GRR 34

Jion took the phone away from his ear for a moment to checked the time, he didn’t realize that he was smiling. He had not even brushed his teeth yet, but the start time for the 5th period was fast approaching.

“I’m at school right now. If it’s not urgent, I’ll call you after school.”

–Then just call me with the wooden plaque when it’s convenient for you.

“Ah… that works. I’ll do that.”

Just as they had roughly reached an agreement and he was about to say he should hang up, the words that followed from Kwon Chasa sounded a bit distant. As he listened out of curiosity, he heard a woman’s voice.

–What should I do about this?

–Ah… sir, are you done with your call? You can hang up now.

–Yes.

–If the other person hangs up first, the call will end automatically. If you want to hang up first, press this button….

Then, suddenly, the call was cut off. Jion looked down at the phone screen, which had returned to the home screen, and laughed. It seemed he had gotten help from the place where he bought it to make the call, as he had no idea how to use it.

Jion leaned against the wall and pursed his lips to keep himself from smiling. Then, he saved the unfamiliar number from his recent call list.

Under the name ‘Kwon Chasa-Ahjussi’.

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On his way out of school after a hurried dinner, Jion diligently looked around his surroundings, rummaged through his bag, and pulled out the wooden plaque. Since Jion was a special case for eating dinner at school despite not participating in self study, there were hardly any people on his way home.

Jion checked the surroundings once more and covered the name engraved on the wooden plaque with his hand. As he silently called out to Kwon Chasa, the plaque glowed white, and a moment later, Kwon Chasa suddenly appeared from the air. Startled even when he was the one who called him, Jion recoiled and stepped back. This was because Kwon Chasa was holding a buwol in his hand.

“…Why are you holding that?”

“I came from work.”

As Kwon Chasa placed his feet on the ground and spread his hand, the buwol vanished in the blink of an eye.

He must have been threatening poor souls with that again. Jion glared at him and put the wooden plaque back into his bag. Kwon Chasa brushed back his slightly disheveled hair.

Jion hurried his steps down the hill and glanced at Kwon Chasa, who had started walking beside him. Judging by the fact that he did not feel a chill despite being so close, he was human at that moment.

Come to think of it, it would probably be much more comfortable for him to stay as an invisible reaper. Jion wasn’t sure what he was like normally, but at least when he was with him, he remained in human form most of the time.

When asked once if he was human, Kwon Chasa said this.

‘Yes. You will be less affected if I act like a human being. Besides, if it looks like you are just talking to yourself, would not everyone think it is strange?’

He said it was a grim reaper’s duty to give the spring water to the living being they come into contact with to purify the energy of the underworld. Therefore, he probably was trying to stay in human form as much as possible while he was with Jion so that he would be a little less affected by the underworld’s energy.

It feels like he cares about me…

For some reason, Jion’s fingertips grew itchy. He couldn’t help but fidget with his fingers.

“…Didn’t you have something to say?”

When he finally managed to find something to say and cautiously brought it out, Kwon Chasa nodded slightly

“It looks like it will take some time to find Jo Yunkyung.”

He had expected a story related to Park Seolhwa, but he never anticipated this current situation where things had gone awry. Since the register was missing, he thought she had already gone to the underworld, Was that not the case? Or… although the possibility was slim, could it be that there was a mistake and the person destined to die was switched? He frowned as all sorts of thoughts raced through his mind.

Before he realized it, Kwon Chasa had started walking at the same pace as Jion and continued speaking.

“There was an incident, and right now we do not even know Jo Yunkyung’s whereabouts. We need to go through a procedure to find that out, and since we are currently in the process of doing so, it is taking some time.”

“Is it true that she passed away?”

“That’s true. We should be able to find her within a few days, but as of now, we have no way of knowing where Jo Yunkyung is, what she is doing, or what condition she is in. She could have become an evil spirit or a vengeful spirit, so you should keep a low profile for a few days.”

Since words like vengeful and evil spirits were being mentioned in connection with the incident, the situation must be more serious than he had thought. The low voice sounded even more eerie than usual. However, just as he thought that it might be better to try doing something rather than just sitting around doing nothing…

“I am telling you not to go around alone trying to do something. Understand? And absolutely do not go looking for Park Seolhwa, either.”

“All right….”

Kwon Chasa warned, he could already see right through Jion’s mind. The voice was so threatening that Jion could not even resist and nodded. He looked up at Kwon Chasa. As always, his expression looked not just indifferent, but completely unconcerned.

He could not tell if he was doing this because he was afraid something troublesome might happen, or if he was worried something might happen to him personally. Judging by his expression, it definitely was the former.

While Jion was staring at Kwon Chasa’s face to try to read his mind, a sudden, cold wind enveloped the two of them. Jion’s eyes stung, he immediately covered his face with his forearm, and Kwon Chasa quickly extended his arm to the side to block Jion’s path.

When Jion, who had stopped walking after bumping into his arm, finally managed to open his eyes, Kwon Chasa was frowning and looking at the empty air. Jion also looked up at the sky, but saw no strange presence. Kwon Chasa clicked his tongue in annoyance. He searched their surroundings with heightened vigilance.

“Student, you’re going home, right?”

“Um… I have to go to my part time job.”

“Part time job?”

“Yes. Part time. I work at a convenience store… You’ve been there before.”

No sooner had Jion finished speaking than the wind swirled once more. Kwon Chasa grabbed Jion’s wrist and hid him behind his back to protect him. The fierce wind only ruffled Kwon Chasa’s hair and collar, but miraculously, it did not reach Jion. This was because he was shielding him with his entire body.

Jion’s heart suddenly started racing, and he swallowed dryly. He looked down at the hand holding his wrist and bit his lip. Kwon Chasa’s hand felt not just warm, but scorching hot, and his wrist, bound immobile, was pulsing like a heart.

What is wrong with me all of a sudden? I’m just standing still, so why am I so out of breath?

Jion had no idea how to deal with the strange symptoms that had suddenly struck him. He fidgeted with his fingers, then used Kwon Chasa’s broad back as a shield to look up once again. Just as before, he could see nothing. There was only a sky half dyed crimson and clouds drifting by.

Jion took a cautious deep breath and opened his mouth to break the awkward silence. It was because he felt that if he did not do something, he would be consumed by the sensation that was now engulfing him.

“…Why are you suddenly acting so scary?”

“Something keeps loitering around… I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Is it a ghost? I can’t see anything…”

“It looks they’re playing prank. They have no fear.”

After keeping watch over his surroundings for quite some time, Kwon Chasa finally let go of Jion’s hand only when the wind had completely subsided. Jion hurriedly covered the wrist he had been holding with his other hand. His pulse was still pounding. He did not know why, but he felt that he needed to get away from this place quickly to calm down.

“You’ve said everything you needed to say, right? My shift starts at 7, so I think I need to go. You seem busy too, so please go ahead. I’ll go as well. Goodbye.”

Jion said without even catching his breath. He barely bowed and began running down the hill. It was a relief that Kwon Chasa didn’t try to stop him, and it was also a relief that the convenience store was not too far from the school. Still unable to catch his breath, Jion entered the convenience store. He still had no idea why he was acting this way.

“Hello, Hyejin-noona….”

Im Hyejin, the part timer from the previous shift, waved in greeting. Jion hurried into the staff room, left his bag, and put on his vest. After taking a deep breath, his ragged breathing calmed enough to no longer be bothersome. It was a relief.

“Jion, did you run here? Your hair is a mess.”

“Ah….”

As he stepped outside and into the cashier area, Im Hyejin, who had just finished checking the cash register, asked with a surprised look. When Jion roughly brushed his hair back and smiled slightly, Im Hyejin gave him a look, the meaning of which was: you are cute.

“There was no problem when I checked the cash register. Check it one more time.”

Jion let out another sigh of relief only after seeing her head to the staff room, and hurriedly checked the cash register. Just as she had said, there were no errors, so the handover was finished in no time.

He needed to focus on work now. He needed to quickly forget that strange feeling from earlier. He took a deep breath just in time to see a customer enter the convenience store.

His lips, which had been moving in an attempt to greet the customer, parted without making a sound. This was because the one who opened the door and entered was none other than Kwon Chasa.