episode_0087

When can I do the soul saving ritual again?

I asked Sarah.

“The soul vessel is broken now. How much time will it take to save souls again?”

“You can do it starting on Sunday evening? It takes time to recreate the soul vessel… .”

It was now Sunday morning.

It was said that one had to wait until the sun rose and set to resume soul-searching.

Isn’t this taking too long?

When I made the soul bowl earlier, it took about three to four hours.

“Did it take that long to make the soul bowl?”

“No, the time when the scriptures put into the soul vessel are effective is at night. It is a sutra that is effective in attracting evil spirits only when the yin energy is strong. At least it gets dark again.”

“No, was it activated conditionally?”

“Yes.”

The problem was that Yuhon-gyeong was attracting the evil spirit. It was a sutra that was not effective at any time without conditions, but only effective at night. Receiving souls without a scripture was like fishing without bait.

It’s just a fishing line floating around, so what kind of foolish fish would bite?

“I can’t help it. Let’s go back and make a soul bowl first.”

“But what if an accomplice shows up and interferes next time?”

“At that time, we need to be on proper guard. It would be better to find out who the accomplice is before night falls.”

It was clear that the accomplice with his face covered would interfere with saving the soul again next time. It was overwhelming to save the soul of a murderous ghost, but I also had to pay a lot of attention to being on guard against an attack by an accomplice who could come at any moment. The best thing would be to reveal the identity of the accomplice during the day and knock him out beforehand. If the accomplice was knocked unconscious and tied up somewhere, there would be no problem in recovering the soul.

“Hmm.”

I thought for a moment and said to Sarah.

“Let’s do it this way.”

“What is it?”

“Buy the items you need and make a soul bowl. I will find out who the accomplice is and catch him.”

“Can you catch it in one day?”

“You’ll understand when you try.”

We divided up the work to do. Sarah made the soul bowl and I was in charge of catching the accomplice.

It was nice to go out with a friend at times like this.

If I were alone, I wouldn’t be able to do other things at the same time unless I had to use a self-immolation technique.

“Good!”

Sera nodded willingly.

We went back to the motel room and waited until daylight. On the way back, I expected to run into an accomplice with his face covered, but no luck.

Time passed and it was 9 am.

It was just the right time to move. We each tried to go out and do our own thing. However, the moment I opened the door and went out into the hallway, I realized that the surroundings were strangely noisy.

━━Weee

A police car’s siren blared loudly outside the motel building.

There were several police officers in uniform walking around in the hallway.

The place where most people gathered was the second floor of the motel. It was one floor down from where we were staying in the room. Not only were there police, but even the motel guests were gathered and making noise.

Sarah and I stopped on the second floor instead of going outside.

“What is it? What’s going on?”

“Didn’t the police come because you almost killed Hyejin yesterday?”

“The accident happened on the 4th floor at that time. There’s no way people are gathering on the second floor?”

Yesterday, someone almost died at a motel. Motel employee Jeong Hye-jin fell into the bathtub while cleaning an empty room and almost drowned.

However, there was no way many police officers would be dispatched because Jeong Hye-jin almost died.

Even if you call 112 and say you are being threatened by a ghost, no one will believe you.

At best, they’ll treat it as an unfortunate accident and a police officer or two will come to investigate.

Clearly, the police didn’t come because of Hyejin.

Coincidentally, there was a face we knew on the second floor.

CEO Jae-ho Park was talking to the police.

We waited until the conversation was over and then spoke to CEO Jaeho Park.

“Hey, boss.”

“Huh?”

“What’s going on? Why are the police here?”

President Jaeho Park answered with a frown on his face.

“Someone died at our motel last night. It’s not just a death, it’s a murder case.”

“Murder?”

“So there was an uproar.”

A murder occurred at the motel last night?

For some reason, the atmosphere was unusual.

“Has the culprit been caught?”

“Not yet.”

I could hear police talking nearby.

When I listened carefully, I heard that the killer who escaped from the motel was wearing a jungle hat.

‘A murderer wearing a jungle hat?’

The accomplice who had interfered with the rescue of the soul earlier was also wearing a jungle hat suitable for mountain climbing.

In terms of appearance alone, they seemed to be the same person.

Soon, people in uniform came out of the room where the murder took place, carrying the body. The body was placed on a stretcher and covered with a wide cloth. There was no way to determine what the body looked like. But it was certain that it was no ordinary dead body.

━━Tap

The body was soaked in water.

Every time the stretcher moved, water dripped and soaked the motel hallway.

Regardless of how the person died, the body still showed signs of having fallen into the water.

Sarah spoke quietly while pointing at the corpse.

“That’s a drowned body.”

A murder occurred inside a motel.

The murderer went out of his way to submerge the body in water to the point that it was completely soaked.

If you think about it with common sense, it was inefficient. This wasn’t even near the water, so it was annoying and bothersome to kill people by drowning them. But it made sense if there was another reason to drown a person.

“The accomplice killed the person himself for the sake of murder. Not only did he indirectly help, but this time he even committed murder.”

“You disturbed us and then came straight to the motel and killed someone?”

“That’s right. Your physical strength is great.”

A drowned victim was needed for the soul of a drowning ghost to be freed from its drowning state.

The accomplice drowned the person himself in order to help the murderer.

“If you’re not possessed, you’re probably crazy.”

There was no time to just look at the corpse.

We left the motel to do our own thing.

*

After breaking up with Sarah in front of the motel.

I launched an investigation to uncover the identity of the accomplice.

What if the accomplice voluntarily helps the murderer?

In fact, there was a high probability that the accomplice in this case was not possessed by a ghost but was acting of his own will.

Even if it was a ghost, it couldn’t possess people at will.

If ghosts had perfect mind control abilities, this world would have already been ruined.

A person possessed by a ghost was bound to have three characteristics.

Muttering words whose meaning is unknown.

There is something dull and absent-minded about his actions.

Eyes not focusing well.

These were characteristics that arose because they did not move by their own will.

However, the accomplice with his face covered did not act like he was possessed by a ghost at all. He didn’t mumble strange things to himself, his actions were quick, and the eyes peeking out from above the mask were well focused.

‘No matter how much I think about it, I’m not possessed. He’s helping the ghost out of his own will.’

That is, if the accomplice is helping the murderer because he or she wants to.

There had to be a reason.

‘There must be a story.’

If we investigate the identity of the assassin, we might be able to reveal the identity of his accomplice. It is possible that someone who was close to Susalgwi when he was alive may have committed the crime.

I thought of someone who would cooperate with the investigation.

It was Jeong Hye-jin, who worked at the motel.

Last time, while I was reporting, I received contact information from Hyejin.

I immediately called Hyejin.

There were a few beeps and Hyejin answered the phone.

“Hyejin! Where are you now?”

[Me? I’m home after work.]

“Did you know that a murder occurred at the motel last night?”

[Ah yes… . I heard it from my boss on the phone. It was a complete mess.]

Hyejin also knew that a murder had occurred at the motel.

Of course, that’s not why I called.

“Can you give me a moment? I have something to ask Hyejin.”

[Is this reporting? Then, let’s meet at the cafe around 1 o’clock. There is a cafe near the motel.]

“Okay.”

The call has ended.

I went to a cafe near the motel.

As I sat down, Hyejin appeared at exactly 1 o’clock.

“Here.”

“Yes.”

When I raised my hand and called, Hyejin came and sat across from me.

We chatted after ordering coffee.

“Jinwoo. So what are you curious about?”

“The fishing spot where Choi Seok-ho had an accident. Someone else drowned there in the past, right?”

“Of course it is! How many people attempt suicide in the Han River? I heard that several people have died in the fishing area.”

Hyejin was an employee at a motel near the Han River fishing spot.

I also knew a lot about accidents that occurred at fishing spots.

“Then, let me ask you more specifically. Has a ‘young woman’ recently fallen to her death at a fishing spot? It would be better if she was a woman with an unfair story.”

The beast I saw was a young woman.

When I asked Hyejin using that as a clue, she thought for a moment.

“A young woman, and an unfair story… ?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll think about it for a moment.”

How much time has passed?

Hyejin looked at me and opened her mouth.

“Ah! Come to think of it, there was a girl who drowned there last year. She must be a high school student.”

They said that a girl around high school age had died.

It wasn’t just an accident.

“Was his name Park Ji-won? Probably so. It’s not a kid who committed suicide or died accidentally. He was murdered at a fishing spot by his mother.”

“Yes? The mother killed her daughter?”

“It was not my biological mother, but my stepmother. The stepmother committed murder after abusing her daughter. After giving my daughter a lot of sleeping pills, I secretly drowned her in the river as she fell asleep.”

“Oh my god… .”

I thought a stepmother killing her daughter was something that only happened in fairy tales.

“The stepmother tried to make it look like her daughter committed suicide. But I was caught by the police and arrested. My daughter drowned and died.”

That was the story of Susalgwi.

It could be said that this was a story of deep resentment that could lead one to become an evil spirit.

It was fortunate that Hyejin knew something.

I never thought I would know the exact story and the name of the deceased.

“Thank you for your cooperation. You remember well what happened last year. Hyejin, do you think you have a good memory?”

“Hehe! My memory isn’t that good.”

When I complimented her, Hyejin shrugged her shoulders.

“Your memory is not good. How do you remember events that happened last year?”

“Ah, of course I have no choice but to remember! The dead girl is our boss’s daughter.”

“I see. Then I want to ask you again… .”

I was about to ask the question again, but stopped.

What did you just say?

“Hyejin! What did you just say?”

“Yes?”

“You know what I just said. Please listen again.”

Hyejin spoke again with a puzzled expression.

“The girl who drowned is the daughter of our motel owner! This is CEO Park Jae-ho.”

I swallowed my saliva without realizing it.

I felt like I had reached the truth of the incident.

“Really?”

“There is also a photo sent by the boss. Our boss has been such a fool since long ago… .”

Hyejin took out her cell phone and sent me a photo.

It was a photo that CEO Park Jae-ho had sent to Hyejin a long time ago as if to brag.

It was a photo from the high school entrance ceremony.

In the photo, a female student wearing a school uniform and CEO Park Jae-ho were standing embracing each other.

‘That’s terrible.’

The image of a harmonious father and daughter was there.

It was even more terrifying because it seemed so harmonious and friendly.

Because they were a father and daughter who could even commit murder for each other.