I’m the Only One Who Can’t See Ghosts - Chapter 52



52 – Mireukyo (2)

* * *

After the day of enlightenment, there were new areas on the map.

To be precise, the names of the original areas had changed.

And the new names were filled with chuunibyou-style names.

A river where fire spouts out, called Geukyangcheon, gathered Yanggi.

A valley where everything freezes, called Geugeumgok, gathered Eumgi.

A plain where such strong winds blow that even iron plates can be bent, called Salpungpyeongya, gathered Samyeong.

And a current flowed in this world, called Jeonlyusan.

I arrived at Jeonlyusan.

“Hmm.”

After getting off the electric kickboard, I examined Jeonlyusan.

Jeonlyusan was simply like a meadow.

A barren hill with no grass or trees.

In the middle of the distant mountain, there was something that looked like a mountain lodge.

Aside from that, there was no sign of electricity in Jeonlyusan.

I had expected it since it was said to be a current in this world.

I quickly took off my boots and changed into sneakers.

Then I slowly climbed up Jeonlyusan.

I wasn’t worried about getting lost in a treeless and grassless mountain.

In this way, I was able to reach the mountain lodge in Jeonlyusan in just 20 minutes.

I knocked on the door of the mountain lodge and said.

“I’ve come to offer a tribute.”

With a creaking sound, the door of the mountain lodge opened.

And there stood a young woman in front of the door.

“Welcome. You must be a practitioner who has come to offer a tribute and face trials.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

The woman in front of me was wearing a white hanbok.

And she was wearing a strange mask.

So I couldn’t help but be a little nervous.

Hanbok in today’s society is a symbol of strength.

I heard that the senior officials of the Seganamun faction all wear hanbok. In fact, I heard that you can’t wear hanbok until you become a high-ranking officer.

When I hesitated, the woman said something.

“Would you like to have a cup of tea until the others arrive?”

“Yes. Tea is fine.”

That’s how I followed the woman’s guidance and entered the mountain villa. By the way, the mask the woman was wearing reminded me of something similar that I’ve seen before.

I can’t remember it well.

I sat at the table and was served tea.

“By the way, it’s quite early for you to arrive. I can imagine how powerful the practitioner must be.”

“Ahahahaha. It’s nothing special.”

It really wasn’t anything special.

After sipping the tea, I looked around.

A Western-style mountain villa with Eastern-style interior design.

It’s similar to the previous office scenery.

And my eyes caught sight of a beautifully decorated altar.

“What is that altar?”

“Oh, that altar is where the relic of Maitreya is enshrined. If it’s a prestigious Maitreya Temple, it is customary to have at least one relic.”

The relic of Maitreya.

What kind of relic could it be?

I touched my bag nervously.

10 million won and clothes for beginners.

Can this really be done? I really don’t know.

While I was contemplating, the door of the mountain villa opened.

“Kreh, currents from the other realm. It stings. The subordinate bastards died, didn’t they?”

A middle-aged man with a massive build opened the door and entered. What was unique about him was that he had a bald head and was covered in Eastern-style tattoos on his hands and arms.

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“Welcome, Mr. Makkju.”

“Yeah, yeah. Oh, what’s this? Someone came before me?”

The middle-aged man approached me briskly.

He gave me a sly smile as he extended his hand to me.

“Nice to meet you. The King of Hongdae. They call me Makju.”

I had decided to hide my name here.

I didn’t want to reveal my real name to these guys.

“Hello. Just call me Jin.”

“Jin? I haven’t heard of you before.”

Saying that, he naturally took over the sofa.

“But judging from how far you’ve come, your skills must be solid. Let’s get along. If there’s anything dirty or bothersome, you can rely on our Ammok.”

The Makju of Ammok (dark curtain).

I’ve heard of it before.

Ammok is the third largest criminal organization in Seoul, based in Hongdae.

So, the Makju of Ammok was basically like a superior to the gang leader Cheonsu in Hongdae.

To think that such a high-class piece of trash was right in front of me.

Truly, the world is full of surprises.

Setting that aside, the fact that this giant piece of trash is participating

Suddenly, the five hundred million won I have feels pitiful.

The Makju looked out at the desolate gravel field through the large window.

And he said with a smile.

“Minister, huh? Everything is a forest struck by lightning. Except for the fact that it keeps flashing and you can’t see a damn thing, we can turn it into a tourist spot.”

A forest struck by lightning.

Of course, I couldn’t see such a thing with my own eyes.

Afterwards, the door opened and new participants came in. There were three men and two women. They all carried document bags and treasure chests.

As people gathered and time passed,

A woman in a masked hanbok stood up and spoke.

“Now that it’s time, let’s receive the offerings. Please come forward to make an offering.”

“Let me go first.”

The first one to step forward was none other than Makju.

Makju clapped his hands and instructed his subordinates to open two document bags.

“It’s ten billion. This should be enough, right?”

“It’s one billion.”

The woman in a mask trailed off at the end of her sentence.

In response, the innkeeper made a disgruntled expression.

“I will gratefully accept the investment. So, what about the relic?”

The innkeeper clapped his hands again, and a white box-like object opened.

“This is the remains of Juhol, the great prophet who prophesied about Mireuk 500 years ago.”

“Remains of Juhol. Is there a way to verify it?”

“Do you not trust me? I am the owner of the Amak. Would I bring a fake like this?”

Upon hearing those words, the woman in the mask bowed her head and said,

“No, not at all. However, it’s certain that this is a powerful relic. It’s a bit disappointing, but I will accept this item.”

So, it’s an acceptable deal with one billion and the relic.

I thought about running away slowly.

The next person who appeared was a well-dressed man who appeared to have a lot of money from head to toe.

The man spoke without hiding his smirk.

“Innkeeper, you’re called the Lord of Kings, but just one billion? Aren’t you valuing it too much?”

“Shut up. If it wasn’t for your back deal, you…”

The man interrupted the innkeeper by flicking his finger.

Then, four document bags behind him opened at once.

“Here’s twenty billion. Will this satisfy the main branch?”

“I will gratefully accept the investment.”

The woman in the hanbok immediately bowed her head.

This is good information.

With twenty billion, we can satisfy Mireuk Temple!!!

Damn it.

“Now, we should offer the relic next, right? Come out.”

At that moment, something like a treasure box appeared behind the man.

The man confidently stated,

“This is an ancient copy of the Mireuk Magnificent Sutra. It’s been at least a thousand years.”

“Wow.”

The woman in the mask wearing traditional Korean clothing had a clearly satisfied expression.

She bowed her head and spoke.

“I am grateful for this donation.”

“It’s nothing.”

What followed next was not just a joke. Cash and various items were exchanged, with numbers like 20 billion, 15 billion, and 30 billion flowing back and forth like game currency.

The items included ancient statues of Maitreya Buddha (SR) and a classified report on Maitreya (SSR). Of course, there was also one item that I didn’t understand.

“This is a photo capturing Maitreya’s countenance.”

Saying that, the woman in traditional Korean clothing handed the photo to the other woman.

Upon seeing the photo, the woman in traditional clothing trembled and said.

“This, this is a photo that wasn’t even in our school’s collection. Maitreya looking at the river with such an indifferent expression. It’s such a dignified photo.”

What kind of photo could elicit such a reaction?

What is it? What kind of photo?

Is it a photo of our Harin?

Is Harin’s photo also a relic?

No, I only have a few photos of Harin. Our mother liked taking photos, so she has a lot of photos of young Harin.

After our mother passed away, I took a lot of photos too.

If I had known, I would have brought a photo of Harin.

But is that really Harin’s photo?

The man I met at the office before also had a photo of Harin.

“To have such a precious relic. I will gratefully accept it, sister.”

“It’s nothing, sister.”

My curiosity skyrocketed, but I couldn’t see the photo.

The next turn was mine.

I hesitated for a moment and handed over five checks from my pocket.

The woman in the masked traditional clothing nodded and accepted the five checks.

“It’s 50 million won.”

“50 million, won? Is that all?”

I could sense her surprise.

Before her surprise disappeared, I spoke.

“Shall we move on to the relic department?”

I opened the bag and took out the child’s clothes.

To be more precise, they were underwear.

Damn, I never thought I would end up doing something like this in my life.

This was the first item I introduced.

A white shirt with a slightly stretched collar.

They were the clothes the child used to wear at home.

“These were the clothes that Mireuk-nim used to wear more often than any other clothes.”

“What? What? Wait a minute. This is…”

Was it surprise? Or disbelief?

Suddenly, a woman wearing a hanbok started fluttering.

And two leaders of a Sam-Pa organization, who seemed to genuinely believe in Mireuk religion, also started fluttering.

Do they think it’s an insult, by any chance?

I had to explain the next item before the situation got worse.

And it was the character underwear of the child.

Damn it. I can’t believe I have to explain this with my own hands.

“These are underwear with characters from the cartoons that Mireuk-nim liked. Mireuk-nim also used to wear these often.”

My younger brother Yu Harin was indifferent to everything.

He didn’t particularly like anything except playing with me.

Not even toys or TV.

But sometimes, when I came home late, he would occasionally watch a children’s cartoon. To stare at it with that unique expressionless face.

Honestly, I found that sight cute. So when it came time to buy underwear, I bought him underwear with characters from that cartoon. And at that time, Harin held my hand and said this.

“Thank you, oppa. Really.”

For a kid who seemed to have no emotions, it was quite a remarkable reaction. So I was also slightly surprised.

Anyway, it was underwear that held such memories. It may sound strange, but it was a rather precious item to me.

So please don’t misunderstand and call me a pervert.

If you want to swear, just call me trash.

Right now, this is a situation where there’s no other choice.

If I can just confirm that Harin is alive, I would gladly do this trashy job a hundred times.

With such embarrassing thoughts, I looked around discreetly.

What caught my eye were people bowing after seeing Harin’s underwear. From the masked woman to several bosses of the Sam-Pa, they were bowing after seeing Harin’s underwear.

“This, this, this is sacred, such a relic.”

“Hmph, you did well to stay alive.”

“You, you are so noble. I am so moved.”

To have such a reaction upon seeing a girl’s underwear.

And it’s even my younger sister’s underwear.

Damn, it’s so disgusting.

And it seems the same for the King of Hongdae.

The King of Hongdae responded with a look of disbelief.

“This is ridiculous. You see a kid’s underwear and get excited? What kind of perverted bastards…”

Wow, he said it so bluntly.

I was just thinking the same thing.

I should say something too…

In that moment, a woman’s hand entered the King of Hongdae’s mouth.

And that hand immediately grabbed his tongue without hesitation.

“What kind of kid did you call me? King of Hongdae?”

The masked woman in traditional Korean attire spoke with a cold voice. Everyone except me lowered their heads as if they were afraid of her.

Did she just call the King of Hongdae a kid?

And why is the King of Hongdae afraid of this woman?