Chapter 9….. Beggar, An Unfair Beggar! (3)
“Ughhh!”
“Don’t cry, you little punk! Didn’t you say you were going to die? And now you’re handing it over to me and not taking it yourself?”
“My nuuuuuun!”
He kept whining irritably.
Of course, his eyes must be stinging. It must hurt.
But me?
I was dumbfounded. He said he’d die if he took it, and yet he passed it to me?
Absolutely unforgivable.
“Stop sniveling. I’m restraining myself from sticking my fingers in there instead of wasabi.”
“Whoa… you’re not an ex-beggar, you’re hardcore.”
“Gamdong, I’m naturally a good beggar, you know.”
He tried to put on a pitiful expression, but distrust was already settling in his eyes.
This bastard…
“Take it while I’m speaking nicely. Seems like you’ve got some money too, so buy yourself a decent grave plot.”
“W-wait! I can’t! I can’t do it!”
“Huh? Not doing it?”
“No, I said I can’t!”
“Not doing it or can’t do it?”
I’m not at a level where I can’t understand Korean… but somehow that answer feels doomed.
Really, old man?
I glanced back, and his possessed body flinched and shivered, then turned his head slowly.
[That… he really can’t do it. Perhaps the strength he had from the beginning, which was too much for him to handle, was all meant to go to you as a matter of natural order…]
“I love that crappy natural order. Didn’t you say you’d die?”
[You won’t die.]
“Huh?”
[This guy was someone too much to handle, but you? You’re fine.]
“What!”
When I exclaimed in shock, everyone stared at me. Even the shaman’s eyes widened nervously as he looked at me.
“Die?!”
[Huh?]
“I’m supposed to die?!”
[No, wait. I said you won’t die.]
“Ughhh! I was just starting to try living like a normal person, and now I’m supposed to die?!”
Tears overflowed.
My specialty.
To survive, sometimes you need to know how to cry at exactly the right moment. Like now.
“D-die?”
“Sniff… i-it’s fine… Kuuh, at least Gamdong… you had your grandmother’s meals and your goodbyes… sob!”
I covered my mouth and turned my head.
“No, no, that can’t be…”
Look at his pupils shaking. Clearly, he didn’t pass it to me thinking I would die… but does he even realize that?
“I… I’m sorry. Bathroom… my face… it’s…”
“Excellence…”
“Sorry, I just want to be alone for a moment…”
I staggered slightly as I stood. Two people flinched to support me.
Heh.
I waved them off with the hand that had been holding onto the chair while covering my face.
Shoo, don’t come.
At the same time, I parted my fingers slightly and gestured to the old man’s possessed body.
You know? Follow me.
Splash!
The sound wasn’t urine—it was water.
Thankfully, this bathroom was single occupancy. No one else was here. Except the ghosts.
“Old man.”
[No, you won’t die. Of course, there’s still some possession, and the ghosts might get more meddlesome because of rumors…]
“Hey, old man, can you guarantee it?”
[Of course! I’m the possessed body. Would I force someone to take a life just to preserve their own, against natural order?]
“Really?”
[I guarantee it! You will never die.]
“Wow! Then I’m immortal?”
The possessed body’s expression went blank. Yep, that’s it.
[No, why did you suddenly go there?]
“You said I wouldn’t die.”
[That’s because of the possession…]
“I just asked if I would die or live. Isn’t that right?”
[…]
No words, right? Can’t argue, right?
If you argue, not the possessed body, but just the ghost!
“Immortality or death, that’s still a yes, right? But our old man’s possessed body even guaranteed it?”
[Well… cough. Eat moderately, moderately. Sheesh, that brat!]
The old man was perceptive. Still, since I already held his hand…
“Heh heh heh. Better keep your mouth shut. By the way, does he feed you well?”
[Well, that’s…]
“I wonder if the possessed body tastes food when possessed… uh!”
What the hell, old man!
Why are you suddenly so close with glowing eyes?
Ahhh, my eyes! Don’t do that! It’s not pressure, it’s rotting!
Nom nom nom!
“R-really, the possessed body…”
Park Mansu stared dumbfounded at the beggar—no, the possessed body that had been a beggar.
Though he had been unsettled by the earlier life-threatening event and having been passed the business, he could still sense his lifelong possessed body.
The fact that the possessing god was strong made this possible.
“Yes, this is food. Gah, always repeating the same dishes. If it weren’t for the effort, I would’ve just overturned it. But this ribeye is delicious.”
“Give me one… no, two more ribeyes!”
“And cold noodles. Water-style.”
“One water noodle too!”
Mansu asked cautiously, looking confused.
“But, really… am I… dying?”
“Uh, cough. Yes, death is real.”
“But why… did you make me handle it?”
Mansu asked, tearfully. The possessed body of Wosoo-han looked awkward, unsure how to respond.
At that moment, Wosoo-han’s voice echoed in the old man’s mind.
[He was going to die soon, right? I said I might die later. Body’s strong, maybe forty or fifty years later.]
[That’s…]
[Not a lie.]
[Old man, you didn’t serve the cold noodles yet, want to stop eating?]
[Cough. No, sometimes this is nice…]
[…Okay.]
The possessed body adjusted posture and spoke firmly:
“Your lifespan was very precarious. But the vessel is different. His vessel is not comparable to yours. If you control it well, hmm… you’ll just help a little. After all, you are his lifesaver.”
[Old man, nice!]
Mansu nodded in agreement.
“Of course. Also, treat him to good food.”
[Old man…]
[This, this is okay, right?]
[Good idea.]
A relieved expression finally settled on the previously anxious face of the possessed body.
“Anyway, you must take care of him!”
“Yes!”
Thus, the negotiation ended beautifully. Though, there were victims.
“Ah! My stomach! You greedy old man, eat moderately!”
Wosoo-han’s stomach was about to burst, and he was rushed to the emergency room. Overeating is also a disease.
“Damn, what a waste.”
At the hospital, I had to throw up everything I ate. Emergency treatment, they said.
After the sad treatment, I left and parted with the shaman. Then, I sensed a pitiful gaze next to me.
It was Gamdong.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because… because of me…”
“Huh?”
“You’re dying!”
“Uh… not right now.”
Maybe in a few decades? Of course, I couldn’t say that.
No, I had to tell the truth to Gamdong.
“Anyway, humans all die eventually.”
“B-but still.”
“The memory of that day was a huge gift for you. That’s enough.”
Wow… the line was beautiful.
“Sniff! I’m sorry.”
“Why, why are you crying?”
“Just… thankful and sorry.”
“D-don’t cry! I’m fine, my vessel is big!”
“Hehe!”
…Even if true, why does it still sting?
One new fact I learned from that damn clap:
“The door isn’t automatic.”
Even when Gamdong’s grandmother possessed the body, she asked permission before entering. I thought it was courtesy, but apparently not.
Good thing. Otherwise…
“Ah, chills!”
Ghosts coming and going could have landed me in jail against my will.
Free meals are nice, but do they not value freedom?
Prisons are for beggars who haven’t prepped for winter and are too cold or hungry.
Of course, the police seemed lenient. Damn… words alone aren’t enough.
Sometimes, I had to defend myself in the cell. Mistakes now are serious! Neglecting criminals is like neglecting further crime!
I have persuasive skills, after all. That’s why I sometimes rested in the holding cell.
But even that wasn’t easy. The army was easier.
Beggar talking about the army? I thought free meals were worth it. I even joined voluntarily, struggled to get in, and regretted it.
Damn. Assigned to Yanggu, Gangwon Province.
They kept saying, “The bullet in your head didn’t come out~!” following me. Hellish.
Even ghosts from the Korean War were tough, especially UN soldiers.
Eventually, it wasn’t so bad. Time passed well, and I picked up some foreign language skills. Later, it helped begging from tourists.
Still, a strict ghost mishearing could ruin life. Luckily, I knew this.
Rumble.
“Ah, geez!”
After vomiting everything, my stomach signaled again. Eating expensive food just to vomit. Still, satisfying in a weird way—it was on my bucket list to eat until my stomach burst.
“Let’s see.”
Before finding food, I sorted my money.
“Hmm.”
A bit over 200,000 won. Where did it come from? I took cash from that fake clap man. Most people carry cards these days, so I took quite a bit.
But it’s problematic. For a full-time beggar like me, cash flow is critical.
Some Chinese beggars even carry QR codes, apparently. Maybe China is advanced in that sense.
“Ah, focus! Anyway… what now?”
Feeling lost. Suddenly changing careers is confusing. Do you quit and figure out a new path while still working?
“Anyway, I have a place to stay now.”
Technically a storage unit. But it’s better than nothing.
“I’ll live a new life!”
I resolved.
Squeak!
Opening the door, sunlight hit me. One good thing about the rooftop: sunlight greets you first in the morning. Of course, if there are no surrounding buildings.
“What’s this?”
“Hmm? Gamdong going to work?”
“Don’t call me Gamdong… What are you wearing?”
“Me? Work clothes. I’m starting my new life!”
Gamdong—no, Gamdong—looked me over.
“Hey! You beggar!”
Direct hit.
“…”
Blood. From my ear.
“Hey! I helped you by giving you this rooftop corner, so get a proper job! What is this!”
“There’s no discrimination in jobs…”
“Shut up, human! Everyone sees beggars as lowly!”
“Ugh!”
I endured a five-minute lecture. No wonder my ear bled. He keeps mixing honorifics and informal speech with me…
Anyway, planning a new life can’t stop me from working. I picked suitable work clothes from a nearby donation box. Luckily, I found one that fit. Did a little tweaking myself. Excited for today.
Why am I happy doing the same work? Because briefly, I wanted to be a beggar with a commuting life, another bucket list…
“Daydreaming again!”
“Ah… sorry. Habit. Time flies this way.”
“Huuuuh.”
He placed his hands on his waist and sighed like a dragon.
