Striking While the Iron Is Hot (2)
"Thank you. Thank you so much."
As the middle-aged man bowed and hurriedly ran ahead, Noel followed close behind.
—Thank you for your help, Shaman. I shall do my utmost to assist you whenever I can, so please do not hesitate to seek me out. Safe travels.
Noel waved lightly at Cheongsol's words.
"See you later."
Stepping outside, Noel spotted a car waiting for him.
Talk about fast.
"Noel."
At Asin's call, Noel turned his head.
"Once we return home, eat well and sleep early."
Ever since Yeong-hyeon had departed, Noel had been constantly on the move, even taking on new clients.
Yeong-hyeon had been there long before she became Noel's guardian deity.
She did not know how long they had been together or what had transpired between them, but she wondered why he did not seem sad.
"If you overexert yourself, your wounds will not heal easily. Does it not still pain you?"
"I plan to. Once I get home, I'm going to eat and rest right away."
Having gone on an unintentional hike, his entire body was aching.
His legs trembled with every step down the stairs.
...Hyung. I'm sorry, but this body's legs are way too weak.
A car quickly pulled up, its headlights flashing.
Noel climbed into the passenger seat.
He entered the destination into the navigation system. It estimated about thirty-five minutes to his house, which was closer than he had expected.
As the car began to move, Noel spoke first.
"Are you asking because you're against me starting a business?"
"It is... related to that, yes."
"Tell me about it. Oh, by the way, I only take upfront payments for my readings. The fee will vary depending on the details. It might be a bit pricier than other places, but rest assured, I'm the real deal."
Noel made sure to state this beforehand.
To be honest, the going rates in the shamanic world were completely arbitrary.
There was an average baseline, but he decided to tack on a few extra percent.
Granting wishes, improving academic performance... He would cast aside the things even a god couldn't do and instead sell the power of purification—which actually worked—under the guise of talismans.
Since they were genuinely effective, it was only right that they were expensive.
"I already know you are the real deal."
After all, the Mountain God himself had sent him.
The man was well aware of that entity's existence.
Even when he had tried to deny it, Noel had accurately pointed out the truth.
It wasn't as if his daughter was particularly loose-lipped, either.
"I am... nearing retirement. When I say 'nearing,' it might sound urgent, but I actually have about two years left."
...Ah. I can already smell the scam.
Retirement.
The anxiety of an uncertain future.
Receiving a hefty severance package was practically the final flare of a working man's career.
"This bodes ill."
It seemed Asin had also caught a whiff of that fishy scent.
"Around that time, a long-time friend of mine proposed a business venture."
"One must exercise utmost caution regarding such matters. In the future, many temptations shall come your way, but you must never accept business proposals."
Noel wasn't sure why the conversation had suddenly veered in that direction, but he nodded anyway.
"I had absolutely no intention of doing it either. My retirement package is quite substantial, I prepared well for my post-retirement years while working, and above all, my wife is quite successful."
At the mention of his wife, a reflexive smile spread across the man's face.
He was clearly very proud of her.
"Then why did you want to do the business?"
To Noel, this sounded like a massive contradiction.
It was something he had absolutely no need to do.
"I repeatedly turned my friend down, and he said he understood. He really stopped suggesting it after that."
If the story had ended there, he wouldn't be asking Noel for help.
"I... get my fortune read about twice a year."
"There is little need for such things. The future is ever-shifting, after all. While one may foresee immediate dangers, there is no such thing as an absolute prophecy in the face of a constantly changing future."
Asin maintained a highly skeptical expression.
Even the simplest choices—which path to take today, whom to meet—could alter countless futures.
"If it's real, do they guess right?"
At Kkamangi's question, Asin nodded.
"Naturally, there are things that remain immutable amidst the shifting tides of the future. A person's death, the misfortune brought about by one's own karma, or the ill fate invited by another's malice... such things rarely change. They are part of a great, unyielding flow."
So that's how it works.
Noel listened to Asin's explanation with interest.
In his original world, divine prophecies were absolute.
They were unalterable truths, set in stone.
"You can get them read, of course. But you must keep in mind that most of them are fake, or that the future can change."
Noel repackaged Asin's words and delivered them smoothly.
"My friend knows I get readings. He recommended a place, saying it was good, and when I looked it up, it turned out to be quite famous."
"Did they get it right?"
"Yes. It was as if they knew me inside out. They got so many things right, down to the very last detail."
Although he couldn't take his eyes off the road while driving, astonishment was written all over his face.
Couldn't his friend have just fed them the information?
"Couldn't his friend have told them?"
"Kkamangi wants to do that too!"
The two spirits and Noel were in perfect agreement.
"There were various things, but then the shaman suddenly blurted something out to me."
"That you must absolutely do that business?"
"Yes, yes! Exactly! So how could my heart not waver?"
"It certainly would."
"So after agonizing over it, I told my friend I'd do it. But before I could sign the papers, you arrived, Bosal-nim..."
"Do you want to know if that shaman is real or fake? Or do you want to know if your friend and the shaman colluded beforehand?"
"Both... of them. May I ask this of you?"
Do shamans usually do this kind of work too?
Noel pondered for a moment, then smiled warmly.
Whether they were a fraud or not didn't actually matter.
Well, I've got someone to ask now.
Since they were currently working in the field, they would surely be of help in helping him adapt to being a shaman.
"It is not... a bad thing, but your thoughts seem rather peculiar."
As Asin immediately saw through him, Noel widened his eyes innocently.
"I'll do it. In exchange, no matter what the outcome is, don't resent me."
"Of course."
"Shall we start with the recording? Please transfer the deposit right after."
This wasn't part of the tasks Kkamangi had gathered.
While such work could be done under the table, there was no officially set price for it.
"Two and a half million won, including the risk premium."
Though there wasn't actually anything dangerous about it, it certainly wasn't an easy task.
More than anything, wasn't it a massive bargain to spend such a small sum to protect a fortune instead of making a reckless, massive investment?
Noel beamed.
Upon returning home, Noel ate a quick meal and collapsed onto his bed.
His entire body felt like it was screaming in pain.
Noel glanced down.
Kkamangi had climbed onto his stomach, tucking its paws beneath itself as it sat.
Asin had called this the "bread-loaf" pose.
Is Kkamangi a burnt loaf of bread?
As Noel squirmed and shifted upward, Kkamangi slapped his stomach with its tail.
"Don't move. I'm sitting."
"I have to make a call."
"Do it lying down."
"You were clinging to Asin like glue earlier, so why aren't you going to her now?"
"Not warm. Noel is warm."
Kkamangi replied with its eyes closed.
When Noel reached out and stroked it from bottom to top, its eyes fluttered open.
Even though Noel chuckled, Kkamangi simply basked in the warmth.
The door slid open with a soft creak.
Asin peeked her head in.
"If you are busy, I shall take Kkamangi with me."
"No, it's fine. Just leave it. It'll probably go back to you after a bit anyway."
At Noel's words, Kkamangi cracked one eye open.
"No. Today, Kkamangi is sleeping next to Noel."
"What brought on this sudden change of heart, you little shadow?"
"I'm not a clinger, I'm Kkamangi."
Noel gently pinched and tugged Kkamangi's cheeks with both hands.
Its eyes opened slightly, then closed again.
"I'm making a call, okay?"
"Do it."
Kkamangi scratched its ear with its hind leg, keeping its eyes open this time.
Noel dialed the number and continued to stroke Kkamangi.
"Hello. Have you eaten?"
The woman answered energetically.
"First, could you tell me about the mirror?"
"Of course."
"So you accepted it?"
"By any chance, is it brand new?"
Noel was curious about that fact.
...One day, that child received a gift. The child was pleased, but there was something sinister clinging to the mirror. I know not whether it was flawed from its creation, or if the one who gifted it had tampered with it.
Even the guardian deity had said she couldn't tell if it was new or not.
"Has the mirror not been retrieved yet?"
"As long as you don't bring the mirror back inside, you'll be perfectly fine."
The owner of the house had already banished the object outside.
Unless permission was granted, it was impossible for it to return.
"I understand."
Noel hung up and waited quietly.
"Noel."
Asin spoke, her face peeking through the gap in the door.
"Why are you standing like that?"
As Noel let out a chuckle, Asin hesitated.
Her heart ached seeing how Noel would habitually call out for 'Hyung' upon returning home, only to catch himself and act as if nothing had happened.
He had to be grieving, yet he was keeping it all bottled up inside.
"Yeong-hyeon left a letter behind. Whether you read it or not is entirely up to you."
"Hyung... is truly kind."
Noel offered a faint smile.
Knowing his brother, he had probably realized he couldn't say everything that day and had written it down in a letter instead.
For Noel.
And for those left behind.
"He was a remarkably kind child."
Asin smiled warmly.
"Anyway, Asin. Is that why you're staying out there instead of coming in?"
"I worried that you might walk on eggshells around me and pretend to be fine when you are not."
Asin couldn't meet Noel's gaze.
Too much worry was just as troublesome as too little, after all.
She still hadn't quite figured out the right distance to keep with Noel.
"It's true that I'm sad, but I'm not pretending to be fine. It's just a sadness I can manage. To put it simply, the water hasn't overflowed my cup yet."
"That is a relief, then. Should sadness ever overtake you, speak of it. I possess both the words and the hands to comfort you."
As Asin reached out and waved her hand, Noel smiled warmly.
"If I don't say these things to my deity, who else would I tell?"
"Indeed. Well said."
Asin looked at Noel proudly.
Bzzzz.
As the phone vibrated, Asin waved her hand and vanished.
"Then, attend to your work."
Noel waved back, then answered the call.
"Yes, have you stepped outside now?"
The woman spoke in a terrified voice.
Ah.
Hearing her story made Noel even more certain.
It wasn't new.
It was secondhand—passed down to her.
With that, the answer was practically clear.
"It probably won't be retrieved in the future either."
A wave of panic was palpable from the other end of the line.
"It's disconcerting, isn't it?"
"Right now... Ah, may I ask your name?"
"It seems that object is targeting you, Ms. Dan A-rin."
A sense of profound injustice bled through her voice.
But what could she do?
This was a realm that defied common sense from the very beginning.
"For now, since we've banished it from your living space, it definitely can't come back in. And the reason it's targeting you is simple."
"It's because your colleague handed that mirror over to you."
"I don't know the exact reason, but there's no doubt that mirror is cursed. It might be hard to make sense of, but let me explain first."
Explaining situations involving spirits to someone who couldn't see them was difficult enough, but getting them to understand was even harder.
"Your colleague asked if you needed a mirror, and you said yes. In doing so, you essentially gave the temporary consent required for a contract."
"It might feel incredibly unfair, but in our line of work, a single word carries immense weight. Whether you consented or not—that difference is massive. In any case, with your temporary consent given, you actually brought that mirror into your room."
Her voice rose slightly over the phone.
It was a completely understandable reaction.
How incredibly terrifying and confusing this must be for her.
"I understand. I'll take a look at the mirror tomorrow, so could you text me your address?"
"Ah, just so you know, dealing with curses and spiritual impurities is on the pricier side."
"Our base rate starts at five million won."
"Yes. That's for a complete exorcism. If you want to reflect the curse back, it's three million won. If my inspection reveals it hasn't even fully manifested as a curse, it's two and a half million won. And if the curse is stronger than expected, we start at ten million won."
This was the pricing structure he had verified through Kkamangi.
"Exactly. Instead of exorcising it, we return it to its original owner—your colleague."
"It's merely returning to its original owner, so what does it matter? The bad one here is your colleague, isn't it? Anyway, think it over and let me know."
"No installments. Upfront payment only."
Noel spoke firmly.
"There's no immediate danger, since you kicked it out of your house. But a curse will never disappear unless it's properly lifted. Even if it's not the mirror, it will try to enter your home in another form."
A deep, heavy sigh traveled over the line from A-rin.
She must feel utterly helpless.
How could she not?
"If the fee is too burdensome, there is another way. Would you like to hear it?"
Noel offered a subtle suggestion.
After all, this person was the victim.
And who was the one who actually deserved to pay?
The fact that the colleague had passed the mirror to her meant they already knew about the curse.
And they couldn't even handle it themselves.
Wouldn't it be much better to squeeze ten million won out of them instead of five?