GRR 52

“She’s not a vengeful spirit yet, but the signs aren’t good. However, neither I nor Kwon Chasa’s methods are working… That soul is about the same age as you. I just had a feeling she might communicate well with you.”

Yu Chasa continued with an apologetic expression. In the midst of this, Jion was curious about Kwon Chasa’s intentions and had no time to ponder Yu Chasa’s words.

… Is it because he’s worried about me again? She isn’t a vengeful spirit, but because the signs are bad, he’s afraid I might get hurt?

Considering Kwon Chasa who had told me to keep his distance, his hunch was likely to be correct.

Why does he keep making me hope for the best…

He felt like screaming because he couldn’t handle the feelings. He just lamented why the person in question had to be missing right now.

“Um… Student Jion…? Are you listening to me…?”

“Ah, ah… yes! I’m listening. So…?”

Yu Chasa asked when he noticed Jion daydreaming. Jion shook his head to chase Kwon Chasa away from his mind.

“Yes, so… I was thinking, how about we keep this a secret from Kwon Chasa-nim and solve it among ourselves? Since he happens to be away….”

Yu Chasa said that the ghost was my age.

His heart felt heavy knowing that, following Park Seolhwa and Choi Heechan, the next ghost he would met was also of a similar age. He wondered if they couldn’t accept their own death because they died at such a young age. If he had been in the same situation, he might have wandered the living world while giving the grim reapers a hard time just like them.

Jion reciprocated Yu Chasa’s awkward smile and then nodded. He wasn’t going to meet her alone and Yu Chasa would be going with him, he didn’t think anything big would happen.

Yu Chasa sighed in relief and adjusted his grip on the register.

“The name is Nam Seunghee. She was eighteen at the time of death. It’s been about 5 months since she died.”

Jion hurriedly took out his phone and began typing. Eighteen meant she was exactly one year younger than him. Just like Kang Seoyoon, Park Seolhwa, and Choi Heechan, could Nam Seunghee also be a victim of a crime? Perhaps because all the souls he met with Kwon Chasa had been unfairly victimized, his thoughts naturally gravitated in that direction.

“By any chance… was Nam Seunghee also involved in something bad? From Seoyoon-noona to Heechan recently, when I looked into it a bit, they were all crime victims. So I was wondering if maybe….”

“Crime victims?”

Yu Chasa’s eyes widened in surprise. He probably hadn’t expected that. Since the important thing for them was to take the deceased to the afterlife quickly, there would be no need to care about what happened in the living world.

Yu Chasa, who had been frowning and rapidly flipping through the pages, stopped only when he was nearly at the end. He looked as if he were contemplating whether he should say this. Only when Jion stared at him, urging him on, did he finally manage to move his lips.

“Umm… she died falling from a school building she attended, but it seems she was already murdered by an unidentified man before that.”

He hoped it wasn’t the case, but it seemed Nam Seunghee had also gotten caught up in something bad. Jion couldn’t bring himself to type those words exactly visit our siteas they were and sighed. Yu Chasa looked at Jion and asked cautiously.

“…Do you happen to know something?”

“No… it’s not that. I just felt a bit uneasy. If you think about them individually, they all live in different places and are different ages… and it doesn’t seem like they even knew each other. But hearing that they were all murdered by someone… it just made me wonder if there might be some connection.”

Jion finished speaking awkwardly. Everything was only his suspicion; nothing was certain. Nor could he uncover the truth behind their deaths. The only thing he could do was help the deceased leave this world with peace of mind.

Jion, not wanting the atmosphere to become heavy, put on a bright smile.

“Then we’re going together tomorrow, right?”

“Ah, yes! If we just handle Nam Seunghee, the burden on Kwon Chasa-nim will be much lighter…. Since I’m still not as good at my job as Kwon Chasa-nim, I felt a bit ashamed….”

“Does Kwon Chasa-nim scold you too?”

“No… he doesn’t say anything. When I report to him, he just nods his head? But… you know, Kwon Chasa-nim’s expressionless face is originally a bit scary…. It’s just my own conscience pricking me. Haha….”

Yu Chasa awkwardly laughed while rubbing the back of his neck bashfully. It was unexpected that, unlike when he was busy nagging him, he didn’t say a word to Yu Chasa.

On the one hand, he understood what Yu Chasa was saying. Just seeing Kwon Chasa’s cold, expressionless face was enough to make you flinch, even though you haven’t done anything wrong.

“I’ll come to pick you up tomorrow morning. What time would be good for you?”

“Hmm… I work tomorrow morning. It ends at ten, so I think we can meet around then.”

Jion stood up after setting the time with Yu Chasa. The latter quickly went to the kitchen after picking up the cup on the table and then walked toward the entrance. Jion followed right behind him, but for some reason, he kept looking back.

It probably was because he couldn’t meet Kwon Chasa even though he had come here.

***

The place Jion arrived at with Yu Chasa was the rooftop of a building that wasn’t very high. At first, he wondered where this was, but he could guess the location by recalling Yu Chasa’s words from yesterday.

This was probably the school Nam Seunghee attended. He had said she fell from the school building after being murdered by an unidentified man.

Jion took out his phone and checked the map app. The location showed as Gangdong-gu. It was far from home and a place he had never been to, but he felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

…Wasn’t Gangdong-gu among the addresses Kitae-hyung told me?

Jion opened his memo app this time. When he immediately opened the memo where he had written down Baek Kitae’s words, there was one Gangdong-gu address. A shiver ran down his spine and goosebumps appeared on his forearms.

“Student Jion, I think she’s over there.”

Jion, who had been distracted by his phone, only moved his gaze after hearing Yu Chasa’s Read onvoice. His finger cautiously pointed to the rooftop railing. A figure wearing a school uniform and short hair that didn’t reach her shoulders was sitting precariously on the railing with her back turned to Jion and Yu Chasa.

Yu Chasa rummaged through his inner jacket pocket and took out a jeokpaeji. However, seeing no reaction, he sighed and put it back inside. Jion put his cell phone in his pocket and took a deep breath.

“I’ll try talking to her.”

Leaving the nervous Yu Chasa behind, Jion moved cautiously. Yu Chasa followed behind Jion while looking back and forth between Jion and Nam Seunghee.

When the distance narrowed to some extent, Nam Seunghee suddenly turned her head around and looked at Jion. Jion was so startled that his limbs felt numb, and he couldn’t take another step. A strong ominous energy radiated from Nam Seunghee.

“Ah… excuse me…….”

Before Jion could even speak properly, Nam Seunghee floated into the air. Not knowing what to do, he looked back at Yu Chasa, who also was looking up at Nam Seunghee with a frustrated expression. Nam Seunghee looked at down at Jion while floating in the air.

Jion thought he should lower Nam Seunghee’s guard first. When his eyes met hers, he smiled. Nam Seunghee, who had been glaring at Jion, came down to the ground and set her two feet on the floor. The feeling of her piercing gaze sticking to his face was vivid.

“Who are you?”

“Uh… my name is Chae Jion….”

Even though he knew she wasn’t asking for his name, he gave such a foolish answer. It was because he couldn’t miss this golden opportunity to be the one Nam Seunghee spoke to first.

Jion smiled but was anxious. He was worried Nam Seunghee would ignore him.

The strange silence continued. Jion kept his lips sealed and focused on Nam Seunghee’s aura. The ghostly energy was even more intense than the ghost that had stubbornly demanded revenge from him about two years ago.

Since Nam Seunghee also died unfairly, would she ask him to find the one who killed her and get revenge? What should he do if he couldn’t grant such a wish? Just as he was growing anxious, Yu Chasa stepped forward.

“Student Seunghee, do you remember me? We saw each other a few days ago.”

“…….”

“I came here today to listen to your story… So please don’t get too angry, and how about we try having a conversation…? Here, Student Jion says he wants to listen to you.”

If Kwon Chasa had been there, he would have immediately thrust his buwol at Nam Seunghee’s neck. Apart from his disappointment at not seeing Kwon Chasa, Jion felt a sense of relief that the one who had come here with him was not Kwon Chasa.