Chapter 72

Chapter 72

Chapter 72 Fare for the Afterlife (4)

Anything possessing intelligence understands the passage of time. It is not age, but changes in one's surroundings that make one aware of its flow.

When leaves sprout on bare branches, one knows spring has arrived. When sunlight grows scorching, summer has come. When mountains are colored with fallen leaves, autumn has arrived, and when frost like rice flour settles on the ground, winter has come.

Even Yama, the ruler of the underworld, could not escape this eternal truth.

However, the time allotted to Yama in the underworld flowed a little differently.

She perceived the passage of time through the world reflected in the Mirror of Karma.

[Please, just let me see my child. Just let me see that he's doing well before I leave.]

[How dare you claim our Yugyeom is your son! A lowly servant wench like you dares to stand in the way of the eldest grandson of our noble family? What are you doing? Throw that woman out at once!]

[My lady, please, I'm begging you...]

[Words won't get through to this wench. Beat her!]

[Yes, my lady!]

-Thud. Thud.

Yama squeezed her eyes shut at the horrific sight.

"Your Majesty, you must look into the Mirror of Karma to pass judgment."

"I can't bear to watch."

"Nevertheless, you must, Your Majesty. We must hold them accountable for their sins and ensure that such things never happen again in the mortal world."

At her attendants' pleas, Yama had no choice but to open her eyes again.

And time passed once more.

[U-hyeok's mother, did you hear the news? Well, you know that girl who transferred here recently? Apparently, she caused all sorts of trouble at her previous school. They say she was involved in school violence. Who cares whether she was the bully or the victim? Honestly, children from poor neighborhoods always show their true colors.]

"Pull it out."

...

[If you take the blame for everything and turn yourself in this time, we'll hire a top-notch law firm and get you a suspended sentence. Once you come back, you'll be promoted straight to director.]

"Pull it out."

...

As time passed, Yama's expression grew increasingly rigid.

The accumulated years had dulled her emotions, even when she witnessed horrific crimes or heard insults so vile they made her want to wash out her ears.

But that was not the end of it.

"It is time for your medicine of forgetfulness, Your Majesty."

"All right."

Yama accepted the bowl of medicine respectfully offered by her attendant. But just as she brought it toward her lips, she set it back on the table.

"Your Majesty?"

"One moment."

Instead of the medicine, Yama picked up an old notebook.

『Things I must not forget.

One. I am Yama, ruler of the underworld.

Two. I must distinguish those who have sinned with their tongues from those who have not.

Three....

...

Two hundred fifty-one. Wear clothes from the mortal world. [✓]

Two hundred fifty-two. Visit a teahouse and read a book. [✓]』

The handwriting filling the notebook grew progressively clearer toward the bottom. And at the very end, a new entry was written.

『Two hundred fifty-three. Visit Dangsan-ri Coffeehouse again.』

And so Yama swallowed the medicine, leaving behind one more memory she must not forget.

______________

-Ding.

An alarm sounded, announcing midnight.

It was time to close the coffeehouse.

"She didn't come today either."

"That grim reaper?"

"Yes. It's been quite a while since the day she said she'd come."

"Heh heh. You must be the first fellow in the entire world to wait for a grim reaper to visit."

"Haha, I suppose you're right."

I couldn't suppress my laughter at the Elder's teasing.

Come to think of it, he was right. She was a grim reaper, and apparently a fairly high-ranking one at that.

Even if she had no ill intentions, wasn't she the sort of being one would feel uneasy about inviting into one's establishment?

Yet she had seemed far too innocent for that.

A grim reaper so innocent that her eyes widened over a single cup of ssanghwa tea and filled with tears over a game of Blue Marble.

I knew how much a promise made by someone so innocent meant, and that was why I'd waited.

"Well, after all that commotion to get a gate to the underworld ready for her, she hasn't even shown her face. Aren't you disappointed too?"

"From the National Intelligence Service's standpoint, it was strictly a precautionary measure."

"I'm sorry for troubling you again."

I could imagine how much hard work lay behind Director Baek's hollow remark about it being a precautionary measure.

After all, a storage facility for cultural artifacts had sprung up overnight not far from the coffeehouse.

And I'd heard that a considerable sum had been paid to obtain The Gates of Hell now housed in that facility.

But with no word from her for several days, I was the one who ended up feeling embarrassed.

"Well, she'll come eventually if you wait. Don't let it bother you too much."

"Still, I think I should look into it. Lia's waiting for her too."

"Nothing good comes from becoming deeply involved with those who deal with the dead. Are you saying you'll go looking for them yourself?"

"It shouldn't be too difficult to ask around while I'm passing through. Besides, they didn't seem like particularly bad people."

"Tsk! Your meddlesome nature has become a disease."

There was no need to go out of my way searching.

I already knew a place where there would be plenty of souls destined for the underworld.

It was the memorial park I'd seen when I met National Champion Han Seun's master.

"It's late today, so I'll stop by as soon as I finish work tomorrow."

"If you're going, let me accompany you. I don't feel comfortable sending you alone."

"No, you can't. Actually, I'm planning to take Sani."

"What? Do you have any idea what kind of trouble that rascal might cause if you take him?"

"If the grim reapers suddenly turn up while I'm gone, it would be much better to have you here than Sani. Besides, tomorrow happens to be the day Sani comes back."

"Well, that's true, but..."

In truth, I desperately wanted to leave Sani at the coffeehouse too, but I didn't think the Elder would allow it, so this was the next best option.

______________

And so the following day arrived.

As soon as I finished work, I picked up Sani and headed toward the memorial park.

"Hmm-hmm~ A fox can transform into a beauty~ A raccoon dog can become a scholar~ The fox skillfully disguises itself as a beautiful woman~ And the raccoon dog disguises itself as a scholar~ Hmm-hmm~"

"Are you really that happy?"

"Of course I am! When I was inside that basket, I could barely see outside!"

Although he'd transformed into a boy so short that he had to stretch his neck to see out of the passenger-side window, Sani kept looking around excitedly.

"Ooooooh! There's a Chinese restaurant over there! That's where they sell delicious jajangmyeon! And that place has pizza!"

As the sparsely planted roadside trees gave way to commercial buildings, Sani grew so excited that he sprang up from his seat.

"Sit down. That's dangerous. How are you so good at undoing your seat belt?"

"You just twist your body around like this!"

"Don't undo it again after I went to the trouble of fastening it!"

Had this been a mistake?

We weren't even halfway there, and I was already struggling to handle Sani now that he'd mastered transformation arts.

After repeatedly fastening his seat belt again and admonishing him, I finally succeeded in drawing his attention to a video on his tablet—the ultimate trick for parents with children his age.

Of course, I'd succeeded so late that we arrived before Sani could even finish watching a single video.

-Screech.

"Let's get out."

"Are we there already?"

"Yeah."

"Aw, they only just got to the part where they're eating jajangmyeon."

"Take your time finishing it before you get out. I'll have a look around."

"Is that all right?"

"You'll finish it soon enough."

"Then I'll hurry and watch the rest! Jinseong, you mustn't go too far away either!"

"All right."

Apparently intending to play the role of my bodyguard, he even gave me something resembling a warning.

I got out of the car and slowly walked around the grounds outside the memorial park.

Visiting hours had already ended, and among the parked vehicles, ours seemed to be the only one belonging to an outside visitor.

But the late sunset brought by the long summer days and the strangely tranquil atmosphere were impressions only ordinary people could appreciate.

To me, who could see the world of spirits through my Divine Eyes, the open area stretching from the parking lot into the park looked entirely different.

For some reason, it resembled the job fair held in my university's auditorium when I was a student.

【Passage to the Afterlife Available Even After the Forty-Ninth-Day Memorial Rite! 100% Refund Guaranteed If You End Up in Hell!】

【Reincarnate Looking More Like Eunbin or Kim Taehwi Than Any Government Beauty Subsidy Could Achieve!】

【We Can Change Your Nationality! From the Samdo River to the River Styx Within Three Days!】

【Specialists in Resolving Your Children's Inheritance Disputes】

The slogans on the signboards varied widely.

And as if that weren't enough, grim reapers dressed in black suits were vigorously waving flyers in both hands, desperately promoting their services.

"We'll send you into your son's dreams twice today! Today only! Ma'am! Don't just walk away, at least listen to our explanation!"

"Sir! If there's a mistake in your paperwork, we'll bring you back to life even if you're nothing but bones! You know those skeletons in the West? They're our team's handiwork!"

"Last chance to clear the karma of earthbound spirits! Once we leave today, you won't be able to cross the threshold of the underworld!"

Souls passed between grim reapers energetically shouting advertisements whose contents were nothing short of horrifying.

Their efforts to attract customers were so earnest that I almost felt I should humor them by dying once.

Life might be difficult these days, but I'd never dreamed even grim reapers had to struggle this hard to make a living.

"Ooooooh! Is this a marketplace?"

"Finished watching already?"

Sani had appeared beside me before I knew it and voiced an impression much like my own.

"I think we should eat here today!"

"I don't think they sell food."

"They're selling it over there."

"Where?"

【Free Sample of Ceremonial Rice Just for a Consultation】

There really was a place offering food where Sani pointed.

Although such promotional giveaways usually weren't particularly substantial.

"Let's finish up here quickly and have jajangmyeon afterward. How does that sound?"

"Ooooooh! I like jajangmyeon better too!"

Having reached a dramatic agreement, we held hands and made our way into the crowded gathering.

How long had we wandered around?

At last, I spotted familiar faces.

They were the two grim reapers who had visited our coffeehouse before.

"Ma'am, this really is too much. Last time you promised to come to the underworld with us, so we even told your son which stocks would rise in his dreams, didn't we? What? Your son didn't buy the stocks? Well, that's because your son didn't buy them, not because we didn't tell him... Just a moment! You two over there! I'll be finished here shortly, so don't go anywhere. Please sit here for a moment! Employee Shin, give them a brief explanation first. Understood?"

Before we could even greet them, the grim reaper grabbed us and seated us on plastic folding chairs.

"Yes. First, our Samdo River Tours has a four-thousand-year tradition of... Huh?"

"Hello."

It seemed she'd finally recognized us.

"D-Deputy Manager."

"I told you I'll be finished here soon. Explain everything just like we practiced."

"That's not what I mean!"

"Huh? Aaaack!"

Only when his subordinate forcibly turned his head did the grim reaper finally see us, letting out a bizarre scream.

"It's been a while. I came because there are a few things I'd like to ask."

"H-How did you get here...?"

"I figured this was the place nearby where I'd be most likely to find grim reapers. I came hoping to ask around, but fortunately, I ran into you right away."

I really had been lucky.

After all, there was no guarantee that just any grim reaper I approached would give me a proper answer.

But the expressions on their faces were a little strange.

They looked as though they'd just seen a grim reaper themselves.

Even though they were the actual grim reapers.