Chaewon would have to review the manual as soon as she got to the underworld, though she is pretty sure this wasn't on her job description.

The woman, Minju, had been a distraction, an obstacle in one of her first tasks as a new grim reaper. It was a mere obstacle that she was just bound to literally go through her and get on her way.

That was not the case.

She was flying, quick as the wind trying to get to the dying soul of an old man at the nearby hospital, but the small woman had basically stopped her, screaming at her that she couldn't be such an and leave her with with a broken water. Chaewon had stopped to look around, quite scared that such a small woman had such power in her lungs. Though if she thought deeper, the few times that her boss had taken the soul of a woman giving birth, their appearance was like that of demon, having scared a younger Yewon, who clung to her leg.

Anyways, her surprise grew when she realized that no one was there, and the person, or well, being, that she was yodelling at was her.

At first frozen, she thought quickly about what to do, but knowing that the woman needed a hospital so that her child could be born, she tried tentatively to touch her. If she had seen her, maybe Chaewon would be capable to lift her and take to the hospital she needed to go to then accomplish her task. Plus, it seemed that this child was meant to live, no?

Minju yelped as the girl she had seen almost running through her, no regard to the about-to-have-a-child woman who was begging for someone's help in the deserted street.

She screamed as she felt another contraction, but the tall woman just muttered something under her breath and ran. She was quick, Minju gave it to her. It almost felt as if they were flying.

In no time, Chaewon could see the building she was looking for, the outdated phrase 'bingo' at the tip of her tongue. She ran quickly and stopped at the door, remembering that if she entered the doors, the only thing she would accomplish would be to make nurses scream at the sight of a levitating woman, as if it wasn't enough that the people they had passed on their way had seen them.

Fumes were almost coming out of the her head, as if she was trying to think deep. After a while, though, walked through the doors and entered the building.

"Could someone help me?" the tall girl asked as she moved around, looking for who to take the woman to. She had been at the hospital several times, but she had never had to deal with the bureaucracy of the place. The nurses didn't seem to listen until Minju gave anither pained cry, which then sprung them into action.

Chaewon has no relationship to the writhing woman she was carrying. Hell, she didn't even have one of those cards that have your name and photo and stuff. However, the brunette had given exactly three s and had basically pleaded with her to stay. Chaewon was hesitant, but ultimately she would be doing her job, right? It was just making her think she was in the waiting room, well, waiting for her, to calm her nerves, but she instead would be doing her job, a poor man's soul.

Nope.

What the other woman had really asked was that Chaewon entered the labor room with her.

"I need somebody," she had pleaded. Well, she needed someone else's soul, but who cared for her?

Anyways, here she was, holding the woman's hand, which now seemed intent on crushing her fingers, while the woman fought to bring a new life into the world.

"This is not my job! This is the exact opposite of my job!" she screamed as the woman named every obsenity she had heard in that language.

It felt eternal, and she predicted that her right hand would become a little pile of bones and cartilage. But...

A small cry resounded in the room.

Despite her job and training before it, she had always been marveled at the sight of new life being brought into the world, regardless of circumstances. This time was no different.

"Congratulations. It's a girl."

Chaewon looked at the baby in awe, in her mind thinking about the human child's possibilites.

As for Minju, the already spent woman laid on the bed looking affectionately at the child that was then given to her, put in her arms. Holding it carefully, she cooed at her, giving her small pats with her fingertips. It was a little moving.

"So, I guess I should give you and the child some space," Chaewon said lamely, hoping to make a quick escape to do her task.

The brunette looked at her, eyes full of curiousity and something else, like she hadn't tried to crush her hand.

"Thank you," she said, her glinting of what she know recognized as gratefulness.

"Sure, anytime," Chaewon answered, trying to send her a smile. She walked slowly to the door, deciding to not look behind.

She transformed at the bathroom, becoming an intangible being, and flew through the wall, looking for the man's room.

It was already something she was used to, not in practice, but in seeing her boss do it, so when she his soul, leaving his lifeline dead, her expression didn't change, the solemnity of her job present in her thin lips.

And with that, she left, flying through the building to the underworld, but not before she turned to look at it again, thinking about the before screaming, and now calm woman and her child. A small wish sprung into her mind, but she squashed it. Such things were not for her, grim reaper.

--

It was the last time she would be seeing the woman and her child, or so she had thought when she flew away from the hospital.

But her boss had given her a task there again. Still, she didn't expect to find her there. Several weeks had gone by, and as far as she knew, a new born child didn't need much time there.

Now she had to take a young woman's soul. She was unmoving on the bed, the only sound the machines conected to her heartbeat, which beeped annoyingly after a moment. Chaewon touched her ear, annoyed, and left the room.

"Ah, it's you!" the small woman said, a smile playing on her lips. Chaewon jumped, looking at her body before turning to look at the woman.

"Ah, me?" she exclaimed lamely, wondering how was the woman able to see her. Minju nodded.

"Do you have family here?" the small woman asked.

"No, I just... Ah, visit patients from time to time." And take their souls to the underworld.

"That's so kind of you," Minju said, the corners of turning up, as if forcing them to stay there.

"I suppose," I mean, taking them out of their misery is kindness, no? "Well, I guess it's time for me to go." The smile on Minju's lips fell as a frown settled. "See you," Chaewon waved, looking forward to leaving quickly. It made no sense to stay longer with this human that would be seen as a psycho as soon as someone came into view of the woman having a conversation with the air.

She had just started to step towards the stairs when the sleeve of her black hoodie was pulled. Turning around, she was met with a very pitiful expression. Chaewon couldn't say it was the most pitiful, since she didn't have the custom of looking at people's faces, even less of distinguishing expressions.

"C-could you do me a favor?" Minju pleaded shakily, shocking her.

"Uh..."

"Please, could you stay with me? I-I just need someone," Minju mumbled the last part.

Never looking at faces, never caring for a person other than to take their soul, she had never felt conflicted with meddling in human affairs. But in that moment her eyes darted between the door and the pleading woman who shook her sleeve, seemingly not realizing it.

"Uh, okay," she answered after a moment of deliberation. "Let me just enter the bathroom."

The stare down that followed was unnerving as if the woman was trying to the truth out of her. She seemed satisfied as she let her sleeve go, humming meekly, as if she hadn't bore holes on her face.

Chaewon walked calmly, using her supernatural sight to search for the bathroom. Once found, she transfigured to a tangible form in there. She looked at herself in the mirror, straightening the wrinkles in the part of the shirt that peeked from behind the hoodie, and left, hoping that the woman wouldn't have meant it, instead having had a lapse in judgement for asking for help to a stranger, who she seemed not to realize wasn't even human.

She was still there, her face brightening up at the sight of her, it made Chaewon's proverbial heart flutter. Looking around, she extended her arms.

"Do you want some coffee from the cafeteria?"

"Sure, lead the way."

They walked side to side, no words spoken between them. They arrived soon enough at the hospital's cafeteria, where there was a sea of white coats.

"Sit, I'll bring us the drinks," Minju said, gesturing towards one of the empty tables that were close to the door. Chaewon nodded, walking towards them.

As she sat down, her head spinned around, looking at the room, having never needed to investigate much this part of the building. She supposed that it was fine, just a little monotonous, like the human lifetime usually seemed to her.

Minju came back with two steaming cups in her hands. She put one of the cups in front of Chaewon before sitting down. The grim reaper examined the coffee before drinking a huge gulp of it.

"So, uhm, how have you been?" the reaper asked, feeling instant regret afterwards as tears settled in the smaller woman's eyes. "Sorry if it was too invasive of me."

"No, it's fine. It's just..." she wiped her left eye with the back of her hand. "Nobody had asked me that in a long time." Minju gave a shaky smile. "I... I have been better, but I'm hanging in there."

"Oh," the reaper simply exclaimed, not sure if it was wise to ask why.

"I'm sorry if I kept you here. Maybe you had stuff to do..." Her eyes filled with tears again, making Chaewon feel like her insides were being twisted.

"No, it's fine," she answered, surprising herself. Surely her boss would've her head on plate as soon as she got back. "I get it." She didn't really, but for some reason she wanted to reassure this human.

"Thank you." Minju shot her a grateful, even shakier smile. "It's just that, these days I have no one to talk to. Since I left my hometown, I have been less connected to my family and friends than I wanted to, and they don't..." she choked on her words, a little sob coming out at the end of her speech. Chaewon awkwardly thought in patting her shoulder, and tried it, feeling so out of her environment. Minju looked at her for a moment before bursting into tears.

The reaper looked around frantically, thinking about what to do. She had seen crying humans time and time again, and they were not once any of her business. But consoling one?

She didn't know this woman, other than having been there when she was giving birth, and grim reapers tend to not show much grief, so what was she supposed to do? Deciding on overstepping her own boundaries, she stood up and walked to Minju's side, embracing the trembling figure with utmost care.

It didn't seem to help. As soon as her arms touched the woman, she trembled even more, her sobs becoming more audible. Chaewon panicked, but kept herself there, hoping the woman would stop crying.

They stayed there for a moment, the reaper patting the woman's arm, looking around as if to assure herself that nobody paid attention to them, while the woman continued crying, each second a little more softly, until she calmed down.

Minju, realizing her position in Chaewon's arms, shook them awkwardly, signaling to the taller woman that she could let her go. The other woman did let her go, albeit too quickly, making her feel disappointment and... Longing?

She shook those thoughts away, thinking that perhaps she had been too much time without her loved ones.

"I'm sorry for..." she mumbled as the taller woman sat down, cringing at the sight of her own shirt covered in tears.

"It's okay. At least you didn't wet my shirt." Minju laughed embarrassedly.

"I'm really sorry. It's just that I hadn't had a person to talk to in a while."

"It's okay. You don't have to justify yourself," Chaewon answered.

"No, I do. I asked you to stay with me, and even though you were there for me a few weeks ago, you're still a stranger, a stranger that I'm still asking for help to. The least I could do was apologize for my outburst."

"Alright," Chaewon complied, just nodding along and bringing the cup to her lips. The pleasant bitter taste filled her tongue, and she gave out a satisfied smile.

They stayed in silence, the noise of the cafeteria filling the awkward space between them.

At first, Chaewon had thought of leaving as soon as her cup was empty, but now, her gaze alternating between the cup and the woman, she felt a surprising amount of reluctance.

Still, she couldn't forget that she would already be in hot water with the boss, and staying more time wasn't an option.

But for what reason did she want to stay? Her small act of charity was done, the child had been born, and the mother was healthy, sipping on a, Chaewon suspected, empty cup.

Curiosity, she labeled the feeling as she stood, grabbing the empty cup with more strength than needed.

"I guess I need to go now," she pronounced slowly, compassion swirling in her stomach as the woman's eyes dulled.

"Ah, uh, before you go," Minju said quickly, ignoring the tightness in her stomach, "could you give me your number? I-I mean, if you want."

Chaewon stood pensively for a moment before answering. "It'd be better if you gave me yours."

Minju fumbled with her purse, finding a small notebook and a pen. She wrote on a random page and teared it off, giving it to Chaewon.

"I'm Kim Minju, by the way," she added nervously.

"Chaewon," the taller woman answered. "I guess I'll see you around." And just like that, Chaewon walked away, not waiting for any kind of response.