GRR 99

It was the same cold retort as always, but there was something different about his demeanor. Kwon Chasa couldn’t meet his gaze and looked away. It was also highly suspicious that he pretended to be distracted while sipping his hot chocolate and clearing his throat a couple of times.

His heart beat so fast he could feel the pulse in his fingertips. The suspicion he’d dismissed as impossible, though lacking concrete evidence, took a decisive step toward becoming a certainty.

“…Chasa-nim.”

At Jion’s call, Kwon Chasa glanced at him. But he didn’t say a word in reply.

He didn’t know why he kept feeling like he was about to laugh. Jion pursed his lips, then lowered his body and whispered.

“You like me too, don’t you?”

Kwon Chasa’s shoulders trembled. It was such a subtle movement that one might miss it without looking closely, but Jion, who had his attention fully tuned to every word and action of Kwon Chasa, could tell that he had been shaken by his words.

He neither denied nor confirmed it. But to Jion, that alone was a sufficient answer. Even if he couldn’t be completely certain, he could tell that something had shifted in his thoughts.

“I like you too.”

Jion, who had confessed his feelings once again today, smiled brightly. Kwon Chasa frowned slightly, looking troubled, and let out a sigh, but unlike ​visit our site​before, he didn’t dismiss his feelings by calling them “nonsense.”

That alone was enough. It gave him the certainty that even if a great deal of time passed from this moment on, this moment would remain in his memory for a long time.

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It was only today that Jion realized the children’s park where Seon Ayoung was and his own home weren’t that far apart. He wanted to spend even a little more time with Kwon Chasa, so Jion asked if they could walk home together, and Kwon Chasa, though he briefly frowned, nodded and gestured for him to lead the way.

Jion took out his phone, checked the map app, and only then decided on a route. Even though it wasn’t far from his home, it wasn’t part of his usual routine, so he wasn’t familiar with the streets. As he walked, holding his phone to check the route from time to time, Kwon Chasa quickly caught up.

After walking in silence for a while, Jion moved a little closer to him and said,

“It’s just a thought that suddenly crossed my mind.”

“…….”

“Given that she came all the way out here, don’t ​unauthorized copy​you think Han Heeju was still thinking about Seon Ayoung?”

Although Seon Ayoung and Han Heeju attended the same school, their homes were in completely opposite directions from the school. So Jion couldn’t help but suspect that Han Heeju had come all this way specifically because of Seon Ayoung. Even though Seon Ayoung was already dead, Han Heeju might have started going there simply because she suddenly remembered the times they used to hang out together.

“You said it yourself. The three who transferred schools bullied Han Heeju too.”

“……”

“I don’t know why Han Heeju suddenly fell out with Seon Ayoung, but I imagine she must have had a lot of thoughts when she found herself in that position. Maybe she even regrets bullying Seon Ayoung.”

Kwon Chasa, who had been listening in silence, nodded slightly. Jion recalled Seon Ayoung’s wish once more and asked in a voice that was a little more serious than before.

“Once Seon Ayoung receives an apology, will she be ready to go to the underworld?”

“That would be nice. But if she continues to be stubborn even then, we’ll have no choice but to take her by force.”

Hearing the word “force,” Jion was reminded of Kwon Chasa threatening souls by brandishing a buwol at them. Perhaps because he hadn’t seen that side of him much lately, it felt very out of character.

Hoping that Seon Ayoung, at least, wouldn’t end up going to the underworld that way, Jion calmly shared his thoughts.

“I think Seon Ayoung’s desire to receive an apology is a good sign. [unauthorized copy]When we first met, she had no drive, but now she has something she’s hoped for. Perhaps her perspective will change a little after she receives that apology.”

She has something to hope for… Kwon Chasa tried to apply Jion’s words to himself. Would he, too, come to have something he hoped for, just like Seon Ayoung? Would the day come when he, too, wanted to reincarnate, something Yeomra had been hoping for so long?

“It’s going to take way too long to find the other three… and one of them has gone abroad… I guess I should at least try to persuade Han Heeju first? Though I’m not sure if she’ll apologize sincerely…”

His worried mutterings and serious expression caught Kwon Chasa’s attention. But the question of what he truly “hoped for” still lingered in his mind.

What was it that he truly hoped for right now? When he finished his work and returned to the underworld, what wish would he ask Yeomra to grant?

Kwon Chasa quietly watched Jion, who chattered away without pause. He still didn’t feel the desire to be reincarnated as Yeomra wished. But if he were asked to make a wish right this moment, he felt he could say this:

For Jion to smile. For him to avoid getting caught up in bad situations and to stay unharmed. For him to always feel only happiness, without ever crying out of sadness or heartbreak. Even though he knew human life could never flow solely in a positive direction, he wished that Jion’s life alone would.

Kwon Chasa quietly watched Jion, who was determined to find a way to meet Han Heeju and talk to her. Just a few months ago, he had thought of him as a fearless, reckless child, but he had no idea how things had come to this.

Had Yeomra wanted this? Had she hoped that a change of heart would come to him as well, and that this change would lead to a longing to live a human life once more?

He soon shook off these complicated thoughts. He didn’t like the dull ache in his stomach that came whenever he worried.

Instead, he listened to Jion’s voice in the stolen contentreality he was standing in. As if etching it into his memory like a brand, he listened with great care and solemnity.

***

Two days later. After finishing his part-time shift, Jion grabbed a quick dinner at the convenience store and headed not to his home, but to the children’s park where Seon Ayoung was staying. Now that he knew it was in this neighborhood, there was no hesitation in his steps.

He decided he should meet Seon Ayoung alone today, without Kwon Chasa and Yu Chasa. He thought that hearing more about Han Heeju might help him persuade her.

He walked with a slightly nervous heart. Perhaps because winter was fast approaching, he could feel that the days had grown much shorter.

It didn’t seem like the sun set this early even just before the college entrance exams. It was chilly and getting dark, and the thought of Seon Ayoung being alone in such a deserted place made him feel uneasy. Even though Seon Ayoung probably wouldn’t feel the cold, Jion’s pace naturally quickened.

“…….”

Upon arriving, Jion saw Seon Ayoung sitting on the ground beneath a bench with her knees bent. And there was another figure there. A student wearing the same school uniform as Seon Ayoung sat on a rusty, creaking swing. Jion stopped in his tracks.

‘But there was something different about her today… She kept glaring at a living person.’

It was a situation that immediately brought to mind what Yu Chasa had said. Seon Ayoung was staring at the girl on the swing. From where Jion stood, he couldn’t see Seon Ayoung’s face directly, so he couldn’t tell what kind of intensity was in her gaze.

But the aura she exuded unauthorized copy felt wrong. Seon Ayoung’s hostility was palpable enough to feel on his skin.

Jion recalled the description of Han Heeju’s appearance that he had heard from Kwon Chasa. Since the girl was sitting on the swing, Jion couldn’t gauge her height, but her hair was tied up high in a ponytail, just as Kwon Chasa had described.

He didn’t know why Han Heeju had come here again, but given the circumstances, it was likely that this girl was Han Heeju.

Without taking his eyes off the girl on the swing, Jion moved toward the bench behind Seon Ayoung. Only then did Seon Ayoung sense something was amiss and turn around. Seeing Seon Ayoung’s eyes widen in surprise, Jion lowered his voice and asked,

“…Is that Han Heeju over there?”

Fortunately, the girl didn’t seem to notice anything unusual, she remained seated on the swing, staring at the ground. Seon Ayoung stared at the swing, nodded slowly, and then buried her face between her knees.

Confirming that his guess was correct, Jion let out a sigh of relief, but then started feeling nervous. It was a relief to run into Han Heeju sooner than expected, but the thought that he couldn’t let this opportunity slip away made him feel the weight of the situation.

He didn’t have a clear plan, nor had he prepared a polished speech. But whether it worked out or not, Jion’s approach was to just go for it. He clenched his fist to steel his resolve, stood up from the bench and headed toward the swings.

He didn’t know if Han Heeju would believe his story, but he planned to tell that he could see ghosts. And that was why he’d ended up hearing Seon Ayoung’s story.

“Hey, you’re Ayoung’s friend, right?”

Only after the words left his mouth did he wonder if “friend” was the right word, but at least he’d managed to catch Han Heeju’s attention. Han Heeju, who had been keeping ​Read on​her head bowed and her eyes fixed on the ground the whole time, looked up.