The Manse Welfare Center (1)
“You’ll know once you go there.”
“…….”
A silence colder than a Siberian winter swept between Yoon-gi and Choi Deok-bae.
“Seriously, you’re a ghost, what could you possibly…”
Seeing Choi Deok-bae’s pathetic whining, Yoon-gi finally realized what the spirit wanted. “*Sigh*, fine. I’ll buy you those new books.”
Choi Deok-bae’s face instantly transformed into that of a grinning Hahoe mask, and before Yoon-gi knew it, the spirit was already pantomiming pulling open a door.
In the limousine heading toward Busan, Choi Deok-bae asked Yoon-gi again.
‘I’m in the middle of tearing that place down right now. But the demolition workers keep getting harassed by ghosts.’
What had happened at the Manse Welfare Center was nothing short of horrific. The torture wasn’t just a hobby for Baek Seo-hong and Go Yu-seung; most of the staff there had participated. Furthermore, when victims died, their bodies were sold off to nearby hospitals for anatomy practice. On top of that, they had even conducted illegal clinical trials with drugs. In short, it was a place where the deep-seated grudges of the victims were concentrated.
‘The moment N becomes president, I have to wipe out all those bastards who were involved.’
There was bound to be a stark difference in the severity of the sentences depending on whether the trial proceeded while N was president or under the current situation. After all, the current Minister of Justice and those holding cabinet positions were, at the end of the day, people installed by JD. But once N became president and his close aides took over the various departments in the Blue House, the punishment for JD would undoubtedly be certain.
Of course, even if JD were tried now, he would likely receive the death penalty or a comparable punishment. What Yoon-gi was focusing on were the lackeys who had been JD’s limbs. To punish them thoroughly, sometimes rushing to drink the soda—the swift justice—could actually be counterproductive.
‘Let’s go in.’
Yoon-gi toured the demolition site of the Manse Welfare Center under the guise of an inspection. Because so many workers had claimed to see ghosts, the construction was currently halted. That was why Yoon-gi could enter the empty, abandoned building.
Choi Deok-bae’s assessment. ‘Can you solve it?’
Choi Deok-bae called for Johnson. And a moment later.
“Huh?” Yoon-gi wore a puzzled expression. Choi Deok-bae dusted off his palms and then made a lewd, satisfied face.
That was when it happened.
‘Oh? Isn’t there one left over there?’
Yoon-gi pointed his finger toward the entrance of the basement. It was so dark that it looked like a rectangular black block.
“Hmm… I have to admit, the ANSP is truly something else.”
JSD had coolly granted Yoon-gi’s request. It was the data regarding the people who had been at the Manse Welfare Center. Unexpectedly, this data wasn’t hard to come by. Baek Seo-hong had forced those kidnapped to the center to fill out personal information forms and even took their photos. Of course, he never verified them. It was simply an insurance policy to track them down in case someone escaped. In reality, even if someone did escape, the police or prosecution would handle it for them, so he hadn’t really used them, but thanks to Baek Seo-hong’s actions, Yoon-gi was able to identify the black vengeful spirit.
‘Since it’s data verified by the ANSP, it must be accurate.’
Most of the people kidnapped to the Manse Welfare Center had no connections, let alone relatives to interact with. However, the black entity that Johnson was tightly gripping in Yoon-gi’s room right now was a man who had a family.
‘He was a poor soul…’
A man in his 40s with a haggard, ghostly appearance. This man, named ‘Jin Dong-gi,’ had become destitute after suffering a severe injury while working at a construction site and receiving not a single penny in compensation. Nowadays, if you get hurt at a construction site, you can at least start negotiations for a settlement, but in that era, the individual had to bear the burden alone.
The problem was the two children he had to raise. To feed his children, who weren’t even ten years old yet, Jin Dong-gi took on ‘bio-equivalence’ part-time jobs. The kind of job where you offer your body for drug experiments. In the 2010s, there were various restrictions and regulations on such jobs, but back then, there were none. They didn’t take responsibility even if side effects occurred. But for the broken-bodied Jin Dong-gi, this was the only way to feed his children, and being somewhat lucky, he was at least able to keep them from starving with this money.
But one day, on his way back from a bio-equivalence job, Jin Dong-gi collapsed, losing consciousness. And the place he woke up in was the horrific Manse Welfare Center. There, Jin Dong-gi wailed that his children were at home, but he met a miserable death at the hands of Baek Seo-hong, and his body was sent to a nearby university hospital for practice.
‘No wonder he couldn’t leave this world.’
He was a man who didn’t even care for his own body to feed his young son and daughter; how could he close his eyes in peace? The data on Jin Dong-gi was likely accurate. That was why Yoon-gi sighed.
‘If I didn’t know, it would be one thing, but knowing this, it’s too hard to just walk away.’
Yoon-gi called for Cha Pil-gyu, his bodyguard who had also taken on the role of his secretary.
“Yoon-gi, what is it?”
“Could you find these children and send them to an orphanage under the group’s foundation?”
A rather peculiar scene unfolded at the Manse Welfare Center construction site. It was an incredibly large ancestral rite table. As a table comparable to that of a major noble family was set up, the people living nearby became curious and started to watch. However, the food was a bit unusual. Instead of the traditional offerings like yakgwa (honey cookies), hangwa (traditional sweets), or tofu soup, the table was filled with foods that people in the 80s loved. It wasn’t just Korean food; pizza, hamburgers, jjajangmyeon, and tangsuyuk were mixed in, making the onlookers salivate.
Choi Deok-bae’s undeniable logic. Since it was advice given directly by a ghost, it was only right to accept it. Because of that, the ancestral rite table Yoon-gi prepared became, in a sense, a modern-style(?) rite table. There were definitely folding screens and nameplates with the victims’ names, but the food was modern. Seeing that, more people gathered around to watch.
And a moment later, when all preparations were finished, Yoon-gi poured liquor into hundreds of cups. The bows followed. Yoon-gi gave a bitter smile to Choi Deok-bae, who was smacking his lips.
‘Why don’t we eat together?’
At the unexpected answer, Yoon-gi looked at him with a proud expression. ‘Alright. I’ll prepare a special rite table for you soon.’
To Choi Deok-bae, who was grinning broadly, Yoon-gi asked another question. ‘Are the spirits satisfied?’
When Choi Deok-bae said, “This is enough,” Yoon-gi opened up the food to the watching citizens. However, Jin Dong-gi still showed no change.
‘Well, I suppose that’s not what’s important to him right now.’
Yoon-gi boarded the limousine and headed for the orphanage.
“Noona, harder! Push me harder!”
“Really? You want me to push really hard?”
A brother and sister, three years apart. The two children were running around the orphanage playground with bright, innocent faces. And the two children kept repeating how delicious the orphanage food was as they ate happily. The two children were none other than Jin Dong-gi’s children. When Jin Dong-gi’s vengeful spirit first arrived at the orphanage, he had wept continuously upon seeing the children. But as time passed, the characteristic black aura began to fade gradually.
And today, a week later, the black aura finally vanished completely from Jin Dong-gi’s body. At the same time, he reached the same state as Johnson and ‘Kkeobeongi’—a state where he had lost almost all of his own judgment. However, every time he looked at Yoon-gi, he would repeat a light smile, as if to say thank you.
‘Can’t vengeful spirits go to the afterlife?’
At Choi Deok-bae’s refusal to answer, Yoon-gi smacked his lips in regret. ‘Hmm… I was originally going to handle things after N was elected, but I think I need to change my thinking.’
The executioner named Yoon-gi began to move.
On the land of the Manse Welfare Center purchased by YK, the demolition work proceeded smoothly. Rumors spread in the public that it was thanks to Yoon-gi’s ancestral rite, and talk even circulated that he might have spiritual powers, but Yoon-gi didn’t pay much attention to that. Jin Dong-gi’s children were also living well without any worries at the orphanage run by Yoon-gi. They started attending school, ate well, and adapted to the orphanage life.
[They were such poor kids. After their father died, the police forcibly dumped them at a relative’s house, and when I went to find them, the relative had stripped them naked and kicked them out of the house. Just because they wet the bed once.]
Cha Pil-gyu confessed honestly that he had been so enraged he gave Jin Dong-gi’s relatives bloody noses. From Yoon-gi’s perspective, there was no reason to make an issue of it. Anyway, although Jin Dong-gi’s children had lost their father, thanks to him, they were now living a life without worries about food, clothing, or shelter.
However, Jin Dong-gi wasn’t the only victim. Even if they weren’t vengeful spirits on the level of Jin Dong-gi, all the spirits at the Manse Welfare Center held grudges. It was just that because they were at a level Johnson could handle, they had turned from vengeful spirits into ordinary spirits.
‘Well, there’s no law saying I must resolve the Manse Welfare Center issue only after N is elected.’
Yoon-gi quickly revised his plan. A way to help N without putting the Manse Welfare Center matter on the back burner. ‘Ah, that’s how I can do it.’
For a rare moment when Johnson could shine. Yoon-gi went to find his fourth uncle, Choi Cheol-jae, who ran an entertainment agency.