A Night of Misty Rain (3)

Ji-won, who had navigated the security gate with eight shopping bags divided between both hands — a slightly awkward feat — managed, after a bit of a struggle, to clear the fingerprint scanner as well. He was hardly the type to enjoy carrying things around, let alone the type who delighted in handing out gifts to everyone in sight, so buying thirty-two cups of coffee all at once was a first in his entire life.

All this trouble just to buy one woman a cup of coffee. Honestly, me. Laughing at himself, Ji-won arrived at the 48th floor where the security office was located, drew one deep breath, and managed to summon a reasonably sociable smile. He had never been particularly concerned with other people's attention, but now that he'd fallen for his boss, he could hardly ignore his reputation altogether.

"Hard at work, I see."

"Oh, Director Cha! What's with all this coffee?"

"I stopped by a café on the way to grab a cup myself, and the aroma was so good. I figured if any of the guides were here, there might not be enough, so I bought extra. There are hot ones and cold ones, so help yourself to whatever you like."

"Wow, thank you! There are cookies too? These cookies are seriously expensive here."

If I'm going to spend the money, I may as well milk it for all the goodwill it's worth. Having not the slightest inkling of the dark calculation behind the offering, Lee Jun gathered up cookies with both hands and flashed a warm, crinkly-eyed smile. The two of them had rarely had occasion to interact before, but snacks appearing at exactly the moment hunger struck sent his opinion of Ji-won rocketing upward. I thought he was supposed to be prickly, but he's nicer than he looks. Truth be told, Lee Jun had privately felt a little intimidated whenever he crossed paths with Ji-won and his luxury watches and designer shoes — but today, everything about him simply looked stylish.

"No trouble in Jungcheon, I take it?"

"No, it's been unusually quiet. The CEO only dropped by Jungcheon this morning, then stayed in the archive the rest of the day."

"…Is that so?"

Completely oblivious to the subtle shift in Ji-won's expression, Lee Jun spread open the three volumes of the Buganrok he'd already pulled out and laid them on the desk. The Buganrok was a sacred record that chronicled every action of an individual's life, from the moment of birth to the instant of judgment in Jungcheon — not a single character of it could be erased or added by human will. As such, only a select few were ever granted the authority to view it, and removing it from the security office was impossible under any circumstances.

Peering through the half-open doorway for a glimpse of the archive, Ji-won quietly arched one eyebrow where no one could see. So she's in there right now. And here I was, wondering what excuse I'd have to come up with to get up to Jungcheon this time. Things are going smoother than expected.

"Those are the departed souls I mentioned on the phone. Im So-hwa sent them up to Jungcheon at 4:25 this afternoon. She almost never has forced escorts on her record, so… three souls at once, all dead for five years, processed in a single batch — it struck me as strange, so I checked the Buganrok. It says all of them arrived in Jungcheon after being caught in flames. As of now, you're the only director in the metropolitan area who uses fire when handling spirits."

Ji-won, who had been letting Lee Jun's words wash over him while staring toward the archive, confirmed the face of the departed soul drawn on the last page of the Buganrok and gave a slow nod.

"Ah, yes, that one was definitely her escort. I happened to witness the scene and drew a spirit portrait, but I wasn't the one who personally informed the soul of the rules, so I handed it straight over to her."

"Then there's no need to process it as a joint operation between the two of you?"

"Of course not. I didn't do anything. Claiming a joint effort over that much would be an insult to the person who chased them down sweating."

"If Im So-hwa processed it alone, that keeps things simple for us… but you came all this way, Director, and now it was for nothing. What will you do? If I'd known, I would have just explained everything in more detail over the phone."

To Lee Jun, who looked genuinely regretful, Ji-won offered a smile that warmed from the heart. Oh no you don't. I spent all week lying in wait to engineer this opportunity.

"It's quite all right. I had business nearby anyway…"

"Huh? Ji-won hyung!"

Ji-won had been just about to wrap up his conversation with Lee Jun and head for the archive when a voice rang out from down the hall — unbearably bright and unbearably loud — and he creased his brow. He wanted nothing more than to ignore it, but alas, the decibel level made it impossible to pretend he hadn't heard. Forcing down the rising irritation, he turned around to find Hae-soo running toward him with a beaming grin, waving cheerfully. A sigh escaped him of its own accord.

Sigh… why does that brat always show up at the worst possible moment and ruin everything? Did I wrong him badly in a past life or something?

"Hyung, what are you doing here? Counseling's not for ages yet. Did some huge case break out?"

"No. Agent Ahn said she needed to check on something."

"What thing?"

Why do you even care? Am I your boyfriend or something? Why are you so invested in my every move? Ji-won clenched his jaw to keep the smile in place. Any other day, he'd have glared daggers and snapped something ice-cold in reply, but right now he was in the middle of playing the nice guy and couldn't spit out what he really wanted to say.

"That's a long story. What about you — what's your excuse?"

"Got bored. So I came."

"…"

"I heard you bought this coffee, hyung. Can I have one?"

Hae-soo thrust his hand out to grab one of the cups Ji-won was carrying, only to get smacked on the back of it with a sharp crack — and pulled back with a face full of wounded injustice.

"Hey, what was that for? Hyung, are you discriminating against me right now? Do you know how cheap it is to discriminate against people with food?"

"This one's mine. I bought plenty, so drink a different one."

"You never drink iced coffee, hyung."

The observation hit dead center, and the corner of Ji-won's mouth twitched. Unbelievable. Zero situational awareness, but eyes like a hawk. If he remembers my coffee preferences down to the temperature, he could stand to read the room a little too. Why else would I be carrying an iced Americano around like it's a sacred relic I never even sip, huh? Because this one has an owner. And it's not you.

"I have it sometimes. Today happens to be one of those times."

"Then give that one to me and drink something else, hyung. That one just looks tastier somehow."

"It's your imagination. They're all the same."

"They're not, though? They look different. Isn't that one the expensive kind?"

Unbelievable. Is he a beast or what? Can't tell one coffee from another, but his instincts are razor-sharp. Handing him an Americano would be pointless anyway — he'd just dump a mountain of sugar in it. Quietly clicking his tongue, Ji-won swiftly picked up a vanilla latte and half-forced the straw between Hae-soo's lips. Thankfully, the staff still seemed to regard the two men's sparring as nothing more than playful banter, but if the tussle dragged on, he'd have spent the money and made a bad impression.

"I'm not really in the mood for sweet stuff today."

Know when to quit, you little punk. I dropped over 400,000 won at that café today just so I could walk in with one cup of this. His mouth twisting, Ji-won was silently glaring at Hae-soo, who was thrusting his lips out with a sulky expression, when a welcome voice rang out that made his ears prick up instantly.

"Hae-soo, could I see you a moment? When exactly is the national team selection trial? I think we'll need to adjust your counseling date."

"Go on, Yeon Hae-soo. Team Leader Kim is calling you. When an elder calls, you answer first."

"Yes, Team Leader! On my way! Hyung, don't leave, okay? Wait for me. You got that? It's been forever since we saw each other, so we're having dinner together. Yes?"

"Got it."

"You can't run away! If you do, I'll seriously cry!"

"I said I got it."

Got it, so now get lost already. The ice is going to melt at this rate. Ji-won shoved Hae-soo's back without mercy as the boy dawdled, looking torn. Had there been no eyes watching, he probably would have hit him with a full swing.

"You high-level guides must see each other so often — you two are remarkably close."

"Haha. Does it look that way?"

Ji-won gave a noncommittal reply, accepted the Buganrok naturally from Lee Jun's hands, and smiled pleasantly.

"I don't have a younger sibling, so I just can't win against Hae-soo. He made me promise like that, so I have no choice but to wait. Agent Ahn, I know you're busy — get back to work. I'll put these in the archive myself. I just organize them by time of death, right?"

What am I supposed to do about the interest? Gaon stared for a long while at the expressionless face, so devoid of any will or desire, before letting out a long sigh and closing the Buganrok. She had read it through to the last page — twice — and still could not decide the departed soul's destination. Her heart was heavy.

If the Scale of Judgment tilted even a single degree to either side, no one's judgment could intervene. But on rare occasions, the scales balanced in perfect equilibrium — and in those cases, deciding the soul's destination fell to the Master of Jungcheon. When merit or sin stood out plainly, the decision came with relative ease. But a soul like this one, whose virtues and transgressions were all equally small, defied easy judgment. Where was she supposed to send it?

Early this morning, a young soul had died suddenly with no outward illness, and having drifted through life as though barely present at all, had been escorted straight to Jungcheon. If the soul had resisted the guide's direction even once — attempted to flee even a single step — it would have been an unmistakable sentence to Myeonggye.

The soul had never done harm great enough to leave scars on anyone in life. Should she grant it the chance to be reborn at once? But even a trifling wrong, if never properly atoned for, could leave an unresolved karma that burdened the next life… Seen in the long term, perhaps it would be kinder to send the soul to Myeonggye and let it receive punishment cleanly and be done with it. And this poor child had no one left to tend to the body it had abandoned. What, then, was the right thing to do?

Gaon closed her eyes tightly, trying to shake off the image of the departed soul sitting alone and forlorn in a corner of Jungcheon. To be sure, the circumstances were pitiable — but no personal sentiment could be allowed to color the judgment of the Jungcheonju. Ah… if only I could drink something cold right now. Did Director Kwon say he was stepping out for a moment? Gaon was pressing a hand to her burning forehead, letting out a small groan, when—

"CEO, is your head aching?"

The worried voice came from nowhere — and before she could even turn to check the speaker's face, a familiar scent washed over her. A bright, refreshing fruit fragrance, anchored by the soft yet weighty scent of birch. For all that she was nominally the CEO of a cosmetics company, Gaon disliked artificial scents and almost never wore perfume — but throughout their time together in London, she had often thought that Ji-won's cologne suited him remarkably well.

"Director Cha. What brings you here?"

"The security office asked me to verify something. But are you feeling unwell, CEO? Your color doesn't look good."

"I'm fine. I'd been concentrating so long I just got a little warm."

The words had barely left Gaon's mouth when a single plastic cup, beaded with condensation, was set down on her desk. Startled by the entirely unexpected service, Gaon's eyes went round. Watching the ice cubes clink softly against one another, she felt her whole body cooling already — before she'd taken so much as a sip.

"…Coffee?"