The Thirty-Fifth Assignment — Between Sweet and Bitter ⑧

He had been a little worried, honestly. Judging by what he had seen of her in secret, she was the sort of person who threw herself into work and studying. Even at that gathering the other day, she had been unusually quiet when it came to having fun. Would she even know how to enjoy a proper rest? Those worries, it turned out, had been entirely unfounded.

From the sightseeing cruise that opened their date, she took the lead with surprising skill, steering them from one new sight and amusement to the next. Changmo found himself enjoying it all like some wide-eyed kid who had just stepped off the train into Seoul.

Not bad. This girl really isn't half bad.

He marveled inwardly. You really never could tell with people. If it had been up to him, he would have packed the day even tighter… but since Seri was taking the initiative, he decided to follow her lead. When someone was putting in the effort, the polite thing to do was stay out of their way.

"Want to try one of these?"

Seri thrust a skewer at him without warning — a generous one, stacked thick with rice cakes, chunks of meat, and bell peppers. They were in a college neighborhood in northern Seoul, the kind of place packed with cheap eats and easy entertainment, and the street stall they had stopped at was a local legend. It lived up to the reputation. The skewer was enormous, and it looked every bit as good as it was big.

"We already had lunch. I'm not sure I can fit it."

"There's always a separate stomach for snacks. This place is pretty far from campus, so I wouldn't make it out here except on a day like this."

Seri picked up a skewer of the same size for herself. She had put away lunch with impressive thoroughness earlier — was there really room for that thing? Changmo worried, but he bit into it anyway. What did it matter? If it tasted good, that was all that counted.

"Mm! That's delicious."

He chewed slowly, savoring it, and let out a sound of genuine appreciation. The glaze was sweet in just the right way. The meat and rice cake were tender, and the peppers still had their crunch. Seri seemed to like hers too; she kept nodding as she ate.

"I wasn't totally sure when I looked it up, but eating it in person? Yeah, it's definitely good. Glad we came, right?"

"Yeah. Though I have to say, I'm impressed. You know all these places to go, all these things to eat. Figuring all this out in just a few days couldn't have been easy."

"Hehe! You think so?"

The praise made Seri bashful. There was, in fact, a secret behind her current competence. She glanced around, then leaned in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and confessed it in a whisper — the kind of secret that would be mortifying if anyone else overheard.

"I don't know if I should even be telling you this. Honestly? I got it all from a friend beforehand. This is my first time here too."

"Your first time? That's surprising. You sounded so sure of yourself explaining everything…"

"That's because my friend crammed it into me like I was studying for an exam. Ugh! I almost didn't even have time to get ready. I kept wondering why I needed to know all this stuff, but looking at it now, I get it."

Seri answered with the weary tone of someone who had been thoroughly put through the wringer. Changmo felt an unexpected flicker of kinship. The degree was different, but he had been tormented just as relentlessly before coming here. He laughed under his breath.

"Heh. Sounds exactly like what my junior put me through earlier. I guess both of us have people who worry about us."

"Now that you mention it, yeah. I've just never really gotten out much. Is it the same for you, Changmo?"

"Me? No. I know how to have a good time, no question. It's just that I've only ever hung out with other guys."

Looking back on his life so far, a wry smile came unbidden. Come to think of it, he really had only ever gone out with fellow male Grim Reapers. There was a reason he had been so awkwardly hesitant, so unlike his usual easygoing self. No wonder Yeoni and Dayeong had felt the need to stick their noses in. The realization arrived a little late.

"I guess I need to start taking my downtime more seriously too. Not that I know if I can."

"Hey, that's not it at all."

Even rest, for Seri, was something you had to work at. Old habits died hard, it seemed. Changmo launched into a brief lecture on her behalf. He might not know the first thing about handling the opposite sex, but when it came to having fun, he considered himself an expert. And if someone was struggling to enjoy themselves, wasn't it only right to help?

"Having fun is about enjoying things naturally. You don't have to tense up and overthink it. Just take it easy, forget about work and whatever's bothering you, and you're done!"

"Is that how it works? I'm just not used to it…"

"Being used to it doesn't matter. People instinctively know how they rest best. As long as you've got the mindset that you're going to have fun, you'll find places worth going all on your own. The important part is knowing that you need to rest."

He let the last words hang, then playfully tapped her nose. Boop. Boop. He pressed the bridge of her pert little nose the way you might boop a puppy. Seri jumped and stared at him, startled — but Changmo's expression hadn't changed. This was not, apparently, a simple joke.

And it wasn't.

"Th-that startled me."

"You're way too wound up. Rest isn't something anyone's forcing on you. There's no quota to hit, nobody to compete with. So just take it easy. Got it?"

He finished with a wink. Combined with those blue eyes of his, it gave off a strangely refreshing feeling. Seri finally let the tension drain from her shoulders. When she spoke again, her voice was lighter, easier. Something heavy seemed to have slipped away.

"You're right. I do feel a little better when I think of it that way. I didn't know you could talk people into relaxing, too."

"Occupational hazard. I spend a lot of time talking juniors down, mediating between seniors and the bosses… it's kept me busy, one way or another. Things have gotten a lot better lately, though, thanks to our youngest."

Changmo spoke in an easy, unhurried drawl. He always had a certain leisure about him, but today's ease overflowed all on its own, without him even trying. That was what came of finally going on the date he had dreamed of. Right now, he was confident he could laugh even if Yuhwa showed up to give him a hard time.

"So we were both the busy type, huh? If that's a coincidence, I guess it's a coincidence."

"Let's call it one. A couple of busy people, out having the time of their lives. The day's too short as it is."

They demolished their skewers in no time and set off in search of the next place to play — this time with their hands clasped tightly together.

It was a day packed as full as dough heaped in a mixing bowl. The two of them tore through it without a moment to spare.

Every minute stretched into ten. Every hour into ten more. They raced around so relentlessly it was almost too much. Seri, who rarely went out, was one thing — but even Changmo, a veteran of this kind of thing, had accumulated a fair amount of fatigue. And yet neither of them showed the slightest sign of being tired. If anything, they looked overflowing with joy.

"Whew. It's been a while since I played this hard."

"This is my first time. When people used to say they were too busy having fun, I never knew what they meant — I think I get it now. Wow. I really played to my heart's content."

Seri, especially, made no effort to hide how giddy she was. She had never spent a day like this, playing without watching the clock. Every day of her life had run on a fixed schedule — grinding through studies as a middle and high schooler, then drowning in both schoolwork and a job as a college student, with barely a gap to breathe.

Today was a day of rest in the truest, purest sense.

"You should take it easy more often. From the sound of it, you're getting crushed by work and studying almost every day… and it's not like you'll have more time to rest later."

"It's not like I can just decide that."

"You forgot already. Just think of it lightly, that's all."

Changmo puffed out his cheeks like a blowfish. Traipsing all over the city had drawn more than just smiles out of him; she was seeing all kinds of new faces. Seri shot back with a mischievous look of her own.

"Okay, okay. I like that you're fun, but you sure do nag a lot."

"It's an occupational disease. Hmm! Should we call it here, or look around a little more?"

The sky had grown dim without either of them noticing. Time had flown while they were out having a blast. Changmo smacked his lips, and Seri read the real meaning in his reaction and let out a small laugh.

There were plenty of places to play at night, too. They weren't children. Just because the sun had gone down was no reason to go home.

"I don't mind getting in late. I live alone anyway. What about you, Changmo? Are you okay with that?"

"Of course I am."

"Then let's wander a little more. Tomorrow's Sunday anyway. Nothing to worry about."

Seri beamed. They said a late-acquired habit was the scariest kind — now that she had tasted rest and play, wrapping things up this easily felt like a waste, and a little sad besides.

"Let's finish at that place over there. Have you ever played games?"

"Games?"

"Yeah. Like those."

This time, her pick was an arcade. Screens of every kind of machine glittered right in front of them. Another first for him. Changmo hesitated, then let Seri tug him inside by the hand. The moment they entered, a wall of noise hit them from every direction.

Ugh, that's loud.

"Seoah said this arcade has the best variety. We've got about an hour, so let's try a bunch of things, okay?"

The fact that she was interested in games at all was surprising enough — and the first one she wanted to play was a zombie shooter, of all things. So she had a bit of a wild streak in her too. Seri kept revealing new sides of herself by the hour.

And Changmo liked that.

"Sounds good. Want to make it a bet? Loser buys the next meal."

He proposed it to liven things up and to give them something to look forward to next time. Seri paused at the stakes — then accepted without hesitation. The same competitive spark she had shown during that literature debate flashed again.

"I guess just playing isn't exciting enough for you. Fine, you're on. No take-backs later!"

"Take-backs? Let's just play well."

Changmo and Seri rolled up their sleeves and took their places in front of the machine. Right through to the last stretch of the date, they burned with the kind of passion that belonged to the young.

Around the time Changmo and Seri were in the thick of their fun, Yuhwa was staring at a letter in open distress. It was a fresh one, the ink of its Postmark still warm. The courier it had been assigned to was Changmo. All she had to do was go deliver it to him — so why was she standing there clutching the envelope, looking so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thoroughly stuck? Her lips moved, but no words came out.

"What's the matter, Yuhwa?"

Simyeong, who had been working nearby, came over. Yuhwa hesitated even after seeing him, then held the letter out with the air of someone who had given up halfway. This was not a problem she could judge on her own.

"Can't you just handle it yourself? I've got plenty on my plate these days as well, but… oh. Oh, no."

The moment Simyeong saw the letter, his face went rigid. He rubbed his eyes and checked it again, and again — the recipient's name written on the envelope did not change. They were supposed to assign this to Changmo? Even as a joke, this was going too far.

"Can't we assign it to one of the others? Handing this to that boy is…"

Simyeong's first instinct was to find the other juniors. That would have been the best option. But the situation was not so simple. Yuhwa's answer came out thin, as if an ant were crawling across it.

"Impossible. Most of them already have more than ten assigned. You and I have even more than that. If it isn't Changmo, there's no courier left ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to take it."

"And with the Postmark already stamped, we can hardly put it off. Nngh."

Should he just force it?

His first thought was to take it on himself. One more letter — he could manage that somehow. Of course it was a hollow hope. Cold reason was already snapping at him that he, too, was at his limit. He looked at Yuhwa with something close to pleading, but she only shook her head.

"We're short on people. If we want to deliver it properly, we have no choice but to give it to Changmo."

"Is that truly the only way?"

"We've already cut Changmo more than enough slack. Anything more than this is too much. And if it's a matter tied to our actual duties, that goes double."

Yuhwa didn't feel any better saying it. The crisis Changmo was walking into landed on her just as heavily. This was beyond any question of whether she liked the kid or not. The two Grim Reapers wrestled with it in grim silence.

"Sir."

"Give me a moment. We have at least enough time to think, don't we?"

Time to think or not, the problem was so heavy that it hardly mattered. In the end, Simyeong shoved his chair back and stood. The two of them couldn't solve this alone. For better or worse, he would have to go straight to Heukchi and settle it face to face.

"This isn't going to work. I'm going to see the Director. We'll decide based on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what he says."

"Understood. Go ahead."

There was only one reason they were agonizing like this — only one reason this letter was such a problem for Changmo.

Heaven really is heartless. To make a man personally deliver a dead person's letter to the one he has feelings for.

The recipient of this letter was Seri.