The Thirty-Seventh Assignment: The Axe Handle in the Immortal's Game ②

Three days later, in Suwon.

"Maybe I should've said I'd only take deliveries in the big cities."

Yeoni checked the destination on his newest letter and deflated on the spot. This time it was Gimpo — nearly three hours away, just to get there. Thank heaven he had the Gwacheon Iron Horse as a last resort. Without it, even picking a day to go would have broken him out in a cold sweat.

"Don't you think the deliveries keep getting farther out? It really feels like they're shipping me off to the ends of the earth just because I got my Gwacheon Iron Horse license."

He leveled a sulky glare at Changmo, who fielded the look with shameless ease. From the standpoint of a man who regularly traveled all the way to North Korea, Yeoni's griping was nothing more than adorable fussing. Changmo grinned.

"Don't talk to me about three hours if you haven't been to the Gaema Plateau and Mount Baekdu. Three hours either way is a leisurely trip."

"It takes over three hours. Round trip, that's six hours just to show up, stamp the letter, and come back. Six hours!"

"That's nothing compared to a full day. You handle the Gwacheon Iron Horse just fine — quit the theatrics. The scenery out there's beautiful, too. Why not spend a whole day and enjoy yourself? Exams are over. Think of it as a little post-exam treat."

"I'm nowhere near a post-exam treat. There's still most of the semester left."

Yeoni scrunched his eyebrows in a teasing grimace and unfolded the map. Suwon to Gimpo. Even at a glance, the destination looked painfully far. By the time he got back, the whole day would be gone.

Should I actually go and have some fun while I'm at it?

The temptation circled through his mind with genuine weight.

"There's a river and the sea nearby. Treat it like a little outing. The weather's been gorgeous lately, too."

Changmo piled on with growing enthusiasm. A senior looking out for his junior's rest? Anyone who thought that didn't know this Grim Reaper. Yeoni gave him a look of pure pity. As if anyone would fall for that.

"Just be honest. You want to go ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠play, don't you, Changmo?"

"Ahem! Ahem! I— I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, you know. Your field posting got extended, and you've been scouting date spots for Seri. Honestly… you've been wearing your ulterior motives on your sleeve lately."

Changmo went mute, as if he'd swallowed a mouthful of honey.

Bull's-eye. Ever since he'd wheedled his way into an extension on his mortal-realm posting, he'd been hunting down every worthwhile place to go have fun. The summer-break itinerary he'd shown last time had been a spectacle unto itself. Yeoni had seen that schedule every single day — of course he could read the scheme this time, too. Changmo huffed.

"It's not like I'd be the only one having fun. You're a couple too, right? Two couples, one day trip. You're going all that way — might as well shake off the fatigue. Don't you think?"

"Not until next weekend. Dayeong has a match."

Yeoni said it with real regret, cutting off Changmo's next round of coaxing. It wasn't that he didn't want to go. His partner was simply too busy.

Dayeong's schedule had been packed solid for days. Early summer had brought a tournament with it. Dayeong herself had insisted she was fine going out anyway, but it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was a major competition, and Yeoni had been the one holding back. It felt awkward to go off and enjoy himself while she was swamped…

"What's she going to say if you take a day off by yourself? Stubborn as ever."

"It'd weigh on my conscience, that's why. Anyway, I'm not going to play, so you can drop it too. If I really can't spare the time, I'll just take the Gwacheon Iron Horse there and back."

Yeoni shook off the temptation and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shut it down. Changmo could plead with his eyes all he liked — his beloved youngest was far too firm. In the end, he had to give up. A long, grousing sigh unspooled from him.

"You're too much. Rest in the cracks of a busy stretch is important, you know."

"I didn't say don't rest. Go have fun with Seri somewhere else. I'll just do the job and come back. Understood?"

Just in case Changmo tried to sneak over and spectate, Yeoni made sure to throw in a particularly sharp glare. Changmo flinched and looked away for no good reason. He would probably have to go somewhere else that day.

"Fine, fine. You cheapskate."

"I heard additional field personnel are coming this time, too? You should get ready before the Director starts lecturing you. Last time you got chewed out for filing the report late."

"Th-that was because I was busy the day before. That was force majeure!"

He'd had to go and add one more remark, and got hit twice as hard for it. Yeoni smothered a snicker, and Changmo's face went scarlet as if someone had slapped a coat of paint on it. If Dayeong had been there, she would have laughed out loud and piled on. Changmo found himself newly grateful that she was busy.

"All right, all right, enough. Honestly. You used to be such a cute kid — when did you get this sly?"

"I learned from a good senior, didn't I? Haa. Still, how am I supposed to clear the time…"

Travel alone was six hours. Add in the time spent actually finding the recipient, and the whole day was as good as gone. The Gwacheon Iron Horse was a last resort, so he decided to hunt for a decent excuse if he could. He was already drawing a blank on what to tell his parents and his little sibling.

I guess I'll have to stew on it until the night before.

Of course, at that point, he had no idea what was coming.

At that same hour.

"Yuhwa."

"Yes, Simyeong?"

"The place Yeoni's delivering to this time. Where was it again?"

A sudden, uneasy feeling had crept over Simyeong. This Divine Power of his was useful in every other respect, except that it had a habit of arriving out of nowhere. It would have been nice if it also explained why he felt uneasy. Yuhwa pulled out the address book and handed it over.

"I've been too busy to remember offhand. Look it up yourself — it's in there."

"All right. Let's see…"

Simyeong flipped through the pages at speed. Under the index marked with Yeoni's name, he found what he was looking for. The moment he confirmed the address, his face tightened. Yuhwa sensed that something was off and stepped closer.

"What is it?"

"It should be all right, most likely… but it's a region that nags at me a little. Do you remember where this is?"

An old map unfurled beside the address book. Simyeong traced the location with a finger. It was a place Yuhwa recognized, too. She had memories of someone who held dominion over the area. As for whether those memories were good or bad…

"Right. That's near that old geezer's territory. Ugh. I'm already getting in a foul mood."

Very, very bad.

"Yes — that's exactly who I meant. Sounds like you've had your share of run-ins with him."

"That's putting it mildly. Nine out of ten people who've gone through that area have gotten burned at least once. He's attained the Tao, so what's with all the pranks?"

"There are those who attain the Tao and turn into children, in a manner of speaking. I suspect he may be that sort."

"What a useless kind of enlightenment. Hmph!"

They grumbled in unison. And not without reason — the temperament of the one who resided there was famous, in several senses of the word. At least among spiritual beings, it was. He had a habit of inflicting every manner of mischief in the name of "testing" people.

"Why bring that old man up, though? He's never laid a hand on anyone from the Living World. Doesn't seem like there's anything to worry about."

"That would be true of an ordinary person from the Living World. But is Yeoni an ordinary person from the Living World? Our scent and our presence have rubbed off on him in no small amount. If things go poorly, he may well take an interest."

As Simyeong explained, his complexion went pale.

It had been over a year now that Yeoni had been doing this work. The Spiritual Aura of the Afterlife couldn't help but accumulate, and if he sensed it, he would certainly take an interest. And if that interest expressed itself in the wrong direction… there was a high chance Yeoni would have a very tiring time of it.

"Should we at least give Yeoni a warning?"

"Yes. I was thinking the same."

They connected a call to Yeoni at once. Troublesome business was best prevented before it started. The signal tone rang a few times, and Yeoni picked up.

"Sorry to call out of the blue. There's something I need to discuss — is now all right?"

At the mention of Changmo, Simyeong let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Come to think of it, he had forgotten about Changmo as well. If it came to it, they could always ask him for help. He exhaled in relief, then calmly laid out the situation.

"A bit of trouble's come up, you see. You received your letter assignment this time, didn't you?"

"If it were a matter of distance, I wouldn't have gone so far as to call. There's a troublesome presence near where you're headed."

Yeoni's voice jumped at once. Beside him, Changmo seemed to be asking what on earth was going on. Disliking a hassle, it turned out, was universal — man or woman, young or old. Simyeong huffed a quiet laugh, then grew serious again.

"Have you heard of Immortals?"

"One such Immortal lives in the mountains near the area you'll be delivering to."

Even the word Immortal didn't rattle Yeoni. He had met Ksitigarbha and the Ten Kings of Hell — what was one Immortal compared to that? What he wanted to know was why it was a problem. So there was an Immortal. And?

"We won't run into him, no. But he may take an interest. He's been notorious since the old days for making a nuisance of himself to Grim Reapers. He might take an interest in you as well, and make things thoroughly unpleasant. We need to prepare for that."

Fortunately, there was a way to prepare.

It would have been impossible for a Grim Reaper — but Yeoni was a person of the Living World, and that made it possible. The principle that one must not lay a hand on the living applied absolutely, even to Immortals. In short: Yeoni simply had to keep his wits about him.

Yes. So long as the party in question kept his head.

"Exactly so. Even if he tries to threaten you, do not react. The moment you react, you give him a pretext to interfere. If you simply don't speak, he cannot lay a finger on you."

Yeoni muttered it with clear reluctance. This was an elder, after all. For someone as well-mannered as he was, being told to ignore the man entirely pricked at his conscience. But Simyeong was firm. This was more than a matter of mere inconvenience.

"Difficult or not, you must do it. You've already been heavily exposed to the Spiritual Aura of the Afterlife as it is. If you end up steeped in an Immortal's energy on top of that, there's no telling what it might do to your body."

"Did you think this was only about wasted time? If it were only wasted time, I would have told you to go on the weekend and enjoy yourself. Think carefully. This is a matter that connects to your health."

Simyeong spoke with the same gravity he used when discussing the Rebel Faction. Beside him, Yuhwa chimed in with vigorous backup. They had all been on the receiving end of that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠old man's tricks, and they were taking this more seriously than a little.

"Yeoni. It's me. Simyeong isn't kidding, so take this seriously. That old man has a genuinely foul temper, you hear me? If you run into him, you'll lose more than just a few hours. Don't you look at him. Don't you even glance in his direction. Got it?"

She was so urgent she all but barked the answer out of him. If it had been a video call, she would have shoved her face right up to the screen. Even Simyeong flinched at the steel in her voice. Yeoni, naturally, was overwhelmed by the atmosphere, and answered in a shaky voice that he understood.

"If you're really uneasy, take that Changmo with you. I hear he's been loafing around lately anyway. If you're going to use him as a bodyguard, now's the time — when else? Worst case, throw him at the old man and run."

It was less that Yeoni was uneasy and more that she was. Having said it, she seemed embarrassed herself; she finished the sentence and stuck her tongue out. Simyeong quietly patted her on the shoulder.

"If you're grateful, then be careful enough that we don't have to worry. Good luck out there."

To the very last, Yuhwa's mind was full of worry.

"Yes. You take care too."

He hung up politely, and then Yeoni smiled. Even if they were overbearing about it, the worrying itself was something to be grateful for. One way or another, they really were good seniors. Changmo, on the other hand, looked distinctly sour — that last remark was still needling him.

"She really doesn't hold back, does she. The way she talks. 'Throw me at him'? That sounds an awful lot like she wants me to be bait. Pah!"