ANTITOXIN Chapter 10

“Don’t be like that, just go and meet him first. You can listen to what he has to say, then decide whether to help him or not. Whether it goes well or not, given that gentleman’s personality, he won’t send you back empty-handed. I’m telling you, he’ll stuff your pockets with travel expenses at the very least. If it’s to that extent, you’ve got nothing to lose.”

“…”

Seolwon remained silent. Even though he knew that in this kind of situation, silence is bound to be taken as acceptance by the other party.

To be honest, it was a fair point. He could at least go and meet the man. If it was a simple matter on the level of reading a fortune, he could accept it, and if it was something too difficult to handle, he could just refuse. Even if the talk didn’t go well, he was told his travel expenses would be covered, so there was nothing to lose. Yes, just going to meet him seemed doable.

What’s more.

“Alright, I’m in a good mood. A half-price DC on your next lunchbox! And on the nutritional supplemeeeent… too? Standard price… Ah, what the hell, half-price DC! Deal?”

If he was going to give such a big, generous discount, then all the more reason.

“So, what do you say? Should I book the appointment? Should I contact him?”

The drug dealer, noticing that Seolwon had almost entirely given in, tried to drive a wedge. In the end, Seolwon had no choice but to nod reluctantly.

“…Yes.”

After finishing his business, Seolwon was the first to step outside the establishment, standing still for a moment to look up at the sky. As a matter of course, the darkness had deepened in the meantime. The negative energy had also grown that much thicker.

Negative energy is inherently like nourishment for spirits. As if proving this, the chill exuded by the deceased was vibrating much louder than before. On top of that, perhaps because it was a place bordering a large body of water, the energy was exceptionally fierce. It was to the extent that his skin tingled. It was probably the chill exuded by the ghosts that had taken up residence in that black river over there. Even without looking, he could already tell through the energy just how many water-curse ghosts (Susalgui) existed in the surroundings.

Seolwon clutched the paper bag to his chest, completely hunched over, and headed toward the bus stop.

He wanted to go home quickly and rest. In his very own space where no one else was, and where no one else could enter.

And the very next day, a message arrived from the drug dealer.

Han River Rider

Online

The day after tomorrow at 2:00 PM, 3rd floor of Daeguk Building, 383-3 Sampyeong-dong.

Say that Park Junggu sent you.

Keep up the good work.

“…”

He still didn’t feel up to it. However, it was already too late to back out now. Thinking about the drug costs he would have to pay in the future, it was also difficult to damage his acquaintance with the drug dealer.

After a brief internal conflict, Seolwon sent a reply.

Saying he understood.

🌀

“Ohhh! Welcome, welcome!”

The day of the appointment. The person who greeted Seolwon when he arrived on time at the office the drug dealer had told him about was a heavily built, middle-aged man.

“Hello.”

“Yes, yes. I am Kim Manseok. Now, I’m counting on you today, okay?”

As Seolwon bowed his head politely to greet him, the man extended a thick hand to offer a handshake. Seolwon hesitated instead of grasping it right away. It was because he didn’t want to touch him. He inherently disliked contact with others anyway, but this time, there was a much clearer reason for it. No, rather than a reason, using the expression ‘a presence’ would be more accurate. The cause was the ghost right beside President Kim over there, whose head was dreadfully crushed to the point that it was agonizing to look at.

He had already known about the ghost’s presence before entering the office. It made sense, because along with the energy itself, the smell was just so terrible. A ghostly stench, like the smell coming from rotten fish, had vibrated past the door and all the way out into the hallway.

Just as living humans each have their own body odor, it is the same for ghosts. They possessed different smells depending on the spiritual body. That was precisely the ghostly stench. From what Seolwon knew, there was only one reason why a ghost would give off such a terrible, bloody stench. It was a case where they had died while spilling a vast amount of blood.

Sure enough, seeing it in person, it was exactly as expected. The spirit’s head was a bloody mess. Even the tears it was shedding incessantly were tears of blood. By his guess, it seemed to be a resentful ghost (Wongui) that had been murdered, rather than having died by suicide or an accident. But such a ghost was attached to him? It was a sight that could only be interpreted as the ghost holding a grudge against President Kim. How could he not feel disgusted?

Since there was no signboard hung on the outside, he had wondered what kind of office it could possibly be, but seeing that ghost gave him a rough idea. At the very least, it wouldn’t be a normal office. Even so, he couldn’t just completely ignore the man, so Seolwon eventually grasped the man’s hand with great difficulty. Taking care so that his eyes wouldn’t meet with the ghost’s.

“Yes… I am counting on you as well.”

Fortunately, the ghost did not show any interest in Seolwon. Far from showing interest, it gave the impression that it didn’t even perceive him. It was merely staring intently at President Kim alone. It might be due to the talisman he always carried on his body, but it could also be that because it had no intellect, it couldn’t perceive any existence other than President Kim.

“Ah, think nothing of it. You can just roughly call me President Kim, and what might your name be?”

“My name is Han Seolwon.”

“Seolwon? Wow, that’s a good name. Did you come out to see the world in the winter? Well, for now, have a seat here. Can I get you something? Coffee? Green tea?”

“Just water will do.”

“You’re quite modest. Hey, Park!”

Clap, clap! The man who sat on the sofa first, President Kim, suddenly clapped his hands and made a loud noise.

“Bring a glass of water for the guest, and what was it? Some snacks! Grab something sweet that can treat the mouth and bring it over!”

At the roaring call, a response immediately returned from outside the door, “Yes, President!” It was a voice just as roaring as the call. Because the office wasn’t large, they didn’t keep separate extension phones and always communicated in this manner, it seemed.

President Kim, having given the errand, once again expressed immense interest in Seolwon.

“He’ll bring it shortly, so let’s wait just a bit. By the way, my goodness… why are you so youthful? I thought you would be a gentleman with some age on him.”

As if it wasn’t just sweet-talk but a genuine sentiment, President Kim scanned Seolwon’s face with a wide, fascinated gaze.

“And your looks, wow…! You must have lived hearing that you look pretty a whole lot. If you just put a little powder on, you wouldn’t lose to the kids who appear on TV. You must have received quite a few business cards, eh? By the way, looking at the estimate, maybe twenty-two? Twenty-three? You’d be around that much, am I right?”

He was wrong.

“No. I am twenty-six this year.”

“Holy cow! You’ve got a baby face.”

President Kim opened his two eyes as wide as they could go and was genuinely amazed.

“But twenty-six is still way young. It’s been a long time since I passed my fifties. So, because of that, is it alright if I speak comfortably? Frankly, once I hit this age, I developed a bit of an allergy to formal language… Could it be that the deity will grow angry because I’m using informal language with our Master?”

Since he had no serving deity, there was no way that would happen.

“It is fine. Please speak comfortably.”

“You’re cool. Right, right. Anyway, I heard the story from Junggu. They say you’re that effective?”

It was an exaggerated evaluation. No matter what anyone said, he was a half-shaman. He was in no position to receive an evaluation of being effective.

“No, I am not to that extent.”

Seolwon quickly waved his hands in denial.

“Ayy, I heard what I heard, so what do you mean!”

President Kim laughed heartily, dismissing Seolwon’s denial as humility. He looked completely uncorrupted in his belief that the opposite party was an effective shaman. It was obvious just by looking that he was acting this way after hearing the story about the mother from the drug dealer.

At the strong trust felt from President Kim, Seolwon felt a sensation as if he were getting indigestion. He had agreed to it thinking that considering this and that, he wouldn’t lose anything even if he failed, but it really felt like it had been a mistake. Regrettably, it was already spilled milk. For now, he had no choice but to listen to the story.

“By the way, what should I look into for you?”

If it was to the extent of reading his overall fortune, it would be easy. However, he wouldn’t have gone wandering around looking for an effective shaman for that level of matter. There was bound to be some headache-inducing problem that was difficult to solve through human strength.

“Ah, you want to shoot straight to the main point? Crisp and clear. I like it!”

President Kim laughed boisterously and gave Seolwon’s shoulder a light slap. Even though it was a gesture that was merely a habit with no ill intent, Seolwon could clearly read the violent tendencies inherent within President Kim.

“Hold on, but you’re a shaman. Then shouldn’t you be able to know even without asking?”

Suddenly wiping away his laughter, President Kim openly tested Seolwon. Just as he said, there were indeed times when one could recognize the business at hand the moment they saw the client, before they even opened their mouth. Cases where the deity gave a tip-off in advance were like that. His grandmother, who had been a great shaman, recognized it using only the face, the stride, and the energy exuding from the body. But in any case, for Seolwon, who had no deity and was neither this nor that, it was impossible.