Chapter 109…
The New Housemate Is Noisy
[Amazing!]
“……”
Ame… jing? What a weird guy.
[You! You were an actor! For real!]
[Right? He’s a great actor, isn’t he?]
Apparently, those two had gone to see my movie today.
Yeonju, who’d practically been a shut-in lately, dragged John along to see it.
Of course, they didn’t buy tickets.
They just sneaked in.
Not that they could help it.
They’d pay if they could, but… they’re ghosts.
“Yeah, I was an actor.”
[But you said you were a beggar.]
“Right. Always hungry.”
“Beggar.” I used to think it meant Are you hungry?
Turned out it actually meant “homeless.” Easy word to remember though — beggar, always hungry.
Anyway, since this guy showed up, things had gotten twice as noisy.
Yeonju seemed to enjoy it, though.
Not that it was some kind of international romance or anything.
Yeonju was obviously a teenager, and this guy was clearly… wait, how old was he?
“How old are you, anyway?”
[Hmm… don’t remember, but over thirty and under forty, I think.]
“…….”
“What the hell happened to you in your teens?”
He looked like he was in his mid-forties. Must’ve been the beard.
No wonder people say guessing a foreigner’s age is hell.
[Ah! I remember who I am!]
“……”
Yeah, sure. Like I’m supposed to figure that out, you Yankee ghost.
Lately, I’d only been dealing with ghosts who actually knew who they were. But this one…
[Take your time. I’m fine.]
“I’m not fine.”
Maybe it was because I said that, but Gam-dong came rushing in. That guy’s always there for me.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah, don’t worry. I’m…”
“Can you translate what John just said?”
“……”
This punk.
He used to complain about me bringing ghosts around, but now he just uses me as his interpreter.
“Why don’t you use that ChatGPT thing?”
“C’mon, it’s better to have a native speaker.”
[Come on! Leave it to me!]
Sigh.
Only sighs left me now.
[Wow!]
“Wow.”
[He says he wants to buy the movie rights!]
Well, that I did have to translate.
Sounded like work stuff.
“He says they want to buy your movie.”
[F*cking crazy!]
“Hey, you @#!$%!!”
“……Are you even translating properly?”
Gam-dong… his translations were way too realistic.
Then John jumped in, flustered.
[It’s a really big distributor!]
“Apparently it’s huge.”
“Huh?”
“The company.”
“Yeah, I know the name, but can you explain more?”
I kept translating after that.
Sure, they’d hire an actual translator later, but they couldn’t wait that long.
“……He says the actor should be treated like a ‘King Ultra Super Star.’”
[What? That last part’s weird!]
Not my problem.
“You’ll find out when you get the translation.”
“Then why’d you even do it now?!”
The movie was nearing the end of its run.
It had passed six million viewers not long after promising five.
Theaters were cutting showings, rankings dropping, but it had made a lot.
I’d earned plenty, too.
My pay was just running royalties — something they said not to worry about.
Turned out to be a genius move.
Joo-hwan was especially bitter.
He’d told me to take whatever I could at the start, and now he was mad he hadn’t convinced me.
Next time we meet, I’ll rub it in.
[But the rumors aren’t good. You need a lawyer before signing.]
“He says the company’s got a bad reputation. See a lawyer first.”
“A company that big?”
[Some shareholders are shady. Old mafia habits die hard.]
“Bad shareholders, mafia habits, huh… how do you even know that?”
[I don’t know. It just came to me.]
John shrugged.
“Maybe he heard rumors. We’ve got plenty of entertainment gossip here, too.”
[Maybe. Just remembered.]
Could be. Still weird, though.
Anyway, after a short break, I had to head out again — I had a commercial shoot.
[Hey.]
“……”
Not Manager Park today, just a regular road manager.
So I didn’t respond.
Only Park and Daesung knew about my “condition.”
If I started talking to no one, this guy would think I was nuts.
[A suspicious car’s been following us.]
John’s tone suddenly turned serious.
I sighed quietly, picked up my phone, and pretended to talk.
“Yeah, go on.”
[They’ve been tailing us since we left.]
“Really? From Chairman Yang’s people?”
[Nope. Another one joined behind them. At least two cars.]
“Huh… think they know each other?”
[I don’t think so. The first car dropped off in the parking lot, another took its place. They switched again just now.]
What the hell.
When did this turn into a thriller?
“……Okay. Keep an eye out.”
It felt too real to ignore.
Different from John’s usual nonsense.
[I’ll check it out.]
Then John vanished from the car.
Wait — are ghosts faster than cars or not?
I didn’t see him again until I got home that night.
As soon as he saw me—
[F#@k! Took forever to find this place!]
“There’s a reason they say leaving home is suffering. Aren’t ghosts supposed to move faster than cars?”
[Forgot about that.]
“So? What happened?”
[……Sorry.]
Apparently, he’d just wanted to play spy today.
All those action movies he’d been watching must’ve gotten to him.
He laughed like an idiot.
Should I just exorcise him on the spot?
After a few busy days, I finally had some free time and visited the chairman’s company again.
Officially, for an ad shoot — but really, to deal with a lingering ghost haunting their lobby.
I brought Mansoo along.
Always good to have a specialist.
“Did you check it out?”
[Hey! Korea shaman!]
“Yeah, would be cleaner with a ritual.”
“Then let’s do it?”
“Got yelled at for just suggesting it.”
Mansoo gave an awkward laugh.
Apparently, the company didn’t want a shamanic ritual — image issues, he said.
Made sense.
Baeksan Group ran tons of businesses, even in the service sector. Public image was everything.
Some clients were religious too — seeing a ritual might cause backlash.
“Even if we do it quietly at night…”
“Word would still get out.”
“Exactly.”
[Yo man, that ghost’s staring at me. Suhan! Exorcism Punch!]
God, I wanted to actually punch him.
“……Let’s just talk to the spirit tonight. Be ready, just in case.”
“You’re treating me like your assistant again.”
“Am I wrong?”
Mansoo frowned hard.
Didn’t argue, though — meaning he knew I’d ask for help soon.
We met Chairman Yang in his office.
“Sir, I heard we can’t do a ritual?”
“You heard right.”
The chairman clicked his tongue, looking frustrated.
He clearly wanted to do one.
“Well, shamanism doesn’t exactly have the best reputation.”
Mansoo cut in, clicking his tongue.
“Tsk. It’s a shame that even in a developed country, there’s still prejudice against our profession.”
“In developed countries, they usually believe in that stuff less, don’t they?”
[No, no. It’s fun! Ghosts make it more fun!]
“Please… just stop.”
“So the Western ghost came too, huh.”
“He’s been hanging around lately. Anyway, any updates?”
Manager Yoo shook his head.
“Not yet. Even with the sketches, the photos on record vary too much.”
“Yeah, ID and passport photos barely look like the same person sometimes.”
“We’re using AI software to cross-check, so we’ll get there. It’s just slow — there’s a lot of data to process.”
I clicked my tongue.
I’d come to deal with the ghost, but honestly, I just wanted to get rid of John.
Looked like that wouldn’t happen anytime soon.
“Since we can’t do the ritual, I’ll need your help. Now that we know about it, we can’t just ignore it…”
The chairman looked uneasy. Understandable.
Even if you can’t see it, just hearing that a ghost’s there makes you want it gone.
Mansoo said it wasn’t an evil spirit, but still — it gave off bad vibes.
Apparently, ghosts like that could amplify sadness and depression.
Resentful ones only got worse over time.
At least Yeonju and John weren’t like that.
Maybe my presence helped keep them from turning dark.
Not that I’m some kind of living exorcism vaccine.
“I’ll check it out later when things quiet down.”
“Probably around midnight.”
“Wow, that’s a total black company. Who works that late?”
“Ahem! Voluntary! Just hardworking people, that’s all!”
I couldn’t help but snort.
“Tch. Don’t you feel even a little guilty?”
Before the chairman could answer, Manager Yoo stepped in.
“It can’t be helped. The international departments often have to work late, but they’re on flexible hours, so it balances out.”
“……Sure, sure.”
“Ahem! See? All fine!”
Honestly, if it weren’t for Manager Yoo, this old man would’ve been doomed.
Wait a sec… then why’d he call me in this early?
“I could’ve just come later, right?”
Instead of answering, the chairman silently pulled out a janggi (Korean chess) board.
“……”
“Ahem.”
Smooth. Too smooth.
So this was the real reason he called me.
“I told you to go practice at Tapgol Park.”
“They banned janggi and baduk there now.”
“……Banned? Seriously?”
Something about that made me feel oddly empty. Why?
Because that’s where I learned to play.
There were noisy old ghosts there, too — ones who’d died but still showed up to give commentary on games.
Some had even been my living opponents before they passed.
Thanks to them, I’d gotten pretty good at both janggi and baduk.
The chairman glared at me, eyes full of determination.
“Best of seven.”
“Last time it was best of five. You didn’t win a single game then either.”
He looked genuinely heartbroken.
He’d been bragged up as the best player in the company, but honestly? He just seemed used to losing politely.
Like one of those army soccer games where everyone parts for the general.
“Well, maybe if we play seven games, you’ll win one…”
He lost all seven.
When it was over, there were tears in his eyes.
And yeah… I did feel a little bad.
