Jisoo coughed, her airway irritated by the smoke coming from the train. She looked around, and could see people making their way around the station. Some, like her, just arrived with their one-handed luggage by their side. The new arrivals stood by the train's door, unsure of where they were supposed to go. Others, Jisoo noticed, were lining up in an orderly fashion, with their one-handed luggage alongside them. Those lining up were all smiles, and Jisoo looked up at the sign: To Heaven. 

Ah, that must be nice. Jisoo thought, a smile tugging on her lips. 

Still, others were huddled around the signboard at the middle of the station. Some were smiling, some were frowning as they read the lists posted. Being too far to actually see what was posted, Jisoo noted to check the board later. 

"Hello, new arrivals!" A skinny woman dressed in a white blouse with a gray vest and matching gray skirt greeted Jisoo's group. The skinny woman introduced herself as their guide, and she ushered them to follow her.

The sound of the guide's thick heels echoed through the hallway as they were making their way through the building. The woman stopped in front of an unmarked door, making the group stop too.

"Kim Jisoo, this is your stop. I'll pick you up after the session." Jisoo nodded, gave her thanks, and departed from the group. She stared at the 7-foot wooden door, its high arches intimidating the 5'3"-woman. The hallway was tiled with linoleum flooring and was freshly waxed, judging by it's shiny surface. The walls of the building were a mix of hardwood and cement, painted over with an off-white color and accented with maroon stripes above the floor. It screamed of the 1900s, and perhaps it was intentional, because Jisoo felt at ease knowing that the buidling's design was from a later age. The smell of wood and wax in the air reminded Jisoo of simpler times, and gave her the courage to knock on the wooden door twice. To Jisoo's surprise, the door opened when her knuckles touched the wood -- the previous arrival must have forgotten to completely close the door. 

"Jisoo, come in." A scratchy voice beckoned. The owner of the voice was clad in an officer's uniform, with stars dangling at the chest plate and his beret rolled in place ontop his shoulder. 

"Sir." Jisoo bowed, stepping inside the room. For a room with a seven-foot door, the interior was ironically small. At the center was a small desk, with two chairs at opposite ends. A sidetable with two glasses and a clear pitcher of water spiced with herbs was placed beside the desk. A small television was near the door, the remote lying on top of the television. Behind the desk were cabinets stuffed with files all properly sorted alphabetically. Jisoo could make out a 3-foot hole in the wall beyond the cabinets, covered haphazardly with a plank of plywood, ducttaped to the wall -- light was shining through the hole and Jisoo found the light oddly warm, as if it was calling her. Suddenly, Jisoo felt a rush of emotions as she stared at the hole. A crushing pain, much like an elephant stepping on her chest, was all too familiar. Jisoo held her hand to her chest and went down to her knees. The officer acted quickly, getting a glass of water from the pitcher and offering it to Jisoo in a span of seconds. 

"Jisoo, quick, drink this. Your emotions may still be unstable from your last moments alive." The officer said. Jisoo quickly drank the clear liquid. The herbs present in the pitcher tasted sweet, yet tangy. Whatever the herbs' effects were, Jisoo recovered from the chest pain and her emotions stabilized over a few moments. After her breathing evened out, the officer guided her to sit on the chair.

"This is purgatory's special." The officer winked at Jisoo, refilling her empty glass. He offered her another glass of the spiced water. "It helps us souls especially in times of turbulent emotions or whenever phantom pains start acting up. Think of it as a gift from up above." He gave a hearty laugh, and Jisoo laughed with him. She sipped on the water, as he continued talking.

"So, welcome to purgatory. Your waiting game begins." He briefly went over Jisoo's death, clarifying that Jisoo indeed died and is now in purgatory. He paused for a moment, reviewing Jisoo's papers on his desk. A ghost of a smile hovered over his face which was quickly taken back and followed by a pout. He looked up at Jisoo and continued. "I'm sorry, but your assigned room is currently undergoing renovations, the last one to occupy it left some damage before transferring. I'll be rooming you in with another soul, if that's okay with you?" 

Jisoo nodded, thinking that she couldn't really die again if her roommate turned out to be somekind of murderer. She made the right reply, judging by the smile on the offier's lips. 

"Alright, that's settled. You'll be rooming in with one of our longer-staying tenants, and I hope you get along well. Here are your keys and your remote." He handed Jisoo a set of keys, all different in size with numbers as their labels. The remote was for a television, which Jisoo presumed to have in her room. "Each key unlocks a special place here in purgatory. The first key is for your room, second is our restaurant, third is the archives, and fourth is the recreation room. The remote is customized for you. With that, you can watch over your special ones down on earth, as long as whatever your viewing is accepted by our monitoring board. There's a telephone inside the room too, but it's more of a one-way phone: your special ones from heaven contact you through the phone. We'll give a heads-up if they've scheduled a call so that you'll be inside the room when it happens; well, we try to especially if our staff isn't that busy. I can't promise you how long you'll be staying here, but there are community jobs that if you take will make your time here quicker, but in the end  you just need to behave and eventually you'll move up the waitlist. That's about it. Do you have questions?" Jisoo took the keys and the remote, taking a moment to process what the officer said.

"My roommate, do I know them?" Jisoo asked. The officer let out a chuckle before guiding Jisoo towards the door. "Ah, of course. She's got quite a temper, so I hope you two keep the fights to a minimum." He opened the door, and Jisoo took her leave. Her guide was already waiting outside, with a bright smile on her face. A list of people with volatile tempers ran down in Jisoo's head, and she mused at the thought of a specific person. 

After putting on her lipstick, she smacked her lips together, admiring her reflection. Her make-up was light -- black eyeliner with minimal eyeshadow accenting her cat-like eyes, her cheek tint a perfect pink hue, and her lipstick coloring her smile. It was day seven hundred and thirty-one of her stay here in purgatory, but it never hurt to put on a pretty face. Even with her wrinkles that came with age, Jennie Kim was still a face to be reckoned with. A ruckus outside her room disturbed her peace, and putting on a scowl, she opened the door. 

"Ay, kids be quiet! How can I enjoy the rest in R.I.P. if you're being that loud?" Jennie screamed at the whole class of children outside the hallway. They were new arrivals - a bus crashed the other day, bringing to purgatory thirty-two children with the accident. The children looked at her before rushing into their respective rooms, giggling all the way.

"Mrs Kim! Cut the kids some slack, will you?" An exasperated voice that Jennie knew all too well scolded her. It was her guide, clad in her Tuesday attire - a white blouse with a gray vest and gray skirt, which Jennie found to be dull but it's not like the young guide listened to her for fashion advice, Jennie thought.

"Ah, guide, you're here. The kids were noisy! Scold them instead." Jennie pouted, looking at her guide. She noted legs behind the guide, and the owner of the legs popped out from behind. 

"Jendeuk! It's you!" Jisoo's raspy voice, a voice that kept replaying in her head to the point that Jennie wasn't sure was real or not, ringed in her ears. 

"It's Mrs Kim to you. Jenduek is a reserved nickname." Jennie scoffed, turning around from her guide and the new tenant. Her guide let out an uneasy chuckle. 

"Mrs Kim, please say hello to your new roommate, Kim Jisoo." The guide called out Jennie, and Jennie hurriedly went back into her room, leaving the door open for the two to walk in. 

Jennie, breathe. Jennie could feel her lungs betraying her, seemingly filled with fluid as she found it difficult to breath. She grabbed a glass of purgatory's special by the coffee table, and quickly drank it. 

Jisoo stepped into the room, admiring the rustic design. It was a big rooom, with a small living area greeting her consisting of two chairs, a coffee table with a clear pitcher filled with purgatory's special, and a glass ontop of it. By the wall of the living area was a small television, much like the one inside the officer's room. This time, instead of a remote, multiple VHS tapes were placed ontop of the television, all labeled with 'Jennie Kim'. Different dates, some from 2017, some from the 2000s, but the majority of the tapes were labelled with the late1960s. A neatly queen-sized made bed was beside the living area, with a wooden closet at its foot. Right beside the bed was a divider, and Jisoo presumed that there was another bed of the same size at the opposite end of the divider. A vanity desk was placed facing the divider, with make-up materials organized on the desk. The room was illuminated by numerous yellow lamps, and the floor was carpeted by a thick red rug, with hints of wooden flooring at the bare areas. At one corner was a small end table with a lone telephone ontop, and a small chair beside it.The guide ushered Jisoo inside, and once Jisoo was by the neatly made bed, the guide took her leave. 

"Hello. Welcome." Jennie forced out as she turned to Jisoo. She placed the empty glass by the ledge of the divider and crossed her arms. 

"Tsk, Jendeuk, you're still so grumpy. I thought dying would soften you up a bit." Jisoo jabbed, a light chuckle following her statement. 

Jennie couldn't fight off the blush, regretting putting on cheek tint. If she's going to make my cheeks this red, then I wasted a good amount of cheek tint today, Jennie thought. 

"It's Mrs Kim to you. What did you say your name was?" Jennie asked, feigning ignorance. Jisoo glared at her, and Jennie fought off a smirk that was itching to form on her face.

"Your signs of aging is showing, Jendeuk. It's me, Jisoo. Kim Jisoo." 

"Ahh, Jisoo! So it's really you." 

"Pft, I don't know what's worse, your memory or you eyesight." Jisoo complained. 

"Hey, don't blame me! You've aged, Jisoo. It's been, I don't know, decades since we saw each other." It's been forty-three years since we last saw each other, to be exact, a voice echoed in Jennie's mind. 

Jisoo was clad in a simple black dress with a wooled cardigan over, and a pair of white flats. Her salt-and-pepper hair fell to her back, long enough to reach the bottom of her shoulders. Wrinkles could be seen across her skin, but her dimples were deeper than all the wrinkles aging that aging brought. 

Jennie stopped herself from staring and pretended to be busy at the vanity desk, organizing her make up to one side to make room for whatever Jisoo brought with her.

"Anyway, how are you?" Jennie asked.  

Jisoo laid down on the bed, a moan escaping her lips as her aching back touched the soft mattress. 

"Still looking for answers, being dead isn't easy, huh? How are you?" Jisoo remarked, a yawn escaping her lips.

"It get's better. I'm good, still as pretty as ever." Jennie could hear Jisoo scoff at her reply. 

"Don't go to sleep yet, we have a schedule at the support group later." Jennie continued, hearing Jisoo's yawns. The conversation was cut short by the ringing of the telephone. Jennie skipped to the telephone, her gummy smile showing. Jisoo closed her eyes to take a quick nap, the activities of the day draining her. Before she could go to sleep, she could hear Jennie's voice talking by the telephone.

"Hello, Kai! How are you? I miss you terribly." 

The scheduled support group was for the new arrivals, Jisoo included. Jennie was there as one of the community volunteers. The new arrivals sat in a circle, with the facilitator sitting across Jisoo. Jisoo could see Jennie preparing snacks and the special drink at her peripheral vision. 

"Good evening everyone, I'm Lisa." A blonde haired girl, around her early thirties, spoke. They all mumbled a hello in reply, as was custom in support-groups. The facilitator gestured for Lisa to continue.

"I died last night. Um, it was a car crash. Arrived at the emergency room dead on arrival. But I'm happy. Had a lot of debts there in the real world so when I realized I died, I couldn't be more thankful for all the debts cancelled out by death." Lisa chuckled, tears in her eyes contradicting her laugh. "It's just that, I viewed the television earlier and... oh god. Chaeyoung, my bestfriend, kept on crying by my casket earlier - " Lisa choked on her speech, now crying. Jennie rushed to her, offering her the spiced water. After Lisa calmed down, the facilitator thanked her for sharing and looked at Jisoo. Jisoo took the cue and started.

"Hello, I'm Jisoo." The group echoed the greeting. "I am, er, was, er am, seventy-one years old. Died when my heart gave up on me." Jisoo quipped, earning a small laugh from the group and a side-eye from Jennie. "But seriosuly, I died of heart failure. Died a week after my second heart attack. I just arrived earlier today." 

The facilitator nodded, and prodded Jisoo to speak more. "And how are you feeling tonight, Jisoo?" 

"It's kinda hard to explain. Death feels very freeing -- I can walk and run again without my joints aching every second, but at the same time I feel burdened by the guilt of my passing. I wonder if the people I left are okay. I feel that I've abandoned the people I love." Jisoo looked down at her fingers, breathing heavily.

"Pft, as if it's the first time you've done it." Jennie muttered. Jisoo's head whipped to Jennie's direction. "Jennie, do you have something to say?" Jisoo asked pointedly.

Jennie coughed. "No, no. Go on." She locked gazes with Jisoo, challenging her. The facilitator ignored Jennie and urged Jisoo to say more. "Jisoo, is this about your family?"

"Yes. I left my son and granddaughter in my passing." Jisoo's eyes softened at the thought of her family. "My son's already big, but he was always with me until the very end. I just hope he's okay with me gone." The room was quiet and the facilitator thanked Jisoo for sharing. 

Jennie let Jisoo inside the elevator first, and when they were inside, she pressed the button to their floor. 

"Didn't know you're an elevator lady now." Jisoo joked, earning a light slap from Jennie.

"Hey, that's a very respectable job." Jennie countered, showing a soft smile from Jisoo's laugh. The elevator slowly made its way up the floors.

"So, a second heart attack? Didn't you learn from your first one? Ahh, typical Kim Jisoo, always doing away with the drinking and eating." Jennie teased. Jisoo shot her a questioning look.

"And how would you know about the drinking and eating?" Jisoo let out an audible gasp at the same time Jennie mentally cursed at herself.

"Yah, Jendeuk, were you stalking me?" Jisoo teased, poking Jennie at her sides. The elevator opened on their floor, and Jennie took the opportunity to march out, heading towards their room. She could hear Jisoo's laughter as the latter quicked her pace to keep up. The laughter persisted until they reached their room, and Jennie's blush turned redder by each passing moment. 

"Aren't you full of yourself, huh Kim Jisoo!" Jennie screamed in embarrassment, empty of anything snarky to reply to Jisoo when she was clearly caught red-handed. Jisoo wiped a tear from her eye and settled into a chair. She tried to turn the television on with her remote, but the television didn't respond. Jisoo's smile turned into a frown upon realizing that the remote was busted.

"Oh, it happens -- remotes getting broken. Just report it to the supervisor so they'd get you a new one, okay?" Jennie said, pitying the frowning Jisoo. Jisoo nodded in reply, her frown still present. The telephone rang again, and Jennie was surprised. She wasn't informed that Kai would call twice today. She looked at Jisoo, and Jisoo shrugged. 

"Go on, get it." Jisoo said, opting to sulk at the chair, boring holes into her busted remote control.

"Hello, Kai?" Jennie tentatively asked upon answering the phone.

"Kai? Who is this? I asked to be directed to Kim Jisoo." Jennie's eyes widened at the familiar voice. It was Jin, Jisoo's husband. Jennie quickly place the phone on the table, as if it was burning. 

"Eh, Jisoo, it's yours. Jin's on the line." Jennie said, moving away from the telephone and sitting on Jisoo's bed. Jisoo shot her a confused look, but nevertheless made her way to the telephone.

"Hello?" Jisoo asked tentatively, and as she realized that it was indeed Jin on the other end, she perked up instantly. 

Jennie watched Jisoo talk on the phone, observing the seventy-one year old lady by the phone talking like a giddy sixteen-year-old. 

"Yes, it was Jennie who answered. We're roommates here in the purgatory." Jisoo said and smiled at whatever Jin was saying.

"Uh huh, it makes me happy that you aren't jealous of me and Jennie being roommates. You always got jealous over her back when we were living." Jisoo chided, making Jennie turnover, burying her head into Jisoo's mattress - at least Jisoo couldn't see her blush if she positioned herself like this. Their conversation ended shortly after, and Jennie could feel Jisoo's weight on the mattress. Jisoo laid beside her, her eyes staring at the ceiling, admiring the clean finish of the panels. 

"How long were you and Jin married?" Jennie asked, her face still burried into the mattress. As muffled as her voice was, Jisoo heard her clearly.

"Thirty-nine years, I believe. Jin died five years ago. How about you and Kai?" Jisoo asked.

"Forty-seven years! I died a year ahead of Kai." Jennie smiled at the thought of her husband.

"Mm, so you met up with Kai here? Wow, you must've been a mean Jen considering that Kai went up faster than you did." Jisoo teased. Jennie huffed in annoyance, opting to pinch whatever part of Jisoo she could get her hands on. It was Jisoo's stomach, and Jennie's pinch may have activated Jisoo's stomach because right after, it rumbled in hunger. Jennie quickly got up, an idea in her mind. 

"Hey, let's eat dinner. Dress nicely." Jennie told Jisoo, and before Jisoo could reply, Jennie was busy at her side of the room, changing into something more appropriate.  

Jisoo gasped as they entered the restaurant. There was a long bar, with several baristas mixing drinks to the souls drinking to their hearts' content. The tables were covered with white linen with gold accents, and the wooden chairs were cushioned with red velvet at its seat and its backrest. The plates appeared to be heavy, and the silverware shined against the soft yellow light that lit the room. The room was carpeted, the sound of heels muffled by the thick carpet. The walls were covered with an earth-colored wallpaper, with accents both at the bottom and the top of the walls. It was a classy restaurant, and Jisoo couldn't help but get excited at the thought of their dinner.

"This place looks classy. Purgatory must have a big budget." Jisoo remarked as she and Jennie were ushered to an empty table for two. 

"It's nice, right? Usually the new arrivals get around three free passes into this place, and if you consume the free passes, you can get in in exchange for community work. A loophole, I found, was being with a new arrival, which is you. Apparently, new arrivals can bring a plus one with their free pass." Jennie winked at Jisoo. 

Ah, this woman hasn't changed a bit. Always looking for loopholes. Jisoo thought.

They eased into conversation, as if the decades of separation never existed. Jisoo would pull off a joke, and Jennie would laugh heartily, showing her gums - which would make Jisoo want to joke some more only to make Jennie laugh again; it was a cycle which both never wanted to end. Their meal arrived, and Jisoo found herself placing food onto Jennie's plate, much like what they did years ago. Jisoo thought of stopping herself, but Jennie wasn't complaining so Jisoo chose to finish serving Jennie before getting food for herself. The two ate their meal happily. 

Jisoo took hold of a dumpling and placed it in front of her, positioning it to where Jennie's cheek was in her point of view. "Jendeuk, look, the dumpling fits perfectly." Jennie lifted her gaze from her food only to see Jisoo joking at her expense. Jennie scowled and before she could give a snarky comeback, Jisoo cut her short.

"Ahh, your grumpy attitude must've been the cause of your death." Jisoo made a disapproving noise before eating her dumpling. 

"It was diabetes in complication, you dork." Jennie said, rolling her eyes. Jisoo nodded, as if she already knew what Jennie was saying. 

"I know, silly. I went to your wake." Jisoo said. Jennie squinted in disbelief. 

"No, you did not. I happened to watch my wake several times - I never saw you there." Jennie argued. Jisoo placed down her utensils, taking her time to dab the table napkin to her lips before replying.

"I was. I wore a white longsleeved collar top, black cropped slacks, and black leather step-in shoes. I was at the very last row, at the right side if you face the altar." Jisoo stared at Jennie the entire time, and Jennie's eyebrows furrowed.

"If you were there, did you approach my casket? Did you throw flowers to my grave when they buried me?" Jennie challenged in a whisper. Jisoo gave out mirthless laugh.

"I talked to Kai at the end of the service. I offered my condolences. I walked out shortly after the final mass. Who was I, Jen, to throw flowers to your grave