Chapter 82
Chapter 82
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Evil Ghost Baek Dong-su (11)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
As always, Seol-mi sat on the parasol chair in front of the convenience store, waiting for Dong-su who never came.
The morning sunlight made her white cane gleam especially bright.
Sitting beside her was Na-rae, who had come to buy cigarettes.
Na-rae still hadn't told Seol-mi about Dong-su's death.
A black sedan pulled up in front of them, and three men got out.
The tattoos visible on their arms under short-sleeved T-shirts hinted at their line of work.
"You're Baek Dong-su's wife, right?"
"Yes. But who are you? Do you know my Dong-su?"
"We know him well. That bastard nearly got us all killed. Come with us for a bit. We'll let you meet Baek Dong-su."
Na-rae, sitting next to Seol-mi, thought the men looked suspicious.
'What the hell is this? These tattooed thugs saying they'll let her meet dead Baek Dong-su. They don't seem connected to that guy from before, but they're shady as hell.'
No matter how she looked at them, their appearance and speech screamed trouble.
Seol-mi looked confused when Dong-su's name came up.
Worried that Seol-mi might follow them, Na-rae lashed out fiercely.
"Who the hell are you? What gives you the right to say you'll let her meet Baek Dong-su? Get lost, or I'll call the cops."
The men, caught off guard by Na-rae's sudden outburst, hurriedly urged Seol-mi and dragged her along.
"Hey, this lady shouldn't be calling the cops over nothing. That's just wasting taxpayer money. You gotta know what's what. Come on, just for a minute."
"Seol-mi, don't go! I'm calling the police right now. Let go of her!"
The man who seemed to be the leader approached Na-rae as she tried to dial on her phone.
"Call 'em if you want. We're already in deep shit anyway. We wouldn't be scared if we had something to hide."
"I said back off!"
"We'll take her nice and easy and bring her back just as nice. Don't make trouble with the cops, or it won't end well. What are you waiting for? Get her in the car!"
The moment Na-rae reached out to push back against them, the leader pressed a gleaming knife against Seol-mi's side.
"You'll get hurt. We'll bring her back safe, so stay put. What are you doing? Let's go!"
The men intimidated Na-rae and forced Seol-mi into the car before driving off.
Na-rae wasn't one to be cowed by threats.
She snapped a photo of the license plate with her phone and called Il-han.
* * *
As soon as the car carrying Seol-mi pulled away, the leader made a call.
His contact was Kim, the second-in-command of the Koteol faction.
"Boss, we got her. Some weird chick got in the way and gave us trouble."
"You didn't make a scene, did you?"
"No, sir. Just scared her good. She won't call the cops."
"Keep it quiet and get here fast."
The car soon approached the Namsan Tunnel entrance to cross the Han River.
Morning traffic was light, so it was quiet.
"Yes, we're on our way. Just past Namsan Tunnel and over Hannam Bridge, and we're there."
Bang!
Suddenly, a dump truck came barreling through the tunnel darkness in the wrong direction, slamming into the car carrying Seol-mi.
The dump truck dragged the car several meters before stopping.
Bang! Crash! Boom!
Through the still-open phone, roars, screams, and groans echoed.
"Jeong-ho! What happened? Jeong-ho!"
Kim urgently called out for his man, then spoke to Koteol.
"Boss, something's wrong with Jeong-ho. We need to send more guys."
"What? What happened? An accident?"
"I don't know... I just hear crashing, and Jeong-ho's not responding."
From the dump truck that had smashed into the car, a tall woman with reddish-glowing hair stepped out.
She checked the wrecked sedan's back seat, then took the phone from the unconscious Jeong-ho's hand and spoke into it.
"This is the entrance ramp to Hannam Bridge in Namsan Tunnel, heading toward Namdaemun. Send an ambulance—call 119 now."
Her polite tone belonged to Emel.
* * *
The ambulance carrying Seol-mi and the others headed to a hospital in Gangnam.
It was the same hospital where Magwi faction's Bang Il-seok had been admitted—and now lay dead in the morgue.
His funeral would be held here too.
Watching over Seol-mi as she was rushed into the ER filled evil ghost Dong-su with a heavy heart.
'This is my fault. I tried to scare them to stop the pointless war between Magwi and Koteol factions, and it got Seol-mi hurt. If I'd just killed Koteol when I had the power... or ignored their fight altogether...'
Dong-su hadn't wanted revenge.
Blaming his weak self wouldn't bring back Bang Il-seok, who was already dead, and Seol-mi was in critical condition.
"The power Emel gave me for three days ends today. I underestimated Koteol. Magwi hyung passed this morning, Seol-mi's in bad shape. What the hell have I done? Thinking a kid's prank-level threat would make him surrender...'
Dong-su had been Magwi faction's enforcer in life but avoided unnecessary violence.
He'd never killed, so he hated bloodshed and had only tried to intimidate them into stopping the fight.
But when that led to his beloved wife's accident, he could only stand there dazed and lost.
Emel approached Dong-su, who stood self-reproachfully in front of the ER.
"There you are. It's the third day as promised. Did you achieve what you wanted with the power I gave you?"
Dong-su answered without looking at her.
"I did what I wanted, but I didn't get what I desired."
Emel smiled, incongruous with the situation.
"You were too naive. Humans aren't as weak as you thought. They don't repent and apologize just from a scare."
She pointed at the ER and continued.
"Humans tremble in fear at first. Then they run. If they can't, they fight back. When resistance fails, they submit. You hit that resistance."
Her tone was soft and polite.
Dong-su still stared only at the ER door.
"Here to take the power back?"
"You could say yes or no. What will you do? It's up to you."
Her voice was gentle as an angel's, kind and courteous.
Tears of frustration welled in Dong-su's eyes.
"Give me stronger power. I'll help you find the sword."
"Pledge loyalty to me, and whether you follow or betray me later, the grim reapers will come for you. You'll end up in Avici Hell eventually."
"My hell is right now."
"Good. I'll extend your power and let you command chuk-gwi and corpses. But first, use it to take the life of that Koteol who hurt your wife. That's what you want too, right?"
Dong-su nodded silently, still gazing at the ER.
* * *
"What're you calling me out here first thing in the morning for? How'd you even know I came up to Seoul?"
A thick Chungcheong dialect echoed in Koteol's office.
"I heard you got a stray ghost, but I don't see it. If there's a stray, you need a gut ritual, but calling me here without prep? What gives?"
Baekho, the young master of Gyeryongsan Jeong, grumbled after being urgently summoned.
Behind him, Yi-hwa stood in elegant hanbok, glaring coldly at Koteol's crew.
No one else could see her.
"The ghost isn't here yet but coming soon. So, shaman, what's your name? Solve this, and I'll give you two big ones."
Though Koteol's snakelike eyes repulsed him, Baekho held back.
"Name's Baekho. Call me Gyeryongsan Jeong young master or just Taoist. Big ones? A hundred million?"
"Taoist? Like a jiangshi-catching spirit mage? Big ones ain't a hundred mil—two! Twenty thousand won."
Yi-hwa's eyebrow twitched; her hand moved to pull her silver hairpin.
"I'll give you a talisman for blessings—stick it on your door. I'm busy; gotta go."
Baekho stood abruptly, handing over a talisman inscribed with Spring Blessing.
Flustered, Koteol grabbed him and pleaded.
"Whoa, Taoist, you're quick-tempered. Two hundred. Sit and hear me out."
* * *
The clock on Koteol's office wall showed past 5:30.
"So, this Dong-su you killed turned into an evil ghost coming for revenge?"
Baekho asked Koteol with a baffled look.
Koteol's face flushed red with frustration as he explained.
"No, I didn't kill Dong-su. Never ordered it either. He was already Magwi faction's evil ghost enforcer. Evil ghost turning evil ghost."
Baekho still couldn't follow.
"Evil ghost becoming evil ghost—who knows what that means. If you didn't kill him, why come after you?"
"That's why I'm innocent! Sure, 14 priors, but I didn't take out Dong-su."
Baekho cut him off, still unclear if it was explanation or excuse.
"Alright, got it. If the evil ghost or Dong-su shows today, I'll ask."
Koteol looked worried at the forced interruption.
"But hey, no sudden screams or big disasters today, right?"
Baekho, disliking the thug boss, snapped curtly.
"Where'm I supposed to see that? It written on your face? Think I chase ghosts 'cause I can read futures? Anyway, I soothe evil ghosts, strays, spirits fine. You won't die today. Stay put, no worries."
Never trusting Koteol from the start, Baekho dismissed the vengeful ghost talk.
'Fresh ghost can't stir much trouble like he says. Just scaring himself over his sins. No traces of strays attached either. Nothing big.'
Yi-hwa, who had silently glided to the window behind him, peered out and sent a mental message.
[Baekho, something's downstairs.]
Baekho looked down at her message.
The spiritual energy was immense.
A dozen or so jibakryeong strays and chuk-gwi in animal forms were visible.
Behind them stood a man in a neat black suit.
Presumed to be the evil ghost Dong-su Koteol mentioned.
Even more presences seemed to have entered the building.
"What the...? What's that?"
Koteol's crew rushed to the window at Baekho's startled gaze.
"Something there?"
Baekho barked as they crowded the window.
"Back away from the window now!"
He slammed the open window shut and messaged Yi-hwa.
[Yi-hwa, can you send them all to the afterlife? Forgot my talismans rushing here. Screwed up again!]
He'd given his to Mi-hee guarding Jun-su's place; couldn't fight properly now.
[A few strays or chuk-gwi are nothing, but there's more. Baekho, tough saving this fire-face today.]
[Can't just bail on him. Gotta try something, right?]
[I'll buy time outside. Call that Kim reporter with Da-hee and the imugi-pawed one for help.]
Yi-hwa messaged back as she retreated from the window.
Their mental speech was inaudible to others.
With Koteol's crew at the window drawing human presence, four snake-shaped chuk-gwi were climbing the building wall.