The Ghostly Chauffeur
Huff, huff.
A much more rhythmic, peaceful breathing sound flowed from Minjun’s lips. Minjun’s mother wiped away her streaming tears again and again, gently stroking the boy’s forehead.
“Minjun-ah…”
“Minjun-ah, everything is going to be okay now…”
And right there beside the two of them, Mr. Choi Minho was present.
“You’ve worked so hard. You’ve really suffered, my dear.”
He caressed his wife and son in turns with hands that could not touch, shedding silent tears.
Even if it wasn’t a complete, physical reunion, it was undeniably a family reunited.
It wasn’t a place for me to keep lingering.
“Sister, I shall take my leave now.”
I finished my sentence and turned around. But as I tried to head out of the room, the mother stood up and grabbed my hand tightly.
“W-wait, just a moment!”
She hurriedly blocked my path and immediately knelt on the floor.
“H-how can I ever repay this grace… I have nothing to my name, but please, anything…”
It seems she thinks I helped without any price.
I waved my hand with a gentle expression and helped her stand up.
“Sister, please, don’t do this.”
“But…!”
“This is not something I have done. The brother’s earnest prayer reached the heavens, and the Lord has simply responded to that love.”
In the first place, divine miracles cannot be measured by human wealth. Furthermore, the power of healing is not a tool to be used for profit.
Of course, it wouldn’t matter if I took a reward, but I don’t want to put a price tag on reaching out to those in desperation.
Once you start receiving, it becomes a habit.
It’s human nature to start by thinking, ‘This much is fine,’ and eventually turn into, ‘I should be getting at least this much.’
Small greeds eventually lead to great corruption, so I continued to play the role of a faithful agent.
“So, you may offer your gratitude to the Lord through prayer. I am merely a lowly tool conveying His will.”
“Ah…”
At my words, Minjun’s mother clasped her hands together, overcome with emotion.
“Lord…!”
The sight was so reverent and sublime that I felt a sudden sting of guilt.
In truth, impersonating an agent of another god is an act of impiety.
A Christian performing miracles in the name of Allah, or a Buddhist monk preaching with a cross? It’s blasphemy that wouldn’t even be imagined.
But my crazy goddess, Oranis, is different.
‘You know my heart, right?’
This much is nothing but a bit of aegyo to a Great Being who looks down upon the entire universe. She considers everything except for me to be mere dust anyway.
If it becomes a problem, I’ll just get scolded then.
For now, let’s wrap up this situation.
“However, there is one thing you must promise me.”
I set the mood with a solemn voice.
“Please keep what happened today a secret, known only to you, me, and the Lord.”
“Yes? But, shouldn’t this miracle be made known to others…”
As expected, she’d say that.
It’s a tragic thing, but since I am human, I cannot save everyone.
“Sister.”
I looked straight into her eyes.
“The Lord’s miracles are bestowed only upon those who can bear them. What do you think would happen if this were known to the world? People wouldn’t look for the essence of the miracle; they would come looking for you and Minjun just to satisfy their own desires. Then, the child’s life could be stained with pain once again.”
Of course, my life would be the first to be stained with pain, but there was no need to go that far.
“A miracle is, quite literally, a miracle. This world is not yet ready to face them. If it’s you, I’m sure you understand what I mean.”
“Ah…!”
Perhaps realizing the gravity of the situation, Minjun’s mother turned pale and nodded vigorously.
“Y-yes! I will keep it in mind! Even if a knife were held to my throat, I would never tell a soul!”
Hmm, it’s not quite that serious.
“A wise decision.”
And so, this matter was concluded.
Before leaving the house, I bowed my head toward the sleeping Minjun.
“May the Lord’s grace always be with the child.”
“Stay healthy, both of you.”
With those words, I opened the front door and stepped out, and Mr. Choi Minho followed behind me after leaving a final farewell to his family.
The cold morning air brushed against my cheeks.
I walked out of the villa complex and muttered quietly while walking down a quiet alleyway.
“Phew, there’s no shield as versatile as religion.”
Religion doesn’t need proof.
With just the word ‘faith,’ you can cover up all logic and reason.
What if I had just revealed that I was a psychic?
Minjun’s mother would have been grateful, but also fearful and wary of me. She would have regarded me as an unknown entity with incomprehensible power.
But if you frame it as an ‘agent of God,’ the story changes.
I become an object of awe rather than an object of understanding, and my words become an irrefutable revelation.
Of course, it carries equal danger.
The history of this land proves just how terrible the tragedies born from madness in the name of God can be.
‘I should be careful, or a cult might form without me even knowing.’
As I organized my thoughts, Mr. Choi Minho, walking beside me, caught my eye.
“Mister, let’s get along well from now on. From here on out, you’re Driver Choi.”
“…Are you really going to make me drive?”
“Otherwise, why do you think I went through all that hell?”
My first employee, and the world’s one-and-only autonomous driving system!
‘She’s going to be so surprised, right?’
Thinking about showing off Driver Choi to Jina made my steps toward home feel exceptionally light.
“Driver Choi, your pace is a bit slow.”
“I suppose that’s because I’m not actually walking.”
“You weren’t walking?”
“Haha, if you look closely, I’m floating slightly.”
“Oh.”
Even while chatting, my mind was full of thoughts on how to show off Driver Choi.
It wouldn’t be cool to just say, “Ta-da! Oppa brought a chauffeur!”
Something like this needs a more dramatic performance.
Right, something like telekinesis.
Using Driver Choi’s power to float one or two objects in the air.
If I could float a cup or something, my status would rise even higher.
“Hehe.”
“…What are you imagining?”
I couldn’t help but laugh just thinking about it.
“When we get home later, I’ll give you a signal when the timing is right. Lift a cup slightly then.”
“I will do as you say, but didn’t you say your younger sister was at home?”
“That’s exactly why I’m doing it! Jina treats me like yesterday’s leftovers these days.”
“…Haha, yes.”
Soon, we arrived home, and as I opened the front door and stepped inside.
“Jina, Oppa’s home!”
“You’re here? Dad and Mom already left for work.”
Jina was sitting at the dining table, chewing on cereal with a blank face.
Since it was a weekday morning, she was already fully dressed in her school uniform.
“Hehe, Oppa is going to show you something insane.”
I smiled and looked for the timing to perform my telekinesis show.
But before I could even give the signal, Jina spoke up first, spoon in hand.
“Oppa, did someone follow you home?”
“What!”
My mind went blank for a second.
“Did you see things? I came alone.”
I played dumb for now.
But Jina pointed behind my back with suspicious eyes.
“It’s behind you, Oppa. Something white.”
“Something white?”
“Yeah. It’s too blurry to see clearly, but it’s not a human shape, just like a clump of smoke floating behind you.”
A clump of smoke.
At those words, not only I, but Driver Choi standing behind me, looked flustered.
“Does your sister see me too?”
“I just found that out myself!”
What on earth is going on?
Are the aftereffects of what I went through at the Damyang Abandoned Hospital still lingering?
No. I haven’t received any messages from other streamers saying they can see smoke-like things.
This was a phenomenon appearing only to Jina.
“That’s fascinating.”
I marveled and shifted my gaze slightly to the corner of the kitchen. Driver Choi silently glided over there.
“Is it over there?”
But Jina pointed her finger exactly at Driver Choi.
“Time out! Keep your eyes closed.”
After covering Jina’s eyes, I gestured to Driver Choi to move to various spots.
By the window, by the front door, near the ceiling, and back next to the dining table.
“Okay, open your eyes now. Where is it?”
“Huh? Next to the dining table.”
I repeated the test a few more times, but the result was the same.
“She really can see it.”
Jina pinpointed Driver Choi’s location every single time.
She had truly become able to see ghosts.
“Congratulations. You’ve opened your eyes!”
“I didn’t want to be congratulated for something like this…”
Jina made a gloomy face, as if she were moved by my congratulations.
Strictly speaking, it was closer to sensing the presence of a spiritual entity in the form of smoke, but it was clearly beyond the realm of an ordinary person.
“So, who is this vengeful spirit you brought home?”
“An employee. You can call him Driver Choi.”
“…Are you insane?”
Jina’s brow furrowed uncontrollably.
A sparrow cannot know the will of a phoenix.
I shrugged my shoulders and introduced Driver Choi.
“I went to a used car dealership yesterday, and due to various circumstances, I scouted him. He’s the person who will be driving our car from now on.”
I explained everything, starting from the story of Minjun to hiring Driver Choi.
“He’s someone I really had a hard time bringing on board.”
But after hearing the whole explanation, Jina looked at me with a pitiful gaze.
“…Oppa, you really seem worse than a devil.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“That’s not a compliment, you know?”
However, even while she was scolding me, Jina’s gaze kept drifting toward Driver Choi.
“…So, can he really lift things like that?”
Even if she says otherwise with her mouth, she can’t overcome her curiosity in the end.
She really is my sister.
“Hehe, I’ll show you.”
I smiled with satisfaction and signaled Driver Choi.
Whoosh-!
The spoon Jina was holding gently slipped from her hand and floated into the air.
“Whoa!”
An exclamation burst out as the spoon spun around in the air!
“Isn’t Oppa insane?”
“Why is it that Oppa is the insane one? That mister… oh, no, Driver Choi did it.”
Jina poked the floating spoon with her finger as if it were fascinating, muttering to herself.
“Come to think of it…”
“Yeah?”
“Actually, I’ve been seeing smoke-like things like this for a few days now.”
“Really? Since when?”
“Since the day after the joint stream? But it looked so blurry, I thought I was seeing things, so I didn’t tell you.”
No wonder she seemed a bit dazed ever since we went to Damyang.
“Where did you see them?”
At my question, Jina furrowed her brow as if recalling something.
“Our school math teacher.”
“You saw it on the math teacher?”
“Yeah. But it was a bit different from the smoke behind you, Oppa. Uh, why are you acting like that all of a sudden?”
At that moment, my body leaned forward without me realizing it.
I stepped closer to Jina and bent at the waist, focusing on her words.
Usually, this kind of intuitive reaction only comes out when there’s danger.
“Keep talking. How was it different?”
“Hmm…”
As expected, ominous words spilled from Jina’s lips.
“Should I say it was black and grimy? It looked really sticky, and just looking at it made me feel bad? Anyway, it was that kind of smoke.”
Sticky, black, grimy smoke.
Just by the description, it’s not an ordinary vengeful spirit.
Just then, Jina looked at her phone and jumped up from her seat.
“I’m going to be late because of you, Oppa!”
I watched Jina pack her bag and turned my head toward Driver Choi.
“Driver Choi.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“Do you know how to fight?”
It seems the time has come to deploy our employee.