The Unexpected Afterlife
"What? You're telling me this is a real situation? What were you doing while I was serving all this time!
Ah, damn it! Why, on the very day I get discharged! And why did it have to drop right here? Damn it all! My luck really hit rock bottom in my final days..."
Because some unidentified object had been dropped in the vicinity, and I judged that staying in this guard post would be safer than going outside where my life could be threatened, I decided to remain put.
"Phew... what a pain. Yeah, I'll stay here for a bit just in case. That's alright, right?"
"Understood. For now, I'm going to keep trying to contact the Command Post."
After finishing his conversation with me, the guard commander picked up the receiver and began calling the Command Post again. I watched him for a moment before turning my head toward the window.
"Damn, what the hell dropped to cause all this chaos?"
I grumbled as I approached the window, watching the sentries who were in the prone position staring at the sky. Suddenly, the phrase 'air raid warning' flashed through my mind, and I found myself looking up at the sky subconsciously.
And then... I witnessed something falling toward the guard post at an incredible speed.
It looked like a pillar of light, burning with a pure white radiance. It was so bright that I could only intuitively grasp that it was approaching; I couldn't look at it directly because it was too blinding.
Seeing the object falling so rapidly, I felt an intuitive sense that if I stayed in this guard post, something terrible would happen.
"Damn it! Hey! Something's falling this way! Let's get out of here!"
"What? What are you talking about? Wait a second. I understand you want to leave quickly, but... shouldn't we hear a detailed explanation from the Command Post first?"
The guard commander ignored my plea to evacuate and kept trying to reach the Command Post. Frustrated, I approached him and grabbed the hand holding the phone to drag him out.
"This isn't the time for that! We have to get out of here, now!"
"Ah, come on...! Alright! Fine, let's go!"
Perhaps because of my desperate tone, the guard commander seemed to sense the gravity of the situation. He hung up the phone and ran toward the entrance with me.
By the time we reached the entrance, I heard the guard commander, who had been following behind me, shout.
"Ah, my gun!"
"Ah, damn it, that damn gun! The gu-un! Just get out of here first!"
"No, you idiot! A soldier should die with his gun if he has to!"
The guard commander turned back to retrieve his weapon. Even though our lives were hanging by a thread, his display of military spirit was frustrating, but because I understood that mindset, I watched him silently from the entrance with a pitiful expression.
"Feels like I'm forgetting something... Oh, right, the guys!"
I shouted to the sentries who had come back inside the guard post and were prone by the window, staring at the sky.
"Hey, a suspicious object is falling this way! Get up to the headquarters!"
Watching the sentries scramble to their feet and move upward at my urgent urging, I turned around to see the guard commander, who had retrieved his gun, calling me from the entrance.
"Hey, Sergeant Kim! Let's go!"
"What, you got it already? Let's go!"
I hadn't even taken two seconds to turn toward him when suddenly, the area around the guard post turned completely white.
Instinctively, I felt that the falling object had reached the immediate vicinity of the guard post. It felt like it would hit before I could even throw myself at the entrance.
In that split second, I thought of the guard commander waiting at the entrance, smiling brightly, and realized I had to save him. Clenching my teeth, I lunged forward, using both feet to push him away with all my might.
Unable to withstand the force of a sturdy adult male throwing his entire body weight into the shove, the guard commander fell backward.
"Argh! What are you doing, Sergeant Ki...!"
The guard commander, who had been about to curse at my sudden action, widened his eyes. He had witnessed the entire guard post and my own body, which had pushed him, being dismantled as they turned into light.
Only then did he realize that I had taken this sudden action to save him.
I felt the sensation in the feet I had used to lunge disappear, and when I looked down, I saw my legs being dismantled by the light.
"Ah, that remark... hah."
Feeling my resolve to finally live a good life shatter into pieces, I looked up at the sky, closed my eyes, and let out a sigh.
And then, my consciousness faded.
"Kuaaaah! Sergeant Kim!"
A single scream from the guard commander echoed through the place that had been a guard post just moments ago—now nothing but a crater, leaving only a trace that something had once existed there.
How much time had passed?
Like waking up in the morning after falling asleep at night, I opened my eyes naturally.
The first thing that greeted me was a long line of people dressed in various outfits.
As I kept watching the people, I found three strange things.
First, whether they were foreigners or Asians, everyone's eyes looked unfocused.
Second, there were no children to be seen. As far as I could tell, there was no one under 20 years old.
Lastly, everyone looked blurry, like ghosts.
"Wow... is this the afterlife I've only heard about?"
I tried talking to the person right next to me, but he didn't even look at me, staring only straight ahead, so I gave up on conversation.
"Strange... no matter how I look at it, I seem to be dead too... and this place seems to be the underworld... but why am I not like the others, lacking consciousness?
And if I'm the only one whose limbs don't look blurry like a ghost, and they're just as clear and tangible, does that mean I'm actually dead?"
Feeling strange about being different from the others, I placed my hand on the shoulder of the person in front of me, just in case.
Whoosh—
My hand passed right through.
"Wha-!?"
I screamed in surprise, but no one reacted at all.
Taking a deep breath, I took a step forward and passed through the person in front of me.
Whoosh—
Realizing I could pass through others like a ghost, I began to walk forward with long strides, hoping to meet someone quickly.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
Though I couldn't predict whether the outcome would be good or bad.
How many people had I passed through?
As I continued to pass through the endless crowd, a palace built in the style of a grand Hanok came into view.
A Hanok?
A Hanok, of all things...
If it's a K-Underworld, a Hanok makes sense.
Yes, this is the K-Underworld.
"So... this really is the underworld. If I enter through the gates of that palace, will I get to meet King Yama himself?"
I was surprised that the thought of potentially meeting King Yama after death made me feel excited rather than strangely scared or afraid.
Have I finally acknowledged my own death?
I must have gone crazy.
"Have I finally lost my mind? Hahaha! To feel excited about meeting King Yama after dying... I'm definitely not in my right mind. Yeah, that must be it."
Thinking I had finally gone mad, I passed through the person standing at the very front of the line and moved toward the area in front of the palace gates.
Was it my imagination that as I approached the palace, I was reminded of Gyeongbokgung Palace, which I had visited on a school field trip long ago?
I could see a palace of a similar shape, along with a gate and walls that looked like Heunginjimun.
Standing in front of the tightly closed gate were two people? who looked like messengers, or rather, K-Grim Reapers.
What the, is this really the K-Underworld?
It's embarrassing that they're dressed in the typical K-historical drama Grim Reaper attire, with pale skin, black robes, and bamboo hats.
When I got close enough to see their faces clearly, their appearance caught my eye.
One Reaper was reading a book, and it was labeled *Life and Death Ledger.*
The other Reaper was standing with his eyes closed.
Judging by their behavior, I instantly decided that the one with his eyes closed was the higher-ranking Reaper. Using the 'Sense' SKILL I had honed in the military, I prostrated myself before him.
As I expected, the Reaper with his eyes closed was indeed the high-ranking one, and he was handed the Life and Death Ledger.
"Next—transfer the soul."
"Yes. Come here!"
As soon as the voice finished, the people at the front of the line didn't have the gate open; instead, a sphere that looked like a black hole appeared in the gate, and they began to be sucked in.
It wasn't even the Evil Containment Wave that sealed Piccolo in Dragon Ball! To see people being sucked into space!
I couldn't help but scream at such a bizarre sight.
"U, Uwaaaaah!"
Startled by my sudden scream, the Reaper who had been standing with his eyes closed was now looking down at me, where I was still prostrated.
Our eyes met, and I trembled like an aspen leaf while staring back at him.
Up close, he was a handsome Reaper with the appearance of a white man.
What is this, a K-fusion underworld?
Before I could even start having such futile thoughts, the Reaper's sharp voice reached my ears.
"Who are you?"
"Pardon?"
"I asked who you are. How is a dead person maintaining consciousness?"
No, how would I know if you don't know?
I couldn't ask that outright, seriously...
"I'm not sure. I died. But I had consciousness."
"You died, but you had consciousness? Hmph—what's your name? And use formal language. Before I erase you from existence."
No, damn it...
Yes. If I'm aggrieved, I have to comply...
"Yes. It's Kim Eodum."
As I answered with a bright smile, a sharp retort came back immediately.
"Don't smile. Before I erase you from existence."
Are you threatening to erase me every time you open your mouth?
Ah, there's no human rights here...
There were no human rights in the military either...
I'll keep my mouth shut from now on.
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
The Reaper, who had been flipping through the Life and Death Ledger he was handed, suddenly expressed doubt.
"Kim Eodum... Kim Eodum... What is this? You're not on the list? Are you sure you died today?"
"Pardon? Yes, I am."
Thinking that he was already in a bad mood and if I slipped up here, I'd be in big trouble, I immediately lifted my head and answered confidently?
The Reaper looked at me for a moment before giving instructions to the Reaper next to him.
"Hmm... this doesn't seem to be my jurisdiction. Send this one to King Yama."
"To King Yama, you say?"
"Yes. Send him."
"Yes. Hey, you there! When the gate opens, go inside."
"Do I just go in?"
"You'll know when you get there. Just follow the path straight inside."
My, how unfriendly.
This is clearly a special case, so he could have explained it a bit better.
Creak, creak, creak.
A moment later, the massive gate opened, and the interior of the palace began to come into view.
Guided by the unfriendly Reaper, I stood up, grumbled to myself, passed through the gate, and entered the palace.