GRR 25

Jion stood in line in front of a food truck selling a menu item called cube steak. Kwon Chasa also stood silently beside Jion, taking in the backs of the people passing by, but his ears were focused on the conversation between Jion and Kang Seoyoon.

“If you’re a senior in high school, studying must be tough… Hmm… Is the CSAT still a long way off?”

“There is a little over a month left. But since I applied through early admissions and just need to meet the minimum requirements, I don’t feel too much pressure.

“For some reason, Jion-ssi… I get the feeling you’re good at studying and popular at school. You’ve probably received a lot of confessions, right?”

“Uh… um… I’m a little bit good at studying… but I’ve never been confessed to. And I’m currently attending an all-boys high school, so….”

He had revealed not only his name but also his age. Kwon Chasa crossed his arms, looking down at Jion, whose face was flushed slightly. Rather than letting them continue this meaningless conversation, wouldn’t it be a wiser choice to threaten her by thrusting his buwol at her, and save both time and energy? He seriously considered it for a moment, but since the jeokpaeji in his pocket did not react yet, he could not act rashly.

“Noona, what else is said to be delicious besides this?”

“Hmm… they were eating a lot of ice cream, too. I think it was the truck at the far end over there…”

“Let’s go together later.”

To his eyes, Kang Seoyoon was nothing but a soul and a sinner refusing to go to the underworld, but to Jion, she seemed to appear as someone still alive. Far from being frightened, he struck up a conversation with such good-natured smoothness that it was clear he was used to it.

How many ghosts had he encountered to not feel even the slightest bit of aversion? Even to him, who had worked as a grim reaper for hundreds of years, the human named Chae Jion was a peculiar existence.

“Just smelling it made me suddenly super hungry. Ah, those skewers over there look delicious, too…”

“From what I’ve heard… everything sold here is good. It’s just that the line is long….”

The Kang Seoyoon of today was distinctly different from the one he had inferred from the words of Chasa Yu and several other grim reapers. As she spoke with Jion, she certainly had significantly subsided of fear and dread, and her expression looked much more relaxed.

It felt like he had waited long enough. Kwon Chasa was testing his patience, wiggling his foot trapped inside his shoe. At this rate, far from hastening his return to the underworld after completing the task, he might end up staying here even longer if he kept up with Jion’s pace. For a moment, it felt as though he had been possessed by something and had made a wrong judgment.

“Aren’t you going to eat, Ahjussi? If you are, I’ll order two.”

Not long after, the line gradually shortened, and it was not far off when it would be Jion’s turn to order. Kwon Chasa, who had been lost in thought with an emotionless expression, shook his head at Jion’s words. Although he currently took on the appearance of a human, he was not actually human, so there was no need for him to eat anything. After all, he had no trouble ‘living’ his life even without eating or sleeping.

Instead, Kwon Chasa took a card out of his pocket and handed it to Jion. He reasoned that since they were on a mission right now, it would be better to use official funds. He also wondered how much money that brat could possibly have.

“Use this.”

“Uh… really?”

Jion asked back in surprise, yet quickly snatched the card. He examined it from various angles out of curiosity, and asked in a low voice.

“By the way, is this card yours, Ahjussi?”

“No. The Great Emperor gave it to me to use.”

“The Great Emperor…? Who’s that?”

“The Jade Emperor.”

Kwon Chasa answered Jion, who was asking with a dazed look on his face. He chuckled upon seeing Jion’s gaping mouth, perhaps because it was a name he hadn’t expected. Only then did Jion realize that the line had shortened and the person in front of him was far away, so he hurriedly moved his steps.

The line moved faster than expected, so Jion was able to receive his order in no time. They walked toward a suitable seat. Jion picked up a cube of steak with his fork, hesitated for a moment, and then offered it to Kwon Chasa first.

“You’re good at talking back, yet you look out for the elders first in this matter?” Kwon Chasa laughed as he glanced once at the food suddenly offered to him, and then at Jion, who was a bit hesitant for some reason.

“You should eat a lot.”

Jion put on a sulky face and brought the steak to his mouth without hesitation. The way he chewed with puffed out his cheeks, looked so carefree, unlike a human with a ghost and a grim reaper by his side, that it made him laugh.

“Wow, noona this is really delicious.”

“That’s a relief… I had only heard about it from others too….”

Innate sociability, a good-natured attitude, and even a broad-mindedness to meddle in other people’s affairs, his personality, completely different from his own, had now gone beyond mere fascination to something marvelous. Besides, since he was born with the ability to see ghosts, getting entangled with them was inevitable.

“Ahjussi, are you really not going to eat?”

“I’m fine.”

“But it’s delicious.”

When he refused again after he offered it once more, Jion pouted. However, he soon said nothing more and focused only on eating.

A human who had devoured all the food in an instant before even sitting down, a ghost watching the scene with satisfaction, and even a grim reaper walking a step behind. This peculiar combination headed toward a grassy field near the river.

With Jion in the center, Kwon Chasa sat on the left and Kang Seoyoon on the right. The sun was already slowly setting, but the boisterous noise added to the lively atmosphere. Jion folded the empty paper plate in his hand, and asked Kang Seoyoon.

“Noona, how is it? Are you still scared and want to hide?”

“…No, I’m not really scared right now. Maybe it’s because you’re by my side, Jion-ssi…”

Kang Seoyoon’s demeanor was different from the beginning. The look of fear on her face was nowhere to be seen, and she even seemed to have a hint of vitality. Kwon Chasa had always only seen terrified ghosts trembling before him, so the current Kang Seoyoon felt somewhat unfamiliar.

“Noona, then do you want to play with me tomorrow too?”

“…Tomorrow too?”

“Yes. Spring has passed so there are no cherry blossoms, but we could still walk along the cherry blossom path together, ride a paddle boat, and venture a bit further out… Then, I don’t think you’ll feel so scared going anywhere alone later on. What do you think?”

As Jion asked with a shy smile, a river breeze blew just in time, gently scattering Jion and Kwon Chasa’s hair. As if to signal that she was a presence who should not be here, everything about Kang Seoyoon had remained still.

“You… know it too, right? That you shouldn’t stay here for too long.”

Kwon Chasa quietly listened to Jion’s serious voice, which was different from when he had been chattering away with Kang Seoyoon while waiting for food. Jion was rephrasing, in his own way, the idea that if she did not go to the underworld immediately, she might go to hell.

“But you’re afraid that if you leave here, you’ll go through something bad again like before… so that’s why you can’t go, right?”

“…….”

“Hmm… the ones who have come to pick you up so far probably aren’t as scary as you think. Even this one right now is waiting for you to sort out your feelings, too.”

Kwon Chasa, who had been gazing at the flowing river with his chin resting on his elbows on his thighs, laughed. He must have been born with a knack for glibness, a tendency to meddle in other people’s affairs, and even the shamelessness to interpret situations to his liking. In many ways, he was a difficult youngster to deal with.

“So, how about we have fun together tomorrow, and then you go to where you need to go?”

“…….”

“Will you promise me?”

Jion smiled and extended his right hand toward Kang Seoyoon. All his fingers were folded, with only his pinky extended.

Kwon Chasa discreetly lifted his suit jacket to check the jeokpaeji tucked into his inner pocket, but there was still no reaction. It meant that Kang Seoyoon was not yet mentally prepared to leave this world. For a long time, Kang Seoyoon just silently looked down at Jion’s hand.

“…Okay. I’ll do that.”

Kang Seoyoon ‘hooked’ her finger around Jion’s little finger. Although it passed through his pinky, the deal between Jion and Kang Seoyoon was effectively struck.

Kwon Chasa stared at the scene before turning his gaze back to the flowing river. He still found it difficult to understand Jion’s methods, which were vastly different from how he had worked until now, and he felt he would never fully understand them even until the contract ended. However, for this moment, he felt it was right to let Jion do as he pleased. It was because he felt he could not treat Jion, a human, like a soul.

The only option was to keep a close watch to ensure that Jion, who had made a pinky promise with the ghost, would not suffer harm instead.

“…I did well, right?”

Just then, Jion suddenly leaned closer and asked in a whisper. Kwon Chasa looked at Jion, who was overly confident that he had completely humbled him, and smiled. It was because he found it absurd that Jion was acting so shamelessly, without even knowing who was looking out for whom.

“If you’re done talking, I’m leaving now.”

He couldn’t take Kang Seoyoon to the underworld today. Instead of answering Jion’s question, Kwon Chasa rose from his seat. He paid no heed to Jion’s dissatisfaction, and began to walk.

Unlike his usual pace, he walked slowly to match the hurried pace of Jion who was following behind him belatedly.