SATURDAY 81

“Ho—how did you know that….”

My mother muttered, her face turning pale. I also had to look at Mr. Taeseon. Since he hadn’t said a single word about the accident until now, I thought Mr. Taeseon was also unaware of the truth. But….

“He probably told you his story in great detail. That driver had private loans. A fairly large amount, too. It was an amount he couldn’t handle on his own. He said that someone appeared who offered to pay off the debt for him, so he had no choice… that he had no choice but to die for his family.”

Mother and Father looked at Mr. Taeseon in horror. I also looked at him in surprise. He was speaking as if he were a Shaman himself.

Although it was said that a police investigation was underway, nothing had been revealed yet regarding how the incident occurred. All we knew was that the driver had suddenly stepped on the accelerator and rushed toward the cliff.

When I glanced at my uncle, he was quiet as if he already knew. While I was feeling confused, Father asked falteringly.

“Ho—how on earth did you….”

“Well, I suppose I’ve been possessed by a god or something.”

Mr. Taeseon replied with a nonchalant shrug. Unable to bear it any longer, I cut in and spoke to Mother. I don’t know where I got the courage.

“Did—didn’t you tell the police that? They even performed an autopsy on the driver because they suspected drinking or drugs….”

They even performed an autopsy on a body that was already a mess. Since we didn’t know what had happened at the time, I can guess how much the driver’s family must have suffered. However, if the driver’s last words before the accident had been relayed to the police, the autopsy might not have happened.

Mother looked at me.

“The Shaman told us not to tell anyone.”

“You told the Shaman?”

“No. You know, the Shaman already knew. As soon as Mother and Father regained consciousness, he came and told us, and said never to tell the police….”

Hearing that, I reflexively turned my gaze toward Mr. Taeseon. He gave me a light wink. It seemed to mean I should step back, so as I quietly took a step behind, Mother also turned her gaze back to Mr. Taeseon.

“How exactly did you know? Did you meet the Shaman?”

“No.”

“Then….”

Mr. Taeseon spoke with a light smile on his lips as if he were making a joke.

“Did I not tell you? It seems I, too, have been possessed by a god.”

“CEO Lee!”

Father raised his voice as if he were frustrated. Mr. Taeseon looked at Father and Mother in turn and shook his head slightly.

“Actually, it was all just speculation.”

“What… speculation?”

“Yes. If it were an exam, I just guessed.”

At Mr. Taeseon’s playful attitude, Mother and Father’s faces hardened. They seemed quite angry. Father shouted out.

“What on earth have you been talking about since a while ago!”

“Shall I be more precise? I took the exam after reading the past question paper in advance. The chauffeur, Park Sang-hyeon, was on such good terms with his family that he usually carried around a keychain with a family photo.”

Mother and Father exchanged glances. He was a newly hired driver, so I had never seen him, but judging by their attitude and the atmosphere, it seemed to be true.

“And recently, his wife failed a small business, resulting in a debt that was difficult to handle. His wife even attempted suicide. While he was struggling, working as a chauffeur during the day and even doing designated driving at night, thinking he had to solve it somehow… an unexpected golden rope was lowered down.”

Mr. Taeseon’s words continued. A man appeared in front of Park Sang-hyeon. That man said he would pay off all the debt instead and even provide compensation so that the family could live without difficulties for the rest of their lives.

The condition was to cause a major traffic accident while Mother and Father were in the back seat.

He agonized over it, but Park Sang-hyeok accepted. And then this happened.

There was no mystery or anything. It was just an incident where a breadwinner struggling with debt tried to commit a contract killing and failed, losing only his own life.

Father, who had been quietly listening to Mr. Taeseon’s words, opened his mouth.

“So, what is it you want to say.”

“Father, Mother. When I said it was my speculation, what did you think? Did you perhaps think… that I really was possessed by a god or something?”

Mother and Father’s eyes wavered. They must have. They are two people who believe the Shaman’s words so much and blindly trust superstitions. There’s no way they didn’t think that.

Mr. Taeseon smiled slightly and said.

“That is what a Shaman is. They speculate after looking at the past question papers. They reason based on information found out in advance. They are people with very excellent reasoning skills and insight….”

“Are you trying to say right now that the Shaman gives readings in that manner?”

“Yes, Mother. How did you know?”

Mother looked absolutely appalled. Until now, Mr. Taeseon had only shown an incredibly polite side.

Even when he came back to receive permission after suffering the humiliation of being rejected for marriage, and even at my funeral, he was silent and composed. This was the first time my parents had seen this kind of attitude from Mr. Taeseon.

The two seemed flustered for a moment, but soon calmed down.

“The Shaman is truly someone with a divine spirit. Do not speak recklessly.”

“What divine spirit?”

“You really…! That person is someone who gets the future right, not the past! He is one of the few real shamans in the world!”

Unable to hold back, Father shouted. I was nervous, wondering if I should call a nurse. The station would be monitoring anyway, but I was anxious because Father’s blood pressure was fluctuating.

Despite this, Mr. Taeseon spoke calmly.

“He didn’t ‘get it right,’ he made it fit. The fires that broke out at Ulsan Plant 2, the research centers in Suwon and Sejong, and the employee dormitory in Incheon. They happened simultaneously, and the stock price dropped significantly.”

“Those were all accidental fires….”

“Among the four fires, one was a short circuit, two started in the kitchen, and one was a lithium battery explosion. A short circuit can be fabricated as much as one wants. The same goes for not turning off the gas stove. It’s even more so for the lithium battery.”

“What on earth are you talking about without any evidence!”

“…Right, CEO Lee. Your father-in-law is right. Your words have no evidence and are too absurd, aren’t they?”

In front of the two who were trying hard to calm down, Mr. Taeseon shrugged his shoulders.

“To my eyes, it is more absurd to say that a shaman prophesied all of this. So, what did he help with after making the prophecy? Did he make it so the fire wouldn’t break out?”

My parents couldn’t say anything. I also clearly remember that time. He said that because a fire ghost was drawn to my energy and entered the house, fires would not cease for a while.

He said this incident couldn’t be stopped, so a ritual must be performed after the fire ghost’s power subsided a bit; all that could be done now was to prevent a large fire with a small fire. That’s what the Shaman said.

In fact, most of the fires ended with few casualties. The ignition points were all in places where there weren’t many people, and people who happened to be there discovered them early and put out the fires with fire extinguishers.

However, in the Incheon dormitory, many deaths occurred because shift workers were sleeping during the day when the fire broke out.

Of course, I became the cause of all these accidents. I had to bow all day long at the Shaman’s shrine, saying I had to comfort the spirits of the dead. Because the place where the fire broke out was a dormitory, the company and my parents only went in and out for a brief investigation and escaped heavy punishment.

Listening to Mr. Taeseon’s words now, it was strange. No matter how much a ghost was possessed, could four places catch fire like that? And on a small scale, as if they were set up so someone could find and extinguish them quickly. The dormitory was an unfortunate thing, but….

While I was thinking that, the hospital room door opened without a knock. I flinched and grabbed my uncle’s arm. My uncle silently pulled my shoulder into an embrace.

The ones who entered the hospital room were Professor Jang, wearing a doctor’s gown, and the Shaman.

“Shaman!”

Mother called the Shaman in a welcoming voice. The Shaman looked around the room with a cold gaze and muttered.

“It is full of bad energy.”

“….”

Mr. Taeseon looked at the Shaman and the Professor indifferently, as if he were looking at an annoying cult proselytizer. The Shaman stared at Mr. Taeseon with a stiff expression and lowered his voice.

“You, you’ve said useless things. Because of you, the deity is angry.”

At those words, Mother and Father looked around, startled. In the past, I would have shrunk back in surprise just the same, but strangely, I didn’t feel the same emotion as then. I was just suspicious.

“There’s no need to be surprised. Looking at the atmosphere in the room, he could immediately guess that I’ve blabbered something to Mother and Father.”

“You fellow who deserves divine punishment!”

At the shout so powerful that even I flinched, Mr. Taeseon replied without even blinking an eye.

“Divine punishment? Sure. And you will receive legal punishment.”