Chapter 91 – Reaction – Part 19

Chapter 91 – Reaction – Part 19

The Child Spirit blinked once.

Because he was experiencing a situation he had never encountered before.

He told me not to speak informally to the Candle.

Woojin didn’t miss his fleeting expression of righteousness and spoke again.

“I’m curious about something else.”

His mouth opened reflexively.

Of course, his voice was lisping.

“Talk back…”

“Alright. You seem to be someone who freely pursues comfort, so from now on, I’ll speak informally too.”

As his expression changed in disbelief, Woojin continued speaking.

Woojin’s gaze was fixed on the candlelight.

“Child Spirit, for an object to burn, three things must be met: material, oxygen, and ignition point, right? The candle fulfills those three, ignites, and what we see as fire is formed in our eyes, transmitted to the brain through the optic nerve, and that’s how we see it.”

Child Spirit’s brows furrowed.

It was as if he was thinking, ‘What is this guy talking about right now?’

Of course, Woojin continued to read his expression.

Woojin’s words continued.

“Our human body is also made up of magnesium, chloride, potassium, sodium, sulfur, calcium, phosphorus. And even more, 99.5% is made up of nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, right? These components form bones, blood, and flesh, and that’s why they’re visible, right?”

“So what are you curious about?”

“I’m not sure how I should understand the existence of the Child Spirit.”

Inside Child Spirit’s blinking eyelids, his pupils moved rapidly up and down, left and right.

Then he glared at Woojin.

“Brother, if you play around here, you’ll be punished.”

“I’m not playing around.”

At first, it was a question of pure curiosity, but now it was different.

Child Spirit’s action of looking directly at him and glaring was an aggressive reaction.

Before that, he had slightly pulled his body back and his pupils had trembled severely.

Unconsciously recalling past anecdotes and even imagining, he changed his attitude to an offensive stance when there was nowhere to escape, realizing he had to convince the other party.

And he could also find it in his micro-expressions.

The expression on his face was the same as the late 30s man he had first spoken to,

and the Child Spirit’s facial expression was the same.

In other words, the muscles used for facial expressions were the same before and after the possession.

Each person has a unique expression they develop over their life.

For example, a genuine smile might cause one corner of the mouth to rise asymmetrically, and even when sad, there are slight differences.

It means that each and every person has their own unique expression.

That’s why as people age, the lines and wrinkles on their face differ.

Some people have deep wrinkles around their eyes, while others have severe wrinkles around their mouths.

Considering these things,

Woojin opened his mouth.

“It doesn’t seem like possession.”

His appearance observing him when he first set foot here,

and the question he first asked, acting like a child, was different from that.

‘Big brother, you’re making one mistake right now. You know that, right?’

He used a psychological technique similar to regression to induce him to speak first.

It’s the same person.

His face gradually turned red.

“Big brother, if you keep doing that, I’ll punish you.”

“I’m not confident I can beat the old man…”

“Get out! Get out now!”

He shouted angrily.

Woojin slowly nodded his head.

People always experience emotional turmoil when their self-identity is denied.

Woojin threw out the opposite words, unlike before.

It was to reverse the situation and ascertain the truth of his judgment.

“I think it’s time to let go now. Even for my son’s sake.”

“Anyway!”

Woojin could see a family photo from a slightly open room in the living room.

If he had looked at the photo directly, he wouldn’t have known, but Woojin did recognize it.

Among the people in the photo, his wife’s face glowed particularly brightly.

It meant she touched it often, but when he looked at the shoe rack, he didn’t see any women’s shoes.

Except for the one belonging to the woman in the white burial shroud.

“I think it’s natural to miss your deceased wife. It’s a natural Zeigarnik Effect.”

The Zeigarnik Effect is the inability to easily erase unfinished tasks from one’s mind.

This applies to those who miss their first love, those with post-traumatic stress disorder, and it’s also often used in dramas to boost viewership.

They end it at a very dramatic moment.

When his wife was mentioned, his eyebrows didn’t furrow but rose upwards instead.

Of course, his lower eyelids didn’t tense up.

He merely didn’t drop his jaw and open his mouth, but it was a non-verbal cue of surprise.

Surprise briefly stops thought.

Woojin didn’t miss that brief interval and continued speaking.

“It’s not good to often show your son that you’re immersed in sadness. He’s at a developmental stage where he needs to quickly overcome the sadness of losing his mother, but what if his father only shows himself caught in the Zeigarnik Effect? Emotions can transfer, and the child might not overcome the emotion of sadness well and could fall into depression, only missing his mother.”

As Woojin finished speaking, his mouth slightly parted.

He then spoke.

His voice had returned to match his age.

“Perhaps… where do you pray? I didn’t recognize you…”

As his speech became formal again,

“I don’t pray, but I do observe frequently.”

“Ah… like the self-reflection in Buddhism?”

Woojin nodded his head.

“I think it’s similar.”

At Woojin’s reply, he thought his idea was correct.

Then he subtly pulled himself in front of Woojin and said,

“I wasn’t trying to scam you. I did receive a Spirit Descent, but… I haven’t learned anything, and I’m just trying to make a living…”

Woojin slowly nodded his head.

“I think giving customers a Placebo Effect is a positive thing.”

“Well, I’d like to hear your expert opinion… How should I act for my son’s sake?”

“I think it would be good to start with Rapport Building.”

“Rapport Building… What is that?”

“Simply put, it’s forming a Common Ground…”

***

Woojin, who had left the Shaman’s House, looked at the Colorful Ritual Flags fluttering from the bamboo.

Do gods really exist?

Woojin continued walking, thinking of visiting another place if he had the chance.

Still, today’s experience wasn’t bad.

Above all,

“It’s a huge gain…”

Since that man had transferred 200,000 won to his account under the name of consultation fee, he was getting 100,000 won.

Just like that, Woojin’s footsteps stopped again.

A Synesthete Filming was taking place, and it seemed like Kim Min Actor was playing a Detective.

Woojin suddenly remembered and called Kim Taehyun.

The dial tone wasn’t long.

-Oh, Woojin.

“Did the Moon Joongsoo criminal confess?”

“Don’t even get me started. That bastard is a stubborn one.”

He heard they caught the criminal, but he wouldn’t open his mouth.

Kim Taehyun had asked Woojin for advice, but no matter how much they coaxed, appeased, or yelled at him, the criminal kept repeating the same parrot-like answers about his motive.

“I don’t know if I can be of help, but could I see some information?”

“I’m always thankful.”

“Please send it right away.”

After ending the call, Woojin looked back at the filming set and recalled what Kim Taehyun had told him the criminal had said.

—He refused when the woman he was dating asked him to marry her.

—After an argument, the woman overdosed on medication at Moon Joongsoo’s house and committed suicide.

—Startled, he worried he would be framed as a criminal, so he dismembered the body and dumped it in Wooded Hill.

That was the criminal’s statement.

This confession also came after household items from the criminal’s house—scissors, a saw, and a knife—

and the forensic results all detected the dead woman’s DNA, prompting his confession.

There were many suspicious points.

Woojin was interested in this murder case for one reason.

It was a case that Detective Kim Taehyun and Prosecutor Kim Cheolung were involved in.

Only by thoroughly investigating the full story of the case could they attract public attention.

Above all, Woojin believed that cases involving serious crimes needed to be brought to light.

Buzz-

Woojin’s cellphone vibrated briefly, signaling a message.

The message contained the case records exactly as they were.

Bone fragments of the victim were found in Wooded Hill.

When pieced together, they were skull, rib, and pelvic bones.

They searched the nearby area thoroughly but couldn’t find all the other bone fragments.

Woojin slowly nodded his head as he looked at the evidence.

The person denied the crime, but confessed only after the evidence started to appear one by one.

That confession is also highly unreliable.

He started by cutting off the corpse’s hands with a knife in the bathroom and then deboned the flesh.

Then he cut it into pieces with scissors.

He tried flushing it down the toilet, but it seemed endless, and fearing it might clog, he went outside, disposed of the victim’s clothes, and returned with a saw.

However, the police did not fully believe his claims.

Woojin felt the same way.

The victim’s DNA was also found in the blender.

They thought it was the murder weapon, but he was adamantly refusing.

There was another strange point.

The victim’s DNA was also found in a basket with tiny holes, discovered a short distance from the crime scene.

Woojin fell into thought for a moment.

The victim’s bones were gone and could not be found.

Many thin bones were among them.

The evidence was scattered like fragmented pieces.

However, if interpreted logically, the story changes significantly.

Woojin, who had been looking at the evidence, called Kim Taehyun.

“He’s quite a brazen person.”

-Isn’t he?

Woojin nodded and continued speaking.

“Was there a large pot in the criminal’s house?”

-A pot?

“Yes. If you missed it, it would be good to check again. He probably minced the flesh and thin bones, then boiled them in a pot.”

-…Boiled them?

“Yes. The evidence speaks for itself. He must have boiled it and blended it. But it wouldn’t blend well in a blender. So he boiled it again. Victim’s DNA was also found in the basket, right? It’s highly likely that he boiled it again and poured it into the basket to filter out the contents. The remaining filtered contents would have gone back into the blender. After this process, the bone fragments that couldn’t be dealt with at home were dumped in Wooded Hill, and the larger bones were dumped while moving between areas.”

-What a complete bastard…

“It seems like he committed the crime by dismembering the body.”

***

Kim Taehyun, who had finished his call with Woojin, quickly spoke to Choi Gicheol.

“Gicheol, check if the Forensic Team missed anything. Like a pot. If they say they don’t know, you go to the scene and find it. Quickly.”

“A pot?”

“Yes, like a cauldron too.”

After relaying that, Kim Taehyun headed to the Interrogation Room.

Moon Joongsoo, who had claimed to have desecrated an already dead body like a parrot, was greedily eating Seolleongtang.

Kim Taehyun sat down facing him.

“Does it taste good?”

He wiped his mouth.

“It’s my first meal today.”

“You must have boiled it for a very long time in a pot to make that Seolleongtang broth. Filtering out impurities, and boiling it again for a very long time.”

Suddenly, Moon Joongsoo’s hand, which was scooping Seolleongtang, flinched.

Kim Taehyun could guess from that sight.

“Are you even human, you son of a bitch?”