People of the old past believed that all disasters and diseases were caused by ghosts. It was an instinctive fear created by the fear of life and death. Spirits were imperfect, yet malicious beings that transcended humans. Spirits roamed the ninth heaven (九天) and mixed in with humans, disturbing the world. The soul that left the body was supposed to be as light as breath, but the weight of regrets that linger like dregs was heavy.
People tried their best to ward off spirits. However, the ordinary person’s talent was limited to observing the superstitious taboos that had been handed down from generation to generation, and it was only a futile practice. The only recourse was to the few humans who had the gift of seeing ghosts among their own kind, the gwijae. They were ostracized and sometimes celebrated
Those who were born as gwijae usually became shamans or renounced the world and turned to Buddhism, but there were rare cases when they were called by the state. This was the case of becoming exorcists (儺者) performing Narye. The fear of spirits and ghosts was the same, not only among civilians but also in palaces. Therefore, the royal court held a large-scale ceremony to drive out evil spirits every New Year’s Eve, which was called ‘Narye’.
The exorcists who belonged to the Naryecheong presided over the Narye and at the same time defended the palace with all their might from troubles and disasters caused by evil spirits. They were also mobilized for various court events, and when the king was in procession or receiving foreign envoys, they followed the procession to drive away evil spirits.
On the other hand, at the head of the procession, there was someone who danced exhilaratingly and opened the way, for he had the air of a divine spirit, worthy of the reverence of the monarch of a nation.
He had two pairs of eyes, one pair of eyes looking into this world and the other pair looking into the underworld. With just one gesture, all the spirits in mountains, rivers and trees would run away and bow their thick heads. The head of the exorcists, who brought both humans and demons, and the god who casts out evil spirits, his name was ‘Bangsangsi‘.
— Excerpts from Kunasejeon.
***
A bicycle was riding down a street stained by evening. The colorful neon light gently brushed the face of the man on the bike. The man weaved between the parked patrol cars and stopped his bike on a rack in one corner.
“Officer Hong, you’re early?”
He turned his head to the side, and just in time to see Corporal Kim lighting a cigarette. Seeing that he was wearing plain clothes, he seemed to be leaving work. As the man bowed his head, Corporal Kim waved his hand instead of answering.
“Corporal Kim, you still haven’t left work yet?”
“Oh, don’t even get me started. I got caught up in a case.”
He didn’t even expect to have a peaceful daily life like others because his job was his job. The upside was that he was immune to most things and didn’t bat an eye. Corporal Kim, who always showed a calm disposition, was exasperated for the first time in a while.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Jukyung Construction was a company that became famous thanks to a self-made young president. Shortly after the establishment of the company, it attracted public attention by acquiring and merging other companies, and not long ago, when it succeeded in bidding for a golf course resort invested by a local government, its stock price jumped and made the news.
“Wow. Isn’t he a total mogul then?”
“Yeah, the president’s son is six years old this year, and he’s been in the hospital because of pneumonia.”
Corporal Kim stopped talking and took a long sip of the cigarette in his hand.
“The child who was fine yesterday suddenly fell into a state of unconsciousness. So the president must have made a fuss about the hospital. He flipped out and smashed all the medical equipment and everything and even beat the doctor.”
‘Oh goodness…’, Officer Hong clicked his tongue and asked.
“Are you sure it was the hospital’s fault?”
“That’s the problem. I secured the medication records and combed through it, but as the hospital said, it was concluded that there was no problem. There was no specific abnormal finding even after examination, so the cause could not be determined. It really is a mysterious occurrence.”
Officer Hong also made a grave face.
“I know right. Really, that seems so…”
“The hospital will make a fuss like hospitals do, the president will make a fuss like bosses do. Ugh, when I said there was nothing we could do until the evidence came out, well, he even said strange nonsense about his dreams being the evidence.”
“What does that mean?”
“The president had a dream last night. In his dream, someone told him to take his son away. Apparently he chased after them, but fell in the middle and missed them? He said that he had a premonition dream that this would happen, and that they should have moved to the hospital earlier, and that there was an enmity… Sigh, it made no sense at all. He even showed me the bruises on his knees, saying he fell in a dream.”
Corporal Kim let out a laugh. He seemed dumbfounded even when he said it himself.
“Aye, nonsense. How could that be?”
Officer Hong waved his hand as though he had heard all the nonsense. The police station was a place overflowing with the joys and sorrows of all kinds of people, and it was the forefront of new incidents and accidents that flooded in every day. Like today, there had been many cases in which they’d come in with incomprehensible arguments that defied common sense.
Officer Hong gently reassured Corporal Kim, who was pouring out his grievance.
“It will work out fine. Don’t worry. You worked hard today too, Corporal Kim.”
Corporal Kim, who had been complaining for a long time, left, saying he had to go. Officer Hong, who saw him off, went straight to the locker room. The locker room was empty, probably because he had gone to work earlier than usual. Officer Hong, who confirmed that no one was there, immediately locked the locker room door.
He focused his senses beyond the door. He perked his ears and listened for footsteps, but luckily he didn’t feel anything unusual. Officer Hong took out his phone with his expressionless face and lightly touched the screen. Dialing 120, he pressed the call button and held it to his ear, and a familiar announcement flowed out.
— Hello? This is the Seoul 120 Dasan Call Center. Please press 1 for transportation, 2 for water supply, 3 for general administration, 4 for information on the phone numbers of Seoul and district offices, and 5 for counseling for working mothers.
Officer Hong quickly dialed the number as if he had been waiting for it.
12345.
All five numbers were dialed.
— You’ve dialed the wrong number. 1 for transportation, 2 for water supply…
Before the announcement was over, his hand moved.
1122334455.
Unlike the first time, he pressed each number twice in a row.
— …
There was no sound coming through the receiver. At least, there was not an announcement that he pressed the wrong button like he did just now. However, instead of hanging up, he just held his phone next to his ear in silence, biting at the corners of his lips. How many minutes had he been in that state? The silence was broken by an announcement came out of nowhere.
— We will connect you with a counselor.
With a click, a sense of presence was felt through the receiver. However, the counselor who answered the phone didn’t say anything, let alone say hello. He was wondering if it was properly connected. Officer Hong checked his surroundings one more time and then held his phone closely.
He said, “He is the one who wears a golden mask. Wielding his bead whip, he haunts. He dances gracefully with quick steps and a quiet appearance. Like a phoenix that dances fluttering.” (Daemyeon, Late Silla, Choi Siwon’s ‘Hyangakjapyeong’.)
As soon as he finished speaking, a businesslike voice pierced his ears.
— This is the Naryecheong situation room. Please speak your business.
Officer Hong’s hand, which was holding the phone, tightened.
“This is Hong Minjae, a member of Naryecheong’s Undercover Department Team 3. Coordinates 21 to 6, event classification 'La' type. We ask for the support of the Exorcism Department.”
— Please report the contents.
Officer Hong, no, exorcist Hong Minjae answered calmly.
"It's a case of soul abduction."
I had read this a few hours ago when just the prolog released, I was super excited to see the next two released right now too!! (it is 3 am and I haven’t slept :D)
Thank you! Also, “Undercover Department” might work better than “Secret Service Department” in this case 😀
I see, I’ll consider it!
Thanks for the update ❤️
Oh! So exciting~ Thanks for the chapter ❤️