You Will Die (4)
"Ah, did I say something rude?"
Han Min-ah seemed to ponder for a moment, as if trying to correct herself.
"Aura... no, actually, I don't even know what to call it. So what should I call it? The aura coming from you, Mr. Ju Kang-rim? Your vibe? A Stand? Anyway, it looks pretty bad."
"What's a Stand?"
"Oh, you don't know about Stands? It's like an avatar that wields superpowers—think of it as a person's soul taking form."
At the word soul, Ju Kang-rim eyed Han Min-ah closely for a moment. She could see souls? Even Ju Kang-rim, who had been able to see ghosts before becoming a grim reaper, had never glimpsed the soul of a living person. And a soul riddled with wounds, no less.
"You're saying you can see my soul?"
"Yeah, does 'soul' sound about right? To be precise, I see wounds... A soul this battered, I've only seen in isolation camps... But you look healthy enough, Mr. Ju Kang-rim? Not a zombie or anything?"
Ju Kang-rim had never given much thought to his own soul. Yoo Wol-ryeong had once told him that the body was merely a vessel for the soul, and that grim reapers wouldn't truly die as long as their souls remained intact. But you couldn't just look in a mirror and see your soul, so he had no idea what it looked like.
"Which part has the worst wounds?"
Ju Kang-rim asked calmly, masking any unease. Han Min-ah didn't hesitate, tapping her own throat lightly.
"Right here."
Ju Kang-rim had no memory of injuring his throat, so he started to laugh—then froze. There was only one time he'd been hurt there. Before his regression, when Gerald had snapped his neck. He'd miraculously survived that, but his body had been too broken to move properly. Helpless, he'd been torn apart by zombies in the end.
Han Min-ah frowned slightly, tapping here and there.
"Here, here, here, and here too. This isn't a joke. Wow, to think a person can live with their soul this shredded."
Ju Kang-rim let out a low chuckle. She wasn't mentioning gunshot wounds, broken bones, or beatings, so it seemed she really meant wounds on the soul alone. And they hadn't healed yet.
Then Han Min-ah reached out and began stroking the back of Ju Kang-rim's hand.
"Hmm, it's usually just for healing wounds, but..."
A faint light seeped from the zombie bite scar on her arm. No visible wounds marred Ju Kang-rim's hand to begin with, and nothing seemed to change—but moments later, Han Min-ah wiped sweat from her brow and pulled away.
"Still, it was a small wound, so it healed right up."
"...A small wound?"
"Yeah. The smallest of the ones I could see."
"...Is this your healing ability?"
"Yep. After treatment like this, wounds recover faster, though slowly. That's why I'm rated C-rank, but if I say I heal souls, people don't take it well."
Of course they wouldn't. Ordinary people figured that no matter how strong your soul was, a dead body was the end. Immediate physical healing was what mattered. Most folks weren't even sure souls existed anyway.
Ju Kang-rim clenched and unclenched his fist. It felt a bit clearer than before, but no major change. Maybe the difference would show when he used his powers or took a hit.
But my soul's covered in wounds?
Grim reapers valued the soul's power over the body. Which meant Ju Kang-rim might not be at full strength even now.
"Ms. Han Min-ah, are you working at a hospital right now?"
"No. With this wound, no hospital will take me for a while."
She showed off the clear bite mark on her arm. Ju Kang-rim thought that was for the best.
"I'm actually working in this field. Want to join me?"
He handed her his business card. Han Min-ah took it, narrowing her eyes. This was basically an offer to become a zombie hunter. High-risk, poor social status, low pay. But Ju Kang-rim planned to recruit her no matter what conditions she demanded. Soul healing? Unheard of. There might be others, but finding them would be tough. And if she fell into immortal hands instead? That was a nightmare to avoid.
"If you're curious about the terms..."
"Sure."
"Pardon?"
"I've always been interested in zombie hunting. It's the true front line, fighting for humanity. Saving patients who come to you is one thing, but charging in yourself saves more lives."
Ju Kang-rim blinked in surprise.
"You should've served as a combat medic in a nursing home for the elderly, not there."
"I applied to nursing officer school originally. Didn't make the grades."
"If you had, you'd have been an officer, not a medic... But why hunting zombies instead of healing?"
"Huh? Isn't it obvious?"
Han Min-ah spoke as if it were the most natural thing.
"Zombies are patients too. No cure yet, but on the front lines with research and treating hunters, we'll find a way to beat the plague."
Her proud tone sent a chill down Ju Kang-rim's spine. Now he understood why his mother didn't want her as a daughter-in-law. In his memory, no one who said "zombies are people too" had ever been helpful.
This might be a headache.
"Um..."
Then Han Min-ah spoke up, nibbling her spoon.
"Yes?"
"If the offer's still open..."
"Ah, yes. Go ahead."
"Sorry, but can we order more gopchang jeongol? I finished it all."
Ju Kang-rim glanced at the hot pot. Most of the three-person serving was gone. He hadn't even finished his first bowl, staring blankly before ordering two more.
"Han Min-ah, that nurse?"
"Yes. Didn't you know?"
The next day, as soon as Yoo Wol-ryeong arrived at the hotel room, Ju Kang-rim reported on Han Min-ah. Yoo Wol-ryeong seemed completely unaware.
"Soul healing is common enough in the afterlife, but this is the first I've seen in the living world."
"Rank-wise?"
"I'd need to check her exact power, but S to A-rank."
Spouting ranks like a gacha addict, as expected.
"You didn't know about someone with such a rare gift?"
"I'd rather ask why you thought I would."
"Well..."
Grim reapers had eyes everywhere, underlings galore, and Yeomra with his regression power? But thinking about it, for people who'd regressed with him, they knew surprisingly little. After witnessing that hellish world together, you'd think they'd spot immortals from a mile away—but they'd left it mostly to Ju Kang-rim.
Bound by underworld rules too?
"Soul healers are rare even there, and in this world, impossible to find. No one understands, not even themselves—they just bury it."
Indeed, Han Min-ah's ability was rated as basic C-rank regeneration acceleration. An incomprehensible power got undervalued.
Yoo Wol-ryeong pondered, then spoke with a displeased frown.
"If true, she's valuable, but Han Min-ah herself is the issue."
"Why? She seems nice."
"Too nice. Too careless for her power. Flower-child types like that die first on the front lines."
Fair point. In his past life, Han Min-ah was already dead. And this time, even with Ju Kang-rim nearby, she'd been bitten. Without immunity to the zombie plague, she'd be gone again.
"We'll handle Han Min-ah at my company. Can't let her fall into wrong hands—better to keep her close. More importantly, intel on Kangryeong Daegun."
"Finally."
Yoo Wol-ryeong sprinkled white powder into her palm. Ju Kang-rim rubbed it between his fingers, wrinkling his nose at the sickly sweet scent.
"Shine Sand?"
"You know it."
"How could I forget the drug that plagued us till humanity's end?"
Shine Sand. A new foreign drug. Even as Ju Kang-rim had fought to eradicate it, it kept circulating among refugees. No one knew where it came from amid the collapse.
Then it hit him.
"Wait—no way."
"Yes. Kangryeong Daegun's distributing it."
Ju Kang-rim felt punched in the back of the head. Even as zombies wiped out humanity, these immortal bastards were doping them too.
"Why? For pocket change?"
"Worse, I'm afraid."
Yoo Wol-ryeong blew the Shine Sand into the air.
"It's a catalyst for making ghouls."
"..."
Ju Kang-rim hoped he'd misheard. Prayed he had.
"Addiction turns you into a ghoul?"
"Not immediately—needs heavy overuse. Addict levels."
She continued flatly.
"But ghouls popping up anywhere would be a mess. So Kangryeong Daegun spreads it among refugees, hooks them."
"To draw them in for more, to get ghouls?"
"Exactly. Low purity means massive doses needed. Then they exploit them as organization grunts, feed more addiction. Squeeze money and bodies dry, and when they die? Ghoul slaves."
"Those sons of bitches... What's the endgame?"
Yoo Wol-ryeong thought for a fitting analogy.
"Kangryeong Daegun... wants to be king."
"Pardon?"
Ju Kang-rim was dumbfounded. A king? In this era? Leading a gang?
But historically, dynasties started with warlords or thugs. In coming anarchy? Not impossible.
"Not drug lord or pirate king—a real king?"
"Strictly speaking, he claims sole legitimate heir to Joseon's bloodline, entitled to rule as king."
"He's insane?"
"Most who talk like that are. But madman or not—can he pull it off?"
Yoo Wol-ryeong scrolled Biman.
"Free ghoul labor, US military leftovers, Shine Sand profits, northern Seoul turf in chaos. He's got the pieces. Even lining up overseas allies—playing diplomat already."
Ju Kang-rim hesitated, then asked incredulously.
"So this is him playing nation-builder?"
"Money and power. What moves humans most?"
A textbook sociopath, selfish to the core. A one-dimensional thug with immortality, strength, knowledge—this was the result.
Having seen gates blanket the sky and zombies overrun the earth, Ju Kang-rim knew how insane this was. But desperate folk, especially northern refugees, might buy in. A world where zombies were allies. Return home. Lead the new age.
"Right now, honestly, I'd cheer Gerald on."
He got why Gerald smashed this nut. Even a bastard like Gerald knew this was humanity's crisis.
But Ju Kang-rim wouldn't side with him, dead or not. If Kangryeong Daegun needed killing, he'd do it. No time to leave it to rivals.
"Know where he is?"
"Not his location yet, but..."
As Ju Kang-rim deflated, Yoo Wol-ryeong continued.
"We have Shine Sand distribution points."
Ju Kang-rim grinned.
"To smoke out the rat, burn his shitty shack first."