No Rest for the Exorcist

"Uuugh."

Namgoong Min-ah emerged from the team dinner at the buffet looking like the food had been packed all the way down her throat.

"Easy there—pace yourself!"

"It was just so good, sir."

She could have dropped dead on the spot without a single regret. She had spent her time at the buffet without a shred of shame. Worn out as she looked, Namgoong Min-ah's face was unmistakably that of someone who regretted nothing.

"And you, Assistant Manager Lee? Eat your fill?"

"Yes."

Lee Jin-pyeong, by contrast, seemed the very picture of composure—though his belt had been let out by two notches.

Hah. Hah. Hah.

Baekseol-i, who trailed after Lee Jin-pyeong's every step, lay sprawled on her back, panting hard, her rounded belly heaving up and down.

"Good. Looks like everyone ate their fill."

Kwak Young-ho said it with a contented smile, and Kang Hyeong-seok put a question to him in a voice laced with concern.

"You didn't seem to eat much at all, sir. Is something the matter with you?"

"It's nothing like that."

With that, Kwak Young-ho pulled out a cigarette, a bitter twist to his mouth.

"At my age, buffet food just doesn't sit right anymore."

Kwak Young-ho and Shin Jeong-ah headed for the smoking area near the parking lot behind the buffet—an unofficial one. Still, someone had planted an empty can there, which seemed to be a plea to employees and passersby alike: please, for the love of god, don't flick your butts just anywhere—use this.

Click, click, fwoosh.

"Hoo-! Ahh, now I feel alive again."

"You barely ate a thing, though."

"I ate plenty. Manager Kang—really, thank you."

Kang Hyeong-seok gave a short laugh and shook his head.

"Don't mention it."

"No, really—that food you ordered turned out pretty good, didn't it?"

Namgoong Min-ah, who had kept well back as a nonsmoker, abruptly jumped into the conversation.

"Manager, sir! Thank you for the meal!"

Her voice carried so far that Kang Hyeong-seok had barely let the shout land before signaling her to keep it down.

"Next time you all have a business meal with a client, give this place a try. You've been once now, so you know how things flow here, right?"

"Yes, sir!"

Namgoong Min-ah beat him to it with a spirited answer, so Lee Jin-pyeong simply swallowed his reply, while Kang Hyeong-seok gave Kwak Young-ho a look that said he understood.

Experience counted for everything. Imagine being taken to a fine restaurant as a courtesy, only to blunder around because you didn't know how the place worked? That might slide between close friends, but it would hardly inspire confidence in a client.

"And the holiday's coming up for everyone, yeah? Start getting your ducks in a row. Understood?"

Meaning: get in touch with the clients and have the visit schedules squared away in advance.

"Yes, sir!"

"Yes."

Having answered, Namgoong Min-ah turned to Lee Jin-pyeong and asked whether he happened to know anywhere good for a family trip. The answer came back that he didn't. She laughed and told him to quit joking—then caught his expression and apologized.

That was when—

"What about you, Manager Kang? Any plans?"

"I'll visit my parents first. After that, I'm thinking of just resting somewhere quiet."

"Right. Rest is work too. Rest up properly while you can—that's what keeps you sharp."

Kwak Young-ho gave Kang Hyeong-seok's shoulder a light tap, the gesture carrying an unspoken you know how much I treasure you, don't you?

"And no questions for me?"

"You, Manager Shin? You'd obviously rest just fine on your own."

"What's that supposed to mean, 'obviously'?"

"It means you're a veteran who's even good at taking a break."

Something about that felt off, and Shin Jeong-ah's brow creased.

Then everyone split off to catch a taxi or a bus.

"Well then, get home safe!"

"See you tomorrow."

"Get in safe! Don't be late tomorrow."

"Yeees, sir."

Namgoong Min-ah took the bus, Lee Jin-pyeong the subway, and Shin Jeong-ah a taxi. Kwak Young-ho and Kang Hyeong-seok each called a designated driver, and it was Kwak Young-ho who pulled away first.

"See you tomorrow, then!"

"Yes, sir. Thank you for the meal today."

"It's not like I paid for it, but sure."

Kwak Young-ho waved, laughing, and the car shrank into the distance.

Kang Hyeong-seok, left alone, was idly poking at his phone when—

Bzzzt.

For a second he thought it was the designated driver.

But the call was from Professor Kim Jae-sik.

"Yes, Professor."

"Hyeong-seok, my boy, been keeping well? Had dinner yet?"

"Just finished, actually."

The designated driver arrived at that very moment; Kang Hyeong-seok bowed in greeting and carried on the call as he handed over his car keys.

"And you, Professor? Have you eaten?"

"Oh, I just had something light."

"You should look after yourself better. You'd gotten awfully thin last time."

"Spare me the worry! You just make sure you eat. Anyway—the holiday's almost here. Any chance you're free?"

Clunk. Rumble.

Kang Hyeong-seok climbed into the car as the driver started the engine, cupping a hand over the phone's microphone as he gave the destination. Then he brought the phone close and put the question to Kim Jae-sik.

"Is something the matter?"

"Ahh, well—how would you like to pick up a little side job?"

"A side job?"

"Mm. You've got a god riding along with you, after all."

Vroooom.

Kang Hyeong-seok stole a glance at the designated driver, eyes fixed on the road, and smiled wryly. He hadn't yet heard the reason or the purpose. But a premonition was already barging in: this holiday, too, was not going to be spent at leisure.

"Yes, Professor."

"Just help me out as a consultant."

"I'm sorry—what?"

Kang Hyeong-seok had studied folklore under Kim Jae-sik. The idea of that same Kim Jae-sik now asking him for advice made no sense at all.

"Hold on, what are you even saying?"

"Two birds, one stone. There's somewhere I've been wanting to visit—you do the driving, act as my consultant, and get paid on top of it."

"Hahaha."

The laugh came out loaded with more meanings than one, and Kim Jae-sik added a line.

"And, well—who knows?"

"What do you mean?"

"There might be people there who need your help."

Kang Hyeong-seok said nothing. He pressed his lips into a hard line, glanced at the designated driver still absorbed in the road, and spoke in a lowered voice.

"What exactly are you telling me?"

"It's not a thing to discuss lightly, but—it's a village out in the countryside. Apparently strange deaths keep happening there, one after another."

Like the village where the Beomgwi had once run rampant. Sudden death, sweeping in out of nowhere.

"The way I see it, it's no ordinary business. It might even be worth an academic look. So I'm planning to go see for myself—so how about it? Care to come along?"

At Kim Jae-sik's oblique suggestion, Kang Hyeong-seok drew in a breath.

If Kim Jae-sik's hunch turned out to be right—if something on a par with the Beomgwi truly was stirring up trouble in that village—

'This is not something human beings can resolve.'

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

But a god could. And perhaps, too, a shaman bound to one.

Kang Hyeong-seok sucked in a breath through his lips—a soft, sharp hiss—and fixed his whole attention on the phone.

"Professor, may I ask just one thing?"

"Ai, look at you, getting all grave about it."

"Do you happen to know what kind of being is involved?"

A voice gone low and heavy. The mood in the car sank under its weight. The designated driver's eyes flicked toward him, but Kang Hyeong-seok paid it no mind, every nerve given over to his ear.

"All signs point to a snake."

"A snake... then it could be something rather formidable."

"Precisely. And you know as well as I do—this country and the snake have always been quietly, deeply entwined."

The snake is a religious animal. That holds true the world over, and Korea is no exception. In Tosan-ri, Pyoseon-myeon, in what was once Namjeju County, there stands a shrine hall that enshrines a snake as the village's guardian deity; and in Gosan-ri, Hangyeong-myeon, in Jeju City, there is a place called Chagwidang. There, the gray serpent was revered as the Chagwijisin—the god who bars the return—and so was never killed. The snake, in short, has ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠long been a being of sacred power in Korea.

"If it's been harming people, then it certainly doesn't sound like a benevolent one."

"Exactly! My bet is it's something like a Gangcheol or a Sangsabaem."

Both belonged to the ranks of legendary serpent monsters. But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that wasn't at all like Kim Jae-sik's usual self, and the laugh burst out of Kang Hyeong-seok before he could help it.

"You do seem a little changed since... last time."

"In the old days I'd have waved it off as folklore. But I've since confirmed that such things can actually exist."

'Thank goodness.'

The thought came unbidden. Kim Jae-sik's voice was floating with a child's excitement.

'He's recovered a great deal from Professor Jang Jun's death.'

Bitterness pressed his lips shut for a moment; then Kang Hyeong-seok opened his mouth again, his eyes tinged with sorrow.

"Then, once my schedule firms up, may I text you?"

"Me? I'm always up for it!"

"Understood."

Kang Hyeong-seok ended the call and sank back deep into the seat. It felt as though he had been abruptly kidnapped out of the everyday and into something else entirely. The car he knew so well seemed suddenly like another world. The same went for the designated driver gripping the wheel.

"Oh—if you're bored, feel free to put the radio on."

He said it deliberately, trying to coax the atmosphere back toward the everyday.

The driver conveyed his thanks with nothing but a dip of the head, then switched on the radio.

The announcer's clipped, metronomic voice came flying at him like a warning addressed to Kang Hyeong-seok personally.

Not good news at all. He should have left the radio off.

Kang Hyeong-seok leaned into the backrest and let out a long, heavy sigh.

"Out with it already, will you?"

It was the first day of the holiday. Kang Hyeong-seok was behind the wheel, on his way to meet Kim Jae-sik, while Shin Yo-sep's voice poured out of the Bluetooth speaker.

"Things have been a blur."

"I'm sure it can."

The words said fine; the voice underneath them did not.

Kang Hyeong-seok exhaled through his nose, bit his lower lip, then released it and spoke.

"It's something to do with a snake."

"So that's why you're being like this."

The cult incident. Back then, in that ghastly Buddha statue, Shin Yo-sep and Kang Hyeong-seok had seen a snake—and perhaps one had coiled itself tight in the depths of Shin Yo-sep's heart ever since.

That snake would go by two names. One was the devil. The other was dread. A pitch-black serpent, buried deep, deep out of sight, waiting for its chance to gnaw away at Shin Yo-sep's mind.

"If I see so much as a trace connected to the devil, I'll call you."

"You don't need any support? Expenses, that sort of thing?"

"I only just got my paycheck, so I'm fine on that front."

Kang Hyeong-seok turned the car into a residential neighborhood, heading for Kim Jae-sik's house, which was drawing ever nearer.

"And if you do end up coming, I'll tell you what supplies are needed—you can buy those and bring them along."

The village sat somewhere extraordinarily remote. There would be no shop that sold everything under the sun, let alone one of those warehouse marts that demand an annual membership fee. Which meant it would likely fall to Shin ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Yo-sep to procure and deliver whatever was needed.

"You're the only person alive who'd send me on errands."

"Get married. Then there'll be one more."

"You absolute lunatic—you're saying that to a priest of all people—"

"Oh, right. My bad."

Stone-faced through the entire exchange, Kang Hyeong-seok gradually eased off the speed. He would be picking up Kim Jae-sik before long.

"Anyway, I'll call you later."

"Whew! Just hang up."

Click. The line went dead.