Chapter 17

Two hours before Choi Janggun woke up after turning back time.

That was the time spent cleaning up the basement and treating the injured.

“Yeonseo still won’t open her eyes! Shouldn’t we take her to the hospital?”

Manager Kim Manchun made a tearful face as he looked at Yeonseo lying on the bed.

A man with hands as thick as wok lids was shedding tears like a child, and watching him made me feel sorry for him.

“There’s no need for that. Gain here burned the source of the problem along with the entire basement, so she’ll come to her senses soon.”

Sena noona looked at Yu Gain standing by the bed with a satisfied gaze.

It felt like honey water was dripping from her eyes.

Yu Gain just smiled warmly in return.

“I was only able to pull it off because everyone bought me time while I prepared the ritual. That aside, I’m feeling a bit drained. Could I borrow a quiet room?”

“Oh my, are you going to meditate? I’m a bit tired too—want to do it together?”

“I prefer being alone when I meditate.”

Yu Gain left Yeonseo’s room.

I tossed a remark at Sena noona, who was smacking her lips in disappointment.

“Rejected?”

“Whatever. Getting on his radar is a win enough. More importantly, Yuseong, do you want to work with me from now on?”

Sena noona pulled out a gold-embossed box.

I wondered what it was, and inside were business cards galore.

“Marina Entertainment Director: Jo Sena”

“010—.”

A phone number was written on it.

Was she seriously trying to recruit me?

I was tempted by the job offer.

If it had been me from a few days ago, I probably would have accepted on the spot.

But not now.

Now, rather than working under someone, I wanted to freely explore what I could do and how far I could go.

Sena noona must have read my expression, because she put a cigarette in her mouth.

“Damn, first time being rejected twice in one day. That stings. If you don’t want to work under me, how about being my boyfriend instead? I’ll give you an allowance every time we meet.”

Whoa—!?

A boyfriend who gets an allowance?

I thought my ears were broken.

I was genuinely flustered and about to blush when Sena noona burst out laughing.

“I’m kidding! But seriously, be careful around female magicians. There are plenty of men who ruined their lives becoming juice magicians.”

With that, Sena noona left the room.

My neatly arranged feelings had been picked up and toyed with. I asked Manager Kim Manchun while trying to calm my startled heart.

“Sorry, but I’d like to wash up. Could I use the bathroom?”

“Ah… yes! Of course! Just head that way! I’d love to show you myself, but as you can see, my daughter is…”

“It’s fine. I had a younger sister who was sick a lot when I was young, so I understand the feeling well.”

I could see warmth—or perhaps sympathy born of shared pain—settle into Manager Kim Manchun’s eyes as he looked at me.

Mine probably held the same look.

I followed the path Manager Kim Manchun pointed out to the bathroom.

Boribori padded along behind me.

A thought from earlier surfaced.

When Sena noona was caught by the ghost’s hair and dangled in the air—

Honestly, I was so flustered my body wouldn’t move.

I froze at something I never expected.

But Boribori moved first.

Boribori strained herself until her face was bright red to lift Sena noona’s legs.

It hadn’t been long since I’d been watching that little thing.

Even so, I’d never seen her that flustered before.

Was it because she wanted to save a life?

I didn’t know Boribori was that kind of creature.

There was still so much I didn’t know about her.

But one thing was certain: today, Boribori had been a huge help.

“Boribori, when we get home, we’re having beef. Beef.”

With the payment for this job, a lot of money should be coming in.

As I took a step toward Boribori with that feeling, she raised her tail stiffly.

“Urrrrr…!!!”

She’s wary of me?

No, that’s not it. It’s probably because of the holy water and vomit residue on my body.

Honestly, if I had to describe the smell coming off me right now—

“Ugh—bleh.”

I need to wash up quick.

But there was a problem.

Shoooosh—

Scrub, scrub, scrub—

No matter how hard I scrubbed, the smell wouldn’t come out.

The holy water smell was long gone, but the stench of the vomit Yeonseo had spat out was the problem.

It was sour, bitter, and strangely sweet—like it had seeped into my skin and wouldn’t leave.

Just when I was feeling at a loss, Boribori grew even more irritated.

“Urrrrr…!”

Boribori bit down on her own thumb.

“Hey, you’re bleeding!”

I was startled by the sudden bleeding, but Boribori came up to me—now changed into a robe—and smeared that blood across my chest in a pattern.

A six-pointed star with a five-pointed star inside it.

And inside that five-pointed star, a circle.

“Oh—.”

The moment I saw it, I felt every pore on my body open wide, and my head seemed to drop off a dizzying cliff.

The shapes rearranged themselves in my mind, and their meaning came alive within me with crystal clarity.

One word filled my brain at this very moment.

Change.

What Boribori had just drawn was the magic circle of ‘Change.’

To be precise, a magic circle that transforms ‘a certain liquid’ into ‘water.’

Just like that, I, Ha Yuseong, had acquired my third spell.

The sour, bitter, strangely sweet vomit that had been on my body turned into water and washed completely away.

“Mmheheh.”

Only then did Boribori wag her tail gently again.

Seems Boribori had a sensitive nose.

***

Back to the time when Male Shaman Choi Janggun woke up on the sofa—

About an hour later.

In a sense, we had to face a true battle.

We had to decide how to split the 40 million won reward for resolving this case.

Dinner time.

Before starting the meal at the lavish table, Yu Gain spoke up.

“I’ll just take the resolution fee as my payment.”

He’s giving up N of 40 million won just like that?

It was as shocking as a possessed person or a corrupted basement freezer room.

Sena noona quickly spoke up too.

“I’ll just take the material costs that went into this job. One big bill.”

Sena noona’s eyes curved like a bow as she said that, fixed on Young Master Yu Gain.

She might want money, but it seemed she wanted to score points with Yu Gain more.

So that leaves me and Male Shaman Choi Janggun?

The two of us split 30 million—

My lips curled up on their own.

An income of at least ten million!

With that, I could pay my utilities and play around for a whole year.

I could give my parents some allowance, and even buy my job-hunting sister a suit.

“Ha Yuseong, want to just split it half and half?”

Choi Janggun asked nonchalantly.

Sena noona clicked her tongue at that.

“Oh, please? You didn’t do a thing this time and you’ve got some nerve. This is why people say there’s no point in saving magicians.”

“Ahem, I didn’t do anything for you, but I did something for that young man.”

I felt a gaze that shouldn’t exist behind Choi Janggun’s sunglasses.

It seemed to be looking at the phone I had tucked in my chest.

“Use the Monkey’s Paw Site soon.”

“If you don’t, a great disaster will befall you.”

That was what Choi Janggun had told me.

Honestly, I was just bewildered.

Whether I got 15 million or 20 million, it was such a huge sum that I couldn’t bring myself to care.

I guess it’s because I’m a lowly commoner.

As I was mulling over my words, Choi Janggun scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

“Fine, I get it! Just give me my share—one big bill! I genuinely need that much!”

His actions meant one thing.

“Earned 20 million won in a day—GET!”

Whatever the case, my head was spinning with joy over such a huge amount.

And today, I’d also learned the magic circle of ‘Change.’

“Hm?”

Something strange happened as I started eating.

The stir-fried pork I absentmindedly took a bite of was incredibly delicious.

“Manager, how did you make this? Not gonna lie, this is the best stir-fried pork I’ve ever had in my life.”

I asked Manager Kim sincerely.

At this level, could he get a Michelin star or something?

Manager Kim Manchun laughed, haha, and scratched the back of his head.

“I’m glad it suits your tastes, sirs. I figured the meat aged in the basement freezer earlier was just right, so I used it—.”

“…Ugh!”

Bleh—. I barely swallowed back what almost came up.

He used the pork that had been possessed and then exorcised?

Seriously?

I guess you have to be that thrifty to get rich.

No one made a big deal of it, but everyone quietly set down their utensils.

After dinner ended, around 10:00 PM.

Yeonseo woke up.

The moment she got up, she asked for food, and downed three bowls of white rice with just seasoned cabbage.

I asked Yeonseo, whose complexion had improved considerably.

“Yeonseo, I don’t know if you remember, but you vomited a lot. The vomit was quite acidic, but it had the scent of toasted bread, chocolate, and espresso beans mixed in.”

“…Huh? What do you mean….”

Yeonseo trembled as if flustered and blushed in embarrassment.

Her eyes held a hint of disgust as she looked at me describing her vomit, but I ignored it and asked directly.

“By any chance, did you drink wine? And I mean very, very expensive wine.”

The magic circle Boribori had shown me.

It only transformed wine into pure water.

I could name it the magic circle of ‘Wine Transformation.’

At my question, Yeonseo seemed lost in thought for a moment…

“Ah. Wine…. I drank some. I was so sad when I broke up with my boyfriend that I drank a lot. There must have been some wine he gave me as a gift back then. Come to think of it… my mind’s been hazy since then….”

“Wow, Yuseong, you know wine well? I wouldn’t have guessed from how you look like a soju guy.”

Sena noona clicked her tongue in admiration.

“So why the wine? Is it related to this case?”

“…Not sure. But Yeonseo said her condition started getting bad when she broke up with her boyfriend.”

A single thought wouldn’t leave my mind.

Dark chocolate and coffee bean scents, the strange sweetness of jam-like reduced blackberries.

And there was the toasted smell of charred oak barrels and something like dried tobacco leaves.

I knew becoming a mage had improved my memory, but I was surprised myself that even these senses came back so vividly.

“…It seems like it was a Nari Auction Limited Vintage.”

That was a vintage that, as far as I knew, only three bottles existed in Korea.

And I had tasted it exactly once.

Back when I worked as an intern at a restaurant.

“Was your boyfriend a sommelier, by any chance?”