The Thirty-Eighth Assignment: Play, or a Test (1)

The grim news reached Dayeong as well. For a moment she couldn't speak. The world seemed to swim and blur before her eyes.

Practice had already been going sideways all day, but it had never occurred to her that the whole mess might have been an omen. She swallowed the stream of curses that wanted to pour out of her and forced them back down. Her insides felt scorched, hot and raw, as if someone had pressed a brand against them. Through the receiver came Simyeong's restless, agitated voice.

"Don't just say it. Find a way to save him first."

The words came out sharper than she'd meant them to. She knew the Grim Reapers hadn't done anything wrong, but the tightness in her chest wouldn't ease unless she had someone to blame. Simyeong could only feel sorry for her. After Yeoni's own family, she was the one whose insides would be burning the worst.

"Don't worry about that. I'll come up with something decent for his parents and Hyeonhui."

He left her with that bleak little remark and ended the call. The regular beep of the disconnected line sounded unusually cold today. Dayeong hurled the phone down in a fit of temper, then flopped onto the bed without a care for how she landed. The rage boiling up inside her made her head throb.

"If I'd gone with him, I could've at least beaten the hell out of whoever it was…"

It had been a long time since she'd regretted something this much. She should have skipped practice for a day. She knew it was spilled milk, and she still kept turning the what-ifs over in her mind. The fact that she wouldn't have stood a chance against an immortal never even crossed it.

You damn idiot. If it looked dangerous, you should've at least said something.

The helplessness made her take it out on poor Yeoni, who wasn't even there. It didn't last long, of course. She just rolled around on the bed, eating herself alive from the inside. Her boyfriend was in danger and she couldn't do a single thing about it. For a woman of action like Dayeong, it was almost unbearable.

Still, she had to do what she could. She dialed Yeoni's house. After a few rings, his little sister Hyeonhui picked up.

Ah, crap. Now I just feel guilty.

Hyeonhui's young voice made her grimace. Dayeong almost blurted out an apology on the spot, then managed to swallow it back down her throat. She put on her most offhand tone and answered.

"Hyeonhui? It's me. Unnie Dayeong."

"Something came up that I needed to tell you. Yeoni isn't home yet, right?"

A sigh came through the line, thick with the irritation of a younger sister toward her one-year-older brother. Apparently Yeoni hadn't been bothering to give his family a proper excuse. Dayeong let out a helpless little laugh. He was so meticulous about everything else — why did he turn into such a dunce about the small stuff? That slightly off-kilter quality of his was part of what made him cute, though.

Anyway. Right now, the job was to put them at ease.

She spun the story as smoothly as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she could.

"That's actually why I called. Yeoni, that idiot — apparently something came up in the department all of a sudden? He said he'll be hard to reach for a while because of it. Something about it taking a few days. He only just managed to let me know. He wanted me to tell you not to worry."

She'd dropped the "he went out to hang out" excuse. It was the kind of line he'd probably used too many times already, and besides, there was no telling when they'd actually get him out. A flimsy story that would only hold for a day or two wouldn't cut it. Dayeong ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠waited for the reaction, tension coiled tight in her chest.

Thankfully, Hyeonhui bought it without a fuss. The reason she believed it was a little embarrassing, but who cared? Dayeong cooled a face that was trying very hard to go scarlet and rushed to clear up the misunderstanding.

"Wh—what kind of nonsense is that! He just happened to see me and passed it along. There's no special meaning to it."

"Hyeonhui, you…!"

She'd only heard the voice, and she could already picture the look on Hyeonhui's face. Laughing herself sick, no question. In the end, Dayeong laughed too, bright and unguarded. Fair enough. If you were going to date someone, you had to be ready for this much teasing.

"You've got a good memory, I'll give you that. Pass it along to your mom and dad for me. They'll be worried."

"I told you to drop that, seriously."

Hyeonhui teased her right to the end. Dayeong's face went past red and into burning, but the heavy thing sitting on her chest lightened a little all the same. She finished the call in a voice that sounded considerably more like herself.

"I'll tell him to keep in proper contact. Don't worry too much."

"That's still worrying. Anyway — see you later."

With the alibi taken care of, Dayeong lay back down on the bed. When he got home in one piece, she was going to lecture him within an inch of his life. She tried hard to imagine only the good outcomes. She decided to trust the Grim Reapers — Yeoni's seniors.

Immortal or whatever you are, you'd better hope I never get my hands on you!

The boundless fury aimed at Gonghyo was a free bonus.

"Achoo!"

Perhaps he had felt Dayeong's rage even from this far away. Gonghyo sneezed without warning. He had long since stopped caring about the people around him, and flecks of spit flew in every direction. Yeoni recoiled in horror. He just barely made it out of range — a narrow save. Gonghyo didn't look the least bit embarrassed. He apologized with a hearty chuckle.

"My apologies. I've lived alone for centuries, you see — I've grown rather numb to such niceties. Heh heh heh…"

"You already threw manners out the window the moment you kidnapped me."

At that shameless attitude, Yeoni's expression went flat and sour. He hadn't actually believed the man would kidnap him. And before that, there was the question of how. Simyeong had been very clear that this was someone you couldn't just casually lay a hand on.

"Curious how I brought you here, are you?"

Gonghyo guessed the thought and let out a little snort. Humans really did all think the same things. A faintly condescending look melted into his eyes. It was so blatant that Yeoni caught it at once and bristled. Not that Gonghyo felt a shred of guilt about it.

"I suppose that's only natural, seeing as this is your first immortal. Best get used to it now. Treat me like an ordinary man and you'll be the one who suffers for it."

"Start with how you brought me here. I was being careful, you know."

"By your standards, perhaps. To an immortal, the methods are endless."

Gonghyo stuck out a finger and wagged it left and right. The gesture was so lively it crossed over into frivolous — he could have been any young person off the street. Was this man really an immortal? Only the fierce aura rolling off him suggested that something was seriously amiss. Those alien golden eyes were hard to look at for long.

"Do you remember the golden butterfly you saw?"

"The butterfly? How would you even know about—"

"How would I not? I sent it myself."

Ah.

Short and to the point. Yeoni had been on guard against a face-to-face meeting, so of course the immortal had used an indirect approach. A fresh chill of the man's cunning ran through him. But regret was useless now. He was already kidnapped.

At the very least, he needed to know why.

"All right, I get the how… so why did you bring me here?"

"I should think you know that better than I do."

Gonghyo talked in circles, which was his way of saying go on, guess. So it was curiosity after all. Yeoni shut his mouth at once, trying to give the man as little to be interested in as possible. A wasted effort, of course. Curiosity didn't need a conversation to feed it.

"So timid. Trying to keep me from taking an interest in you, I expect. It won't work. Not that I mean to boast, but I have any number of ways to satisfy my curiosity that don't involve talking."

The fact that he'd dragged Yeoni here at all meant Gonghyo fully intended to study him down to the last detail.

"W-what are you going to do?"

"Who knows? I wonder."

Gonghyo smiled sweetly at the uneasy question. Then, without warning, he snapped his fingers.

The mist and cloud that had seemed to stretch on forever vanished in an instant. What emerged was another world entirely. The paddies and city streets of Gimpo had disappeared somewhere, replaced by a mountain thick with valleys and groves in every direction. The fresh scent of grass stabbed at his nose.

"Standing around talking is tiresome and hard on the legs. You won't like it, I imagine, but I'll take you to my lodgings for a while. Whether I examine you or toy with you, we may as well start there."

"W-wait, wait a second! Hold on!"

In the moment he'd let ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his guard down, his body lifted off the ground. It was like the Taoist arts he'd only ever heard about. Gonghyo started walking through empty air, and Yeoni followed behind, bound fast by something he couldn't see — as helpless as a butterfly being dragged along by a spider.

Where is he taking me? And where even is this?

Everything about it was suspicious. Under ordinary circumstances it would have been the kind of place to set his curiosity on fire, but his rattled nerves had piled the location high with dread instead. He thrashed and twisted, scanning the surroundings, hunting hard for any gap he might slip through.

He couldn't get a read on any of it.

The landscape made him genuinely wonder whether this was still Korea at all. Needle-sharp peaks thrusting into the sky, bizarre plants that had no business growing in this climate, and everything else besides — none of it belonged in the real world.

"Hah…"

A dazed sigh escaped him on its own. A view he had never seen in his life knocked his sense of reality sideways. He managed to crane his neck toward the sky, but the clouds that hadn't yet scattered still hung thick overhead. There was no telling where they were like this.

"Give it up. This is not a place you know."

"Then where is it?"

If he couldn't run, he'd take it head-on. Yeoni threw the question straight at Gonghyo, who had done nothing but smile. The stubbornness in it — the determination to pin down their location no matter what — was unmistakable. He'd braced himself for a snub. Surprisingly, Gonghyo's mouth opened without a fuss.

"In physical terms, Ganghwa Island — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠assuming you could break the barrier and leave, that is. This is a space I created and inhabit. Mine alone. Put aside any thought of walking out of here yourself."

"You really did kidnap me thoroughly, huh."

"I have always been thorough. Unlike the other immortals, I'll have you know."

Poking at it had only made the despair worse. He didn't know the first thing about sorcery or Taoist arts, so what was he supposed to do? Yeoni's struggling body went slack. He'd given up. Gonghyo looked at him and smiled, satisfied, then continued serenely on his way.

"We've arrived. I'll release you, so wait a moment."

They reached Gonghyo's house at last. As befitting an immortal, the choice of location was breathtaking. A single tiled-roof house sat on a plateau of cliff-top flatland barely a hundred meters across… magnificent to look at, though the safety of the thing was another matter entirely.

"Aagh!"

The bindings wrapping his body came undone the instant they arrived. Yeoni hit the ground and rolled before he could even find his balance. Gonghyo, who had done this to him, had the nerve to scold him for being slow.

"Young as you are, and you can't even manage that? You ought to keep yourself trained."

"Hah — you try it, old man. I didn't even have time to catch myself!"

"I would never be in such a position, so it hardly concerns me. Sit. Uncomfortable as it is, it's better than standing."

Gonghyo stepped lightly aside. A chair and a bench of packed earth were waiting for Yeoni. Trees and flowers had sprung up around them. Moments ago it had been bare ground; in the blink of an eye, an outdoor parlor had been made.

"Is this Taoist arts too?"

"In a place that belongs to me, I do as I please. There's no need to bother with arts."

Gonghyo clicked his tongue softly at Yeoni's wonder. From the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, he was a creature overflowing with self-assurance. He spoke with the tone of a man who had never once doubted himself.

It was an arrogant declaration, one that did not consider failure even as a possibility.