GRR 79

“…Do you have any close friends?”

“Huh?”

Just as none of the three could bring themselves to speak, Seon Ayoung suddenly asked Jion out of the blue. Though he didn’t understand the intention behind the question, he nodded for the time being.

“Close friends… Um… I do have some, but…”

Not knowing how to answer, his voice trailed off. Seon Ayoung stared at Jion with an even more downcast expression than before, then asked another question.

“You have a mom and dad too, right?”

It was only after hearing that question that Jion began to understand Seon Ayoung’s intention. Seon Ayoung wanted to find common ground before opening up. Perhaps she believed there was no reason to share her story with someone who, unlike her, had friends and parents and therefore could not empathize.

Jion gave a faint smile to Seon Ayoung, who was looking at him with a guarded expression.

“No.”

“…Huh?”

“I don’t know my dad’s face or his name. They say he ran away as soon as my mom found out she was pregnant with me. My mom passed away from an illness when I was seven. So my maternal grandfather raised me.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Jion heard Yu Chasa gasp. When he turned his head, he saw him covering his mouth with his hand, his eyes wide with shock.

“Jion… you had a story like that? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Tears pooled in his big eyes. Jion felt slightly embarrassed and gave an awkward smile. Even Kwon Chasa had looked serious after hearing his story, so it was natural that Yu Chasa would react even more strongly.

“…I’m sorry.”

“No, why are you sorry? You just asked because you were curious.”

When Seon Ayoung also apologized, Jion felt flustered. He already knew the question had not been asked with bad intentions. Even though Jion smiled sincerely, Seon Ayoung still could not lift her head because she felt guilty. After fidgeting and hesitating for a long time, Seon Ayoung finally spoke.

“…I just wanted someone who could understand me a little better… That’s why I asked. I’m sorry.”

It was exactly as he had guessed. Seon Ayoung thought she would not be understood or empathized with unless the other person was in a similar situation. Since it was natural that someone who had experienced it could understand more deeply, Jion could understand her.

“…It must have been hard for you too.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. I… had a really hard time after my mom passed away…”

Seon Ayoung spoke in a trembling voice and lowered her head, and Jion thought for a moment. If his mother had passed away when he was seventeen like Seon Ayoung, he might have struggled a lot as well. The longer someone spends with their mother, the greater the absence would feel.

“…I used to have a close friend too.”

After a long silence, Seon Ayoung took a slow breath and began to speak. Jion listened carefully, hoping to find a clue that could help him understand her feelings.

“We’d been close friends since middle school… I was so happy when we ended up going to the same high school. We were even in the same class.”

“……”

“But then she started hanging out with other kids, and it felt like she was slowly drifting away from me. Not only that, but whenever I tried to talk to her, she’d act annoyed and ignore me…”

She was about to talk about the moment that may have led to the bullying. Jion remained silent and listened.

“The ones she became friends with used to bully me, but at some point, [unauthorized copy]she started bullying me too. I didn’t know why, I just endured it.”

There was no anger in Seon Ayoung’s voice. It felt like she had already given up on everything.

“After my mom passed away, the bullying got even worse… and eventually, I started wondering what the point of living like this was.”

“……”

“Did I… do something wrong? No matter how much I think about it, I just can’t figure out why.”

Jion could not answer Seon Ayoung’s question. He did not know why her friend had turned on her or why they bullied her. But there was one thing he was certain of.

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Seon Ayoung looked at Jion.

“The people who bullied you are the ones at fault, not you.”

Not long after, Seon Ayoung’s eyes filled with tears, and they began to fall one by one. No one had ever told her something so simple. She had been trying to find the reason for her suffering within herself. After her mother passed away, she likely had nowhere to turn.

No matter how much he thought about it, he could not find words [visit our site]that would truly comfort her, but he could at least tell her that she was not to blame.

“No one thinks it’s your fault. So don’t blame yourself.”

Seon Ayoung curled up and started crying. Yu Chasa also approached and looked at her with pity. Jion rubbed his nose and waited until she had cried everything out.

‎

‎

Although Jion listened to Seon Ayoung’s story, there was no significant outcome. He even offered to grant her a wish once she had stopped crying to some extent, but Seon Ayoung just shook her head.

Pushing further would only make things worse, so Jion decided to stop for the day. It felt like they had made no progress.

Jion and Yu Chasa moved to a nearby cafe. It was crowded enough that whatever they said would be lost in the noise, so there was no need to worry about others overhearing them.

“What should we do… This is a real dilemma…”

They sat facing each other with their drinks in front of them, but with no clear answer, they only sighed. Jion nodded in agreement at Yu Chasa’s words and stirred the ice in his drink with a straw.

Jion was just as perplexed. It was the first time he had encountered a ghost who had no desires. He felt he needed to find another way to send Seon Ayoung to the afterlife, but the problem was that he simply couldn’t think of any other method. This was partly because Seon Ayoung was so indifferent, she had already resigned herself to everything.

After thinking carefully, Jion broke the silence and spoke. A question had come to his mind.

“Is there absolutely no way to forcibly take away the dead who refuse to go to the underworld?”

There was no guarantee he would not meet another ghost like Seon Ayoung. If there had been a way to forcibly take away dangerous ghosts like Baek Kitae, Kwon Chasa would not have faced disciplinary action. It felt like he was going in circles instead of finding an easier way.

As he listened to Jion’s question, Yu Chasa drank his lemonade.

“It’s not that there’s no way… but it’s more accurate to say that grim reapers cannot use that method.”

That answer made Jion tilt his head in confusion. Grim reaper cannot use that method? Yu Chasa set down the empty cup and continued.

“Only a very small number of those who committed sins in their lifetime are chosen by Yeomra to become grim reapers. In any case, they are still sinners. Even this duty is a form of punishment.”

Jion had already heard from Kwon Chasa what kind of people became grim reapers. Those who had committed sins serious enough to endure both the Eight Hot Hells and the Eight Cold Hells became grim reapers.

“That’s why Yeomra placed several restrictions. Like not being able to harm the deceased, or take them away by force… She said if the work were too easy, it would not count as punishment.”

Yu Chasa looked bitter as he finished speaking. In ​visit our site​other words, even he was a sinner, and by working like this, he was paying for his past actions.

Even so, Jion felt that this situation should be treated differently. He could not understand the rules of the underworld and shook his head.

Yu Chasa looked at Jion, smiled slightly, then clapped his hands.

“Jion, what about the letter for King Yeomra? I think it would be best to inform King Yeomra about this matter, so I’m planning to go to the underworld.”

“Ah, just a moment.”

Jion quickly rummaged through his bag and take out the letter he had prepared. Just as he was about to hand it over to Yu Chasa, he paused. He was not sure if it would work, but something came to his mind.

Kwon Chasa, who said he did not want to be reincarnated. Seon Ayoung, who was wandering in the living world because she also did not want to be reincarnated. Since they had something in common, maybe Kwon Chasa could handle this better than Yu Chasa or him.

If things went well, he might even learn why Kwon Chasa did not want to be reincarnated.

“Jion?”

Yu Chasa looked confused as he saw Jion stop. Jion put down the letter and searched his bag again and took out a notebook and pen.

“I just remembered something I forgot to write in the letter. I’ll write it quickly Read onand give it to you.”

Jion wrote with maximum concentration. He repeatedly emphasized that Kwon Chasa was absolutely necessary to send Seon Ayoung to the afterlife, and that without him, this matter could not be resolved.

He folded the letter and handed it to Yu Chasa along with the one he had written the night before. When Yu Chasa carefully placed it inside his suit and gave a gentle smile, Jion also smiled.

He sincerely hoped that Yeomra, who would soon read the letter, would be generous.