GRR 82

“I died a long time ago. I’m not human, I can’t become human, and I can’t stay in this world forever.”

“…….”

“I’ll stay here until the task Yeomra assigned me is finished. But even that is slowly coming to an end. Once this is over, I’ll never have to come down to this world again, and I won’t have to meet you.”

It was only after hearing his subdued voice that Jion understood why Kwon Chasa was saying these things.

It was because there was inevitably an end to the relationship between him and Kwon Chasa. And it was the kind of end where he couldn’t even hope to meet again, even by chance.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand, but he couldn’t fully accept it either. That was because the words “I don’t like you” still hadn’t come out of Kwon Chasa’s mouth.

“So, you’re saying it’s not because you don’t like me.”

At Jion’s words, Kwon Chasa briefly furrowed his brow. He was a little flustered, and he couldn’t think of a reply.

If he really hated him, Kwon Chasa would have immediately rejected him. He didn’t know how to beat around the bush, and he didn’t know how to say things that sound nice.

He might not like him, but he didn’t hate him enough to reject his confession so harshly. Jion came to that conclusion.

“You’re saying I should give up because you’re a grim reaper, and eventually you’ll have stolen contentto leave for the underworld. But… why does it have to be that way?”

“…Student.”

“It’s not like you’re leaving right now. While we’re together, it’s okay to like each other, right? I’ve barely even confessed yet… I don’t want to give up out of fear before I’ve even had a chance to fully enjoy liking you. You didn’t say you hate me.”

Kwon Chasa listened silently to Jion’s bold outburst with a bewildered expression. Jion stared straight at him.

“So please, think about this seriously. I’m not confused.”

“……”

“Even when I couldn’t see you, I couldn’t stop thinking about you, and the thought of not being able to meet you made me feel so sad… I missed you.”

Kwon Chasa’s lips twitched, he wanted to say something, but let out only a short sigh and ultimately said nothing. Jion couldn’t help but like him even more for not even being able to say the easiest words of rejection: “I don’t like you.”

Even if he doesn’t feel the same way, maybe he cares about me enough that he doesn’t feel the need to reject me harshly. Maybe he’s just so confused right now that he keeps trying to avoid the situation. Perhaps there’s still a chance he might accept my feelings.

As that thought crossed his mind, his heart swelled with emotion.

If that was the case, he would make him fall for him. He would make him regret the day he leaves this world because he’s grown to love him. Even if he eventually departed for the underworld, he would make him come back to see him again and again because he couldn’t bear to be apart from him.

“…I’m going to make you fall for me too, Chasa-nim.”

Jion muttered firmly, then smiled brightly at Kwon Chasa, who couldn’t even bring himself to scold him. Kwon Chasa immediately took a step closer, but he was frozen, unable to either embrace Jion as he threw himself into his arms or push him away.

***

“So, does that mean they’ve concluded that you won’t face disciplinary action and everyone will take your circumstances into consideration?”

Kwon Chasa nodded in response to Yu Chasa’s question. Yu Chasa let out a sigh of relief and patted his chest.

“Thank goodness… Kwon Chasa-nim, do you have any idea how worried I was? The Ten Kings have been taking turns standing guard outside your office, and Yeomra said she couldn’t say anything because nothing had been decided yet…”

“Were you worried you’d be left to handle everything on your own?”

“Oh, Kwon Chasa-nim! What do you take me for? It’s not like that at all!”

Yu Chasa huffed indignantly at the playful remark. Kwon Chasa laughed dryly and picked up the top register from the stack of registers piled on the table. He had simply picked up the first one in front of him, thinking he needed to pick up the pace, but when he flipped through the pages, he saw the name Yeomra had mentioned.

‘There’s a soul named Seon Ayoung. It seems no one but you can resolve this.’

That was what Yeomra had said as she unfolded the folded paper and waved it in front of him after summoning him to her office. The paper turned out to be the letter Jion had sent to Yeomra.

‘I’m turning a blind eye for the sake of this cute living human. If you do that one more time, I’ll leave Read on it entirely up to Jeonryun so be prepared.’

Despite her stern expression, her words were playful. The Jeonryun Yeomra mentioned was Odo Jeonryun Daewang, the Tenth King of the underworld, who was famous among the Ten Kings for being the most strict in adhering to principles and rules. He heard that even while they were discussing what punishment to impose on him, only Odo Jeonryun Daewang insisted that he must be punished to the fullest extent and pay the price.

However, since everyone else had agreed that it would be best to turn a blind eye to this matter, he had reluctantly accepted it.

The fact that Baek Kitae was a vengeful spirit, that he had been stealing the vital energy of people, and that he had even attempted to harm them served as the primary grounds for leniency. The fact that he stepped forward to resolve the matter even though it wasn’t his jurisdiction was another reason, but the most decisive factor was Jion’s letter.

Jion probably never imagined that Yeomra and all the other Ten Kings would have passed that letter around until the paper wore thin. Among them, Yeomra was the one who particularly loved the letter and read it over and over again.

“Don’t be so cold to the kid, be nice to him. He even wrote to me saying he’d take the punishment in your place. Where else are you going to find such a cute living human?”

Yeomra was excited as she said this, but Kwon Chasa just sighed. It was because he was worried that when Jion, having fulfilled his earthly duties and arrived in the underworld, met Yeomra, she might actually impose some unbearable punishment on him.

Yeomra stared at Kwon Chasa for a moment before speaking, sounding displeased.

“Are you worried I might actually punish him?”

“…I didn’t say anything.”

“Your expression says it all.”

Yeomra, who was over a thousand years old yet laughed like a child, ordered Kwon Chasa to return to the living world. She added that since there wasn’t much time left, he should make ​stolen content​sure to wrap everything up properly before coming back, and she looked very pleased.

So, although he was able to return to the living world, it couldn’t be said that everything had been perfectly resolved. On the day he briefly visited the living world during his period of disciplinary action, Jion had suddenly confessed his feelings. It gave him a headache.

“That soul Jion and I have already met…”

Kwon Chasa, who had been lost in thought, turned his head in response to Yu Chasa’s words.

“Jion’s persuasion didn’t work.”

He had assumed the words Jion wrote in his letter were simply meant to bring him to the living world, but that wasn’t the case. He was a bit confused, as there had never been a soul whom Jion’s persuasion hadn’t worked on until now. He wondered if this soul was a vengeful spirit like Baek Kitae, or was about to become one. But judging by Yu Chasa’s reaction, that wasn’t the case either.

“She says she has no attachments to this world and no unfulfilled wishes.”

“Then why is she holding on?”

“She said she doesn’t want to be reincarnated.”

As Kwon Chasa flipped through the register while considering various possibilities in his mind, his hand suddenly froze.

“She went through a lot of hardship in her lifetime. She even took her own life.”

“……”

“I told her it would be fine because all memories of her past life would disappear upon reincarnation… but she said the mere thought of being reborn as a human and living that life again is so terrifying that she doesn’t even want to be reincarnated.”

The moment he heard those words, his abdomen began to ache so much it felt like it was being pierced. Memories of his past life, still vivid in his mind, flashed before his eyes. As he gasped for air and clutched his stomach, Yu Chasa’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What’s wrong? What’s the matter, Kwon Chasa-nim? Are you alright?”

Taking slow, deep breaths alleviated the pain slightly, but the stinging, throbbing sensation remained. Kwon Chasa gave a brief nod, took the register, and stood up. Yu Chasa’s worried gaze followed him.

“…I’ll handle Seon Ayoung’s matter myself, so you take care of the other souls first.”

“Yes…”

Kwon Chasa hurried into his study. He tossed the register onto his desk, leaned back in his chair, took a deep breath, then suddenly laughed.

‘I do not want to be reincarnated.’

Jion had written that letter to Yeomra because of that single phrase he had said. It was, indeed, a thought typical of Jion.

Kwon Chasa picked up the register he’d carelessly tossed aside and opened it. Over Seon Ayoung’s records from her lifetime, which made him feel he understood why she’d said she didn’t want to be reincarnated, his own past self overlapped.

Because he, too, had taken his own life.

He couldn’t forgive himself for becoming such a shameless person, struggling desperately to survive on his own, even going so far as to exploit his father’s death.

Even he didn’t want to be reincarnated, which was why he had remained in the underworld as a grim reaper for so long, did he really have the right to bring up reincarnation to Seon Ayoung? A fundamental doubt crossed his mind, and he let out a hollow laugh.

To think Jion confessed his love for someone like him, and with such fervor. Kwon Chasa rubbed his face as he recalled Jion’s words, which grew more shocking the more he thought about them.