As Giju Wishes Chapter 2.3

“Well… um… hmm…”

“Stop trying to figure out what to say and just spit it out.”

Giju debated whether he should tell him that his soul wasn’t properly attached. It was too difficult and heavy to explain.

“I didn’t know before, but looking at you now, your body is one that’s easily possessed by ghosts.”

“Can’t I just deal with it with an amulet?”

“An amulet is just a temporary fix.”

“What are we going to do at the seonangdang?”

“Actually, I want to go to a shaman and hear how to solve this… but the sacred tree at the seonangdang here has really good energy. I have an idea, but before we go to the shaman, will you hear me out…?”

Choi Geon looked at Giju with half-lidded eyes. He seemed to have some abilities, but he also seemed strangely like a novice, which didn’t inspire much confidence.

“I’m lucky, Geon-ah. Follow me.”

Even though he wasn’t a shaman, Giju was suddenly filled with the courage that he could do it. Giju, who had shot up from his seat, began to grab the arm of the displeased-looking Choi Geon and pull him along.

🔖⛩️📿

At the unfamiliar scenery, Choi Geon furrowed his brows. He had only heard that there was a famous tree, but this was the first time he had seen it with his own eyes. He never had a reason to come here in the first place.

This place, located within a mountain, was surrounded by nothing but trees. On their branches, ropes made of five-colored silk cloth were wound around and around. The large tree in the center was wrapped with the thickest straw rope, with five-colored cloths trailing down like long hair. Choi Geon stared quietly at the large tree. They said it was sacred, but for some reason, it had a strong eerie feeling.

“Aren’t we going to get cursed?”

“What are you talking about? The energy here is so sacred. Now, try to align your mind.”

Choi Geon didn’t know what “aligning his mind” meant, but he basically just shut his mouth and acted meek.

“Did you do it?”

“Yeah.”

After that, Giju took a long time to think, as if he couldn’t quite remember what to do next.

“Hey, do you even know what you’re…”

“Come here.”

Choi Geon trudged over to Giju’s side.

“You need to place three stones here, bow three times, and then spit three times.”

At the mention of spitting, Choi Geon’s face turned grim.

“Spit? Fuck, am I going to get struck by lightning? You bastard, are you trying to send me to my death…”

“I’m telling you, that’s what you’re supposed to do. That’s how you improve your luck. My aunt used to go there often when her spiritual powers were waning, so I remember.”

Despite Giju’s words, Choi Geon still looked reluctant.

“I’m serious. And if a stray ghost is going to possess you, it would be better if it was a seonang spirit, wouldn’t it… A seonang spirit is a guardian, so it’s not dangerous.”

“If a guardian spirit possesses me, will I get a double nosebleed and my eyes roll back like you?”

“But your spiritual eyes aren’t open. You’re just unlucky, so you probably won’t even feel it.”

Giju simply brushed off the gap between his body and soul as him being “unlucky.”

“You better watch it, if I get cursed, I’ll become a ghost and haunt you forever.”

Choi Geon gritted his teeth and picked up a stone. Then, as instructed, he placed three stones and began to bow.

“Reverently, reverently.”

Giju whispered beside him. Choi Geon wanted to sew Giju’s mouth shut, but he endured it and bowed three times. Then, after hesitating, he spat three times. The two remained silent and motionless for a moment.

“…Did the guardian spirit run away?”

Giju stared at Choi Geon. To be honest, a guardian spirit coming was ridiculous, and he was hoping for at least a blessing, but there was nothing. Perhaps for Choi Geon, who was neither a shaman nor had any spiritual energy, it was a natural outcome.

“Was my sincerity lacking?”

Giju, with a disappointed face, fell into deep thought.

“From what I can see, I’m already cursed,”

Choi Geon, who had a bad feeling ever since he was told to spit, was muttering something when Giju cut him off quite firmly.

“Let’s go over there.”

What Giju pointed to was a small shrine behind the tree. The dilapidated black wooden structure, with worn-out five-colored silk cloths hanging in rows like a seal, looked like a haunted house.

“Hey, hey, stop. We’ll really get struck by lightning there.”

Choi Geon strongly objected and grabbed Giju’s wrist. It was better to just go meet the money-crazed Shaman Cheon.

“No, no. We can’t leave like this. I’m going to make sure you get the blessing of the seonghwang spirit.”

“I don’t give a damn about any spirit, aren’t you coming? You’re not even a shaman.”

Giju, who had already made up his mind, and Choi Geon, who didn’t want to get struck by lightning, bickered with each other.

“I’m not, but I’ve still studied hard and prepared.”

Giju suddenly opened the bag he was wearing and showed him the inside. In the bag were food in disposable bags and plates.

“…Why are you carrying that crap in your bag?”

“I brought it because I was meeting you after a long time. I was going to go to Shaman Cheon and have him perform at least a small luck-welcoming ritual. I didn’t intend to use it here…”

Giju had put in a considerable amount of thought. Choi Geon knew that, but as if he couldn’t help his shitty mood, he looked past Giju at the haunted house with a sour expression.

“Do we really have to do this?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re saying you’re going to perform a ritual in there.”

“Yes. The energy is strong there.”

Was he talking about the energy of death? Choi Geon briefly considered knocking Giju out with a single blow. He even suspected that a ghost had possessed him and was trying to persuade him. Just then, Giju squeezed Choi Geon’s hand tightly.

“Can’t you just trust me this once?”

Giju took another step closer.

“I may not be a shaman, but I know that this is a sacred place. I’ve been coming here since I was little.”

Choi Geon, who was staring quietly at Giju, sighed and ran a hand roughly through his hair.

“Go on, go.”

He felt like he was already cursed from spitting anyway, so he decided to just let things happen as they may. As soon as Choi Geon finished speaking, he slowly followed Giju, who was heading towards the haunted house without waiting for a reply.

Giju opened the shrine door wide without any hesitation. Only Choi Geon, who was behind him, was startled.

Creeak-

The door opened with a bloodcurdling sound. Inside were all sorts of red amulets and tree branches. The branches were tied with five-colored silk. As if not at all creeped out, Giju put his hands together, muttered something, and went inside.

Then, he took out the food from the bag he had brought and placed it one by one on plates on the wooden altar. Choi Geon stood behind him and stared at the rice cakes and apples on the plates with a still-displeased expression.

“Come here, Geon-ah.”

Giju, who had finished his preparations, called Choi Geon with a notebook in one hand and a shaman’s bell in the other. Choi Geon stood next to Giju with an annoyed face.

“Hoo… I’ll begin.”

“I’m just asking, just in case, but you’ve been inside here before, right?”

“No.”

Choi Geon glared at Giju so fiercely it looked like his eyes would pop out.

“…But you’ve seen other people go in, right?”

“No.”

“You son of a bitch.”

“Shh, shh.”

Giju turned his head and placed his index finger on his lips as if to tell him to be quiet. Then he held up the notebook in his hand and recited what was written.

“Um, ahem. Beopcheonjimantaebaeksanryeong shinhudaegilsamgaksanryeong chigunhaengdomugunsanryeong byeonggadaeingwanaksanryeong magundaeyeongguwolsanryeong shinmijayadeokyusanryeong daejubaekbyeongdaeyongsanryeong mansegungdalsuyangsannryeong…”

Giju diligently imitated his grandmother performing a mountain spirit ritual. After chanting the mountain spirit prayer for a long time, Giju shook the bell in his hand.

Clang-

As he struck the bell on the wooden bowl, a clear bell sound rang out. This spirit bell, filled with divine energy and not an ordinary bell, was an extremely rare ritual tool. In truth, Giju didn’t know much about this tool. He had just brought it from his grandmother’s room, thinking it would be more effective than a regular bell.

Clang-

Giju chanted the mountain spirit prayer and struck the bell once more. Beside him, Choi Geon was glaring at Giju as if he wanted to kill him.

“Geummusinjangnim-eun sokjuoryeong sokbuosin wonchagangrimhasieo…”

Swoooosh-

Just then, a strong wind blew. The door made a creaking, bloodcurdling sound. At the same time, Giju, just as his grandmother had done, struck Choi Geon with the water-soaked bell.

“Please bestow your blessing upon this unlucky person and protect him from all evil spirits, oh great spirit!”

Giju rang the bell even more forcefully towards Choi Geon and called upon the spirit. He had run out of phrases written in his notebook, so he just started praying blindly.

“Protect my unlucky friend…!”

Thud!

Just then, one of the doors that had been dangling in the wind fell to the ground. Giju and Choi Geon stared at each other with wide eyes, then turned their heads to the fallen door.

“Great spirit…?”

Swoooosh! Crash!

In the sudden gust of strong wind, the plate with the rice cakes fell to the ground and broke.

“We-were the rice cakes not to your liking…?”

Giju blinked in confusion.

“Hey, hey, hey. Isn’t that rotten? Why are the rice cakes so blackish.”

Even Choi Geon, who was not easily surprised, found this sudden gust of wind clearly bizarre. There had been no wind at all just a moment ago. So, just as flustered as Giju, he tried to gauge the mood of the great spirit he didn’t even believe in.

“Uh-uh, that can’t be. The bean rice cakes I made this morning,”

“What kind of rice cake?”

“Bean rice cake.”

Choi Geon’s eyes flashed as he glared at Giju.

“Hey, it’s bean rice cake, of course our great spirit is pissed off!!”