GRR 39

“Give me the wooden plaque.”

Jion, with his cheeks puffed out, rummaged through the bag beside him and handed him the wooden plaque he had taken out. Kwon Chasa placed his hand on the plaque and remained motionless for a moment, then handed it back to Jion.

“If a ghost that looks suspicious approaches, absolutely do not engage with them.”

“…….”

“I can’t stay by your side all the time, so if the situation doesn’t work out, run away. Now, if you tap the wooden plaque against the floor or wall, a door to your house will appear.”

“…….”

“Even if you run away, there’s a high chance a ghost will chase you, so if you see or feel anything suspicious, call me immediately. I’ll most likely be in the living world.”

Then, he said words that were completely at odds with the snort that had sounded like mockery just moments before. Jion stared at Kwon Chasa, holding the spoon awkwardly. His face was devoid of expression and, instead, he tilted his head as if asking if Jion had a complaint about his piercing gaze.

His eyes met ones that were as smooth as polished glass yet pitch black, as if submerged in darkness. Overwhelmed by a sudden wave of confusion, Jion was unable to speak or act.

Kwon Chasa, who seemed like he would be indifferent no matter what happened and would nonchalantly reply to him to handle it himself, was shaking him up every now and then at unexpected moments.

What was even more disconcerting was his heart pounding.

Jion took advantage of the moment when Kwon Chasa gazed at the sea outside the window to placed Read onhis hand on his chest. He desperately wanted to calm down, but the moment he caught a glimpse of his profile, his heart began pumping even more vigorously, causing his body temperature to rise.

He suddenly felt like crying. Jion bit his lower lip. No matter how much he stuffed his mouth with food and chewed, or how hard he emptied a glass of water, or how diligently he tried not to be conscious of the changes in his body, nothing went as he wished.

Why am I like this…?

Jion mechanically picked up and ate the food in front of him, muttering to himself questions for which no one could answer. He could taste nothing.

***

The impact of the final mock exam before the CSAT was so great that it instantly silenced the boisterous atmosphere of the classroom. This was likely due in part to the homeroom teacher emphasizing it with such fervor that he was practically spitting, but it was probably even more so because taking this mock exam meant the CSAT was just a month away.

Jion took the exam feeling a bit nervous. After checking his own score among his friends, he found that his results weren’t too bad, except for the English section, which had been a bit difficult. If his score remained exactly the same on the actual CSAT, meeting the minimum requirements wouldn’t be a problem.

Jion saw Oh Hyunsoo off as he left the classroom with a tearful face, saying that his final short term special lecture before the CSAT was starting today. He decided to check his incorrect answers until dinner time. After all, he had to go to his part time job later.

He stretched out and was about to check the questions he got wrong starting from the Korean section when someone’s face suddenly floated above the test paper. Jion recoiled in shock and shook his head. That someone was none other than Kwon Chasa.

“Ha….”

He thought it was a relief that he didn’t think about him as much during the exam, but…

He vigorously rubbed his eyelids with both hands, and blinked several times. But the afterimage did not disappear. Shaking his head one more time did not change anything.

‘If a ghost that looks suspicious approaches, absolutely do not engage with them.’

‘I can’t stay by your side all the time, so if the situation doesn’t work out, run away. Now, if you tap the wooden plaque against the floor or wall, a door to your house will appear.’

‘Even if you run away, there’s a high chance a ghost will chase you, so if you see or feel anything suspicious, call me immediately. I’ll most likely be in the living world.’

It was a big problem. Now, even his voice came to mind and began to tickle his ears.

‘It’s just that I don’t prefer it or understand it. That doesn’t mean your way is wrong.’

Jion certainly thought so. He thought Kwon Chasa was an inflexible, stubborn man who was completely narrow minded. He thought he was an old fashioned jerk who thought his age was authority and that intimidation was the best method. However, a single remark he made at that moment completely overturned Jion’s judgment of Kwon Chasa.

A single remark that acknowledged the other person’s way, regardless of his own likes or dislikes, was something a truly stubborn and narrow minded person could never say. The human heart is truly deceitful, even when people know that those with differing views are not wrong, they often hate and ostracize them.

Of course, he isn’t human, but…

‘Student, you keep fearlessly saying you can do it alone and handle it yourself. How do you know what might happen? How can you be so overconfident?’

‘I’m telling you not to go around alone trying to do something. Understand?’

Come to think of it, he acted just like an overprotective parent. Even when Jion said he could do things on his own, he kept scaring him by asking how he knew what might happen, and scolded him for going out alone.

He even accompanied him when meeting Kang Seoyoon and Park Seolhwa? Although he did say it was to save time and increase efficiency by persuading the deceased to go to the underworld on the spot.

‘He probably did that because he was worried you might get involved in something bad, he likely di​unauthorized copy​dn’t mean any harm.’

Refuting the reason added by Kwon Chasa, Jion recalled what Yu Chasa had said. He had said that although he spoke whatever came to mind, he had no ill will, and his true motive was simply that he was worried Jion might get entangled in something bad.

Jion thought that college entrance exams would be the biggest hurdle in his teens and finding a job in his twenties, but it felt like he had encountered an even greater obstacle than those two. With his mind in a jumble, Jion leaned his head on his desk and sighed. The deeper he thought, the more his heart pounded.

Jion was not dull enough to be unaware of the reason for the strange changes that had recently struck him. On the contrary, the reason was so obvious that it gave him an even bigger headache.

The face that made him lose himself in thought was that of Kwon Chasa, and the low voice lingering in his ears was also his. Although not even a mark remained on the wrist he had carelessly grabbed while crossing the gate, it felt as though the pressure he had left behind was still gripping him.

… This is unbelievable. How did it end up like this?

It wasn’t the first time he had felt this kind of heartbeat. The class president who was his seatmate in the first year of middle school and looked great with short hair. The quiet, model student girl from the third year who would often ask him to explain math problems she couldn’t understand.

He hadn’t even been able to confess his feelings, let alone date anyone, but the biggest problem was that he realized back then what kind of changes liking someone could bring.

Right now, he was acting just like he used to when he couldn’t sleep at night because of those innocent feelings. No, it was even more serious than back then. If the first two times he experienced those emotions, they had spread slowly, like a drizzle seeping in, this time it felt like he had been struck at an unexpected moment.

It was unbelievable. To think he had so easily opened his heart just because a few words and actions that seemed to be looking out for him. Moreover, Kwon Chasa was a man, and more importantly, he was not a living person. He was a grim reaper who had already experienced life as a human and died, clad in the dark energy of the underworld.

As if that weren’t enough, he even claimed to be old enough to be an ancestor. Judging by his face alone, he does look like an older brother, perhaps a little older than him…

“…….”

No. Don’t rationalize it, Chae [unauthorized copy]Jion. This is absolutely ridiculous. How can you possibly fall in love with a grim reaper?

Could it be that something is wrong with my body from meeting the grim reaper too often? Could it be a side effect of that strange, bitter water? Jion, who had been making baseless guesses, ruffled his hair and let out a silent scream.

Even though he thought to himself that he couldn’t possibly be this crazy, he couldn’t stop the image of Kwon Chasa from floating before his eyes. It was a relief that it was self study time, if it had been class time, he would have certainly been scolded by the teacher.

“Haa…….”

Jion sighed and placed his chin on his hand. He was always busy picking fights, never smiled at him except when mocking him, and sometimes said things so rudely that he wanted to pinch his mouth off. Why was he, with no pride of his own, clutching his head over such a ridiculous matter? He felt so foolish that all he could do was sigh.

“Chae Ji! Let’s go eat!”

Lost in thought, he lost track of time. It was only when Jion spotted Go Youngjae stretching and approaching him that he came back to reality. Jion haphazardly stuffed the things scattered on the desk into his bag and patted his cheek a couple of times with his palm. He couldn’t stay like this forever.

Jion shouldered his bag and left the classroom with Go Youngjae. He hoped that these absurd feelings were only his imagination.