Chapter 06

Jun-gyeong sank into the passenger seat and gazed out the window.
He didn’t know exactly what Ok-hee did either.
He had assumed she was little more than an errand runner who brought him jobs and conveyed messages from Heaven.
But after hearing her conversation with Smith at the workshop, he realized he had been mistaken.

She was a being who had lived here for more than five thousand years.
A being who had lived alongside the history of the Korean Peninsula itself.
There was no way someone like that existed merely to gather information and carry messages.
And judging by the state of the armory, Ok-hee was clearly not the only such being.

“By the way, do you hunt humans too?”
“What makes you think that…?”
“Because of all the firearms you had stored there.”
“Ah, those.”

Ok-hee chuckled and continued.

“There’s a guy who’s obsessed with Hong Kong movies and loves that kind of thing. You’ll probably meet him eventually. He’s not particularly useful, so I doubt he’ll be much help.”
“Does he hunt humans?”
“He works as a dimensional fixer. He has to deal with humans, huge creatures like orcs, and monsters too. His work gets rough, so he says he needs weapons like those.”
“I see.”

The thought crept into Jun-gyeong’s mind that Seoul might be a battlefield where beings far more powerful than he had imagined were locked in a vicious struggle.

As the Han River slipped past and buildings began rising around them, Ok-hee spoke in a calm voice.

“We’re almost there.”
“Is it all right for me to bring the blade inside?”
“Yes, it shouldn’t matter much. Still, it’s better not to let people see it on the street, so keep it concealed under your clothes.”
“Understood.”

He found it somewhat inconvenient that he couldn’t openly carry a blade, but times had changed and there was nothing to be done about it.
Soon the car entered a residential neighborhood lined with high walls and headed toward the highest point in the area.

“We’re here.”

After parking, Ok-hee got out and walked toward the enormous gate of a mansion enclosed by high walls, with Jun-gyeong following behind.

Beep-
“It’s Ok-hee.”

Clunk-

The gate opened without so much as a verbal reply.
Following Ok-hee inside, Jun-gyeong came to a short staircase, beyond which stretched a broad garden planted with pine trees.
But Jun-gyeong could see things no ordinary human could.
Jun-gyeong, who had not spoken since leaving the car, finally opened his mouth.

“Interesting.”

His eyes had taken on a faint red hue.
Ok-hee’s brows drew together slightly.

“What do you see?”
“You can’t see them?”
“…No. I suppose they aren’t ghosts. I’d be able to see them if they were.”
“Then you can’t hear them either?”
“No.”

Jun-gyeong nodded, and after glancing back at him for a moment, Ok-hee resumed walking.
The front door opened and a man in a gray suit stepped outside.
Behind silver-framed glasses, his sharp eyes gleamed as he spoke in a composed voice.

“He’s expecting you.”
“All right.”

As if matching the man’s sparing use of words, Ok-hee answered just as briefly.
The man entered first, with Ok-hee and Jun-gyeong following behind.
As they passed through the entrance, the red glow in Jun-gyeong’s eyes gradually deepened.
At the same time, the smile on his face grew wider.

“Please have a seat and wait. The CEO has been quite unwell and is resting. He’ll be out shortly.”
“Of course. Don’t worry about us. Go ahead with your work.”

The man withdrew, leaving Ok-hee and Jun-gyeong alone on the living-room sofa.

“He’s the chief secretary. I asked in advance for everyone who works in the house to leave.”
“Good.”
“Can you sense something in here too?”
“Yes. They’re chattering from every direction.”
“…Hmm… I see.”

Jun-gyeong raised one corner of his mouth as he slowly surveyed the room.

“Something truly interesting must have been happening here.”
“…Would you like a quick briefing on the case?”
“No. I’ve already heard the whole story. You can leave.”

Ok-hee frowned slightly and pointed at herself.

“Me? I can leave? Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“Do those things not understand Korean?”
“…They do.”
“Then it doesn’t matter. Nothing serious will happen. Go take care of your own work. You seem to have plenty to do.”
“Phew~ All right.”

Ok-hee stood and went to find the chief secretary.

“Chief Secretary, that gentleman will handle the matter.”

The man’s eyes narrowed as he looked back and forth between Jun-gyeong and Ok-hee.

“…Can he be trusted?”
“Yes. He’s more reliable than I am.”
“Nothing about this can get out.”

Ok-hee answered with a bright, refreshing smile.

“You don’t need to worry about our side. Pay the success fee directly to him. My part ends here.”
“Hmm… Understood.”

Hearing the confidence in her words, the chief secretary bowed slightly and stepped back.
Ok-hee glanced back at Jun-gyeong.
He was leaning into the sofa, gazing through the enormous picture window at the night sky.
Following his gaze, she saw a huge full moon hanging in the black sky.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve looked at the night sky.”

Then she resumed walking and left the house.
After seeing Ok-hee out, the chief secretary approached Jun-gyeong.

“He’s unwell, so he appears to have fallen asleep. He hasn’t been able to sleep properly at all lately.”
“I know. The bowls and cups have been flying around on their own.”
“……”

The chief secretary’s gaze hardened.
That was something he had never told Ok-hee.
He had only told her that CEO Yang Seung-ho was in poor health and unable to sleep.
At most, he had mentioned that something strange seemed to linger in the house.
Yet this man was speaking about that strange presence as though he had witnessed it himself.

“…What exactly do you mean…?”

Jun-gyeong turned his head slightly and met the chief secretary’s eyes.

“Isn’t that why he couldn’t sleep? Every time he was about to drift off, bowls, cups, and plates would go flying into his bedroom.”
“May I ask where you heard that?”
“Here.”

Jun-gyeong pointed toward the enormous television.
Then his finger began moving.

“Here, here, there, there. And there.”

His finger moved from the ceiling to the walls, the floor, the kitchen, the display cabinet, and more.

“Looks like it’s starting again.”
“…What?”
“Looks like your CEO fell asleep again.”

Whoosh- CRASH!

Plates and cups flew through the air and smashed against the bedroom door.
The chief secretary stared in shock, then started rushing toward the bedroom.
Jun-gyeong caught him by the shoulder.

“Leave it.”
“What? But right now…”

CRASH!

Another wave of plates flew through the air and shattered against the door with a tremendous crash.

“You going in there won’t solve anything. Sit here.”

Jun-gyeong sat the chief secretary down on the sofa, rose, and headed toward the entrance.
He put on his shoes, then stepped back inside.

CLATTER- CLANG!! CRASH!!

Once every breakable plate and cup had been used up, pots, knives, spoons, and chopsticks flew from the kitchen sink and slammed into the door.
At that point, Jun-gyeong spoke quietly.

“Enough.”

The moment the word left his mouth, the kitchen utensils and liquor bottles floating through the air froze in place.
Jun-gyeong plucked a bottle of whiskey and one still-intact bowl from among them, then looked at the chief secretary.

“Don’t be too shocked. You seem to be the one who commissioned this job, so I’m showing you. You’ll probably need proof.”

Jun-gyeong took a swig of whiskey, then poured some into the bowl.
Then he scattered the liquor into the air.

Splash-

The whiskey that should have splashed across the floor and walls vanished in midair along with a red glow.

Then voices reached the chief secretary’s ears.
As unfamiliar voices poured in from every direction, his eyes widened until they looked ready to split.

-Wow~ It’s booze! Booze!
-The King is bestowing liquor! Drink, drink!
-Thank you, Your Majesty.
-We shall enjoy it, Your Highness!
-Wooow~! Thank yooou, Your Highness.

Just as Jun-gyeong’s finger had indicated earlier, voices leaked from the television, the wall-mounted display cabinet, the kitchen, the ceiling, and even beneath the carpet.

“Wh-What is this…?”
“Will this work…?”
“What?”

Jun-gyeong looked down at his hand for a moment, then snapped his fingers.
A small knot of red energy flew toward the chief secretary and covered his eyes.

“Urgh!”

When he opened his eyes, he could suddenly see things resembling clumps of dust that had been invisible until now.
Some were white, while others were black.
The colorless little dust clumps came bounding out from every direction, running around and chattering excitedly.

-The King is here. Everyone, come out.
-The King gave us liquor. Drink up!
-Hey! Put that down. The King told us to stop.
-Drinkie drinkie. Booze, booze. Kyaa~ So tasty. So gooood.
-But is it really okay to leave that room alone?
-Yeah, is the master of the house okay?
-His Highness will take care of it. Don’t worry.
-Ah! His Highness is here. It’s fine. It’s fine.

“What are these… No, what in the world… is happening?”

The chief secretary’s face stiffened with shock and confusion.
Jun-gyeong answered quietly.

“They’re the beings who have protected this household all this time. Teojutdaegam.”
“Teojut… daegam?”
“Yes. They’re a type of dokkaebi. They’re one reason the master of this house has prospered in business, and they’re also the reason he’s still alive in that room.”
“Ah… Then…”
“Exactly.”

The chief secretary was a prodigy who had been nationally renowned since childhood, graduated from the Department of Economics at Seoul National University, the country’s top university, and joined Samo Group’s secretarial office.
From that brief exchange alone, he was able to piece together roughly what had been happening in this house.

In other words, the plates, cups, and bowls that had repeatedly shattered and woken CEO Yang Seung-ho were the work of the teojutdaegam trying to keep the sleeping man alive.
Which meant that these beings were not the ones threatening him. Something else was endangering the CEO’s life.

The chief secretary’s eyes widened sharply.

“Th-Then…”
“That’s what I’m saying. Going in there won’t solve anything. Wait.”

Crimson karmic flames began spreading from Jun-gyeong’s back.
They coiled around his body, blazing fiercely before settling over the lower half of his face.
As the karmic flames vanished, a red Ghost Mask appeared in their place.
Jun-gyeong’s eyes turned fully crimson.

Jun-gyeong walked toward the bedroom.

Rattle-

The door was locked, but that presented little problem for him.
He smoothly drew the blade from inside his clothes and swung it at the door.

CRACK!

The solid mahogany door split apart beneath the razor-sharp blade, and the chief secretary’s mouth fell open just as wide.
The room beyond was revealed at a glance through the cleaved doorway.

CEO Yang Seung-ho lay flat on the bed.
And straddling him was a half-naked, beautiful woman.
It was a scene almost designed to invite the wrong conclusion.
The woman slowly turned her head toward Jun-gyeong standing before the broken doorway.

“And who are you supposed to be?”

The woman smiled brightly and continued.

“You look tasty too. Wait just a moment. I’m almost done. Once I finish this one, I’ll have you too.”
“……”

Without a word, Jun-gyeong looked at the book that had opened before his eyes.

These were the monsters Ok-hee had meant when she spoke of beings they could not touch.
Intruders who had forced their way through dimensional rifts.
These were monsters sustained not by Earth’s Qi, but by otherworldly Mana, which was why neither sorcery nor talismans had any effect on them.