Part 2. Walk the Right Path (1)
Going through something harrowing did not mean you could take a day off work.
Even if he had slept only three hours, he had to go in.
That was what being an office worker meant.
SHHHHHH!
He washed his face with hot water and turned his eyes to the steamed-up mirror.
Then he raised his wet hand and held it up before the glass.
SWISH.
Kang Hyeong-seok wiped the mirror clear with a tense face, then lowered his head in relief.
The only thing reflected in the mirror was him.
There was no ghost with its face slathered in blood, no petty ghost with its left and right eyes looking in different directions, as there usually was.
'So a god really did come in.'
One who has received a guardian god is under that god's protection.
Judging by how petty ghosts were not swarming him the way they used to, yesterday had definitely been real.
'I really have no idea what this is.'
Kang Hyeong-seok rubbed the three dots left vivid on his palm and shook his head.
"Let's get to work first."
He had to go earn money.
Utility bills, insurance premiums, savings deposits, rent, credit card payments, phone bills, and so on.
There were far too many reasons to earn money.
He dragged his tired body to the office.
"Good morning."
Greeting them in a voice that was anything but good, he fetched a strong coffee from the pantry.
"Assistant Manager Kang, you look tired."
Namgung Min-a, the intern at the next desk, spoke up out of nowhere.
The fresh looks of someone just out of university, and eyes untouched by the grime of society.
From head to toe, she was the kind of person who made you think, so this is youth.
"I got home a bit late yesterday."
After dropping off Noh Su-cheol, it had been four in the morning by the time he got home.
Chased by a Tiger Ghost in the dead of night and running all over a mountain, he felt the physical exhaustion too.
"Oh, really?"
"Yes."
"That must be so hard on you. Should I run out and get you an energy tonic? I can be back in no time."
Namgung Min-a fumbled her phone into her pocket.
She looked ready to actually go to the convenience store out front if he did not stop her, so Kang Hyeong-seok waved her off, shaking his head as he did.
"It's fine. Work starts soon. Where would you be going?"
"Still. Your dark circles are no joke."
"I can sleep in the car at lunch. You don't need to worry about it."
"It's better to sleep somewhere comfortable......."
"It's comfortable enough. I'm fine."
Kang Hyeong-seok said it as though pressing the matter firmly down.
Only this way did Namgung Min-a's enthusiasm get pressed down with it.
"Understood."
When she took her phone back out with a glum face, Kang Hyeong-seok added a brief, 'Thanks for worrying about me.'
Then he turned straight to his monitor, and out of the corner of his eye he caught Namgung Min-a beaming beside him.
'I envy that.'
Having that kind of purity.
CLICK, CLICK.
He moved the mouse, opened his inbox, and built out his task list with practiced hands.
It felt like this cut down on mistakes and raised his efficiency, so it was a ritual he performed before starting work.
But why had Noh Su-cheol not arrived when the start of the workday was nearly on them?
It was the moment Kang Hyeong-seok checked the time on his taskbar.
"Assistant Manager Kang!"
An irritated voice came bursting in from the direction of the door.
"Is Assistant Manager Kang not here? Assistant Manager Kang!"
"Yes?"
Kang Hyeong-seok stood up, narrowing the space between his brows, and the well-built man standing at the door crooked a finger at him.
"Come here! Quickly!"
With the whole office's attention on him, Kang Hyeong-seok walked over.
It was General Manager Jo Tae-sik of the HR and General Affairs Department.
He was not the sort to come looking for him like this, so Kang Hyeong-seok wanted to know why, and General Manager Gwak Yeong-ho asked the question for him.
FLING.
"What is going on?"
"Ah, you were here?"
Jo Tae-sik met the gaze of Gwak Yeong-ho, who had come out of the pantry, with an awkward face, and twitched his lips.
"Well, you know. You heard, right? About Deputy Manager Noh."
"Deputy Manager Noh Su-cheol? No."
"Oh dear, so you haven't heard."
"What is this about?"
Gwak Yeong-ho was three years older than Jo Tae-sik.
And he had been with the company for longer still.
Jo Tae-sik smacked his lips, looked around, and then looked at Kang Hyeong-seok and pointed upward.
"Assistant Manager Kang, bring some coffee up to the roof, would you? And, General Manager, come along too."
Jo Tae-sik said it in a far gentler manner than before, and Gwak Yeong-ho sent him a look asking him to oblige.
"Yes, sir."
Kang Hyeong-seok mixed instant coffee into two paper cups and headed for the emergency stairwell.
Both Jo Tae-sik and Gwak Yeong-ho were waiting for him, so the three of them could go up to the rooftop smoking area together.
FLING.
"Ugh, you really hadn't heard?"
"Heard what?"
Jo Tae-sik creased the space between his brows and put a cigarette in his mouth.
"He got in touch out of nowhere a little while ago. Said he's quitting and to send his personal things by courier."
"What? Quitting?"
Gwak Yeong-ho, his direct superior, had heard nothing either, and bewilderment spread across his face.
"Look at this. No greeting, no nothing, he just sent a text like this, I tell you."
"...A text?"
"If it had been a phone call, I wouldn't be this dumbfounded."
Jo Tae-sik sucked at the cigarette filter again and again, then held out his phone.
Because of where he was standing, Kang Hyeong-seok could catch a glimpse too.
「I am resigning. Please send my belongings by courier.」
"He isn't the sort to do this, Deputy Manager Noh......."
"I tried calling and he doesn't even pick up."
Even Namgung Min-a, the intern, would not quit like this.
"Whew! Assistant Manager Kang, you were out on that business trip with Deputy Manager Noh Su-cheol yesterday. Did you hear anything from him?"
Jo Tae-sik and Gwak Yeong-ho.
Both men's eyes fixed on Kang Hyeong-seok.
"Well......."
"Ah! Don't drag it out, just tell me honestly."
That was after Jo Tae-sik abruptly raised his voice.
Kang Hyeong-seok let out a quiet sigh through his nose and answered carefully.
"We saw an apparition on the way back."
"...What?"
He had known it would go like this.
This was why it had not been easy to say.
How could he convince anyone that they had been chased by a Tiger Ghost?
Still, Kang Hyeong-seok conveyed the facts as far as Jo Tae-sik and Gwak Yeong-ho could accept them.
"Deputy Manager Noh Su-cheol was badly shaken. I think that is probably the reason."
Gwak Yeong-ho and Jo Tae-sik.
Both men's faces went blank.
Then Jo Tae-sik's face flushed red in an instant and the veins stood out on his neck.
"Don't joke around!"
"One moment, General Manager. I do not think this is something to raise your voice at Assistant Manager Kang about."
Gwak Yeong-ho quickly stopped him, and Jo Tae-sik apologized while blowing a sigh out through clenched teeth.
"Is it true? Is that really the reason?"
"As far as I saw, that is the only thing it could be."
"Can you take responsibility for saying that?"
"Yes."
Jo Tae-sik, who had been glaring fiercely at Kang Hyeong-seok, let out a hollow laugh.
It was a reason that was hard to believe and one he did not want to believe, and yet Kang Hyeong-seok did not seem to be lying.
Which made him feel all the more like losing his mind.
"Come on, he's not a child. Crazy bastard."
Jo Tae-sik muttered it like a groan, and this time Gwak Yeong-ho did not stop him.
Partly because the curse was not aimed at Kang Hyeong-seok, and above all because his own face said he agreed.
A grown adult had quit as though issuing a notice, over seeing an apparition.
Even the good-natured Gwak Yeong-ho smoked with a face that said he could not hold his anger in, and Jo Tae-sik muttered curses over and over with his lips alone.
It was then.
"There may be some other reason behind it, so I will look into it as well."
"Yes. Please do. And, General Manager."
Jo Tae-sik went on with a face that was still unappeased.
"If by any chance the reason Assistant Manager Kang gave turns out to be correct, please tell me. If Deputy Manager Noh brings up anything like unemployment benefits, the company will handle it."
"...Yes."
"Hah, seriously. Hah!"
Jo Tae-sik and Gwak Yeong-ho stood in silence for a long while, then lit fresh cigarettes and carried on.
"All right for now. Just have his things packed up later. I'll ship them off at lunch."
"Yes. And could you hire someone to fill the gap?"
"Of course. As soon as I get approval from the CEO, I'll post the listing."
"Yes, yes. Please do."
"Sheesh, one strange bastard and everyone else suffers."
It was just before Jo Tae-sik, having stubbed out the cigarette he had burned through quickly, went down through the emergency exit door.
TAP.
He touched Kang Hyeong-seok with a hand full of unspoken thought, and glanced sideways at Gwak Yeong-ho.
"Yes, sir. Go on ahead."
He had been meaning to look after Gwak Yeong-ho anyway.
When Jo Tae-sik opened the door and went down, Gwak Yeong-ho took out a fresh cigarette and put it in his mouth.
"Whew-! Good grief. He could at least have said something."
He must have been quite upset, because Gwak Yeong-ho blew out the smoke like a sigh.
"Assistant Manager Kang."
"Yes, sir."
"I'm sorry. For nothing at all."
At the apology that came without warning, Kang Hyeong-seok looked at him with startled eyes.
"What do you mean, sir?"
"You didn't do anything wrong, and General Manager Jo went looking for you first for no reason. Sheesh."
"Not at all, sir."
Kang Hyeong-seok showed with a smile that it was fine.
Gwak Yeong-ho had always been the sort to speak this way now and then.
Early on, he used to buy him drinks and tell him that Noh Su-cheol had a rough mouth but there was plenty to learn from him, so hang in there.
Afterward he seemed to have pulled Noh Su-cheol aside and scolded him that this was not how you treated your subordinates, and every time he did, Noh Su-cheol made sure to get his own back.
"Anyway, are you unwell? You look pale."
"It's nothing, sir. I slept badly last night."
"Come now, what time did you get home yesterday?"
"It was the small hours by the time I arrived."
"What? Ah, well, that place does keep people late."
Gwak Yeong-ho tapped his ash into the ashtray and went on, looking at Kang Hyeong-seok's face.
"Work the morning and then go home. I'll file it as a half day."
"What? No, sir. There are documents I have to send to the client, and there was material they requested at the site yesterday, so I have things to take care of."
"I'll handle it. Just share the files."
"But, sir."
Gwak Yeong-ho waved a hand as if he could not be bothered.
"I said it's fine. We're already one man short. If you go down too, that's a bigger headache."
Kang Hyeong-seok was flustered, but he expressed his gratitude with his eyes and his face.
"Thank you, sir."
"Don't worry about Deputy Manager Noh Su-cheol. If he happens to call, contact me right away. Understood?"
"Yes, sir. I will."
TAP.
Gwak Yeong-ho gripped Kang Hyeong-seok's shoulder firmly and went down the emergency stairs.
Kang Hyeong-seok was the one who had been asked to look after him.
Yet he was the one being looked after, and he watched the door with an embarrassed face before going down the stairs himself.
CLACK-CLACK, CLACK.
Back at his desk, he hammered rapidly at the keyboard.
He meant to finish everything that was left before noon, but there was not enough time.
Still, he had handled all the urgent items, so he was ready to leave with an easy mind.
"Assistant Manager Kang, did you hear the rumor?"
"Sorry? What rumor?"
"Well, they say Deputy Manager Noh has resigned."
Rumors really did travel fast at a company.
Kang Hyeong-seok looked at Namgung Min-a for a moment, then gave a hollow laugh.
"That's what I was called away for this morning."
"Oh my! Really?"
"Your voice is loud."
Namgung Min-a shut her mouth and looked around with rabbit eyes. Then she lowered her voice and spoke to him again.
"It's a good thing, isn't it, Assistant Manager Kang?"
"What is?"
"That Deputy Manager Noh is gone. He was always mean to you and only you."
Sheesh, really.
Being too pure as a working adult could turn out to be a bad thing after all.
Kang Hyeong-seok shook his head and spoke in a low voice.
"You shouldn't say things like that. If other people hear it, they'll think badly of you, Min-a."
"S-sorry."
"It's fine. Oh, by the way, I'm taking a half day this afternoon. I've finished all the big items, so there's nothing for you to worry about."
"A half day?"
"Yes. So if anything comes up, make sure you text me. Don't sit there struggling on your own."
Namgung Min-a's face went suddenly moved.
"I wish everyone in the world were like you, Assistant Manager Kang."
"It's just because I've been an intern too."
Life as an intern was a bitter thing.
However much he had gotten in on a professor's recommendation, Kang Hyeong-seok had done his time as an intern as well.
"It's lunchtime. I'll head off first. Enjoy your meal."
"Yes!"
Kang Hyeong-seok turned off his monitor, gathered his personal things into his bag, and slotted his tumbler into the dedicated pocket on the side.
Then he told his coworkers he was leaving early and got into the elevator.
"Off somewhere nice?"
Someone asked him that, and Kang Hyeong-seok gave an awkward smile.
"Nowhere nice. I wouldn't even know where to go."
"Come on, go get some air at least. You've got the afternoon off."
"Enjoy your meal."
Everyone got off on the floor with the cafeteria.
But Kang Hyeong-seok had to go down to the underground parking lot, so he was left alone in the elevator.
Right after that, he looked at the three dots stamped on his palm.
They were definitely giving off a numinous energy.
He pressed his lips firmly shut and breathed out through his nose.
"I should stop by Teacher's place."
Lee Geum-gyeong, the shaman who had performed his divine suppression rite.
What he had been through, and the shaman's bells.
And she was the only person who could explain the dots on his palm.
DING.
When the doors opened, Kang Hyeong-seok walked toward his car.