No answer came back, so he seemed to have fainted.
With nerves that weak, would he be able to keep living in this house?
Well, they do say humans are creatures of adaptation.
He'll adapt just fine somehow.
If anything was fortunate, it was that the screen was facing the ceiling.
Chop.
Chop.
Chop.
The sound of the cutting board being struck was ringing through the house, so communication should be possible.
"Hello."
Clack.
The Chinese cleaver floating in the kitchen slowly settled onto the cutting board.
"You can hear my voice, can't you?"
"Hoo."
A small sigh came from the kitchen, and it was the voice of a man in his fifties.
"Sor."
His voice, seeming to say he was sorry, was low and heavy.
"Not at all. It looks like it'll take him a little while to wake up. His nerves are weak, so I'm not sure he'll adapt well to this house."
"No."
"Don't worry, you say? Then that's a relief. And please look after him. He says he has nowhere to go if not this house."
"Um."
"Well, won't time take care of it? More to the point, could I talk with all of you for a moment?"
At the same time as my words, the TV switched off and a bleak energy began gathering into the first-floor living room.
The sound of a door opening in the bathroom.
The sound of rustling in the master bedroom.
The sound of a controller being set down in the small room.
The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs from the rooftop.
The sound of a puppy's paws on the veranda.
―A chill just went down my spine, is it just me?
―Same here
―Are they gathering right now?
―Why are there so many, is this a haunted house?
―Welcome, first time in a real haunted house?
Rustling sounds came from the living room, but I couldn't confirm anything with the camera.
"Everyone, I'm going to close my eyes for a moment."
When I closed my eyes to look at them and talk with them, the family gathered in the living room came into view all at once.
"Good to meet you. I'm Kim Jinwoo, and I do shaman work, unlicensed as I am."
At my voice they looked at one another as if exchanging some kind of conversation, then turned their heads to look at Lee Gangwoo lying collapsed.
"Are you all one family?"
"Tha."
The grandmother nodded as if to say that was right.
"But why are you all here together?"
At my question the family fell silent for a while.
How much time passed like that?
"Dir."
Along with the grandmother's words that it would be better to see it directly, a new scene began to come into view.
***
Ten years ago.
That day was a day with cherry blossoms in bright bloom.
Seven large suitcases were lined up in a row in the living room, and the family had been busily packing since before dawn.
"Honey, did you pack the camera?"
When a woman in her fifties called out from the kitchen, a man in his fifties answered from the living room.
"I packed it!"
"Dear, did you pack my husband's medicine?"
"Mother, of course I packed it."
At her daughter-in-law's smiling answer, the grandmother and grandfather were looking into the bag together.
"Should we pack two more pairs of socks for our Jun?"
"Dear, you've already packed eight."
"Isn't that too few?"
"It's three days and two nights, that's plenty."
While the grandmother and grandfather were talking in the living room, a young boy's voice came from the small room.
"Sis! Where did my hat go!?"
"It'll be in your bag!"
A girl answered from the bathroom, and a puppy ran around excitedly in one corner of the living room.
The puppy seemed to know it was the family's first trip together too.
"Honey, what about our second?"
"She'll come straight to the airport as soon as her exam ends!"
"Of all times for it to be exam period."
"It can't be helped. We decided to go on the trip suddenly."
The grandmother put a photo of her granddaughter in her bag and smiled.
"You have no idea how long our little pup has been waiting for this trip. She was so happy about the whole family going together for the first time."
"The moment the exam ends she'll be on the plane, she'll come running here thrilled."
"We should get going soon. To make the flight time."
"Dear, take your time. There's plenty of time."
The grandfather took the grandmother's hand.
"We worked our whole lives, so today at least let's go at an easy pace."
"All right."
The grandmother smiled brightly and looked at the suitcases.
"It's our family's first trip together."
The mood in the house was warmer than it had ever been, and the family headed for the entrance, pulling their suitcases.
Just before the door closed.
The grandmother looked back at the living room for a moment.
"Dear, did you leave something behind?"
"I want to leave a word for our little pup."
The grandmother went back into the house and set a note down on the dining table.
[Our little pup, Grandma will go on ahead to the airport. Just put down your school bag and come straight over. ―From your loving grandmother.]
"There's nothing we haven't packed, is there?"
"We packed the little pup's suitcase too, so she'll come straight to the airport. Don't worry so much."
"All right."
The grandmother smiled.
"Let's go."
Warm sunlight was shining on one corner of the empty living room.
A single note on the dining table.
Not long after, someone came running hurriedly into the house.
"Mom! I did well on my exam!"
She was the second daughter of this house, and just as she tossed her school bag down on the sofa, hurriedly changed clothes, and was about to head out.
The note left on the dining table caught her eye.
[Our little pup, Grandma will go on ahead to the airport. Just put down your school bag and come straight over. ―From your loving grandmother.]
"Grandma, honestly."
She snorted a laugh, folded the note neatly, and put it in her pocket.
The first trip with the grandmother and grandfather who had worked their whole lives.
With a heart full of excitement, she went out the front door.
A house that was nothing but peaceful.
That afternoon.
Until the telephone in the house rang.
Ring, ring. Ring, ring.
Ring, ring. Ring, ring.
Ring, ring. Ring, ring.
Ring, ring. Ring, ring.
Ring, ring. Ring, ring.
Ring, ring. Ring, ring.
The telephone rang endlessly for days, but no one knew then.
That from that day on, the family would never gather together in this house again.
***
How much time passed?
Someone entered the empty house.
"The people of this house, what a shame."
"You're telling me."
People who appeared to be from a moving company came in and started clearing the house out.
"I hear the family had an accident on a trip they were all taking together?"
"They say everyone except one student died on the spot."
"Then what about that student?"
"Losing your whole family overnight, would you be in your right mind? I heard she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital."
"Ah, what a shame."
From that day on, time stopped in this house.
At first the family didn't understand.
There had clearly been an accident, and yet when they came to their senses they were back in this house.
For the first few days they lived as usual.
The grandmother watched TV in the living room, and the grandfather slept in the master bedroom.
The father cooked in the kitchen while the mother did the laundry, and the youngest played games in the small room.
The eldest daughter fixed her hair in the bathroom.
Only the puppy, Jelly, sat in front of the entrance every day as if something were wrong.
Like it was waiting for someone.
And then they came to know.
That their grief had settled into this house.
And who it was they were waiting for.
For a span of time that was short if you called it short and long if you called it long, they waited endlessly.
For over ten years.
Hoping their little pup would come home.
That they had to guard this house for the little pup who would return someday.
With the wish to see their little pup's face one last time.
***
When I opened my eyes, one corner of my chest was heavy.
Time stopped in the middle of a house.
A family that hadn't been able to leave for ten years.
And their little pup, the second daughter, who had gone into a psychiatric hospital.
"I'll help you."
The living room went quiet for a moment.
One side of the sofa sank slightly, so the grandmother seemed to be smiling.
"Than."
Thank you.
"But would you promise me just one thing?"
"Wha?"
"About Gangwoo, who's going to live in this house. Please don't drive him out. He says he has nowhere to go."
"Wor."
She says not to worry.
That from now on he's new family.
Just then.
"Mmm......."
When Gangwoo, who had been lying collapsed, came to and got up from the floor, the family began to move gently.
The sounds of each of them returning to their own places came from every direction.
Gangwoo flinched, but then looked around as if trying to grasp the situation.
"House."
"Y-yes!"
"Are you all right?"
"I fainted!?"
"You lost consciousness for a moment."
"Ah......."
He picked up the camera again, and when he pointed it at the kitchen, the Chinese cleaver was resting neatly on the cutting board.
"...Will I be able to live in this house?"
"Don't worry too much. Once you've lived here a while you'll get used to it."
"That would be a relief, but... honestly I don't have any confidence."
"They say humans are creatures of adaptation. Time will take care of it."
"......."
When I told the story of the ghost family to him, looking as short on confidence as he did, before I knew it he was shedding tears and nodding like mad.
"Shaman, I'll try to adapt."
"And get along well with the family."
"Y-yes!"
"Ah, and in order to live in this house there's one task you'll need to do for them. Please take care of that as well."
After hesitating a moment, he finally nodded as if he had made up his mind.
"Understood! I'll look into it!"
"Once that task is resolved, you'll be recognized as family in that house. I'll be cheering for you, then."
"Already? Just a little longer......."
With those words the video call cut off.
"Whew. That last consultation took a lot of power out of me, so I'm tired. That's it for today's broadcast."
―Today was seriously the greatest broadcast ever
―Let's ask him to leave us an update
―I'm genuinely curious how he'll be living later
―He can't move out
―There's no answer other than adapting and living there.
"Everyone, I'll see you tomorrow. Thank you for watching today as well."
With those words I pressed the [End Broadcast] button and got up from my chair.
"Ngh......."
Still, thanks to the expensive chair my back was comfortable.
It was more that I was mentally tired, I suppose.
But there was one strange thing.
Not only had my power grown stronger than before, but my spiritual eyes seemed to have opened as well, and things I hadn't been able to see were starting to become visible.
...Have I really become a shaman?
I think I'd better pay another visit to the shaman's parlor.
This time with a thick envelope.
More to the point, will Mr. Lee Gangwoo be all right?
When I looked into him for a moment, he was giving an awkward smile toward empty air.
"P-please look after me!"
Mm-hm, he's adapting well.
***
Lee Gangwoo arrived in front of his house after work today as well.
He raised his hand to punch in the door lock code, but it still trembled.
But what could he do.
The inheritance he received after his parents died, plus a 250 million won loan, plus every coin he had scraped together over more than ten years living on nothing but air, had all gone into this house.
"Whew."
He breathed deeply, punched in the door lock code, and greeted the house naturally.
"I'm home!"
Creak.
Creak.
Creak.
As if answering him, the rocking chair in the living room moved on its own.
That chair was something he'd bought because one of his roommates wanted it, and hasn't someone said it before.
That humans are creatures of adaptation.
He thought he'd never adapt, but in the end he adapted too.
"Do you like the chair?"
Creak.
Creak.
Creak.
"That's a relief. Ah, right, I upgraded the TV to the premium plan this time, so there should be more drama channels. Please enjoy them."
Creak.
Creak.
Creak.
He set down his briefcase, went to the kitchen, and opened the refrigerator to take out some water.
At that moment.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
The Chinese cleaver was coming down on the cutting board, and the instant he saw it he hurriedly took ingredients out of the refrigerator and started preparing dinner.
"Do I hold the knife like this?"
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
"I'm not very good at cooking. Is this about the right heat?"
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
"Still, my skills have improved a bit since last time, haven't they?"
Anyone watching would think he was a lunatic talking to himself, but what could he do.
To live in this house, this was what he had to do.
If anything, he could take comfort in the fact that his company was a five-minute walk from the house.
Or take comfort in being Deputy Manager Kim, who owns his own place in Seoul and goes to work at a company.
Even if he can't sell this house on.
What lunatic would move into a house that comes with six ghosts and a puppy ghost thrown in.
'...Will my future wife be able to adapt to this house?'
Just then he felt something tugging at his trouser leg.
"Jelly, one second."
That presence was this house's puppy.
When he opened the drawer, took out the dog food inside, and poured it into a bowl, he got to witness live the sight of the food scattering in every direction.
It can't actually eat, but when it's that happy, what can you do.
You have to do it.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
"Y-yes! I'll concentrate!"
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
"...Did I hang the laundry yesterday and forget to bring it in?"
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
"I-I'll just finish cooking and go!"
Crash.
At that sound Lee Gangwoo flinched and set down the kitchen knife he was holding.
"Yes. I'm looking into it every way I can right now, but the personal information laws have been tightened, so it isn't easy to find someone if you aren't family. But don't worry too much. I've hired a private detective as well."
Thud.
"Finding one person in this country is nothing at all."
***
The next morning.
I got dressed early and left the house.
My destination was the fortune-telling parlor of that shaman grandmother, where I had gone when I first received the divine descent.
"Hello!"
When I opened the door and went in, the familiar smell of incense hit my nose.
But an irritated voice came from inside.
"You're here again!?"
The shaman grandmother of the zero-star fortune-telling parlor greeted me with her eyebrows scrunched.
"Have you been in good health?"
"Good health, my foot... what is it this time!?"
The grandmother stopped her hand as she was writing a talisman and glared at me.
"Do you know I lost all my regulars because of you!?"
"Sorry?"
"When you received the divine descent, all the energy in my parlor got sucked out!! My readings haven't been accurate since that day!"
"...I'm sorry."
"Does sorry fix it? Get out! Are you leaving or not!?"
When the grandmother threw a talisman, it floated lightly in midair before settling back down onto the desk.
"Huh?"
The grandmother froze at the sight, and I paused as well.
"What did you just do?"
"I didn't do anything?"
"Get out this instant!! With a boy like you in my parlor, this place is really going under!"
I shrugged and took out an envelope.
When I set the thick envelope on the table, the grandmother's gaze stopped on it.
Since the envelope's thickness was no ordinary thickness.
"Ahem, do you think I'd be won over by a few measly coins?"
"It's ten million won."
"Oh my, what is our valued customer curious about today? No, wait, that was a tiring trip, wasn't it? Wait just a moment. Let me serve you a cup of tea!"
The grandmother smiled brightly, tucked away the envelope, and poured tea into a cup.
"Now then, go on and tell me."
"Lately the more I use my power the stronger I get. Is that normal?"
"Hm?"
At my words the shaman grandmother looked at me with eyes full of disbelief.
"Child, a shaman is a vessel for housing a god, so it's normal for the vessel to wear down the more you use your power."
"Is that so?"
"Taking to our sickbeds for days after every ritual is the life we lead, and if you do it long enough the vessel eventually cracks and you can no longer house the god......."
The grandmother's gaze on me turned serious.
"It seems you have need of knowing yourself."
The grandmother took a talisman from inside her jacket and handed it to me.
"Go and see it. Your life."
***
Just as I came out of the shaman grandmother's parlor and was gazing blankly up at the sky.
My phone vibrated like mad.
"What's this?"
When I checked my phone, notifications were exploding from the Jjiriri app.
Every one of them was out of the ordinary.
[Kim Jinwoo Channel new comment: Isn't this video staged?]
[Kim Jinwoo Channel new comment: Looks like he's in on it with the guests]
[Kim Jinwoo Channel new comment: The CG was damn obvious]
There was even a Myutuber who had come after me by name, and material for broadcasts comes rolling in on its own even when I just sit still.
Along with that, a thought brushed past.
'Isn't this a chance for me to get even more famous?'
If I get more famous than I am now, I'll have more viewers, and then I can eat beef every day.
Just imagining it drew a smile onto my lips.
"I'm on my way to explain myself right now!"
Setting what I had just seen aside in one corner of my chest for the time being.