episode_0081

That was the end of the story the man in the coat told.

“I guess this is enough to pay for the meal, right? Your father’s job didn’t work out. I enjoyed the hamburger.”

The man in the coat waved lightly and left near the station.

He disappeared into the crowd and suddenly disappeared at some point.

“… … ”

I stood still in my seat, not even thinking about moving. My mind was confused by the story the Grim Reaper told me.

9 years ago, my father did not die in an accident. Some cunning thing murdered my father out of malice. He was a murderer with the power to interfere with people’s fate.

‘You mean you’re sure he was murdered?’

In fact, I had some guesses that my father might have been murdered.

However, the situation when I was just guessing and now when it is confirmed that it was murder are completely different.

The emotions that had been suppressed in my chest for a while surged upward. I tried so hard to think that it could be an accident and that there would be no murderer, but it turned out to be a foolish mistake.

‘… … .’

Where is my father’s murderer and what is he doing now?

Are we having a peaceful day after killing innocent people?

The moment I imagined that guy, my fist tightened.

My fist, clenched so tightly that my fingernails dug in, trembled slightly.

It was a pity that I couldn’t take revenge right away because I didn’t know his identity. All I could do now was not to forget my desire for revenge. It was a feeling I would cherish until I caught the murderer and punished him.

The day suddenly became dark.

I went back to Hyehwadang and did what I had to do. While I was removing broken debris from inside the house, I did some general cleaning. As I swept, wiped, and cleaned up, Sarah, who had gone to buy furniture, returned home.

“Jinwoo. Have you had dinner?”

“I didn’t eat it.”

“Let’s order pizza today. I bought a new TV and a nice sofa. I’ll probably come home tomorrow.”

We ordered pizza at home. I liked pizza, but the news I heard during the day didn’t satisfy my appetite. Sarah looked at me with a puzzled expression while I was eating and drinking.

“What’s going on? I don’t look very good.”

There’s nothing to hide.

I honestly confessed what I had experienced during the day.

“Something happened. I met the Grim Reaper on my way home earlier. They haven’t returned to the underworld yet.”

“… … What?”

When the story about the Grim Reaper was brought up, Sarah was startled and dropped the slice of pizza she was holding. I caught the fallen pizza before it hit the floor. Sarah asked me, not even thinking about getting the pizza back.

“Didn’t that guy return to the underworld yesterday? I don’t know if I should call him uncle or what… Anyway, you decided not to kill me, right?”

“That’s right.”

“But why do you remain in this world? What kind of nonsense are you doing again?”

Sarah, who had been the number one person to escape a crisis for a while, was shocked as soon as the story of the Grim Reaper came up.

I gave Sarah a detailed explanation.

“Because of you, I am writing a report to send to King Yeomra. I think we should report why we compromised by erasing his memory instead of killing him. Anyway, there is no need to kill anyone anymore.”

“Really? Then I’m glad.”

Sarah was relieved and munched on the pizza she had given back to me.

I guess I should tell him about my father.

“And I personally found out something by asking the Grim Reaper for a favor. You asked me how my father died? While serving food to lions.”

“So what?”

“My father didn’t die in an accident 9 years ago. He must have been murdered. It is said that the death of the Grim Reaper is not recorded in the register… .”

I told Sarah everything I heard today. My father was not destined to die that day. That he was murdered by a murderer who can intervene in a person’s fate.

“… … They said that even the grim reapers don’t know who the murderer is. Even in the afterlife, my father’s matter is an unsolved case.”

“Still, something has become clear. There is definitely a murderer who killed your father.”

I nodded.

“It must be somewhere.”

Our conversation stopped for a while and silence followed. Sarah quietly spoke to me who was silent.

“You probably want revenge on the murderer, right?”

It was accurate.

Sarah knew what I wanted without even saying it.

He was also a childhood friend.

“Of course I have to take revenge. If you have a grudge, you have to pay it back double.”

Sarah said to me who was grinding my teeth.

“If you need revenge, I will help you. If you find out who the murderer is, tell me. Let’s end it together.”

“It would be dangerous if you helped me, right?”

Although I was told that I would help, it was difficult to readily accept Sarah’s kindness. The murderer who killed my father had the power to interfere with people’s fate. There was a possibility that if they went to seek revenge together, they might die together.

“Even if it’s dangerous, I have to follow.”

“Why?”

“We are friends.”

Are you saying you will help because we are childhood friends?

My heart warmed as I watched Sarah speak confidently. Even though we were not of the same blood, the only person in this world that I could rely on like family was Sarah. The queasy feeling that was churning in my chest subsided a little.

I smiled and said to Sarah.

“What if I go to hell? Will you follow me then too?”

“Jinwoo. Even hell can follow. If you’re going to go to the moon, I’ll follow you then too.”

“Aren’t you stupid?”

“Who is stupid? You idiot.”

He was truly a loyal childhood friend.

So much so that it warms my heart.

Suddenly, Sera added with a nonchalant expression.

“Ah, yes! I’ll follow you to your grave later. When friends die, why don’t they be buried in the same place?”

“What.”

Will you follow me to the grave?

You must be kidding, right?

“Sera. Those jokes aren’t that funny.”

“It’s not a joke.”

… … .

Let’s forget what we just heard.

Anyway, there was no way to catch my father’s murderer now.

We spent time going to school.

My injured hand gradually healed, and the shattered Hyehwadang also became fine.

For your information, Sarah did not remember the contents of the list at all.

Before the communication was over, Hongryeon had indeed erased the memories related to the list.

Then one day it happened.

Strange news came from the Han River.

*

May 20th.

23:00.

Seoul, Han River Tancheon Confluence.

Tancheon Junction was the place where the Han River and Tancheon, a tributary of the Han River, meet.

Since fishing is allowed in the Han River, anglers can often be seen sitting on the banks.

That day, although it was late at night, there were two men and a woman enjoying night fishing at the Tancheon confluence.

The names of the couple were Seok-ho and Hye-jin.

Seok-ho spoke to Hye-jin while holding a fishing rod.

“Hyejin. Isn’t the scenery nice?”

“What’s so good about the scenery? It’s just dark.”

“I like the dark and quiet feeling. Fishing at night is originally done for romance.”

“You are a very poet.”

Hyejin chuckled as she watched Seokho making a fuss. The couple were high school classmates. Now, the two of them are working as waitresses at the same motel, and they often hang out together because they share a hobby of fishing. Today was Hyejin’s first time fishing at night, but she took the time to follow Seokho because he taught her a lot of things.

There were only two people at the fishing spot tonight.

There were no other anglers around.

“Oh, I got caught!”

The electric float floating on the surface of the water began to sway.

When Hyejin pulled the fishing rod, a large carp jumped out. The body length was about 35cm, and it could be said to be a large fish among crucian carp.

“There is a taste of home cooking.”

“Right? I heard night fishing is fun.”

Hyejin and Seokho went fishing at night, enjoying the night view without noticing the passage of time.

It was already past midnight and 1 am.

Suddenly, Hyejin looked at the bridge over the river.

I couldn’t help but look in that direction.

Because there was a person standing at the top of the bridge.

‘What is that person doing over there? ‘Are you looking at the scenery?’

It was hard to see who it was. It was difficult to tell whether the person was a man or a woman because there was a distance and the person was wearing thick clothes all over their body. Moreover, it seemed like he was wearing a mountaineering hat that covered his face.

He was a strange person.

Hyejin immediately tried to attract attention.

However, an accident occurred that could not attract attention.

━━Poof!

A person standing on the bridge threw himself and fell down. No one pushed him from behind, he fell over the railing on his own.

Hyejin shouted in horror.

“Crazy! Someone fell!”

“Um, that!”

Seokho, who was next to me, also saw the same scene.

On the bridge, someone attempted suicide by jumping into the Han River. As it happened, the place it fell was near where Hye-jin and Seok-ho were fishing. A person was seen falling into the river, causing a big splash.

“Uh, what should I do?!”

Seok-ho immediately took out his cell phone and called 119.

“W, hello? This is the Tancheon confluence of the Han River! A person just fell into the river!”

The fire department that received the call said they would send a rescue team right away.

Meanwhile, the person who fell into the river began to struggle. It looked like it was struggling to swim as it reached out to the surface of the water.

Hyejin noticed what happened.

‘I wanted to live.’

Perhaps that person tried to commit suicide by jumping into the water, but when he actually fell into the water, he seemed to want to live. I was struggling to get out of the water. However, the person who fell into the water seemed to be unable to swim and sank to the bottom.

“If I leave it like that, I’ll die!”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

It was a real scene where people were dying before our eyes.

There is still time before the rescue team arrives.

In the meantime, people could die.

Hyejin didn’t know what to do, so she walked closer to the water.

It was the moment when I got so close that my shoes got wet in the river water.

“Hey! Don’t go!”

Seok-ho grabbed Hye-jin’s hand from behind.

He interrupted Hyejin, who was wondering whether she should personally rescue the person who had fallen into the river.

“Let go of this! That person could die!”

“What’s wrong with that? I fell because I wanted to die, but if I die, I die!”

Seok-ho spoke clearly.

“You die trying to save a drowning person. Never go.”

“Then wouldn’t it be okay to throw something here? Something like a rope?”

“Where is the rope here? Don’t even try to look for it, just stop worrying about it. We did everything we had to do because we called 119.”

“… … Well, still!”

Seok-ho had no intention of directly rescuing the drowning person.

“If we don’t do anything, we’ll be safe.”

However, it was Seok-ho’s mistake to believe that it was safe.

━━Tak

Something suddenly grabbed Seok-ho’s ankles while he was standing at the water’s edge.

Something extremely wet and squishy tangled around my feet and pulled me into the water.

“Huh? Ugh!”

There was no time to check what it was.

In the blink of an eye, the lagoon was sucked into the river.

Hyejin, who was nearby, screamed.

“Aaaa! Seokho!”

The image of the lagoon disappeared into the dark river water. Hyejin took out a flashlight from her pocket and shined a light on the submerged lagoon. I could vaguely see what I thought was a lagoon struggling in the water.

I didn’t fall into the water by mistake.

Something unknown dragged Seokho into the water.

“Aaaah!”

Seok-ho’s body, which had been struggling in the water, went limp.

A rescue team arrived at the Han River shortly after, but it was already too late.

The rescue team was unable to save anyone who fell into the water.

Only after some time had passed did Hyejin notice something strange.

The person who committed suicide by jumping off the bridge earlier.

No one was seen committing suicide. As soon as I looked away for a moment, it disappeared. It wasn’t because of the current that it had flown to an unseen place.

The rescue team listened to Hyejin’s words and searched the river thoroughly.

Two people fell into the Han River that day, but only one body was found.