Chapter 2

It was an environment that would drive anyone crazy after just The road back from Heaven seemed endless.

Only Junmo and Seungri were walking aimlessly on the path, where everything was white.

With only the two of them walking aimlessly in a place where everything was white, it felt more like escaping a mental hospital than returning from Heaven three days of walking like this.

‘Luck isn’t something you can get for free, after all. There’s a reason why they say patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.’

She was still grateful that she could return alive.

But his thoughts seemed a little different.

“How much further do we have to go?”

Unlike Seungri, who silently walked ahead barefoot, holding her high heels in her hand, Junmo kept grumbling.

Maybe he was anxious about whether they were really going back. Or maybe he was already going crazy from a lack of patience.

She understood his feelings well enough. Seungri had been the same when she first arrived.

But she didn’t particularly want to talk.

‘It’s not like we’re on good terms.’

The more dangerous the relationship, the more cautious you had to be.

“Are we even going the right way?”

Junmo was getting increasingly bothered by her silence, no matter what he said.

He glanced at her.

She had a look on her face like she’d bitten into a turd.

He knew she was angry about the car accident, but also because of his ridiculous talk about lifelines…

Junmo felt like he was developing a mental illness himself, walking silently on this white road.

“Haven’t you heard anything? How much further we have to go?”

“Can’t you just be quiet and walk?”

“We’re going back alive, so at least pretend to be happy. Unless you’re not happy about going back alive with me.”

“I’m not.”

‘Since the tough girl is also honest, I might not be safe even if I go back alive. Should I just stay here?’

He shook off the absurd thought that suddenly popped into his head and grumbled at her.

“That’s too much, really. Even if it’s because of me, do I have to die for you to be satisfied?”

“There’s no need to exaggerate.”

Junmo suddenly grabbed Seungri’s wrist and stopped her.

She forcibly pulled her hand away and glared at him with an unpleasant expression.

He leaned in, getting close to Seungri’s face.

When a man with not only a naturally perfect figure but also a face to match came in so close, even a woman with a strong heart like her was bound to feel a flutter.

‘This guy’s always radiating charm.’

Startled, Seungri took a step back and snapped.

“What are you doing?”

Wrinkling his nose and sniffing, Junmo’s gaze fixed on her eyes.

“The fragrance is here too.”

Seungri replied nonchalantly.

“You should go to an ENT clinic. I think there’s something wrong with your nose.”

“I thought I was lucky.”

He smiled meaningfully. She wasn’t sure what that luck meant, but it was clear that it didn’t just mean going back alive.

“What is it? That wicked smile.”

“I need to go to an eye clinic. I think there’s something wrong with my eyes. How does this look like a wicked smile? It’s a charming smile.”

Even in this situation, he was full of himself.

‘I bet that smile has made a lot of women cry, but your charm doesn’t work on just any woman.’

Seungri coldly averted her gaze from Junmo.

“Okay, let’s just go.”

As she was about to take a step, he grabbed her wrist again.

Slightly annoyed, Seungri shook off his hand.

“Should we hold hands and go together?”

“That would be even better.”

Was he good-natured, or just shameless…?

“No, thanks.”

“I know you’re angry. That’s why I’m trying to make it up to you. Let’s make up, okay?”

“You’re trying to take a life so easily.”

Seeing her expression that said it was impossible, he shook his head as if she was quite a handful and quickly ran ahead.

Standing face to face with Seungri, Junmo slowly moved backward.

“You know what? You’re really pretty.”

‘More and more… You’re the only person who would hit on someone even in Heaven. Or is he just trying to suck up to me so I’ll settle things favorably?’

Seungri ignored his words and sternly warned him.

“Walk straight. You’ll regret it.”

“But will you really not remember? I think I would. You have such a memorable face, there’s no way I could forget it even if I wanted to.”

‘Well, we did listen to porn together live when we first met, so it wouldn’t be easy to forget.’

But the laws of the afterlife were not something that the living could easily escape.

Seungri shrugged, not expecting him to remember.

“I warned you.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter if you don’t remember. My feelings will be the same whether you remember or not… Ack!”

Suddenly, with a short scream, he plunged into the ground. He had returned to the living world first.

Dying was unpredictable, but returning alive was also unpredictable. That was what Heaven was like.

She glanced down at the perfectly round hole.

She could see Junmo struggling and disappearing into the endless depths below.

“Tsk, tsk. I told you you’d regret it, didn’t I?”

From the first time they met to the moment they parted, there was nothing normal about that man.

How much more eventful would it be when they met again in the living world?

She was already living an eventful enough life as it was.

“Even the heavens are heartless…”

The first door to the living world closed, and she was left alone on the white road.

Without the man who had been chattering beside her, she was engulfed in a terrible sense of loneliness.

“Even dog poop has its use.”

She didn’t know how much further she had to go.

She couldn’t even guess whether it would be a day, two days, or three days.

“It didn’t take this long four years ago. Haa…”

Seungri felt a strange sense of emptiness and began to walk alone.

Then, a thought suddenly occurred to her, and she touched the back of her right neck.

The cross necklace she had been wearing until the accident was gone. Had it disappeared because it was no longer needed in Heaven?

“Has the mark disappeared too?”

She felt nothing at her fingertips. As she had predicted, the mark was gone.

It was the mark that had appeared that day four years ago.

The person had the same mark on their shoulder.

She had been almost unconscious at the time, so she couldn’t remember whether the person with the mark was the one who had tried to kill her or the one who had saved her…

“I’ll know if I catch that bastard.”

Being alive again meant that the heavens had given her a chance.

So this time, she had to catch him no matter what.

There was no guarantee that she would get lucky next time.

She renewed her determination and walked bravely down the endless white road.

“Sister… sob…”

In the emergency room of a hospital in Gangwon Province, Seungri’s younger sister, Yuri, was crying sadly in front of Seungri, who was lying unconscious.

Beside her, Sungjae was sitting blankly with a pale face.

Sungjae had rushed over after hearing about the car accident, but Seungri hadn’t woken up.

Sungjae’s already fragile mental state was on the verge of collapsing due to Seungri’s accident.

It had only been a year since his mother had passed away.

Sungjae no longer had the confidence to live on after losing another loved one.

“Ugh…”

“Are you awake?”

The sound came from the next bed.

Yuri and Sungjae’s gazes turned to that side at the same time.

Choi Detective’s broad face came into view as Junmo barely opened his eyes.

His mind was hazy, his stomach was churning, and his body was aching.

“Where is this…?”

“It’s a hospital.”

“Why am I in the hospital… Oh, right. I had an accident.”

Junmo frowned as he forced himself to sit up. The forehead where he had been stitched up throbbed.

He had caused a car accident while chasing the pervert alone, disobeying his team leader’s orders. He remembered the dizzying moment when his legs had trembled.

“Damn it.”

“I’m going to lose my mind because of you.”

“How is she? The woman who was with me.”

“Uh, that’s…”

“She’s not dead, is she?”

“No, not yet.”

‘Not yet’ meant she could still die.

If the victim died, his career as a police officer might be over.

Junmo didn’t care if he died. But it was terrible that an innocent victim might be harmed.

‘If I had caught that bastard sooner, this misfortune wouldn’t have happened.’

“I should have caught that bastard…”

“How can you catch a slippery eel like that? You’ll only get hurt, you idiot. When the team leader tells you to drop it, it’s already a lost game.”

Insufficient evidence.

But he was a rapist. And he did drugs.

Yet he had been released without charges and was throwing a drug party at a villa in Gangwon Province.

The light in his eyes, which had been lifeless, suddenly changed.

“I’ll catch him. With my own hands.”

“I’m going to kill you first!”

Junmo, who had suddenly been grabbed by the collar, was startled and looked up.

Sungjae, who had lost his reason and whose eyes were rolling, had grabbed his collar out of the blue.

“It’s because of you that Seungri noona!”

It was Yuri who grabbed Sungjae, who was trembling and about to throw a punch.

“What will change if you do this? Do you think my sister would like this?”

Only after hearing Yuri’s words, who was sobbing with tears streaming down her face, did Junmo turn his head to the next bed.

There, he saw Seungri lying as if dead with a pale face.

His heart sank when he actually faced her.

As her body was helplessly shaken by Sungjae’s reckless shaking, his mind was as dizzy as if he had plunged his head into ice-cold water.

“Stop it and calm down. Let go of my collar.”

Choi Detective forcibly pulled Sungjae’s hand away and stopped him.

Sungjae, who staggered and released his grip, glared at Junmo with bloodshot eyes.

“If anything happens to Seungri noona, you’re dead.”

3 a.m. In the brightly lit emergency room, Junmo’s heart was dark as he looked down at Seungri, who still hadn’t woken up.

He had been reckless in his desire to catch the pervert.

That’s why the accident had happened, and as a result, an innocent woman was on the verge of death.

He had listened to the doctor, who said that fortunately, she had no injuries other than bruises.

But when he heard that the reason she hadn’t woken up yet might be a problem with her brain and that they would do a brain scan as soon as it was light, he had nothing to say.

“Haa…”

Junmo let out a long sigh into the air.

Choi Detective had gone back, and Yuri and Sungjae were also catching some sleep in the waiting room, so Junmo was unintentionally the one guarding Seungri’s side.

His heart was heavy with guilt for the police officer who had injured a citizen and regret for not catching the pervert.

He had been involved in minor and major accidents while catching criminals, but this was the first time he had been in such a major accident.

“Umm…”

A faint groan escaped from Seungri’s lips as they twitched.

Startled, Junmo grabbed her hand without realizing it.

“Hey, miss.”

As if struggling to wake up, Seungri gripped his hand tightly.

She was still fighting death, barely able to breathe from the pain.

‘She’s almost out of breath.’

Junmo didn’t even think about pressing the nurse call button and shouted loudly for the medical staff.

“Nurse! Nurse!”

At his urgent call, the doctor and nurse rushed over.

“Ms. Jegal Seungri! Open your eyes!”

Junmo hesitated and stopped as he stepped back to make room for the doctor and nurse.

Seungri’s hand, which he was holding tightly, a hand that he felt he shouldn’t let go of for some reason.

He was stunned as he held that hand, which was as cold as ice.

At that time, although Junmo couldn’t see it, Seungri’s bed was surrounded by dark figures.

The largest of them was strangling her, pinning her down.

It was preventing her from returning alive.

“Die! Die!”

Seungri struggled, suffocating. But her body wouldn’t move.

Being strangled was the thing she feared the most, and that was why her neck was her most vulnerable spot.

But she couldn’t just sit back and take it. Dying was even more terrible.

‘How dare you! You little bastard! I’ll take care of you first when I wake up.’

“You won’t wake up. I’m going to kill you.”

‘Don’t be ridiculous. You think I’ll die because of you? No way!’

The monster flinched at Seungri’s unwavering spirit.

Taking advantage of the gap, Seungri raised her hand, which had been barely moving, and groped near her neck.

“It’s gone!”

The cross necklace that should have been around her neck was missing.

It wasn’t that she didn’t need it in heaven, but it seemed someone had taken it off.

Come to think of it, if she had it, she wouldn’t have been helplessly strangled by a ghost in the first place.

“Damn it!”

As her neck was increasingly constricted, Seungri, finding it unbearable, desperately struck the guy with all her might.

“Ugh!”

She let out a ragged breath and finally opened her eyes.

The moment Seungri woke up, a purple mark reappeared on the right side of her neck.

And all the ghosts surrounding her disappeared.

Junmo, who was standing to her left, didn’t notice the mark at all.

“Are you okay?”

The doctor asked worriedly, and Seungri, touching her sore neck, asked back.

Her voice came out hoarse because she had been strangled.

“The man who was with me… where is he?”

The doctor inadvertently pointed to Junmo.

Seungri stared blankly at Junmo, who was standing tall.

Junmo, who was receiving her gaze with an awkward expression, opened his mouth.

“How long are you going to hold my hand?”

Seungri, belatedly realizing she was holding his hand, quickly let go. He chuckled at her embarrassment.

Junmo, who had been worried that she might not wake up, was relieved.

After the doctor and nurse left, he offered a sincere apology.

“I’m sorry. Because of me.”

“……”

“I’m really glad you’re alive.”

“It’s not just fortunate, it’s a miracle. Is it common to die and come back to life?”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t you remember? Going to heaven with me.”

Ding-!

Junmo was happy that the woman had woken up, but only for a moment, as his head throbbed intensely.

‘Her head must be injured.’

‘Sigh… that’s how it should be, why do I remember everything?’

Seungri thought it would be the same as it was four years ago, but she couldn’t help but feel unfairly resentful.

‘He said he wouldn’t forget.’

She didn’t have any particular expectations, but a sense of emptiness washed over her.

She had been so glad to see him return safely that it was almost embarrassing.

“Sister!”

Just as she was thinking that, Yuri ran up and hugged her tightly, bursting into tears.

Seungri patted her chubby back and looked up at Sungjae.

The guy, who had been half out of it, gave a relieved smile as if he had aged ten years.

“Are you okay?”

Seungri’s heart ached at the sight of Sungjae’s reddened eyes.

Besides catching that bastard, there was another reason she couldn’t die.

She had promised that kid’s mom.

That she would see him go to college, get married, and have kids.

What is a historical mission anyway?

If that kid becomes a historical figure, putting a spoon on it is the mission, that’s it.

“Let’s go home.”

Seungri, wanting to get out of the hospital as soon as possible, got off the bed.

Junmo, who had been blankly watching the tearful family reunion, hurriedly stopped her.

“Hey, where are you going? What about the examination?”

“I don’t need an examination. I’m not going to die. As long as you don’t die, there’s no problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“Give me your contact information. We’ll be seeing each other often.”

“Often? Why?”

“Because you hold my lifeline.”

‘Heaven and now a lifeline?’

A low sigh escaped from Junmo’s lips.

“Are you going to keep saying strange things that make me worry?”

“I’m the one who should be worried. There’s already a ghost attached to you.”

‘Heaven, a lifeline, and now a ghost?’

It was getting worse and worse.

Junmo, who didn’t believe in ghosts, looked around with a sullen face.

There was no way he could see the ghost. Of course, neither could Yuri or Sungjae.

Frankly, wouldn’t it be more of a problem if they could see it?

“I’m not in the mood to deal with you right now.”

Only when Seungri sternly warned him did the virgin ghost, who had been hiding behind Junmo, peek out.

The virgin ghost she had been chasing at the villa!

‘How annoying.’

Seungri didn’t bother asking why the virgin ghost had come to the hospital.

She must have come to check if she was dead or alive.

“Yuri, do you have my necklace?”

“Yes. The nurse said I had to take off the necklace.”

Yuri took the necklace out of her handbag.

It was a black string with a silver cross, and a red jewel was embedded in the center of the cross.

It looked like an ordinary accessory, but it was anything but ordinary.

The virgin ghost was startled when she saw the necklace and disappeared in a flash.

Seungri hurriedly put the necklace around her neck.

“Give me your phone.”

This time, Yuri took her phone out of her handbag and handed it to her.

“Tell me your number.”

Junmo, thinking that Seungri definitely needed a brain scan, clearly recited his number.

“Have your siblings keep her at the hospital. She needs to get an examination.”

“I’m not her sibling.”

“If not a sibling, then?”

“Boyfriend.”

‘Oh, is that so?’

Junmo’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Aren’t you a high schooler?”

“Senior in high school.”

‘Just by looking at him, there’s a ten-year age gap. Even if the gender ratio is off, isn’t this too much?

“I’m serious.”

Sungjae was so serious that Junmo looked momentarily puzzled.

‘The girlfriend of a woman who sees heaven and ghosts is a senior in high school? This is a mess.’

Seungri looked at him with a pathetic gaze.

‘What kind of brain structure do you have to have to be confused by such absurd stories? Do men originally think they can overcome this much of an age gap? Isn’t it almost a fantasy? Ah, do men and women alike harbor fantasies about romance?’

“You’re a detective, and you believe that?”

“Hey, right? You’re not, are you?”

“See you next time. I’m tired, so I’m leaving first.”

“Hey! What if you really leave? Hey!”

Sungjae blocked Junmo, who was trying to follow, and after a brief staring contest, Sungjae followed Seungri.

Instead, Yuri, who was small and had red eyes from crying, looked up at Junmo.

She wanted to grab him by the collar like Sungjae, but…

She didn’t have the strong heart to do so. She truly had a ‘glass heart’.

Unlike the chic Seungri, her tone was gentle and feminine.

“Don’t worry. If my sister is okay, then it’s okay. My sister is a strong person.”

‘Her physical strength might be strong, but her mind is not at all.’

Even with Yuri’s words, Junmo couldn’t shake his worries.

“Is it really okay to just leave? She’s been saying strange things since earlier.”

But…

“My sister is right.”

“…Right?”

Yuri, who was completely different from Seungri in terms of height, figure, tone, and atmosphere despite being sisters, nodded daintily.

“Yes. My sister is an exorcist.”