The Thirty-Fourth Assignment — Rookie Teacher, Rookie Student: Part I

Changmo walked them through how the whole thing had started, describing a feeling that had come on like a lightning strike — abrupt as beans roasted over a flash of thunder, and yet branded into his mind without the faintest blur. His account, needless to say, was saturated with personal bias. In one sense or another, Yeoni and Dayeong found themselves impressed.

"Dayeong. Tell me I didn't just mishear that."

"Nope. Heard every word, crystal clear. Wow. I've heard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of a Geumsappa before — you know, someone who falls in love at the drop of a hat — but I never thought the term applied to Grim Reapers too."

It was admiration that kept hopping the fence between the good kind and the bad.

Joking only a little, he had fallen in love at first sight. A development you barely even saw in fiction. You'd have to reach all the way back to Romeo and Juliet to find a comparison. For a pair who had only started dating after years of knowing each other, Changmo's breakneck romantic driving was more than a little hard to process.

"Come on, kids. I'm being serious here…"

"So are we."

"That's why we're shocked."

Even as the flustered Changmo tried to explain himself, the two of them just kept shaking their heads. Falling for someone overnight really was a bit much, wasn't it? In the end Changmo flushed with embarrassment, and that color blooming across his refined features made him look, of all things, like a bashful young lady.

Judging by that face, he's the real deal.

Yeoni felt a headache coming on. The feeling itself was clearly genuine… but how were they supposed to make sense of a change this sudden, this out of nowhere? Should they just file it under fiction and move on? He let out a sigh.

"Anyway, I get the story. But there's a problem, isn't there?"

"Huh? What problem?"

"You don't even know where this person you fell for actually lives. You said you just happened to see her while you were out on a delivery, right? Without a single lead, finding her is going to be rough."

A wall, right from the start. They didn't even know who she was or where she came from — so what were they supposed to do? Camp out at the spot where he'd seen her? Dayeong was already halfway out of her seat, having decided the whole thing was hopeless.

"You don't have to worry about that. I can find her."

Unlike the two of them, Changmo was the picture of calm. He clearly had something up his sleeve. Yeoni stopped clutching his head and looked at him, his voice a tangled mix of confusion, hope, and suspicion.

"How? You said you only saw her. You never even met."

"I got a look at her soul ahead of time. Soul-sensing covers a much wider range than the naked eye, so I'll find her faster than you'd think."

Oh, for heaven's sake.

A confident answer, all right. Setting aside the minor issue that it was also completely unhinged.

"I'm disappointed, mister. I never took you for the stalker type."

"Hold on. Why are you two like this? Remembering the soul of someone you like is just what couples do!"

"No. It is not. Please do not lump us in with that. Dayeong and I are wholesome."

Yeoni and Dayeong stared at him with looks gone thoroughly cold, a teasing distance glittering in their eyes. Changmo, who had become a pervert in the span of a single sentence, appealed to them with a gaze full of wounded injustice.

This was why an amateur's fantasies were a dangerous thing.

"That's too much, kids. I'm speaking from a pure place."

"If that's purity, then Dayeong and I are priests. Anyway, if you can pinpoint her location that easily, that's a relief. At least we won't have to run ourselves ragged for nothing."

If you set aside the deeply unsettling part, it was good news for the people who had to help him. Nobody enjoyed running in circles. The first problem — and the hardest one — was settled. Time to move on to the next.

"Have you figured out how you're going to confess? You can't just pop up out of nowhere and tell her you like her."

"Uh. I guess I should start thinking about that now."

And the next problem was a mountain range all its own. At the news that he had come in with nothing prepared, the light went out of Yeoni and Dayeong's faces. Even a mountain of coursework had never felt this hopeless.

"So you showed up completely empty-handed. Good grief."

"Yeoni. I feel bad saying this about Changmo, but… are we sure we should even do this? Just looking at it, this is going to be a nightmare."

"He took the time to come all the way here. We can't turn him down. Haaah."

Yeoni finally let out the sigh he'd been holding in. He had grabbed this job with both hands, and the difficulty was off the charts. Changmo was his senior, so he couldn't just look the other way — but taking it on left him with no idea where to even start. The man in question, whether or not he understood any of this, just sat there with an awkward little smile.

They needed a plan.

"Changmo-hyung."

There was only one conclusion. Yeoni dug through his bag and handed Changmo a small notebook. Changmo took it, fidgeting, unable to figure out why a counseling session had produced stationery. Yeoni had an answer for that.

"I don't think we can do this right now. Walking you through everything from start to finish would be too much for us too. I'll give you until tomorrow — write down everything you need, everything you're hoping for, and bring it back. We'll do the actual counseling after that."

"Nngh. So I really didn't have any answers, huh."

Changmo's face dimmed a little. Among the Grim Reapers, he had always been the most confident when it came to people — but a crush that had crashed in like wildfire had blunted even that. An embarrassing moment, for a senior.

"Sorry. Truth is, we started dating on a total whim too. Even as people with experience, we don't actually know all that much. Hahahaha…"

Yeoni was just as embarrassed. Changmo had clearly come expecting to draw on their experience, and the sad fact was that their own was paper-thin. Dayeong, equally out of things to say, took to tapping the chair leg with her foot for no reason at all.

"Well, you haven't even been together a year, right? Calling yourselves veterans would be a stretch."

"The Director and the seniors would still count it as experience."

"From our point of view, they're not wrong. Point one is still more than zero. All right! Then I'll see you tomorrow. I'll write a thorough list, so look forward to it."

Pushing past the unease and embarrassment he'd walked in with, Changmo recovered his usual bounce. You needed a lot of water to float a boat. Even if he was impatient, he would follow the instructions and wait. He hurried out of the lecture hall, and Yeoni and Dayeong waved him off.

The door clattered shut.

"…This is a mess."

"Tell me about it."

The moment the door closed, the two of them slumped as if they'd been waiting for permission.

The stay of execution wasn't desperate for Changmo alone. He had come to them in person for counseling, which meant a few casual pointers wouldn't cut it. Delivering results that matched his expectations was the decent thing to do. They needed something that looked like competence — the kind that came with actual experience.

"What do we even know about dating? We were friends, and then we just… crossed over."

"You're telling me. If someone asked me how we got together, I still couldn't answer. Those Grim Reapers have been counting their chickens before they hatch. A whole coop at a time."

Competence, unfortunately, was the one thing they did not have. Their relationship was as warm and sweet as any couple's, but on the technical side they were a blank page. They were in no position to call Changmo inexperienced. They looked at each other and made a resolution.

"We're going to need to hit the books."

"Books alone won't do it. Let's ask other people who've actually done this. Our parents, our seniors — whoever. We need to learn everything we can if we're going to counsel him."

"Let's do both. This is no time to be picky."

They needed to get ready in advance.

They each gave themselves a sharp slap on the cheek, and then they left the lecture hall too.

Today, it seemed, was going to be a rather busy day.

"You came back empty-handed? I was sure you'd return with a proper earful."

Simyeong blinked at Changmo in genuine bewilderment. He had expected the boy to be out the entire day, and yet Changmo had been gone less than an hour. Beside him, Yuhwa looked up from her paperwork, equally puzzled. Had Yeoni slacked off? Changmo hurried to set them straight.

"Ah, no — the kids were ready to do the job properly. I was the one who wasn't prepared."

"You? Well, that's a first. Among all of us, you're the one who ought to be best with people."

"The sun'll rise in the west tomorrow."

In both of their minds, Changmo's reliability was already in freefall. In a way, that was only fair. This was Changmo they were talking about — the playboy who never shut up about wanting a girlfriend. And now that same man wasn't ready to date?

If not for how serious his face looked, they would have denied it outright.

"What can I say? Theory and practice are different animals. Ahh! The second it was actually happening, my mind just went blank, you know? I couldn't think straight. Everything was a mess."

Changmo found this version of himself just as strange. The reputation for being the Post Office's finest talker and people-person was one he would probably have to hand back, starting today. He had never felt a thrill this vivid in his life.

Not in his entire existence as a Grim Reaper.

Or, for that matter, in the life before this one.

"It's been a while since I've seen you this scattered. But don't take it too far. Work still has to get done. Duty is duty, and personal matters stay personal. Understood?"

Simyeong looked half exasperated, but he pointed out the reality of things in that calm, even way of his. Private feelings were private, and private they had to remain. Letting them spill into official territory would only cause trouble. Changmo wiped the dazed look off his face and snapped to attention.

"Yes! Understood!"

"You don't have to go that far. Well. Once the work is done, think it through carefully. Whether you confess or not, it ought to be a decision you make with a clear head."

Simyeong gave Changmo's shoulder a couple of pats and stood. It looked as though he might be heading out on a delivery, but his desk was still buried under a mountain of paperwork waiting to be processed. Yuhwa, who had been working through documents beside him, took a short break as well. The two of them said they were stepping out for a moment, and then they were gone.

Where are they off to?

Left alone, Changmo fidgeted. He didn't have time to sit there staring into space, though. While he was still standing idle, a junior came running over with the day's letter assignments, an envelope already in hand.

"There you are. A letter just came in assigned to you, Senior Changmo."

"They don't waste any time, do they. Got it. I'll be back!"

It nagged at him, but what could he do? The work had already been given. Changmo pushed the unease aside and started walking. Today, as every day, he would have to run himself ragged for his clients.

And after Changmo had gone…

"I'm worried ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠about that idiot."

Simyeong and Yuhwa, who had supposedly left, stood gazing toward the front gate, both of them sunk in thought.

"So there are days when even you worry about Changmo. The sun really will rise in the west tomorrow."

Simyeong said it with a mischievous lilt. The temperature between Yuhwa and Changmo had always been what it was. She didn't hate him, but there had always been a distance — and now even that distance had been forgotten, swallowed up by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠genuine concern. As Simyeong had said, it was enough to make anyone stare. Yuhwa flushed and shot back.

"D-don't get any weird ideas. If he can't get his head on straight, the kids are the ones who'll suffer. It's a perfectly natural worry for a Sub-Team Leader. Aigoo! And he's supposed to be a Senior Team Member."

"Did anyone say otherwise? I only said it was surprising. Don't get yourself so worked up."

The corner of Simyeong's mouth curved. The way she startled was almost endearing, like watching a brand-new Grim Reaper all over again. That was how badly it had thrown her, he supposed. But the smile didn't last. The worry was real. His voice turned quiet.

"You're a problem in your own right, but Changmo is a bigger one. You, at least, can wait until Yeoni crosses over someday, but…"

"This is not the time to talk about me. Though, yeah. He is the bigger problem."

She cut in, but Yuhwa ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠agreed with Simyeong all the same. There was a problem. A simple one, and a fatal one. With one heart and one mind, they put it into words.

"It will be hard for it to last, you see."

"Hard? It's basically impossible."

A clash of personalities? A difference in circumstances? No.

What snagged them was something more fundamental than that.

"One day they'll have to part. Decades from now, Changmo will still be a Grim Reaper. The woman he's fallen for will grow old, die, and come here to stand trial."