Chapter 43: The Face of a Sinner

After they’d mostly finished lunch, Gangrim Chasa rose from his seat.

Mujae, watching him quietly adjust his clothes, asked,

“Huh, are you leaving already?”

“Yes.”

Gangrim Chasa gave a wry smile toward the Promotion Team.

As he lightly brushed the hem of his left sleeve, the sound of crumpling paper was heard.

“My business here is already done.”

“Hmph.”

Yama stuck out his lower lip.

It seemed their conversation had ended while Mujae wasn’t watching.

The long-missed visitor never once lost his gentle smile until the end.

“I’ll head back now. If you ever have business in Seocheon, come find me.”

Mujae bit his lip lightly.

If only there was a little more time, if only there were fewer ears listening here….

‘If it’s Chasa-nim, maybe he could tell me something about my [Brown Thumb]?’

As Mujae wavered, Hallakgoong came up beside him.

Hallakgoong glanced slightly askance, then bowed his head respectfully to Gangrim Chasa.

“Chasa-nim, I received much kindness from you today.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“If it’s not too much, could you give us your Satoon account, so I might return the favor someday?”

At Hallakgoong’s words, Mujae’s eyes widened.

Satoon—the messenger mainly used by Grim Reapers! He’d completely forgotten about it.

Gangrim Chasa chuckled heartily at this.

“Ah, the young master uses Satoon?”

“We’re the Promotion Team from the Seocheon Flower Garden. We don’t use it that actively yet, but we do have accounts.”

“Ah….”

Gangrim Chasa turned back to Mujae.

His eyes, as if slightly surprised and impressed, lingered briefly on Mujae.

“I see. Then, hand me your phone and I’ll write my account for you.”

Gangrim Chasa took Hallakgoong’s phone, quickly typed in his account, then handed it back.

He whispered so only they could hear.

“Good, you’re doing well.”

“What’s this about ‘kindness’ and ‘repayment’ and all that….”

Yama grumbled as if leaving his ears behind.

Regardless, Gangrim Chasa patted Mujae’s shoulder.

“I never thought you committed a sin, not even in the past.”

“Chasa-nim….”

“How many departed souls do you think I’ve met so far?”

His sly, grinning face looked mischievous, but to Mujae, it was the broadest smile of all.

“You can always tell a sinner. It’s written on their face, their soul, how they lived their life.”

“…Thank you.”

The people Mujae had met were usually of two kinds.

Those who didn’t care, and those who cared too much.

But those who truly supported him—especially those who believed in him—were rare.

“Chasa-nim, you’re the only one who’s ever believed in me.”

“My, my.”

Gangrim Chasa stroked the peacock tail pinned to his hat.

Suddenly, the vivid colors of the peacock feathers turned black, spreading from his face to his toes.

“You have to believe in yourself first, don’t you?”

In the blink of an eye, Gangrim transformed into a crow, his metallic voice echoing a final word of advice.

Flapping his wings a few times, Gangrim rose into the air, becoming a dot in the sky and then disappearing.

Just as Mujae was feeling a lingering sadness—

“Wow….”

Hallakgoong and Zack’s voices of awe came from behind. Turning, Mujae saw them both trying hard to stifle grins.

When Mujae met Hallakgoong’s gaze, Hallakgoong held up his phone.

On the screen was Gangrim’s Satoon account.

[Gangrim@Black Wing_Descend / 58 Following / 3.4M Followers]

They’d already logged into Satoon and checked Gangrim’s account.

Mujae’s eyes grew wide as he saw it.

“Three point four million…?!”

A Grim Reaper with 3.4 million Satoon followers.

And the content—unbelievable.

Gangrim@Black Wing_Descend • 10hr

The Department of Life and Death never updates,

but the workload only ever increases.

Gangrim@Black Wing_Descend • 11hr

People usually think it all ends when you die,

But for me, that’s just the beginning. When do I get off work? ㅠㅠ

Gangrim@Black Wing_Descend • 13hr

Caught a runaway soul and brought them back,

and they ask, “Why are you only here now?” Crazy.

Superiors and departed souls—there’s no difference.

“…He’s really famous.”

“Maybe we should be begging him for a collaboration instead?”

Hallakgoong said, beaming from ear to ear.

Next to him, Zack nodded with a rare, excited smile.

“What’s so funny?”

A grumpy voice broke between them.

Clearly irritated, Yama pouted and wedged himself into their midst.

Naturally, he snatched Hallakgoong’s phone to see what they were looking at.

“…What’s this?”

“It’s Gangrim Chasa-nim’s Satoon account….”

“Satoon? What’s that?”

The Promotion Team immediately shut their mouths.

Satoon was mostly used by Grim Reapers.

And surely, no one wanted the Heavenly King of the Underworld browsing Satoon.

Mujae answered with an awkward smile.

“It’s nothing special, just a kind of message board.”

“Your faces say it’s something special.”

Yama narrowed his eyes and scrolled through the feed.

“Ugh, I can’t see… Can you guys read this?”

“……”

“Young people these days… Anyway, if you’ve finished eating, get back to making Compost.”

“Yes!”

Hallakgoong snatched his phone back from Yama.

Yama snorted as he watched Mujae and Zack hurrying to keep up.

“Hmph! These brats are hiding something.”

“Haha….”

And so, the Promotion Team was dragged off to make Compost until sunset.

-Papat!

At the tip of Mujae’s hand, the soil shimmered with every touch, turning into Compost.

-Pazzzzt!

With every Spark, the Okjols erupted into awe.

“Wow! Even His Majesty would covet this!”

“But why does it crackle like static?”

Juseon Child’s curiosity also exploded.

“Who knows…?”

Mujae didn’t know either.

Compliments about the hand that had always been a nuisance were unfamiliar, and the lightness of working barehanded without gloves was strange.

“Mujae-nim must have been super popular at the Seocheon Flower Garden too!”

“Aw, no way.”

“Why not? They use tons of Compost there.”

“Well, that’s true, but….”

Mujae, unable to answer and hesitating, shrank in on himself.

Juseon Child cocked his head at the sight.

“That’s odd?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you embarrassed?”

Juseon Child’s eyebrows knitted.

Asked if he was embarrassed, Mujae found himself unable to reply again.

‘Was I really ashamed of this power?’

Memories of his days at the Seocheon Flower Garden flashed quickly through Mujae’s mind.

Days spent hiding, never even dreaming of being praised.

“Our Mujae, let’s stop pestering him, Dongja-nim.”

The voice came from behind—Hallakgoong.

Hallakgoong and Zack, together with Yama, approached, each with a sack slung over their shoulder.

Zack nodded and signed at Juseon Child.

‘That’s right. Mujae had a rough day. Enough questions.’

“Huh… What is he saying?”

“He’s telling you to stop pestering him, Juseon.”

In the end, it was Yama who firmly sent Juseon Child away.

Looking at the mountain of Compost Mujae had made, Yama seemed delighted.

“Now that we know you have such an amazing power, imagine how surprised you must have been!”

Perhaps remembering what Gangrim Chasa had said, Yama refrained from ordering Mujae to the Torture Hell but seemed to have made up his mind to endlessly cajole him.

“Since Mujae had a shock today, Juseon, save your questions for later.”

“Ah, I see! Sorry if I made things uncomfortable.”

With a cool apology, Juseon Child skipped away.

Left behind, Mujae was now under the worried gaze of Hallakgoong and Zack, when Yama shouted brightly.

“Anyway, are you guys filming?”

“…Of course.”

To be honest, the extreme work and the constant surprises had made it nearly impossible to get any decent footage.

But everyone in the Promotion Team had their personal Camera equipped, and not one of them felt like doing a retake.

‘I just want to escape from here.’

That was the thought they all shared.

Though it was only their third time visiting the Underworld, this trip felt especially tough for some reason.

Yama smiled suspiciously at the Promotion Team.

“Hm~ Well, that’s not important to me.”

She turned and stretched refreshingly.

Even just looking at the mountain of Compost seemed to fill her up.

“All right, little ones from Seocheon! Let’s get to work!”

“Yes….”

It truly was a grueling day.

At last, after sunset, they rode Yama’s tractor back to their lodging.

Even walking just 30 meters was so hard, they had to support one another.

Watching them, Yama clicked her tongue.

“You youngsters look healthy enough, but so frail…. Tomorrow, we improve the soil!”

She looked as full of energy as she had at dawn.

“I’ll wake you a bit later tomorrow, so sleep well!”

“Yes….”

A bit of gentle consideration.

They finally reached their tent, and Mujae collapsed onto the floor.

“Feels like I used a year’s worth of strength in one day.”

Zack also collapsed beside him.

‘I’m hungry… I must be hungry… I want to eat meat… I don’t want to eat meat anymore.’

After watching all that tongue-lolling all day, Zack had had enough.

He hadn’t seen much meat since coming to the East, but now he understood why.

“Juseon Child packed us dumplings and punch earlier. Just eat those.”

Even so, Hallakgoong, ever the young master, propped his friends up to make sure they all ate three meals.

Once their hunger was finally sated, the three of them instantly fell fast asleep.

…At least, until she arrived.

The sound of wind brushing the tent canvas, and soft footsteps, woke Hallakgoong.