Windows and doors were places of passage.
Opening a window or door from the outside toward the inside could be considered intrusion, but opening a window or door from the inside toward the outside could be said to mean welcome.
The coldness that had filled this place with deep resentment was fading.
-···Close it. This place, my land, do not do this. Please, do not do this.
The man desperately reached out to Noel, but Noel struck him away.
“I don’t know what makes you think you have the right to demand anything after killing the living.”
-This abandoned land··· I bought it fairly. I bought it, I tell you. But those people killed my wife, saying they wanted the land. They killed her.
“So what?”
-They butchered her so horribly···.
The man collapsed.
It was still vivid.
That smell of blood.
That appearance, so horrific it made him want to vomit.
-···They threw her to the pigs as feed.
“I regret that your wife met such a miserable end, but the target of your revenge is this clear, and yet you went around killing innocent people. Doesn’t that make you the same as those bastards?”
-What was I··· What was I supposed to do? This is where my wife and child are. The only thing I can do is protect it···.
“They both passed on, though. I was wondering what you were doing here all alone.”
-······.
Had he touched the greatest wound?
The man looked at Noel with blank eyes.
“Shouldn’t you have thought of that first? Would you have seen it when your eyes were turned elsewhere?”
Noel’s smile stretched longer.
If his wife and child had been that precious to him, he should have looked for that first.
“What the hell are you doing in a place where no one is left? This is why I’m calling it venting your anger. Do you understand?”
-······No one is here.
“Right. No one is here. There is no one waiting for you.”
The man raised his head and looked around.
In this empty place with not even furniture, there was only himself and them.
That was all.
Only then did the man crumble.
He lowered his head with his hands pressed to the ground.
“Count yourself lucky you weren’t destroyed by my hand. And don’t forget that this is all thanks to the grace of the guardian spirit.”
Noel pointed at Ashin.
Things like him should disappear, but he could not ignore Ashin’s dignity.
“Do as the guardian spirit said and guard this building well. Until you settle your karma, pray for the souls of the people who died by your hand, and keep praying. No matter how long you rub your hands together, it’s not like they’ll break, right?”
Noel knelt on one knee, reached out, and pressed the man’s head down to the floor.
“You should bow even flatter and beg, shouldn’t you?”
There was no answer.
Naturally, there was no sound of breathing.
There was no wailing either, but Noel saw the tears flowing down to the floor.
Whether it was regret or not did not matter.
-Thank you for respecting me.
At Ashin’s thanks, Noel stood up.
-The remaining impurity will slowly drain away as he wails for some time. You go first.
No matter what she was about to say, Noel respected Ashin.
“Fine.”
-He will be waiting for you outside.
“You mean the underworld messenger?”
-Yes.
“Isn’t he supposed to be busy? Why does he feel so idle?”
-It seems that one is famous.
Ashin pointed at the man.
“···Ah. That makes sense. He must have been quite a headache on their side too.”
That single ghost had killed several people.
It would not have been strange if they had dragged him away immediately, yet Noel did not know why they had not carried out forced enforcement.
‘Anyway, I wonder what he’ll give me.’
Sooner or later, the messenger would have asked him for help.
With light steps, Noel went outside.
Whether Ashin lectured that ghost or not, his goal had been achieved.
***
“···Our dear Messenger, what brings you here?”
Before going outside, Noel asked Jin-hon, who had been waiting for him.
“I came because I thought I should thank you.”
Was it only words?
Instead of saying what hovered in his mouth, Noel brought up something else.
“Was forced enforcement impossible?”
“At this level, it is possible. It is the easiest and fastest method. If only other souls were like that too··· Ahem.”
“Then why didn’t you do it?”
“Two souls requested it, staking their own reincarnation.”
“His wife and child?”
“Yes. It was not simple reincarnation, either, but in any case, King Yama was moved to tears by that act. He prevented forced enforcement.”
At those words, Noel tilted his head slightly.
What was so lovely about that man for them to go that far?
Would it not have been better to choose reincarnation instead of mere sacrifice?
He truly could not understand.
Since he did not even feel sympathy, he asked about the part where forced enforcement had been stopped.
“So you are saying you left him alone until people died?”
Were the things in the realm of the dead useless, whether here or in his original world?
Should they not handle things like this on their own?
“No. Absolutely not. This is··· um, confidential, but those who died originally died at the end of their own lifespans. Deaths occurring in clusters like this are common, you see. Usually, the living attach some meaning to it. Because of that, even more bad things tend to happen.”
“···Ah. So it was bad luck and things got tangled? Is that it?”
“That is correct. The one who truly almost died was Mr. Shin Jang-yul over there. That is why he met an eminent monk through Heaven’s intervention.”
Wow.
As Noel listened to each piece, he found it truly unbelievable.
So coincidences did not occur for no reason.
“But is it all right to tell me something like that?”
“You do not receive divine punishment, do you?”
“I don’t.”
“And I am on your side now, sir.”
When Jin-hon smiled, Noel instinctively felt suspicion.
Had he not secured him as an ally, his poison fangs were so seamless Noel would not have known how they would seep in.
“Though it became turbid because of that soul, this is an auspicious site. You chose very well. As expected, sir, your eye is excellent!”
“You’re not saying that’s the gift, are you?”
“······Ah, goodness, I am so busy, you see.”
“Messenger?”
“Can you see this?”
Jin-hon held out his cell phone.
Ding. Ding.
Countless alerts rang here and there, so many that it was difficult to read them.
“There are this many souls I must guide.”
“Messenger. You were planning to leave that evil spirit to me, weren’t you? Right? Since the guardian spirit is beside him, he’ll finally correct his mind, and guidance will become possible at last, but you aren’t just leaving, are you?”
“Of··· course not.”
Jin-hon avoided Noel’s gaze with a somewhat uneasy look and moved outside the building.
When Noel followed Jin-hon, he muttered, “Is it here? Is this the place?” and then stopped still.
“There should be something valuable buried beneath here. After this building went up, someone buried it and never took it back. For reference, this is a CCTV blind spot.”
“My, my. This land has a separate owner, yet someone donated with such a kind heart.”
In other words, it was money he could quietly take.
Noel smiled silently.
“Will this be enough···?”
“Messenger.”
“Yes?”
“I look forward to working with you often in the future.”
Noel bowed his head politely, then raised it.
Yeong-hyeon had said this world was a very happy place as long as one had money.
That was not wrong.
Ordering food was enjoyable, and he was happy just eating a waffle he bought at a shop he happened to enter while walking down the street.
“I look forward to working with you as well. I am busy, so please do not be surprised if I send my staff in my place.”
“Yes. Do not worry, and eat this to keep your strength up.”
Noel handed him a jelly from his pocket.
Jin-hon paused.
“That shouldn’t be a violation, should it?”
“It is··· I am just surprised. It has been a long time since I ate anything. Thank you very much.”
For the first time, Jin-hon drew a simple, innocent smile.
Clutching the jelly in his hand, he thanked Noel again and again before disappearing.
‘Why isn’t he eating it? Can he not eat unless someone living gives it to him?’
Noel thought lightly and turned around.
When he saw Yeong-hyeon peeking out from beyond the building, he smiled.
-Did you resolve it?
“Of course.”
-And the guardian spirit?
“She told me to go first because she had something to say. Older brother.”
-Hm?
“Something is apparently buried underneath here.”
When Noel smiled brightly, Yeong-hyeon smiled along with him.
-Jewels? Gold?
“I don’t know that, but my heart is really pounding. Is yours too, older brother?”
-Of course! It’s like a treasure hunt!
There had never been a single time when a treasure hunt was not fun.
His heart did not beat, but somehow, it felt like it was pounding.
“This is my first time looking for treasure. I should hurry and tell them. That owner might dig it up for me.”
-Wait. If treasure comes out, how are you going to divide it?
“Six to four?”
-You get six, right?
“Would that be fair?”
-Isn’t it fair? Honestly, I think you could take seven, but this is that person’s land.
“That’s why I’m splitting it. If it weren’t, I’d take it all.”
Noel moved his feet with a regretful expression.
Strictly speaking, the area was inside private property, was it not?
Whatever else, he needed to get along well with Shin Jang-yul.
***
When Noel came out of the building, suddenly went behind the building, and then came back again, Jang-yul watched him nervously.
In the middle of it, his body had grown remarkably light, as if released from a spell.
Not only the headache that had kept tormenting him, but even a long sigh of relief had escaped him on its own, had it not?
He did not know exactly, but by feeling alone, it seemed he had been freed.
Because the countless voices whispering beside his ear were no longer there.
However, he still did not know for certain.
He would not know until Noel came to him and told him it was all right now.
He simply held his breath until Noel approached.
His benefactor came a little closer.
Though Noel had merely come closer to him, countless emotions were already surging.
He forced himself to endure the lump stabbing his throat by clenching his fist.
“Did you wait long?”
At the sound of Noel’s voice, Jang-yul closed his eyes deeply for a moment, then opened them.
All the countless moments when he had wanted to die because of that invisible being crossed his mind.
What was fear?
What was true terror?
Had he not learned those things?
“···No.”
Jang-yul’s voice was already trembling.
“It was the shortest wait.”
There had been times when gut rituals lasted for days, and many times when he had offered countless prayers.
Compared to those times, was this not a short wait?
“You feel freed, don’t you?”
At that calm question, Jang-yul bit his trembling lips hard.
He waited for the next words.
“It’s all over.”
At the words that reached his ears, Jang-yul squeezed his eyes shut and covered them with his hands.
No matter how hard he tried to stop them, he could not stop the tears wetting his palms.
“Starting today, you’ll be able to sleep peacefully.”
When that certain voice continued, Jang-yul covered his mouth with a “khh.”
He was finally free.
Finally.
The executive assistant looked at Jang-yul with slightly teary eyes, then quietly walked to the car.
“You have suffered so much.”
Noel stepped closer and lightly patted Jang-yul’s shoulder.
When it came to the emotions one felt upon being freed from suffering, what difference was there between a child and an adult?
When Noel had been dying, he had felt liberation too.
Was that not a sweetness he would never forget until the day he died?
But at times, there were moments when he had to bring something up even if he did not want to.
“It feels a little strange to call it compensation··· but they say something valuable is buried over there.”
At the mention of money, Jang-yul, who had been crying, slowly lowered his hands.
It seemed reason was returning to him now.
“Sir, please take it all.”
‘···No. Not yet.’
It seemed his reason had still not returned.
“But this is your land, Mr. Shin. We should divide the shares.”
“······Sir.”
“Yes···?”
Jang-yul looked at him in a somewhat burdensome way.
It was close to a gaze Noel had never seen before.
“The grace··· I received from you is so great that I could never repay all of it even over my entire life.”
Jang-yul placed sincerity into every word.
There would surely be no suffering worse than this in his life.
Noel had freed him from that pain.
“But Mr. Shin. This is your land.”
“I would not dare to arrogantly claim that I can fully understand that heart of yours, but I know that your heart is deeper than the sea.”
Life.
There was nothing more precious.
Who did not know that it was a value one could never obtain even if one poured in hundreds of millions, tens of billions, no, an uncountable amount of money?
Noel had stopped after receiving only the condition of renting not even that building, but the first and second floors.
He had even revealed information about something precious buried in this land, information he could have hidden.
Moreover, he said he would split it.
He was that distant a person.
Nobility had nothing to do with age.
“Please accept it.”
Because this person was the destined connection who, according to the eminent monk, would support him left and right for the rest of his life.
“No, I will dig it up and give it to you, sir, so please merely accept it.”
Jang-yul lowered his head along with those words.
At that sight, Noel looked flustered.
‘···What’s wrong with him?’
Could a person really bow down that flat?
For no reason, Noel looked at Jang-yul warily.
Was something not a little suspicious?
‘Is he trying to get something out of me? He looks rich, and he’s still trying to squeeze blood from a flea?’
Noel barely maintained his expression before it could twist.
***
‘···Wow!’
Noel’s eyes grew round.
So this was a large shopping mall.
Whether or not he had memories of it in his head, it was astonishing.
“Are you certain I do not need to assist with your shopping, sir?”
Still with a deferential attitude, Jang-yul spoke to him.
“It’s fine.”
“Sir. I sincerely apologize for postponing my precious promise with you because of private matters involving myself and my family.”
Originally, Noel was supposed to go see Jang-yul’s family as well, but it seemed that side of the family was extremely busy.
Just as Noel was thinking it was fine to see them next time, and that this was actually a relief, Jang-yul kept taking such a low posture.
He asked where Noel was going, and when Noel said he wanted to shop, he brought him all the way here.
It was burdensome.
Not knowing why Jang-yul was acting like this, Noel felt as if he might break into a cold sweat.
“My secretary contacted this place, so they will serve you with utmost sincerity.”
“Pardon···?”
“Then please enjoy your shopping.”
When Jang-yul smiled lightly and bid him farewell, Noel escaped as if fleeing.
Watching him, Jang-yul got back into the car once Noel entered the large shopping mall.
“Secretary Jang.”
“Yes, sir.”
“First, organize everything that was used to pull nonsense on me.”
Starting with the frauds who had babbled about being famous and whatnot.
The only real one was Sir.
“Reserve the best place. We have to host Sir. And···.”
Jang-yul stopped speaking.
“If there are any bastards investigating Sir’s background, report them. Other sides will have already started working.”
“Understood.”
“You did tell them to serve Sir with the utmost care, correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Drive.”
Jang-yul leaned back, looked at the entrance to the shopping mall Noel had entered, and smiled.
‘I hope he enjoys his shopping.’