"Where are you taking me?" Minhyuk questioned with a bit of a whiny tone. You pulled him by the wrist as you led him into your work building, only releasing when you reached the entrance to grab hold of your ID card instead.

    Pressing the flat plastic against the sensor, it unlocked the doorway and allowed the two of you to proceed inside.

    Scanning the area in search for any other co-workers, you sighed inwardly once you concluded that the interior was void of any other person.

    You folded your arms across your chest in an almost hostile manner, turning to face Minhyuk. "I was supposed to go on a little business trip for the day, I was hoping my boss was joking about leaving anyone who came late."

    "Sorry," Minhyuk held his hands up in surrender. "Though you probably would've missed the trip anyways,"

    "Yeah, I definitely would've if I actually died back there!" you scowled, narrowing your eyes at the way he said such a comment so innocently and nonchalant. "Care to tell me your 'long story' now?"

    The redhead widened his eyes as his lips formed a tiny 'o' shape. "Oh, er, right. Like I said, it's kind of a hard concept for mortals to grasp, I've never really had to explain it because I'm really just an amateur, butー"

    "It's fine, Minhyuk. I missed my trip, I have time to listen to whatever you have to say." You interrupted, though it was clear that your patience was decreasing.

    "Okay, well you know about the whole 'Grim Reaper' thing, right?"

    "The skeleton guy in rags who chases people around with a giant scythe when it's time for them to die? Sure," you snorted without any idea as to where he was taking this.

    Minhyuk's eyebrows furrowed. "He's... not really a skeleton, and he definitely doesn't wear rags. The Grim Reaper does have a pretty impressive scythe, though.”

    "Why are you talking about the Grim Reaper like you know him personally?" you mimicked his expression.

    "Well, I work for him, so I kind of do..." he trailed off a bit awkwardly, bracing himself for your next reaction.

    It was almost like you had lost your voice. "You... you..."

    "I know it's a bit hard to take in, but yeah, this guy is Death's intern," Minhyuk gestured to himself with a newfound cheeky grin.

    "You... are just messing with me, aren't you? Minhyuk, you don’t have to make up such a farfetched excuse. Just admit it, you accidentally almost got me killed but managed to save me in time.” You completed the stutters you left off from, catching the man you were speaking to off guard.

    He didn’t expect you to be in that much of denial.

"Whaー but I'm not lying! The Grim Reaper really is my boss, and I was supposed to help him collect souls of the departed because the death rate is so high. You really were one of the people scheduled to die, it's a really complicated process, that's why I'm having so much trouble explaining!"

    "Yeah right, and my business trip was going to be in Narnia! No wonder they left without me!" you responded sarcastically.

    Minhyuk's head tilted sideways ever so slightly, and he sent you a look of confusion. It took you a moment to realize that the man didn't understand sarcasm, but at least the lack of understanding was mutual. You didn't understand what sort of fantasy he was trying to explain to you.

    "Look Minhyuk, if you're not going to be serious about this, the exit is where we came from. I won't report you or whatever, you can just... go," you sighed in defeat.

    "No, no, no!" he shook his head frantically. "That's not a good idea. I still can't let you wander about when I should be taking you to the Eternal Zone!"

    You were just about to ask him about the so called "Eternal Zone", but a ringtone emitting in the pocket of Minhyuk's hoodie prevented you from doing so.

Pulling out the cellular device from his clothing, death’s intern tilted the screen towards him. A message from I.M was displayed on the screen, outlined in a prominent red that caused him to grimace upon reading.

I.M

bad news. the boss is fuming and he basically said you’d have to prepare yourself for whats to come. there wasnt much i could do so good luck pal youre gonna need it!!

“What’s wrong?” you leaned forward and peered at his screen, taken aback by the sudden change in Minhyuk’s behaviour.

“I don’t know who’s more endangered between the two of us,” he responded sheepishly.

You gulped. Something in the tone of his voice made you feel like he was being genuine. Like he wasn’t lying. After being caught up in a near death situation, however, you hoped your new suspicions were wrong.

But no, you were proven right by a crash that bellowed from a distance. Somewhere upstairs, perhaps? You were too startled by the sudden noise to pinpoint the area or source exactly.

As much as you wanted to oppose the notion, you couldn’t just ignore it. You were the only worker in the building at the moment after all. “I’m going upstairs to check what that sound was,” you declared.

“Wait!” Minhyuk grabbed your wrist desperately, tugging you back towards him. You lingered a bit, cheeks flushing upon the contact. His hands were cold, much colder than you initially remembered them to be. Were they always that cold?

Casting those thoughts aside, you pulled yourself free from his grasp and dashed towards the stairs. The redhead trailed after you, following you as if he were a lost puppy. The upset look on his face added onto the effect, though you didn’t want to focus on that.

Reaching the top of the steps, you were greeted by the setting of desks and computers sprawled about in discord, papers and other office supplies scattered and astray. A man stood not too far from the two of you, most likely the root cause of the chaos that was now the second floor.

Initially, his back was turned against you. But once he sensed your presence, the man turned around. Clad in a suit of pitch black with various buttons and badges pinned against the luxurious fabric, his appearance clearly made him look like he meant business, literally. If you didn’t work here, you would have mistaken him for the CEO of some sort. His hair was a bit out of place, yet the brilliant scarlet shade seemed so fitting. You could have sworn there was a glint in his eyes a similar shade.

He smiled graciously, revealing his deep dimples in the process. Half of you wanted to smile back, and the other half of you wanted to cower in fear. Who was this stranger, and what were they doing here?

You cleared your throat before speaking, taking the opportunity to conjure up the right words. “Excuse me sir, but only authorized personnel are permitted within this building. Therefore you should not be here, and you certainly shouldn’t be creating such a mess.”

Minhyuk hid behind you, clutching your shoulders while peeking over your left side. His touch was frigid, sending shivers down your spine, but as much as you wanted to shrug him off you needed a reminder that you weren’t alone.

“Oh. Forgive me then,” the man responded, a bit too nonchalant for you to get comfortable. “I guess I did get a bit carried away, hm? I’m just here to… collect something. Since someone was unable to do their job right,” his expression darkened, and his eyes darted to your side. It took a moment for you to realize he was now focusing on Minhyuk.

“L-listen boss, I’m really, really, sorry!” the redhead stammered, pulling you backwards which caused you to stumble a bit.

Turning around to face him, you asked, “You know this man?”

“Of course he does. He’s my intern after all,” the man had taken steps closer to you by the time you turned around. “Don’t you know who I am, too?”

Narrowing your eyes at him, you thought back to what Minhyuk had explained prior. “Let me guess, you’re the ‘Grim Reaper’?” you couldn’t help but muse. This had to be a joke. Maybe even some sort of dream.

Right?

“Is it too hard for a mortal like you to comprehend?” he retorted, smirking in amusement. “That’s fine. If the title of ‘Grim Reaper’ isn’t to your liking, I do have another name you can call me by,”

At this point, Minhyuk was shaking your arm while whispering your name frantically. He seemed terrified, and that made you feel even more uneasy.

Taking one more step forward, the so called ‘Grim Reaper’ met your gaze. With the lack of distance, you had a better view of his crimson irises.

“You can call me Jooheon, if you’d prefer.”