The Marrying The Grim Reaper
Chapter 04: The Sadness of Yumi.

The scavenger grandfather laughed a little.

"What's wrong with you, son? Do I look so sorry that you want to be my granddaughter?" The look of the old man was very warm.

"When I talk about pity, I'm definitely the cake winner. I had no brothers, my mother left home when I was ten.

My father was a gambler and a heavy drunk, I ran away from home when I was fourteen. Being a laborer in a fish market at a very young age for the sake of living myself." Yumi tells the short story of her life.

The scavenger grandfather looked sad to hear Yumi's life story.

"But it's all gone, now I've lived a decent and happy life." A smile bloomed on Yumi's tiny lips.

"What do you want to eat?" Ask the grandfather.

"Japkai." Yumi said with a happy tone.

*Japchae \= typical South Korean food contains a soun that is usually mixed with carrots, mushrooms, leeks, sliced beef and others.

"There's a diner near my house that sells delicious Japchae. You want to eat there?" Ask the scavenger's grandfather.

Yumi nodded in spirit.

"My name is Yumi, Lee Yumi. That grandpa?" Yumi asked as she helped push the old man's cart.

"Kwak Dong - Il."

"What a beautiful name."

"really?"

Very quickly Yumi and Dong-Il become familiar like their grandfather and grandson.

The two of them walked while pulling a cart filled with cardboard from Dong-Il until they reached their destination.

"Wahh. tumben once grandfather comes with someone." Greet the restaurant owner.

"He's my grandson." Answer Dong-Il.

"Annyeonghase." Yumi paid her respects to the shop owner.

"Your grandchild?" The tavern owner follows Yumi and Dong-Il until they sit down.

"Beautiful right?" Dong-Il proudly praises Yumi.

"Hehe.. then to celebrate grandfather Dong-Il who finally did not eat alone will I give you a promo, buy one serving of large size japchae free one more serving, how? Interesting right?" The owner of the tavern was already very familiar with Dong-Il.

"All right, make it for us. I ordered a sikhye, what do you want to drink?" Ask Dong-Il to Yumi.

*Sikhye \= typical South Korean drink made from fermented rice with yeast flour (non alcohol)

"Either."

"Okay, then I'll make it soon." The shopkeeper went out from in front of them.

"Grandfather always eats alone here?" Ask Yumi.

"It's not just here, wherever I eat myself. I live alone."

"Waaah, then we're the same cake."

"Good people like you shouldn't live alone, you don't have a lover?"

"No, I don't have time to date, I have to be diligent in raising money."

"What's your job?"

"The author of the online novel cake."

"Well, great, besides being good, you are also a creative person. God must be happy when he created you." Puji Dong-Il's.

Yumi just smiles, she actually disagrees with Dong-Il's statement, she feels herself born with misfortune and misery.

The food they ordered came.

"Please enjoy." Waiter's gone.

"Let's eat." Take Dong-Il.

Yumi tasted the japchae before her.

"Hmmmm. so good cake, really champion." Yumi devoured japchae with vigor.

"Thank God it suits your taste."

They occasionally talk on the sidelines eating.

Finished eating Dong-Il took the medicine out of his pants pocket.

"Grandfather's sick?" Ask Yumi.

"Yes, I have terminal lung cancer."

Yumi feels pity for Dong-Il's situation, moreover she knows that Dong-Il's age is only three days left.

Dong-Il took four kinds of medicine.

"You crying?" Ask Dong-Il

"Ah. no, maybe because the japchaenya too spicy." Yumi wiped her tears, she lied to cover up her sadness.

Dong-Il thrusts his handkerchief.

"It's not like I'm wearing it yet, I always carry three or four handkerchiefs at work."

"Thank you cake." Yumi received the cream-colored handkerchief.

After eating, Yumi takes Dong-Il to her house.

"I want to take you into the house but my house is not worth hosting, so I'm sorry Yumi." Dong-il.

"It's okay cake, I also have to go home soon."

"Then go home." Dong-Il gives Yumi a piece of money of five thousand won.

"No need for cake." Yumi politely declined.

"Just take the bus, this is grandfather's pocket money for his grandson. Take it."

"But Grandpa bought me a meal."

"No, what you eat is not paid for, it's free from the store owner. Take Yumi." Dong-Il slipped the money in Yumi's hand.

"Thank you, cake, I'm so bad." Yumi scratched her non-itchy head.

"It's okay I'm happy to meet you, after all it's only five thousand won. If you still feel bad next time you meet me, you should say hello, okay?"

'Other times?' The word made Yumi's heart even sadder, she felt that there would be no other times among them due to Dong-Il's short lifespan.

"Then I go home to the cake, take care of Grandpa's health. I'm sorry." Yumi pamit's.

Yumi cries during the ride on the busway, she doesn't care if other passengers see her, she has held back her tears while with Dong-Il and is now unstoppable.

...----------------...

Arrive at Yumi's house.

"You're home yet?" Sapa Gyu-Sik's.

Yumi enters the house, she walks over and sits on the sofa, next to Gyu-Sik.

"Why? Did something happen?" Ask Gyu-Sik.

"I met a scavenger grandfather who was two days old." Said Yumi while being pleased.

"You've been crying because of that?"

"of course! I'm sad, I can't bear to see it. He's old, he lives alone, he's seriously ill, but he's still a working spirit. Huhuhoo.." Yumi's cry is getting worse.

"Later you will also get used to it, already.." Gyu-Sik pats Yumi on the shoulder.

"What did you say?? Getting used to?? Nah! I'm not an angel of death used to seeing people die! You heartless angel of death!" Yumi is upset to hear the words of Gyu-Sik who seems to underestimate the incident.

"I'm sorry I was wrong."

"You must have been used to seeing people die from being born as angel of death, but I didn't!"

"No, I was born a human being, just like you."

"Human? Then why are you an angel of death now?"

"The story is long." Gyu-Sik answers his potluck because he is lazy to tell Yumi about himself.

"Just tell me, who knows after hearing your story my feelings will be better." Yumi instead asks Gyu-Sik to tell her a story.

"No."

Yumi was crying again.

"Why are you crying again?" Gyu-Sik is overwhelmed by Yumi's swing mood.

Gyu-Sik pulls the handkerchief that Yumi had been holding since, she wipes the tears on Yumi's cheek.

"Don't be so reckless! It's Dong-Il's grandfather's gift, huhuhu.." Yumi pulls the handkerchief from Gyu-Sik.

"Sorry." Gyu-Sik really doesn't know what he has to do to calm Yumi's cries.

Gyu-Sik faithfully listens to Yumi's story about Dong-Il, but once again Yumi sobs.

Gyu-Sik feels sorry for Yumi, he must feel the sadness of being able to know the person who is going to die.

"I didn't know that knowing someone's short lifespan could make someone sad like this." Gyu-sik.

"Obviously it makes me sad, not just me. If anyone else in my position would feel the same way."

"But I don't, when I'm human I've seen dead people in front of me a lot." Gyu-Sik unknowingly offends about her.

"You live in a time of war, right? So it's common to see people die?" Yumi guess.

"No, I lived two hundred and seventy years ago."

"Waaah.so you're that old??" Yumi was amazed.

"Yes.so."

"Tell me again about you."

"No, that's enough."

"I want to hear it again, it looks exciting." In Yumi's brain was thought of a story about the angel of death.

"Oiya.. Where's my lunch?" Gyu-Sik diverts the conversation.

"God! I forgot, sorry. You just buy it yourself." Yumi offered ten thousand won.

"Where is enough to buy two meals?"

"I've eaten, just bought something for you." Yumi walked towards her room.

"Pity him too." Gyu-Sik feels sorry for Yumi.

To be continued....