Chapter 98…
Releasing Yeonju’s Resentment.
Gam-dong began to cry.
“Uwaaaah… Yeonju, please…”
“Don’t cry.”
Gam-dong burst out sobbing even louder.
“Uwaaaah! Yeonju!”
“I said don’t cry!”
“You heartless, bloodless human!”
“She said she wants a party.”
That finally stopped his tears.
“Huh? A… release party?”
“She said she wants a hospital discharge party.”
“…What?”
Gam-dong blew his nose loudly, then looked at me with a face that said, What on earth are you talking about?
“She’s not leaving?”
“If going was just about wanting to go, do you think she’d still be here? She can’t go yet.”
“Why not?”
At his question, I answered with a heavy heart.
“Who knows.”
“Then everything we did until now was…”
“…”
I couldn’t bring myself to say it was all for nothing.
Admitting that would hurt too much.
Well… we did help Cheol-seong and the other spirits in that warehouse pass on, so at least that much was worth it.
…Probably.
“You mean it was all—”
“You little punk!”
For the first time, I actually kicked Gam-dong.
Even if it was a waste, hearing someone else say it out loud really hit differently.
“Still… thank you so much.”
She was eating so well.
Swallow what’s in your mouth before talking, will you?
“Why? You didn’t even pass on.”
“Ehhh, but I still feel relieved! It feels good, really! And somehow… I feel clearer, you know? Like the resentment loosened up a little!”
That’s all nice, but…
Yeonju, could you maybe put the chicken drumstick down while you talk?
You can eat after you finish your sentence, right?
Why don’t you ever take a break?
“Heehee! Back then, they wouldn’t let me eat ‘cause I had to diet, and after so long like that, even when I got to eat, I could barely keep it down.”
No wonder she was malnourished.
“I’d throw up, my stomach hurt… and you know, that thing? When it feels like you’re peeing from your butt?”
“Diarrhea?”
“Ehh, yeah… diarrhea.”
Same thing really…
But “peeing from your butt” does sound kind of creative.
Tch, now I’m feeling soft-hearted again.
“But eating comfortably like this, actually tasting food—it’s amazing!”
“Eat all you want! It’s fine!”
Gam-dong, I’m not fine.
Whenever she eats like that, my stomach feels like it’s about to burst—even though I didn’t eat a bite.
You ever feel that?
That pressure under your sternum, like you’re so full you can’t even breathe?
“Ehh, but you look tired, maybe I should eat less.”
“It’s fine! If you get sick from overeating, we’ll just send you to the hospital.”
Yeah, Gam-dong…
Say that again after you’ve tasted hospital food.
I met with Mansu to discuss the failed exorcism.
“She didn’t go?”
“Nope.”
“So it was all for nothing.”
“…You want me to help you pass on next?”
“Hey, I’m still alive, you know.”
“I can fix that.”
While I was pretending to strangle Mansu, the Guardian Spirit appeared and spoke up.
[Rarely, but sometimes death itself isn’t the root of a grudge.]
“Huh?”
[Strictly speaking, that Director Jang was the main cause, but that might not be what actually bound her spirit.]
“That can happen?”
The old spirit nodded.
[Long ago, there was a man wrongfully executed by the government. But what freed his soul wasn’t revenge—it was seeing his surviving family live safely afterward.]
“Oh…”
[His family got a small plot of land and could at least afford food. Seeing that, his spirit moved on. Cases like that are surprisingly common.]
“I see…”
[People often have things they value even more than their own lives. You may need to find what that is.]
Come to think of it, he wasn’t wrong.
Most of the spirits I helped move on didn’t hold grudges over their deaths, but over what they left unfinished while alive.
Because Jang’s crimes were so huge, I thought that was the main thing—but maybe it’s more complicated than that.
Still, we did help Cheol-seong and the other poor souls find peace.
And we removed a big potential danger in the process.
So it wasn’t meaningless after all.
[Don’t rush it. You’ll understand when the time comes.]
“Yeah… I guess so.”
[By the way, you really beat down an evil spirit? That’s like something out of a movie.]
“It’s not as dramatic as the movies make it. Evil spirits don’t literally fly around.”
[True. They just amplify negative emotions, feeding their own desires and spreading misfortune.]
“Are there other types too?”
[Plenty. Some drive people to suicide, others fuel violent urges to attack others indiscriminately.]
“I see…”
[Either way, you’ve done something virtuous this time.]
I didn’t care much about “virtue” or whatever, but… fine, I’ll take the compliment.
Pure Entertainment was in chaos.
Its CEO had been arrested for kidnapping, assault, attempted murder, and solicitation of murder.
In the process, Kwon Soo-hyun got dragged down with him.
The reason was simple.
As prosecutors and police involved in the company’s cover-ups began confessing their crimes, incidents tied to Soo-hyun started surfacing.
Reporters swarmed like hornets.
And since the arrested CEO, Jang Sang-soo, was a relative of hers, the media spun it into some massive “gate” scandal.
Thanks to that, the public’s attention on the real victim, Woo Soo-han, eased a little.
But that reprieve wouldn’t last long.
“Why are all the kidnappers hospitalized? Did they resist arrest?”
“I checked—it happened after everything was already over…”
All the perpetrators ended up in the hospital.
Rumors spread about police brutality, but since the cops claimed they only ‘secured the scene,’ curiosity only grew.
And soon, word got out about who the kidnapping victim was.
“Woo Soo-han?”
“That Woo Soo-han?”
“For real?”
Soo-hyun’s scandal burned out fast.
Reporters and YouTubers instantly shifted their focus to Soo-han.
Woo Soo-han, secret powerhouse?
Homeless man or special forces soldier?
Military record confirmed!
Fake beggar cosplay?!
Speculative articles exploded from every direction.
Some were just clickbait, others accused him outright.
The worst was the “homeless disguise” theory.
The homeless man was an undercover black ops agent!
Yeah… that one escalated fast—but most ended up backpedaling, saying it was “just like in that movie.”
Typical clickbait.
Still, it gave GB Entertainment plenty to work with.
They protected Soo-han and emphasized that he was the victim.
“So he got kidnapped, but he’s fine and all the kidnappers are in the hospital? Some even with eight-week injuries? Dude, he’s a real-life action hero.”
“Ten-to-one fight? Soo-han’s gotta be the toughest guy in showbiz!”
Since there was no footage—only the aftermath—even martial arts YouTubers joined the frenzy: “Ten-on-one: possible or not?”
Then Jo Gam-dong boldly decided to go on the offensive.
“Let’s gooo!”
“Seriously?”
“Hey, other people fake viral marketing—why not use this moment properly?”
The staff and marketing team’s eyes lit up.
He wasn’t wrong.
And Soo-han was the victim, after all.
He’d even been drugged with an anesthetic.
They had all the proof they needed to turn the controversy to their advantage.
The movie title was finalized: “The Devil Lived in My Dreams.”
And the real marketing campaign began.
“Thank you.”
Yeo Si-yeon, looking a bit worn out, bowed to Soo-han.
“Aww, come on, no need.”
“How could I ever repay this favor?”
Her eyes glistened with tears.
Thanks to this whole incident, she was finally free from Pure Entertainment.
It came out during questioning that she’d been one of their targets, which made contract termination easy.
She transferred to GB Entertainment.
Other abused actors followed, swelling GB’s ranks.
And the reason was simple—Woo Soo-han.
Having once suffered under an evil spirit himself, his presence gave people an instinctive sense of safety.
That unseen influence worked wonders.
Thanks to him, CEO Lee Ji-yong practically worshiped him as a lucky charm,
while manager Park Yoo-cheon worked himself ragged under the sudden workload—though he couldn’t stop smiling, knowing a fat bonus was coming.
“Well, now that the mess is over, focus on acting comfortably.”
“Yeah.”
Soo-han smiled awkwardly, a little embarrassed under Si-yeon’s grateful gaze.
He wasn’t used to this.
Up till now, only old men—like Chairman Yang or Director Choi—or his buddy Gam-dong had ever thanked him so earnestly.
“Anyway, if you really want to thank me, just buy me something tasty later.”
“I will.”
She smiled and nodded.
Everything had wrapped up neatly.
“What were you thinking?”
Director Choi Woo-san muttered worriedly as he cast his fishing line.
“Yeah, seriously.”
“Well, he just got dragged along, didn’t he.”
Chairman Yang Man-sik grumbled, still looking sour.
“Dragged along? You have to enter the tiger’s den to catch the tiger.”
“That tiger’s going to bite your head off next time.”
“Come on! What is this, a circus?”
“You sure have a weird way of saying you were worried.”
“Worried? Me?”
Yang barked back, face red as a beet—so yeah, he had been worried.
Soo-han clicked his tongue.
“Jeez, you old guys are scaring all the fish away.”
“Grr!”
“Want me to cook some ramen?”
“…Go ahead.”
Deciding the fishing was hopeless, they gathered to eat ramen with rice mixed in.
“She didn’t go, huh?”
Yang asked mid-bite, and Soo-han looked up from his kimchi.
“Word got around already?”
“That was your whole goal from the start, wasn’t it?”
“Well… her death was related, but apparently that’s not what’s binding her here.”
“Hmm… You okay?”
“She’s kinda like you, actually.”
“Eh?”
Yang looked puzzled.
Soo-han continued.
“You said you’ve been forgetting things a lot lately, right?”
“Wait till you’re my age! It happens to everyone!”
“Exactly. Yeonju’s the same. Unless you suddenly start smearing crap on the walls tomorrow, it’s just gonna get a little worse, bit by bit.”
SMACK!
Yang’s hand came flying faster than expected, slapping the back of Soo-han’s head—an impressive show of elderly vigor.
