“La la la~”
Ever since Seo-won had visited the day before, Yeon-woo had been humming to herself nonstop. Every now and then, she would suddenly laugh out loud, then blush and stamp her feet when she was alone. Han-gyeol, who had watched all of it from the side, looked at her as if she were hopeless.
“Are you going to keep doing that all day? Don’t you have anything to do?”
“Something to do? Oh, right, right! I have to write!”
If Han-gyeol hadn’t nagged her, she probably would have kept forgetting. The annual novel contest was just around the corner, and, as she did every year, Yeon-woo had decided to enter it again. She had never even won an honorable mention, but she still submitted something every year. After turning on the laptop Yubin had brought that morning and putting on her glasses, Yeon-woo rolled her neck this way and that to loosen it up before it inevitably grew stiff from writing.
“Okay, then. Guess I’ll start writing~”
Her arm was injured, but thankfully she could still use her fingers. She wasn’t fast, but typing wasn’t a problem. Tap tap tap. Curious about Yeon-woo as she stared intently at the laptop screen and typed away, Han-gyeol came over to her side.
“This isn’t the piece you’re submitting to the contest, is it?”
“Huh? It is. Why?”
“You’re serious? No, what on earth are you writing?”
“Why…”
“Are you seriously asking because you don’t know? Hah. Now I understand why you’re an unknown writer.”
“Hey! That was harsh!”
Han-gyeol shook his head and took a sip of banana milk. Yeon-woo stuck out her lips and needlessly pounded harder on the keyboard.
‘Hmph. What would a reaper know?’
In a foul mood, Yeon-woo ignored Han-gyeol and continued writing in her own sentimental style. Han-gyeol watched quietly for a while, then started clicking his tongue.
“Ugh, go away! I can’t write with you distracting me!”
“It doesn’t seem like you can write even without me.”
“What are you talking about? I’m concentrating like crazy!”
“You really still want to be a writer?”
“Of course. It’s been my dream for years.”
“Even now, it might be a good idea to quickly find another path.”
“Seriously! What would a reaper know?”
“That’s exactly why I’m saying this. If even I, a reaper, think it’s this bad, do you really think humans will find it any good?”
“…Is it really that bad?”
“Yeah. But don’t most writers put things based on their own experiences into their work?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean, your writing is… How should I put it? It’s completely devoid of emotion.”
“Devoid of emotion?”
“It’s obvious you’ve never been in love. From what I can tell, this is supposed to be a romance novel, but there’s nothing in it that would make readers feel that fluttering excitement along with the characters.”
“But this part is just them walking along and having a normal conversation. How could there be anything like that in it?”
Hah. How frustrating. Han-gyeol shook his head a couple of times at Yeon-woo, who didn’t understand, then rolled up his sleeves and set down the banana milk he was holding.
“Here, look. This is what you wrote.”
「They were walking together when she looked up at the sky and saw that the clouds were beautiful. “Wow, the clouds are pretty.” “Yeah, they really are.”」
“What is this? It’s clichéd, boring, and flat.”
“What else am I supposed to say? If the clouds are pretty, then they’re pretty!”
“Oh, come on. Try changing it like this.”
「“The clouds are pretty. If I weren’t here with you right now, I would’ve taken a picture and sent it to you.” “Huh? Why?” “Because they’re pretty~ I want to show you everything beautiful in the world.”」
“How about that? The feeling is completely different, right?”
Yeon-woo was too surprised to say anything. She had wondered what a reaper could possibly know about writing to lecture her like that, but now she had to reconsider. When she rewrote the passage the way Han-gyeol had recited it and read it again, she understood what he meant when he said her writing had no emotion.
“It’s not bad. I admit it.”
“That’s why experience matters. There are some things you can’t create no matter how hard you rack your brain.”
“How does a reaper know all this?”
“I used to be human, too.”
He spoke matter-of-factly, but his expression looked somehow bitter. Yeon-woo studied him for a moment, then suddenly grew curious.
“But, Reaper, how come other people can’t see you? In dramas, reapers become invisible if they wear something like a fedora, but you’re not even wearing a hat.”
“That’s just a drama. I can only be seen by people who have directly experienced death.”
“So does that mean you have to wait a few hundred years after you die before you can become a reaper or something?”
“You must watch a lot of dramas. Then who do you think does the work during those few hundred years?”
“Oh, right. Then…you’re not being punished or anything, are you?”
“That’s it. If you’re going to keep asking pointless questions, come with me to the afterlife. You can experience it firsthand.”
Han-gyeol seemed more than a little irritated by her bothersome questions, but Yeon-woo didn’t care.
“But then, don’t you remember anything about the mortal world?”
“I do! I remember everything! Everything!! Hah, that stupid goblin drama or whatever ruined everything!”
Han-gyeol scowled and lost his temper. Even as Yeon-woo watched him, she only looked more intrigued. Still, she could tell she shouldn’t ask any more questions. Her curiosity had mostly been satisfied, so she calmly turned her attention back to the laptop screen as if nothing had happened. After focusing on her writing for quite some time, Yeon-woo rolled her stiff shoulders and checked the time. It was already nearly time for Seo-won to arrive.
“The sky’s so cloudy, it looks like it’s going to rain. I’m going to be busy today.”
Han-gyeol stared out the window and shook his head as if he were already tired.
“Why?”
“I’m a little busier on rainy days.”
“Because there are more accidents when it rains? Huh? Where did he go?”
While Yeon-woo glanced away for a moment, Han-gyeol disappeared without a trace. She grumbled that he was always startling her by vanishing and reappearing without saying a word, then decided she should start getting ready to greet Seo-won. Just as she closed the laptop and began to get off the bed, Seo-won opened the hospital-room door and came in.
“Oh! You’re here early.”
“I finished up nearby a little sooner than expected. Were you doing something? Should I come back later?”
“No! I just finished.”
“That’s a relief~”
Seo-won gave her a slight smile and set the food he had bought on the table. Yeon-woo went over to help him take the food out of the paper bag. Then she noticed the ring on the fourth finger of his left hand. It must have been a matching ring with the short-haired doctor she had met that time. A faint sigh escaped Yeon-woo before she could stop it. Startled by the sound, Seo-won looked at her.
“Oh, Yeon-woo, do you not like sushi?”
“What? Oh, no! I like it.”
“Oh. I was surprised because you sighed. I thought you didn’t like it.”
“I was just lost in thought, and it came out all of a sudden… Sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize~ Anyway, I’m glad you don’t hate it.”
After taking all the food out of the bag, the two sat across from each other at the table. For Yeon-woo’s convenience, since her arm was injured, Seo-won split a pair of wooden chopsticks in half and handed them to her. It was a small gesture, but Yeon-woo found herself thinking that Seo-won was a very considerate and kind person.