Chapter 49: Junk Food (2)

On my way home, I met a kid I became friends with at my part-time job.This kid was said to be a genius, good enough to get into Cheonji Academy. And now, this genius claimed there was a curry that let you see things you normally couldn’t if you ate it.

Curry that lets you see ghosts?

I can’t pass this up.

No way I can resist this.

My heart was pounding so hard I could almost hear the thumping.

If I could see ghosts, would I be able to see my mom or grandma? And would I be able to apologize to Harin?

And then, could I finally live a normal life?

Would I stop being the demon, Mara Papias?

Would I be able to see ghosts like other people?

I had to find out.

I got off my scooter and asked.

“Is it here?”

“Yes, it’s on the third floor.”

We ran up the stairs.

As soon as I opened the door, I heard a thudding noise.

It was the sound of a bathroom door being smashed.

A sharp kitchen knife was thrusting out with every thud.

“Is this a movie set or something?”

“Uh, I’ve sealed my sister in there. Seems like she’s almost broken free though.”

“Should we try talking to her first?”

I spoke to the girl trapped behind the bathroom door.

“Hey, can you hear me?”

“I can see it, I can see it! Not the usual ghosts, but a spirit that could only be called a god. I saw a it!!!”

Whoa, she’s really seeing something.

I continued.

“Hey, how about we talk this out?”

“Talk? Talk? If you can’t see what I see, then shut up!!!”

“If I can see it, will you talk? How about I eat that curry and then talk?”

At that moment, the chaos in the bathroom stopped.

I heard a creepy chuckle, and then the girl behind the door spoke again.

“Eat it. If you eat that, I’ll talk to you.”

“Alright. So if I eat that curry packet, you’ll stop this craziness?”

“Eat it. Hurry! Hurry!!”

“Vow me. If I eat the whole curry packet, you’ll stop and stay still.”

I heard the creepy chuckle again from behind the bathroom door.

“Eat the whole thing? Not just a spoonful? The whole thing?”

“Yes, all of it.”

“Heh, hehe hehe, hehe. My tiny veins are flowing with evil intent. If you eat all of that, I won’t move an inch.”

I turned to my friend and said,

“Hey, set the table.”

“Seriously, you’re going to eat that? It’s really dangerous.”

“Do you have any other ideas? Hurry up!!!”

Hurry, bring me the curry!!!

I want to see ghosts too!!!

I looked at my friend with desperate eyes.

“Why... why do you go this far for us...?”

The genius boy wiped his eyes once and ran to the kitchen.

All the while, the eerie laughter continued from behind the bathroom door.

In three minutes, the curry and rice were ready.

The genius kid, looking at the curry, commented.

“It’s just three-minute curry, but it looks really delicious. Not to the point of losing my mind over it, but it definitely makes my mouth water and my hunger spike.”

“That’s how curry always looks when you’re hungry.”

“Maybe, but it’s like, this curry tempts you just enough to make you incredibly hungry. That’s the strange part. It doesn’t seem supernatural at all. Really malicious.”

“Well, your mouth is watering a lot for someone saying that.”

I looked at the bathroom door.

Through the half-destroyed door, I could see the girl’s eyes.

I said to her,

“Watch closely.”

I mixed the curry with the rice.

Then, I took a big bite.

Munch, munch—

Gasp, this taste?!

“It’s really ordinary.”

It was just an ordinary three-minute curry.

I looked around.

Nothing seemed to have changed in my field of vision.

Maybe it was because I hadn’t finished it all yet?

“Hehe, keekeek, huh? How… how are you eating so much of that?”

As I kept eating the curry, the crazy sister laughing in the bathroom fell silent.

I could only see her eyes, but I imagined she must have had a shocked expression.

I finished the entire packet of curry.

Eating curry while staring at the bathroom.

Maybe that’s why?

It didn’t taste that great.

“There’s nothing special about it.”

“No, no way! It contains a tiny amount of their, their essence. Huh, huh.”

Thud— the sound of someone collapsing echoed.

Gujeon hurried to the bathroom.

Inside the bathroom, a woman was lying there, tears streaming down her face, paralyzed.

Ah, right. She vowed not to move at all.

That vow must be why she’s paralyzed.

But, is there a ghost in this bathroom?

I couldn’t see any ghosts.

Just then, the genius kid waved his hand and said,

“There are pesky spirits clinging to us like flies. Damn.”

Pesky spirits? Were those here just now?

But I couldn’t see anything.

Damn it, they said this curry would let me see invisible things!!!

Hearing this, I thought.

Could it be another case of ‘Yoo Hajin got tricked’ ending?

No, the hope wasn’t completely gone yet.

If I could learn the recipe for this food…

And find out the mechanism that makes the invisible visible...

“Sister, sister…”

I cautiously spoke to Gujeon, who was holding his sister.

“Where did you get that curry?”

“There are people who wander around the alleys handing out food. Once a month in the slums, a lunatic possessed by a ghost kills their family and disappears, and it’s all their doing.”

“With these kinds of ready-to-eat meals?”

“Yes. Of course. No matter how rough the neighborhood, it’s still within the boundaries of Seoul, so possessions shouldn’t happen that often.”

Gujeon muttered with hatred.

“I’ll kill every last one of those bastards...”

“Hey, shouldn’t we save your sister first? People who use poisons usually have antidotes for them.”

I looked at the trembling, paralyzed woman and her brother.

Maybe there was a way to get the recipe for this food that supposedly makes invisible things visible.

I looked at Gujeon and said,

“I have an idea.”

****

The next day, we tracked down the scum distributing the tainted food.

How did we find these people wandering around the slums of Seoul?

We simply asked on the Anomaly Response Headquarters (ARH) website. Since this curry was akin to a paranormal phenomenon, we figured the ARH would know about it.

“Hey, does anyone know where the people distributing weird food are?”

“Response: They are currently between Gu Mucheon Road 17th Street and 18th Street in northern Seoul. Be careful; they are strong enough to resist the actions of the ARH.”

The admin responded immediately. Thanks to that, we pinpointed where these bastards were.

The culprits were a duo. Aside from their matching gray outfits, they looked like two ordinary men.

They had piles of boxes filled with ready-to-eat foods like meatballs, curry, and spaghetti beside them.

They were handing them out one by one to the people in the slums.

Watching this, I muttered,

“These guys don’t rest, do they? How many hours has it been now?”

“About five hours, I think.”

“They’re like religious zealots with their dedication.”

Look at the smiles on those two. They seemed genuinely happy, smiling non-stop for the entire five hours, even while listening to the complaints of the people in the slums and not taking a single break for food.

It was almost a sign of madness.

Or maybe they were devout believers in some cult.

Possibly both.

“But still, after working non-stop for five hours, they must be hungry, right?”

“Of course. No way they aren’t hungry.”

“Get ready.”

I gestured to Gujeon.

He then pulled out a large pot from behind.

Inside it was curry.

****

Another fulfilling day was passing by.

A man distributing food in the slums thought as he opened another box.

He didn’t feel fulfilled because he was feeding the poor.

He felt fulfilled because he believed he was part of a much greater cause, far beyond the understanding of those he fed.

“We found one two days in a row.”

“Yes, it’s lucky to find individuals with potential in their bloodlines consecutively.”

“But it’s disappointing. So few can withstand the essence of His truth, even after consuming it.”

The young man expressed his disappointment, and the older man shook his head.

“That’s why we need to work even harder.”

“Right. Let’s finish distributing this last box and then grab something to eat.”

At that moment,

A handsome man approached, carrying a pot filled with curry.

He smiled innocently and said,

“Thanks to the food you gave out last time, I didn’t starve. I don’t have much to offer, but I made some special curry to show my gratitude. If you haven’t eaten, would you like to join me…?”

The two men looked at the curry.

It smelled so delicious that their mouths watered and their stomachs rumbled.

But they couldn’t eat such curry.

Something dire could happen.

On the off chance that ‘His’ essence was in there...

“Haha, we appreciate it, but we’re busy right now,” said the older man, unable to take his eyes off the curry.

What secret recipe made it smell so good? Could it be?

The handsome man, looking a bit disappointed, set the curry on the table.

“I don’t mean to interrupt your work. I’ll eat this before it gets cold. Please, don’t mind me.”

He poured the curry into a bowl and began eating it with relish, even exclaiming, “Delicious!” while twisting his body in delight.

That looks genuinely tasty.

Seeing this, the young man swallowed hard.

“Hey, if that guy’s eating it just fine...”

“Yes, it’s probably just his special curry. If it contained the essence, he would have already...”

Eventually, the duo convinced themselves that the curry was safe.

They couldn’t shake the thought that the curry was safe to eat.

The curry looked incredibly delicious. It was safe. They could eat it.

“The curry is definitely safe. I’m sure of it.”

“I think so too.”

The duo nodded to each other and sat down at the table where the curry was.

“We shouldn’t ignore the effort you put into making this.”

“Wow, it smells amazing. Regular three-minute curry never smells like this.”

“That’s right. It’s a special recipe. Let me serve you a generous portion.”

The handsome man served the curry to the duo.

“If you need more, just let me know.”

“Thank you, we will enjoy this.”

As the duo started eating the curry,

the handsome man’s lips curled into a smile.

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

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