Chapter 02
The Benefactor
Watching the monk laugh, it felt like he was speaking lightly, as if it wasn’t his problem.
Suddenly, anger rose from deep inside me.
“Are you saying I’ve gone crazy?”
“Hoho, seeing things that don’t exist is madness. But you’re seeing things that were always there, so you’re not crazy.”
“Always there?”
“Yes.”
The monk turned and began walking away.
I followed behind him.
“Then how can I go back to how things were before?”
The monk stopped.
“Why do you want to go back?”
“I don’t want to live seeing things that no one else can see.”
“Seeing them will help you more.”
“How is that helpful? Especially at night—I see too many things. It’s hard to even go outside alone.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
“I thought I was losing my mind.”
“If you don’t keep your mind steady, you might.”
“Why did this suddenly start happening?”
There were too many questions in my head.
“Are you scared?”
“….”
The sudden question caught me off guard.
The monk chuckled.
“You’re not afraid of people or ghosts, so why act like this? You see them because you’re meant to.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means your spiritual eye has opened—and that’s to your advantage.”
“I don’t want it.”
“There is a way to close it again. However…”
“?”
“This might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you.”
“What kind of opportunity?”
“You can see ghosts, but ghosts cannot see you—unless you speak to them first. If you use what you see wisely, your future will improve beyond comparison.”
“How am I supposed to use it?”
“That’s for you to figure out.”
“….”
“Just remember this—your fate is such that the more good you do, the more luck and wealth will come to you.”
The monk stopped speaking and looked at me quietly.
No—he was looking behind me.
“You don’t realize how great your power is. No ghost will dare harm you, so don’t worry.”
“….”
“Fear comes from within. Do not be afraid. Look with compassion. Hahaha!”
The monk laughed loudly.
I have great power?
Me—who gets bullied by Kang Sung-min’s group?
That’s ridiculous… crazy old man…
But thinking about it carefully, Kang Sung-min himself wasn’t truly scary.
I just hated getting beaten. I didn’t want to deal with his group.
“Monk?”
When I came back to my senses, he was already gone.
“Monk! Monk!”
I ran around trying to find him, but he had disappeared without a trace.
I stood at a crosswalk on my way home.
Next to me was a man in his forties, staring at his phone.
Then suddenly—
I saw black smoke gathering behind him.
It formed into the shape of a person.
It was about the same height as the man but much thinner.
Its eyes—had no pupils.
They were completely red.
The red eyes stuck close behind the man.
I immediately sensed what would happen.
Sure enough—
The red-eyed figure pushed him.
“Ah?”
The man stumbled off the sidewalk.
Screech!
A car braked hard.
“Are you crazy?!”
The driver shouted.
“I’m sorry.”
The man awkwardly scratched his head and stepped back.
The light turned green, and he quickly crossed the road.
I stayed behind.
Watching.
The black smoke scattered in disappointment.
I was stunned.
That thing…
It must have pushed me earlier too—when the dump truck almost hit me.
If the monk hadn’t grabbed me, I would have died.
This thing—
It was a malicious spirit that pushed people into traffic.
Just then, a young boy ran up to the crosswalk.
Maybe around ten years old.
He waved happily toward the other side.
A man—probably his father—waved back.
The black smoke began forming again.
Those red eyes locked onto the boy.
I knew what would happen.
The spirit moved behind him.
The boy, focused only on his father, smiled brightly.
I tensed up.
Watching.
Then—
Thud!
The moment the spirit pushed—
I grabbed the boy.
His body flew forward into my arms.
A truck sped past with a loud roar.
The boy burst into tears.
“It’s okay.”
I held him and comforted him.
“Jungsoo!”
His father ran over, pale with fear.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“I fell, but this big brother saved me…”
The boy pointed at me.
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
The father bowed repeatedly.
I waved it off.
Then—
I felt something strange.
A soft light seemed to come from the father’s body.
What was that?
“I want to repay you somehow…”
“It’s fine. I didn’t do much.”
I turned away.
The red-eyed spirit was slipping into a dark alley.
Like liquid, the black smoke flowed between buildings.
What is it planning now?
I followed it.
The alley smelled foul and damp.
Dirty. Dark. Unpleasant.
Cigarette butts littered the ground.
Urine stains covered the poles.
The black smoke wrapped around a pole like a snake.
It was definitely the red-eyed spirit.
“Why are you hurting innocent people?”
The smoke slid down and formed into a human shape.
—“You can see me?”
Its face came close.
It smelled like rotten fish.
But strangely—
I wasn’t afraid.
“I can see you.”
The red eyes widened.
It laughed grotesquely.
—“You can see me, and you still followed me?”
Its mouth stretched unnaturally.
It swung its arm at me.
Bang!
But the one who flew back—
was the spirit.
I hadn’t even moved.
It hit me and got thrown away.
It rushed back again.
—“What are you?”
“I don’t know.”
It attacked again.
Bang!
This time, it flew even farther.
I realized something—
The harder it hit me, the more it was hurt.
The spirit circled me nervously.
—“What is this…? Are you even human?”
At that moment—
I felt confident.
“Why are you harming people?”
I reached out.
Just lightly—
The smoke sank inward where I touched it.
—“It hurts?”
It feels pain?
Without hesitation—
I punched and kicked it repeatedly.
—“Ah! Stop!”
“Why did you try to kill people? You pushed me too, didn’t you?”
After a while—
The spirit knelt before me.
—“Please spare me.”
“You’re already dead.”
—“Every time you hit me, I’m disappearing…”
“Are you afraid of disappearing?”
—“…Yes.”
“Then why did you do this?”
—“Because it’s unfair…”
“Unfair?”
—“I died the same way… I was just a student… I got hit by a car… I wanted to enjoy life after studying hard…”
As it spoke—
Its form changed.
Its red eyes returned to normal.
It became—
a boy.
Wearing my school uniform.
“Wait… your voice…”
He sniffled.
“I had bad sinus problems when I was alive…”
Even now, he sounded nasal.
I was speechless.
“Then what will you do now?”
—“I will leave soon… after saying goodbye to my family.”
“Where?”
—“To where I belong.”
He pointed to the sky.
“Then go now.”
—“Please… just a few days.”
He bowed deeply.
Seeing him like that—
I felt pity.
Maybe because he was like me.
“Fine. But if you harm anyone again—”
“I’ll erase you myself.”
—“Yes. I understand.”
He bowed again and again.
Then—
An idea crossed my mind.
“Can you do something for me?”
—“What is it?”
I told him my plan.
When I finished—
He answered confidently.
—“That’s easy. I’ll do it.”
“Good. Now disappear.”
He vanished instantly.
The rotten smell faded with him.
I stood there, amazed.
“Dealing with ghosts… is easier than dealing with people.”
With that thought—
I walked home, thinking about my newly discovered power.
