World of the Dead (7)
World of the Dead (7)
Minho followed the girl towards the kitchen. She was on the lookout for any possible spirits which may pass by but the route was empty so far.
"How long have you been here?" Minho asked. He was not really curious about the girl but the silence was bothering him. It was hard to stay in a place which had no sound and for the first time in his life, he was appreciating the noises he heard in his own world. The World of the Dead was a dreary and dreadful place. He would not even wish for his worst enemies to end up there. Perhaps the CCK but no one else.
"I don't know," the girl stated in her monotone. "We lose track of time here."
"Do you remember what sin you might have committed?" he asked.
"I do," she replied but did not elaborate. Minho was confused by her behavior. She was the only spirit which had her senses even though she could not recall her name. Yet, she knew how she died.
"That's the kitchen," she said pointing at a door across them. They were at a crossroad and must pass the intersecting corridors to reach it. She looked both ways.
"There's no one here," she said. "Strange. The reaper usually hangs around here. I wonder why it's not in its usual place."
Something was not right. The clanking of the reaper could not be heard. Was it elsewhere? Why?
"Let's go," she said. "But don't make any noise. I'm not getting a very good feeling about this."
Minho followed her with caution and they stealthily entered the kitchen. The girl motioned him to open one of the shelves which was labeled as 'Supplies'. Minho quietly opened the shelf and to his relief, found a few jars of salt.
"How do we find out if this salt has the same effect as the one in the real world?" he frowned. This was the World of the Dead, a dim copy of the living world. Would the products work the same way?
"There's only one way to find out," the girl muttered. She held out her palm and said, "Sprinkle some on my hand. If it burns through, this salt works the same way as the salt in the living world."
Minho was unsure of her words. He did not want to end up hurting someone who was helping him. Suddenly, his mind was alert.
"Why are you helping me?" he demanded, feeling suspicious. In all his years, he had learnt that nothing came for free, not even a good deed. If living people did not do favors without expectation, then why should the dead be any different?
The girl raised her eyebrows. "Are you doubting me?" she asked coolly.
"I'm merely taking precautions," Minho said. "What if you're in cahoots with Park Seungjo? He might be the one who sent you so that you stop me from saving Gayoon. Or, what if you're only trying to trap me in this world with you?"
The girl stared at him for a while before sighing. "Firstly," she began. "I'm your best bet to tour the world because you know jackshit about this place. Otherwise, you'd become reaper food by now."
She held up two fingers and continued, "Secondly, if I really wanted to trap you in here, I'd have just left you in that classroom."
"Thirdly," she pressed holding up three fingers. "This is my world. Like it or not I'll have to live here and by now, it's like home to me. It's the only place where I can roam around freely, without any thought about the society or people. I don't dwell on my regrets here but rather seek redemption in peace. So, when scums like Mr. A and Park Seungjo arrive to pollute it with their filthy deeds, I feel that I should clean out my home and get rid of those miscreants. If you're here to get back your woman, then go ahead. I just want to get rid of Park Seungjo and his master in the process."
Minho was still not convinced by her statements. There was something highly unusual about this girl because she was helping him without any reason. If she was that desperate to get rid of Park Seungjo , why did she not do it herself? Clearly, she knew much more about the world than Seungjo and could easily kick him out or get rid of him. Why was she helping Minho?
He did not voice out his opinions anymore but was still doubtful of her motives.
"Sprinkle it," she demanded. Minho opened the jar and took out a pinch of salt.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked, in case the girl was having second thoughts.
"I'm sure," she said curtly. Minho took a deep breath and sprinkled the salt on her palm.
Instantly, there were small red sparks erupting from her skin and she hissed in pain. The salt had slightly burnt her translucent skin and left large scarlet marks on them as if bleeding. She tried to be strong but the wince on her face made it clear that she was suffering more than she let on to believe.
"It's working," she said, rubbing the burnt spot. The burns were not healing at all.
"Seems like it," he noted. "Will it work on reapers too?"
"No," the girl said. "Reapers are a different case. Only that will work on them."
She pointed at a peach blossom tree right outside of the kitchen window. "I'll go and get the flowers," she said. "Stay here. If a reaper or ghost comes, hide. Reapers are blind and can't sense you if you're more than three feet away from them. But they can hear well and also, if you happen to come directly in their way as they pass by, they won't hesitate to kill. Be it human or ghost."
"They can kill ghosts?" Minho gaped.
"More like slash at them and throw them in another hell, a second one which is worse than this," the girl stated. "As for humans, they'll be dead and end up as a Mindless in this world. Get cut down again, then you can say hello to hell number 2."
"How many hells are there?" Minho wondered.
"Who knows?" the girl sighed. "There can be 1. There can be 2. There can be infinite. And then there can be none."
Minho could not make head nor tails of what she had just said. The girl flashed a rare smile and remarked, "If you didn't understand that statement, then you're too good of a person to go to hell. So, it'll be a shame if you die here."
With that, she turned around and walked towards the window, leaving a very confused Minho behind. He watched her easily climb through the window and head for the peach blossom tree. He waited, impatient as time passed by. Checking his watch, he could only groan in frustration. His watch was not working in that world.
"A hundred thousand dollar watch and it can't even bloody work in another dimension!" he muttered in annoyance.
He was not sure how much time had passed. 5 minutes? 10 minutes? An hour? The more time they wasted, the closer Gayoon was heading towards a fate worse than death. There was no way he would let her die and live in this cold world for the rest of eternity. They still had a long life to live together with their daughter.
For a moment, his heart was beating fast as he thought of him, Gayoon and Jina together as a family. The lazy mornings when he and Gayoon would cuddle together while Jina climbed on their bed to give them a wake up kiss. The family dinners they would enjoy and the movie nights. He smiled as he could clearly imagine Gayoon crying over the sad romantic movies while Jina and he would be bored but watch it anyway for Gayoon's sake.
Those moments still had not arrived for them but he wanted them. He wanted them to experience it all. His heart was beating fast at the thought. It was as if he could see the happy family from afar, satisfied at the life they had ahead.
As he smiled at the happy family in his mind, the air around him was becoming colder. The faint clanking of chains was getting louder and louder but Minho was trapped in his own thoughts, unaware of the being closing on him. He shrugged off the chill he felt, focusing only on the image in his head. Gayoon's smile, her twinkling eyes and her pretty face was stuck in his heart and he was unable to look away as if he was hypnotized.
The girl had just climbed back into the kitchen. She was about to open her mouth to tell him that she got the peach blossom flower when she froze on the spot.
The large, skeletal being had raised its scythe, ready to cut down the human in its way.