A man clothed in a suit as black as the night that surrounded him stood on the sidewalk, ignoring the rain that poured heavily around him, and watched the grisly scene before him. Two crumpled cars sat in the intersection of the road, the horn of one blaring continuously. The man in one of them had run a red light and smashed into the other. The sickening crunch of metal had rung out; alerting those in nearby buildings to what had happened. Those people were now streaming out into the street, frantically calling an ambulance and shouting for help. The man in the black suit stepped off of the sidewalk and into the street, striding slowly towards to commotion. He passed by the first car, the man inside was already gone from the world and was not on his list. Instead, he continued to the second car and its driver, the heels of his shoes clipping sharply on the wet pavement. He came to a stop at the driver’s side and his eyes roamed slowly over the inside, a truly gruesome sight indeed. A small movement directed his eyes back to the form slumped over the steering wheel. He remained still as the driver moved again and fell back into the seat, a small groan escaping from her lips. Glancing down, the man checked the watch that adorned his wrist – one more minute. In the distance, he could hear the sound of sirens approaching; however, they would not make it in time. He returned his gaze to the girl before him. She seemed young, a pity that she would have to depart so early. He solemnly watched her last few moments as the muffled sounds of panic continued around him. He began to ready himself as the seconds ticked away when the girl’s head turned towards him. She opened her eyes and stared at the man standing in the rain. He froze, unsure if she was really able to see him or not. She took a shallow breath and whispered quietly, “Please, not yet.”

The sound of steady beeping roused you from a dreamless sleep. Your body felt heavy as if sand filled your bones, and your head was clouded with confusion. Slowly, you opened your eyes to a dark a room you didn’t recognize. You tried to sit up, but the resulting bolt of pain that jolted down your body stopped you. You couldn’t remember much more than that you had been on your way home. Had you been in an accident? Were in you a hospital? An image of a man in a suit flashed across your mind. As you rummaged through your thoughts to try to remember who that man was and what happened, the temperature in the room dropped suddenly. Thinking the air condition had kicked on you pulled the covers higher over you and continued with your train of thought. You didn’t notice the man that watched you quietly from the shadowy corner.

He mused to himself as to why he had saved you. In his 400 years as a grim reaper, he had never spared a soul that was supposed to pass on. He thought of all the paperwork he would have to go through and what explanation he would give but quickly pushed the thoughts aside as you tried to move again and let out a cry of pain.

“You really shouldn’t move right now,” he stated calmly.

You searched the darkness before you for the source of the voice. “Hello? Who’s there? Are you the one who saved me? Please, come closer so I can see you.”

He took a deep breath and stepped forward into the thin stream of moonlight that snuck through the space between the curtains. Every instinct he had was screaming at him to stop, but he was curious about you and he didn’t care how many rules he was breaking; he had already broken the biggest one of all by not guiding your soul to the next life.

With the silvery light, you looked at the man standing in front of you. What stood out to you more than his sharp features and the mole on the bridge of his nose was the shock of blue hair that peeked out from under his hat.

“So, you really can see me,” he muttered quietly to himself.

“Of course I can. Why wouldn’t I be able to?” you questioned.

Your question seemed to make him slightly uneasy as he carefully removed his hat and clutched it tightly at his side.

“Uh, how should I say this?” he looked up as if the answer would be written out for him on the ceiling. “I’m a grim reaper. You were supposed to die tonight and I was the one assigned to your soul to the next life.” You looked at him blankly, trying to process if what he was saying was real or if it was just a drug-induced illusion from all the medication you were undoubtedly on. “Except,” he continued, “I did the opposite of that.” He ran a hand through his hair, messing up the way it was neatly styled. “Man, Yongguk-hyung isn’t going to be too happy about this,” he whined.

You sat in silence for a moment as you took in what the man just said. The fact that an actual grim reaper was standing in your room was not the most surprising thing to you. More than anything, you wanted to know why he had saved you. “Why didn’t you my soul then? Why save me?”

“Because you asked,” he replied simply.

“I asked? Don’t other people plead with you not to take them away? Why me and not them?”

He shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure. You’re the first soul I’ve spared in 400 years, so I’m as clueless as you right now. If I had to give an answer, I would say that it was just a feeling that I had.”

You mulled over his explanation for a moment before deciding you would believe him. You had been given a second chance and you weren’t about to have him take it back. “Alright then, do you have a name?”

He paused before answering, “Jongup. Moon Jongup” he smiled brightly.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jongup. I’m guessing you already know my name,” you laughed lightly. Jongup nodded and moved to sit in the chair next to your bed. The two of you began a steady conversation about anything that popped into your mind. You discovered that he had an intense love for chocolate milk and enjoyed watching anime in his spare time. The conversation continued until the horizon was dusted lightly with hues of pink and orange. Jongup glanced out the window and stood up, placing his hat back on.

“It’s time for me to leave. I’ll be receiving a new name soon and I can’t be late.”

You nodded in understanding. “Jongup, can I ask you one more thing?” The reaper turned back to you and waited for you to continue. “Can you promise me that when it’s my time to go, that you’ll be the one to guide me?” You lifted your hand and stuck out your pinky.

A wide grin appeared on his face as he hooked his pinky with yours, “I promise.”

With one last smile shared between the two of you, Jongup took a step back and disappeared.

-------

Your life continued without too much fanfare. You passed through the stages of your life, catching a glimpse of your blue-haired friend when death was near, but he was never there for more than few seconds before vanishing again.

You sat in your home, looking out the window as the sun began to dip to the horizon. You were an old woman now; you had lived a long, joyful life, but you could feel it was the end. A slight gust of air caught your attention and when you turned to look, a young man in a black suit with strands of blue hair poking out from under his hat stood in your living room. He wore a bright grin and greeted you with a wave.

“You’re here,” you smiled, “It must really be my time.” Jongup’s grin faltered for a moment before he reached his hand out to you.

“Are you ready? You’re going to quite a beautiful place.”

You nodded slowly as you let him help you stand up. With your arm linked with his, he guided you carefully to the front door. Jongup paused with his hand on the silver handle and gave you a reassuring smile. You took a deep breath and nodded to Jongup; you were ready for the next part of your journey with your friend by your side. Jongup pressed down on the silver handle on the door swung open to reveal a field of white flowers that swayed lazily in the breeze. You reveled in the beauty of such a scene and Jongup allowed you a moment to take it all in before giving your hand a soft squeeze.

“You’ve worked hard. It’s time to rest.”