Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Chapter 75 Fare for the Afterlife (7)

"Deputy Manager..."

"..."

The two grim reapers were staring helplessly at the extraordinary spectacle unfolding before them. No, they could do nothing but stare.

After all, their only task was to open the gate to the underworld.

Through that open gate, souls who had stubbornly refused to budge despite months, or even years, of persuasion were now entering the underworld in a line.

'Is he more than just a human guarding the Divine Tree?'

Gathering all the most renowned shamans from across the eight provinces of Joseon was something that could somehow be accomplished by paying them generously.

But the child radiating such tremendous divine power that it seemed to reach the Celestial Realm was another matter entirely.

It was astonishing enough to wonder where such a being had suddenly appeared from, but the man was even using that child to threaten the deceased.

Of course, people like this hadn't been entirely unheard of. There were those with keen intuition or special abilities who lived with one foot awkwardly planted in the world inhabited by supernatural beings. The shamans gathered here were examples of that.

But the handsome young man before them went far beyond anything of the sort.

What human could carry out something this outrageous without batting an eye?

It was a power that neither they, as grim reapers, nor even General Ma and General U, the gatekeepers of the underworld, could begin to compare with.

"Could he perhaps be someone who descended from the Celestial Realm?"

"The gods of the Celestial Realm aren't permitted to interfere so deeply with the mortal world."

"Then you're saying he's really human, yet possesses that kind of power?"

"You're looking right at him."

And there was an even more terrifying realization.

'Strictly speaking, that man hasn't done anything himself.'

It was true.

All Jinseong had done while practically forcing the deceased into the underworld was line them up so they could enter in order and offer the child a few words of praise for doing well.

The person responsible for this entire uproar(?) had merely stood watching with his hands clasped behind his back.

As his junior had suggested, unless a god descended into the mortal world, it seemed there was no one capable of standing in that man's way.

"That's the last of the hundred."

"Th-Thank you. I truly didn't think you could accomplish it."

"I've kept my promise."

Rather than a modest reply, his words carried an implicit reminder.

*I've kept my promise. Now it's your turn.*

And Jinseong once again took from his clothes the object he'd previously asked them to deliver.

"Yes. I'll keep my promise too."

Deputy Manager Oh Changsik reached out to accept it. But Jinseong showed no sign of handing it over.

"There's no need for you to keep it."

"Pardon?"

The surprise on his face practically spelled out, 'Did I ever tell him about that?' So Jinseong answered before he could ask.

"Just an educated guess."

"Ah, I see."

The achievement of sending a hundred souls who might otherwise have turned into evil spirits to the underworld was certainly more than enough to earn them a departmental transfer.

But that didn't mean delivering an object from the mortal world to King Yama, especially as part of a transaction involving the passage of souls, was acceptable. That was an entirely different matter.

"I intend to have Her Majesty come and collect this herself."

"Her Majesty can no longer descend to the mortal world."

"I know. Last time, she came down because she mistook us for evil spirits."

"Haha. That was because I was seeing things that day..."

"You weren't seeing things that day, Deputy Manager."

"What do you mean?"

"The man you saw in the coffeehouse suddenly tried to annihilate a hundred souls. So you hurriedly opened the gate to the underworld and evacuated them, didn't you?"

"Oh? Deputy Manager, that's actually true!"

Could there be a better example of how a slight change in wording could completely alter a situation?

They'd been offered a transaction and accepted it, but Jinseong hadn't given them the object they were supposed to deliver. Consequently, the transaction had effectively never taken place.

Moreover, if they hadn't opened the gate to the underworld, those souls would have been annihilated without any chance of escape.

The grounds for punishment had disappeared, leaving only the merit of having saved the souls.

"Surely a problem of this magnitude warrants King Yama coming here personally? She's visited once before, so she knows the location. I'll leave the rest in your capable hands."

Those were Jinseong's final words of farewell.

Having said everything he needed to, Jinseong climbed into his old compact car with the child and promptly drove away.

'Was this his plan from the beginning? Did he even consider that I might be punished? Perhaps he didn't trust me. No, if he'd suspected me, he wouldn't have come looking for us in the first place.'

Because Jinseong had departed without giving a clear answer to any of his questions, one doubt led to another. But what was done was done.

"Deputy Manager, this isn't a dream, is it?"

"We'll find out when we get back."

After staring blankly at the road where Jinseong had disappeared for a long while, the two grim reapers finally headed toward the gate to the underworld.

"But will Her Majesty and the others believe us? She's already gone down there twice and come back empty-handed."

"We'll have to tell them again."

There was no alternative. If the judges and other attendants used the lack of results from her previous descents as an excuse to prevent another visit, their entire plan would undoubtedly come to nothing.

But their worries proved groundless.

At the entrance to the underworld, the souls who had genuinely almost been annihilated by Jinseong were tearfully pouring out their testimonies.

"I'm telling you, that bastard really tried to kill us! I saw my life flash before my eyes twice!"

"Good heavens, that took ten years off my life!"

"That young whippersnapper lined us all up and threatened us, asking if we wanted to die... Sob!"

The Samdo River, ordinarily filled with the ceaseless lamentations of souls burdened with regrets, was now crowded with spirits clutching their chests in relief at having survived.

They seemed to have forgotten that their lives had ended long ago.

_________

And so the two grim reapers crossed the Samdo River with the hundred souls and reported everything that had happened to Yama and her attendants in the office of the Palace of Yama.

Along with their insistence that King Yama needed to visit the mortal world once more.

"That cannot be permitted!"

"Please reconsider, Your Majesty!"

"No matter the circumstances, you must not go to the mortal world!"

Having heard Deputy Manager Oh Changsik's request, the attendants shouted themselves hoarse in protest.

"..."

But Yama, whose memories had been erased, merely sat blankly on her throne.

Her blouse had been replaced by a thick hanbok, and her once-sparkling eyes seemed to have lost their focus.

"The evil spirit was nowhere to be seen when Your Majesty descended last time either! It is possible that Grim Reaper Oh Changsik submitted a false report!"

"Even if his report is true, we need only dispatch military officers to deal with the matter! Please reconsider, Your Majesty!"

"Please reconsider!"

"Do as you see fit..."

Perhaps the shouting that reverberated throughout her office had given her a headache. Yama frowned briefly, then waved her hand in annoyance and spoke weakly.

"A truly wise decision, Your Majesty!"

"We shall immediately select the military officers to dispatch to the mortal world!"

Just as the meeting was about to conclude with Yama's approval, Deputy Manager Oh Changsik raised his head, met Yama's gaze, and spoke.

"Your Majesty must go personally."

"How dare you speak without permission in Her Majesty's presence!"

"Grim Reaper Oh Changsik!"

"Shut up! My name is not Oh Changsik!"

-Boom.

The ground cracked deeply beneath the fist of the grim reaper known as Oh Changsik.

And the entire chamber fell silent.

"Your Majesty, a hundred years ago, you called me Oh Changsik. Three hundred years ago, you called me Lee Bangho. Five hundred years ago, you called me Hodam. Each time you drank the medicine, you called me by a different name. But none of those is my name."

Deputy Manager Oh Changsik slowly rose and released his spiritual energy.

As he did, his black suit transformed into the ceremonial robes of a military official.

"A thousand years ago, when you took me in while I was serving as an errand boy for General Gang Gamchan, the name you called me was..."

"Gangnim."

"Your Majesty!"

When his true name finally escaped Yama's lips, tears streamed from Gangnim Doryeong's eyes.

"Gangnim, where must I go to capture that evil spirit?"

"Dangsan-ri Coffeehouse."

"Dangsan-ri Coffeehouse?"

Yama took an old notebook from her clothes.

A hazy memory had suddenly surfaced in her mind.

She read through the notebook for a long while before her eyes stopped on the final page.

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

_______________

-Grrrrrrrr.

The thick bronze doors stored in the facility near Jinseong's coffeehouse slowly began to open.

It was an unbelievable sight: Rodin's masterpiece, The Gates of Hell, opening of its own accord.

Fortunately or unfortunately, there was no one around to witness it.

-Boom.

When the opening became wide enough for a person to pass through comfortably, the slowly moving doors finally stopped.

Three people emerged from within: Yama, Gangnim, and Employee Shin Jihye.

"What a fascinating gate."

"It appears to be Western in origin."

"Hm? Why is there a Western gate in Joseon? Judging by the energy, it seems to have served as a gate to the underworld for a very long time."

"It's almost as though someone prepared it specifically for us to emerge here."

"Doesn't it? They've even lit lamps along the ground."

And there were more than just lamps.

A length of luxurious fabric extended all the way outside the building, as though indicating the direction they should take.

Even after leaving the building, finding their next destination wasn't difficult.

Apart from the building they'd just emerged from, there was only one structure visible across the otherwise empty land: a building directly ahead.

"You should go inside there."

"You're not coming with me?"

"You went alone last time, Your Majesty. You must go alone this time as well."

"What's inside?"

"It's a teahouse! They serve incredibly delicious tea!"

"There's an evil spirit in a teahouse?"

"It's not an evil spirit."

"Then what?"

"Someone powerful enough to erase hundreds of souls with a single hand, yet righteous enough to cherish even the briefest connection with another."

"And he's as wise as a sage!"

The two grim reapers' assessment of Jinseong was so generous that it bordered on suspicious.

'Apparently, I haven't come here to capture an evil spirit.'

She'd been told that the being possessed power comparable to, if not greater than, her own as ruler of the underworld, so she'd been certain a difficult battle awaited her.

Yet the two grim reapers urging her to enter alone showed no sign of nervousness.

In fact, they even wore strangely pleased smiles.

She wanted to insist they accompany her, but their firm refusal eventually left Yama standing alone before the teahouse door.

However, now that she was actually about to enter, she couldn't quite bring herself to reach for the handle.

Her memories had been erased, and she hadn't even looked into the Mirror of Karma, leaving her with no experience of the mortal world whatsoever.

After lingering hesitantly outside the coffeehouse for quite some time,

-Jingle.

The door suddenly swung wide open, and a child threw herself into Yama's arms.

"Miss! Why did you take so long to come back?"

"Huh?"

"Come inside! Hurry!"

Led inside the teahouse by the child's hand, Yama felt a rush of cool air against her face, enough to dispel the sweltering heat of the summer day.

And the second person she encountered was a handsome young man wiping down a table.

"Welcome. Shall I prepare your usual drink?"

"Y-Yes."

"Miss! Look at this!"

"What's this?"

"Blue Marble! We played it together before!"

Yama was completely overwhelmed by the two of them treating her with such easy familiarity.

She'd prepared herself to fight an evil spirit, yet somehow she'd ended up ordering tea and sitting across from a child she'd never seen before in her life.

And yet, for some reason, the situation felt familiar and comforting. Before she knew it, the corners of Yama's mouth had lifted into a gentle smile.

It was a smile remarkably similar to the expressions worn by the two grim reapers who had sent her here.