The Thirty-Sixth Assignment: All Human Affairs Are a Daydream ⑤
"Yuhwa, wait a second!"
True to her bulldozer of a personality, she was already in motion. Before Simyeong could even call her back, she had sprinted off into the distance. Left behind, he could only stare blankly at his junior's receding back.
Honestly. I have no idea how she plans to talk him around.
Her willingness to take the lead was admirable, but whether she actually had a method was another question entirely. What kind of persuasion could she hope to pull off when the two of them weren't even on the same wavelength? Half of him was hopeful; the other half was worried. If it could just work out well, that would be enough...
"Has she gone?"
Simyeong was still fidgeting restlessly when Heukchi's voice suddenly came from beside him. He startled so hard he flinched. Heukchi chuckled at the undignified reaction — needling him at moments like this was always a treat.
"Hahaha! What's got you so jumpy? For a Team Leader, you're awfully skittish."
"D-Director, you snuck up on me. Of course I was startled."
"I'm your senior. That's my prerogative, isn't it? Anyway, don't worry too much about Vice Team Leader Yuhwa."
Heukchi clapped him firmly on the shoulder. Confidence and certainty colored every word. He clearly had something to lean on. Simyeong puzzled over it, then landed on a possibility, and his voice came out deflated.
"You already gave her permission."
"Permission? We discussed it thoroughly before she left. She even laid out how she planned to persuade him."
Would it have killed you to tell me beforehand? Aigoo...
The fact that it had all been decided in advance left a bitter taste. It meant they hadn't trusted him as a senior. Heukchi quietly consoled the sulking man, feeling a twinge of guilt for having seemed to shut him out.
"This whole affair caught you off guard too, didn't it? She probably didn't want to pile more on your plate. Think of it as consideration, in her own way. Being Team Leader doesn't mean you have to agonize over every last thing."
"I'd rather have the headache than know I wasn't trusted."
What a wretched occupational disease. Preferring the headache, of all things. Heukchi stared at him in disbelief, then shook his head. In more ways than one, this friend reminded him of his younger self.
"Just take the rest and be glad of it. Why stew over it? There's plenty of other work waiting, so stop eating yourself up. When you look like that, it makes the others uneasy too. Look."
He gestured around them. Simyeong looked up and saw the junior Grim Reapers startling at his expression. Only then did he unclench his face, belatedly realizing how dark he'd been looking.
"That's true enough. All right. I'll try trusting Yuhwa for now."
"That's the spirit. We sent her, so let's trust her to handle it. Dispatching anyone else right now would be a stretch anyway. Come, have a cup of tea."
Heukchi beckoned him along. Simyeong hesitated, then followed. The nearest Vice Team Member offered a silent, encouraging smile, and Simyeong returned it, however faintly.
Yes. Trusting your juniors was part of a senior's job too.
"This may be awkward to say after the fact... but I had a thought that might sting a little, if you heard it."
They were on their way to the Director's office when Heukchi suddenly laid his thoughts bare. Simyeong, puzzled, still listened closely. What kind of thought would leave him feeling slighted? Heukchi gave an embarrassed laugh and continued.
"Honestly, even if you hadn't been so thrown by all this, I still wouldn't have sent you."
"...And why is that?"
Hearing it, he could see why it might sting. Was there something about Yuhwa that made her more trustworthy than him? But the next words had Simyeong's sulky expression smoothing out at once.
"It's a matter of love, isn't it? You're not in love yourself, but Vice Team Leader Yuhwa has harbored something similar. I figured she'd understand Changmo's feelings just a little better."
It was a reason that made sense.
"Ah. I see."
"If you're going to open up about something like this, it works better between people carrying the same kind of burden. That's why I thought Vice Team Leader Yuhwa was the right choice this time. There's no other reason, so I hope you'll understand."
"Understand? If that's the case, I'm the one who should accept it. I was being shortsighted."
Simyeong waved a hand, his expression turning serious. It was true — when it came to that sort of thing, he was a complete novice, a man who'd never been in a relationship in his life. As the saying went, you had to have eaten the meat to know the flavor. Once again, he thought, the Director was the Director for a reason.
If only he hadn't added that unnecessary postscript, Simyeong could have left it at admiration.
"And besides, you know how stubborn Vice Team Leader Yuhwa is. If she'd said she was going and I'd picked you instead, she'd probably have staged a sit-in right in my office. Aigoo! This old body of mine couldn't handle a scene like that."
"..."
It took less than three seconds for his admiring gaze to go ice-cold. Of course. A thoroughly practical, thoroughly petty reason had wiped the reverence clean off. Simyeong lamented his superior's cowardice in a long-suffering voice.
"If you're going to shatter my illusions, Director, I'd appreciate a little moderation."
"Ahem. Ahem. You already knew that about me."
The fact that he wouldn't even deny it only made Simyeong's head hurt more.
Without so much as a knock, Yuhwa used her master key and flung the door open. Dragging this out would only make things worse. Her sharp eyes swept the house from top to bottom. A moment later, she scowled and muttered.
"Look at this guy. He's been moping around this whole time?"
The inside was cleaner than she'd expected. None of the usual wreckage of a man in despair — no mess, no smashed belongings. Just silence. The whole house was as still as if it had fallen asleep. That was what soured her mood. She knew this wasn't because Changmo had good patience.
What she felt here was something beyond anger or self-indulgence. It was lethargy.
"Hey, Hong Changmo! Get out here a second. Where are you?"
She bellowed his name at the top of her lungs. No answer. Irritated, Yuhwa rummaged through room after room until she found him in the bedroom, sprawled across the bed. Sleeping in the middle of the day? Clutching her throbbing head, she brought her hand down hard across his back.
Slap!
"Argh!"
"You gonna get up or what? Your senior's here and you don't even answer?"
She always raised her voice with him, but today it was worse. It almost felt deliberate. Changmo staggered upright and looked at Yuhwa with a rumpled face. Those once-bright eyes had gone dull.
"Oh. It was you, Yuhwa-noonim. You could've said you were coming."
Oh, for crying out loud. This is driving me nuts.
That lifeless tone only stoked her irritation further. Normally he'd talk back, or at least complain with a playful whine. What was she supposed to do with this soggy wreck of a man? After a moment's thought, Yuhwa went with her usual approach: a frontal assault.
"You've still got plenty of mortal-realm cash, right? I'm borrowing some."
"What for? No, at least tell me why you came..."
If he was going to keep it all locked up, she'd just have to pry it open. That was the fun of it.
"Why I came, huh."
Yuhwa scooped up his wallet and turned back. The irritation vanished, replaced by a distinctly mischievous smile. Changmo flinched at the uncharacteristic brightness. A bad feeling crept over him — and that bad feeling, as it turned out, was dead on.
"Bars aren't even open at this hour, right? We'll drink here. We'll talk while we drink."
Changmo's heart, at that moment, was a locked door. The key Yuhwa had chosen was a carefully measured dose of alcohol.
"I don't feel like drinking."
"Today's a day you drink whether you feel like it or not. Give it up and take the glass."
Several bottles of beer appeared in short order. For snacks, just sausage and dried squid. Yuhwa poured a glass to the brim and pressed it on him with aggressive hospitality. Changmo took it, still dazed. Since when did his noonim — who usually couldn't stand the stuff — want to drink?
"This is a first. Never thought you'd be the one suggesting drinks."
"You're not yourself either, sitting around all gloomy. Why shouldn't I be a little weird? Talking like this is going to be hard sober... so once the alcohol kicks in, we'll get to the point."
Yuhwa downed her glass first. The way she emptied more than half in a single gulp was impressive. Changmo hesitated, then followed — though he only sipped at his, picking at it.
After that, they drank in silence. True to her word about waiting for the alcohol to hit, Yuhwa really did just keep drinking and drinking. She didn't so much as glance at the snacks she'd gone to the trouble of buying. Changmo started to worry about this uncharacteristic behavior. If she kept this up, she might start getting drunk and rowdy.
"Hah! That's good. No wonder you and Simyeong-sunbae like drinking so much."
"Hahaha. Well, yeah. As long as you don't overdo it."
"You little brat. You should've introduced something this good to your senior too."
Aigoo. So this is how it ends, huh.
Truth be told, it was already a close call. Her words were starting to slur. Leave her to it and she'd be gone completely. Changmo reached to take her glass away, but Yuhwa caught on and pulled her hand back, a look of scornful amusement on her face.
"Look at this kid. Trying to take his senior's glass?"
"You've had a lot. That's enough."
"No, no. Today I... I need to drink a bit to be able to talk."
But the bravado didn't last. Even as she argued for the legitimacy of her drinking, Yuhwa suddenly fumbled her words. He still didn't know what she needed the alcohol for.
"Urgh! This should be enough."
Having finally finished every last drop, Yuhwa looked at Changmo with unfocused eyes. Changmo looked back at his senior, tense.
He knew why she'd come. To talk him out of this wandering. But he hadn't even gotten his own heart in order — what was she supposed to do about that? He'd already given up in his own mind. At least, until Yuhwa opened her mouth.
"Changmo."
"Yes, noonim."
"You and I are pretty similar, aren't we? There's one part where we're surprisingly alike."
From that first line, Changmo had a rough idea of where this was going. For someone as different from him as she was, there was only one thing they had in common. He nodded without protest, and answered in a bitter voice.
"I know. It's not exactly the same as dating, though."
"Right! That's why I came. We've got to talk this out between the same kind of fools, or it won't do any good. What's our Team Leader sunbae going to know about this stuff? He's hopeless at it. Heh heh!"
Yuhwa's expression turned bitter to match. She'd prepared, in her own way. Whether he'd actually take it in was another matter. Hoping her sincerity would get through, she went on, her tone even.
"Listen. Getting a letter like that... it doesn't feel great, does it?"
"It's not exactly a good time, no."
"Yeah. Sad, or pitiful, something like that. You'd lose the appetite for dating. And for a while, she probably wouldn't even want to see you."
As the obvious observations piled up, Changmo frowned. He made no secret of how little he wanted to hear this. He was already agonizing over it — what was the point of spelling it out? But Yuhwa was just getting started. She cut quickly to the real point.
"But here's the thing. Is that where it ends?"
"It's hard to come back from a situation like that."
"No. No, it's not. You're thinking too short-term. You've got to look a little loooonger. What good is a Grim Reaper with tunnel vision? And a Chief Team Member, no less."
"Even looking long-term, there's the problem of later. I'll have to rotate back eventually, won't I?"
Changmo answered weakly. A posting to the mortal realm wasn't indefinite. If he didn't seize this window, that was it. Sooner or later, he'd have to return to his duties. He figured Yuhwa was just talking because it wasn't her problem.
Of course, that wasn't it at all.
"How many years at a stretch do you think a rotation even lasts? This is the mortal realm. How many couples these days barely get to see each other? You just tell her you had to go away for a bit. If you and that girl are serious, it's a problem you can get through. Don't you think?"
"..."
Changmo stayed sulky even after being called out. Things had been going so well, the mood so warm — the disappointment when it all went cold had been that much greater. He'd been desperate. Yuhwa understood why he was like this.
She'd harbored the same thoughts herself.
"Aigoo! I knew it'd go like this. When does anything ever go the way you plan? Even the best postman in the Underworld Post Office is a complete idiot when it comes to this stuff."
"Don't you think that's a bit much? I'm desperate here, and you're calling me an idiot..."
"You are an idiot. You've been thinking about it from the start, haven't you? The lifespan gap between you and that girl."
Yuhwa had quietly put her finger on the heart of it — the reason Changmo was so impatient. As a senior who'd been through it first, she was going to fix that stupidity of his.