Chapter 17 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Vampire Request
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Bokbok Interiors.
It was a single-story hanok-style building located along a quiet roadside with little foot traffic.
The interior, visible through floor-to-ceiling glass, was illuminated by beautiful lights, and toward the back of the shop lay a large warehouse.
Following the narrow path behind the shop revealed a courtyard adorned with lovely flowers and trees.
And in front of it stood a grand hanok, elegantly appointed.
This hanok, known as the Inner Hall, was surrounded by a powerful barrier. Naturally, no human could enter, only beings with the power of gods or yokai deities.
Creak.
The door to the Inner Hall swung open, and a woman in a crisp suit stepped out with sharp clicks of her heels.
It was Jang Chaewon.
"Such a hassle."
She gazed down at the red envelope neatly folded inside her notebook and let out a sigh.
"I don't want to take this job."
Jang Chaewon closed the notebook and slumped her shoulders.
"Hmm. But with no work lately, I can't exactly turn it down."
As she walked along the narrow path, she passed through the warehouse door and entered the Bokbok Interiors shop.
Inside the brightly lit shop, a giant of a man was mopping the floor. The Heavenly Demon.
"Hm. You're back."
"What's up? Already done cleaning?"
The Heavenly Demon leaned the mop against the wall, his eyes gleaming with diligence.
"Doesn't cleaning the shop build up my inner power anyway?"
"Inner power? Ah, divine power?"
Jang Chaewon made a tsk sound, her face showing clear disinterest.
Undeterred, the Heavenly Demon kept mopping vigorously. His massive frame grunting with effort somehow looked oddly endearing.
"Hmm. But what to do about this."
She glanced at the envelope, then swiftly opened a drawer under the desk. A spot that would once have been stuffed with red envelopes now sat completely empty.
"Something wrong?"
"Ah, a Divine Request came in."
"Isn't that good? You were grumbling yesterday about no requests coming in."
"It's a job I don't want to take."
Propping her chin on her hand, Jang Chaewon stared blankly at the red envelope on the desk.
"I hate vampires."
"Vampires?"
"You know, bloodsuckers."
A sharp glint flashed in the Heavenly Demon's eyes as he gripped the mop.
"You're talking about those bloodthirsty walking corpses that move without life force, craving human blood."
"Hmm... sort of, but not quite."
"A request to exterminate monsters? Perfect. Leave that to me."
"It's a different kind."
Jang Chaewon sighed and pointed to the words "House Repair Specialists" stuck on the shop's glass.
"Think about what kind of place our shop is."
"Divine Requests can be anything, right?"
"True, but most of them end up being house repair jobs."
Gazing at her notebook, Jang Chaewon took a deep breath.
"Anyway, guess we have to do it. Let's go."
The 14th floor of a certain apartment complex.
Staring at the front door covered in gray-toned film, Jang Chaewon slumped her shoulders.
"Ahh, now that we're here, I'm changing my mind again. I hate even smelling it."
"What do you mean?"
"The smell of blood. I told you I really hate it."
"If you hate it that much, go back. I'll handle it myself."
She gave a hollow laugh at the Heavenly Demon's words.
"That'd be nice, but you haven't learned anything about leaks yet, have you?"
"Hmm."
"No choice. A job's a job. Requests have been scarce lately anyway."
After a deep breath, Jang Chaewon pressed hard on the chime button next to the front door.
Ding-dong.
"Bokbok Interiors here."
With her clear voice came the click of the door unlocking.
A massive shadow loomed out from behind the door—it was astonishingly a shaggy black-furred bear.
It even wore a stylish short-sleeved shirt on its upper body and glasses on its face.
"Ah, we've been waiting."
The Heavenly Demon froze at the sight of the bear speaking fluently.
"A bear."
"Yes? Oh, yes."
"I see. A bear indeed."
He responded, but his mind couldn't quite accept it.
"I had bear stew with the shopkeeper last night. But the meat in that stew was pork."
"...Yes?"
As the Heavenly Demon malfunctioned like a broken robot, Jang Chaewon poked his side and whispered low.
"Don't spout nonsense and shut up."
"Th-this way, please."
The black bear uncle gestured with his short arm, and the Heavenly Demon stared at the paw.
'Bear paw...'
He swallowed involuntarily.
Bear paw stew was one of the Heavenly Demon's favorite dishes. Meanwhile, Jang Chaewon had already stepped inside, removing her shoes.
"Where's the leak?"
"This way."
Passing the living room toward the kitchen, crimson liquid seeped from the ceiling above the sink.
"Shopkeeper. That's blood."
"I know. Peel off some of the wallpaper up there."
"Wallpaper? The paper on the ceiling?"
"Yeah, that. It's silk wallpaper, so tear into the inside."
With a grim expression, the Heavenly Demon reached up to the ceiling. His 190-centimeter height let him rip it off easily with just an arm extension.
Rip.
Peeling away the blood-soaked wallpaper revealed dried blood on the wall.
Jang Chaewon peered closely at the ceiling and nodded.
"Hm. Still not fully dry."
"What do you mean? It's hardened solid."
"There's a slab between floors. It takes time for moisture from above to seep all the way down. Plus, silk wallpaper has a vinyl coating, so you have to peel it and let it dry."
The Heavenly Demon nodded in admiration at her detailed explanation.
"I see. I'll remember that."
"Must have been really inconvenient for you."
At Jang Chaewon's words, the black bear uncle scratched his head.
"Yes. The blood smell mixed with mold."
"Looking at the spot, it seems like the sink drain from the upstairs unit is the issue. We'll check the floor above."
"Yes, please do."
On the 15th floor, Jang Chaewon eyed the front door.
Black paint covered it, exuding a dark, ominous aura that seemed to seep outward.
"Hmm."
Ding-dong.
She rang the chime, but no response came from inside.
"What? Not home? But they said they were."
The Heavenly Demon, staring at the door, made a strange face.
Reaching out, he felt a repulsive force similar to what he'd sensed at the Shrine God's door pushing his hand back.
"This door. It's protected by some strange power."
"Huh? You're right. Figures a vampire would put a spell on the front door."
Jang Chaewon looked troubled as she checked her phone.
"Guess I need to ask the client god for the phone number."
"No need."
The Heavenly Demon suddenly crouched low.
A crimson flame roared to life around his twisted right fist with a whoosh.
"W-wait, no True Origin Fist! The hallway ceiling is low here."
"Don't worry. I'll just break this weird power."
His light jab hit the door with a sizzle, shattering the lingering force in a crackle.
"Who the hell are you?"
The door flew open, revealing a gaunt man in a white shirt and black suit pants.
His face was deathly pale like floured dough, eyes elongated and slit-like.
From head to toe, he screamed "I'm a vampire."
"Why destroy the protective spell on my door?"
The vampire glared at the Heavenly Demon with purple-tinged eyes.
"Disappointing."
The Heavenly Demon eyed him up and down and said something unexpected.
"You're about my height, but only half a body."
Jang Chaewon hurriedly stepped in front of the Heavenly Demon.
"Excuse me, we're here at the request of your landlord, Choeun God, about the downstairs leak. Didn't you hear?"
"I did."
"Ah, okay. Then we'll take a look inside."
As she moved to enter, the man blocked her path with arrogant eyes.
"No."
"Yes?"
"I can't let half-yokai or humans into my home."
Jang Chaewon's eyebrow twitched.
But she quickly curved her eyes into crescents, maintaining her smile.
"What do you...?"
"Don't you smell like a sow everywhere?"
The ultimate insult.
Jang Chaewon lowered her head, her body trembling. Watching her, the man snorted.
"Tell the landlord to find a shop run by purebloods."
Slam. He shut the door again.
Jang Chaewon still stared down at her feet, head bowed.
"Half-yokai? What was that guy talking about?"
The Heavenly Demon blinked, but Jang Chaewon showed no reaction.
"Shopkeeper."
"Ah... It happens sometimes. Some long-lived high-grade yokai delude themselves into thinking they're yokai gods or something. Heh heh heh."
Lifting her head, a bluish light gleamed in Jang Chaewon's eyes. Behind her back, it was as if a demon engulfed in flames licked its lips and grinned.
"Kill him?"
The Heavenly Demon stroked his chin.
She could drop him with one light punch. If she'd lost her reason, it wouldn't be strange for the scrawny guy to be torn apart alive.
"Heh heh heh. Why kill trash like that? We've got work to do. Heh heh heh."
Jang Chaewon's crazed eyes seemed to chill the very air around her.
"Now, get started."
"With what?"
With a low metallic growl, she pointed at the front door.
"What you're good at. Feed it a free round."
Her smiling crescent eyes looked somehow terrifying.
Gulping, the Heavenly Demon nodded.
"Fine. No complaints later."
Crouching low, he boldly raised his fist into the air.
"Fist Demon Seven Forms, Soaring Wind Dragon Fist!"
Crack! Boom.
His strike folded the front door in half, sending it crashing to the floor.
"What the hell are you doing!"
The vampire man rushed out, but Jang Chaewon ignored him and stepped inside.
In that instant, he reached to grab her shoulder roughly.
But the Heavenly Demon had already seized his wrist with the Golden Claw Technique, twisting it.
"Don't swing your hands carelessly."
"A stinking human dares touch me?"
A full vampire's strength could lift a truck.
But as the man snorted and tried to shake off the Heavenly Demon's hand, his face changed. The thick fingers clamped like steel vise, immovable.
"You...!"
Even with his wrist bent, he yelled at Jang Chaewon entering.
"Don't barge in without permission!"
Jang Chaewon whipped her head around, a bluish light pouring from her eyes.
"A lowly low-grade vampire... trying to act like a yokai god?"
"Wh-what?"
"Even a Vampire Lord couldn't mouth off to me. Or are you from Roav sister's bloodline?"
Roav was the head of the strongest house even among the Vampire Lord clans of supreme vampires.
Closing in on the pale-faced vampire, Jang Chaewon thrust her blue eyes close.
"Or do you want to be yokai god level? A god? Want me to introduce you to Ox Immortal?"
Her girlish features somehow turned sensually alluring. Even the Heavenly Demon found it intriguing.
"Wh-what?"
"Or Original Demon? But you got the skills for that, right? You can summon Blood Birds, cast resurrection spells, right?"
"I... I'm..."
Avoiding her gaze, the man bowed his head.
"I made a mistake. I apologize."
"..."
Jang Chaewon simply stared at him with rippling blue eyes.
Gulping, the man averted his gaze and murmured.
"And you can enter the house freely."
"Oh, thank you."
In an instant, her innocent expression returned, and she beamed brightly.
"Running a territory-level shop is tough. Always cleaning up after the gods. Ho ho ho."
Only then did the vampire realize how terrifying Jang Chaewon was.
One who handled the gods' dirty work.
In other words, someone closest to the gods themselves.
"I'm sorry, miss. Forgive my rudeness."
Shaking with fear, as she met his eyes, Jang Chaewon shook her head.
"It's fine. Happens sometimes."
She swallowed the part about dealing with vampires. She beckoned the dumbfounded Heavenly Demon.
"Heavenly Demon, come here and remove the sink splash guard."
"Got it."
The Heavenly Demon pulled off the wooden panel under the sink, revealing water pooling around the drain pipes.
"Looks like the pipes are clogged."
Turning on the sink faucet, Jang Chaewon watched not clear water but crimson blood flow out.
'Ugh. Hate this.'
The red liquid drained down the sink pipe at first, then predictably backed up from below.
"Backflow from the sink pipes caused the pooling. Just need to clear the pipes—no major work."
The vampire man nodded like an obedient child at her explanation.
"Understood."
"Oh, and we'll bill the door repair too. It got damaged in an accident during the job... Tell Choeun God nicely."
At her cheekiness, the vampire man nodded helplessly.
"I'll pass it on."
"You come back later, grab a pipe cleaner from the shop warehouse, and unclog this."
"I don't know how."
"Then head back to the shop first. I'll call the equipment supplier president, and you watch and help with the installation."
Nodding, the Heavenly Demon said solemnly to the vampire.
"When I return, don't pretend not to hear—open the door properly."
"Uh, you smashed it anyway, so there's no door to open."
"True. Then wait obediently. No need for drinks; I don't partake."
The man bristled, eyeing the chattering Heavenly Demon.
"But why are you talking down to me?"
"Talking down?"
"I'm a vampire."
"So what? I don't use honorifics unless it's a god or yokai god."
"What?"
The vampire's face turned ashen, body trembling.
Watching him, Jang Chaewon inwardly sighed.
'Ah, these damn vampires.'
A race bundled tight with pride and arrogance.
The male vampire wanted to regain his shattered pride by taking it out on the Heavenly Demon.
"I-I'm over 120 years old this year."
"So what?"
"Wh-what?"
"Clean your ears and listen well."
Crossing his arms with a pitiful look, the Heavenly Demon spoke to the man.
"I am the Heavenly Demon."
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