Chapter 3. Reunion (3)

Translator: Lili

Weekly Chapter 4/5

“We’ve been searching for Master Yoon Seopjae. He closed his shindang two years ago and then suddenly vanished. I sincerely apologize. We didn’t know he had passed away.”

Though his grandfather had died last year, he had indeed shut down his shindang—his shaman’s shrine—around two years ago, when Yoon Dam was granted an early discharge from the military.

“If you were looking for a fortune-telling session—”

Lee Seongheon quickly shook his head.

“That’s not why. Actually… we’ve heard that you, too, have a sharp eye for… such things.”

His words were absurd, especially coming from someone he had never met before.

“Leave.”

“Please wait! Sergeant Yoon Dam of the Key Battalion! You were discharged early due to a fitness-for-duty disqualification, weren’t you?”

Yoon Dam’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“If that’s what this is about, I have nothing to say.”

He moved to close the door.

“Sergeant Yoon Dam!”

A voice called out—not from Lee Seongheon, but from someone getting out of a nearby car.

Yoon Dam’s vision was sharp, but he couldn’t immediately recognize the person approaching.

The short hair looked unfamiliar. Even when he examined the features closely, he couldn’t place the face.

“It’s been a while, Sergeant! You remember me, right? I’m Private First Class Lee Jaeoh, the one you used to dote on!”

The young man, introducing himself as Lee Jaeoh, snapped into a salute with feet together.

Yoon Dam only stared at him, silent.

“Ah, see? He’s mad. I told you, sir, he’d be mad. That’s why I said I didn’t want to do this. Sergeant, I’m really sorry.”

Lee Jaeoh sighed heavily and stole glances at Yoon Dam, sulking as if hurt by the lack of contact.

When he tried to step over the threshold, Yoon Dam blocked him.

The young man gave a sheepish laugh and hurried to explain himself.

“Sergeant, I totally get why you’d be pissed. But, uh… So this guy kept messaging me, asking for your info. I tried not to tell him, but he was so persistent…”

“…”

Yoon Dam didn’t understand the full situation, but he saw no point in asking.

Lee Jaeoh fidgeted, rubbing his hands together. His cuticles were rough, with dried blood scabs here and there.

It was a habit Yoon Dam recognized.

It really was the same Lee Jaeoh he knew.

But that only made him feel worse.

A deep discomfort settled in his gut, and he regretted opening the door.

“Sergeant, please don’t glare at me like that. I know I messed up. The thing is… I posted a story about what we went through in the army on a mystery forum. But I swear, I didn’t include your name, our unit, or anything that could identify you. We went through a lot of weird shit back then, remember? That’s why I wrote about it. Then suddenly, this guy messaged me…”

The young man continued rambling in a disorganized manner, but when pieced together, the story was both complicated and simple.

The security team leader had been searching for someone capable of handling supernatural occurrences. He had already consulted numerous shamans, but none had been of any help. Through various inquiries, he learned about male shaman Yoon Seopjae, reputed to be the most powerful, only to find that Yoon Seopjae had already closed his shindang and vanished without a trace. With no options left, the team leader had stumbled upon Lee Jaeoh’s post. Desperate, he had latched onto the mention of ‘the possessed senior, Yoon Dam’. That led to today.

Yoon Dam tensed, crossing his arms tightly.

He hadn’t set foot outside for over two weeks, making him especially irritable. He had avoided contact with everyone, including delivery workers, yet now, of all times, two unexpected visitors had barged in.

Since he hadn’t spoken a single word while the young man explained, the team leader’s expression had gradually shifted from determined to anxious.

“I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I’m not my grandfather. That’s all I have to say. Goodbye.”

He grabbed the doorknob, ready to shut the door.

“Three hundred million.” (₩300,000,000 ≈ $206,924)

The team leader suddenly raised three fingers.

“If you solve this problem for us, we’ll pay you three hundred million won. No, rather—name your price.”

Yoon Dam pretended to think, toying with the round doorknob.

Then, instead of pushing the door outward, he swung it open wide.

“Come in.”

The team leader was visibly stunned, as if he hadn’t expected his offer to be taken seriously.

“Well? Aren’t you coming in?”

Snapping out of his daze, the team leader quickly stepped inside.

The young man eagerly followed, but before he could step over the threshold, Yoon Dam shut the door and bolted it.

“Sergeant! Sergeant…!”

From outside, the young man kept calling for him, but Yoon Dam ignored him and gestured for the team leader to follow him onto the daechongmaru.