episode_0002

“That’s why… you died.”

The other party concluded his explanation, bringing the story to a close. Yunyoung, who had been listening to the account from across the table, squeezed his eyes shut.

It was a complex and confusing story. He definitely needed time to process it in his mind. It would be difficult to understand and accept while completely sober.

The man who had been explaining the situation from across Yunyoung introduced himself as the ‘Grim Reaper’. Yes, that Grim Reaper, the one who collects the souls of the dead.

Normally, he would have dismissed someone who introduced himself as the Grim Reaper as a lunatic, but he couldn’t do that now, even if he wanted to.

Yunyoung had a vague intuition that the man sitting opposite him wasn’t lying.

Meanwhile, the Grim Reaper was slightly dissatisfied with Yunyoung’s attitude. It was a completely different reaction from anyone he had seen before.

Usually, when told they are dead, everyone gets angry and can’t accept it. Especially if they are as young as Yunyoung. He had dealt with many departed souls, but cases like Yunyoung’s were extremely rare and few.

So, the Grim Reaper was suspecting that Yunyoung hadn’t accepted the story he had just told.

“This isn’t a dream, Mr. Yunyoung. You died in the mortal world and are now in a dimension similar to what’s called the underworld on Earth. Do you understand?”

The Grim Reaper, who had dealt with countless souls over the years, couldn’t help but question Yunyoung’s calm demeanor.

‘How can someone be so calm after hearing they’ve died?’

Unless it was a prepared natural death, souls entering the afterlife would be anxious and flustered.

In contrast, Yunyoung was too composed, making the Grim Reaper suspect that he either hadn’t understood the explanation or was treating the current situation as a dream.

As the Grim Reaper’s mind grew complicated with various conjectures, Yunyoung opened his mouth.

“Yes. So I really am dead.”

Even after he said that, the Grim Reaper still looked at Yunyoung with suspicion.

“You truly understand, don’t you? To reiterate, this is absolutely not a dream or a hidden camera prank. This is something that happened in reality. You’re not trying to evade death, are you? There are sometimes people like that. They calmly believe they aren’t dead, only to realize it’s reality a beat too late, and then they get angry or shout. You’re not one of those, are you? That’s truly an exhausting case for me to deal with, so I hope you’re not.”

Yunyoung spoke calmly.

“I understand perfectly. Please give me some time to think.”

“That’s fortunate. You have plenty of time.”

What Yunyoung requested of the Grim Reaper was a roundabout way of asking him not to speak to him. The Grim Reaper understood that.

From the Grim Reaper’s perspective, Yunyoung was an unusual case. Most souls, when told they are dead, immediately deny it or can’t believe it.

And then there are those, very rarely, like Yunyoung, who accept it.

It might seem easier to deal with the latter type, but it varies from person to person. Often, the latter type can be worse.

They might seem to accept it quietly at first, but then later throw a fit and get angry. Generally, people who react a beat later are tiring to deal with.

The Grim Reaper worried that Yunyoung’s calm demeanor might indicate he was that type of person. If there were any troublesome repercussions, it would be utterly dreadful.

The underworld, too, was a society where one was treated based on performance and results, so how to persuade a dead soul was a crucial matter.

-1-

Meanwhile, Yunyoung wasn’t interested in what the Grim Reaper was thinking. Even though the way he looked at him was unpleasant, he overlooked it. For now, he just wanted to quietly immerse himself in thought.

Yunyoung recalled the scene before he died.

Mira standing blankly in the road, and a truck rushing towards her.

The distance between them was too short, and there wasn’t enough time.

The thought that immediately came to mind was that if things continued like this, Mira would die. It was so obvious that he didn’t even need time to think about it.

When he came to his senses, Yunyoung was recklessly rushing onto the road and pushing Mira away. After that, he had no memory. Nothing came to mind, as if a film reel had broken.

Then he opened his eyes and found himself in a place called ‘Gyeonggye’, where a man he’d never seen before greeted him as the Grim Reaper.

Incidentally, according to the Grim Reaper, ‘Gyeonggye’ was a gateway where the deceased from the mortal world arrived before going to the underworld. It felt like an airport immigration checkpoint.

The Grim Reaper explained Yunyoung’s death in excessive detail. He said Yunyoung had been hit by a car, injured too severely to regain consciousness, and had died.

Yunyoung didn’t deny that fact. The reason he could remain unbelievably calm was surprisingly simple.

It was because he had already braced himself for death from the moment he ran onto the road to save Mira. He loved his lover more than himself.

Therefore, he valued Mira’s life more than his own and was able to throw his body in sacrifice.

When you die, everything ends. Love, money, nothing can be possessed anymore. He clearly knew that, yet his body moved to save Mira.

Yunyoung opened his mouth in silence.

“What about Mira, my girlfriend?”

“You mean the young lady you saved, Mr. Yunyoung?”

At the Grim Reaper’s rephrasing, Yunyoung’s chest grew heavier.

He had a ominous feeling that something might have happened to Mira. If so, his sacrifice, his death, would all become meaningless.

His mouth felt dry and parched with anxiety.

Even if he realized something bad had happened to Mira, could he remain still? But he knew that nothing would come of it if he stayed like this. He was scared, but he asked more directly.

Yunyoung didn’t have the luxury of beating around the bush.

“Yes, is Mira alive?”

He clearly remembered pushing Mira, but the situation afterward was a blank. No matter how hard he tried to recall any clues, he couldn’t find a single lead.

Since information completely ceased upon his death, there was nothing he could do.

In that case, there was only one way now.

‘To ask the Grim Reaper right in front of me.’

The Grim Reaper, who had explained in detail how Yunyoung himself had died, surely wouldn’t be unaware of Mira’s fate.

Since he spoke as if he had witnessed the scene firsthand, he would know what happened afterward.

‘The problem, though, is if the Grim Reaper knows but won’t tell me. He might refuse, saying it goes against the rules to reveal such things.’

The deceased, whether they like it or not, had their ties to the mortal world severed. Yunyoung and Mira were lovers, but now that relationship no longer held.

Since Yunyoung had died, they were now effectively further apart than strangers who merely brushed past each other on the street.

‘If I express a desire to know Mira’s fate, it might be seen as having lingering attachments to the mortal world, which he might dislike.’

From the Grim Reaper’s demeanor so far, Yunyoung understood that he was focused on whether Yunyoung had properly accepted his death.

If he asked about Mira, the Grim Reaper might become uncooperative. And that wasn’t the only problem.

‘Moreover, what if something did happen to Mira….’

What if he had thrown his life away but failed to push Mira properly, only creating an awkward situation?

What if he lost his life, but Mira was meeting a being like the Grim Reaper somewhere else, just like him?

“What happened to Mira? What happened? Please tell me.”

He stared, hoping such a tragedy would not come to pass. Soon, an answer came.

“Mira is alive.”

“Th-That’s not a lie, is it? She’s really alive, right?”

“I do not lie. What would happen if a Grim Reaper lied?”

“But what if you’re deliberately lying because you’re worried I’ll go wild if something bad happened to Mira?”

“Such a thing absolutely does not happen. Everything must be told truthfully. If I were to tell such a lie out of consideration for you, Mr. Yunyoung, I would be stripped of my Grim Reaper status.”

It didn’t seem like a lie. The Grim Reaper continued his explanation.

“Thanks to you, Mr. Yunyoung, throwing your body in the way to save her, she narrowly avoided being hit by the truck. Well, she tumbled to the ground and sustained minor injuries, but she’s fine.”

“She’s alive.”

Yunyoung was relieved that his sacrifice wasn’t worthless. He had been able to save his beloved girlfriend.

“What a relief, what a relief.”

He muttered that, genuinely delighted.

It was a true feeling, without a shred of falsehood. If Mira had been seriously injured, Yunyoung would have been much more pained and distressed.

He cherished her so deeply in his heart that he would rather be injured himself than have Mira get hurt.

Minor injuries wouldn’t require much worry. Even if there were minor issues with daily life, she would quickly recover with hospital visits.

If she had suffered severe injuries and lived with some kind of disability, Yunyoung would have truly grieved.

However, it wasn’t long before Yunyoung’s expression grew heavier. A greater sadness than before weighed him down.

When he first realized he was dead, his primary concern had been Mira’s life or death.

‘What if I hadn’t saved her?’

That anxiety made it impossible for him to relax. His heart trembled, wondering if something terrible awaited him.

He had even thought that as long as Mira was alive, he didn’t care what happened to him.

But the moment he heard that Mira hadn’t been seriously injured, another desire arose within Yunyoung.