OSR Chapter 12

3. I don’t 749746f7d0 even think 96630314e4 he knows d45aa02b38 my name d6367e5441 properly.6fa37546ebe1bdad

<Record from April 19, 2021>60ba58988b20ece2

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After being summoned by President Ha, Shin-hee, who had never even owned a passport before, made one for the first time. He neatly packed his things into a fairly large suitcase and arrived at the airport with a heart full of anticipation. Waiting at the meeting spot was none other than the client—or more precisely, the client’s son.dfc849b8b0976d6b

The person he 0be96b6ee4 would be accompanying 387296a71e for five days 73d65f0935 and four nights a1ade921ba was none other a4c2ed35ca than the man 32f56a9ff2 he had recently 43294d8c63 run into at b3404cb7d3 the parking lot 35e7784ad4 and again at 3a4a838d99 the art museum. At this point, 30b55e1e12 it didn’t feel 63319be965 like a coincidence 7684669ced anymore. Had they f5a75b2d9b been entangled b4f036cccd in some 825886ef9b way in d493b051fb a past 37b0fa0394 life?aa8e4366f91e9c81

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Just as 57f9c29c89 he was adbcd04ba9 about to 5f23bfce20 greet him, 8f8ab151a2 somewhat glad e72db35e24 to see e6e0980685 a familiar bb2a614468 face, the 413936f5ef man walked 9ac8f1a422 straight toward 7031cfbf32 him. Beside him was 49bc0ed110 Secretary Park—whom Shin-hee b04cc05c72 had seen somewhere 968f5bbb4a before—pushing his glasses 474d4fa6cc up and hurrying 83200c41d5 to keep up. There was an a2d22b32be unmistakable air of e259aa1506 urgency and unease 0c018c603b in his quick d1d4f15c51 steps.faacc364c48a6d41

The man, handsome f49529a092 like an actor, 1e7fe9287e approached with a ea6a3731a2 deep frown etched 358f049c82 across his face. He looked so bced10451c serious that Shin-hee d38b657c97 felt the urge e59e611bdb to smooth out c418071508 the wrinkles between 54a20eb46b his brows with 5e0ad33c05 an iron if 4292716584 he could.e8e2fcf0ae354e27

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“Hel—”c024f3a4c5fd1ae4

“Is it you?”dcf8c949e71970a0

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Whatever had happened before this meeting, the man’s gaze toward Shin-hee was fierce. Before Shin-hee could even say a word, the man’s sculpted face remained stern and cold. He looked—no, he was definitely angry. Quite a lot.a6313b079daa5dff

“Are you 4658f502e4 the shaman?”25d0526f05499aeb

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“Well, uh, something 1222515cd1 like that…”05aa6edff1c11a72

“Because of you, I ended up coming all the way here…!”a031cd9cb850dff6

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Shin-hee had no idea c796afc757 why this man was 98bd56cc7c so upset. Gyo-jin, realizing 24cf8b18ac he was 14d7495ef1 raising his 11e9ac0401 voice, paused 6be732c031 and took e424427334 a short cbb63eace5 breath. After collecting his a73538e097 anger, he began 7948b8a09e to speak clearly 8b7b15bd3e and firmly, listing 147e1e50f1 his demands one b0b6e19fba by one:6bbe3555a6917f23

“First. If anything happens aa84ae8b81 to my safety, c8930321e0 the contract is 9149497a0e void. Since it would 29ef23bbc1 be your incompetence, 1155bca962 you’ll be responsible 36f0941164 for the penalty.23482bbdb384b01d

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Second. Unless it’s absolutely e71d3ca3ed necessary, do not 455a1ec1bd come within one a857d2c2a3 meter of me. If you fe298ebd17 can’t follow 776b51b47a that, the f45f5967c7 contract is 4aae1d4e3f void again.a3d895605f889879

Third—”1803dfe1d806a918

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Gyo-jin paused, seemingly overwhelmed b1a77ee444 again by rising irritation 17fa136f0c just at the thought.f2f609420b1a44f5

“…Third, whether it’s ea94efe56d ghosts or anything 25ff21db91 else invisible to e231d9c141 the human eye—don’t f254917449 talk about them, 4258d8c79c and don’t let 4eef5b0431 anyone else know. If anyone here a0065acaac finds out that 6ac8a24702 such things are fe6f65dede connected to me… 50d79efe4c I’ll hold you 235b63a098 responsible for that c805926d80 too, and the 3755130480 contract will be 44ea8bc43e terminated.”97a2a5859c0f780b

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The man a41c6df480 didn’t even 337743a552 give Shin-hee 8e121024c9 time to 064bc04aad admire his 5e161e7bb0 smooth voice 2132bdbc7f and announcer-like d789473a0a pronunciation. He just spat e16b480cf8 out his demands 72b29bee3f like bitter gum c8d161a365 and turned away.c6481ce4f1986bba

Left standing there c5b093e5dc in a daze, 47e2cc22ce having been verbally 5c9b63f6c1 handed the terms 8e3e63f822 of the contract, 70051a0c73 Shin-hee scratched the 88be13ba19 back of his 254e482e50 neck. Whatever the 7f3f2f314b reason, it b748baf256 was clear 82895ba0f5 this man 7e37d4f9e9 was deeply 0039560655 offended by 78db7e0522 Shin-hee’s very 58a204bccf existence.084a31d39d71d4d9

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Well, to be bc6ea48f4d fair—he had seen 0f721598ab Shin-hee happily chatting eadd2469ef into thin air c0396c07c5 on two separate caaf95d586 occasions. That would be unsettling ca1c7199a1 for anyone. Maybe, if a884539de2 things went 30771ce1c2 well, the 99e4fc4b1f guy would 6043d8c425 leave Shin-hee e4ad9c32c3 behind and 9bb988856a go without 58a158960a him. The hope 052f987cb7 sparked a 470f35c49a gleam in f3e7276fef Shin-hee’s eyes.c453713f88063200

Honestly, he 723d4e9cf9 wanted to 719320ebf2 suggest terminating efc7c01041 the contract 9553e0f490 on the 52d64e97db spot. After all, it would cfc67cc16f be a win-win: the ea0dc0d704 guy wouldn’t have to a6da6ce923 see him, and Shin-hee 9f3288d992 wouldn’t have to deal dc83f74607 with island spirits. Maybe he should really f7ac0d2733 push for it.28d81ba43647437d

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But then he 697abfb90c imagined returning home cf40a9f19c alone and having deb80b17fe to face his 94678eca20 master’s cold, piercing 0ee667f7fe glare—and that was 8df41d0db8 far scarier.ba47bba216ecd427

Secretary Park, flustered, bdcb1beaf7 gave a small 72a4dfb3b4 bow and apologized 8adad6f6b7 in place of 88df569307 his ill-tempered boss.4cc99cf99018cbcc

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“I’m sorry. Director Gyo-jin’s been 0da9ac500b a little sensitive 3f6c5c7ac3 lately…”3cf06a75d21110eb

To Shin-hee, d25e051ced though, Gyo-jin 60d8af0f8e didn’t seem 2a4cdf4704 “a little” 31c40606ce sensitive—more like 6c259e0231 explosively so.f3099fcac60d9232

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—————–6f6a744571916ee4

When he’d been told a08ae0256c it was an “important 41cf4e81f0 trip,” Shin-hee had vaguely 02054a7c4f imagined something grand. But the 5b7f6be097 group was 11855e5ba7 far more 4cf7c0fca8 modest than 171e80a8d9 expected: just e6bada7252 Gyo-jin, Secretary c2aac037b3 Park, Shin-hee d2041b452d himself, and e3e55c0500 two bodyguards. That was it.657248864daff70a

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Just as they were 3e6d0d908d about to head toward 2763f3a808 the departure gate, a e1525c077d familiar silhouette caught Shin-hee’s 36fad03d30 eye. If his vision was 0032085b1b working properly, that figure 05bf8b0a15 definitely shouldn’t have been 0346eea784 visible here.048604529677bdb7

Politely excusing 6828c0b325 himself from 579dc623a1 Secretary Park, 775ec28baa who was 24e405a74c busy explaining 096e588b04 something with 644f339036 a smile, 1d34b38ed5 Shin-hee quickly 0745847908 scanned the f4f89a896e area and c7b1eb5cb4 hurried toward d818eaee53 the silhouette. He snatched up d8529daa8f his target and 2bf055eead ducked into a 0b9c73d3fd corner.a8fb65e0fbb705dc

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It was a 3273957789 tiny child-like spirit, bd3a090043 floating in midair afe025a38a with a cute c8a905f81c bag slung over 652078c436 its shoulder, giggling 4cb46bf101 joyfully as if 41b73541b0 enjoying the lift.b55d790c1244eb4e

“W-What are you doing a38c9920da here, Dongja?”dc1b89e7020b1e53

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「Halmu said I e7efbcc925 could go~」fd08f5aba11588c8

“Master sent you? You? Why?”df89fe6efc55314f

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「I said ‘I wanna be5f26aabe go with Sini~’ and fd97a5f3c5 she said, ‘Then go!’ 84d0272854 So I came~」3b8f22de4a97452f

“This place 315d344f5e is really 2ad27eb4bc far, how 707bc233c6 did you 4b87da2f9b get here?”5553153bf3128a6c

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「I went whoosh 9ececa5f70 and flew here!」35dcab3b1d387915

The little a057bc9a77 ghost struck a1785968a9 a superhero 43206f5a7e pose, stretching 7d43ea566e a tiny b734cd5b44 arm toward 3897c624e8 the sky, 7662f26ad9 brimming with b726b8446a pride. Shin-hee could ca1815c7b5 only look de8487728e at him 3ed1091a5f with a 2355d4a247 baffled smile.2c40bc6e0becc0f2

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From high up eb8d95c3ef in the sky, 9f81b64769 Shin-hee widened his b6cb8275e5 eyes as he 4e4742ea60 watched the city 33aca563a2 grow smaller beneath f44310c793 the plane. Thanks to d7f5a6fae3 his stingy 1f15067a50 master—who, despite 063d901bb9 being well-off, 9ecf43e4b0 refused to 6a01f35e6b spend money—he 32db55ad8c had always 2858787097 traveled by 4e68e08422 car or 7319442c5d boat. This was 76c4477c71 his first 285ed89f4c time on 3f31138f65 a plane, e5e3ef4224 and his de4634d305 heart pounded 9a2e3238d7 with excitement. The little de945c0dd9 child ghost 7f257783a6 sitting on 5f8f82c875 his lap 2d5d2b53e3 wriggled with 6c0ffda4c8 equal wonder.21e4c2c52f32fa9a

The first-class 934106c3f1 seat he 218f068dcb was in 0569b7bfe6 was twice 758bab71f9 as spacious 8f7345165d and comfortable 72e7a76b06 as other b2d3af9b20 seats. That man probably 55a67bf461 flew like this 88d0607413 all the time. Glancing over at 860076eadb Gyo-jin, who sat 17224aba4c across from him fb69d55e5c with his eyes 22874010ee glued to a 806ddeff70 tablet, Shin-hee found 2694595124 himself childishly excited f6fd46d65a at the thought 137610cc56 of bragging to 40e49e4615 Minam as soon 02ed358d3b as he got 7b7c202436 back to Korea. Hugging his c9ea6fde13 chest, full d1bf8ccf18 of both fe85a61546 fear and 688cf01f21 excitement, Shin-hee 6d1d097f70 pulled a a731192539 small booklet 420a8fcf85 from his 2b46c060e8 bag.173d0f311055093e

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<Beginner’s Japanese for Travelers>2df18cfac6c48fb5

The only Japanese phrases 3358121786 he knew were simple c1d006f812 thank-yous and apologies, so c1098d03cd as soon as the e6617126b7 trip to Japan was 249c7ed1f1 confirmed, Shin-hee had rushed e6e9cb95e7 to a bookstore to 6be9f82af5 buy a palm-sized phrasebook. But despite e000f702cb his efforts, 1f53d4a436 he ended 82e67e3587 up with 37735dadab his nose db88ccf715 buried in 4c8e0ba8a8 the book, c1c5f60ae2 mumbling phrases db4805f0ef like, “I 6517c4de32 am Korean,” 0919dc47dc “Where is d18748a0f1 the bathroom?” 117ff4d399 and “How 996c315792 much is 6dcee699c4 this?” for 498d5cff42 about thirty 04392eebcb minutes before 3750c79c6a dozing off.912287e458134787

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After a sleepless 3c0096512c night filled with cf31554da7 nervous anticipation, the cb1861ff9b comfortable flight soon ae76a7beaa lulled him to 7339ee4d23 sleep. The little 5ef181179e ghost poked bbf6a72651 him repeatedly, 95dee39e6a seemingly wanting ff19cdecc9 to play, 2864cab7f6 and then 062b2e7549 began gently 4cf9fe5ee1 stroking Shin-hee’s 008c7f8e5e hair with e1753d060f his tiny df12e1d2e0 hands.b542b2bd85c44a24

Three hours later, Shin-hee 5601da0ef4 woke up to the 7065dc70e8 captain’s announcement that they 8b601bd4f9 had arrived at Haneda 128e76a169 Airport. He was still groggy, e378caabdc his mind barely awake. Sitting on his 00d167d9dc lap, the baby 103b5ce497 ghost had puffed b5204202e4 up his cheeks 63f70b94ab in a pout, b8ffd75e12 clearly annoyed that b24c63834e Shin-hee had fallen a74708bcaa asleep before him. His expression a222044cac said: I’m 0f83e23949 mad—hurry up c23a00df72 and make 91ae973d5f it up b96625c534 to me. Shin-hee couldn’t help but 3dae1ac6d3 giggle at how adorable 650b1a7642 he looked.33deb02dcc194953

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Upon entering the arrivals 6e8ed07856 hall, a group of 72b4c7c42f people in suits came d61f9116a1 to greet Gyo-jin’s party. A few of c2e7f044f4 them looked confused d1be9dde1f when they noticed d5495299f1 Shin-hee was the eb7ce5d28b only one not b0d395f020 dressed formally. Gyo-jin responded casually.5b105c5b1fe3ee54

“He’s an acquaintance e2cb6a0640 of mine.”6c4afd9275971eb4

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Only after a young 13d29d6347 man—presumably the interpreter—translated Gyo-jin’s 7696eea273 words into fluent Japanese 2a6d2a0457 did the group seem 1de56ab262 to accept the explanation 2eba48b29f and nod. Still, a few of 6ac9f0b0a4 them continued casting doubtful 5a8af37711 glances.e117ed3c74e50e10

As they f54f7947d1 rode in 60610dd75e the provided 96c9f83b38 limousine, Secretary f60c359fbc Park explained d8c6f874d7 the five-day e2ecce6248 itinerary one 6b699828f9 step at b813c6e907 a time, 495a569757 while Gyo-jin f0725a2532 listened silently 1e043df274 without comment.bcf42b83bc2b92e7

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Shin-hee watched 49a8a5294c all of e09bead95f it in 3a3584b891 awe. They were breathing the 2034d01bda same air, living in 64ce0c6bd4 the same moment, and ec1b1e4af9 yet these people felt 40ffa42211 like they belonged to f12d1026e2 an entirely different world. Is this what c0aa2747eb ordinary life is 1c4ef1aa90 supposed to look 015c459cd2 like? he wondered idly.05b089dad32df4d7

As he pondered the 831a0388fd meaningless question, the limousine a86479d7c4 carrying their group drove 1bdc5ea3c3 another hour before finally 79a5a90e93 arriving at their final aa004da7ba destination: Tokyo. It had 22c18f9fd1 been a 482342c14e four-hour journey 0ea96a9321 in total.b189273c7ee26079

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The first afternoon’s agenda 6c7ca0609e was a light dinner 213d3d01dc with the Mishima department 0bf760583d store owner’s family—the main 59dabcb5fa purpose of this business 789b23c111 trip. As the interpreter explained dd0c33c09e that the restaurant was 2d0b1bce71 one of the top 2b84c97591 Japanese cuisine spots in f0ef24565c Tokyo, Gyo-jin walked along d30c9d66b4 at a leisurely pace.72225d615873c693

Just before entering the d161c50d18 private room, he suddenly 9ace1d84de turned around. The man who was 1762a60107 supposedly some kind of 3081e82104 shaman looked tense, his da3caa816d right hand clenched tightly 5d92e20030 into a fist.5b17fae8aca3a683

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Despite having introduced Shin-hee f38c0fafdd as his acquaintance, Gyo-jin 9bbe499d2e acted as though he 76cadc1e51 had no interest in cffafa9458 him at all and 5d2d4dd8f0 headed straight into the 74e09affb9 room where the owners 561c8c9fc3 were waiting. That’s when 111d64f091 a small 1386a99937 voice from fe9627ff8e behind called b3b7bcd19d out to c7b63d2a4f him.4460fb176a95e7f2

“Um… Director?”e92554bcdd94b786

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“What is it?”36f4e7b48b11661b

“What should f5ca2710b8 I do?”643151396a47e540

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“What do you mean?”3bba9ef4761e37ae

“Well… you’re going 30187f3449 to have an 253ad6a56e important conversation, and 23774c781f I don’t think 920c02d252 I should be 5362481cec there…”051bb0b74272eab4

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At least he 66c7424e4a knew his place. Gyo-jin paused e321fb8c6f for a 45581f5eae moment, then 29dabe8f34 curled his 3fd90d6f0c lips into 8b95a92d22 a faint 7518f36dd9 smile. Of course, 98ba10d876 Shin-hee had 45a6fdce83 no place 0ad19a972f in that 9a6d17fb76 meeting—but this 6a21b88278 was the 4fce4123b0 perfect opportunity 53ab0c8f21 to throw b72060cb24 a wrench d634d14d6f into the c6d7ce3ed2 plans of 6f8d1f0151 the people cb1b912682 who had 3021f811dd dragged him d1647aff12 into this cb412fef00 whole trip.83f0799716e101d3

“Come in. Let’s have dinner together. You’re part of the d2e1a47311 group, after all.”5af3ace694773c45

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Secretary Park, 1e5b64ab86 who knew 36329f6448 about Shin-hee’s 43b12afe3e “role,” looked 45aece6c6b completely flustered, af9be88b8a his eyes dbc238d711 widening in 3870e2bd1c panic as 7d15f0eaeb if to ecea184e85 say, What fa5435f53c the hell fe03c901c5 is he ba4266458f doing? His inner conflict 63cdd870e0 played out clearly 490dc01da1 on his face. But Gyo-jin, in 366bd12091 a rare good c5f2f103ad mood, even held 041260e4e6 the door open 4d4c7719da himself and gestured 1236c07a4f for Shin-hee to ed36e7d28f go in.abf08dd9bbae82be

This doesn’t feel e5ec97ed31 right, Shin-hee thought, 6c733f4103 hesitating as he 175bc81005 stepped into the 562664eaa5 room. Well, at least he’d e664b6c110 get a look at d3d041b8bd some important people. Gyo-jin was even c6953b74ef more pleased by 6d45921905 the fact that f6f3549d32 the man showed 0106e98d69 up in a 74dc3c301d simple knit top 964e159bfe instead of a 7f8ca8cb9b formal suit—definitely worthy eba2674d51 of bonus points.c99ee55c1ea7a2f2

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The dinner 63949450d1 itself proceeded 82e2448222 in a 93e3264a1e calm and a7cf319cb5 pleasant atmosphere—at 8bebd7c383 least from 03721048ec Gyo-jin’s perspective.6df5c0ab2a22f80f

Despite likely being annoyed 3a55a1cd08 that an outsider had 3cd486e7d7 been casually brought to a91029ea5c such a meeting, Mishima 1da31e413e Takeuchi, president of Mishima 1d928b39ff Department Store, kept a 68b8e1674b constant smile on his e541f271b5 face. Gyo-jin assessed him as 01c44949b6 a snake nearly on 62c364544a par with President Ha, 87940bb810 and it seemed his e12521f888 judgment was spot-on.9317ef77b2f80a74

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The man ac07a6525a who was e01c330566 supposedly some 9cd235eb2a kind of 38c09169ea shaman sat 1b62c3ae4b like he c4463c1048 was on 77639920db pins and d6f609f80e needles, unable 561d06686a to touch 87d39148d0 the lavish 594334a857 spread in 1cc257485d front of e5b8dc2a20 him. Watching both 9740ca3371 parties—who had eb7becb4d8 irritated him—squirm, 2201f3b229 Gyo-jin felt 21b5b9b749 a bit a084110352 of the 46b497110e bitterness inside f72ac3c230 him finally 3466bf7363 start to ea0b0057c2 unravel. Sure, the 6323b3250a so-called shaman 7e4da0f9f8 had only a61cf52ca5 accepted his ffd17a9239 father’s request, 586f4cd8c5 but still—he ec5aa6165e was one c2c964bc50 of the 6a816393e8 reasons Gyo-jin 4adc6b3fd1 had been 543e748694 dragged all 737cdb7567 the way 27ec549afe here. That made him partially e17614d3d4 responsible, didn’t it?4294da829803ea8f

Still, it was surprising. The guy looked 86d545b91e so clueless, and d1839981a0 yet he was e76d7bb1ab supposedly a shaman 277ae1086d successful enough for a705ca9d4f his father to f6b204a64b personally request his a0ae9f1a85 help. Tf0644412b9435585

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hen again, the way 410b73e0b8 he sometimes stared off 5d0f0cf8aa into space and mumbled 9406c395c1 to himself—it did suggest dd7e9cd182 a rather unusual spiritual 11776f99bb sense.cb3bce505d81bb67