OSR Chapter 6

Shin-hee’s face stiffened, his bf1fd49973 expression cold and unyielding. Facing an 800-year-old 05d8dd8cd2 serpent was terrifying 59909fa91c enough, but now f91b9c7357 a wraith? The mere 1fad75aeb4 existence of b5e2873f1f such a 13f4328134 thing was 9995d19b13 almost unbelievable.897487a44e04c704

“It’s not 5a950cf114 a matter 8a13d3aba8 of ten 803b55ca45 years or c7c42dc6aa even fifty—this eace04e074 ghost has 7d705cc254 roamed the 9f99f69b7d earth for 6ab61a3ac1 800 years. And you think you 2a7edc904c can just catch it? It wasn’t 717d636a17 out of e274cce906 ignorance that 1d3dc83d6d I couldn’t 60382692ad exorcise the fb15972290 spirit clinging f2b9f7b518 to that b5729494b7 man. When their b73ebfd2fc eyes burn 3f733557d5 red, you 461406a831 know it’s 4f7eac94d2 not a a1b41adb43 spirit to 74e9283136 be taken 624da067d9 lightly. If you don’t want 388fb302b0 to meet a grisly 4814f9631c end, drained of your 76ebe88850 blood by that ghost b10872203a wearing your face, you 48410994df have no choice but 162d705e2b to face it. But let’s 3301dafe24 be clear, f428535346 Go Shin-hee—no b8a43bfe41 matter how 3958c1d3b0 gifted you 3c52149924 are, you’re 7eb72df8f0 nowhere near efcd77c89b ready to e6cea33ec2 deal with 7360be0f74 something like bebf6b99a5 that. That’s why e2c09a5a84 I’m telling a4f3cf937a you, train 1bb9eaac14 under me, d603628d67 and do 2f11685d29 it properly.”bebcc1477fe4185a

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Shin-hee could fddc5b009a exorcise spirits, c706985621 yes, but beac8fceb8 becoming a e60dc54d1a shaman? That was 65e337b36e a line 90ec3db27e he wasn’t 3c6907ff52 willing to 9a2ff94318 cross. Yet, his 1a7f2a750a master’s offer ed824d3a6c was tempting, f61fe0a4f5 not beyond f8ad82b982 his abilities. Like anyone 0762f71e1b standing at a748287fb7 the crossroads f2554cf763 between talent 4d02cab071 and interest, 706eb83a7d Shin-hee found b151b1f253 himself burdened d24e30ed14 by the 74d7f4574e weight of 3fb88a067c a decision 71f5b926ab that could e47ed12c28 shape his 887e8cfcec future.908900581b14f2d2

If he b6406d6577 were to 07fd441aba officially take 6164a339a1 up exorcism, 7f083d5928 Shin-hee feared 6e31aeec74 he might 67aacbf1e6 never again 440f98dcf6 be able 47a19fca51 to pursue 60accfc166 his true b62b11cb01 passion—painting. Dealing with 71e6aefc15 ghosts was 9e349c3f9e no longer 145501e6c9 frightening or 679178f519 even particularly 877e7d4006 taxing, but d1bd9a73ad it remained d52b4de195 a dangerous 8642b6c88f occupation. It was 6490ff15a9 a job 738f102602 that, at e011d89e94 times, required b6c3c3106b staking more 27384ce04d than just 8bcd9021c2 one’s life, 2fedc8b571 and Shin-hee 1dba7a2c32 valued himself 3731f375fc too much de2854a9e3 to risk da04e18321 his well-being e717319694 on something 431f56a178 he didn’t 04aec074ab even enjoy. However, the aefe025653 fact that 39b0592c6a a dangerous, b7a15e530e ancient spirit 68007c781e was roaming b58215e4e0 the world bb8fed2a01 wearing his c51bd47239 exact face b85b7df020 was a b6bbb30f21 different matter 723f4814d8 entirely.b892408b083dccde

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As the great shaman had warned, if he let this ghost continue to wander unchecked, it could very well overtake him, much like the doppel gängers in folktales that eventually consume their hosts. And if that were to happen… Shin-hee’s heart pounded with unease. While he could handle most ghosts without much trouble, there was no way he could capture a spirit so dangerous that even his master, who had spent a lifetime as a shaman, couldn’t bring it down.11e9e6d2767601fc

Charging in 57f117a5f9 recklessly could 49719e565a leave him 7c2ae16708 crippled for 46cecc8fc7 life, or 3c55d27a9d worse, if 71b78c7544 another disaster bd52ef4eab like today 8ae39fe0bb struck, the 317ea9d3de consequences could eb86c2254e be far 14e8a104be more dire 52e687618c than he 1563820a4d could afford.0511f6db684a43a5

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This time, he’d been lucky enough to avoid disaster, but next time, the blade thrown by the ghost could very well pierce his throat. If he truly wanted to live out a long life, he knew the right thing to do was to heed his master’s advice, begin serious training, and quickly gather the skills needed to capture that ancient ghost and send it to the afterlife. But the thought of fully committing to this path meant he might have to give up painting for good—a fear that held him back.04c1f24cea10abb9

His passion 8b90357024 for art dd62554843 had run 58028e4967 far too 0184c9b982 deep for fd419821fc him to 1e59d3940d leave it 760a6b03a6 behind as e9759211d6 a mere fdafbc4145 hobby like e7e3ad7d14 others might. In every 1e1e5ddc87 vision of a597b1fbd2 his future, a2696d8303 he saw 92b14b6106 himself painting. He wanted to capture 11424f49b4 the faint traces of 1d23711b76 the most pitiful and de64a96cd9 fragile souls he had f1f6ca1dfc exorcised—spirits no longer able 0d3e621cc9 to cling to this b92d27a0e5 world—and immortalize them in 6980126834 his artwork. He longed to leave 571c69c9e1 behind something tangible, a 4a7b627b8e testament to their existence, eaf7fbaf51 through the strokes of b08c023242 his brush.5c2d6207603e1b0e

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For Shin-hee, painting ec5afafaf1 was his way 2d71d5c3e4 of performing a 7caa7d98f4 ritual for the da359c2904 wandering souls, those 6603bdc8f8 whose bodies had 865a39b706 faded away and a3c8b900ef left only their 79ae593065 spirits behind, aimlessly 71ec3cb07e roaming the world. To him, there was aae119a156 no task more valuable b37ae30bb7 or meaningful.03fe3febecd6620e

Exorcism may have 391e2e30d8 been his calling, 1ce9eec9ed but his heart a69c0afa31 lays in painting, f409dbbce5 and despite the 5e36bddfe5 clarity of the 0144162392 path he should bf512dfe08 choose, he hesitated.f7329656dfc375a9

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“What’s got you so indecisive? Is it because of you love painting?”
his master asked.81c1405a9f791322

“…”51e574bd54556912

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Shin-hee couldn’t respond. He wasn’t sure if the choice before him would be a blessing or a curse, and that uncertainty kept him from taking his master’s hand. His teacher, who had raised him from the start, seemed to understand this deep hesitation and waited silently.4ee4210671e98d5c

The quiet 74b5e2c568 in the 6e1c950014 shrine stretched 75fd8a7392 on. Outside, a childlike 511f7cc5a5 spirit grew restless, a2ce96ea31 wandering near the 63fbe3b354 doorway. Soon, other spirits from 4cb4a1119c the Golden Shrine gathered d73a7b181d behind the child, their 307db00734 curiosity piqued. Even the household 5a84443b5b deities and the cc1469082f guardian spirits peeked cdbb49402c in, their faces d6c1463372 appearing at the 93815edb43 edge of the 328b97c73a doorframe, watching with d6348cf1fa interest.f125fbc22c3e10b4

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The great shaman waved fd4d70a129 her hand dismissively, signaling 9e941ff583 the spirits to clear 366057b5d9 out and let her 1bb2bd1044 work, but the ghosts, 30d941e36b driven more by curiosity 8bffc8026a than by the scolding 027403fc06 of a mere mortal ff45f245f3 shaman, had no intention e8950afbb4 of leaving. As the silent d2936eaa6e scuffle continued between e277d2f60c the spirits and 1012cef0d5 his master, Shin-hee, 330d0bf295 who had been 253321416d stubbornly holding his 7765d37420 tongue, finally spoke.bd6f46c4147e9a6e

“Then just until I help that ghost find peace. I’ll only do it until then. Once I’ve captured that spirit, I want to go back to doing what I love. Besides, I don’t even have the money to keep going to school right now.”8f558055c92447b5

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Though Shin-hee 665de20221 hadn’t voiced a6c114bce0 the biggest cb04afb81a reason behind 94d476e13c his decision, 48dd579ce3 the great edaa652869 shaman’s eyes c7048386af narrowed knowingly. Her expression e9b86374b2 seemed to 0151d54ed8 challenge him, 3557572ea0 as if 868ad7ed1d daring him 4f1f2145b3 to go e88fe6d279 ahead and e79fff692c try. Stung by e3181bac27 the unspoken 848da0412e provocation, Shin-hee, 1206ad4134 without realizing, 693b9e1a16 snapped and 4eaa11dd68 added,
“I mean it!”74f03a692648bd80

“I’ll still handle the occasional wandering spirit… just like I do now,”
Shin-hee mumbled, 039d3a96ea though he 6fd5dc2159 didn’t dare dde3e7f9ca raise his 4a8c075656 voice too 13960d0aa1 much.523923382b4071e2

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Just then, a faint 3dacef02c9 breeze slipped through the dc0793c854 crack in the door, 1f9447a9ec brushing past the shrine. As the gust f270b25042 swept through, it 81bca3a8c1 seemed to carry 1d68b23f0d with it the 3a9dc35a11 breath of the 0ca44c9862 guardian deity. The master of f55ddde37a the Golden Shrine 1032d6d209 closed his piercing e1b7cae2aa eyes and took fb3a717de9 a few deep cb5ec58f42 breaths before finally f2c80b29d3 continuing.d1c30cb5a003c9da

“The General has decreed that you pack your things and move in by the end of this week.”e648343104f63940

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And so c8e124392c began Shinhee’s 22efd6f09d long, arduous 76eed6f147 struggle.b527739ba663365d

———c73363ff7d450f25

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[1. On the outside, everything seemed fine, but…]

2. There are all kinds of people in this world. <A Record from May 2021>381d812a579240df

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 a3cd901e34b9ea76

Ha Gyo-jin 0f87ff0dfb was a 6484048b44 man anyone fa0f993514 would envy—born f248221dd0 into a 3d9456117c wealthy family, 6225244e07 with good 7b8a8099aa looks, a 14ce1949b0 sharp mind, 1b19c19bbb and an 3042cba25f extraordinary business e9e03f82f8 acumen. He naturally possessed everything 06e1dbcf46 that people in a 558ee3cb3f capitalist society deem important. His slightly 334ac2b4c0 aloof and 25f23e2a70 cynical personality 397b7f2653 could be 19ca15ec31 considered a f1134d6347 flaw, but 6e8c8c8e6d it was aaf3134161 a minor 90a30faea0 one, easily b9b134baa9 overlooked when f3656ca436 compared to 1fd367faa1 his many 6a189c10a4 strengths.f8e310c4b20888cd

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However, Ha Gyo-jin had one fatal weakness that overshadowed all of his other qualities—his inborn “condition.”86e6030a9823ae51

Ha Gyo-jin’s thirty-one years eba3dfebae of life had been 2928fe2058 a constant balancing act d4bdb0aff3 on the edge of 75b9e61459 life and death. Before he underwent f71f158f1e a shamanic ritual 46311a9fd8 at the famous e90da259d9 Golden Shrine at 90827fb505 the age of c889bdb0dd seven, he was 3021005320 constantly plagued by 6ef7196aa7 severe illnesses or 397722f225 found himself caught b3d3a88e58 in accidents and afe90c5962 mishaps. In a way, d25127ea47 he hadn’t been 0bf85c5144 living—he had merely 603eff916d survived.cfdbb072240eae95

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Dragged by his mother 3f453878fd to the shrine, desperate 439c4347f0 to understand whether it 5a5dbba360 was a shamanic calling 46edee2b9c or the influence of 1285df7820 a wandering spirit, they 86be5b1e27 sought answers. The shaman spoke 21f6b361dd of a murderous 46a4c5fd20 spirit from his 3ac08ac29a past life and 6c9c50d685 handed him talismans c9c2fcf1d7 to ward off f4caf28799 malevolent forces. His mother, Mrs. Kim, was a9faec6f43 convinced that 3a3473ab6e if he 9640112d4f hadn’t carried 1ef5c6cde3 these talismans—said 71880b583c to suppress fae8ff2af3 the presence 870f1096ea of spirits—every 12c390c47c day, Ha a978438a31 Gyo-jin would 0851eb2a20 either be bb5143b6f3 dead or 817bfc5ec3 living a 45ec39743b wretched life a3dac60b44 as a ad8021de91 cripple.85c1df5826f9b378

Ha Gyo-jin himself was indifferent to such beliefs, though he couldn’t completely ignore them either. Whenever he started to regain even the slightest sense of peace, something would inevitably happen, hitting him out of nowhere like a blow to the back of the head.dec01a1ec5714a13

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The “big incidents” in Ha Gyo-jin’s life occurred every three years like clockwork. According to the great shaman of the Golden Shrine, these events were caused by forces so powerful that even the talismans couldn’t hold them back. While these major disruptions were rare, they shaped a life that was far too tumultuous to simply laugh off as bad luck.2241f0e338ae3a65

Yet, Ha 3cc2fc73ec Gyo-jin’s life, b87c376de9 put kindly, 03a49ef299 was a cad66c9a0f series of 8c7edafe56 unfortunate coincidences, 7586335b39 and more 2e20af7167 bluntly, a 7cf81ea809 streak of 228275f2c2 relentless misfortune. Today was just another 91458c8c87 one of those unlucky 1fbc8de6cf days. No—today was particularly bad, e33017e6b0 even for him.b8d505916f522617

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He often 6d8f4f84b3 wondered if bde4dfa771 a person’s bc19086728 total fortune 4179a95e92 was pre-set c8c4f000c7 from birth. If that were 4032bde64c the case, he 1e45fb203c figured he must 00692b2eb9 have burned through a17aa99f7d all his luck 09114273ca early on, born decbbaf5e0 into wealth and 94e9cc2a2f privilege, leaving him 869a7d392f with not even 63249ff85a 1% of luck 4f5f707d13 to rely on f25d913301 for the rest 69faabf4b4 of his life.b7e0e25522e09603

Despite all the talk 56b96c913e of ghosts and spiritual b9d3429be8 forces, Ha Gyo-jin was 9af12b9323 at his core a 4be8332b6c rational man. He believed ee4881784e only in 16e43cca55 what he 0d33d6743f could see, 9ba4396a66 his mind fc774a9e4d far more ed9386a866 inclined towards 74214869d3 reason than 57f5b9066b emotion.96c61c1ca6081534

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As usual, Ha Gyo-jin dd15d74c94 woke up at 5:30 bd6c9ffe39 AM, refreshed after a fef1d295a5 jog. However, when he a70b2883de returned home, he 7ed855227d found the door 78be46f2e1 lock had mysteriously d3202fa245 broken. It had 882147d32d been working 1c59f2acb5 just fine 9b1d586314 the day 233c4e84d3 before, and c704203014 now he 5361290473 was left a8b89056be wondering what ee9c1bc7cc had gone d0cbe13896 wrong. This little 63c23c9977 mishap forced c919eee0d4 him to 3e1310772a wait outside 9b3b2a37b6 for an 1b6d3e2a99 hour and 0e70e07a35 a half 1add39dfa3 for a a12ff2cfa0 repairman to 2bded86b1d arrive.85dc32a61bdf4f1c

At least, he a806d4017e thought, there was f039006950 a silver lining. If such bad 30e9f4a118 luck had struck 68acb67c5e him so early 2ec34ea2f5 in the morning, f253565c32 surely the rest 0213ce7f7f of the day 90f02ccaf6 would be calm. But reality seemed intent dd5b0bf4a9 on mocking his optimism; ba787c54c2 today, misfortune struck him 04572cdcdf every four hours.e4848d030b469751

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During an important 1bc6fb63e9 meeting, he encountered ac8d6bdc3e a buyer who 9ca43577cc just so happened 608c15bd13 to be the 07d2e16469 father of a a36f6bef92 woman he had 24ec5429b8 briefly dated and e72fca2f8d had a very b0c884f471 unpleasant breakup with—thanks 56a81535cf to her terrible 652566852b drinking habits. Later, dressed in 117849b946 his freshly tailored a4efa662ba suit, he was 600ef24bce unexpectedly doused by f34179995f a group of 8ff2f4a7a0 rowdy elementary school 6a969c0bc7 kids armed with d85730c855 water guns.0f694f8169811986

After hurriedly changing into 44cbab59c0 dry clothes, he finally e84e36c49f made it to a 8ea248fa7c matchmaking meeting, only to cf4e8c91d3 find that it was 8012da8742 going just as poorly 249648b1b6 as the rest of 2abbea7435 his day.d26ec1496886c1e2

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“How could you do this to me?”5ea96063ebdba6f0

The scene unfolding before 5a9a7b2dab Ha Gyo-jin felt like f077ca2729 something out of a 00f0fa5135 second-rate morning drama—completely implausible.8c84b67fd9cd7926

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He maintained a deadpan caa3abcc9c expression, refusing to respond. This only 8f5e49b377 seemed to dd7d03287c heighten the 0826f517c4 anxiety of 282bcc4c4a the stranger f5725f8a3f who had 114a4bf2cf just called ebf9694552 him “babe.”
The man shouted ef853f6ea5 again, his face 5b866c49f9 tense.
“We were supposed to 774c53eaa3 go to the Netherlands 31a528337c together and have a 024a999fd8 wedding! And now you’re 0c5301647a on a date 568d28c3df with another woman?”50aab17e1dd3c6ba

“Who are you?”
Ha Gyo-jin replied e8a0982f84 flatly, utterly bewildered. The man was talking 2862195b51 about a trip to c510176a37 the Netherlands, yet here 69cba829dd he was, someone who, 9acb08babe by nature, never even e19d0273bc approached the airport.be3182930892dc83

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A rare commotion broke 78867e9ce2 out in the quiet, 75388e64ee upscale restaurant known for 251b5af2fd being a popular dating 6e64331073 spot—according to Secretary Park—drawing 08d9092f60 the attention of all 2361b351bc the other patrons.556d4acd5df886a0

“Oh wow, looks like a live gay love triangle is happening! I’ve never seen anything like this,”
people whispered 96c2da1941 among themselves, 6670a0e760 glancing over af997b6edd at Ha c0aaaa35ad Gyo-jin. The whole situation was 870871b7ef absurd. He didn’t know 1c615f7a84 this man, had 84b32b1f4b no inclination towards 9c81376c1e being called “babe” 775507e984 by anyone, and, 15f4475501 most importantly, this 9d20293176 wasn’t just a 702e07dfd8 casual meal; he 12515fcb04 was on a 800f5f9de5 matchmaking date with a9f4885368 the youngest daughter 8cb186e46c of Hwangsae Chemical, 6c19b6e6dc representing two prominent 35f0db47e6 families.241c16eef05db293

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Everything about the 3ec83045e3 scenario was utterly 3f9e0ecc32 ridiculous, yet strangely, a863034fef he couldn’t muster a326e47699 a laugh. Instead of a9ed87fe63 expressing any 2413b49382 specific emotion, 2d2b7c7c6d Ha Gyo-jin 4adca9e8f7 slowly alternated 03a0437568 his gaze adef00de17 between the e1f682afd0 agitated stranger 6ca850cd95 and the 9f63f723f6 young woman 702a101e44 from Hwangsae c0a9f1f720 Chemical sitting a6c5192622 across from 2e695798fc him.d544d752b66147eb