The Lighthouse Shaman
“So there really is a shaman on this island?”
“Can you even make a living out here?”
“What, are they just swindling tourists out of their money?”
As the prayer for blessings ended, a murmur rose from outside. It was the tourist couple who had arrived earlier in a white foreign car. Even though the door had been blocked for an important ritual, they’d still forced their way in. They were truly hopeless.
“You’re not supposed to come in here without permission.”
As Kang-to came down to warn them, the couple were standing side by side in matching hoodies, practically dripping with affection.
“Isn’t this a lighthouse?”
“It’s private property right now.”
“Oh, so this is a lighthouse fortune-teller’s place?”
The man’s voice was full of sneering amusement.
“Then are you the shaman here? Since you’re a man, should we call you a male shaman?”
The woman stepped in front of the man.
“I am.”
“Then could you tell us if we’re compatible? Do you think we’d live well together if we got married?”
She hooked her arm through the man’s and flashed a coy smile.
“Leave.”
Kang-to pointed toward the entrance.
“What? We said we wanted a reading. We can pay, can’t we? How much is the consultation fee?”
“I won’t read the compatibility of the two of you.”
“What? Why not? Are we not people or something?”
“Anyway... just go back.”
“We’re not leaving until you tell us why. Do you know who I am? I’m a successful influencer and a YouTuber with over a million subscribers in the works. I could wipe out a backwater little shrine like this in one shot. Though, looking at it, there may not be much here worth wiping out.”
“Are you threatening me now?”
“No, I’m telling you to do the reading. You do know that refusing service without a proper reason can be punished, right?”
“If you insist, then I’ll tell you. Your compatibility.”
Kang-to’s gaze began to burn with spiritual force. It locked squarely onto the man.
“Seung-ah. Let’s just go. This is obviously some kind of scam.”
Startled by that look, the man grabbed the woman’s arm and tried to drag her away.
“Oppa, wait, you know I can’t just let something like this go, right?”
The woman had a very different idea.
Facing the tourist couple, who were a little too smug for their own good, Kang-to was just about to receive Chae-rin’s backup fire when his oracle came pouring out.
“This man is already married. He even has two children. What kind of marriage compatibility are you asking about?”
“W-what...?”
“No consultation fee is needed. But if you come again, show some manners. Just because this is a shrine tucked away on an island doesn’t mean anybody can come and go as they please.”
Having delivered the oracle, Kang-to turned away.
“W-what the hell is he talking about? Hey! You shaman!”
The man flared up, veins bulging in his neck.
Then—
“That guy’s a dad of little girls... His wife seems decent, but the peach blossom luck tangled in his eyes is the real problem. Men like that never refuse ten women.”
Chae-rin’s precise diagnosis followed.
“Dad of little girls? And if he doesn’t refuse ten women, then he’s a womanizer?”
The woman turned to look at the man, and that doubt struck like a wedge as Chae-rin drove the point home.
“There’s probably one more besides that. I’d say the direction is around Daegu.”
“Then is that why he’s been going down to Daegu so often lately?”
There was a razor’s edge in the woman’s voice.
“Hey, seriously, what is this? You’re actually believing the words of some little island shaman?”
As the man raised his voice, Chae-rin continued with her friendly explanation.
“Our law-abiding shaman Kang-to may be tucked away on a little island, but he’s got spiritual sight so sharp he could see across all of Korea and then some. So unless you want to keep puffing up your neck and have your whole mess with women exposed before you’re even ready, you’d better leave.”
“......?”
There it was again—that frighteningly accurate reading. Only then did the man go silent.
“What? It’s true? You bastard. You kept telling me I was the only woman in your life and lured me into traveling with you?”
The woman seized his collar.
“Oh, damn it... Seriously... You’re not even a virgin yourself, so why are you making such a scene? Looks like you’ve had your share of men’s hands too.”
“What? You better be ready to stand by that.”
“Yeah. Since we’re already here, let’s tear it all open.”
The matching hoodie couple had entered into a fight to the death.
“Did I stir up trouble for no reason?”
Watching them, Chae-rin gave a small shrug.
“They came to my shrine, so it’s my responsibility.”
“But they weren’t really guests, were they?”
“And still, that’s some incredible spiritual power. Did you resonate with the Dragon King right away?”
“I’m surprised too. People say an after-initiation apprentice shaman’s power shoots to the sky, but it wasn’t like this before. My body needed to build up a certain rhythm before I could be fully possessed, but this time my body deity is speaking to me so comfortably. It’s all thanks to you, lawmaster.”
“You’re too kind...”
“Wow, the Dragon King as my body deity... I never even dared to dream of something like that. At best I thought I might aspire to the Mountain God Grand Master. That was the level of my ambition.”
“The supreme heavenly gods only resonate when the disciple’s vessel is suited to them. That just means you were born with talent.”
“No. This is absolutely because of you, lawmaster. I’ll never forget this kindness.”
“Kindness is far too grand a word for it... We simply matched each other’s timing well.”
Kang-to was being humble.
Come to think of it, his virtue of modesty had grown by another inch too. It was thanks to the Nine Heavens Maiden. Since she was a heavenly god whose breadth transcended all things, he had been soaking in that atmosphere without even realizing it.
“Lawmaster.”
That night, after Sol-bi had fallen asleep, Chae-rin spoke up. Cruelly enough, Sol-bi had passed out right on Chae-rin’s lap.
“Do you happen to know about the recent string of brutal murders?”
“Even on the island, the news still comes through.”
Kang-to smiled.
“Before coming down here, I met Injin Bosal in Seoul. She has high-ranking police clients, and apparently even among the police there’s talk that this is the work of ghosts.”
“You don’t say.”
“After hearing the details, I could see why. Of course, that’s just my personal opinion.”
“There have already been quite a few victims... It’s not like a ghost is a family member or anything, so how could it target that many random people?”
“If there are several vengeful spirits, couldn’t they do it? Like... a whole family, perhaps?”
“Several, huh...”
Kang-to held back his words.
Vengeful spirits were terrifying. They dreamed of only one thing, until their debt of grievance was settled and they could ascend: revenge.
“So that senior official at the police agency made a discreet request. They said there were so few clues that they were getting desperate and wanted someone to take a look.”
“Really?”
“They even asked her to keep it secret from others, since if word got out, people would just laugh at the police. But when that bosal-nim went to a couple of the sites, she said her legs went numb from the knees down. The dark energy was so intense that it seemed perfectly capable of killing people, but her own body deity couldn’t handle it, and even after chanting a demon-banishing spell, nothing changed. So she said she hurried out of there.”
“What kind of body deity does that bosal-nim have?”
“I heard it was the Five Direction Shinjang. They’re quite a specialist in exorcism.”
Chae-rin looked at Kang-to.
If it was the Five Direction Shinjang, then that was a deity of the heavenly realm. Their level was only at the starting stage, five thousand, but they were on a completely different plane from low-grade earthbound spirits. And even then her legs had gone numb...
“When I said I was going to meet the person who had the Nine Heavens Maiden invoked through them, introduced by Madam Gyeongsin, she said that if the invocation was real, we’d be able to tell whether it was a human doing or a ghost doing.”
“So it’s unresolved to that degree?”
“According to that senior police official, there isn’t a shred of evidence. Not in the CCTV nearby, and not even in the dash cams of nearby cars.”
“They’ll find a clue soon enough. Our police aren’t scarecrows.”
“Do you think so?”
“Get some sleep now. You must’ve been tired all day because of Sol-bi.”
Kang-to lifted Sol-bi into his arms.
“Then you should rest too, lawmaster.”
With a polite goodbye, Chae-rin disappeared into the next room.
“Stay there.”
The next morning, a guest came looking for him. It was the woman from the couple who had visited yesterday.
“What is it?”
Kang-to opened the door and stepped outside.
“Um... this.”
The woman held out an envelope. Unlike yesterday, she didn’t seem nearly as prickly.
“What is it?”
“The consultation fee.”
“Why?”
“You gave me a reading yesterday that was packed full of spiritual accuracy, didn’t you? If not for the lawmaster... I had the police records checked through some reporters I know who go in and out of the National Police Agency, and that bastard has three prior convictions for marriage fraud. He meets women under the pretense of marriage, borrows money for business capital and whatever else, and when he’s eventually exposed, he tries to settle it by flashing videos and the like.”
“......”
“So if not for the lawmaster... Actually, before coming here, he was pitching me on some amazing business idea and wanted us to invest half-and-half and start a corporation together. I was just about to fall for his face and put in the money. So thanks to you, I avoided a huge loss.”
“......”
“That’s why I wanted to show some sincerity. And I wanted to apologize for yesterday too.”
“What about the man?”
“He kept jumping around and ranting until I brought up the marriage fraud, and then he bolted. Looks like he’s fled across to Gyecheong Island for now.”
“Then I can’t accept the consultation fee. You didn’t even come here officially for a reading.”
“I’m still a public figure of sorts, so I can’t just let that stand. I noticed there was a little kid here yesterday, so even if you’d let me... call it school fees, then.”
“You’re taking the morning ferry, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then the female shaman who came yesterday will be on that boat too. Please give it to her. She was the one who mentioned the legal trouble.”
“But... after hearing from the shop auntie, she said your oracle was the real deal...”
“You weren’t my client, so I can’t take it.”
“I understand. If you insist...”
At last, she bowed politely and withdrew. But the issue wasn’t the woman—it was Sol-bi. The moment Chae-rin began packing her bag, Sol-bi’s lips started to tremble. Sol-bi was not the sort of child who gave her heart to just anyone. She must have really grown close to Chae-rin.
“I’ll come again.”
Chae-rin hurried to comfort her.
“When’s ‘again’?”
“Hmm... as soon as possible.”
“Then is it tomorrow?”
“Sol-bi, the ferry’s coming in.”
When Kang-to threw out a quick counter, tears began to gather thickly in Sol-bi’s eyes.
“You’ll see me off, right?”
When Chae-rin took her hand, the tears finally stopped.
Bwoooong.
The passenger ferry began drawing closer. Kang-to did not go near the dock. If the waves kicked up, Chae-rin’s white clothes would be ruined. He had warned her in advance, so she understood.
Peep!
With the whistle, the pier came alive. Those who were leaving gathered their things, and vehicles started their engines.
“Sol-bi, fighting. Keep protecting your dad.”
Chae-rin clenched a fist in encouragement. Beside her, Hong-seo, Yoon-ji, Tae-hee, and even Dong-cheol had gathered in a cluster.
“Why’s Sol-bi crying? If you cry, you’re just a big crybaby, you know?”
When Hong-seo leaned in, Sol-bi snapped back at once.
“Why would I be crying? I’m doing it so that pretty sister won’t be able to leave.”
Kang-to laughed. Sol-bi was as sly as ever.
Among the disembarking vehicles, a black sedan caught his eye. It wasn’t only in Gangnam that foreign cars lined the streets. Even here on this small island, they had become a familiar sight. Behind that car came several more, and last of all was a backhoe. So they really were the construction vehicles for that project by the old inn site, where they’d said they were going to clear the ground and build a warehouse.
After that, the passengers began to get off. There weren’t many.
The whistle sounded again, and with a horn blast the ferry pulled away.
Sol-bi?
She’d vanished from sight before he knew it. Kang-to wondered where she’d gone, only to find her over by the beach, shrieking with laughter as she played ball with the others.
Kids.
Only then did Kang-to finally relax.
“Lawmaster.”
It was Chae-rin on the phone.
“What did you say? Why did you tell me to hand you the consultation fee yesterday?”
“Isn’t it normal that after a spirit installation or an exorcism, shamanic clients line up to get a reading? Think of it as the substitute.”
“Aigoo, seriously... I was on the boat and couldn’t refuse, and I had nowhere to run...”
“Be careful on your way back up, and make sure you deliver plenty of good oracles.”
“I’m definitely going to pay you back for this grudge someday.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
After hanging up, Granny from the Jang-gu House approached him.
“I heard you opened a shrine after following in your mother’s footsteps.”
She was the island’s outcast old woman. Long ago she’d lost the villagers’ goodwill because of her gambling husband. Her legs were poor too, so she relied on a cane.
“Yes.”
“Did you recover Hong-seo’s father’s body too?”
“Yes...”
“I’d like to have a reading too...”
While they were talking, a sedan drew near.
“Excuse me?”
Stopping in front of Kang-to, the window slid down and a man’s face appeared.
“Are you the lighthouse shaman, by any chance?”
“I am.”
“Pull over.”
At the man’s words, the driver brought the car to a stop.
This man.
A strange sense of recognition followed him faintly. Where had he seen him before?
Ah.
The helicopter.
“Do you by any chance remember Chairman Cho Chul-woong of Taebaek Construction?”
The man’s question came right on cue.
“I do, yes.”
“I’m his younger brother.”
The man handed over a business card.
[Cho Su-hyuk, Chief of Internal Medicine, Hangang Medical Center]
He was a doctor. Up close, their features really were strikingly alike.
“What brings you here?”
“My brother is hospitalized at our medical center. It was the helicopter that crashed in the sea beyond that island over there.”
“I saw it on the news.”
“He escaped with his life by a miracle, but perhaps due to the shock, he’s been so terrified he can barely speak. We checked him thoroughly—from brain specialists to psychiatry—but the only thing anyone could say is that it’s a lingering aftereffect from the trauma of the accident.”
“Hold on, ma’am, please wait at my lighthouse shrine. I’ll come up in a moment.”
Since Granny from the Jang-gu House was waiting, Kang-to took care of her first. The old woman leaned on her cane and climbed the low hill.
“And?”
Kang-to looked back at the man.
“Then the other night, he finally opened his mouth...”
“......?”
“Lighthouse shaman.”
“......”
“He keeps saying only that. He wants us to bring the shaman from Chilui Island’s lighthouse.”
“......”
“My sister-in-law was hit hard by the shock too, so she can’t really move around, which is why I came down myself. I’m sorry, but could you spare a little time? I’ll pay whatever consultation fee you ask.”
As the man spoke, the driver opened the bag.
Inside were stacks of gleaming brand-new fifty-thousand-won bills.