Chapter 4: The Wretched Body

Of course, it was true that he liked the young man’s appearance quite a lot. Even so, it was hard to accept. Had something about the boy called to Seol-young on instinct? He asked himself, but he couldn’t find the exact reason.

“Well, it will work out somehow.”

What was the point of thinking it over? What was done was done. Seol-young stared at the youth in the mirror for a moment, then shook his head. He finished washing, dried off, and left the bathroom.

The apartment’s living room came into view, quiet and still. It was a small place. The living room, bathroom, and kitchen were packed close together, with only the bedroom set apart. An ordinary, tiny apartment.

Seol-young began searching every corner of the place, thinking he ought to learn who Min Seo-jun was. He knew only three things about the young man: his name was Min Seo-jun, he was twenty-two years old, and he was a singer.

The home was utterly ordinary, though. There was nothing special to find. The bedroom was empty and cold, and the living room and kitchen held only the bare minimum.

The only real clue was the wardrobe. It was stuffed with all kinds of clothes and accessories, and music albums and magazines were piled up throughout the apartment, reminding him once again that the boy had been an idol singer.

“A singer.”

Seol-young pulled an album from the shelf without thinking and looked it over, murmuring under his breath. In his entire life, he had never sung a single song properly. He had no talent for instruments either. In a word, he was completely useless when it came to music.

The one thing he could do at a presentable level was the sword dance, and he had rarely even done that since becoming a reaper. In other words, Seol-young could not possibly carry on Min Seo-jun’s career as an idol singer.

“Then I’ll have to retire from singing as of today.”

Having unilaterally decided Min Seo-jun’s retirement, Seol-young put the album back in its place. At that moment, to his surprise, he felt hungry. He stopped and looked down at his stomach.

Grim reapers never felt hunger. They could eat, but since the sensation never came, they had no need to. They couldn’t taste food the way living humans did, either.

A reaper’s body was already dead, with only the soul left behind. So the hunger he felt for the first time in eight hundred years was bound to feel strange and unfamiliar.

Even though his human state was only temporary, that simple sensation of hunger made him realize it with vivid clarity. He found it ridiculous. Hunger, of all things.

Seol-young laughed at himself and opened the refrigerator. It was nearly empty. The only edible thing inside was a yellow bottle labeled banana milk.

It should be fine to eat, he thought, eyeing the bottle with suspicion. He carefully poked a hole in the top and took a sip.

A surprisingly sweet taste and scent spread through his mouth. He swallowed once, twice more. Before he knew it, every nerve in his body had gathered at the tip of his tongue.

A moment later, Seol-young opened his eyes wide. For a man who rarely got startled by anything, it was a rare sight. ‘How could there be a drink this delicious in the world?’ The food he occasionally ate in the underworld was mostly tasteless, which made this all the more astonishing.

He kept drinking, unable to hold back his admiration, one sip after another, and soon the yellow drink was gone. He turned the bottle upside down and shook it. Nothing came out. It was a shame. ‘Why would Min Seo-jun buy just one bottle of something this good?’

Seol-young stared at the empty bottle with a letdown look and laughed hollowly. Just feeling hunger again, just tasting something again, was enough to make this impulsive vacation worthwhile. Cheered by one bottle of sweet banana milk, he drifted around the kitchen, wondering what to try next.

He was curious about good food, but what drove him more was that his hunger still hadn’t gone away. His stomach was grumbling, as if one bottle of milk could never be enough. It was strange that he felt so weak, too.

When he first entered Min Seo-jun’s body, he had been too clumsy and unfamiliar with it to notice. As time passed, though, he grew more and more certain that something was wrong with it. What was wrong, exactly? He was desperately lacking in energy.

Maybe it was the hunger. But Min Seo-jun was only twenty-two, no matter how you looked at it. Seol-young thought it over, then waved his arms and legs as if to test the body. He tried a few light jumps around the room as well.

He was out of breath in no time and collapsed onto the sofa. He ground his teeth, thinking that if this body wasn’t sick, that would be the true oddity.

‘An ambush I never expected…’

Seol-young had lived as a martial artist his entire life. Back when he was alive in the mortal world, there was no warrior who could keep pace with him. After he became a grim reaper, his skill was recognized, and he was charged with chasing down spirits that fled and cutting down spirits that had turned vengeful.

Having lived as one of the strongest warriors for over eight hundred years, Seol-young could hardly help being shocked by Min Seo-jun’s condition.

To think a body this wretched actually existed in the world! The boy was only twenty-two, yet he ran out of breath after a little movement. None of it made sense.

This body was definitely sick. There was no other way to explain the helplessness that flooded his whole frame. Seol-young sighed long and deep. Too exhausted to fight it, he stretched out on the sofa and let himself go slack.

What could he possibly do with stamina this feeble? The more he thought, the more sighs leaked out of him. Should he focus on building his stamina first? Could he even manage that with a sickly body? He only had a year left anyway. Maybe he should just muddle through and go.

Just then, a bell rang somewhere, loud and clamorous. He forced his heavy body upright and followed the sound that stabbed at his ears. A gleaming phone came into view. On the screen, the name CEO was clearly displayed.

“CEO, huh.”

He picked up the phone. “Yes.”

If the man was a CEO, he was probably the president of some company or other.

– Hey, you crazy son of a b*tch! You still haven’t dragged your ass over here? What the hell are you doing?!

A torrent of curses poured out the moment he answered. Seol-young had not expected the conversation to start with abuse.

Rather than respond to the shout and the cursing, Seol-young kept his mouth shut and looked down at the phone. What should he say to this man, this ‘CEO,’ who was hollering like a runaway train? He thought it over with real seriousness, then hung up.

At last, silence returned.

That body of his, which had a pretty face and nothing else going for it, seemed to have used up all its strength just from hearing the CEO curse. It drooped, feeble and limp. Honestly, it was absurd how weak this body was. Seol-young lay back down on the sofa and clicked his tongue.

What was he supposed to do now? He hadn’t expected any of this, and his head went blank. But there was no time to think. The phone he had tossed onto the sofa started ringing again.

Sure enough, it was the ‘CEO.’ Seol-young thought about ignoring it, but the phone seemed ready to ring until he answered.

“…Yes.”

– You son of a b*tch!

The moment the call connected, the CEO fired off another round of curses. Seol-young should probably change the contact name from ‘CEO’ to ‘Curse Machine’ before he forgot.

– Hey, you f*cking bastard! Do you have a death wish?! How dare you hang up on me?! Are you insane?!

While Seol-young held the phone and thought about other things, the man’s raging voice came through without a pause.

– Why aren’t you answering?! Did you hang up on me again?! Are you seriously ignoring me right now?! Huh?! You really have lost your mind!

Having listened to the abuse in silence for a good while, Seol-young finally let out a sigh and opened his mouth.

“I may be half out of my mind, but I’m still a reasonable person. So let’s drop the profanity and talk.”

The CEO sputtered, his voice climbing with rage.

– Wh-what? What, what, what? Did you get shot in the head? You don’t know who I am?!

“No. I don’t know.” Seol-young said flatly.

For an instant, silence hung over the receiver. He was just wondering whether he could hang up now that he had answered when the CEO started snarling again.

– You don’t know who I am? I’m your CEO, Gil Chan-ho! You’ve really lost your mind! What kind of trick are you trying to pull…

“It seems I had an accident. I was collapsed on the bathroom floor, and when I came to, I couldn’t remember anything.”

– What?

“I honestly don’t know what sort of ‘CEO’ you are.”

Having explained in brief, Seol-young moved to take the phone away from his ear. But the CEO was not about to let him hang up.

– Hey, Min Seo-jun. Stop the bullshit while I’m still talking to you nicely. Are you really asking to get hit until something breaks?

Listening to the man growl made the helplessness in him surge twice as high. Still stretched out on the sofa, Seol-young lifted a hand over his eyes. It was stifling to talk to someone who wouldn’t listen.

“That’s not possible. If you truly know me, then come and tell me in person. I have no idea who you are, and I’m tired of getting cursed at.”

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