The Grim Reaper pointed at the man lying down and said.
“This one’s soul has left, leaving only the body behind.”
“The soul left? Then isn’t he dead?”
“No. He’s still alive.”
“The soul should have been collected and the body put to eternal rest, but that didn’t happen. Because the soul was lost, the body can’t enter eternal rest either.”
“So what is he then? Just an empty shell?”
“Exactly. It’s an empty shell without a soul.”
“What if the original owner comes back?”
“That won’t happen. If you agree, I’m willing to return and swap your soul with the soul of this body. Then you will become the owner of this body. If the original owner returns, they would only be a malicious spirit harming the Mortal World.”
“You will live as the owner of this body from now on.”
“Live as this person?”
“Yes. From now on, you are Park Jinhyeok.”
“Park Jinhyeok? I think I’ve heard that name somewhere before…”
Yoo Jeonggeol muttered the name of the man lying down and looked at him once more.
He looked to be in his late twenties.
Even lying in a hospital bed, he appeared clean and neat, someone who would be considered good-looking if he put effort into his appearance.
“From now on, you will live as Park Jinhyeok, and when you die, you will come to the Afterlife as Park Jinhyeok. How does that sound? It’s better than being born again. Rather than starting over with nothing, isn’t it better to regain youth and live again?”
“You really think that’s easy? No, I don’t like it.”
The Grim Reaper, who had expected Yoo Jeonggeol to accept immediately, was taken aback by the outright rejection.
“How do you know what kind of life this person lived to tell me to live as him? I’d rather be reborn. Damn it. I don’t have any good memories in the Mortal World anyway, so I want to erase all memories.”
“Hey, wait a moment. Don’t be so impulsive. Let’s talk a bit more.”
In truth, Yoo Jeonggeol didn’t want to erase his memories and be reborn.
He agreed with the idea that it was better to live again even with all the damn experiences.
However, having worked many years in sales, he knew one thing:
[Reject the other party’s first offer]
After all, he held the upper hand.
For a good deal, Yoo Jeonggeol refused the Grim Reaper’s first offer.
The Grim Reaper was at a loss after the refusal.
‘If I go to the Afterlife like this, it must be pretty bad for the Grim Reaper.’
Watching the Grim Reaper’s hesitation, Yoo Jeonggeol made a counteroffer.
“Just coming back to life is meaningless to me. You should give me something in return, right?”
His voice softened, signaling a gesture to find a middle ground.
The Grim Reaper, reading the change in tone, looked at Yoo Jeonggeol and said,
“Alright. What do you want? Tell me.”
“I once saw a foreign news story about someone who came back from death and won the lottery first prize multiple times in a row…”
“So you’re asking for money?”
“Well, I heard something about money too. Like, they take the money left for the dead at funerals, right? I’m pretty sure they must have hoarded hundreds of years’ worth of money in their pockets. Maybe they can share some with me…”
Yoo Jeonggeol rubbed his fingers together as he spoke.
It was an idea drawn from TV, novels, and comics.
Just regaining youth and living again was meaningless.
Without money, he might have to live on part-time jobs again.
He never wanted that life again.
He smiled gently at the Grim Reaper who was pondering.
“I’m just trying to figure out a clean way to settle this, so don’t take it badly and think it over carefully. If you don’t have cash on hand, maybe someone could tell me where money is buried or something…”
The thought flashed through his mind that maybe they could just hand him a bundle of coins.
The Grim Reaper appeared deeply troubled by Yoo Jeonggeol’s words.
Watching him hesitate, Yoo Jeonggeol’s patience ran thin.
‘Does this mean there’s no money?’
If there’s no money, it’s all for nothing.
When the Grim Reaper couldn’t decide, Yoo Jeonggeol took the initiative.
“Ah, if there’s none, then let’s just go. Who’s in charge anyway? That King Yeomra fellow? I’ll talk to him. I have nothing to lose since I’m the one who got the short end of the stick.”
“Wait. Wait a moment.”
Yoo Jeonggeol’s forceful stance made the Grim Reaper quickly step in front of him.
“We can’t interfere with things in the Mortal World. So how about something other than money?”
“You must have lived in the Mortal World yourselves, right? Since time immemorial, there’s never been an answer other than money. Why are you like this?”
“Well, that’s true… then how about this? I’ll grant you Immortality until Eighty — healthy and free from disease.”
“Who are you kidding? You say that to someone who just got fired from their job and is already in a bad mood?”
“No, not immortality, I mean living until you’re eighty years old.”
“Oh~. Age. But I don’t want to live that long. I might even have to watch my descendants die. That’s not a plus, it’s a minus. I only want to live till eighty, so don’t talk about stuff like that.”
Yoo Jeonggeol’s firm words left the Grim Reaper unable to come up with another plan.
Seeing him about to give up everything, Yoo Jeonggeol decided to back down a little.
‘If I keep pushing too hard and the contract breaks, I’ll lose too. Better to retreat a little.’
“Alright then, if you can’t give me money… don’t you have some kind of ability? I watch movies and dramas, so I know. Like teleporting somewhere or something like that.”
If he couldn’t get money, Yoo Jeonggeol decided to demand a similarly useful ability.
Money would have been the simplest.
But if not, then having an ability to earn money easily would be fine too.
The Grim Reaper’s face brightened at Yoo Jeonggeol’s suggestion.
“An ability? Good thinking. I can grant you an ability.”
“What kind of ability?”
“How about the ability to perceive the lifespan of whoever you want? I can give that right now.”
“Are you kidding me? You want me to be some kind of shaman by reading lifespans? What am I supposed to do with that? Go around grabbing random people on the street saying, ‘You’re going to die tomorrow, so you don’t need money, right? Give it to me.’? You want me to die on the street?”
Yoo Jeonggeol scoffed at the absurd offer.
The Grim Reaper looked embarrassed after calling it a good ability.
“It really is a good ability…”
“That’s good for you, maybe. It’s useless to me, so stop with the nonsense. Got anything else decent? Tell me, I’ll choose.”
“All we have are abilities to see names, ages, lifespans, or to perceive the value of objects…”
“Value of objects?”
Yoo Jeonggeol perked up, hearing an ability worth considering among the useless ones.
Lifespan, name, and age had no connection to money.
But the ability to perceive the value of objects was different.
At the very least, he could find the hidden value of objects that others couldn’t see and sell them for a high price.
Though rare nowadays, he could roam around Indong or the countryside, buying rare old books or antiques at low prices.
On a larger scale, he might even find Song Dynasty relics or hidden Van Gogh masterpieces in flea markets in China or Europe.
However, he thought it unwise to accept this ability outright.
He wanted to show he was losing out so he could negotiate for something extra.
“Do you like the ability to perceive object value?”
“Well, it is the most useful, but just that alone feels like a loss for me. So here’s my offer.”
Seeing some progress, the Grim Reaper leaned in attentively.
“If you add the Immortality until Eighty we mentioned earlier to that ability, it seems like a fair deal. No, not immortality — just don’t come for me before I turn eighty. After that, you decide when to come… but don’t tell me when. I want to die without knowing.”
“Don’t come before eighty?”
“Think about it. If I come back to life listening to you, but only live two or three years before being taken again, isn’t that totally unfair? So we have to set a minimum lifespan. I’m already giving in a lot — I’m dropping immortality and settling for eighty.”
The Grim Reaper nodded, meeting Yoo Jeonggeol’s gaze.
He didn’t want to upset him.
If Yoo Jeonggeol were to be dragged away after only a few years, it would be obvious he’d cause a fuss.
That could bring even worse punishment than taking the wrong person.
It was better for everyone’s happiness to accept Yoo Jeonggeol’s proposal within reason.
“I’ll accept it, including that. But I do have some concerns…”
“Concerns? Don’t tell me there’ll be some useless restriction like not using the ability for personal gain. If there is, I’ll just cancel the whole thing.”
“It’s not that. Calm down and hear me out.”
Yoo Jeonggeol bristled, fearing a sudden change of terms.
“Just say it quickly. Who’s listening here that you’re hesitating?”
“Fine. The decision is yours anyway. But the ability to see value doesn’t apply only to objects.”
“Not just objects?”
“It also applies to animals and people.”
“You can see the value of a person?”
“Listen carefully — not price, but value.”
“What does that mean…”
Hearing this, Yoo Jeonggeol suddenly realized what the Grim Reaper was saying.
“When you meet someone, you might not be able to accept them purely. Like family…”
“I know what you mean. I’ve felt this since I got older. The world’s a solo game. Family? Bullshit. If they don’t hold me back, I feel like I should be bowing and thanking them.”
Yoo Jeonggeol had never lived a proper life because of the shackles of family.
Born into a poor family and never supported, he had worked hard to support his family.
He lived thinking family was more of a burden than a blessing.
“Relationships are about using each other when needed. That’s fine. I’ve already experienced the age of risking my life for friends. Just give me the ability. Let’s hurry up. When you make up your mind, do it fast. If you delay, I might change my mind.”
Yoo Jeonggeol was sure he wouldn’t change his mind.
He just worried the Grim Reaper might have second thoughts.
The Grim Reaper sighed deeply at Yoo Jeonggeol’s determined attitude and said,
“Alright. I’ll say it again — from now on, you are Park Jinhyeok. Don’t forget, even after death, you must be Park Jinhyeok. Otherwise, you will be punished as well.”
“I understand. So we’re accomplices now? If there’s nothing else to say, let’s get this over with. If I change my mind, who knows what else I might add.”
Seeing Yoo Jeonggeol urging him on, the Grim Reaper sighed again and shook his head.
He approached and covered Yoo Jeonggeol’s eyes with his palm.
Yoo Jeonggeol thought some kind of ritual might be needed to grant him the ability to see value, and decided to go along with whatever the Grim Reaper did.
After rubbing his eyes a few times, the Grim Reaper grabbed his wrist.
Suddenly, Yoo Jeonggeol felt the surroundings grow darker and found himself plunged into complete darkness where not even a speck of light existed.
He felt his body sink downward, dizziness overwhelming him.
His head spun, and all his energy drained.
Breathing was difficult, and his eyelids refused to open.
Amid the dizzying chaos, he faintly heard sounds far away.
Noisy movements.
Someone calling out.
And a sensation of someone touching his body.