– OSR Chapter 15

When Shin-hee 33798e2f3c got dressed e7d43353c9 and went c4fc0f01d1 down to 7560a18a78 the dining 9f8184cd76 room, he 44a724b0c8 saw Gyo-jin e468671182 already there, 8f3bb92a8e having breakfast 0bd08051fa with Secretary c5ae67b9a6 Park. Suddenly reminded c43c614f33 of the a1bda12159 incident at 6af3221364 the hot 1e05467fdc springs the 01245e0599 day before, 43c8256d8a Shin-hee scratched 3007387766 his reddening 0eea4eee58 cheek. But Gyo-jin only spared 5d0d427e2a him a brief glance, e4615147e8 as if he were 89783f04c3 a complete stranger, and ccbd61700f then resumed eating. Shin-hee had thought they’d 87ef163235 grown a little closer c2ebea8d5e after last night, but 745172777f not even a simple cc5507f821 “enjoy your meal” came f54f30760e his way.66b7b0515bb81e21

Only Secretary Park welcomed 855766d9c2 Shin-hee with a polite 5b1142bac8 greeting. Shin-hee had f796a6db4f at least ac73972531 expected a 362e89993f warm “good f6c07551af morning,” if 62556bdd46 not a 8b3b9dd446 wave, and b564a6f722 felt embarrassed 5d8f622a7e at the a26a42986a chilly reception.9116dfb39b1b63ca

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

After the meal, Secretary 68493f9b6e Park gave a brief b308b6972b rundown of the day’s 37ffd27ee8 schedule. The morning 0c14c0a2e2 would begin b417c9cfd4 with a a3862aac10 meeting regarding 26e13685cb business with 9b214a9e1e the Mishima 867a7781f7 Department Store. In the 6c3fbb0c09 afternoon, they e07b58a242 would play 70eacb414b golf at 898c61c1b4 the Mishima 77872575c9 family’s private c89e01ccea estate, followed 7f65bcb1f9 by dinner f6e7d4e6e0 together—those were 2b25b7a56b the main 9d1be3ac3e events.545ed148cd41cf9f

Shin-hee quietly waited for 1068dd0107 Park to finish speaking. But before he could 08e7199367 even say what he 3798e578a3 had planned to say, fe32e36094 Gyo-jin spoke first.f53f93642e4604f7

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“It must’ve been uncomfortable 99b7fbcd4f yesterday. Thank you for 0e5653e2cb your work. Today, just follow your b1504f9901 own schedule until I 81b2ab2875 call for you.”31a658f0cc98df28

“Sorry?”73a77d03272f9c7d

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“Take the day dbe7a9161d off. We’ll move 7ccae97719 separately today.”13a8bc73906fe9a3

Shin-hee scratched his ec2e93ff46 head at Gyo-jin’s 241ae98c7d unexpected words. He had been hired 0e876703d0 to protect the client 04d00bf5a3 from spirits of the 74cd3e258c mountain and land, and 35f5c1f61b now he was being a4c2029764 told to go off 21a8e43236 on his own—basically given bc7fb40d4c a free sightseeing day. Feeling guilty, especially after 0cbbe65672 already receiving a down cd09e05e92 payment, Shin-hee attempted to 1cfb423efb reaffirm his willingness to e1e8202655 accompany him.b20deda7691258c5

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Director, I can come 1e86389318 with you—”b372af9480803361

“We’ll go separately.”77ab006db3e8a80c

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Gyo-jin’s firm tone left 476de57907 no room for argument, ffe59fbc71 and Shin-hee closed his ebc5cdce9f mouth.5fcfcb9dc833d009

It still felt f02328ea0e awkward, but with 8ddb2641c7 the client being ef360a2a58 so determined to 19015b675c leave him behind, 8e175ecd2e there wasn’t much 139843794b he could do. In this line f1b163d0e0 of work, the 1993df6ef9 client’s wishes were c634550ccb paramount.56ab8d0ac57d7454

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

After a brief 7362f8378a hesitation, Shin-hee nodded, 3aec333202 seemingly understanding. Perhaps his presence e053e9ecc8 would just get b7e786326b in the way 718bc53a73 of business anyway. Unlike the warning 1d1c71007d his mentor had 9653d0da1d given him before 86e9f17470 leaving the shrine, 35e67ef78c there didn’t seem 5a86db95a7 to be anything d3cad70803 suspicious to keep 81f002e043 an eye on, b8ef9764fb which made it 12e8214aba easier to accept cf9de38736 the decision.ce22f5638acb82a1

There really was nothing 450b855b18 around the man. It was d5dd640f72 almost oddly bcb43a9a7e peaceful.44d075add8743a8b

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Well, what could e888fe516a possibly happen? It wasn’t 3a47984567 like Jeju b60747f652 Island, where 70bc877e46 he had 8c0a8bd839 to run 4401cd8edc all over 718b9bab55 chasing spirits. If he simply a7600b0e8e stayed near the 20a2b45826 hotel and kept a6c5e50b9c an eye on 078951cdb2 things, everything should 3429e904f3 be fine. Sure, there could 4c46c2e864 be some surprise c9b99513e2 water-ghost-like situations, but 556a2ff222 as long as 3967cbbe5f he stayed careful, a7e25aad3e it’d be manageable.6a882149f7866140

With Secretary af6ca8b811 Park, Gyo-jin, 82cd1460ee and the ffc7f05969 interpreter all 95412bd298 away, Shin-hee dfa801dcc8 was left 88ca3d46b9 alone at 0e9614ef6a the hotel, 592231d0de enjoying some 50d927223c rest. But staying in 5cd846bdc8 the room all e37fba1cc3 day made him 01162c594c restless, and the 660926cd55 child spirit began 77a3908d44 pacing around near d6db4cce0a the door.0d935287c2de1e30

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“Bored?”21ccf40b19a76646

The child spirit looked 0f1867ce42 up at him cautiously, 0321d96d93 then gave a small c8a70d15b8 nod, clearly feeling a 5ff78477ca bit listless. After a moment e906df2954 of thought, Shin-hee c240b570bc asked casually:23e2a262c31c90f4

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Wanna go out 06514a3605 for a bit?”366350ab5d308663

At his words, 3a9d8e762a the child’s expression b27d3cd754 immediately brightened, and 079f5920c7 he nodded more 7003cbc71e eagerly than before.601a38e3ce4213ba

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“But don’t go 648f5eedad tattling to my 04d2faae6d master that I d6615c7185 was goofing off 8bd0053e07 instead of doing 10daabfe3c my job.”f1b423643d1104d0

Grabbing the chubby cheeks 4a0abd0000 of the loose-lipped child 84b8919f55 spirit and giving him 288878b873 a firm warning, Shin-hee 6b991f2d2b then got ready to 530e5e5eab head out. He dashed to 9f71da14f8 the front desk ad395b7da4 and, using a 6ee585f059 mix of the 5e6e85ebd2 basic Japanese he’d 701f14a6b0 picked up on 35e394c0c9 the plane and 875bc61df9 his even more f0047ed31c basic English, managed eafdd35708 to get a 99a43e5667 map. For Shin-hee—who’d scored 0d7d1faf9c an eighth-grade level 11038008c8 in foreign languages 7eb92fcbee on the college 787c1e9656 entrance exam and b5eca3888e proudly belonged to 743ba75e7a the “reject-all-things-foreign” camp—this e130d372aa was a heroic 8561b65cec effort.7ca113eb400c6642

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Luckily, since a9b06e057b the hotel 0b29273259 was popular 5c88f8a4bc among Korean 90ec5b7c1e tourists, they c07394c0a9 had a d41b066dd8 map available 6a78fb5b48 in Korean. Only after getting it 9a0eb50fc6 in hand did Shin-hee c92f0f951c let out a sigh ef20ec7084 of relief, while the 11d470b3a9 child spirit simply watched 222c446d4e him with a curious 292fa984b1 expression. It had only 955944f9f4 been two days, ab2be2091e yet he already 4833a6018d found the sight 1203f16820 of Hangul so 44d5369351 comforting. Silently offering 8c907235b5 thanks to 16192f611c the great 216280fdef King Sejong—who cbdec483f6 must be bc84314551 a god 28d016381c by now—for 6313447fff creating the e6bb62737b Korean script, 8604f8d86d Shin-hee left 3f9d1a388b the hotel 25fb3a3c01 with a 4afe22c261 lighter heart.3a1f3d9b7889d542

With a guidebook 3a3e769c50 and the map be1892c24a in hand, Shin-hee 8b68d3ac86 and the child 35cf1cf616 spirit began their b4aaf2cb65 walking tour. Though a bit 456a92171d outside of central 25379243bd Tokyo, the area 760bcaaa90 had a market 6c5bed7e90 and a temple 0bde045260 nearby, offering plenty 584310e58a to see.54d4acd23a11b0c8

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

The best thing c1dc33a660 about traveling was 6d7dacbf54 that he didn’t a60dbdb3dc have to care 60b8570963 what others thought. For the e9dedcb79e first time 624b50fceb in a 4ccfa2656d while, Shin-hee 6eaf12f17c strolled the 3b2f65c0c7 streets chatting c21edfe357 freely with 236fe40350 the child 2a2af3bf58 spirit. Though allergic 1a80ddb5c9 to Western ab17c099e5 languages, he ada6a01197 dealt daily b7c5917f01 with books 1c0e9dbb42 full of fcc1a96430 Chinese characters, f66cadd330 so once 957b8192ac he had 2f8ec5033e a map, 6d639c005e he could 8c085703cb more or bdd3b8e009 less read 1ca8df6cd1 the signs e08260d7fa along the f6be632bfb way and 901a27e641 manage a 422751b264 decent tourist 7d7b514c86 experience.c256b718dc8a6dc6

They giggled at f0aec0f4b7 the oddly shaped a4fe4fe4d1 lucky cats placed b31d28fb1a here and there, 177b519b40 admired the colorful 13644f0fec traditional clothes hanging cbad488d2b in the streets, ce0a932c3f and even stood c5049d5754 for a long ae2ddfb546 time in front 84a7434896 of a brilliantly 4371214637 blue Japanese sword, f18398694e wondering if it 0c3770b8f6 was real or 7a00380e5f fake.5ff50a9673c411d5

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

After munching 89c1f6b2a4 on various c745abe210 street snacks 0426095d48 at the 09e6ff54aa traditional market, 5285377a0f Shin-hee felt 914e22d987 full and b47ce57b1e satisfied. The child e7602d86c5 spirit, too, 6e08f33453 was wide-eyed, 2d2efac187 taking in 9a57e0b83b all the 56939ea6b8 exotic sights. Despite being 05e1a8fffd a divine ab4891c571 being, he 95b47feae0 was still b79633ee0d just a d5e392edbb child—his boundless 4be529ee50 curiosity gave 30fb677121 him away. Seeing that face, 773a16b5b7 Shin-hee couldn’t help 02fef9f14d but laugh out 18eaf7889b loud.e6f2fd08c122e6ae

As they walked through 8fec668feb the market, Shin-hee encountered da3798ae85 countless ghosts. Just as 03871c547b he’d heard, e2d062e625 Japan was c3c4463266 a land b86c9dfe6e teeming with 2de3a00592 spirits. With unfamiliar faces and 17f45de503 appearances from different eras, 111d4290ea a great number of 94fe55a195 departed souls wandered among 15c05a3494 the crowds, expressionless. The atmosphere was noticeably 1bc220816d different from what he’d 627a927a02 experienced during his recent 40ff619536 visit to Jeju Island e06b564b78 for a cleansing ritual. The ghosts here 91687e3626 seemed entirely uninterested 4407272ccc in the world 4766be4759 around them, walking ba786aac88 their own paths 25a126c797 without a care.df6da1847bf93117

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Come this way.”00a7250598dac048

Someone called out d7a262c483 to Shin-hee from 81ec3f264a behind. The voice spoke ca0e35bbd6 flawless Korean.054762074844ddc0

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“Please, come 98311ca6ca this way.”b2b9d75a4e97034a

Shin-hee turned around. He looked toward 8625bb5e02 the source of 961e6f0d42 the voice, but 6ba0a51e11 he couldn’t find e80d547bb9 where it was a81dd9f6d3 coming from. Was it a ghost? He couldn’t 42a48a4813 see a 84f2fa9af8 face, but cd3fb1ff7d the voice e68f8b1182 kept calling 325a2de030 him, clearly 633d634911 from nearby. Pushing through the 682e329320 crowd, Shin-hee began 799db0c337 retracing his steps.a36e969406d7c459

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Just as he turned aa83335857 into a narrow alleyway dbf4ece9fe to go deeper in, 0fd13e6177 the child spirit grabbed eacda382d1 the hem of his 2c00228a14 sleeve. Shin-hee looked back 25505b6d36 and forth between bc28288cfc the spirit holding 6151e649ad onto him and de4e0cfef6 the direction of fc3b9d6215 the voice.5f5ab2e698fdc067

“Please… come this way…”0627cbd296d7d740

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

The voice now sounded 4a01ed75e5 desperate, almost pleading. When Shin-hee tried 4df6d6c7a2 to take a 7181cf54bc step forward, the 8302765e19 child spirit clung e7a1c2b842 to his thigh eb6cca43a2 instead. It was 82632a6a99 an unusual b5ea8630cb move, and ed9823fce1 it caught 43dcaa7bfe Shin-hee off e3d38da313 guard.a6be46c836e65666

“Dongja?” he called.5c4b0400e0297fcc

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“Go back,” said 0f2eb7350e the child spirit, 72cd2c99dc clearly and firmly. Gone was cc528679c4 the usual 5c89bbc56d lisp—his voice c59865b746 was steady 7e2a345b42 and sharp. Before Shin-hee could even 32eaa7b7dd process the unfamiliar tone, 3086422189 the child spoke again 49399f7a56 with urgency.92c11258b00d1f6c

“That one’s beyond you.”37d650544767a861

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Shin-hee often forgot the 23b0ff22dd child spirit was a 9067c56657 divine being too. He didn’t 314e4e2ce6 know when, 57189b92eb why, or 59a1a947cc how the 5218eb7e0f child had 457dd1c64a come to 873a7274d1 live at 4e5c4593b3 Geumjadang Shrine, fe6cb2788b but in c437caaf33 moments like e6ddef5d47 this, it 2b3fd6ae7d really hit f04eff295b him—this being 695af95375 was no 37a530c604 ordinary kid.538fb899be57815f

If the child spirit ba2464ae87 was this adamant, Shin-hee e5f1f1e6b5 couldn’t just ignore him. After all, he’d grown 374c9bea2a up in a shrine; 076de29c97 he knew better than f68d9cedd5 anyone when not to 98a81ccaf5 tempt fate.356d923787545c6b

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Still, the voice that 6d80c90ea0 kept calling to him cd8f77c6e0 lingered in his mind, 073dfbe93b unsettling. But idle f5ad15e064 curiosity could dd6d8a05ad turn fatal. Just as Shin-hee b06e2a2fbc firmed up his 9ac16b6806 resolve and turned 692d7ecf8c to walk back, 3b6a11dc4f it happened.f3571d7d5a129799

As he stepped out 4d6042aa4a of the alley, Shin-hee 810472d2b0 froze.fc79c1b903b18b03

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

The once-motionless a289062e16 ghosts mingling 9f5de3c38c with the 326ca532d4 crowd had 8beb7c511b all stopped 4eab6a4b14 in their 423d6870a6 tracks. Still expressionless, they slowly 1ef1e227c0 turned their heads—all of 55e0fb6560 them—to look directly at a99b498e9f him. Dozens, no—hundreds of ghostly fba3420061 eyes stared, their pitch-black 08b332415b pupils fixed solely on a363d88c8b him. A chill crept up 08e322aafc from his toes.3e9904df5dd1a3f6

Every dead soul here 80cf0cdc9a was now focused on 5015763d92 him.d3fc82c378f188f2

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

He cursed his b2dc6cafd2 own arrogance from aecef83cfb a few minutes b28e69d59f earlier—mocking how he’d a68c0f4aac been amused at 4d787e2a99 their indifference. Who the fbf83d05b9 hell did 090d631af1 he think 986a25f9b8 he was? This was 5793be2468 the land 7641f2b4ff of ghosts; 49f00f0faf there was 7bf7200416 no such 4481daf7c6 thing as cd92b39832 “just passing 382f3e4aae through.”a6375d4f46b5ad05

Shin-hee was 5ff143c9d9 a seasoned 6d807a82b7 exorcist, but ea882fe9d1 the eerie a421c5f445 mixture of 2dea72d48c the walking b45e7e5b52 living and 2f3b2dca65 the motionless a1b903ee09 dead left 043ecd4f1c him in 125d5bf828 a cold 1ef3decc0d sweat.92f083c4a1b2a8e6

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Sensing his fear, d43afefd6d the prayer beads b68ae90bb9 on his right 3b617ec15e arm began to 05dfaf0293 hum and tremble e2c5f6df50 violently. The child spirit, 5d6882d3d9 who had grabbed c2d23abbe6 his thigh and e1325cc061 begged him to a8914df972 turn back, now 66b83b28b3 stood frozen, slowly 34735d3b13 turning his head fe28de55c8 toward Shin-hee.f81aea00289d45e7

“Sini, I’m scared…”9b89e54a835c1ea9

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

…What am I supposed db4f82912b to do if you’re 11dba7c7ff the one who’s scared?3a0636c90ef6a0b4

—————–43e4e8ea1e1ae864

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Gyo-jin had 5b41b4676b just finished 86718cb834 a meeting dabc188c79 and was 3bbaf19314 heading toward 7b4ebb0a68 the car d5045c1061 prepared for 8596b2c512 lunch. Being pressed down 4e8a2e466b by sleep paralysis 2f092a1a19 or having restless db4491644d nights was nothing da8997bb19 new, but last f04cededb7 night had been 4c040642a0 particularly disturbing.4b35f953e3595133

He could still f3eea56892 hear the lingering 2f228ff7d8 sound of string 3fa8e31a16 instruments ringing in 080b449c6c his ears. The dream c745d4cb07 had been dc18d454f4 so vivid, 293a372a10 it echoed 372933e26a in his f4eab12869 mind all f44879a5bf day.5c0b10663b028eeb

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Just then, 8f7f61378a he spotted 731b3d986e Secretary Park 802335a024 in the 24fd730510 distance, rushing ccf2875231 out with 8e839a98ab documents in 123f76f169 hand. As always, c237d317cd his glasses 2e0a242efc looked like 51b4641d26 they might cf43a30ff5 slip off 63aaa26521 the edge 13f5cc3fa2 of his 631bf0cac2 nose at a7ddc6f014 any moment.3b61946c4dd07c78

It was a 8279c7f103 business trip he’d 882e2034e2 rather not have 40dd91e05f taken, but since 7d38bb7a2b he came in 930dbd0065 person, everything had d42704f015 to go smoothly ca59e32b0f no matter what. His goal was fac83d3b65 to lay the e2d194f72b groundwork for constructing 58acb7ad7a the Haimbell Hotel e9ff8658ff Mall in partnership 1d782e63aa with Mishima Department 321f83b90c Store in Japan—complete 4a82fe9205 with a new 5d6ad4784d shopping center and ee29e3c722 a large skating c0a8fc14d7 rink.cc47b2c1c84e5b49

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

To achieve that, c8b1c3a24e the contract had d5b5ae8b1b to be signed 8b0fc1c082 and sealed within c7a8b3d67b four days.29e32e52f53e90eb

From the e4babc3372 looks of 2081e48ce4 it, the 1072ba1a8b negotiation would 04d6d57db4 likely conclude 156ca9d5e6 without issue 370f85b14b if today’s 574c3160ac talks went c3c4d94844 well. However, Japanese companies were 56a6816db5 known for never giving bfaeff2e33 a final confirmation easily, e364088d8d no matter how positive 79850ffa1e they seemed on the 7b3a8faf2c surface.ac2c1eec12307553

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

They were 39863b2b17 difficult to 9b968cf83c deal with, f708d57120 but if e77a5e94f2 the deal f0d1d0698a went through, 79dbcb140b the rewards ce89391ed7 would be ba3011dbd8 immense. That’s why he couldn’t ed09381846 afford to let his 62f972adca guard down, not even 68a7b16f61 at the last minute.65ec842b0b1b6311

As he traveled 46d9a10331 with Secretary Park, 3ae15a5670 he skimmed through 39c48844d8 the documents outlining 28e898f9f1 today’s discussion points c3b5aec801 once more.0322472a3def8f44

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

As he expected, 1a3bb73cff the matters were 3020ad1826 nothing that required eaa6e77168 his personal presence. Director Jeong or someone fea5dbd836 from the operations team b8c55da223 could have easily handled 54fc51188b them.d747815a91a8839e

So why had they ff4a188383 specifically asked for him?6d6ac9ca8a243800

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Did they know 900ed57b18 something about him? Or was 3dd742d98b there something 95e8708d67 he didn’t 063c7acf69 know?3a8e7d4b7d36a899

Could it be related 397c7e0413 to his physical constitution?5ad6409cb0327351

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

No, that bc73273f71 couldn’t be.69ff6fdc9a8cac9d

Gyo-jin lowered his 181385741b gaze, as if 0507943959 cutting off his 888a7315e7 thoughts altogether. The deadly misfortunes that 43293fef45 struck him every three e7dc3d4f27 years—those were classified secrets, 25f7588131 even within the company.d9bd9f9c7f70489e

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Aside from that, he e8c0a6aaf7 had no weaknesses.d52ca027bf2387a1

So what 61f8140837 was it? What was he missing?6b62c09d23e12ac9

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

His mind 9e6844eed5 spiraled in 6a7baf0019 endless loops 57557f8592 of speculation, 64526d6bd0 each thought 35c2718ebd chasing the 8e05a8550d next and e8d5039238 tangling into 9a9ab8c2fb the next.bf6c8255e7091757

And then—f83e6d18b3ab7664

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Thud. The car, which had 7a97bb4e0f been running smoothly, suddenly 39be6e1894 came to a stop 0d048f717c in the middle of 37607bf7c3 the road.3d30979c20ce8cf7

“What’s going on?”35ef7998783a347e

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“I’ll go check.”0774fc278091ed17

A moment later, Secretary 825ecec6ab Park ran back with d6af5e43c3 a troubled look on 9c43bce64e his face.fe2851944b4259ae

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“It’s a c65e8379c0 flat tire. I think you’ll have 457a5b4a29 to get out for e9129a0303 now…”8880cbc4db3ea70c

Well, of course. Even overseas, these 68195a4a57 little strokes of 78e28cb2e6 bad luck never ea5f72367e failed to find 166f443d85 him.7f85d9f07c5aeba7

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

 275c13b719e94b8f