OMS 23

Moon Ho-cheol slowly mulled over the name written on the back of the check. Lee Hee-soo…As he licked his lips, Young-tae entered with a document in hand containing Lee Hee-soo’s detailed personal information.

His eyes widened slightly as he read the document. His father was a congressman and his husband was Kim Jun-han, CEO of Daesan Group. He was an even more impressive figure than he’d originally thought. Why would such an important person pay off Manager Jang’s butcher shop debt? For what reason? Because he had too much money? That was utter nonsense.

As he flipped through the papers, a photo appeared. It was CCTV footage showing someone’s blurry figure. Though masked and wearing a hat that made identification difficult, the person next to them was familiar—the woman who had been with Lee Hee-soo at the department store.

“Where is this?”

“At Dong-sik hyung’s funeral home.”

“Hmm…”

“I did some digging. Even at the butcher shop, he suddenly brought up Dong-sik hyung. He asked if we’d been to the funeral, which seemed strange, but turns out Lee Hee-soo went there himself.”

“What kind of relationship did they have?”

“Definitely not an ordinary one. That’s why he went to the funeral.”

Moon Ho-cheol laughed out loud as he listened.

“You mean they were in that kind of relationship?”

“Want to hear something even more surprising?”

“What is it?”

“Do you know where Dong-sik hyung is?”

“Where else? He’s gone to the afterlife.”

“They say he’s still in the morgue. The funeral was delayed.”

“What are you talking about?”

“His father said so himself. Some rich boss paid to delay the cremation and keep him in the morgue. Said he got paid handsomely for it.”

A rich boss…The only person who came to mind was Lee Hee-soo from earlier today. For someone from a wealthy family, there was something oddly familiar about their behavior. If it wasn’t innate, then he must have been influenced. If he really had that kind of relationship with Park Dong-sik.

Moon Ho-cheol’s smile deepened. The target was a major corporation’s daughter-in-law. If handled well, this could end up being a big score.

“Young-tae. Dig up more info on Lee Hee-soo.”

“More?”

“With Park Dong-sik dead, he must be feeling quite lonely down there by now.”

“Ah! You mean—”

“I’m no worse than Dong-sik, right?”

Manager Moon Ho-cheol made a grabbing motion and looked at Lee Hee-soo’s photo again. So that was why Park Dong-sik had started avoiding women even when being introduced to them. After meeting such a beauty, how could others compare? Moon Ho-cheol had been with omegas a few times himself and found their tight back holes quite pleasurable. Park Dong-sik must have known about that too.

“Dig up every bit of information you can. I’ll handle the rest. Oh, and search thoroughly through that bastard’s room. With this much going on, he must have stashed some money away.”

***

While eating breakfast, Park Dong-sik yawned several times from overwhelming drowsiness. Leftover food sat in front of him. Post-meal drowsiness? Why was he so sleepy? As he drank water to clear his head, he noticed a bitter taste in his mouth.

Park Dong-sik put down the cup and leaned back on the sofa. Since he’d told Kim Yoon-ah to come in late, he decided he might as well take a nap. Lying on his side on the sofa, his eyes closed and consciousness gradually sank.

How much time had passed? Park Dong-sik felt discomfort and opened his eyes. It was dark. He realized his hands were tied behind his back and he couldn’t see anything. Something was stuck over his mouth preventing him from making a sound, and he felt severe jolting along with vehicle exhaust sounds as he was being transported somewhere.

What is this? A dream?

Even as he tried to clear his head, there was only pitch darkness. Mmph! Mmph! His groans went unanswered. Could I have been kidnapped? You see it often in movies—wealthy people being kidnapped for ransom. But how many kidnappers would be bold enough to break through such tight security?

He tried to break free of the ropes by flexing his hands, but they were tied too tightly to be of any use. Then he wondered. Am I really Lee Hee-soo? Has this all been a dream? Come to think of it, hadn’t he been dragged away and beaten like this several times before?

Maybe when this blindfold comes off, I’ll be back as Park Dong-sik.

As numerous thoughts raced through his mind, the long-running vehicle stopped and he heard a sliding sound. Shortly after a thud, his body was laid down and moved somewhere. What’s going on?

If his intuition was correct, he was now lying on a gurney.

The dropping sensation just now meant they’d taken him out of the vehicle.

He’d had a similar experience when he was taken by ambulance after being stabbed in the stomach. The wheels rolled for a while, and then he heard people whispering. A hospital…?

While he was still guessing, his body was lifted and placed on the ground. Not a hard, cold floor, but something slightly soft. Despite his struggles and muffled cries of “Mmph! Mmph!” no one came to his rescue.

As he flopped around like a freshly caught fish, he heard someone clicking their tongue disapprovingly. Fuck. Who is it? Park Dong-sik glared in the direction of the sound with wide eyes. Suddenly the mask he was wearing was ripped off, revealing a face with heavy makeup.

At first, he thought it was a woman, but it wasn’t. Something about those flashing eyes sent a chill up and down Park Dong-sik’s spine. The person wearing the colorful hanbok was clearly no ordinary individual. As he tried to look around, the man grabbed his chin firmly and glared at him.

“You wretch! Why did you enter a body that’s not yours?!”

His body flinched at the shout. What is this situation…? He belatedly realized where he was. People in hanbok, an altar set up in front, knives, gongs and drums, a large chopping block, colorful cloth fluttering everywhere, and Madam Song nervously biting her nails in the back…

“Mmph!”

When Park Dong-sik struggled while calling out to Madam Song, the man ripped off the tape covering his mouth. He screamed as it felt like his skin was being torn off.

“Ah! Fuck! What are you doing?!”

“How dare this evil spirit curse in this sacred place!”

Park Dong-sik turned to Madam Song with an enraged expression on his face.

“Madam Song! I mean Mother! Are you really doing this? After I saved you from that fraudulent shaman, now you bring in a mudang? Never mind, just untie this! Untie me while I’m asking nicely! Auntie!”

Madam Song fidgeted anxiously.

“You see? Divine Lady! Something is definitely possessing him, right? He’s been acting strange and wearing weird clothes ever since he got back.”

“That’s because I lost my memories! Are you really going to do this? I’m telling the old man! You’re being scammed, Auntie!”

“You think I’ll be scared by your threats! Begone, evil spirit!”

The mudang nearby warned Madam Song.

“Don’t respond to it, madam.”

Soon after, two men lifted Park Dong-sik up into a sitting position. Now properly seated, he could clearly see his surroundings. They were definitely deep in the mountains, and except for Madam Song and her driver, there wasn’t a single familiar face.

As the gong started ringing, the mudang began jumping up and down. They came up to Park Dong-sik while wielding a knife, looking like an executioner about to strike. Park Dong-sik gritted his teeth tightly, determined not to show any signs of weakness.

The mudang pressed the scary-looking knife against Park Dong-sik’s solar plexus and pushed upward. They repeated this action as if trying to extract something, and it was incredibly painful.

“Ow! That hurts!”

“Of course, it hurts. You’re a ghost!”

“No! You’re just pressing too hard! Want me to do the same to you? Huh?”

“Shut up and come out! How dare you act so boldly in this place!”

Come out where? At least tell me how. The repeated harsh scraping of the large knife across his body was torture. His skin stung, and even the mudang was showing signs of fatigue.

“Are you going to keep resisting? Won’t you listen? I can’t help you cross over like this.”

“Damn it! Forget crossing over. Untie this! If you don’t want to die!”

The mudang’s eyes flashed sharply.

“In life, you tormented others for money, made them cry tears of blood, did all sorts of evil things, and now you enter a living person’s body to torment them? You wicked thing!”

Park Dong-sik froze at the unexpected outburst. What did they just say…

“Come out now. If you do, I’ll send you to a good place. I’ll give you clothes to wear, find you a bride. No, you don’t need a bride, do you? You like men, right? That’s why you are attached to him? Because men go crazy for him? You don’t belong here. Ghosts need to be where ghosts belong.”

Park Dong-sik couldn’t close his mouth at the coaxing voice. The mudang turned around, took off their socks, lifted their skirt, and climbed onto the knife ladder. It was a bizarre sight.

More than anything, Park Dong-sik found himself unable to process what the mudang had just said.

Can you see me? Do you know who I am?

The mudang danced on the knife ladder. Beside them, Madam Song knelt, rubbing her palms together earnestly while praying. Did she sincerely want Lee Hee-soo to return? His ears grew increasingly muffled, his consciousness blurred, and cold sweat ran down his body.

In the midst of the confusion, he saw someone running toward them in the distance.

Could it be Lee Hee-soo’s soul, finally coming to reclaim her body?

But the figure was too tall and built to be Lee Hee-soo.

A red coat on this mountain…Indeed, another crazy person.