You Should Have Said So Sooner
“What? You should have said so sooner.”
Noel curled the corners of his lips.
“It's been so long since I died, my memory's a bit hazy,” the ghost replied slickly.
“Excuse me... Does gold work too? I have several 24k gold pieces,” a woman wearing glasses asked cautiously.
“Hey! It's sad enough dying because I had no money, but do we really have to deal with this after death too? I heard you're a shaman. I saw on TV that shamans are supposed to be a bridge between the living and the dead. You can't do this!”
“Hey, if you don't have money, just stay quiet. Don't make our shaman dizzy when he's already got a head injury.”
The ghosts bickered among themselves.
'Wow.'
Noel's eyes sparkled.
This place was paradise.
The damn ghosts were docile, and while they might try to threaten him, they weren't a threat to his life.
What could they even do if they tried to attack him?
“Just listen to me! Don't you feel any pity? Is it so wrong to just ask you to listen? If you don't, I'll curse you—”
Noel pointed a finger.
The ghost who had been running its mouth froze mid-sentence.
Black smoke billowed around its neck.
“Ugh... ack...”
The ghost gasped in pain.
“Just because I'm being quiet, do I look like a pushover to you? It's going to be a problem if you cross the line.”
Noel gave the ghost a chilling smile.
It wasn't like he had only dealt with ghosts once or twice.
They probably thought they couldn't feel pain because they were dead.
But necromancy was different.
Because they were dead, he could make them suffer even more.
Noel released his grip.
The chattering ghosts fell silent in an instant.
“My head is throbbing, so everyone go back for now. I'll call you later, so you stay quiet too, mister.”
“I like your fire. I've always preferred people with a bit of temper. And having the power to back it up makes it even better!”
The bald, middle-aged male ghost laughed thoroughly.
'This is great.'
Knowing their place, being just noisy enough, and knowing exactly where to draw the line.
They knew how to keep their boundaries.
Watching the ghosts retreat, Noel realized one thing for certain.
This was the place.
Wasn't this the paradise he had always dreamed of?
He didn't have to be chased anymore.
He didn't have to live in constant anxiety.
'...I don't have to hide anymore.'
Noel let out a long sigh of relief and gently stroked his cast-bound arm.
However, there was one thing missing that he wished could be here with him.
'...Mother, was it you?'
Was it his mother's power that sent him here?
Or was it his older brother and sister?
'Is Father... safe?'
Suddenly, a rush of thoughts flooded his mind.
“Um, Noel.”
At Yeong-hyeon's voice, Noel turned his head.
“What is it?”
“Are you okay?”
“Aren't there other questions you should be asking?”
Like how he used this power, or what kind of power it was.
“Well... the fact that someone else is in my already-dead body is so hard to believe that none of this feels real anyway.”
Yeong-hyeon lay back down.
He stole a glance at Noel.
He looked like a foreigner. But the world was vast, so wasn't it possible for someone to possess a strange power?
“More than that, I'm surprised that everything doesn't just end when you die. Life was so painful, so why does it keep going even after death?”
Noel lay down on the bed.
“Because of lingering regrets.”
“I see... So this is what regret feels like.”
“So, what is it you want to ask of me?”
At Noel's question, Yeong-hyeon smiled brightly.
“I want to... find my family.”
“You can just go to a police station for that.”
“No.”
Yeong-hyeon shook his head.
He lowered himself slightly, as if trying to match Noel's eye level.
His hands fidgeted against the bed, though they couldn't actually touch it.
“...My family all died in an accident. I was there too, but I was the only one who survived.”
Yeong-hyeon's eyes cast downward.
“It was a family trip... I guess we were too excited. We couldn't avoid a truck whose brakes had failed.”
“And so they died?”
At Noel's calm question, Yeong-hyeon nodded, fighting back tears.
“My relatives held the funerals for them while I was unconscious. When I was discharged and came home, there was no one there. I couldn't... bear that silence.”
“Of course you couldn't. How could anyone bear that?”
Yeong-hyeon was perhaps both the luckiest and the most unfortunate person.
Losing loved ones one by one was enough to shatter a person's heart, but losing them all at once—how was that any different from having one's heart ripped out while still alive?
“My mom, dad, older brother, and me. The four of us. I'm sure... they couldn't move on to a good place and are still looking for me there.”
“I get it. I'll look for them as soon as I'm discharged.”
At Noel's answer, Yeong-hyeon smiled warmly.
“Thank you! Thank you so much, Noel!”
“Just make sure you have the money ready.”
“Of course. There's the insurance payout. Back then, I was so angry, thinking 'what is this money even for?' but now it's become so precious.”
Yeong-hyeon, who was older than Noel, smiled like a fool.
He must have always been this kind of person.
Noel nodded casually, then suddenly sat up.
“Where are you going?”
“The restroom. Why? Do you need to go too?”
Noel strode out, but when a ghost informed him that the restroom was occupied, he stepped outside.
As he was about to head to another restroom, someone spoke to him.
“Excuse me, young man...?”
“Yes?”
“...I heard you're a shaman?”
“What of it?”
He was quick-witted enough to notice the stares around him.
Since he couldn't talk to himself, whenever he caught people looking at him strangely, he simply told them he was a 'shaman.'
They showed various reactions—some with terrified faces, others with curious eyes—but at least they wouldn't approach him anymore.
It was incredibly convenient.
“...Well, I was wondering if you do fortune-telling or shamanic readings.”
Noel had to think for a moment to understand what she meant.
'Ah.'
A shamanic reading, where a shaman channels their deity to look into various matters.
'I don't have anything like that.'
He was a necromancer, not a real shaman.
He didn't have a deity he served, nor did he even believe in one.
“It's not my specialty, but are you okay with that?”
Noel asked back, simply curious.
Would they really give him money for this?
'It'd be great if they did.'
Noel looked at the woman with a slashed face riding on the middle-aged woman's back.
When she grinned, he could feel her malice.
But that malice wasn't directed at the middle-aged woman.
It was simply radiating outward in all directions.
“She looks... a bit scary,” Yeong-hyeon whispered.
As if he hadn't had his own head cracked open.
When the female ghost glared at him, Yeong-hyeon quickly covered his mouth.
“It's fine. I just have a few things I want to ask.”
The middle-aged woman smiled weakly and guided him to a nearby sofa.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The middle-aged woman was a patient just like him, smelling strongly of disinfectant.
Looking into her eyes, Noel could tell she was hovering on the boundary between life and death.
Seeing that her body was perfectly fine except for her wrists, it was likely a psychological issue.
“Did you happen to make an enemy? I see a ghost with a slashed face.”
At Noel's words, the middle-aged woman suddenly covered her mouth.
Her hands trembled violently, and her face turned pale.
“Slashed...?”
“Yes. You might not believe me, but she's piggybacking on you right now.”
“...What... what does she look like?”
'She actually believes me?'
Noel thought lightly of it and began to describe the slashed-faced woman's appearance one by one.
“She has a bracelet on her wrist. It has a dolphin charm on it, and she has ear piercings. Oh, and there's a heart tattoo on the inside of her finger. Is she someone you know?”
“Oh... oh my god. Oh my god, my daughter... That's my daughter...”
The middle-aged woman immediately covered her face with both hands and sobbed uncontrollably.
A glimpse of the bandages wrapped around her wrists could be seen.
“She was your daughter? Then why is she clinging to her like this?”
When Noel asked, the ghost grinned.
“He said he would kill my mom. I have to protect her. Mom can't die the way I did. Absolutely not.”
'Is that what she calls protecting?'
So that was why her malice was radiating outward rather than toward the middle-aged woman.
Well, at least she wouldn't turn into an evil spirit.
“She says she's protecting you. Is this what you wanted to know?”
“My daughter... is protecting me?”
“Yes.”
The middle-aged woman sobbed once more.
“Don't cry. Is this what you wanted to know?”
“No. I want to... find my daughter. Where she is...”
The middle-aged woman stopped mid-sentence, her lips trembling as tears streamed down her face.
“I desperately... want to know. I just want to bring my child back.”
So that was why she had asked him.
Since she hadn't been able to find her dead daughter's body, she must have been desperate to grasp at any straw.
“Noel. You have to... you absolutely have to help her find her,” Yeong-hyeon urged.
Noel wanted to tell him to shut up.
“That's what they're saying. Tell me where your body is.”
Noel looked at the female ghost.
“...No.”
The ghost turned her head away.
“Why?”
“Because I don't want to. I don't want to say it. What do you think I look like right now? I must be bloated beyond recognition, probably crawling with bugs. How can I let her see that? Mom... will be even sadder than she is now.”
“Amulet or not, it seems your mother is contemplating making an extreme choice. Are you waiting to go with her?”
“Do you think I'm watching her because I want to? There's nothing else I can do!”
“But now you have a chance. You'll regret it if you let this slip. You won't find anyone else who can see you and talk to you as clearly as I can.”
“Mom... won't be able to handle it. She's only holding on right now to find me, but once she does, she'll follow me to the grave!”
The ghost hugged the middle-aged woman tightly, terrified of losing her.
“That's not for the dead to worry about. You're being presumptuous. Besides, you know that even if you don't say anything, she might follow you soon anyway.”
At Noel's words, the middle-aged woman flinched.
The ghost, who was about to call him a liar, also stared intently at her mother.
“...Mom? Mom, what's wrong? Mom... don't do this. Why are you acting like this? Huh...?”
“Has the culprit been caught?”
“...No.”
The middle-aged woman shook her head.
The loss of hope was evident in her voice and eyes.
If that was the case, there was a way.
“Do you want to catch him?”
“...Can he be caught?”
At the mention of the culprit, a spark of hope began to bloom in the middle-aged woman's eyes.
“My word can't be used as evidence. You know that, right?”
“I know.”
The middle-aged woman's resolve grew much stronger than before.
Noel looked at the ghost.
“Speak now.”
“But... that bastard will kill Mom too. I know he will!”
“Why? Is he a shaman too?”
Noel sneered.
What utter nonsense.
“Can he hear you too, then?”
The ghost fell silent.
“You're dead. Accept it.”
How long was she going to keep replaying her final moments in her head?
She was a ghost now.
“All you need to do is spit it out. Didn't I say I'd help?”
“...He has it at his house.”
“Whose house?”
“That bastard's... house. I'm in his freezer. Dismembered and frozen.”
The ghost buried her face in the middle-aged woman's shoulder, trembling violently.
“...Noel? This is, well... It might be too hard for her to accept,” Yeong-hyeon spoke cautiously.
He worried she might faint.
“Still, what needs to be done must be done.”
Noel looked straight at the middle-aged woman.
“Ma'am.”
“...Yes.”
“Please don't faint.”
“...I won't.”
“And don't scream either.”
At Noel's repeated warnings, the middle-aged woman looked at him with an anxious gaze.
“Ah, before that, give it to me.”
Noel held out his hand.
Come to think of it, he had been too naive.
He didn't even have a shop yet; what if she just ran away?
“Hey! You crazy bastard!” the ghost screamed.
“Don't scream. It's only natural to pay a price, isn't it?”
Noel curled the corners of his lips.
“Do you think I'm just going to stand by and watch my mom get ripped off?”
The ghost's eyes grew fierce, and her hair began to flutter.
She certainly harbored a deep grudge.
It was a miracle she hadn't turned into an evil spirit yet.
“I wouldn't do that if I were you. If you don't like it, fine. I can just walk away.”
As Noel shrugged, Yeong-hyeon gestured to the ghost to calm down.
“Seriously, it's best not to pick a fight with him. He's really strong.”
“P-please, master! Master, please!”
The middle-aged woman desperately grabbed Noel's hand.
The desperation in her eyes was palpable.
“I wasn't talking to you just now, so please calm down.”
“I'll pay you. I was planning to anyway. I'll transfer the money right now.”
The middle-aged woman's hands shook.
“......”
Noel looked at Yeong-hyeon.
He didn't know how that worked.
He didn't even have a phone right now.
“Bada Bank. xxxxx-xxxx-xxx.”
“Bada Bank.”
Noel recited the ridiculously long string of numbers.
“How much should I send?” the middle-aged woman asked.
Noel looked at Yeong-hyeon.
“Uh... two hundred thousand won?”
“Only that much? I got a million won earlier.”
“That was an exceptionally large amount.”
“Is that so?”
“Are you trying to bleed my family dry or something?”
The ghost spoke in disbelief, causing Noel to furrow his brow.
“Do you really think so? Personally, I think this is worth more than any other transaction.”
“Mom... already got scammed out of so much money trying to find me. Because of me...”
The ghost choked up.
“Fine. I'll take exactly two hundred thousand won.”
Noel compromised.
Just the fact that he was getting paid for this kind of work made him happy.
“...Two hundred thousand won?”
Only that much?
The middle-aged woman began to look at Noel in a different light.
“Yes. Please transfer it.”
“......Thank you.”
Holding back her rising tears, the middle-aged woman began to initiate the account transfer.
How many times had she been manipulated by people exploiting her desperation?
Yet, even knowing she was being scammed, she had no choice but to fall for it.
It was about her child, after all.
But this time was different.
No, it had to be different.
“There, I've sent it.”
The middle-aged woman showed him her phone screen.
“It's been deposited.”
At Yeong-hyeon's confirmation, Noel looked at the ghost.
After hearing the address and repeating it to the middle-aged woman, she began to type it into her phone with trembling hands.
“...An apartment?”
The middle-aged woman asked in a hushed voice.
Why?
Why did she sound so shocked by the word 'apartment'?
“Yes.”
“My daughter is... in an apartment?”
“That's right.”
“Where... is she?”
Did she sense something ominous?
Her trembling eyes betrayed her raw anxiety.
“In the freezer.”
“......”
The middle-aged woman's eyes rolled back. Noel, startled, stood up and reached out to catch her.
But she didn't faint.
She gripped her thighs tightly, forcing herself to endure.
She didn't even shed a tear.
She simply bit her lip and held on.
Because she had found a reason to endure once more.
“...Thank you.”
With eyes clouded by emotions far too heavy to bear—chief among them, hatred—the middle-aged woman bowed her head before looking up again.
Noel spoke to her quietly.
“You'll be able to catch the culprit.”
He had given her the location.
The rest was up to her.
Noel turned around.
As he was walking slowly back to his hospital room, someone brushed past him.
Noel stole a glance at the figure, and the corners of his lips curled upward.
“Yeong-hyeon.”
“Yeah?”
“They have those here too.”
“Those what?”
“The ones who guide the dead.”
“...Grim Reapers?”
“I wouldn't know what they're called here.”
“Did you just see one? Just now?”
Yeong-hyeon turned his head left and right with keen interest.
“Who knows. It just crossed my mind.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Mister.”
Noel looked at the bald, middle-aged male ghost as he changed his clothes to prepare for discharge.
“Yeah?”
“It's your turn now. What can I do for you?”
Noel flashed a very gentle smile.
Shamanic readings.
This was incredibly lucrative.
Since the nurses and other patients had shown interest, he had used the ghosts' information to tell them about their current worries and things to watch out for, which had resulted in a mountain of snacks.
They even gave him food.
Whether it was under the guise of a shaman or anything else, how could he ever let go of such a sweet taste of success now that he had experienced it?