Friends for the Jade Emperor
Park Su-hwan gazed at the altar, so much fuller than before, and smiled with deep satisfaction.
“It really is different.”
He muttered as he looked at the Jade Emperor standing at the center.
“You must be glad to have some friends now.”
Flanking him on either side, the Grandmother Spirit and the General Spirit sat in dignified majesty. Below them, bright flowers, candles, and every kind of offering crowded the space. Peaches and plums rose in stone-pagoda stacks to left and right; even the Okchundang candies he had bought at the mart last time were there.
The delicious, honey-sweet yakgwa he had bought along with them, however, had already vanished into Park Su-hwan’s stomach. Still, he had left them out for two full days, so he felt no particular pang of conscience. That was more than enough time for anyone who wanted a share to have taken one.
A few more paintings on the walls and it would be perfect…
That was not urgent, though. He could take his time deciding. Even as it stood, clients would be thoroughly overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the shrine.
Money well spent.
Before he had picked up the Register of Life and Death, this would have been an impossible dream. He would still have been fretting over overdue rent and tomorrow’s meals.
Of course he was not exactly rolling in wealth even now. Compared with a month ago, however, the change was enormous. Enormous enough that he had managed to scrape together the pocket money for two new divine statues.
“Hmm…”
That reminded him of the statue of herself that Bari Gongju had sent yesterday as an apology for recent events.
If it had been any other shaman tool, he would have accepted it at once with thanks and no suspicion. The problem was that the sender was Bari Gongju. He was hardly on close enough terms with her to offer pure jade water with genuine devotion, was he?
Naturally he had been forced to question the gift’s real intent. He had refused her statue on the excuse that there was not enough space on the altar, telling Choi Young-gam as much.
What was the old man supposed to say when Su-hwan claimed the house was too small?
Hmph. Who do they take for a fool?
He was glad he had seen through Bari Gongju’s sly designs in time. He had almost been stuck looking at that fake face every single day.
No—he would have slapped a waste-disposal sticker on it the very next morning and thrown it out without a second glance.
Besides, trying to eat while staring at her face would have guaranteed indigestion.
Park Su-hwan stroked his chin and murmured under his breath.
She can’t see this place…
Questions chased one another. Could Bari Gongju truly not enter here?
It was hard to dismiss as mere speculation; the pieces no longer fit. What had happened at Choi Hana’s shrine was already old news. Showing up now with a “sorry” gift looked suspicious to anyone with eyes.
Then who is it?
As far as Park Su-hwan could see, there were only two possibilities: a deity of higher rank than Bari Gongju, or one of equal standing whom she was obliged to treat with courtesy.
Hmmm…
His gaze settled naturally on the General Spirit.
Clad in thick armor and gripping a curved blade, the General Spirit fixed the space ahead with fierce eyes. The candles that lit the area only made him look more imposing.
Then—
Hm?
Something caught his eye as he studied the statue.
What is that?
He hurriedly checked the General Spirit’s feet. When the statue had first arrived yesterday, they had been flawless. He remembered clearly that not a single flake of paint had been missing; everything had been pristine.
Now the paint was cracked and peeling in ugly patches, like a rice paddy left too long without rain. Looking closer, he thought he saw fine cracks running across the armor as well.
“…What’s going on?”
It was not a cheap piece. If it was already falling apart, that would be a problem. This was something meant to last for years.
Choi Young-gam would never have sent a defective item. The old man was not the sort to play games with shaman tools.
Is it because we’re underground?
Maybe the basement’s perpetual damp was to blame. Yet the Jade Emperor’s statue remained perfectly intact. That one had been with him from the very first day he started the fraudulent-shaman act; it was, for all practical purposes, the oldest object in the shrine.
Park Su-hwan tilted his head and examined the Grandmother Spirit’s statue as well. The fan in her hand was cracked.
He had not expected brand-new statues, installed only yesterday, to lose their paint and develop cracks overnight.
The one small mercy was that the damage was not very noticeable. Only someone as sharp-eyed as Park Su-hwan would spot it; ordinary people would never notice.
Knock, knock.
Someone tapped carefully at the shrine door.
Huh?
Park Su-hwan glanced at the clock on the wall. It was exactly the time Cha Hyun-seok had promised to come.
“Teacher. It’s Cha Hyun-seok.”
“Ohhh…”
The moment he stepped inside, Cha Hyun-seok was struck speechless by how completely the place had changed.
“Quite a difference, isn’t it?”
Park Su-hwan smiled easily and indicated the cushion in front of him.
“Ah. Thank you. How have you been, Teacher?”
“Ordinary days. Offering earnest prayers to the spirits, pointing the way for those who have lost theirs—that sort of thing.”
Park Su-hwan kept up a light, easy banter while maintaining a calm atmosphere. He had not yet begun the performance of being possessed by a spirit. For now it was proper to receive a guest with simple courtesy.
But is that a television…?
His mouth poured out smooth words, yet every nerve was fixed on something else entirely: the large box Cha Hyun-seok had brought. The bold “QLED” stamped on the side made his heart pound.
No. Don’t start counting your chickens already.
Park Su-hwan steadied his racing heart and kept his expression serene.
“Nothing unusual has happened, I hope? I was quite surprised to hear you were suddenly changing jobs.”
“Haha. You would be, wouldn’t you? After everything you did for me, I feel a bit embarrassed myself.”
Cha Hyun-seok scratched the back of his head and gave a shy, awkward smile.
Thanks to Park Su-hwan he had driven out the executive who had tormented him, protected the achievement that had nearly been stolen, and even walked away with a promotion and a performance bonus. All of it had been a desperate fight simply to survive at the company. News that he was now leaving of his own free will was bound to seem strange.
“The truth is… I could have stayed. But things had gotten a little awkward.”
“Awkward?”
Was someone else already giving him dirty looks? Or was another attempt underway to steal his credit?
Reading the suspicion in Park Su-hwan’s eyes, Cha Hyun-seok waved a hand and continued.
“Nothing like that. It’s just that I really did charge straight at him, didn’t I? And because of that, the bastard got fired.”
“That’s true.”
“Afterward everyone found me… difficult to deal with.”
He had made a scene right in front of the president and the other executives; it was only natural that people’s gazes would never be the same. Even though he had acted without malice, his colleagues now saw him as a man who might, if crossed, go after his superiors at any moment.
From the company’s point of view he was practically a hero who had rooted out hundreds of billions in corruption. Human feelings, however, were a peculiar thing.
“Huh. So that’s how it was…”
Park Su-hwan had never once experienced an ordinary, proper office life. He had not been able to anticipate the subtle, complicated ways an organization could turn even an act of justice into a bed of thorns. He had simply wanted to save a man who was about to die of pure rage after having his achievements stolen.
Cha Hyun-seok went on in an even tone.
“That’s just how society works, isn’t it? I was more or less prepared for it when I decided to make a move, so I’m fine.”
The looks had grown a little uncomfortable, but the results had been sweet. He had at least walked away with a fat bonus and a solid new line on his résumé.
“Then how is the new place?”
Come to think of it, Cha Hyun-seok’s expression as he spoke was not dark at all.
“It must be a pretty good offer?”
“…As expected. I can’t hide anything from you, Teacher.”
“I can tell at a glance.”
“Yes. That’s right. So this time I’m moving to somewhere with far better conditions—and a considerably higher salary.”
“Wow… Really? Congratulations. Looks like real ability never goes to waste.”
After all, Cha Hyun-seok had spent the past several months single-handedly developing a program that dramatically lowered the defect rate of components. That alone said everything about his skill.
“I’m truly glad things worked out well. To be honest, when I heard you were suddenly changing jobs I was a little worried.”
“I wanted to surprise you with the news. And no matter how I thought about it, the thanks I gave you last time felt completely inadequate.”
Park Su-hwan waved both hands in refusal. His mouth, however, kept twitching at the corners.
Jackpot. A television…! And one with insane picture quality!
He had always wanted to replace the old set someday. The screen was tiny and the sound so poor that sometimes he could barely stand listening to it. He had never imagined a brand-new television would simply walk in as a gift.
“At first I thought about getting you an air conditioner, but the outdoor unit and all that seemed complicated. So I brought the best model they had. I thought it would be perfect for your shrine.”
When choosing the gift, Cha Hyun-seok had pictured Park Su-hwan’s shrine. The best present was always something the recipient actually needed. He had decided then and there to replace that ancient little television no bigger than two sheets of A4 paper.
“Even so…”
“Come on. Please accept it. Think of it as my sincerity.”
“Your thoughtfulness alone is more than enough…”
“I’ll even set it up for you before I leave. Please take it.”
Yes!
When the man put it that way, there was nothing left to do. Park Su-hwan arranged his face into a suitably conflicted expression and nodded.
Tonight happened to be the night he and the landlady were scheduled to watch The Stepmother’s Temptation together.
Mwahaha! This is too good!
When she arrived later he was going to brag—without quite bragging—until his mouth ran dry.