Outdated Gear, Sudden Death
The mysterious man and the bustling mart scene were nowhere to be found.
Only the ledger and Park Su-hwan. Those two alone held any presence in the ledger world.
“From the sound of it, the work seems pretty dangerous…”
This was the man who had been protesting with a grave expression to his company superior. Moreover, according to his last words, there had even been a finger amputation accident recently, hadn’t there?
“So accidents happen on the job?”
Park Su-hwan tilted his head and hurriedly opened the ledger.
Name: Han Seung-ju.
Before he knew it, the surrounding scenery had shifted into an alleyway flooded with dazzling sunlight.
Just looking at it made him feel hot.
Just as there was no way to intervene in the ledger world, Park Su-hwan was also completely unaffected by anything that happened here. Yet he muttered as if feeling the heat while gazing up at the blazing sun.
“Does this even make sense?”
“What am I supposed to do? If they tell me to do it, I’ve got to do it.”
Han Seung-ju, the same man he had just met in the mart, was deep in serious conversation with a middle-aged man whose face was darkly tanned.
Judging by the work clothes stamped with the “Hanheuk Electric” logo and the various tools strapped around his body, he appeared to be in the middle of a job.
“No, Team Leader!”
Han Seung-ju grabbed the team leader’s wrist and stopped him.
“What? You little shit. Don’t you know I’m busy?”
“It’s been several months already. Is it even right that we still aren’t properly issued basic equipment?”
“Basic equipment? I already gave it to you.”
The team leader pointed to the tools stuck in Han Seung-ju’s waistband.
“…You’re joking right now, right? For high-voltage wire work we don’t even have proper insulating gear. And what’s issued is way too old. This is basically just telling us to go die.”
“Does it sound like a joke?”
The team leader lightly waved the hand wearing a cotton work glove. But the movement wasn’t natural—it was stiff, like a wooden puppet moving.
“It’s not even teasing. That’s why your hand ended up like that, isn’t it, Team Leader? If only you’d had insulating gloves back then…”
“Who the hell comes out of this unscathed? In this line of work, this much is a rite of passage. Proof that you’ve finally become a pro. You dumbass.”
“…”
“And you know this is a sub-subcontractor, right? How are we supposed to hand out expensive gear like that? Wake up, Seung-ju.”
“Even so. This is directly connected to safety.”
The team leader let out a hollow laugh as if the whole thing were absurd.
“If they’d given us every single piece of protective gear, we couldn’t have worked here. We get paid to work because we cut costs like this, Seung-ju.”
“…”
“Answer me.”
“Yes.”
“If you’re pissed, quit. Just go somewhere better, yeah?”
The team leader was delivering the final ultimatum to Han Seung-ju. Watching his expression, Park Su-hwan noticed one fact.
He knows he can’t quit the job.
The detailed reason was unclear, but it was probably money after all. People worked ultimately because they needed money.
“It’s always been like this. As long as you’re careful, nothing happens. You know that.”
“Uncle Gwang-ho and…”
“You’re not gonna die just because you’re missing a few fingers. I told you. Getting crippled while doing this job is a glorious wound. Stop whining and get to work already.”
The team leader pointed with his chin at the utility pole next to the trash can.
“W-wait a second. What about you, Team Leader?”
Han Seung-ju urgently grabbed him as he started to leave and asked.
“I’ve got other places to go. Lots of work today.”
“So you’re telling me to do it alone? Two-person teams are the basic rule. And what about the live-line truck?”
“How’s that thing supposed to get into this cramped place? Of course you’ve gotta climb up and work. You’ve been at it for over half a year—you should be able to handle it alone.”
“I’m scared, okay? Just getting near the high-voltage lines makes my whole body tingle like I’m about to burn to death any second…”
“Kids will be kids, for sure. That’s why I’m telling you to be careful. Hurry up and get it done and come back. Ugh. Tsk tsk.”
The team leader scanned Han Seung-ju with a dissatisfied look, then shook his head as if the younger man were pathetic. Then, as if it wasn’t worth listening any further, he went his own way.
Left alone like that, Han Seung-ju blankly watched the man’s disappearing back and muttered quietly.
“…What a fucking mess. For real.”
Heaving a deep sigh, he put on his cotton gloves and first cleared the trash scattered under the utility pole. His brow naturally furrowed at the foul stench of illegally dumped food waste.
I want to help him.
Park Su-hwan quietly watched his back. The way he cleaned up the trash looked somehow pitiful, and he felt sorry for him.
“Haa…”
Having cleared all the trash, Han Seung-ju took an old safety harness and a pair of climbing irons with sharp spikes out of his bag. With mechanical hand movements he equipped the gear and slowly began climbing the utility pole.
“Huff, huff… This is really scary.”
Reaching the top, Han Seung-ju glanced down. The dizzying height made cold sweat pour out on its own.
“I need to finish this as fast as possible.”
— Ziiiing, woooong.
The magnetic field generated by the high-voltage current made the wires tremble. Han Seung-ju swallowed dryly once and pulled a blunt rod from his waistband.
When he pressed the button, it extended in length. It was one of the few pieces of safety equipment the company had provided. The moment he carefully stretched out his hand to bring the tip of the insulating rod to the switch—
— Thud.
“…?”
An ominous, alien sound was heard. It wasn’t the vibration of the wires. It was like the sound of something snapping.
— Clack!
Before he could even grasp the situation, it happened.
“Uwaaaah!!”
One of the connecting rings of the safety harness supporting his body shattered powerlessly from age. Instantly losing his balance, Han Seung-ju frantically flailed his arms.
“Uwaaagh!”
Because of that, his flailing hand entered the electrocution danger range. If he had been properly wearing insulating equipment, the story might have been a little different.
“Hup!”
But he was wearing ordinary cotton gloves.
— Flash! KRA-CRACKLE-CRACKLE!!
In an instant, an eardrum-splitting rupture sound and a blinding flash of light exploded from his body.
As the lights of the surrounding buildings went out all at once, Park Su-hwan’s vision also flickered black.
SUDDEN DEATH BY MISFORTUNE
Caused by outdated equipment, he dies suddenly in an electrocution accident.
“Excuse me. Are you okay…?”
Park Su-hwan, eyes wide open, immediately looked up at Han Seung-ju who was staring down at him.
— Hey hey. Seung-ju! Why’d you suddenly go quiet!
From the receiver the man was holding, the team leader’s voice could be heard.
Burning to death… How horrific a death is that. Moreover, his death was something that could have been prevented even without Park Su-hwan. If they had just listened even once to the man’s continuous complaints about the equipment problem.
“It’s nothing. Sorry for worrying you.”
Park Su-hwan also bowed his head deeply to the other people who had been startled by his sudden collapse. Apologizing first to the people who were surprised whenever he returned from the ledger world was now a familiar routine.
“Shouldn’t you go to the hospital? You suddenly just keeled over and gave us a scare. What if you hit your head or something.”
A middle-aged woman asked Park Su-hwan with a worried look. He shook his head with a gentle smile.
“I’m really fine. More importantly…”
“…?”
Han Seung-ju was still in a shocked state. Well, a person right in front of his eyes had suddenly rolled his eyes back and collapsed, so of course he would be. But right now, rather than talking about Park Su-hwan’s condition, warning Han Seung-ju of the horrific future that would soon befall him came first.
“Mr. Han Seung-ju.”
“Yes…?”
“Could we move somewhere else for a moment?”
Park Su-hwan said while glancing at the people looking at him. He couldn’t confidently declare that he had seen Mr. Han Seung-ju dying in a place with this many people.
“How do you know my name… Do you know me by any chance?”
— Hey! Han Seung-ju!! What the hell are you doing!
The team leader’s shout, frustrated at Han Seung-ju who had suddenly gone silent on the phone, could be heard.
“Turn off the phone. It’s urgent.”
Han Seung-ju didn’t want to follow this stranger who had suddenly appeared. But because he was curious how the man knew his name, he eventually followed Park Su-hwan.
“What is it you want to say… No, more than that, how do you know my name?”
Like that, they came to the car accessories sales area, the quietest spot even inside the mart.
“I’m a shaman.”
“A shaman…?”
Han Seung-ju’s energy drained at the abrupt answer. He had thought something was up because a complete stranger was calling his name with a serious expression.
“Looking at me like I’m a cultist hurts, you know.”
“I have something urgent… I’m sorry. I’ll be going now.”
“Mr. Han Seung-ju. You work at Hanheuk Electric, right? And your team leader’s name is Park Cheol-man.”
To quickly build Han Seung-ju’s trust in him, Park Su-hwan stated without omission what he had seen in the ledger world.
“If you still think I seem like a fraud, feel free to leave. However, the one who will regret it will be you, Mr. Han Seung-ju.”
“Regret…?”
“Aged Gear Electrocution, Sudden Death by Misfortune. In one week, Mr. Han Seung-ju, you will die by electrocution. And the cause will be the outdated equipment during work.”
“W-what the hell is that…! Suddenly spouting nonsense like that!”
Han Seung-ju made an unpleasant expression and tried to hurriedly leave.
“Are you really going to leave like this?”
Park Su-hwan tilted his head slightly and stared at him with cold eyes as he opened his mouth.
“You know it yourself. That if you keep working while ignoring safety regulations like that, you really might die.”