of fish then!”3a80f99f01ebeecb

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Why did the conversation 398fab779a go that way?1c0a617795b6bbcf

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.229e25834de6242b

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“But that hyung warned me. When you leave this place, make sure to take everything you brought with you. Absolutely!”b43ee2832a64585c

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.0b155b1071eabd1a

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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.198aa080c0a3fc6d

Even if I 5a88db1139 knew how important 17f4235175 it was, I ffb5934b2e had no intention dc1e833381 of diving to cc9ccf04ee the bottom of 0b3c9dabff a deep reservoir ad8c98990e where many had a861d0c390 drowned.0cfd5122dd367f05

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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.”d29049955fe4e88d

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.8635a7e6e155b135

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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.8d310eea3bc98b1e

‘I’ve handed out talismans and sprinkled salt, so maybe that’s enough prevention…’d72ffb0e864765fc

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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.27a707673547c243

Even if more ghosts attached themselves, it wouldn’t mean much in my current state.cbd7946197aea086

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Sitting on a fishing chair, 9f4735d4cb watching the glowing floats on 16290f9e09 the water, the cozy light 81dc74de8b seemed to neutralize the eerie 09dd21d6ce atmosphere of the reservoir. I liked the warm fdcae96c0c feeling, but since I fa701ebad3 was here to work, 23df88d974 I reminded myself not 5315e59740 to fall asleep and 76a3e525fc widened my eyes.5d01578dd6622f6c

One, two, three, four, five glowing floats…ceeb4700ef6dccc8

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There were four people ef03ed956b with fishing rods.5f0450a134dbd581

At some point, a dead 79b79f111f person had joined in. Even if I looked around, bd8db561d4 there was no way an 7afe7e3e50 amateur like me could catch 8b3a379d1e that presence, so I quietly 9489e54cc8 did what my employer instructed.4b52a54bc71ddc25

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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.d46bfa4771ab83ca

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.e3d8251f9c322f44

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In short, don’t trust and follow a ghost’s words recklessly. There are no truthful ghosts.1e6639482767f019

‘Then what’s all this about ancestors giving lottery numbers? Does that mean you can trust what ancestors say?’8c9ca92f6dfe0099

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I had this question pop up belatedly, but Seo Changgyung wasn’t here to answer.a908a092a4d23bd3

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.125c7ab8579e6bb8

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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.3bd1cd92a9e014c6

“Do you want to load it into your car and bring it to me?”f323c0608a160410

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The reason I had 5922754127 the travel expenses was 1413ba2a83 because my employer suggested 950e76e805 I personally bring the d78128e63b reservoir ghost, and I 2cf718c7e7 threw a fit, asking 9d6ba0096c if he was crazy.1e24f90060e01c78

Of course, I refused!e41167b11f3fba14

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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.6ad95d927a913e28

The purpose was to a1710750f3 make it a spirit 9da1f7703c servant. The stronger it is, 8f46735a6d the more useful.d9c5854d54ff0122

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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.1701ccf6197da819

The difference was that he couldn’t read feng shui or astronomy, but it didn’t seem to matter in Korean shamanism.ca2f85fea697cf50

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『Why not use your name?』8d7343753e427c1f

“…!”69387596eaf1cd9f

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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.ff482c0759f146f1

『I don’t like the bait. Why not use your name?』a1da9b513c59b67d

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Once again, it spoke 1e30fc8337 in a coaxing tone.fc057a45ba5154f7

“…”a8a2906cf1bac6f1

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『What’s your name? What’s your name?』1c291e620e416387

“…”246e3154e989cdec

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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…08e4b621691d4dd1

‘Judging by its movement on land, it doesn’t seem like a water ghost.’2f9b61e9ea522d69

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But I soon dismissed 26a4adf543 my curiosity.ce3ff80b9280f1ac

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.46ba8624f93c0978

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The client had been very 2dc95ca486 frustrated, saying they just exchanged 13dfc363f3 words with someone who spoke 9acc66be39 to them at the spot. They asked if it 71be802bb9 was a crime to 8bab0ed56f be sociable at the 568d6d0b37 fishing spot.368bb5ec568c608c

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.f2d6d0b94987cec6

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