Chapter 110…
What Is This, a Pokémon Ghost?
We played seven rounds of janggi and three games of baduk.
He even asked if I wanted dinner and ordered jjajangmyeon.
The noodles were good, but…
Anyway, after killing time like that, I went down to the lobby near midnight and saw something like a folding screen.
“Couldn’t we have done this at a normal hour?”
“Hmm. You never know. If someone overhears a strange voice, that’d be awkward.”
…
He wasn’t wrong, but—
They called it a folding screen, yet it looked like a temporary structure had been built around the spot where the ghost lingered, with three-meter-tall walls forming a circle.
Inside, there were ropes like talismans and paper charms pasted at regular intervals.
“What’s this?”
“To keep the spirit from escaping.”
“Wait, the ghost can run away?”
That was news to me.
“You think earthbound spirits literally have their feet stuck to the ground? Some of them can roam within a certain range—sometimes even far.”
“Oh? Like Yeonju too?”
“She’s not quite a jibakryeong, but something similar. Her range probably isn’t that big though—can’t move freely.”
What, are ghosts a subspecies of cats now?
Well, I learned something new.
“Chairman, here you go. And you too, Director Yoo.”
Mansu handed each of them a talisman.
“These are special, made with extra care.”
“Hmm, thank you.”
Are these anti-ghost charms or something? The envelopes looked oddly fancy.
Is this guy… running a side business?
He must have felt my stare, because Mansu turned and quickly flashed his fingers—four toward me, six toward himself.
[Oh! A 4:6 split? Not bad.]
As John said, that was fair enough.
I pretended not to see and looked back toward the spirit’s spot.
Same as before, it was crouched in one corner.
“Hey.”
I approached carefully. The ghost kept its face buried between its knees, unmoving.
“Mind telling me what’s going on? The person crouching there.”
[…What?]
“Yes, you, mister.”
“…You can… see me?”
“Yes.”
Usually, when they feel my energy, they approach first—but this one’s reaction was faint.
When I answered, it twitched slightly and slowly lifted its head.
“Huh?”
What the—
“Uh, no face?”
“Gasp!”
“A—an egg ghost?”
Everyone looked shocked.
It really had no eyes, nose, or mouth.
Was this that legendary dalgyal gwi-sin (egg ghost)?
“Egg ghost, huh? Strange…”
Only Mansu tilted his head.
“Isn’t that the one that grows bigger if you hit it and then eats people?”
The chairman muttered quietly.
“An egg that eats people? And why would it get bigger when hit?”
“Because… it’s an egg ghost?”
“…”
“Could it be a faceless ghost—one that changes faces?”
That came from Director Yoo.
Apparently, there were multiple interpretations for “no face.”
“Why are there so many versions?”
“My daughter saw something like that in a goblin cartoon…”
“Ah, the dangers of media.”
“Usually that’s Jangsanbeom. Egg ghosts are said to be old eggs that turned into goblins. But honestly, I’ve never seen one myself.”
I frowned.
“What do you actually know, then?”
“I’m a shaman, not an exorcist.”
“They’re different?”
“Different line of work. We overlap sometimes, but specialization’s different.”
So complicated.
Then Mansu continued thoughtfully.
“But an egg ghost is basically a non-human object turned spirit—so technically, an evil spirit. Yet this one doesn’t feel that way… it really has no face?”
“Wait…”
Well, I couldn’t exactly ask a ghost, “Hey, mind showing me your facial features?”
Honestly, it was creepy.
I’ve seen ones missing limbs or eyes before, but this… this was new.
“Man… my life was supposed to be a comedy, why’s it turning into a horror flick…”
Grumbling, I moved closer.
On closer look, the face wasn’t completely smooth—there were faint traces of eyes and a mouth.
“Oh? I can kinda see them.”
[You can really see me?]
“Yes. But your face is… faint.”
[…]
Definite introvert energy.
The ghost shrank back at my words.
Mansu thought for a bit, then said carefully,
“When someone dies under extreme stress and isolation… that can happen.”
“You’ve seen it?”
“Once before.”
The faint features fit that explanation.
Even if I didn’t know the details, the ghost certainly looked timid—maybe that’s why it was isolated.
“As far as I know, this type started showing up in modern times.”
“What, ghosts evolve now? Different eras, different species?”
What is this, Pokémon: Ghost Edition?
But Mansu nodded seriously.
“Of course they differ. People die for different reasons. Those faceless ghosts you see in dreams—psychological anxiety, alienation, escapism. Sometimes that manifests as spirits too. Dreams are projections of the mind, after all.”
“So when my ancestor gives me lottery numbers in a dream, that’s just my imagination?”
“Not necessarily. Half and half.”
“Figures. No wonder I never win.”
I’d dreamt numbers once, bought a ticket, and—nothing.
“Anyway, sounds like workplace bullying to me.”
“Hmm.”
Honestly, that made sense.
Mansu and I glanced at the chairman at the same time.
“Ugh, not again.”
“Corporate scandal…”
“Look into it.”
The chairman’s tone turned serious.
“Hey… can you lift your head again? We’re here to help.”
[…]
But the ghost buried its face back in its knees.
“Sigh… Mansu, should I just smack it and help it ascend?”
[Don’t—don’t hit me!]
“Whoa!”
The ghost shot upright in panic—its enormous eyes filling half its face.
What is this, a living emoji?
“I’m just saying. See this man here? He’s the chairman. He’ll help you move on.”
[…Liar.]
“Hey now, you think we’d trick you?”
[They didn’t believe me when I said I wasn’t the one…]
Its eyes blurred, body fading as it started lowering its head again.
That’s when I saw it—a necklace.
“Baeksan Electronics… Finance Department?”
“Baeksan Electronics?”
The chairman frowned.
“Not BS Electronics?”
“No. It said Baeksan Electronics, blue-bordered badge, Finance Department.”
“Ah… that was before the rebrand, over ten years ago.”
He trailed off, and I continued,
“So that means it’s been around at least a decade.”
“Can we find a name?”
“Can’t read it. Like the face, just traces.”
After a pause, the chairman turned to Director Yoo.
“…Director Yoo.”
“Yes, sir.”
“If the blue border was pre-rebrand, check all finance department staff from that era—accidents, suicides, even illness.”
“I’ll compile a list.”
I added something I hadn’t mentioned yet.
“He said, ‘I told them I wasn’t the one, but nobody believed me.’”
“He said that?”
“Yes.”
“You heard that?”
At that, Director Yoo bowed slightly and replied,
“I’ll also check if there were any involved in scandals or internal disputes.”
The chairman nodded, then asked Mansu,
“Can you prepare an offering table or something? That shouldn’t be too disruptive.”
“Yes, I brought materials just in case. It won’t be a full ritual.”
“Please do. More than cleansing, what matters is resolving its resentment.”
The chairman’s expression turned grim.
Made sense—he probably faced plenty of such cases on his rise to the top.
“Understood.”
“Should I participate?”
“Better not. Possession in this state could hit you hard emotionally—might even make you sick for days.”
“Speaking from experience?”
“…Yeah.”
Didn’t know there were side effects to possession.
Good thing Mansu had experience handling it.
“Wait—where’s John?”
…John was gone.
He’d been right there a minute ago.
I sighed. Didn’t even bother searching.
Just went home.
* * *
The next morning, Assistant Director Jo looked worriedly at Woo Suhan, whose eyes were hollow.
“Hyung, are you sick?”
“Yeah.”
Jo’s heart dropped.
“What? We’re supposed to fly to Japan soon!”
“…My ears.”
“Your ears?”
“That bastard John whined in my ear all night…”
“Oh—he came back?”
They’d heard John went missing after visiting Chairman Yang’s company, but apparently, he found his way back.
Jo wasn’t sure whether to call that impressive or just creepy.
“You should’ve brought him home instead of ditching him.”
“You want me yelling ‘ghost!’ in public?”
“Well, maybe he is good at finding houses now.”
“He is a ghost.”
Jo just stared at Suhan with a deadpan face before standing up.
“Please don’t talk like that on the broadcast.”
“But the audience laughs.”
“Save that for local morning shows or something.”
He shook his head.
“Ow… my ears. Guess I can’t go to Japan…”
“We’ve got Japan, then Vietnam and Thailand too!”
Jo’s voice rose in exasperation.
Normally, there’d be advance sales and promotions, but since the film was low-budget and no one expected it to blow up like this, everything was delayed.
They had to rush the overseas promotion before pirated cam versions spread.
Thankfully, thanks to the K-content boom and a solid 6.73 million domestic box office, they got great overseas deals.
And since actor appearances made a huge difference, they urgently scheduled visits abroad.
As Jo listed Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand, Suhan muttered,
“…There’s something I’ve always wanted to buy in Japan.”
“As long as it’s not adult content, I’ll buy it for you—now stop whining.”
“…Tch. It was my dream.”
“Damn it!”
Jo had to bite back another curse as Suhan pouted like a kid.
