GRR 33

Far from finishing the work quickly, more troublesome issues were just accumulating.

They were lucky enough to somehow manage to resolve Kang Seoyoon’s situation, but Park Seolhwa was in a different situation. He felt he needed to act diligently to ensure that Jion could keep the promise he had made to the deceased this time. Realistically, it was impossible for Jion to find Jo Yunkyung, and if things remained as they were, Jion might be harmed for failing to keep his promise to the dead.

After turning off the lights in the office, where he likely would not visit for a while, Kwon Chasa headed for Yeomra Palace. In a corner of his complicated mind, thoughts of Jion took place under the name of responsibility.

***

As the Chuseok holiday passed, the CSAT was just over 40 days away. The homeroom teacher left after nagging them to treat the final mock test next week as if it were the actual CSAT, and the atmosphere in the classroom quickly became gloomy.

However, as always, the atmosphere became lively not long after. Jion was the only one lost in thought. Even when they came to eat lunch, Jion could not let go of his stern expression.

“Why can’t you eat? Are you sick?”

Jion slowly looked up in surprise at Oh Hyunsoo’s words. Unlike someone who had expressed concern, Oh Hyunsoo wasn’t looking at Jion, but at the food tray. At the General Tso’s chicken served as today’s main dish.

Jion saw through Oh Hyunsoo’s intentions and quickly grabbed a piece of General Tso’s chicken and put it in his mouth. He thought that if he did not stay alert, Oh Hyunsoo would snatch all the delicious dishes away.

“It’s not that I’m sick, I just have something on my mind… Don’t covet my food.”

Oh Hyunsoo pouted, then scooped a big spoonful of rice into his mouth. Jion, who had already finished eating and stopped by the return station, waved at a few familiar faces as he passed by, then put another piece of chicken into his mouth. It wasn’t that it tasted bad, but maybe because he had a lot on his mind, it didn’t taste as good as usual.

Last night, Jion had gone to his part time job after eating cup noodles and drinking the spring water mixed with banana milk. He searched for articles whenever he had a spare moment.

When he roughly combined various words to search, a few articles related to Park Seolhwa appeared. It was only after seeing the headlines that he realized he had seen these articles before. Since it was an incident that the media scrambled to report on at the time, it was impossible not to know.

[Stab wounds found on female high school student’s body at Seokchon Lake… Police investigate, focusing on possibility of ‘murder’]

It was reported that in January of this year, the body of a female high school student was discovered at Seokchon Lake. Initially, it was suspected to be a simple accidental fall, but articles mentioned that there were several deep stab wounds, suggesting she had been murdered and then dumped in the lake.

Jion considered turning back to read a few more articles covering similar topics, but decided against it. Reading such articles always made him feel uneasy, even if the subject was a complete stranger, but perhaps because he had just met and even spoken with Park Seolhwa, he felt even more conflicted. At the same time, his desire to grant Park Seolhwa’s wish grew stronger.

Was it because the feeling had not gone away even after he returned home from his part time job? He thought he had fallen asleep early for the first time in a while, but he did not feel refreshed in the morning. Also, he had so many questions that his mind was even more cluttered.

Has Kwon Chasa returned? Has there been any progress on the matter? I did leave my contact information, but will he actually reach out…?

Then, recalling the wooden plaque nestled inside his bag, he felt even more conflicted.

Should I call him and ask?

However, Jion shook his head. It was easy to picture Kwon Chasa nagging the moment he saw him. Based on everything he had seen so far, he was definitely the type to say, “Why are you calling me when I’m busy?”

“What are you doing, Chae Jion? You’re acting a bit strange today.”

“What, what?”

“You haven’t even eaten half your food.”

Jion, who had been sitting with the tray in front of him as if performing a ritual, scooped a spoonful of rice into his mouth as soon as he heard Oh Hyunsoo’s words. He needed to put aside any distracting thoughts for a moment and focus on eating, if only because of Oh Hyunsoo.

Jion completely emptied his tray without letting Oh Hyunsoo take any of his food. On his way to the classroom, Jion paused for a moment as he listened to Oh Hyunsoo grumbling about how he wished he could just play soccer to his heart’s content while looking out at the playground. It was because his cell phone in his pants pocket had vibrated. He quickly took it out and checked to see a text message from an unknown number.

[Student.]

And just one word. Oh Hyunsoo, who was walking ahead, noticed that Jion had stopped a few steps behind and came running over with sparkling eyes.

“What is it?”

“Huh? Ah… no, nothing.”

Whether disappointed by the lukewarm response or just losing steam, Oh Hyunsoo pursed his lips slightly and took another step. In the meantime, another text message arrived on Jion’s phone.

[Kwon Chasa.]

This time, exactly two words. Only then did Jion realize that the mysterious messages were from Kwon Chasa. He had told him to leave his number, and he had actually gone and bought a phone.

But why are you sending texts like this…? Dumbfounded, Jion laughed and quickly sent a reply.

[Did you buy a cell phone?]

As soon as he pressed the send button, he heard Oh Hyunsoo’s voice grumbling about why he was not coming. Jion hurriedly shoved his phone into his pocket and quickened his pace. The phone, which had been silent while he was heading to the classroom, vibrated again just as he found and picked up a toothbrush from his locker. This time, the vibration was long, so he stopped squeezing out the toothpaste to check his phone and saw that a call was coming in from that same number.

Jion quickly put the toothbrush back in its place and answered the phone while walking quickly toward the stairs.

“Hello?” (Yeoboseyo)

–Honey? (Yeobolago)

“Huh?”

He was momentarily stunned by the reply. What is going on with this flow of conversation? Jion suddenly burst into laughter. It occurred to him that since there weren’t cell phones in the underworld, it was naturally Kwon Chasa’s first time using one, and he might not know what to say when someone answers.

Jion could not hold back his laughter, as the surprised voice that abruptly asked, “Honey?” still lingered in his ears. As he clutched his aching stomach, he heard a cold voice.

–Stop laughing.

“Oh, what can I do? It’s funny.”

Jion wiped the corners of his eyes as he replied. Then, he spotted someone coming up the stairs and cleared his throat as if nothing had happened. He spoke again only after the figure had completely disappeared.

“You really bought a phone right away?”

–What choice did I have when someone kept saying their heart would drop or whatever.

“… Put yourself in my shoes. How could I not be surprised?”

He needed to look and appear somewhat ordinary so Jion would not be startled. He wore a pitch black suit, which was enough to make anyone flinch, but with his physique and perpetually rigid expression, it was no wonder he looked threatening.

And his personality wasn’t much different from his appearance…maybe?

Jion flinched as he was about to reach a conclusion. It was certainly true that he knew nothing of compassion, was unkind, and had a bit of a grumpy, but…

‘Hmm… should I buy a cell phone? I heard humans contact each other using that.’

He hadn’t reacted negatively when told to get in contact, and not long after, he had actually bought a phone and reached out. Maybe he had a thoughtful side. After all, there were more than a few moments when he wondered if he was not just indifferent, but heartless.

–It is fascinating. I’d heard about this kind of thing, but it’s the first time I’ve actually used it. I couldn’t even imagine something like this when I was alive.

“Wow… Chasa-nim, you’re way older than I thought?”

–Yes, I’m probably old enough to be your ancestor.

Not even a great grandfather, but an ancestor? What era did he live in? Startled by the unexpected information, Jion could not close his gaping mouth.

Judging by his face alone, he did not look that old. He looked like he was in his late 20s to early 30s at most, so hearing that he was from generations back felt out of place.

Yu Chasa did have an even younger-looking face than Kwon Chasa… Since he did not know the process by which they became grim reapers, it was impossible to guess just by looking at their appearance.

He says he is old enough to be my ancestor, so shouldn’t he be grateful that I call him ‘Ahjussi’ instead of ‘Grandfather’?” Jion was recalling how Kwon Chasa had turned serious upon hearing that title when the other spoke again.

–Can I come now?

“Where?”

–Where you are.

“Uh… why?”

–I have something to tell you. You told me to let you know before coming, right?

Kwon Chasa’s words sounded as if he were doing it because Jion wanted to. Feeling a bit surprised, Jion foolishly stammered “Uh… uh…” before cautiously speaking.

“You can just… say it now.”

–Ah, that is true. I am used to saying things in person.

“You are really old….”

–What?

Jion muttered his honest impression to himself, but ended up laughing at Kwon Chasa’s agitated reaction. It seemed as though he had discovered a new side of Kwon Chasa, who looked like he didn’t have a single flaw.