The next day Jongin informed Mama Kim of what had happened and they immediately contacted the local authorities, informing them of the undiscovered mass grave. Workers were then sent out to dig the park outside Baekhyun’s flat. Just as Chinsun had suspected, the park was indeed one of the numerous mass graves for those who died during the Jeju Uprising that were scattered throughout the island. The uprising had taken place in 1948 and 1949, when the government sent troops over to Jeju in fear of communist insurgency. The result however was a massacre of thousands and thousands of innocent lives, with whole villages reduced to ashes by government forces.

Under the local authorities’ request, Kim Funeral Home was to conduct a proper funeral procession for the dead and since Jongdae was now the representative, he was tasked with overseeing the funeral procession and ritual for the victims of the Jeju Uprising.

The Kim Funeral Home had a long-standing relationship with the local authorities. However it was all new to Jongdae, who had only handled normal funerals since returning from Seoul after having finished his studies. Dressed in their most formal black suits, Jongin guided Jongdae throughout the procession and a whole ceremony was conducted by Jongin in order to bring peace to the restless souls. For Jongdae who had no understanding of the spirit world, it felt like an archaic tradition and formality, but he handled the task with great seriousness nonetheless.

Baekhyun and Chinsun — also dressed in black — stood at the side while paying their respects. Breathing deeply to maintain his cool, Baekhyun was left in awe at everything unfolding in front of his eyes. From a normal person’s perspective, it was just a very formal and grand procession, however Baekhyun could see the rows and rows of wandering spirits queuing up to step into the afterlife. Once again he was astounded by the world that Chinsun and Jongin saw through their eyes and he wondered what was awaiting him as long as his left eye still had the ‘sight’.

Chinsun noticed two familiar figures slowly approaching them and nudged Baekhyun once she realised that it was the mother and child spirits from last night.

“I thought Jongin helped them cross over already?” Baekhyun whispered towards Chinsun.

“I thought so too,” Jongin’s voice interjected, taking Baekhyun by surprise.

“Clearly your skills are getting rusty,” Chinsun hummed in nonchalance, earning a glare of disagreement from Jongin. “But I think they returned to properly show us their gratitude and bid us goodbye properly.”

Once again Chinsun was correct. The mother was holding her child’s hand tightly and they both gave a deep bow at the three of them. The little child waved at them cheerfully, showcasing a gummy smile that could melt anyone’s heart. The mother then tugged at the child and they fell in line with the other spirits preparing to depart for the afterlife.

・・・

After the rather eventful morning, Baekhyun had followed Chinsun back to Naesae and Jongdae had tagged along, being in no hurry to return to his desk at the funeral home. Thus the two university friends were lounging on the bench inside the bookstore while Chinsun emerged from the kitchenette, having prepared a warm drink.

“Coffee? That’s a change,” Baekhyun chirped, enjoying the rich aroma of the drink.

“Thought we needed something stronger to give us a kick of energy.” Chinsun smiled, resuming her position behind the counter.

“Right you are,” Jongdae grumbled, slouching against the wall. “I’m beat. Everything was so last minute. How on earth did they find out that there was a mass grave there anyway?”

Baekhyun choked on his coffee while Chinsun hid her face behind her hand, refusing to meet Jongdae’s inquiring gaze. It had not dawned upon Chinsun to think of an explanation for Jongdae about the unfolding of the events. That had always been Jongin’s job, regardless of how ridiculous the stories that he came up with were.

Fortunately, Chinsun and Baekhyun were saved from having to answer the question by Jongin’s sudden appearance as he came out of the kitchenette — having arrived through the secret passage. Baekhyun’s eyes widened, wondering whether Jongdae would find it weird that Jongin did not enter from the main entrance. Seeing the lack of surprise from Jongdae however, it proved