The Grudges of Haewondang (1)
The Grudges of Haewondang (1)
"Sajang-nim, do we really have to take all of this? It's heavy as hell......."
Elena pouted while struggling to close the large suitcase for business trips.
Around her, everything from special detergents to purification solutions, and even an emergency iron, were scattered about.
She had insisted on coming along on this business trip.
I told her I could handle it alone, and that she should rest since Seo Yerin and the shrine maidens would be there, but.
"How could I just rest alone while leaving you behind, Sajang-nim!"
She had been stubborn about following me.
"Now that I know there's Majok energy involved, I, a former Saintess of the Church, have to go too."
So, we started preparing together, but.
"We have to be thoroughly prepared. I can feel the Demonic Energy of the Majok lingering; if we let our guard down, we'll all get hurt."
"Isn't this too much, though?"
Three large suitcases.
It wasn't a small amount.
It was enough to fill the entire trunk of the SUV.
It was a question of whether we really needed this much stuff for just one business trip.
"It's a guy that even your Divine Power bounces off of, you know?"
"Th-that was because it was trapped inside a box, so my power couldn't be used at 100%!"
"Will it be a bit better once we take it out of the box?"
"Th-that is......."
Elena, who was protesting with her cheeks puffed out, flopped down onto the suitcase and forced the zipper shut.
"I have nothing to say."
"Right. Prepare well."
On the outside, she was clearly nervous.
-Ppi-i-i~.
Peep was also preparing a bunch of things next to her.
Mostly grooming its feathers, though.
"What are you doing?"
-Ppi-i-i~.
This Honjwa will personally go to the place with that lingering energy to protect my benefactor! With this Honjwa's power, I can protect my benefactor.
The little guy puffed out its chest as it spoke.
Looking at it blink, it seemed like it was saying it in earnest.
"...If it's the power of a High-Grade Spirit, it will be a big help."
-Ppi!
Hmph! Obviously!
Peep landed softly on the suitcase.
The way it proudly flapped its wings as if to say it would also contribute to the business trip laundry was exactly like a kindergartner going on a field trip.
"Alright, I'm counting on Agent Elena and Agent Peep. Let's go, to the Beopdang."
I locked the laundry shop door with a light heart.
Seo Yerin watched her master, who was praying in the main hall of her Beopdang, Haewondang.
Cheongyeon Shinmo (Divine Mother).
Her master, who was currently protecting the Beopdang, casting numerous formations to block the curse residing there, and praying to the spirits.
The current pillar of the Beopdang, and the shaman with the most powerful Godly Power.
A possessor of mysterious power who maintained the youth of a 40-year-old despite being over sixty.
"Where did you leave the sealing box?"
At the Shinmo's question, Yerin bowed her head.
"I entrusted it to someone I can trust for a moment."
"...Return to the main hall now."
"Is it because of the curse?"
"Yes."
"Then you don't need to call me to the main hall."
The master's eyes, which had been praying, twitched.
"What does that mean?"
"I entrusted the request to someone I can trust."
"......."
"That person will be able to solve the curse of the Sochang in the basement of the Beopdang."
At Seo Yerin's words, her master's brow furrowed slightly.
"Foolish. You still intend to trust the power of an outsider?"
"Because the power of the spirits alone isn't enough."
"You doubt the spirits."
"If there is someone I can trust, I should rely on them."
"...Is it that man? The one you often spoke of."
"Yes. He will help us."
"You know that the main hall is a forbidden area for men, right?"
"I won't bring him into the main hall."
Her master, and the pillar of the Beopdang, Cheongyeon Shinmo, sighed.
"Understood. I will welcome him."
At that answer, Seo Yerin bowed her head.
I drove the old, rattling car and arrived at a fairly large Beopdang located at the foot of a mountain on the outskirts of the city, where people were scarce.
"Ugh, uuuph! Sajang-nim, c-can I do the driving from now on?"
Elena, who had gotten out of the car, leaned over, dry-heaving.
"It's an old car, so the ride comfort isn't great, I know."
"That's not it....... The car bumping isn't the problem. But your driving skills....... they're too rough."
Elena said, clutching her head.
Was it that bad?
Because we drove up a dirt road, the car did bump quite a bit.
But I don't think it was enough to say that.
-Ppi-i-i.......
This Honjwa thought I was going to die from the hardship.
Peep, who had been sitting on Elena's head as if building a nest, chirped in a voice that sounded half-dead.
Even a spirit felt dizzy?
I guess it was a bit too rough.
"I'm sorry. I'll refrain from it a bit in the future."
The air I felt as soon as I got out of the car was too gloomy and ominous to be called a Beopdang.
I instinctively covered my nose.
The air was heavy and murky, as if lead weights were filling my lungs just by breathing it in.
A grotesque silence, where not even the sound of mountain birds could be heard, was pressing down on the entire Beopdang.
It couldn't be compared to the pressure that had been leaking through the cracks of the box.
Just by standing at the entrance, I could guess how massive the resentment and Demonic Energy the main body of that Cotton Cloth, which was buried in the basement, was emitting.
"The atmosphere is brutal."
Elena clung tightly behind me as I grabbed the suitcases.
"What are you doing?"
"I-I'm getting into a defensive stance to protect you, Sajang-nim. So that if a monster appears from somewhere, I can use a Divine Shield immediately."
"...Do you have to do it from behind me?"
"I-I'm absolutely not doing this because I'm scared or terrified! I-I just feel more at ease when I'm touching a person, so please just pretend you don't know."
"Understood. Carry one of the suitcases."
"Yes."
I carried two suitcases, and Elena carried the remaining one, and we walked to where the Beopdang was.
"Wh-what kind of neighborhood Beopdang is this gloomy? Our Church's grand cathedral felt like all my minor illnesses were cured just by stepping inside because I could feel the Goddess's warm embrace! This place feels like it would give you illnesses you didn't even have, seriously."
Even though she was cowering and clinging to my back, Elena didn't stop running her mouth.
"The building style is gloomy, and the site is full of Yin energy. This is why these cult heretics...... I miss the days when our Church's Paladins would bless us generously."
"I don't think that's something a defrocked Saintess should be saying."
"It's not defrocked, I left on my own feet!"
I couldn't bring myself to say, "Didn't you say you were defrocked last time?"
You have to read the room even when joking.
Haewondang (Hall of Resolving Resentment).
A place that resolves the grudges and resentment of wronged souls.
The Beopdang, named for being a space to soothe the dead who could not leave this world, was instead filled with Yin energy, as if that grudge and resentment were piled up high.
It was when we were carefully stepping into the Beopdang courtyard while bickering.
"Oppa!"
A familiar voice was heard along with urgent footsteps from the main hall side.
It was Seo Yerin in shaman attire.
As soon as she spotted us, she ran over with a bright face.
Instead of the free and bold fashion she usually wore, she greeted us in an elegant yellow Hanbok, with bright red rouge and dots (yeonji-gonji) on her cheeks.
"You came faster than I thought! I was waiting."
"I have to go when a client calls. But the site here is no joke. That Sochang they say is in the basement seems even more terrible than I thought."
At my words, Seo Yerin's expression darkened instantly.
"It's been like this for a long time. Several shamans are taking turns pouring their power to protect it so the sealing power doesn't weaken."
While she was biting her lip bitterly, the heavy sliding door of the main hall opened, and heavy footsteps were heard.
"I have been waiting."
A voice that was murky and cracked, but had a strangely oppressive feeling that weighed people down.
Unlike Seo Yerin, who was wearing a flashy Hanbok, a middle-aged woman wearing white mourning clothes was walking out slowly.
The light shining intensely between the deep wrinkles pierced straight toward me.
Just from that gaze, I could tell she was a master who had dedicated her whole life to prayer and training.
"Master."
Seo Yerin bowed her head in a hurry.
It was Cheongyeon Shinmo, the owner of this Beopdang and Seo Yerin's master.
She was a famous shaman.
One of the 5 prophets who predicted that the gates of this world would appear, and the strongest shaman who led the gate subjugation on the front lines.
Although she had stepped back from the front lines now, I also bowed my head at the appearance of the woman who was still considered the strongest spellcaster.
She scanned me up and down with a sharp gaze.
"You are dressed more shabbily than I thought."
A strange young man wearing comfortable activewear, holding suitcases filled with stain removers and detergents in both hands.
It was indeed a pathetic appearance for a savior who had appeared to resolve the lingering attachments of the dead and the residues of the Majok.
"You must be the......, laundry shop owner that Yerin spoke of."
Cheongyeon Shinmo's voice was tinged with unmistakable doubt.
"It is a monster that is difficult to suppress even if several shamans stick together to cast barriers and chant mantras. The evil energy of the Majok has coiled up, using the lingering attachment of the dead as a shield."
As she took a step closer, the air of the Beopdang sank even heavier.
"Did you say laundry. This tough skein of karma that cannot be torn or burned....... Are you confident that you can wash it away with mere laundry?"
To that heavy question, I chuckled and adjusted the business trip suitcase I was holding.
"It's not polite to say you can't erase it without even checking the requested item."
Cheongyeon Shinmo stared at me silently for a moment at my answer, then clicked her tongue softly and turned around.
"Follow me. Yerin, you follow too."
"Yes, Master."
Unlike when she was in society, Yerin bowed her head demurely with a neat posture.
She has a side like this too?
Cheongyeon Shinmo, who took the lead, guided me not to the main hall, but to a small detached building located next to it.
"The main hall building is a space forbidden to men. So, we will go down through this detached building, not the main hall."
She opened a thick wooden door placed on the floor.
A steep and dark staircase leading to the basement was revealed.
From below the stairs, disgusting and sticky Demonic Energy was flowing back up, to the point where it couldn't be expressed in words.
"Ugh....... the energy of the Majok....... I can really feel the power of the Majok."
"Real Majok, huh."
Elena, who made eye contact with me.
She grabbed my arm.
"What are you doing?"
"Take it. It's a special service for you, Sajang-nim."
A subtle warmth rose from her hand that was holding my wrist.
As the soft and warm sensation disappeared.
"Oh?"
A tattoo with a mysterious pattern was drawn on my wrist.
A tattoo drawn with Divine Power.
"In case the Majok suddenly launches a surprise attack, this will protect you."
"...Thank you. But this doesn't cost extra, right?"
"I'm not a woman who is that crazy about money!"
"Understood."
I chuckled at Elena's appearance, which seemed to have relaxed, and followed Cheongyeon Shinmo down the basement stairs.
The deeper we went into the basement, the more the pressure exceeded my imagination.
Although Peep, who was sitting on my shoulder, was emitting the power of a High-Grade Spirit to protect my body, I could even hear sounds that sounded like screaming from nearby.
Finally, we arrived at a huge stone chamber in the basement.
The moment the torchlight held by Cheongyeon Shinmo illuminated the center of the stone chamber, Elena and I had no choice but to gasp at the overwhelming sight.
"Th-this is......."
In the middle of the stone chamber, the requested item Yerin spoke of was coiled up.
Pure white Sochang.
A sinister power was felt from that pure white cotton cloth, which symbolizes the path for souls going to the afterlife.
A pile of cloth so huge that the end could not be seen.
To the outside, it was a clean white cloth without a single blemish, but the resentment of the dead and the Demonic Energy had already burrowed into every single fiber of that white cloth.
Numerous letters written around the cloth.
The spells and magic characters engraved by the shamans were covering the cotton cloth containing the resentment of the dead.
Even so, the attraction coming from the cotton cloth was terrifying.
A heavy and suffocating energy that seemed to suck in the light and air in the stone chamber, and even our very existence, into that cloth.
Just looking at it made my mind tangled and my stomach nauseous.
-I want to live.
-Save me.......
-I want to go back.
-Kill me.
-Hello. I am Kim Cheol-su. I am a new employee who just joined.......
-I can still achieve my dreams.
-It's unfair.
-I don't want to die.
-Mother, happy birthday. I splurged and bought a gift this time.......
-It's too unfair to die here.
-I'll confess to her when this is over.
-This station is Reincarnation, Reincarnation Station. The door to get off is on the right.......
-These are photos of my family. How is it? Pretty, right? Cute, right?
-Why me? Why do I have to die?
-They said they would save me. They said I could live if this was over.
-It's painful. It's painful. It's painful. It's painful. It's painful. It's painful. It's painful. It's painful. It's painful. It's painful. It's painful. It's painful. It's painful. It's painful.
-Why are you stopping us? You can save us. You can do it.
-Dad, I got 100 on this test! The toy you promised.......
-Save me. Save me. Save me. Save me. Save me. Save me. Save me. Save me. Save me. Save me. Save me. Save me.
The resentment of the dead, which I couldn't hear in the scraps, was clearly audible.
"Ugh!"
Elena, who heard those sounds, dry-heaved and stepped back.
"How is it? Are you still confident that you can do the laundry?"
Cheongyeon Shinmo's voice, which had sunk heavily.
At her question, I looked at Seo Yerin's master.
Her gaze looking at me was complex.
Her pupils, containing countless thoughts, turned toward me.
Hmm.
Ding-!
The system alarm popped up.
Seeing the alarm that appeared in front of me, I nodded.
"I think I can do it."