Chapter 08

Ok-hee had brought food as well, though unlike the chicken, it wasn’t something ready to eat. She carried a slab of pork belly.

“Grill this and eat it. Nobody delivers up here, and you seemed to enjoy it last time, so I bought some.”
“First a fox, now a rabbit. Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

Ok-hee tilted her head before continuing.

“A fox? Anyway, why didn’t you take the money? That would’ve been more than enough to move somewhere else.”
“I can’t put such a cheap price on a man’s life.”

Ok-hee’s brow creased slightly.

“It was an otherworldly lust demon. A succubus. That night was the critical point. He barely clung to life.”

As soon as Jun-gyeong finished, Ok-hee’s brow relaxed and she broke into a wide smile.

“Good. You did the right thing. If we’re talking about the price of his life, that changes the calculation. I’ll handle the negotiations. You can look forward to it. I’ll be going now.”

She winked, waved, and headed down the metal stairs.
Jun-gyeong turned and looked at the moon, now almost at the zenith.
For a moment, he smiled at the realization that unlike in Hell, people now came to visit him at home.

“It seems I’ve begun living a life again.”

Jun-gyeong chuckled, then went inside to retrieve the item he had planned to deal with that evening.
It was the blue orb he had obtained after killing Lilith.

The moment he took it out, text appeared before his eyes as though it had been waiting for him.

“…Sure.”

The moment Jun-gyeong answered, crimson karmic flames burst from his hand and enveloped the Lust Demon’s Crystal.
In an instant, the crystal melted into something resembling purple liquid and was drawn into his palm as though being absorbed.

“Ah…”

The phenomenon looked simple, but the changes taking place inside his body were anything but.

Crk- Crk-
“Urgh-”

Agony swept through him as his muscles and bones twisted.
It was a strange kind of pain unlike anything he had experienced before.

“Graaaagh!”

CRACK-! CRK-

His bones warped and his flesh writhed.
Jun-gyeong gritted his teeth and endured.
At the same time, purple energy flowed from his body and wrapped around him.
As all of that energy was drawn back into Jun-gyeong’s body, the pain afflicting him disappeared.

Jun-gyeong immediately recognized the changes in his body.
His body felt lighter, yet far more solid than before.
The faint red tint in his eyes settled, returning them to their original black.

Jun-gyeong clenched and opened his fist, testing his strength.
His grip strength felt several times greater than before.

“At this level, I should be able to do the things I couldn’t before.”

He went inside and returned with the short blade.
When he drew it from its sheath, moonlight gleamed across the edge.

Jun-gyeong began to move.
A sword dance wholly different from his earlier movements began to unfold.
Whether the blade was long or short didn’t matter.
His body was light, and not the slightest tremor disturbed his movements.

Swoosh- Swish- Shhk-

There were none of the awkward catches and stops from before.
Each motion flowed cleanly into the next, far more naturally than before.
Even so, he had yet to recover the strength of his previous life.
Yet dust scattered from the ground wherever his blade passed.
Cutting stone with a blade was an extraordinary feat, something miraculous achieved with a mere thirteen percent synchronization.
Jun-gyeong stopped moving and steadied his breathing.

“Good.”

Then text appeared before his eyes once more.

“Dokkaebi Pouch?”

Knowledge of how to use it naturally imprinted itself into his mind.
It was a space where anything could be stored or retrieved with nothing more than a thought.
He sheathed the blade and tossed it into the air.
The weapon vanished in midair.
A broad smile spread across Jun-gyeong’s face.

“You’re asking me to believe that?”
“It’s the truth, sir.”

It was difficult to believe.
Yet he couldn’t dismiss it outright either.
His own body was proof of the chief secretary’s claims.

For more than ten days, he had been unable to sleep properly at home because of dishes shattering, as though ghosts were playing tricks on him. Unable to endure it any longer, he had moved to a hotel several days ago.
Yet after only two days there, his body had grown heavier and his condition worse.
At home, he had merely been unable to sleep. At the hotel, whenever he managed to fall asleep, he woke in pain and misery.
And he had begun having dreams unlike anything he had experienced in his life.

Nights of hedonism steeped in drugs, women, and debauchery.
To some, they might have been sweet dreams of pleasure. To him, they were nothing but repulsive nightmares.

He was the only member of his family to enter Seoul National University’s College of Law at the top of his class and graduate the same way, a prodigy.
Even while studying at Harvard to broaden his international network, he never strayed from his path.
While other third-generation chaebol heirs drowned themselves in alcohol, drugs, and women, he devoted himself solely to his studies and understanding how corporations functioned.
His pursuit of Korean law followed by an American MBA had been part of that same trajectory.

A disciplined life he had demanded of himself.
The crushing awareness that the livelihoods of tens, even hundreds of thousands of employees rested on his shoulders had bound him to even stricter standards.
There was no way such grotesque dreams could have pleased him.
Worse, even after waking, the stabbing pain throughout his body refused to subside.
With his body hurting this badly, there was no possibility of resting comfortably.
In the end, even if it meant losing some sleep, he had returned to the home where at least his mind could rest.

Before returning home, he had indeed agreed to hire the shaman recommended by his chief secretary.
It had been little more than a final act of desperation.
He had done it partly out of consideration for the chief secretary, who knew perfectly well that he did not believe in superstition and must have been desperate himself to suggest such a thing.
And yet it had worked.

For the first time in ten days, he had slept deeply and awakened truly refreshed.
There had been no unpleasant dreams, only peaceful sleep.
According to the chief secretary, he had slept for a full twenty-four hours without even tossing or turning.

After waking, however, the chief secretary told him an unbelievable story.
There had been a succubus.
It had been trying to kill him, and a male shaman, a baksu, had stopped it.

He tapped the desk with his fingers while staring at the chief secretary.
Absolute trust.
The man had been with him from their university days all the way through his studies at Harvard.
He was both a friend and the only person Seung-ho trusted completely. Their relationship was founded on absolute faith in one another.
In any case, his body felt refreshed, and he had the chief secretary’s testimony.
So he could believe it.
No. He had to.

“Fine. I’ll believe it. But why didn’t he take the money?”
“I believe he considered it a kind of AS¹. He said he would return later, confirm your condition personally, and collect the payment then.”

Deep in thought, Seung-ho tapped the desk out of habit.

Tap- Tap- Tap-

“AS? He wants to meet me personally before taking the money… Hmm. I see. He must want more. Call that shaman, Ok-hee.”
“Ah… Yes.”

The chief secretary wanted to call Jun-gyeong, the baksu who had actually resolved the problem, rather than Ok-hee.
But he didn’t have Jun-gyeong’s contact information.
The person he had communicated with and passed information through had been Ok-hee, not Jun-gyeong.

Ever since returning from Hell to the mortal world, Jun-gyeong’s routine had begun before dawn.
He began by running down the hill and back up in the early morning, then finished with sword forms and bodyweight training.
Once his Body Synchronization reached thirteen percent and his physical condition improved, he pushed his training even harder.

With the money he had taken that day, he stocked up on instant rice and pork and ate the same thing three meals a day.
He was not someone who enjoyed cooking.
So there was no chance of him buying ingredients and preparing elaborate meals.
Grilled pork belly like the meal he had shared with Ok-hee, or boiled meat like what Seol-hui had served him in memories long past, were about the extent of his abilities.
At least the microwave in his room allowed him to make do with instant rice.

About ten days passed like that before Ok-hee contacted him.

-I think you’ll need to come with me somewhere.
“Did you find another monster?”
-Ah… Not exactly. The last matter we handled has gotten a little complicated.
“You mean the lust demon, Lilith?”
-Yes. I heard you said you’d go back and collect the money yourself later.
“I did. You can collect it for me.”
-Haah~ I’d love to. But that CEO says he wants to see you personally. He insists on confirming who saved his life before he pays.

Jun-gyeong’s brow creased slightly.

“Looks like the chief secretary failed to convince him. Fine. I’ll go.”
-Take your time coming down. I’ll be there in five minutes.
“Understood.”

Jun-gyeong ended the call and got dressed.
The slacks he had worn before had begun to feel tight around his thighs.
His muscles had grown as his body improved.
His shirt felt somewhat tight as well, though not enough to be truly uncomfortable.

By the time he descended the hill, Ok-hee’s car was already waiting.
When Jun-gyeong climbed into the passenger seat, Ok-hee glanced at him and spoke.

“Once you get paid this time, the first place we’re going is a department store.”
“Why? Do I look uncomfortable?”
“No. Not at all. It doesn’t look bad. Actually, I might even say it looks kind of good. But isn’t that shirt a little small? It’s pulling open across your chest. You must be working out a lot lately.”

Jun-gyeong looked down at his shirt.
Two buttons were undone, while the third was struggling to keep the fabric together.

“I’ve been eating well lately.”

Ok-hee let out a small laugh.
How well could a man living alone in a place with no delivery service possibly be eating?
She decided she would need to pay a little more attention to him from now on.

After driving along the road beside the Han River and reaching Hannam-dong, the car climbed the hill and stopped beside the massive wall at the end of the road.

Beep- Clunk-

The chief secretary was waiting at the entrance just as he had been that night.
Unlike that night, however, he looked both pleased to see Jun-gyeong and somewhat bewildered.
Jun-gyeong patted him twice on the shoulder and offered a single remark.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.”

He stepped inside.
The chief secretary watched his back with a puzzled expression.

The house looked markedly different from that night.
Perhaps it could be called lively. The entire place seemed filled with vitality.
There were certainly more people moving about, but more than that, the atmosphere of the house itself had changed.

Household staff moved throughout the mansion, while the owner sat on the living-room sofa facing the enormous picture window.

“Welcome.”

Yang Seung-ho rose from his seat and greeted Jun-gyeong and Ok-hee with a bright smile.

“Ah, so you must be the man who saved my very life. First of all, thank you.”

The pointed emphasis in his words made it sound almost like a provocation. Ok-hee frowned, while a smile appeared on Jun-gyeong’s face.
Seung-ho extended a hand for a handshake, and Jun-gyeong took it.
In that instant, crimson karmic flames flared up and wrapped around their joined hands.
Jun-gyeong’s low voice slipped into Seung-ho’s ear.

“There are a lot of people watching, so try not to look too surprised.”

Seung-ho’s eyebrow twitched at Jun-gyeong’s words.
But the voices that followed made his entire expression freeze.

-The King is here again~ Everyone, come out~
-Your Majesty~ Welcome baaack~ We missed yooou~
-We have been waiting, Your Highness.
-Waaaaah~ It’s the King! The King is here!

“Wh-What is…”

Seung-ho stared at Jun-gyeong in shock.

“I told you not to look so surprised. People are going to look at you strangely.”
“B-But…”

Once the voices became audible, Seung-ho turned his head and began to see the teojutdaegam as well.
They looked like large balls of cotton.
Their appearance was unfamiliar, yet rather than frightening, they seemed cute and strangely comforting.
Seeing them actually made him feel calmer.

-Looks like this one can see us. Can he hear us too?
-The King must have helped him.
-Your Highness, Your Highness, that guy standing by the entrance gave us makgeolli and acorn jelly toooo.
-Right, right. The acorn jelly was delicious. But he didn’t give us any boiled pork.
-This boy’s grandfather used to bring us plenty to eat, but this one doesn’t even know how to be grateful when we save his life. Tsk~
-We adored him when he was little because he was such a clever boy, but I think he got strange as he grew up, Your Highness.

“Grand…father?”

Memories from the past flowed into Seung-ho’s mind.
He remembered his grandfather occasionally leaving boiled pork, acorn jelly, a bowl, and makgeolli in a corner of the garden at dawn or late at night.
He remembered himself as a child asking who all the food was for.
And he remembered his grandfather’s answer.

“You must treat the teojutdaegam well. They enjoy makgeolli, pork, and acorn jelly.”

His grandfather had stroked his head as he spoke.

“I will leave this house to you. Then these beings will watch over you. So you must never forget them, and you must treat them well.”

Seung-ho looked around in a daze.
Countless cotton-like beings had gathered around, standing there as they looked toward Jun-gyeong.
And they surrounded Seung-ho as well.

“The teojutdaegam… I had forgotten them.”

He remembered his grandfather’s final insistence that he take good care of the household, and a tear slipped from his eye.

“They were the ones protecting me.”

His knees gave out.

“It was all true. I… I was the one who forgot. I was wrong. They weren’t tormenting me. They were trying to save me.”

Sobbing, he took Jun-gyeong’s hand.

“Thank you. You saved my life. And thank you for helping me recover something important that I had nearly forgotten.”

A smile appeared on Jun-gyeong’s face.
Seung-ho rose to his feet and called out loudly.

“Chief Secretary. Please buy pork, acorn jelly, and makgeolli.”
“Understood. I’ll have them prepared immediately.”

The chief secretary understood why Seung-ho was asking.
He could neither hear nor see them now, but he too had heard their voices and seen them that night.
He didn’t know why pork was necessary, but several days earlier he had secretly prepared acorn jelly and makgeolli and left them off to one side.
He could easily guess what the CEO was seeing and hearing now.