Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: The Demon Journeying with the Evil Spirit (1)
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The day after Byung-su and the others helped Baekho rescue Kotel.
A deep night at a Gangnam hospital.
Seol-mi, who had yet to regain consciousness, suddenly passed away.
It happened while Na-rae had stepped out to Gwanghwamun to gather her belongings, as Seol-mi had shown signs of improvement.
The cause of death was sepsis.
With no family to notify, Na-rae—registered as Seol-mi's guardian—received the call.
"No, you said she'd regain consciousness soon..."
Na-rae quickly handled the funeral arrangements over the phone and rushed to get ready to leave.
It was late, but the taxi ride from her place in Gwanghwamun to the Gangnam hospital shouldn't take more than thirty minutes.
Na-rae hurried out of her officetel and stood at the crosswalk, hailing a passing taxi.
The driver greeted her without a word and let her in.
"Sir, to the funeral hall at Gangnam Hospital, please."
At her request, the driver said nothing and pulled away.
At this hour, the fastest route from Gwanghwamun to Gangnam Hospital was through Namsan Tunnel.
This was the very road where Seol-mi had met with her accident.
The taxi carrying Na-rae turned left in front of City Hall and headed toward Namsan Tunnel.
As they passed the intersection before the tunnel, the driver veered off onto a side road winding around Namsan.
Startled, Na-rae urgently spoke to the driver.
"Sir, this isn't the way to the tunnel. Wouldn't going through the tunnel be faster to Gangnam Hospital?"
Despite her protest, the driver remained silent.
This was a one-way road with no exits in the middle.
As Na-rae leaned forward from her seat to protest again, her eyes caught sight of a wooden handle on the passenger seat next to the driver.
She couldn't see the end of it, but it looked like the handle of a shovel, pickaxe, hammer, or axe.
'What the hell? A shovel handle in a taxi? And right next to the driver?'
The taxi entered a deserted winding road, and the driver still said nothing.
Having spotted the mysterious handle on the front passenger seat, Na-rae felt her heart tighten; she lost the nerve to press the driver further.
There were no spirits in the car, but people could be scary on a dark road at night.
The silent taxi quietly circled the deserted Namsan.
For a long while inside the taxi navigating the mountain road, Na-rae trembled in fear.
'I could probably overpower him with my strength, but if that's an axe next to him, it's too scary. Should've taken another cab...'
She knew her power had grown since receiving energy from Emel, but the unknown handle by the driver's seat still terrified her.
But as the taxi finally left the mountain road and entered Hannam Bridge, Na-rae could breathe again.
The cab sped along Gangnam Boulevard and arrived at the Gangnam Hospital funeral hall.
And the fare came out cheaper than expected.
As Na-rae handed over the payment, the driver finally spoke.
"There was a collision in the tunnel. See? The fare's barely anything."
"Still, you could've said something."
Na-rae handed over the money with irritation, and the driver repeatedly apologized.
"Sorry. I'm the quiet type."
'So what the hell was that handle by the driver's seat?'
Curiosity getting the better of her after getting out, Na-rae peered through the passenger window.
Unlike what she'd imagined, the handle on the seat belonged to an ordinary broom.
* * *
After Magwi faction boss Bang Il-seok and enforcer Akryeong Dong-su were killed, A-gwi Yeo Do-hyeop—who had left the organization—returned and was reorganizing the Magwi faction.
In the end, the biggest beneficiary of the deaths of the faction's two pillars, Magwi and Akryeong, wasn't their rival Kotel faction but A-gwi.
The 32-year-old A-gwi Yeo Do-hyeop had taken control of Gangnam's prime turf, Teheran Road.
Though the night was deep, Do-hyeop's office buzzed with the movements of his underlings.
"Boss, it seems Hwang Seol-mi, wife of Akryeong hyungnim, has passed. Should we send some guys to pay respects?"
Old Executive Director No—who looked at least twenty years older than Do-hyeop—bowed politely and offered his opinion.
Do-hyeop found the man's meticulous courtesy annoying.
"No, Executive Director No! Akryeong was twenty years younger than you—why 'hyungnim'? Just call him Dong-su. Ah, this guy's so spineless; it's worrying."
"Still, we used to treat him like a hyungnim, so..."
"Ugh, enough! Dong-su's already dead—do we have to handle his wife's funeral too? Just send a bunch of big flower wreaths and call it done. Put them in famous celebrities' names. By the way, any word from Woo-jin?"
At Do-hyeop's question, Executive Director No answered without straightening up.
"No contact today. But in the last message, he mentioned that the dead Akryeong hyungnim went looking for Kotel."
The Woo-jin that A-gwi was asking about was the Magwi faction's vice president, nicknamed Pig.
Pig's betrayal had sparked the war between Magwi and Kotel factions, leading to the deaths of Bang Il-seok and Baek Dong-su, though Kotel denied involvement.
To the Magwi faction, Pig Woo-jin was a target for elimination.
It was odd that A-gwi would be waiting for word from such a traitor.
Executive Director No had habitually called Akryeong Dong-su "hyungnim."
"What hyungnim?"
Do-hyeop clicked his tongue in disdain.
"Ah, and the dead Dong-su went looking for Kotel? Even if that idiot Pig spouts nonsense, you need to keep your head straight and relay it properly, Executive Director. This isn't some ghost story legend—don't buy into it. Get your act together!"
Do-hyeop jabbed at Executive Director No's belly with his finger, and the man repeatedly apologized, flustered.
As he poked, Do-hyeop grinned as if struck by a good idea and spoke to him.
"Anyway, seems Kotel's lost his mind too, so we should push him out at the right moment."
"You mean war?"
"Exactly! Even in death, that Dong-su bastard's helping me out. Haha, cute little shit! Eh, I'm in a good mood! Let's hit the funeral hall tomorrow morning for some yukgaejang. Hahaha."
* * *
"Hey, Song! Don't you think we should go to Dong-su's wife's funeral too?"
In Kotel's office, U-song and Manager Kim sat on the sofa discussing it.
Kotel felt a twinge of responsibility for Seol-mi's death and feared Dong-su's impending revenge, so he sought U-song's opinion.
"Sounds like a good idea. We should donate a hefty condolence sum too, so no ghosts latch onto us."
U-song, who had witnessed the dead Dong-su appear as a Won-gwi, strongly agreed with Kotel.
"Hyungnim, won't A-gwi show up too? I'm worried our guys might just end up as more bodies at someone else's funeral."
Manager Kim opposed, concerned about clashing with the Magwi faction now under A-gwi.
"Hey! You worried about some punk like A-gwi right now? We've got Dong-su's ghost to deal with, and now his woman's ghost might join him."
"......"
"Manager Kim, we're at the point where we need an exorcism at the funeral. Why don't you think? Can you beat a ghost?"
"No way."
Manager Kim hurriedly answered Kotel's out-of-left-field question and let out an involuntary chuckle.
What kind of nonsense was this in the 21st century?
Kotel gave a wry smile at the thought too.
"Heh, damn it. Keep the crew in line for a while—no operations! No underage girls as escorts! And let's hit the church more! Got it?"
Kotel closed his eyes tightly after ordering them to halt their main drug revenue stream.
'Who the hell caused this mess? With his own wife dead, Dong-su won't stay quiet. What now? We need to catch the culprit...'
* * *
Na-rae kept watch alone over Seol-mi's empty funeral hall, as she had no family.
With no visitors, the hall felt pathetically desolate, making the late Seol-mi seem all the more pitiful.
She relit the incense countless times as it burned out.
Oddly, Dong-su—who had always stayed by her bedside—was absent from the funeral hall.
Kotel hadn't killed Seol-mi, but he had taken her, so Na-rae figured Dong-su wouldn't let it slide.
The incense she'd just lit burned out.
She lit new sticks with the candle and placed them in the incense burner.
"So beautiful. If only you'd lived longer."
She spoke to Seol-mi in the portrait photo.
"She's gone to a good place. Thank you, Na-rae."
Na-rae turned at the man's voice from behind her.
Dong-su stood there, unnoticed until now.
As he took a seat, Na-rae spoke to him.
"No relatives to contact?"
"Yes. Magwi hyungnim kept watch over her, but now that he's gone too, there's no one left to care for Seol-mi. Thank you."
Dong-su answered Na-rae's question calmly.
His voice held no emotion.
"Where was Dong-su buried? Tell me, and I'll have Seol-mi moved there."
"My ashes were scattered on the mountain behind Magwi hyungnim's hometown. Don't put Seol-mi there—please place her in a fine urn at a nearby columbarium."
"Ah, okay."
"I can't even cover the costs, but please take pity on her. I'm shameless and sorry."
Na-rae questioned Dong-su as he bowed his head in request.
"What are your plans now, Dong-su? Revenge?"
"If hell itself came for me, I'd go, but no one's coming. From now on, I'll uncover why this happened. If Kotel ordered it, I'll drag him to hell. If it's someone else, them."
His tone was calm but resolute.
Na-rae figured she couldn't dissuade him and made a plea.
"That woman Emel—she's no good. A ghoul, they say. Female ghoul, Ghoulra or something? Be careful. Don't let her use you."
He seemed bothered by Emel, who had attacked her days ago.
Dong-su nodded quietly at Na-rae's warning and stood.
"Kotel or A-gwi might come to pay respects. If I stay, there could be trouble, so I'll go. I'll come back after the funeral to thank you properly."
Dong-su bowed and left.
Even though he was a spirit, his departure left Na-rae feeling the empty hall even more cavernous.
"Guess I should call Il-hwan tomorrow. It's too damn lonely here."
* * *
Kotel, U-song, and Manager Kim—who had come to Seol-mi's funeral hall—stood before the condolence wreaths sent by A-gwi.
"This one's from Tae-rin-a. This from Jo Eung-pil, this from Seol Moon... and Michael Jackson? Hey! Song, didn't Michael Jackson die? Am I wrong?"
Kotel asked U-song while reading the senders' names on the wreaths.
"Michael Jackson hyungnim passed away long ago. Hyungnim, he's probably up in heaven forming a band with Shin Hwi-cheol hyungnim. If we wanna catch the show, we gotta head to heaven too..."
As U-song trailed off, Kotel clicked his tongue.
"Worry about staying alive first, not work. Come on, let's go in! A-gwi already came and went, right?"
Kotel led the way inside, followed by U-song and Manager Kim.
Unlike the multitude of condolence wreaths, Seol-mi's hall was watched over solely by Na-rae, with no other mourners in sight.