Clues
Foggy Rainy Night (7)
There are still more than four hours before sunset, so Ji-Won heads to the hotel as soon as they leave the cafe. Gaon said it didn't matter if he drove the car rough and he could sleep quietly. He had to go to Yeongwol because he did not have much time left, but his willingness to help Gaon relax even for such a short time was resolute.
“Since I brought the CEO here, if the CEO faces any problems, it's all my responsibility. We don't know how long it will take to reach Yeongwol, so take a break while you can.”
"Yes I understand. Although I feel it every time, Director Cha is very attentive and friendly.”
No, I'm not doing this to anyone. Ji-Won's face turned smooth for a very short time and soon recovered. Friendly...I've never heard of it even from my aunt . It was an adjective that he could never agree with conscience, but he got nothing by telling Gaon the truth, so he could only swallow those words.
Gaon finishes brushing his teeth while Ji-Won opens the window wide to ventilate the room. After finishing brushing his teeth, Gaon lay on his side on two large pillows. Then, staring blankly at the scene outside the window, he suddenly remembered Ji-Won's question he heard yesterday.
"Director Cha."
"Yes sir."
"You asked me how long my tenure was."
Ji-Won, who set the shoes that Gaon had removed, slowly raised her eyebrows slightly. Then he thought about something seriously for a moment and shook his head for a while.
“I'll listen to it later. Please rest now.”
“I'm on break now. After listening to Director Cha yesterday, I counted for the first time in a while. I think I have 31 years left.”
“…!”
“At the end of my tenure…. I had forced myself to extend my lifespan which should have ended by playing the role of Chief Jungcheon. After my term ends, I will stand in front of the judgment meter.”
31 years? In 31 years, he will be 60 years old. Fortunately it wasn't something that would happen at this time, but given the average life expectancy of a modern person, he didn't have much time left. No, it's based on the standard. This guy has lived too long. It must not be easy to endure those years alone. Does anyone care for him even for a moment? Was there at least one person who comforted her when she wanted to cry and run away? He was very curious, but he could not ask because he was afraid of getting an answer he did not want to hear.
"…Is that so?"
“Is there anything else that makes you curious? I'll tell you everything because I have plenty of time.”
"Then let me ask you one more question."
"Yes." Yeah."
"Why do you just want to let me go at first?"
In the beginning..Why did I do that? Come to think of it, it's been half a year. Gaon, who was staring at Ji-Won's face at the time, blushed slightly as he recalled the image of the boy clutching a golf club like a rescue rope with his eyes full of poison.
'Yes, I don't think I should have put her in Jungcheon just because I saw her back then.'
“When Director Cha was young, he had a hard time because of his ability to see dead people. Your uncle bullied you.”
"Yes." Yeah."
"Often you're not sure if you're crazy."
"…Yes.Yes."
“So I'm worried if I let you join Jungcheon, you'll lose understanding of reality. There are some guides like that sometimes. There are times when guides are treated like crazy but when they come to Jungcheon, they all acknowledge themselves, so they want to stay here. Most of them have no family.”
In Gaon's eyes, Ji-Won's surroundings were very similar to theirs. No matter how many of them could see the dead, they could not see a person's personality. Gaon did not know that he was a wise man with a good balance on both sides.
“Because I don't know Director Cha well.”
"But why did you let me?"
"You're going to fight me."
"…What?"
“I don't think you'll be able to balance yourself without being swayed by someone else's words, but now that I think about it, the judgment I made back then was correct. What about Director Cha? Do you regret stepping into this world?
As soon as Ji-Won opens her mouth to answer, her phone buzzes. Gaon's eyes become a little sharp when Ji-Won, who glanced at the phone, flips it over and puts it on the table.
"This answer."
"I can call them back later."
“Gallery works?”
"…Yes.Yes."
“I told you not to ignore your gallery work. Lift.”
Ji-Won has a troubled face but ends up standing with her phone and heading to the window, and only then does Gaon's expression become soft again. Gaon notices Ji-Won standing by the window and talking on the phone in a low voice, and starts to blink slowly. Ji-Won's voice, which spoke of a work that she was completely unaware of, gradually sounded like a low tone, and at some point, her eyes slowly closed.
"…Yes. Real nice. Take good care of it for now. No, we will not sell it even after the autumn exhibition. I have a place to use…. Well, you don't need to know that. Yep. Yes, I understand. I'll talk to you tomorrow. I'm hanging up the phone now.”
Ji-Won ends the call as quickly as possible, but finds Gaon has fallen asleep before she realizes it, so she sets the phone to silent mode for now. Then he sat down on the window. He wanted to get close and see his sleeping face, but he could not lift his feet off the ground because he was worried he would become greedy about anything else. To be honest, since he first entered this room, his pulse had already exceeded the average.
I don't think I can enter the room where he lives alone anymore. I trust myself too much because he is very relaxed in London. Ji-Won, who sighed deeply in silence, turned her gaze out the window. He thought it was long enough, but the sun still shone as brightly as before in a high place.
****
In the end, time passed and the night was already late. Gaon and Ji-Won, who are climbing a dark mountain without street lights, rely only on flashlights, stop walking in front of the waterfall they see in the morning.
Arborea . After confirming that there was no one at all, Gaon reached out his right hand, and a beautiful sword appeared, with a sharp metallic sound ringing and sparkling water droplets bubbling everywhere.
"Director Cha."
As expected, he was smart . Gaon, who smiled widely and confirmed that Ji-Won was keeping his distance from him, slowly started swinging his sword with a serious face. For a moment, the birds and grass insects began to cry loudly and hold their breath. They seemed to hear the sound of strong winds in the mountains becoming very calm, and there was soon a huge gust of wind.
Just then, the distorted space started to glow blue. The moment they realized that something extraordinary was about to appear, to their surprise, a man wearing a classic costume appeared tore through the room with a frown.
Whatisthis? He's not human, but he's not even a ghost. Ji-Won who is surprised by the man's appearance, gets more surprised when she sees Gaon's expression. Gaon's eyes, which examined the man's face, grew almost as if they were about to pop out. It was the first time she had shown such extreme emotional changes.
“Hayul.”
“Say, Gaon. How could you call me like this all of a sudden?
"Why did you get out of there?"
"Huh? Whatchu mean? Don't you know it's a trap I made? Recently, I sent a letter to Jungcheon saying that I will block the road for a while because there are sinners who fled from Myeonggye.”
"I don't understand."
"God. Then you must be very surprised. Haha, do you think it's a stupid demon?”
The man, who was laughing out loud, approached Gaon, who let out a sigh of despair, and patted him on the shoulder affectionately. Ji-Won, who is watching the conversation between the two, grits her teeth in a clear voice as she looks at the man narrowing the distance to Gaon without hesitation. What's up with him? How dare you touch her?
Only then did the man who felt his gaze take his eyes off Gaon for the first time. His smile gazes at Gaon, who is as gentle as the spring breeze, turning cold as he looks at Ji-Won.
"Who is that?"
"My staff."
"Ah…. Staffers. You were always alone, but now why do you have to be with the staff?”
“He is a capable worker in many ways. Director Cha. This is King Yama*. There will be occasional meetings in the future with him, so you guys should be familiar with each other. But you don't need to be close to each other more than that, because we've known each other for a long time.”
[T/N: In Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, Yama is considered the king of hell who judges and determines the gifts and punishments of the dead. For more information, click here.]
“Wah, that's too much. If he's an employee of Jungcheon, we're like coworkers. Now, Mr. Staff. I think we'll meet often. Should we say hello? I am Hayul, King of Yama. What's yourname?"
"I'm Cha Ji-Won."
Two men who stand facing each other instantly realize that they are love rivals. They were aware of Gaon's gaze and had ceremonial smiles around their mouths, but their eyes looked at each other endlessly. And none of them thought of trying to hide it.
“I came here because I needed to. Since nothing happened here, I'll be back now.”
"We haven't seen each other in a long time, you're just gonna come back?"
“I'm not a lazy person like you. I'm busy."
"alright then. Then go carefully.
Down the mountain with Gaon, Ji-Won feels as if the back of his head was pierced by something. But he didn't look back until the end because he felt he would lose if he did that.
***
A beast that appeared in the darkness ran to the front of the car, and Ji-Won who was forced to brake suddenly looked at Gaon's face in a hurry.
“Sorry, CEO. I can't see a deer sticking out because I can't see far ahead.”
"It's okay. It was not Director Cha's fault and I was not too surprised.”
As soon as the two arrived at the foot of the mountain, the sky that had darkened quickly began to scatter with thin rain not long after. It would be best if heavy rain flushed, at least some visibility could be secured, but the invisible raindrops created a mist that covered the winding mountain trails. It was a thick fog that could not be seen even 10 meters ahead.
“Director Cha. Should we wait a little while until the rain stops? I don't think it'll be long. It would be dangerous if it continued like this.”
"So that's it."
Ji-Won, who stops her car in a quiet place, quickly follows Gaon, who opens the door and puts an umbrella over her head. She felt worried when she saw her hair getting wet in such a short period of time with just a few steps.
"Yes, right."
“It's late, so the temperature dropped too much. If you get soaked at a time like this, you'll catch a cold.”
"I like the rain. Watch it and walk in the rain.”
“Walking with umbrella. If you won't do that too, I'll just go.
When Ji-Won did not break her stubborn attitude, Gaon smiled and nodded as if he could not help it. Gaon, who had been walking beside Ji-Won for a long time, stopped in front of the lilac tree that had just begun to bloom. Then he leaned over a little and smelled the scent. The flowers and the woman in the mist are so beautiful that Ji-Won wonders if this is real.
Ji-Won was so fascinated at that moment, that she couldn't help but suddenly open her mouth without noticing it. This is the first time in Cha Ji-Won's life that reason doesn't work at all when she's with the person she loves.
"CEO."
"…Yes?"
"I like you."
~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~
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