Chapter 141

The male ghost’s face hardened at the crew member’s words.

“I… should’ve driven better back then… I’m sorry.”

“No, it was my fault…”

The crew member shook his head, seemingly trying to change the subject with a smile.

“I bought ingredients for seaweed soup intending to make it for you, but never got around to it. How about having some now?”

His suggestion brought a smile to the male ghost’s face.

“Yes, let’s have some now.”

Kang Jin couldn’t help but feel envious watching them interact.

Come to think of it, these two are the first ghosts I’ve seen as a couple.

Until now, he had only encountered family ghosts or solitary ones. Although Choi Hocheol hung out with female ghosts, their relationship resembled more of a guardian and proteges rather than romantic partners.

As Kang Jin pondered this, his car entered the company parking lot. He parked and headed to the government office.

“I’m sorry I’m late.”

Lim Ho-jin responded to Kang Jin’s apology, “I heard you bought a haunted car?”

It seemed Lee Sangsub had already arrived at work earlier while Kang Jin was registering the vehicle and shared all the details with their manager.

“Where on earth would there be ghosts?”

“Well, aren’t you scared of ghosts?”

“I’ve heard stories about people harming others, but never about ghosts causing harm.”

“That aside…doesn’t it give you the creeps?”

“Not really, since I got it cheap due to those rumors,” Kang Jin replied with a smile.

“As long as you’re fine with it… Still, take it to an auto center for an inspection just to be safe.”

“I planned to do that after work anyway.”

Kang Jin had worked numerous part-time jobs, but none of them involved car maintenance. Although he’d done simple repairs while working labor-intensive jobs, cars required specialized knowledge, so it was best to have professionals inspect his vehicle first.

“I’m sorry for being late today.”

“No work anyway… It’s fine.” Kang Jin smiled and nodded at Lim Ho-jin’s reassurance.

As non-returning interns, neither Kang Jin nor Choi Donghae were assigned any new tasks. With their departure imminent, taking on additional responsibilities could potentially disrupt ongoing projects after they left. For this reason, since last week, they’ve been focusing on wrapping up their current assignments and handing over their duties to others. Of course, since Kang Jin primarily handled miscellaneous tasks, there wasn’t much to transfer, and he continued with similar chores as before.

However, Choi Donghae was somewhat busy as he had multiple ongoing projects to learn about his work responsibilities.

“Would you like me to introduce you to a car center?”

Kang Jin shook her head at Lim Ho-jin’s suggestion.

“I know the owner of a repair shop from my previous part-time job.”

She became friendly with the owner and employees of the repair shop who often visited the Kal-guksu restaurant in Nooncheon. If she asked them for help, they would likely inspect her car for free or charge only a small fee.

With that, Kang Jin returned to her desk and started working. Her tasks mainly involved proofreading documents for typos or doing word processing work.

After finishing her day’s work, Kang Jin turned on the car ignition when she suddenly spotted Bae Yongsoo.

“By the way, does our store have a parking lot?”

“There’s an alley behind the store. You can park there.”

“In the alley?”

“People usually park their cars there when they visit.”

“No designated parking lot?”

“I haven’t seen any separate parking lots aside from those attached to buildings.”

Kang Jin pondered Bae Yongsoo’s words for a moment before taking out his phone and calling Shin Suho.

“Mr. Lawyer.”

“Yes, please speak.”

“How do I park at the store?”

“Parking at the store?”

“I recently bought a used car.”

“If you enter the alley behind the shop, there is one parking spot available.”

“There’s a parking spot?”

“My mother didn’t drive, but I did. So, I created a parking space on the land adjacent to the store.”

“Oh! There’s such a piece of land?”

“In the past, my mother used that area to cook stews and soups. It’s small, but feel free to use it since it belongs to us.”

“Thank you.”

Kang Jin ended his call and started his car before leaving the company parking lot.

Vroom!

He drove through narrow alleys until he reached the store’s rear entrance. As Shin Suho had mentioned, there was indeed vacant land behind the building where Kang Jin parked his car. It wasn’t big enough for more than two cars but could accommodate a small truck.

After parking, Kang Jin stepped out of the driver’s seat and surveyed the area.

“You know, this is my first time coming here via the alleyway.”

“Really?” Bae Yongsoo asked, surprised.

Kang Jin nodded as he looked up at the second floor. He pointed to the windows on that level.

“I’ve only seen it from over there; I’ve never come around this side before.”

“So, you haven’t noticed the back door either?”

Bae Yongsoo gestured towards the rear entrance, and Kang Jin acknowledged with another nod.

“It’s been several months since you started working here, yet you still don’t fully understand the layout of the shop?”

Kang Jin clicked his tongue at Sung Yongsoo’s dismissive tone, but he had to admit it was true. He hadn’t realized there was a back door until now.

“I need to inspect this store properly.” As Kang Jin spoke, he opened the rear passenger-side door. “Please get out of the car.”

The two ghosts exited as instructed. Kang Jin turned towards them.

“So is this the place?”

“Yes.”

“Can we eat here?”

Kang Jin chuckled and shook his head. “The restaurant is open for ghosts from 11 PM to 1 AM only. You can dine during those hours.”

“Oh…” The crew member sighed audibly.

Kang Jin glanced at the male ghost. “By the way, may I know your name?”

“Oh… Choi Hun.”

“I’m Lee Kang-jin. It’s a pleasure working with you.”

Kang Jin extended his hand towards Choi Hun who promptly shook it.

“I look forward to working with you as well.”

Had anyone seen Kang Jin waving his hand mid-air and shaking it up and down, they would’ve thought he was crazy.

Regardless, after exchanging greetings with Choi Hun, Kang Jin turned to inspect the car.

“You mentioned earlier that you know about cars… Is that right?”

“Yes, I worked at an auto repair shop when I was alive.”

“Really?”

“So, what brings this on?”

“Well, since we’ll be driving around used cars, I figured we should give them a once-over before hitting the road.”

“Oh… That makes sense.”

With that, Choi Hun walked over to the front of the car.

“Could you please open the hood for me?”

At Choi Hun’s request, Kang Jin went to the driver’s side and opened the hood by pressing a button inside the car and then pulling the lever under the hood.

As Choi Hun opened the hood, he explained:

“When a car breaks down, even regular folks open the hood, right?”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“But usually, they can’t figure out much by just opening it.”

“Then why do they bother?”

“Well…I think most men open the hood thinking they should at least try to fix something.” He pointed somewhere with his hand. “For the average person, there are only three things you can check when you lift the hood: here, here, and over here.”

“What are those?”

“The coolant, washer fluid, and engine oil—those three spots. First, this blue cap is for the washer fluid. As you can see, it looks like there’s plenty of fluid inside, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does.”

“And this is for engine oil. Grab it firmly and pull it out boldly.”

Following Choi Hun’s instructions, Kang Jin grasped the engine oil dipstick and pulled it out.

Swoosh!

As a long, thin metal wire emerged, Choi Hun observed its color before speaking.

“The engine oil looks fine; you don’t need to change it yet. You can drive another three thousand kilometers before changing it. As for coolant, replace it every forty thousand kilometers, so no worries there either.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, indeed. Unless you’re an expert, avoid opening the hood unless absolutely necessary. It could potentially cause more harm to your car.”

“I see.” Kang Jin nodded in agreement with Choi Hun’s advice.

“So, do we not need to take it for a service check then?”

“The previous owner had recently serviced the vehicle at a repair shop, so I believe it should be okay without immediate servicing.”

“I think it should be fine.”

“That’s good to hear.”

As Kang Jin closed the hood of the car, Choi Hun spoke up again.

“If I encounter any issues while driving, I’ll let you know right away. Oh! Just in case, please keep some basic tools in your trunk.”

“Tools?”

“You never know what might happen. If something goes wrong on the road, perform emergency repairs as per my instructions.”

“Understood.” With that, Kang Jin nodded and headed towards the door at the back of the shop.

Klunk!

Kang Jin looked at Bae Yongsoo when she found the door locked. He caught her gaze.

“No key?”

“No, I don’t have one.”

“Then go around front and open the door from there.”

“Oh…”

Kang Jin nodded at Sung Yongsoo’s suggestion and entered through the front door of the store instead. He then looked around as he stepped into the kitchen.

“So where’s the backdoor?”

As Kang Jin scanned his surroundings, he checked out the refrigerator. Eventually, he spotted a passageway next to it.

“Huh? How did I miss this earlier?”

He hadn’t noticed this passageway despite being here multiple times before. With a puzzled look on his face, Kang Jin started walking along the corridor. Soon, a door caught his eye.

“What’s with this door?”

Upon seeing it, Kang Jin grabbed its handle and tried turning it.

Klunk! Klunk!

Just as Kang Jin was wondering why the handle wouldn’t budge, he heard Sung Yongsoo’s voice.

“Kang Jin! Did you go inside?” Sung Yongsoo’s voice rang out from behind Kang Jin, prompting him to head towards the back door first.

He unlocked it, allowing Bae Yongsoo and his ghosts to enter.

“Why so late?”

“You saw this hallway before?”

“I did.”

“But why didn’t I notice it?”

“Probably because you were too busy with kitchen duties and managing the hall.” Kang Jin nodded at Sung Yongsoo’s explanation but then furrowed his brow, finding it slightly odd. No matter how preoccupied he was, not noticing a hallway right next to the refrigerator seemed strange. Puzzled, Kang Jin approached the locked door that wouldn’t budge.

“Why won’t this door open?”

Bae Yongsoo glanced at the door in response to Kang Jin’s question.

“Mu-”

""

“Huh.”

“There’s a door?” Sung Yongsoo asked Kang Jin.

“Yes, there is a door here,” replied Kang Jin.

“I can’t see it.” Bae Yongsoo tapped on the door with his hand and said, “It’s just a wall.”

“A wall? You can’t see the door?”

“All I see is a wall.”

Kang Jin looked at the door again after hearing Bae Yongsoo’s words.

“But this is clearly a door.” Puzzled, she grabbed the doorknob and shook it.

Click! Click!

Seeing that the door still wouldn’t open, Kang Jin glanced back at Sung Yongsoo.

“Don’t you hear anything?”

“Hear what?”

Kang Jin listened closely to the door.

‘Why can I see it, but Yongsoo cannot?’

As Kang Jin pondered this strange situation, Sung Yongsoo spoke up:

“Go upstairs and change your clothes. We need to get some work done today.”

Kang Jin nodded and headed upstairs to change his clothes after taking a shower. Once done, he took out his phone and called Shin Suho again.

“Is there a door?”

The question caught Kang Jin off guard, but he soon shook his head.

This is truly amazing.

It felt like Shin Suho had his finger on every pulse of One Meal Restaurant, so it was surprising that something would elude him.

Suddenly, Kang Jin glanced around the room.

“By any chance, do you know everything that happens on both floors of this building?”

“Don’t worry. I only know what occurs within One Meal Restaurant. So…is there a door here?”

Kang Jin’s expression turned puzzled at Shin Suho’s question.

From his reaction, it seems like Attorney Shin Suho genuinely didn’t know about the door.

If he had been aware, he would have asked, “That door is…” instead of “Is there a door?” This indicated that even Shin Suho, who grew up with the restaurant, was unaware of its existence…

What exactly is behind that door?