Chapter 106…
Montage
“This one looks somewhat decent, at least…”
Chairman Yang Mansik muttered as he studied the sketch.
It was still rather flat, without any shading or depth,
but at least the facial features no longer made it look like a mangled corpse.
“I agree with you on that, sir.”
Chief Secretary Yoo Jigwang seemed to share the sentiment, glancing at Suhan as he spoke.
While the two men discussed the result,
Suhan held the drawing up in the air and began looking back and forth between it and something beside him—
clearly comparing it to the spirit only he could see.
“Oh! The outline looks good! What do you think?”
“Right? Not bad, huh?”
“Geez, should’ve just done it like this from the start. Hm… might as well check the height now. Step back a little.”
Chairman Yang and Secretary Yoo silently watched as Suhan seemed to carry on a one-man show with empty air.
He went to the wall, drew a few lines with his pencil, tilted his head, and asked:
“Do you guys have a measuring tape?”
Of course, they didn’t.
So the secretarial staff scattered around the building to find one.
Only then could they “measure the height.”
“Take out your insoles.”
……
“What do you mean no? Then why are your heels floating in midair? Are you kidding me?”
Chairman Yang watched Suhan scolding the empty air,
pointing at nothing, and murmured curiously:
“So Westerners do that sort of thing too, huh?”
“I didn’t know either, sir.”
After a brief argument with the invisible,
Suhan drew another line on the wall and measured the distance from the floor to that mark,
then wrote it down on the sketch.
Next came the question of weight.
“What? Then at least say it in a unit I can understand! A few geun or something!”
Chairman Yang clicked his tongue at the bizarre sight of Suhan apparently trying to weigh a ghost.
“What, are you butchering meat?”
“180 pounds? Hey! How many kilos is that?”
“That’s about eighty… eighty-two kilograms,” Secretary Yoo replied quickly,
thankful that at least he could convert it properly.
“Judging by the conversation earlier, it’s safe to assume the spirit’s from a country using the yard–pound system—most likely the UK or the US. Probably not Australia; they use both.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Here.”
Suhan handed over the paper.
Height, weight, and even the height of the nose were jotted down.
“Can we add some shading to this now?”
At Suhan’s words, Secretary Yoo stepped out briefly and returned with another man.
“Ah, good afternoon, Chairman! I’m Gu Bonsu, Assistant Manager of Design in the Marketing Division! My major was fine arts!”
“I need a favor.”
“Of course, sir!”
Summoned like a new recruit, Gu quickly sat beside Suhan and took the sketch.
“Is this a foreigner?”
“Oh! You can tell?”
“The facial structure looks Western. You don’t have a photo?”
“No. That’s why I noted the nose height and stuff.”
When Gu looked slightly troubled, Suhan asked carefully:
“You can’t do it?”
“N-no, I can! I will!”
Startled, Gu’s gaze briefly flicked toward the chairman.
“Ahem, I’ll go stretch my legs. Secretary Yoo, help them.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Oh! Excellent timing, sir!”
“Wha—!”
As Suhan gave a bright thumbs-up,
Gu nearly choked on his breath.
“Alright, let’s relax and get started.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
With the chairman gone, Secretary Yoo stood behind them, watching the work progress.
“Wow! You’re a real pro!”
“Haha, you flatter me. I, uh, enjoyed your movie, by the way.”
“What! Really?”
Now that the chairman was out, Gu loosened up and chatted while shading.
“The chairman gave all employees free movie tickets—it was one our company invested in, right?”
“Whoa! Wait—Secretary Yoo, that’s not insider buying, is it?”
“No, it was official distribution.”
“Right?”
“Yes. Even actors sometimes buy their own tickets for giveaways.”
“Ah, I see!”
As they talked, there were moments that made Yoo’s heart drop.
“Hold your head straight.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, not you, Mr. Gu.”
“…Right.”
A chill ran down Gu’s spine, but he continued drawing carefully.
Then came another heart-stopping line.
“Oh, there’s a mole on your cheek?”
“Sorry?”
“Uh, Mr. Suhan?”
Yoo gave him a silent glare, and Suhan shrugged and quieted down.
After a while, the portrait was complete.
“Wow, this looks like a photograph! Secretary Yoo, I think we’re done!”
“Good. Thank goodness.”
Relieved that nothing more had gone wrong, Yoo sighed.
“Good work, Mr. Gu. And… your grandmother lives alone in the countryside, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, she said there’s a clay jar buried under the jujube tree by the fence—your grandfather hid something there before he passed. She wants you to find it.”
“…What?”
“Whoa!”
Gu froze. Yoo did too.
Suhan continued quietly:
“You know that TV fortune-teller guy, Mansu—Yonghwa Doryeong or whatever?”
“Yes…?”
“I’m friends with him. He said a noble spirit with your surname would get some help soon, and if I met them, I should pass that along. Sounds weird, but he’s scarily accurate. Might be worth checking.”
“A-ah… okay.”
Yoo sighed again in relief as Gu left the room.
Once alone, he turned to Suhan, half-exasperated.
“You really didn’t need to say that…”
“Come on, you saw it yourself. What sounds more believable—me saying I saw a ghost, or that a shaman told me to say it?”
“Still, that’s—”
“The old man kept begging me to pass it along. What was I supposed to do? We need his help, and he says the kid’s like his grandson.”
Suhan grumbled while Yoo chuckled helplessly.
When Chairman Yang returned and heard what happened, he clicked his tongue.
“You reckless fool. What if rumors spread? How will you keep acting then?”
“What can I do if I see them?”
“Pretend you didn’t!”
Yoo chuckled softly at the chairman’s scolding.
“Alright, alright. I’ll do as you say. I’ve got enough on my plate anyway.”
Suddenly, his smile vanished.
The chairman noticed too.
“What is it? You see something?”
“No.”
“Mr. Suhan?”
“Pretend I didn’t see it. Lesson learned.”
At that, both men froze again.
“I’m out of here!”
“Hey, be fair! You can’t even see them anyway. Don’t worry, it’s just an earthbound spirit—it won’t move around. If it bothers you, just avoid the lobby.”
“Good grief! What the hell is this?!”
“Why are you swearing all of a sudden?!”
The room descended into chaos—
and the finished drawing sat quietly on the table, forgotten.
Real or Fake.
That was the title of the variety show Suhan was appearing on next.
Usually, it involved guessing whether a famous restaurant or a cultural artifact was real or not—
a long-running show with a solid reputation.
The PD in charge had come from the drama department,
had a lot of connections,
and was rumored to be returning there soon with a promotion.
“Why do I have a bad feeling about this…”
“Can’t we still back out?”
“……”
During a break, Manager Park, the one who had recommended the show,
stood behind Suhan, visibly nervous.
“Oh? What’s wrong? Don’t joke around right before we start! This is a special episode!”
One of the PDs passing by laughed.
“Well… maybe it’s not a joke.”
Suhan replied flatly, glancing sideways—
Manager Park looked genuinely apologetic, as if to say I swear I didn’t know it’d be like this.
“What? No way! We can’t cancel now! It’ll be fine! Wait… are you scared of ghosts or something?”
They were standing in front of a deserted mansion.
This special episode’s theme: Haunted or Not?
The goal was to determine whether a ruin was abandoned because of ghost rumors
or simply due to natural neglect.
The producers had kept the exact setup secret until now,
so no one could prepare in advance.
When the PD teasingly asked,
“Scared of ghosts, huh?”
Suhan simply asked:
“Have you ever seen one?”
“Come on, ghosts aren’t real these days.”
Sure. Tell that to the ones standing right behind you.
They looked thrilled to see so many people after so long—
chaotic, grinning, moving about.
One or two were full-on specters now, wandering aimlessly,
and another—still halfway human—had detached a companion’s leg,
slung it over his shoulder like a camera rig,
and was filming them.
“It’s just for fun, don’t worry. The mood’s creepy, but it’s completely safe.”
“……”
Yeah. That ghost-camera is filming you right now, buddy.
Suhan sighed but kept quiet.
“Nah, I’m fine. I’m just worried Manager Park might wet himself. Let’s go. Ghosts? Hunger’s scarier.”
“Haha! Mr. Woo, you’re the best!”
The PD ran ahead with both thumbs up, oblivious—
luckily unaware of the ghost with the leg-camera pacing beside him.
“Haha… sorry. But they really picked a great location. Feels real.”
Manager Park forced a laugh.
“Stay in the car.”
“Huh?”
“Three.”
“What?”
“I just saw three.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
Really?
“Have I ever joked about seeing ghosts?”
Manager Park fell silent, then pulled something from his pocket—
a folded yellow talisman.
“You got that from Mansu?”
“Yeah.”
“Keep it tight in your hand and stay in the car. Don’t worry about me. Actually… am I the one who needs worrying about?”
“…No.”
That stung a little.
But oh well—meant he found Suhan reliable.
Manager Park then crept back to the car,
gripping the talisman like it was a loaded gun,
aiming it at every shadow as he went.
Anyone watching would think that charm could actually shoot bullets.
