Chapter 34

Jun-gyeong didn’t immediately follow the trail of malevolent energy to chase after the shaman.
Burning away the ritual medium at the heart of the sorcery should have dealt the shaman more than enough of a backlash.
Saving the child’s mother was more important.

Once the straw doll burned away, the woman who had been vomiting blood went limp and lost consciousness.
The girl crouched beside her and looked up at Jun-gyeong.

“She’s all right. She won’t die.”
“I know.”

The little girl grinned at Jun-gyeong.
She knew for certain now that her mother would live.
Jun-gyeong carried the woman into the room, laid her down, covered her with a blanket, and stepped outside.

“Hoo…”
“Why?”
“Hm?”
“Why are you sighing like that? My mom does that when she doesn’t have any money. Are you broke too, Mister?”

He could feel the card in his pocket, but strictly speaking, he didn’t have any money either.

“Yeah. I suppose I don’t.”
“I see. Then do your friends make fun of you and call you a beggar too?”

Jun-gyeong’s brow furrowed.
But he didn’t ask.
Who said that to you? What happened?
Even asking could reopen the wound.
Instead, Jun-gyeong simply crouched beside the girl and looked up at the sky.

“No. I don’t have any friends who tease me. Ah, there was one, but I don’t know what she’s doing now.”

A small smile appeared on his face.
He remembered Seol-hui teasing him when they were young, saying all he ever did was fight without earning any money and asking when he planned to finally take her in and support her.

“I see. My mom probably doesn’t know what I’m doing now either, right?”

Jun-gyeong stroked the girl’s head, his eyes filled with sympathy.

At that moment, the semi-basement door creaked open.
With the handle already broken, even the slightest push from inside was enough to open it.
Park Mi-jeong’s face appeared through the gap.

Mi-jeong wore a strange expression that mixed bewilderment with gratitude.
This man had clearly saved her, but he also appeared to be the one who had broken her front door.
Of course, she understood that he had done it because he was rushing in to save her, but she had no idea how she was going to explain it to her landlord.

But she was a human being, not an animal.
She knew perfectly well what mattered most.

“Please come inside. It’s raining. At least have a cup of hot coffee.”
[Go inside, Mister.]
“Yeah. All right.”

He had been answering the girl, but it created the awkward appearance that he was responding informally to her mother.
Despite the sudden casual speech, Park Mi-jeong smiled, left the door open, and went back inside.
Jun-gyeong carefully closed the door, entered, and sat at the dining table.
Mi-jeong made him a cup of instant coffee mix and brought it over.

[Mister, Mom’s worried about the door. The broken handle. When the landlord comes, he’ll swear and yell at her. Then Mom will start sighing again.]

Jun-gyeong immediately spoke.

“I’ll have the front door fixed right away. Don’t worry.”
“Ah… all right.”

Mi-jeong looked at him in surprise, as though he had read her mind, but Jun-gyeong had already taken out his phone and was dialing, so he did not notice.

-Yes, Mr. Jun-gyeong. Go ahead.
“Yeah. I broke the door handle at someone’s house.”
-Understood. I’ll come immediately. You’re in Namsan-dong, correct?
“Yeah. That’s right.”
-Understood.

After ending the call, Jun-gyeong looked at the woman and smiled awkwardly.

“He says he’ll be here right away.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m the one who broke it. There’s nothing to thank me for.”
“No. Not for that. For saving me.”
“Ah, that. It was nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

A gentle smile appeared on Mi-jeong’s face as she watched his awkward reaction.
At that moment, Jun-gyeong’s stomach gave a small rumble.

Grrrr-

“Oh, look at me. You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

Jun-gyeong nodded.
Come to think of it, between moving and everything else that had happened, he hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

“Not yet.”
“I don’t have much, but would you like something to eat?”

When he was not eating food bought outside, Jun-gyeong had been living on plain boiled pork dipped in salt and eaten with rice.
As far as he was concerned, there was no such thing as an inadequate side dish.

“Thank you. I’ll gladly eat.”

Mi-jeong moved quickly, making egg soup and setting out kimchi, stir-fried fish cake, and other side dishes from the refrigerator.

[Wow~ I love this stir-fried fish cake. And my mom makes really good rolled eggs. Make sure you ask her to put seaweed in it. I really, really like it.]
“All right.”
“Sorry?”

When Mi-jeong looked at him questioningly, Jun-gyeong smiled and said,

“If you don’t mind, could you make some rolled eggs? You don’t have to make much. Just a little would be nice.”

Mi-jeong smiled and opened the refrigerator again.
A character magnet, half peeling off the door, caught Jun-gyeong’s eye.

<Don’t touch Yeon-hui’s stuff!>

The letters were crooked and childish.
Inside the refrigerator sat a small pink cup with a little soda still in it.
A child’s cup decorated with a rabbit.
She had poured it there because she wanted to save the drink and make it last.
The soda had long since gone flat.

Jun-gyeong’s gaze lingered there for a moment.
Mi-jeong squeezed her eyes shut, took out two eggs, and closed the refrigerator.

“Of course. I’ll make it right away. Just a moment.”

She quickly beat the eggs and seasoned them with salt.
Just as she heated the pan and was about to pour in the beaten eggs, Jun-gyeong spoke.

“I’d like some seaweed in it, if you don’t mind.”

Mi-jeong’s hand paused.
Rolled eggs with seaweed.
It had been a special side dish she made for her daughter despite their difficult circumstances.
Not that it required any particularly difficult or complicated recipe.

“Of course. Just a moment.”

She took a sheet of dried seaweed for gimbap from the freezer and poured the beaten eggs into the pan.
Then she gently laid the seaweed over the eggs.

Roll, Roll-

The seaweed rolled omelet was ready in no time.

“I hope it’s to your taste.”
[That’s it. That’s the one. It’s really good. Try it, Mister.]

Jun-gyeong smiled brightly, picked up a piece of rolled egg, and put it in his mouth.

[It’s good, right? Amazing, isn’t it?]
“Yes. It’s delicious.”
[See~ I told you Mom’s cooking is really good. I always said she could open a restaurant with this.]
“You could open a restaurant with this.”

At Jun-gyeong’s words, Mi-jeong’s expression crumpled.
For some reason, it felt as though she could hear her daughter’s voice.
Mi-jeong covered her face with both hands and began to sob.
Understanding what she was feeling, Jun-gyeong quietly set down his chopsticks and gently patted her back.

“Hic… Sob…”

Mi-jeong continued crying for some time, while Jun-gyeong gently rubbed her back.
Even Jo Yeon-hui remained completely silent in that moment, watching her mother.

“I’m sorry. I lost my child not long ago…”
“It’s all right. This too will pass. The living must continue living. None of this was your fault. If you keep grieving like this, Yeon-hui will be sad too.”

Park Mi-jeong raised her head and stared at Jun-gyeong.

“You… knew our Yeon-hui?”

Jun-gyeong realized his mistake, but he could not lie.
He slowly nodded.

“I do. That little girl was very worried about her mother.”
“Hic…”

Tears once again filled Park Mi-jeong’s eyes.
As she lowered her head again, Jun-gyeong spoke softly.

“My words may not be much comfort, but listen to me. You will not be sick anymore. So live your life. Be as happy as you can. That is what your Yeon-hui wants.”
[Yeah. I want Mom to be happy.]
“Then Yeon-hui will be happy watching over you from Heaven as well.”

Park Mi-jeong forced a smile onto her face and answered.

“Yes. I’ll be happy. I’ll live as happily as I can.”

At that moment, bright light began flowing from Yeon-hui’s body.
Mi-jeong couldn’t see the light, but she felt a strange warmth and closed her eyes.
And then Yeon-hui’s voice reached her ears.

“Mom, be happy. Please live a happy life. I’ll always be cheering you on.”

When Mi-jeong opened her eyes, she could see Yeon-hui glowing brightly before her.

“Yeon-hui…”

Mi-jeong reached for Yeon-hui and broke down sobbing.

“Don’t cry, Mom. I’m going somewhere nice now.”

Yeon-hui tried to wipe
the tears from her mother’s face with her tiny hands.
Of course, she could not touch her.
Even so, the child kept moving her hands
until the very end, trying to wipe away her mother’s tears.

“Don’t go, Yeon-hui. Stay with Mom.”
“I have to go. That’s how you can be happy too.”
“No, Yeon-hui. Just a little longer. Just a little…”
“Mom, make sure you eat properly. And don’t get sick anymore.”

Jun-gyeong silently watched the mother and daughter say goodbye.
Soon, Yeon-hui’s body was completely enveloped in white light and slowly began to disappear.

“Thank you, Mister. Mom, I love you.”
“Yeon-hui… Yeon-hui…”

As the light surrounding Yeon-hui gradually faded, a tiny point of light flew into Jun-gyeong’s chest and embedded itself there.
Then the light vanished completely.
The room fell silent.
Until moments ago, a child had clearly been chattering away,
but now there was nothing to hear except breathing.
Mi-jeong stared blankly
into the empty space before her.
Then, slowly,
she ran her hand over the place where Yeon-hui had been sitting.
Mi-jeong lowered her head.
Jun-gyeong gently stroked her back as though he were stroking Yeon-hui’s head.

“Yeon-hui will… be happy.”
“…Yes. Me too. I’m going to be happy from now on too.”

Jun-gyeong nodded.
Then he returned to the table and finished every last bite of his interrupted meal.
Just as he finished eating, a voice came from outside.

“Mr. Jun-gyeong, are you inside?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m coming in.”

The door opened slightly, and the Chief Secretary stepped inside.
He bowed to Jun-gyeong.

“We’ll have it repaired immediately.”
“Good.”

The Chief Secretary stepped back outside, and Jun-gyeong heard him calling people over.
It was just past four in the morning.
Somehow, a repairman had arrived with a replacement front-door handle and immediately set to work removing the broken one and fitting the new one into place.

“The repair is finished.”

At those words, Jun-gyeong stood and looked at Mi-jeong.

“Thank you for the meal. I’ll come back soon to repay you for it. Until then, think about what would make you happy.”

Mi-jeong smiled and nodded.

“All right.”

As she saw him off, Mi-jeong entertained the thought almost jokingly.
A remarkable man who had allowed her to see her dead child.
A man who could summon a repairman and a sharply dressed subordinate with a single phone call in the middle of the night.
There was no way someone like that would ever visit her home again.

As Jun-gyeong left the villa in Namsan-dong, he spoke to Hyeon-seok.

“I need a car.”
“Of course. I’ll drive.”
“Good.”

Jun-gyeong got into the car with Hyeon-seok behind the wheel.

“Where to?”

Jun-gyeong leaned back in his seat and turned his gaze toward the scenery rushing past outside the window.
As Yeon-hui passed on, she had left Jun-gyeong a light capable of purifying Mana Stones.
But the matter wasn’t yet over.
He still had to catch the one responsible for all of this.
And make sure they were punished.
That was every bit as important as purifying Mana Stones.
And the lingering trail of malevolent energy left by the culprit stretched toward Yangpyeong.

“Yangpyeong.”
“Understood.”

Hyeon-seok didn’t ask for explanations or add anything else.
If Jun-gyeong said they were going, then they went.
The car sped along the empty predawn road toward Yangpyeong.

The villa door flew open, and a man strode inside.

“Bosal Jeong, what on earth happened that you called me out here at this hour?”
“Sit down first. You’re making my head hurt.”

The Deputy Chief Prosecutor chuckled and leaned back on the sofa.
Until now, he had been the weaker party because she had leverage over him, but the current situation presented an opening for him to take the upper hand.

“Judging by your face, something pretty serious must have happened.”

Irritation surged through Bosal Jeong at the sight of the Deputy Chief Prosecutor’s smiling face.
She had nearly died, and now this lowly prosecutor who normally groveled before her was getting cocky the moment he sensed weakness. It made her blood boil.
But she couldn’t afford to treat him badly right now.
He might truly be the lifeline that kept her alive.

“Did you come alone?”
“Of course. Who would I bring to a place like this?”
“…You have police officers under you.”

The Deputy Chief Prosecutor frowned.
Call the police.
In other words, she believed her life was in danger.
But this was a dangerous place to involve the police.
This was where they had performed a killing-curse ritual and sent sal after Prosecutor Yeon, his rival.
A meticulous woman like her might have hidden recordings or other evidence somewhere.
He couldn’t bring police officers into a place like this.

“What happened? Start from the beginning.”

Bosal Jeong looked at the Deputy Chief Prosecutor and slowly spoke.

“The sal rebounded on me.”
“Rebounded?”
“Yeah. Looks like that bitch I was using for the calamity warding pulled something.”

Bosal Jeong peeled the bloodstained gauze from her cheek.
A long gash was revealed beneath it.
The Deputy Chief Prosecutor grimaced.

“So what, you want me to bring police here to protect you? Here? To the place where we performed a ritual to send sal at someone?”
“Who knows about that?”
“I know. You know. And…”

His gaze shifted toward the hulking man standing beside the door.

“So does he.”

Bosal Jeong gave a short laugh and leaned back.

“So you’re nervous. Afraid I might have some evidence I could hold over you?”
“I’m not saying I’m nervous. I’m just pointing it out, that’s all.”

Bosal Jeong nodded.

“Always thinking like a prosecutor.”
“What?”
“Relax. There aren’t any recordings or anything like that.”

Even then, the Deputy Chief Prosecutor didn’t relax.

“Anyway, what matters is this. The person who sent that rebound back at you is coming here?”
“They won’t get here quickly. Not unless they’re an actual god. But the causality is connected now, so they’ll find me eventually. They’ll come.”

The Deputy Chief Prosecutor chuckled.

“A connection of causality? Isn’t that just vague mystical nonsense?”

Bosal Jeong’s eyes sharpened.

“Why? You don’t believe me? After everything you’ve seen?”
“I believe you’re good at killing people. But warding off calamity and tracking someone down are two different things.”

Bosal Jeong pulled a sheet of yellow goehwangji paper from inside her clothes and spread it across the table.
Then she took the same cinnabar pigment and brush from her handbag.

“I’ll show you.”

Muttering an incantation under her breath, she began writing red characters across the goehwangji.