Surviving as a Sorcerer in Seoul - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: I Became a Sorcerer? (2)

TL: DDTL

Sleep vanished in an instant.

Hangover? Headache? I couldn’t feel any of that crap anymore.

This was the kind of news that jolted a man bolt upright on its own.

Park Gyu-shik croaked.

What in the hell kind of out-of-nowhere news was this.

No, this wasn’t just “out of nowhere”, this was the kind of news that came crashing in from another dimension entirely.

“Park Gyu-shik is dead? The hell are you talking about?”

On the other end of the phone, Min-su was panting.

With all the commotion and noise in the background, it was pretty clear the company was about five minutes from a total meltdown.

─He’s actually dead. Literally kicked the bucket! This morning, during the weekly meeting, he suddenly started thrashing around the office like some crazy bastard all by himself, then collapsed and died.

“What?”

─I couldn’t believe my own ears either. I heard he suddenly started choking his own neck in the conference room, making these gagging sounds. Wow……. By the time he was dead, his face had turned completely blue. They said he was gone before the ambulance even got here.

I knew better than anyone that this guy wasn’t the type to lie about something like this.

─Let’s talk about the details in person. The cops are here, it’s a complete shitshow right now. You know we said Friday, right? What we agreed on? I’ll tell you everything then. I’m swamped right now, I gotta go get questioned as a witness.

“Hey, hey! Wait a sec!”

─Hanging up!

Click.

The call cut off.

I stared dumbly at the dark phone screen. My face reflected in the black display was all scrunched up.

Park Gyu-shik was dead.

And not just that, he’d died this very morning, in the middle of the weekly meeting.

What kind of bolt-from-the-blue news was this?

The guy who’d been spraying spit and yelling at me just yesterday had vaporized overnight?

It didn’t feel real.

On instinct, I lifted my hand and smacked my own cheek hard.

Smack!

“Ow.”

It stung.

With my cheek burning like that, this wasn’t a dream.

It definitely seemed to be reality, all right. I just couldn’t make myself believe it.

I got out of bed and headed for the fridge. I grabbed a water bottle, popped the cap, and chugged.

Gulp, gulp.

The cold water ran down my throat and hit my stomach. Only then did my head feel a little clearer.

“Whew…….”

I shoved a hand up under my stretched-out t-shirt and scratched my belly hard.

Park Gyu-shik was dead. Heart attack, was it? No, he said the guy died thrashing around.

His blood pressure had always been high.

Red-faced and purple-faced every single day, yelling was basically his profession.

I always figured he’d blow a gasket eventually, but it just had to be the day after I quit.

The timing was honestly incredible.

And just as I was thinking that, absentmindedly turning my head…

A single yellowed book sitting alone on my desk caught my eye.

[Principles of Sorcery]

The one I’d grabbed last night to use as a ramen coaster.

“……Hold on.”

In that instant, last night’s memories played back in my head like a film rewinding.

A dark alleyway with no streetlights.

The homeless man crouched beneath the wall, that old man with the eerily blue glowing eyes.

And the crude straw effigy he’d been selling.

“Effigy, effigy…….”

I chewed the word in my mouth for a long while. The homeless man’s words rang in my ears like an auditory hallucination.

‘Roughly picture the face of someone who comes to mind. Then pour all your resentment into it and grip the effigy as hard as you can.’

I had definitely pictured Park Gyu-shik’s face.

That insufferable expression, that arrogant look in his eyes, those lips that had humiliated me.

And I had gripped with all my might. Enough to twist and crush the straw.

No way.

No way?

No way?!

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Goosebumps rose all over my body without my noticing. A cold shiver ran down my spine.

‘If the person has ordinary spiritual power, it causes stomach pain, diarrhea, and nausea…….’

The homeless man had definitely said that.

At most, it would give someone an upset stomach.

But the guy was dead?

Min-su’s words came back to me.

‘He started choking his own neck, making these gagging sounds…….’

When I’d gripped the effigy, had I imagined strangling Park Gyu-shik’s neck? Or had I imagined bursting his heart?

I couldn’t really remember.

I’d been drunk and consumed by rage.

But one thing was certain. I had crushed that effigy in my fist.

I cautiously picked up the book on the desk.

A yellowed, worn-out cover. The Chinese characters I couldn’t read yesterday were now clearly legible.

As if my eyes had been opened.

Yeah, I’d hated him enough to want him dead.

He was the guy who’d turned my late twenties into hell.

The guy who’d trampled my dreams and eaten away at my self-esteem.

But actually dying was a whole different issue, wasn’t it?

Since I hadn’t been caught, legal questions aside…

This was enough to deal serious damage to a person’s flimsy moral compass.

Was I a murderer now? Over a 50,000 won toy?

No. Let me think about this rationally.

Did any of this even make sense? A curse doll killing someone in the 21st century?

“No way, right…”

Just in case, I fumbled into some clothes.

Last night’s memory was too vivid. I needed to check.

I opened the door and headed for that wall. I’d lived in this neighborhood for three years. I could find it with my eyes closed.

The alley in broad daylight wore a completely different face than it did at night.

The damp, eerie atmosphere was gone without a trace, leaving behind only the drab scenery of a run-down villa neighborhood.

Beneath the wall, kimchi juice had dried up between torn trash bags, and someone had secretly dumped a broken fan head that was now rolling around.

A few flies buzzed about, hovering over the piles of garbage.

Nothing particularly special. Still.

That homeless man had definitely laid his mat right there.

There wasn’t even a trace.

As it happened, the ajumma who ran the nearby corner store was sitting on the bench in front of her shop.

“Excuse me.”

“Hm? What’s up, young man?”

“You didn’t happen to see an old guy running a little stall around here last night, did you? Looked kind of like a homeless guy. He was selling stuff like straw effigies…….”

“A homeless guy running a stall and selling things?”

The ajumma’s eyes went wide. Her expression said this was the first she was hearing of it.

“I’ve been running this store for twenty years and I’ve never seen anyone like that. I swept in front of the shop last night myself, and nobody was there.”

“……Ah, right. Sorry to bother you.”

I bowed my head and hurried off.

Behind me, I heard the ajumma clicking her tongue. She probably figured I was still drunk in the middle of the day.

Whether this thing was real or not.

Or whether that old man was a ghost or a person, there was no way left to find out.

I really couldn’t tell.

* * *

Three days passed after that.

The human heart is such a fickle thing.

Guilt or fear over having possibly killed someone because of me?

It didn’t even last a full day.

Of course, whether I’d actually killed him with my own hands was still a question.

Anyway, the living had to keep on living.

“Why is every single place a dumpster fire.”

Click, click.

I clicked the mouse around. The monitor glow stung my eyes.

Why was I doing this, you ask?

Because I had to eat, too.

My bank balance was cute, and my severance pay hadn’t even come in yet.

So for two days I’d been hunting job sites with my eyes wide open.

[Urgent Hiring] Family-like atmosphere! Seeking passionate planners. (Overtime pay included, all-inclusive salary system)

“Oh, advertising for slaves, are we.”

[Metaverseking Inc.] Hiring NFT-based P2E game designer. Coin listing pending. Massive opportunity!

“Planning to hit and run, recruiting accomplices?”

[New Startup] Seeking founding members to grow together at a future unicorn. (Equity offered, salary negotiable)

“What a grand way to say they’ve got no money to pay.”

[MMORPG Operations Team] CS and QA. 3-shift workers preferred.

“Sounds like they need a 24-hour punching bag.”

A sigh escaped on its own.

What I’d learned was thieving, as the saying goes.

I’d tried to find something familiar, but there were no decent options. They all felt like they had a screw loose somewhere.

Suddenly I missed the company I used to work for.

It was a solid mid-size operation, so the paychecks never came late.

The atmosphere was decent, too. The people were decent enough.

Ah, of course, excluding the now-deceased Park Gyu-shik-ssi, who had crossed the River Styx.

Anyway!

Today too, I started my day digging through job sites. Though it was already evening.

Just then, my phone buzzed on the desk.

Buzz- Buzz-

I checked the name on the screen. It was Aunt.

“Hello?”

─Ju Gi-baek. Not a single call out of you lately. No way to tell if you’re alive or dead.

“Ah, I’ve been busy. Head’s been all over the place.”

Busy my ass.

It had already been three days since I got canned and started living as a full-on bum.

As I said before, humans really are crafty creatures.

Back when I was going to work, my eyes would snap open at 6 AM sharp.

But one day into unemployment, my biorhythm had regressed to newborn levels.

Today too, I didn’t get up until the sun was high overhead.

─Anyway……. forget it. At least I can hear you’re alive. You need any side dishes? Your kimchi must be about out by now.

“Side dishes?”

I casually got up and opened the fridge.

Empty.

All that was inside were a few water bottles and half a shriveled apple.

In short. Total annihilation.

“……I think I do need some. I’d be grateful if you’d send them.”

─Got it. I’ll make yours while I’m at it.

“But side dishes all of a sudden? Did you call just for that?”

─Little of this, little of that. Hee-yeon’s starting to live on her own now, you know. I got her a place near her school. So since I’m making side dishes for her, I’m making yours too.

“Ah, that kid. Already living alone, that’s dangerous. The world’s a rough place.”

My sister Hee-yeon, already living on her own? Felt like she was a snot-nosed little kid just the other day.

“Tell her if any weird college dudes come sniffing around, they’ll have to go through me first. Tell her oppa’s watching with his eyes wide open.”

─No thanks. Worry about yourself before saying things like that. You’ve got enough on your own plate. Alright, hanging up.

“Yeah, yeah, thanks, Aunt.”

I hung up halfheartedly and flopped back into the chair.

Haaah.

The job postings on the monitor were still hopeless.

Without thinking, I picked up the e-cigarette from the corner of the desk and stuck it in my mouth.

I puffed out a white cloud of vapor.

This too was something I’d learned from Park Gyu-shik.

Every time he got stressed, he’d drag me up to the rooftop to smoke, and before I knew it, it had become a habit.

I hadn’t touched a cigarette even in the military. Damn it.

Brrring brrring-!

The phone was ringing again.

[Kim Min-Dipshit]

Kim Min-su.

“What?”

─What do you mean, what? You crazy bastard. You still not ready?

The voice through the phone was sharp.

With the sound of wind mixed in, he seemed to be outside.

“Ready for what?”

─Wow, this guy’s totally lost it. I told you, didn’t I? See you Friday. You crazy bastard! I’m freezing my ass off standing in front of the meeting spot right now!

“Ah!”

I was so startled I almost dropped the phone.

─Psych. There’s still plenty of time. Hurry up and get ready. I called early because I knew your ass would be late.

“You little shit. You scared me.”

I replied flatly, but inside, I was still rattled.

Right. Kim Min-su.

This bastard did say Friday.

He was going to tell me the story of Park Gyu-shik’s death. Was it already Friday?

Living as a bum, my sense of the days had vanished.

─Even though there’s plenty of time, still… no way, right? No way? You’re not still sitting around in your underwear playing League, are you?

There was murderous intent in his voice. If I said I hadn’t showered, the bastard would actually kill me.

“……Of course not. I already showered and I’m putting on clothes. Drying my hair right now.”

─That is some seriously fucking unconvincing bullshit, but fine. If you’re late, you get nothing. If you want to know what Park Gyu-shik’s last words were and what the cops said, you’d better haul ass over here.

“Yeah, yeah. Sit tight. I’ll wash up and head out.”

─You asshole! You said you already washed up, so what the fuck do you mean you’re gonna……!

Click.

I hung up on him.

If I kept listening, I’d just eat a whole bucket of curses.

Whew, shit. I’d nearly forgotten clean.

Better hurry.

Kim Min-su, this bastard, held a grudge forever.

Last time I was late, he milked it for a whole year.

I was hurriedly grabbing a towel to head to the bathroom when my foot bumped against something.

Under the bed.

“……Ah.”

Maybe it was because of the name Park Gyu-shik.

My eyes drifted downward for a moment. There in the corner under the bed, I saw the yellowed book I’d shoved in.

‘I really didn’t throw it out, huh.’

Every time I saw it, creepy and frightening thoughts popped into my head.

But in movies, wasn’t there always that cliché where someone carelessly chucks a cursed object, and then it comes crawling back from the landfill, or brings down an even bigger disaster?

It felt too uneasy to actually throw it out, so I’d shoved it somewhere out of sight.

Without really thinking, I bent down and picked up the book.

[Principles of Sorcery]

Good lord.

I’d heard of Introduction to Architecture, Introduction to Statistics, Introduction to Nursing, but Introduction to Sorcery? It wasn’t even a required course.

I checked the time.

There was still some time before the meeting.

“Ah, whatever.”

And so, without really thinking, I flipped open the cover.

“……Fuck. Is this a joke?”

The second I turned the first page, what did I see?

A big, fat QR code printed right there.

This wasn’t even a joke. Did this make any sense?

In an instant, all my fear of that curse doll and the homeless man came crashing down.

Instead, disbelief and annoyance came welling up like crazy.

The thing looked like a Joseon-era yokai encyclopedia stolen from some museum.

Even the paper had that rough, traditional hanji texture.

And the second I flipped open the front cover, bam, there was a QR code. And a crisp, high-resolution one at that.

If this wasn’t a joke, what was it?

“Pretty sure I just got scammed.”

That settled it.

Park Gyu-shik hadn’t died because of me. He’d just croaked from rotten luck.

The back of my neck stiffened up on its own.

50,000 won was two orders of fried chicken.

I stood there for a while, just staring at the QR code.

Just in case, I flipped to the next page.

Nothing.

Just yellowed blank paper. Not a single letter written on it.

“…….”

Ha, shit. This chronic condition of mine.

Once I got curious about something, I couldn’t let it go. An occupational hazard of a game designer.

Reluctantly, I raised my phone and opened the camera app.

I held the lens up to the QR code.

Well, it wasn’t like a ghost was going to pop out. As long as I didn’t catch a virus, we’d call it a win.

Ding.

A link popped up at the top of the screen.

[jujusul.net]

When I tapped the address, a loading screen appeared briefly, then an unknown site opened up.

[Welcome to Principles of Sorcery.]

The main page was surprisingly simple.

Below a tacky Gungseo-font logo, a list of forum boards was laid out in a row.

I scrolled down as if bewitched.

The post titles were something else.

<Free Board>

Author: Exorcist Hopeful | Views: 1,203

[Title]

I’m a D-rank sorcerer and I just signed a contract with the Vatican.

[Content]

How good is this? (Photo attached)

└[Dandan-muri]: Quit the humble-bragging. You’re the subcontractor of the subcontractor of a subcontractor.

└[Selling Holy Water]: Congrats, you picked a good line to stand in.

Author: Necromancer | Views: 543

[Title]

Urgent) Selling A-rank evil ghoul. Mint condition.

[Content]

Will throw in a corpse-storage freezer for a quick deal. No haggling.

└[Fiery Turtle]: Sent you a PM.

Author: Talisman Artisan | Views: 891

[Title]

Who dropped territory stones on Woraesan yesterday.

[Content]

Of all things, a Rank 4 wraith glommed onto me. Fuck. Got dragged in and pulled overtime from the crack of dawn because of it.

Author: Job-Seeker Sorcerer | Views: 1,402

[Title]

Got stuck with a shitty broker, now I’m fucked.

[Content]

Because of that asshole, of all things I got matched up with some Japanese onmyoji kid and now I’m about to throw down in a soul duel.

└[Tongue-Flicker]: If you’re going up against an onmyoji, pack a ton of fiend binding talismans. Those guys are amateurs without their fiend spirits.

Author: Bilbiri | Views: 4,802

[Title]

Is the Supernatural Management Bureau doing its fucking job?

[Content]

Hurry up and round up those voodoo bastards sneaking in through Yeosu. Because of them, Korean sorcerer rates are about to turn to dirt.

Same thing when those pasta bastards pulled off the Dantalion Summoning Ritual last time. Do these people do anything at all?

└[Brother-damae]: Don’t bother expecting anything from bastards who only eat tax money.

└[Kimchi OUT]: Isn’t the answer just being skilled enough to drive up your own rate?

└[SoltKIM]: I was pissed too, so I killed two voodoo kids yesterday lol

….Without realizing it, I was at a loss for words.

“What the hell is this?”