The Thirty-Fourth Assignment — Novice Teacher, Novice Student ⑥
What followed was the kind of performance that made you want to shout, "Now that's a Grim Reaper for you!" The breakneck pace made the week before look like a joke. Yeoni, the one asking the questions, was the one getting flustered. He'd suspected Changmo might be winging his answers, but there wasn't a trace of bluffing or panic in the man. Right to the end, the replies flowed as freely as water.
"All right. I've got it all down. Check this over for me — make sure I wrote it correctly."
Yeoni set down the pen he'd been driving at a frantic clip. Changmo had been talking so fast that keeping up had been a struggle. With an exhausted look in his eyes, he scanned what he'd written.
"First: the timeline. Minimum of one month, with the hard cutoff being the rotation date at the outpost. If he hasn't started dating her by then, he gives up."
"You've got to lock it in while you're still stationed at the outpost. Makes coordinating meetups a lot easier later. Drag it out too long and even seeing each other becomes a chore. So the window between one month and the rotation date — that's what people in the Living World call the golden hour."
A firm deadline, then. One month at the absolute minimum. Until then, no rushing in — they would build things up step by step. Having more time to spend in the Living World made that possible. Next came the cover identity. If you were going to introduce yourself, you needed a public-facing occupation.
"You've listed your job as self-employed. Wouldn't she come looking for the shop later?"
"I've already got a shop lined up. Bought an empty building near here. Planning to put a claw-machine arcade on the first floor. Places like that, as long as you've got security cameras, you don't even need the owner around. Perfect for a cover."
"You... you bought a building?"
Yeoni nearly fell out of his chair. The scale of this disguise was staggering. He asked, as casually as he could, where the money for the shop had come from. The answer didn't stray far from what he'd expected.
"The Post Office budget, obviously. Took a while to convert a lump of gold all at once, though."
"That's some serious spending. I mean it."
"This is the Underworld. Not sweating over cash is the baseline."
It seemed to go well past "not sweating over it," but this was a moment for marveling at the sheer audacity, not nitpicking. Yeoni found himself freshly impressed by just how formidable his workplace really was. If people in the Living World knew about this, they'd come running with stars in their eyes.
If they could find it, that is.
"Setting up a shop isn't a bad idea, actually. You can't keep converting gold every time you operate in the Living World. Having a regular income would make things a lot easier."
"Exactly. Two birds, one stone!"
"Timeline, check. Cover identity, check. Third: how you make first contact."
He'd already heard the method last time. What Yeoni was asking about wasn't the approach itself, but how to make it feel natural — like anyone watching would think, of course he'd show up there. And the method Changmo had proposed...
"Do I really have to go with you? There are plenty of other ways."
It was a method that would make things inconvenient for Yeoni.
"Whether it's her company or her club, if you show up alone, people get suspicious. No companion, and you just waltz in saying you've got business? That's weird. Going as a pair is better."
"People eat meals alone these days. Nobody's going to think you're a weirdo just because you showed up by yourself."
"It's the most reliable method — why take the long way around? We already set up the shop for the cover, so infiltrating as a new hire at her company is out. I'd have to say I'm a client, or that I've got some business there... and for that, going alone doesn't work."
Yeoni tried to push back, but every counter came back airtight and logical. Changmo wasn't wrong. Even in the modern world, inserting yourself into a company or a club by yourself was a stretch. You needed an invitation, a referral — some kind of connection. Changmo had seen right through that.
"You're not wrong, but could you think it over one more time? Unlike you, hyung, I live in the Living World. Once my face gets out there, my movements are going to be easy to track."
Yeoni had a point of his own. For Changmo, going back to the Underworld was the end of it. But Yeoni lived here. Once he made acquaintances, those connections would stick. The chances of running into them on a delivery run needed to be kept as low as possible.
"You've got a point there."
"Not 'a point' — that's how it is."
"All right. I'll prioritize disguising myself with a spell, then. If that doesn't work, I'll have to ask for your help."
Changmo conceded and backed off. He didn't want to put the youngest in a tight spot over his own personal business. Yeoni checked off the item with a sigh. The paper rustled as he flipped to the next page. That made four. And the fourth was every bit as headache-inducing as the rest.
"Fourth is what happens after you start dating. And you said you'd think about that when you get there."
"What can I do? Even getting ready to approach her is taking forever. Thinking past that is too much."
"Can we please try to take a slightly longer view here? Please."
Yeoni's head was throbbing. What was he supposed to do with a guy who only ever thought about today and tomorrow? The man himself just grinned, clueless, and it made Yeoni's stomach turn. He was trying to help, seriously! He fought down the urge to clench a fist.
"We haven't even started dating yet. Don't get ahead of yourself — let's just deal with what's in front of us. That's simpler, and easier to solve, isn't it?"
Changmo didn't drop the smile as he spoke, whether Yeoni liked it or not. Judging by his face, he had no intention of thinking any deeper. Yeoni gave up and moved on.
After that, they went back and forth over a dozen more checkpoints. Wardrobe, the daily itinerary, what to order if they ended up eating together — Changmo, whose thinking still orbited the Underworld, and Yeoni, who kept correcting him, bickered their way through it all. Before they knew it, nearly thirty minutes had passed.
"Whew. That's everything. A few things aside, you actually prepared better than I expected."
The questions and answers were finally over. A breath of relief escaped Yeoni's lips. A handful of items still nagged at him, but it was a world better than the first time. Changmo shuddered, recalling the days leading up to this.
"The seniors and the Director really put me through the wringer. Working and wringing my brain dry at the same time nearly killed me. Dating one person is hard."
"It's a romance that crosses the Underworld and the Living World — of course it is. Haven't you read the old folktales? Princess Bari had a hell of a time going back and forth from the Underworld."
"She was originally a celestial being. Not a human."
Yeoni was struck speechless by the unexpected answer. He'd brought it up to lecture him, and instead he'd accidentally learned something new. He snapped himself back before they wandered too far off track. This wouldn't do!
"Ahem! Ahem. We're both busy — let's not go off on weird tangents."
"Yes, yes. Teacher's orders, so I'll follow them. Right — is that all the questions, then?"
Changmo asked if there was anything else. Was there something he was still uneasy about? Yeoni turned it over a little more for his sake, but nothing particular came to mind. Theory ended here. From now on, it was time for the real thing. Yeoni shook his head firmly.
"Nothing. Now you have to go find her yourself."
"There's really nothing?"
Huh. What's with him?
For reasons Yeoni couldn't pin down, Changmo asked again. He was smiling, but something about it felt off. Maybe he was hiding a question of his own. Yeoni answered with extra force.
"There really isn't. I'd rather not burn all our time on theory. We don't even know if you can find her, so the sooner we get into the field, the better."
"...Yeah. You're right. Thanks for the explanation."
The follow-up ended more easily than expected. Changmo's awkward smile settled into something natural. Both of them let out a sigh of relief. What had been completely stuck at the start finally seemed to be loosening, little by little.
"I can't help with the searching, so I guess things will pick up once you find her."
"Yeah. I'll contact you the moment I do. Starting tomorrow I'll be looking around the area while I deliver letters, so... nngh. It's going to get pretty busy."
If it were up to him, he'd go looking today. But this was this, and letter delivery couldn't stop. The outpost had been approved on that condition. Yeoni clapped Changmo on the shoulder, a show of support for the busier days ahead.
"Hang in there. You'll get results equal to the effort you put in."
"That's the plan. I should get going. Need to clean the outpost and the shop."
Even today, the work was already piling up. Changmo pulled Yeoni into a tight hug, then left the room. He didn't forget to say goodbye to Mrs. Bae and Hyeonhui waiting outside.
"I'll be on my way. The snacks were great."
"Take care, young man. Come visit often."
Mrs. Bae's warm send-off followed him. Like mother, like son — she'd greeted him warmly even though they'd only met today. Yeoni, standing beside her, gave a small, encouraging fist. A silent cheer: give it everything you've got. Changmo returned a bright farewell.
"Thank you. Take care!"
He opened the door and stepped outside. His hurried steps looked especially rushed today. Without waiting for the elevator, he took the stairs, walking and walking. He reached the first floor in no time, and only then caught his breath.
The smiling face had, at some point, turned bitter.
"Well... I guess that's Yeoni for you."
A low murmur slipped out. Something from the earlier conversation seemed to be weighing on him.
What it was, he still couldn't say.
Ah, forget it. I'll decide once I meet her.
Changmo shook off the bitterness and gloom the way you'd shake off dust. Then he sprinted toward the shop still under construction. The tangle of feelings became fuel, driving him faster. He ran without stopping, darting along as nimbly as an acrobat, full of energy. As if pouring every ounce of himself into tomorrow.
Or as if he were running from something he didn't want to face.
Meanwhile, Simyeong and the other executives were discussing the matter.
"The Director's got a bit of a gambler's streak, doesn't he? If I were Director, I'd have shut this down in a panic."
"I know. That kid's bringing about an awful lot of change. Shift too fast and there are bound to be side effects."
Nahee and Giryeo were still processing it. Following those Western methods, of all things? The content itself was surprising, and the fact that Heukchi had ordered it was even more so. Giryeo went as far as voicing his worries.
"So what? Our job is delivering to the Living World. Having an outpost where we deliver is going to make the work easier. Don't overthink it."
"The circumstances are absurd and unprecedented, but it's not a bad decision. Stationed in the Living World, maps are easier to come by. And we can stay in regular contact with Yeoni. Either way, it's not a loss."
Yuhwa and Simyeong, on the other hand, were perfectly at ease. Unlike their two juniors, they'd already been thoroughly influenced by Yeoni. As long as it wasn't illegal, what was the problem? The philosophy that any path was fine so long as it got you there had taken root beautifully.
"Simyeong-sunbae and Yuhwa-sunbae don't seem worried at all."
"If it were going to cost us, we'd have shut it down already. This'll be a good opportunity for you, too. You've been short on places to field-test the yang-energy blocking equipment. Think of it as Changmo running the performance trials for you."
"Well, if that's how it works out..."
Nahee came around under Simyeong's gentle persuasion. Giryeo remained unconvinced to the end, but he didn't seem inclined to openly oppose it. That settled it for the executives. They looked over at the other postmen behind them, who were discussing the same topic among themselves.
"So now we'll have people going to the Living World too?"
"They said as long as you do your work, the rest is free time."
"I hear the Living World these days is great for kicking back. All kinds of things to do."
"I'm jealous of Changmo-sunbae. Getting to do that kind of work first."
Well, well.
Look at these guys.
Most of them — no, nearly every last one — had their eyes on the perks, not the work itself. Jealousy and envy toward Changmo came overflowing as a bonus. The executives let out dry laughs at the heat of the response.
"Those idiots know they'll still be working over there, and they're still like this? I've got a mind to set them straight."
"They know, and they're doing it anyway. They're all veterans with over two hundred years as Grim Reapers. They probably think even being in the Living World now and then counts as a break. Cut them some slack, Yuhwa. Oof—"
The moment he finished speaking, Simyeong stood. A voice was calling him from across the way. It was Changmo. Having just been the subject of their gossip, the executives and postmen hastily shut their mouths. But Changmo had heard everything on his way over. He smirked as he spoke.
"I heard every word of that, so don't play dumb. I'm back, hyung-nim."
"I'll give you this — you've got sharp ears. Sit down. Now that you're here, I need a report."
Simyeong offered him a chair. He looked ready to scrape the whole story from start to finish. Changmo, already wilting, sat down obediently.
"Got it."
The hope he carried in his chest was nothing to be ashamed of — not to anyone.