GRR 101

Jion shifted his gaze back to Han Heeju and quietly stood up. Just before taking a step, he spoke again.

“Ayoung is over there by the bench. It seems like she’s been watching you every time you come here.”

“…….”

“You won’t be able to hear what Ayoung is saying, but she can hear what you say. So if there’s anything you want to say, go ahead.”

Han Heeju must have already steeled herself to some extent. She must have been agonizing over this ever since Seon Ayoung first appeared in her dream. If that was the case, there was no need to encourage or persuade her any further. Interfering any more than this might be crossing the line into meddling.

Jion stepped off the swing and walked over, giving Seon Ayoung a smile. Seon Ayoung glanced at Jion briefly but didn’t speak to him or try to stop him.

As soon as he left the playground, Jion stepped onto the downhill path and finally let out the breath he’d been holding. White puffs of breath scattered into the dark air.

“……”

What decision would Han Heeju make? Would Seon Ayoung be able to accept a sincere apology? Jion suddenly glanced back and saw Han Heeju getting up from the swing and slowly walking toward the bench he had mentioned. Feeling he shouldn’t watch, he quickly turned away and hurried away from the playground.

Although he hadn’t actually received a promise from Seon Ayoung that she would go to the underworld, and although he had no concrete evidence to back it up, he felt that way.

It felt as though Kwon Chasa would soon deliver the news that Seon Ayoung had left this world.

***

After meeting Han Heeju, Jion hadn’t been able to reach Kwon Chasa. For the first day or two, he figured Kwon Chasa was just busy, but as time went on, he began to feel hurt, thinking Kwon Chasa was being too indifferent.

Things had been different when they were drinking hot chocolate together at the cafe. Kwon Chasa definitely had feelings for him. But did he really not care that he hadn’t seen him for a few days…?

Strictly speaking, Kwon Chasa hadn’t accepted his confession, nor had he explicitly told him he liked him, so he had no right to complain. But he couldn’t help but feel hurt. Lately, Jion had been feeling the truth of the saying “the one who likes the other more is the one who loses” all too keenly.

With a long sigh, Jion finished his shift and stepped out of the convenience store. He absentmindedly glanced toward the terrace and was startled. Kwon unauthorized copy Chasa, who hadn’t been seen for over a week, was sitting on a plastic chair with a completely nonchalant expression.

“Chasa-nim!”

He had definitely been feeling a bit hurt, but the moment he saw his face, that feeling vanished without a trace. Jion, who had shouted out in delight, stopped talking the instant his gaze met that of a passing pedestrian. But as soon as he made eye contact with Kwon Chasa, he relaxed and smiled.

Kwon Chasa stood up and let out a sigh of exasperation.

“I suppose something good must have happened.”

“Isn’t it nice to see you, Chasa-nim? You didn’t even come to see me all this time, and you didn’t even answer when I called you.”

“…I was busy.”

Kwon Chasa replied curtly to Jion’s chatter. But even that was enough to make him happy. He hadn’t sent a text today, and he’d kept the wooden plaque in his bag the whole time, so the fact that Kwon Chasa had come to see him first allowed him to be generous in his interpretation.

He was in such a good mood that he beamed, but then he remembered that whenever Kwon Chasa came to see him first, there was always a specific reason and purpose behind it, and the corners of his mouth slowly stolen contentturned down. How wonderful it would be if the reason wasn’t work, but simply that he missed him. Hoping that such a day would come someday, Jion asked Kwon Chasa.

“So, you came to see me as soon as you finished everything you were busy with?”

When Jion, having interpreted things on his own, smiled brightly, Kwon Chasa couldn’t help but laugh. Yet, even so, he didn’t deny it. That alone was enough to surprise Jion.

“Did you really come as soon as you finished work?”

“I came because I have something to tell you.”

As he asked, staring at him with wide, surprised eyes, Kwon Chasa offered a different answer instead of saying no. In other words, he had something to tell him, and it was true that he had come to see him as soon as his work was done. Jion, struggling to suppress a laugh, followed behind Kwon Chasa as he set off first.

He caught up with him faster than expected, and as soon as he stood beside him, Kwon Chasa said,

“Yu Chasa just took Seon Ayoung to the underworld.”

“Really?”

Kwon Chasa nodded in response to Jion’s question. He had guessed he might hear the news that Seon Ayoung had gone to the afterlife, but hearing it directly made his surprise take precedence.

“She said you granted her wish and thanked you.”

“Me?”

“Who else?”

To Jion, who asked again, Kwon Chasa replied with a wry smile.

“I actually met Seon Ayoung’s friend about a week ago and talked to her. If she said thank you for granting her wish… I guess she did apologize.”

She had left so easily, making her earlier stubborn refusal to go to the afterlife, seem pointless. Had Han Heeju’s apology moved Seon Ayoung’s heart? Had she truly received a sincere apology? While Jion was curious, a part of him felt uncomfortable. He thought that he hadn’t fully granted her wish.

After all, he hadn’t even met [visit our site]the other three besides Han Heeju, so naturally, they hadn’t had a chance to apologize to Seon Ayoung.

“She said she finally understood that it wasn’t her fault that such a thing happened to her.”

Jion fell into thought for a moment at Kwon Chasa’s added remark. Seon Ayoung had once confided, “Why did I have to suffer when it wasn’t even my fault?” It was a relief that she had let go of that burden entirely.

Since she had sorted out her feelings, she should have been able to go to the underworld, but looking at the outcome alone, it didn’t feel right. The innocent person was no longer in this world, while the guilty party continued to live as if nothing had happened.

His mouth felt bitter. Kwon Chasa had said that the fates of those who committed sins would be miserable, but he had no way of confirming that himself.

“Does Yeomra plan to reincarnate Seon Ayoung as well?”

“It seems she has something else in mind.”

In response to his hopeful question, Kwon Chasa shrugged. Something else? What could that be? Worried, Jion glanced up at Kwon Chasa, but his expression didn’t look serious, so he was able to relax a little.

It was a relief just knowing that Seon Ayoung, who had endured longer than any other ghost Jion had met so far, had safely gone visit our site to the underworld. Jion decided to think positively.

They hadn’t even been walking that fast, but as they chatted, the house had suddenly come into view. They’d turned into a narrow alley, and if they kept going straight from there, it would be just a moment away. As the house grew even closer and the streets grew quieter, anticipation made his lips dry and his throat burn.

…He wanted to hold his hand.

Maybe because it had been so long since they’d seen each other, he just wanted to be even closer to him. Jion glanced down to see where Kwon Chasa’s hands were. He had planned to grab his hand at the first opportunity and act completely shameless about it, but Kwon Chasa was walking with both hands stuffed into his pants pockets.

Does he know I want to hold his hand? Is he doing that on purpose?

It felt like he’d been rejected before even trying, and he couldn’t help but sigh. But Jion didn’t want to give up so easily, so he kept walking while staring at Kwon Chasa’s pants pockets.

“Ah…!”

Kwon Chasa suddenly reached out and grabbed Jion’s wrist before pulling him toward him. Jion staggered and was pulled right into Kwon Chasa’s arms. It didn’t hurt, but the shock made his heart race.

As Jion gasped for breath, he belatedly noticed a motorcycle whizzing dangerously close to him. Not long after, he realized [stolen content]that Kwon Chasa was holding him from behind. One of his arms was wrapped around his waist.

His whole body pulsed. Jion froze in place, unable even to breathe. Kwon Chasa’s arms holding him, the chest pressed against his back, and his warm body despite the cold, all felt unreal.

“Are you hurt?”

“…….”

“Student.”

Jion regained his senses upon hearing Kwon Chasa’s call. He turned Jion around and checked for injuries. When his gaze, which had briefly dropped to his legs, rose again and met his in midair, this time it felt as if his breath had stopped.

The sky, which had once been blue, had long since turned a deep indigo, and this alley was even darker than the main street, with only a few streetlights. Yet, his eyes looked unusually clear today. They seemed to be filled entirely with him, making his stomach churn. But he held his gaze.

When did it start? When did those eyes, once indifferent and stoic, cold as if everything had settled to the bottom, begin to feel warm? When did affection begin to peek through that expressionless face, from which no one could read a single thought?

It couldn’t just be his imagination. After all, Kwon Chasa was looking at him with [stolen content]a gaze so full of emotion that anyone could see it.

“…Kwon Chasa-nim.”

He wanted to be sure. He didn’t want to stop at testing the waters, and then rationalizing that this reaction wasn’t so bad. He felt that if he asked him now, he might finally get a proper answer.

“Do you really not like me?”