Taeyeon had quite a few enemies – ‘quite’ being the operative word. Some of which were her own family and friends whom she betrayed, some were her families’ and friends’ friends, and some were the entire city. Both her job and work ethic doesn’t merit a Nobel Prize, but it was enough to get her name infamously slapped on every product, every billboard placement, and every news article in South Korea and other parts of the world. She was like the Lex Luthor of Seoul. Or more accurately, the Miranda Priestly of Seoul.

 

A smart yet a manipulative woman—she deserved to go to hell. That is, if it exists.

 

She’s an atheist. The only few times she believed in purgatory and paradise was whenever she desperately curses her way out of a situation by yelling “I’ll see you all in hell!” before she makes her dramatic exit.

 

But what is her job, exactly? She’s basically a capitalist monster. Even in the 21^st century, women are still seen as weak and vulnerable. Taeyeon doesn’t live up to those labels. She’d simply do anything to make her stay at the top of the social pyramid. Conversely, doing this for more than a decade bores her now. She could be married. She could suddenly fall of the radar, buy a mansion in Jeju Island, and spend the rest of her life there (as Taylor Swift put it, “She had a marvelous time ruining everything,”) as she did, in fact, enjoyed making everyone suffer in her wake.

 

With the money she has now, just being ‘Taeyeon, owner and CEO of Nabi Inc.’ seems exhausting, because it is. Faking her death sounds so enticing right now.

 

As the chief executive blew her head off for the hundredth time, another intern was forced into quitting by themselves, ready to kiss this miserable job goodbye. This was all routine in her workplace: unnecessarily making everyone have the worst day possible and pushing unskilled employees to their full capacity until they leave on their own terms.

 

Gordon Ramsey would be proud. They almost have the same temperament, it’s uncanny.

 

Regardless, she’s not always evil. She’s still human even though she doesn’t normally see others as such.

 

Does she deserve to die? What if she saves Korea from another economic crisis? What could be an entertaining death?

 

All these thoughts swirled in the grim reaper’s mind, or physically and biologically, lack thereof. Her eyes scanned Taeyeon’s file in a job resume-inspired format. The underworld had taken notes on organizing their files by putting it on paper, arranged in an efficient style. All thanks to a human called Leonardo Da Vinci who was now reincarnated as a rat roaming the streets of Paris, France and finding himself going back to the Louvre for no reason. The female grim reaper fondly remembers that event. She didn’t kill him per se, she was like the backseat reaper dictating Da Vinci’s misfortunes while her coworker, the one who was assigned to judge him, did as he was told.

 

She’s called Number 418.

 

She was the worst of her kind. No, that’s actually a compliment as she’s frankly great at her job, for being the personification of death and judging humans whether they deserve to live or die.

 

Lately, there had been an abundance of people who deserved death. She practically manages the Judging Department, feeling burned out as her associates have high expectations of her. It made her too anxious to mess up even slightly. This vile human, the file in her boney hand, should be a chance of redeeming herself. Eager to start working, she looked through their monitor, once again taking inspiration from humans’ CCTV device except they don’t use cameras. She moved the joystick in the console to zoom in from above.

 

As seen from the monitors, Taeyeon was outside the building buying herself coffee, hot chocolate, and a -load of assorted flavors of muffins from a coffee cart. The reaper scratched her head. Is the human a glutton as well? She went back to the office carrying the food and beverage in two hands. She gave a hot chocolate to one of the guards inside, smiling sweetly as she handed it to him, and she went up to her floor. Curiously, the reaper kept watching in case the human messes up before she makes her move.

 

Taeyeon entered the conference room right across from her office, still carrying the bag of muffins. The room was packed with her subordinates of the same age range.

 

Ugh, Millennials. Even spiritual beings find them annoying.

 

She individually took out the muffins and placed them on each plate on the conference table. On another screen next to the one with an overhead shot of Taeyeon, is a real-time feed of her phone. She received a text from someone named “Mr Guard”, it read:

 

‘Ms Young is in the building’

 

And the plot thickens. Number 418 leaned back in her charred seat. They say the charred design is popular in the underworld market right now. The people in the conference room including the CEO were hastily preparing the presentation and the projector. They all took their respective seats as Taeyeon stood by the projection screen, waiting for a certain Ms Young’s arrival.

 

Dressed in a bright formal attire, all totaling at three million won and not counting her accessories, she arrived. She must be a big deal, 418 thought.

 

“Good morning,” The Ms Young human greeted with a kind smile. Her white set of teeth practically shone like the sun. She somehow has this effect on people and spirits.

 

The reaper was in disbelief. Ms Young has the potential of becoming an angel. She pressed a button on the console and the video on her screen moved three times the speed until it reached the end of their meeting.

 

The other employees left the room. Taeyeon and Young left last, surreptitiously going to the CEO’s office. The door slammed and Taeyeon pushed the woman against the wall, her eyes sparked with lust. “Tiffany,” she whispered. There were no thoughts in Tiffany’s mind. She was as impatient as her, wanting to taste her already. Their lips crashed, and Taeyeon’s arm was pulling Tiffany’s waist closer to hers. Fingers tangling the shorter woman’s hair. Upon hearing a moan, Number 418 turned off the monitors by reflex.

 

She sat there, confused, but mostly . No, she needs to meet her weekly quota. She must kill the human now.

 

She resumed the video and it thankfully skipped through the sinful parts. Taeyeon escorted Tiffany out of the building, thanking the guard that she gave a cup of hot chocolate as they walked by.

 

“Same time tomorrow?” flirted Taeyeon as her fingertips brushed her palms.

 

“Our contract ends tomorrow,” Tiffany informed with a smirk. Her manager arrived with the vehicle gifted by the CEO of Nabi Inc. herself.

 

“I’ll visit you at your vacation home?” she tried again.

 

“In your wildest dreams,” Tiffany chuckled. “I’ll see you around, Taengoo.” She waved her goodbye and got inside the black Maserati and winked before closing the car door. They drove off, leaving Taeyeon sighing in content. She’s all alone now, which gives the grim reaper room for ending her life. The possibilities are infinite. For a villainous human like her, this would be entertaining.

 

“Thanks for nothing,” Number 418 directly pointed her (literal) bony finger to the human on the screen. Concentrated dark blue light effused from it and soon reached her body like a laser. The dark blue light, invisible to a human, covered Taeyeon’s form, giving an aura of her impending demise. The human was now marked. As she was walking back to her building, a huge printer from the 44^th floor missed her by a hair. She jumped after it landed a few centimeters away from her.

 

“This can’t be,” muttered 418. A reaper’s powers never fail. This human deserved to die more than anyone else. Frustrated, she tries again.

 

After that (one of many) near-death experience, Taeyeon calmly went back to her office as if getting killed is just part of her usual Monday morning, and it somehow is. She stepped in the empty elevator and the reaper already has a non-brutal plan in mind. Classic asphyxiation in an enclosed space.

 

The doors slid shut. It’s time for another death beam to mark the human. She’s certain it won’t fail again. The aura should begin working now; the human’s airways would close, immediately interrupting the circulation of blood and oxygen. Humans are so weak. Number 418 laughed to herself.

 

But she waited and waited, and eventually, Taeyeon walked out alive. No signs of her organs deteriorating or vessels closing. What the hell was happening?

 

Taeyeon slouched in her office chair, sighing. Seeing as she almost got killed on the way back, she thought it’d be best to wait a little while longer inside. Her only agenda today was to meet Tiffany Young, a well-known actress, singer, and brand ambassador for one of Taeyeon’s subsidiaries. Tiffany’s contract ends tomorrow and they’ll also end their otherarrangement as soon as the partnership expires, like the celebrity requested.

 

Number 418 got annoyed as none of her plans worked. She can’t risk failing again or she’ll have to transfer this case to another grim reaper. She opened her desk drawer and took out a ticket from her wallet.

 

The human cautiously exited the building, looking everywhere in case she gets hit by a train or something. The reaper gave her ticket to the demon bus driver. “Where to?” he asked.

 

“Near the main building of Nabi Inc. in Seoul, please,”

 

“Alright, get one of the rings there to wear your human suit,” the driver pointed at the tray of rings in all shapes in sizes. 418 picked a silver one and her number was instantly engraved under the ring. She wore it on her finger and she transformed into a 30-something Korean-American woman, like Cinderella’s magic dress, except the reaper doesn’t have a time limit to use her suit. All that’s left is a name. Taking out her wallet, there were a couple of blank cards with only a 1x1 picture of her human face at the corner.

 

“My name is Jessica… uhhh,” she racked her brain for a Korean surname. “Kim? Lee? Jo? Jung?”

 

The details faded into the cards: Jessica Jung, Born April 18, 1989 in San Francisco.

 

When she was at her destination, she took the first step on Earth, taking in the air with her human nose. Feels like a mistake already. Number 418, or rather, Jessica saw Taeyeon’s back from a block away. She followed her to the train station.

 

Testing to see if her powers still work, she tried to target Taeyeon again. “I’ll see you in hell.” The dark blue beam dispersed outside her body like a blue flame as she arrived at the platform. The distant sound of an approaching train looks like another opportunity for the reaper to finish her job.

 

Train wheels rolled through the metal railings and the ground rumbled. Jessica stood from the opposite side, observing the human before the car is within eyeshot. Now that she’s much closer to the target, her power should work just fine.

 

In the underworld, there are rules when judging humans: One, don’t go to Earth unless absolutely necessary; and two, never let your human make eye contact with you under any circumstance.

 

Taeyeon felt something push her to the rails, but she looked back and saw that there was no one around her spot. She’s Kim Taeyeon, and everybody avoids capitalists. Her eyes landed on a woman at the opposite side from her platform, pleading for help.

 

“,” Jessica cursed to herself. The train was inches away and they’ve already made eye contact, guaranteeing the human’s immunity of any reaper killing her.

 

Time slowed as Jessica and Taeyeon moved at the same rate. Like in DC’s The Flash, they entered Flashtime, both moving at super speed while the world was in slow motion. But grim reapers created this concept first, humans were a billion years late. Jessica carried Taeyeon off the railway and brought her home without needing the train. Time went back to normal as the reaper removed her hands from her.

 

She was spaced out since she noticed that the world stopped. Somehow, she and a random person moved normally.

 

Jessica groaned, now realizing her second mistake. Her frustration snapped Taeyeon out of her trance and stared at the enraged woman who just saved her from an oncoming train.

 

“Thank you,” whispered the human in utter gratitude.

 

“Not now,” she growled, baffling Taeyeon. She literally manipulated time and space just to save her life, but she was angry?

 

“Can you tell me what happened?”

 

“Number 418, I see you’re enjoying your time on Earth,” A disembodied voice spoke from basically everywhere. A 4D audio experience brought to you by the underworld.

 

“Boss, I promise I won’t stay here for long,” Jessica was speaking to the ceiling.

 

“You’re destroying the balance of this world,” the voice enunciated.

 

“Boss, I can kill her. Give me a few days, please?”

 

“Kill me? Where is that voice coming from?” Taeyeon was mortified.

 

She saved her just to kill her. Why didn’t she leave her to die at the station?

 

“You have 7 days,” The voice was gone after that.

 

Before the human could speak, Jessica exploded in exasperation. Four hundred years is too early to mess up.

 

“You’re a nuisance, you know that?” she suddenly stepped closer while Taeyeon was moving backwards. Her back hit the wall. “First, my powers don’t work on you, and next you can hear Lucifer, too?”

 

“L-Lucifer—you just talked to the Devil?!” Taeyeon exclaimed.

 

“I’m a grim reaper, naturally,” she scoffed. “I have golf with him on Saturdays.”

 

“When are you going to kill me?” she gulped.

 

“You just heard my buddy, Samael. I can’t,” Jessica rubbed her forehead in dismay. “I need to redeem you first.”

 

“Redeem?”

 

“I couldn’t kill you the first few times. I’ve failed my job and now I need to restore nature and take you to paradise,”

 

Taeyeon asked a few seconds later, “Are you flirting with me?”

 

Jessica glared, shutting her up.

 

“Can I at least know your name?” Taeyeon’s gaze fixed on the reaper’s fake-real eyes, searching for a hint of mercy before she dies.

 

“My human name is Jessica Jung, Jung Sooyeon,”

 

“That suits you,” she commented.

 

“Thanks, yours doesn’t,” Jessica retorted and Taeyeon’s smile dropped.

 

“So, when do we start?”

 

“Now – let me sleep in your house, it’s exhausting being a human,” She sluggishly walked to Taeyeon’s room and plopped onto the king-sized bed.

 

“Wow, what is this, silk?” Jessica shouted from the bedroom, feeling the duvet cover. Minutes later and she was sleeping like a log. Taeyeon spent the rest of the day on her laptop searching for questionable things such as “is the afterlife real?” or “who is satan?”—yet she’s left with more questions than before. She could just take her things and leave the country while her alleged grim reaper was fast asleep. But there’s no point in evading death when she’s right there, drooling on her bed. Out of all the crazy things that happened today, that’s probably the most absurd one so far.

 

It’s past midnight and the human moved on from searching the web about the meaning of life to having an existential crisis in her living room. True to her title as an entrepreneur, she starts making her breakfast at 5. Impassively, she made oatmeal with almond milk and bits of dark chocolate and berries for the toppings. The guest, Death incarnate, can have pancakes and bacon for all she cares. She’s a dead woman walking anyway. Both of them are.

 

“Morning,” Jessica mumbled, rubbing her eyes. “You made me pancakes?”

 

She nodded while staring into the distance. The reaper sat down and enjoyed her food, perhaps a bit too much. Everything was gone in under a minute, almost like a black hole. That’s probably where Taeyeon would end up. Even Hell has given up on housing a human like her. Has she found herself in an episode of Hazbin Hotel?

 

“You’re not eating?” Jessica saw the untouched bowl of oatmeal. Dark chocolate bits had already melted and the berries dyed the food. It looks like an abstract painting gone wrong. Taeyeon remained silent and in her own thoughts. “Then you don’t mind if I take it?”

 

Taeyeon quickly grabbed her bowl and began eating her meal. Jessica found her reaction amusing. Humans are such selfish beings, albeit in the verge of death.

 

“Are you that hungry?”

 

“Yes,” she said as she aggressively wiped food from the corner of .

 

“Should we begin your Queer Eye makeover?”

 

“Why even bother?” she grumbled, clutching the empty bowl and staring into its oatmeal-covered nothingness.

 

“I can’t stand seeing you brood,” Jessica lied, she actually finds it quite adorable. “And I’ve spared lives before, believe it or not.” She leaned her head on her hand.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I’m the judge of souls. I know a thing or two about sins on Earth,” she smiled. “Now let’s start with your selfishness.”

 

“I’m not selfish!” Taeyeon strongly denied.

 

“You think bribing someone with hot chocolate is being considerate?”

 

“Wait, you saw that?”

 

“Should I remind you of who I am?”

 

“Did you also saw me do…” she deliberately stopped herself from saying the word, feeling ashamed. “...with Tiffany?!”

 

“Sadly,”

 

“Did I look hot?”

 

Jessica exhaled loudly. “Do you want to go to heaven or not?”

 

“Okay, sorry,” Taeyeon whipped her phone out from her front pocket and the reaper did the same; excluding the fact that she doesn’t need to take it out when it can materialize in her hand. The latest iPhone version straight from the factory.

 

The first thing she saw when she visited the web was headlines of Taeyeon’s misfortunes redefined as “epic fails”. Poor girl was in the middle of composing an email announcing her sudden break than see everyone laughing at her expense. She got what she deserved, and yet the grim reaper felt sympathy. She believes it would be better to let the human stay oblivious for a while. They’re both on the path of redemption and she needs to do this properly.

 

“Uh oh, someone’s unhappy,” Her phone blew up with missed calls from her contacts: Seohyun, Lee Sunny, and Choi Sooyoung. “Excuse me while I’ll take these.” Taeyeon moved to the balcony and calm her friends down in the video chat, especially Sunny who will be an interim CEO for the time being. While some employees hate when their managers barely appear at work, Taeyeon was omnipresent in the company and her attitude adds fuel to the fire. Her friends don’t know about the news articles either. She ends the call with a sigh and walked back to her seat.

 

“Ready to change your life?” asked Jessica, grinning.

 

--

 

“How did it take you three hours to notice we’re studying philosophy?” fumed the grim reaper after erasing the board.

 

“I spaced out!”

 

“For three hours?!”

 

“Stop yelling!” yelled Taeyeon.

 

“I thought teaching moral philosophy would work…” she muttered disappointingly. Turns out, the scenes in human sitcoms don’t work in real-life scenarios such as the ones in Hell.

 

“I don’t have to do this, right?”

 

“You should – the world is literally deteriorating because of you,”

 

“No, it’s not,” Jessica pointed to the glass panels to prove her wrong. There was a number of dead birds on her backyard.

 

“How about I donate my entire wealth to those who need it?” she suggested lively, mentally patting herself in the back for being so considerate.

 

“If you’ve listened to my lecture, you’d know it doesn’t work like that,” she monotoned.

 

“Because?”

 

“Your intentions aren’t pure,”

 

“What should we do then?”

 

Jessica couldn’t answer. She’s merely a grim reaper who just became a human more than 10 hours. She hung her head low, disheartened by her repeated failures.

 

“Hey,” Taeyeon ran up to her teacher-slash-afterlife-. “I don’t know how to console people, but does binge watching Netflix and eating an abnormal amount of ice cream help?”

 

“No…” she lethargically cleaned up the books and chalk dust. Not a minute later and an idea came to mind. “Wait, that’s it!”

 

“What is it now?”

 

Not again, Taeyeon groaned.

 

“I’ll teach you the seven virtues and we can go from there,” she bubbled.

 

“I’d rather watch a hundred hours of The Bachelor while tied up to a chair,”

 

“You just showed me compassion. We can do this!” Jessica grabbed one of the chalks and wrote on the board. Taeyeon dragged her feet to the sofa and begrudgingly listened to the new lecture topic, mostly to appreciate Jessica’s body.

 

In the middle of explaining a part of the Bible, papers dropped from above.

 

“Samael?”

 

“418, you might as well consider this a work-from-home assignment since you’re already on Earth,”

 

“But—”

 

“We’ll see you at our croquet session next week,”

 

“You’re gonna continue judging humans?” Taeyeon asked.

 

“It’s work,” she faintly answered.

 

“Then why do you want to change me if I’m more than your job description?”

 

“Selfish reasons,” Jessica broke eye contact. It just so happens that she’s also hypocrite. She can’t face her right now.

 

“Like what?” she prodded.

 

“Pressure got to me, I guess,”

 

“Can I help you?”

 

“Actually, I prefer if you let me do my work while you do yours. I can’t let you see me judge or it’ll haunt you forever,” she smiled feebly and left to the guest bedroom with the papers.

 

In a different circumstance, Taeyeon would throw a tantrum and ask why she wasted an entire day learning about philosophy and religion just for her teacher to leave because she has other things to attend to. It’s almost like the lessons worked. All she felt was concern for Jessica, wondering if she needs water or a few snacks while she does her job. But it’s like she said, it’s too traumatizing for a human to watch how a reaper works. Taeyeon’s a sadist, not a murderer. Then again, Jessica is Death herself, not a human.

 

Taeyeon is persistent, she won’t let a measly paperwork ruin her day with the only person—rather, a spiritual being who tolerates her.

 

A few days passed, and she was back to work. She was hesitant to leave Jessica, but the reaper said she’ll be fine. Still, that doesn’t stop her from being worried.

 

Oddly enough, she bought different things from the coffee cart that morning, astonishing the vendor. She thanked her genuinely and not the “Mom is forcing me to attend family dinner and I’m being held at gunpoint,” kind of tone. Next, she gave the guard next to the security point a hot chocolate and waffle sandwich to thank him for helping her with Tiffany while being cool about it, to which he responded: “It’s no problem, daepyonim. It’s nice to see you smile,” he took a bite out of the waffle.

 

It was the nicest thing anyone had ever told her.

 

She arrived at the top floor and her subordinates were in the middle of tidying their desks before greeting their superior. She began to realize this picture. No wonder everyone hates her, she makes this like a military training ground. Patience. Taeyeon is currently in a good mood. Shouting at people over petty things is not in her agenda today.

 

When she was in her office, Seohyun, the general manager, went over to discuss about what happened the last few days.

 

Seohyun knocked on the glass door and let herself in. Taeyeon was diligently working on a bunch of paperwork that Sunny left. “Unnie,” she called the chief executive’s attention.

 

“Juhyun-ah,” Taeyeon took off her specs and gestured her to sit on one of the chairs. “Is there a problem?”

 

“I’m just a little worried, unnie,”

 

“About?”

 

“It’s not like you to suddenly leave for a few days, and I know it must be tough to almost die for more than a couple of times in one day,”

 

Taeyeon knitted her brows.

 

She continued, “I have a feeling that the hate comments are too much for you.”

 

“Not really,” she shrugged.

 

“Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

 

“I can’t say…” Taeyeon faltered.

 

“When you’re ready, feel free to talk to me about it. Okay, unnie?” Seohyun reassured before exiting her office.

 

Taeyeon failed to notice how she has amazing friends and all they got from her were a few bad retorts that only she finds funny. She’s realizing how ty of a person she is just when her reaper housemate is busy marking people while her death is on hold. It’s only a matter of time before she says goodbye to everyone she knows on Earth, then the people who hate her would rejoice.

 

She’s not scared of dying. She’s afraid of leaving others behind, in spite of them already forgetting about her. Taeyeon dialed a number on her telephone and the person picked it up three rings later.

 

Jessica unenthusiastically watched humans on her smartphone. She somehow got her powers to work perfectly again and it the fun right out of it. She switched to Taeyeon’s camera, her go-to stress reliever these days. The human seems to be busy talking to someone.

 

“I’m sure I’m changing my will,” Taeyeon spoke through the phone.

 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” She dialed another number, “Did you find the address?”

 

Jessica vaguely heard the voice, but the address is somewhere at North Jeolla province. She hurriedly dropped her phone and look for Taeyeon’s file, digging through the pile of her new assignments. If the human is truly making amends on her own, Jessica should be there to see it. She speed dialed Taeyeon’s number after finding the paper.

 

“Can I join you?” she asked as soon as she picked up.

 

“Are you stalking me through your phone?”

 

“No?”

 

“I wanna drive,” Jessica enthusiastically offered. She always wanted to drive for someone like Bonnie did with Clyde, but probably not a getaway car.

 

“Can’t you teleport or use you speed?” she questioned.

 

“I promise I won’t scratch your Tesla,”

 

“Fine, whatever!”

 

After putting down the receiver, Taeyeon materialized into her living room in a sitting position. She fell down on her and frowned at the laughing grim reaper.

 

“You didn’t even bring my bag with me,”

 

Her handbag popped into existence. She rolled her eyes.

 

“Come on, I wanna drive one of your convertibles with the roof down,” Jessica offered her hand to help the human stand up.

 

She brushed the dust off her slacks. “Let me wash up first. You can pick the car that you want,”

 

Like a child impatient to open their Christmas present, Jessica cheerfully ran to the garage and chose a white BMW M6 Convertible. Staying on Earth (and locked up in Taeyeon’s mansion), the reaper grew into enjoying and hating things like a human would. She hate-watches Western reality shows and unapologetically loves The Great British Bake-Off and Jeopardy. Most of her likes are influenced by Taeyeon, including their love for mint chocolate-everything and pastel colors.

 

“White?” Taeyeon was fresh out of the shower, hair dried, and no makeup. She wore a long-sleeve white button down with one side tucked in her black denim jeans. “Good choice.”

 

“Thanks,” She was staring, the outfit was getting her full attention. She had never seen a human look so good. “You’re not gonna put on makeup?”

 

“I’ll do it on the way,”

 

“You can do that?”

 

Taeyeon pursed her lips and nodded. She pressed a button on the car remote and its engine purred to life, doors unlocked, and the top lowered. Jessica gaped in awe. She found it so fascinating.

 

The two walked to the vehicle and the reaper sat in the driver’s seat. “You won’t kill us both, right?” asked Taeyeon after wearing her seatbelt. Jessica shook her head no, confidently.

 

In the entire ride to Jeonju, they almost got their car towed, Taeyeon counted at least fifteen people who flipped them off, and three officers who pulled them over. Thankfully, they didn’t end up behind bars. Just a little late and both of them are starving.

 

“Is that you?” The car slowed down, stopping in front of the house.

 

“Hmm,”

 

“Are you ready?” She placed her hand on top of Taeyeon’s that was resting on her side. She relaxed and was now squeezing Jessica’s hand.

 

“I promise I won’t let you wait long,”

 

“Wait, you’re leaving me here?” she asked in disbelief as Taeyeon exited the car.

 

“Trust me,” She smiled and waved her phone as a hint. She crossed the road and nervously approached the front door. She knocked and her father opened it. He was clearly happy to see her, she almost teared up. Jessica was smiling while watching it. This is her chance. Taeyeon, please don’t mess it up. I trust you.

 

The house felt welcoming, caring, like it was embracing her. Or perhaps hugging her dad after a decade left a lingering warmth. The creaking under her steps hadn’t changed as well. Everything was as she had remembered. The smell, the sounds, the cracks and the tears on the wallpaper. Only the people inside had changed. Her father has more wrinkles than she had last seen him, yet the smile is as wide as ever. He was still wearing the first (and last) frame Taeyeon made for him on his birthday, but the lens had gotten thicker.

 

She gazed at the sofa and imagined her older brother playing guitar while her little sister was sitting on the carpet, ruining her unnie’s color pencils to use for her Sanrio coloring book. But it could only remain as a memory. This looks like the fallout of her past choices.

 

“Appa, where are my siblings?”

 

“Your oppa went to work in Europe and your sister is now in university,” he breathed out, missing his children.

 

“I missed all that?”

 

“It’s okay, honey, you’re here now,” Her dad rubbed her back affectionately. She badly wants to burst into tears and cry into her father’s shoulders. The problem is, she thinks she doesn’t have the rights to. She resists the urge to shed a single tear in this house.

 

“Taeyeon?” Her mom emerged from the kitchen, wearing an apron and gochujang-covered plastic gloves.

 

“Mom?” she uttered in a whisper.

 

“I don’t wanna see her here,” She stormed back to the kitchen to which her daughter followed.

 

“Mom, I’m not asking for anything, I—”

 

“Your 10 million won earrings won’t earn you my pity,” spat her mother while gripping the scissors.

 

“Mom, please,”

 

“Honey, please show her the door,” she told her husband and turned her back, cutting the newly-made kimchi. Her mother stopped giving Taeyeon side dishes after she intentionally cut ties with them years ago. And this was just mocking her.

 

“Mom, I’m dying…” she whispered.

 

Her parents fixed their attention on their daughter, whose lips were quivering and eyes flooded with tears. She paused from making food to listen.

 

“I’m dying,” she repeated. “Please hear me out. I know it’s too late, but I realized the cost of my actions. I want to personally apologize to you, dad, and my siblings. I don’t need your forgiveness, mom. Everything I did was wrong, I just want you to know I’m regretting it.”

 

Absolute silence filled the air. She expected this.

 

“Please tell my siblings I’m rooting for them,” was her last statement before hugging her father again. He held onto her tightly. They’ll miss each other.

 

Taeyeon exited the house she once called home. She felt like a piece of her heart was ripped off and hammered down to smithereens. She sorrowfully walked to her car and Jessica gave her a concerned look.

 

“Do you wanna grab ice cream on the way back?” she tried comforting her.

 

“Let’s just head home,”

 

Jessica started the engine and the front door burst open. Taeyeon’s dad was carrying a paper bag while running up to her car.

 

“Your mother packed this for you,” her dad said, handing the bag. “If there’s anything I could help, please tell me, honey. Okay?”

 

“Of course, dad,” He her hair. They drove off and her father was out of eyeshot from the side mirror. She opened the shopping bag and saw a roll of kimbap wrapped in foil, Tupperwares filled to the brim with her mother’s classic kimchi and green onion kimchi, japchae, stir-fried anchovies, and egg roll.

 

“That must be heavy,” Jessica remarked.

 

“Yeah,” Taeyeon replied with a small smile. “You heard everything, right?”

 

“Hm,” she affirmed. “I wish I was there to accompany you.” She looked at her and then at the road.

 

“It actually made me realize something,”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“I like you,” she confessed with a straight face. Jessica turned her head to face Taeyeon.

 

“I…”

 

“Watch out for that bike!” she shouted as their vehicle swerved to avoid the bicycle. Taeyeon’s heart was racing and the color drained from her face.

 

“I’m sorry,”

 

“No, I’m sorry I couldn’t keep it any longer,” she spoke with a shaky voice.

 

“I-It’s fine, I, I don’t…” Jessica stammered, afraid to avert her attention from the road.

 

“I completely understand if you don’t have an answer yet, we can still remain as housemates?” she said as if she was suggesting. “You’re not a human like me, I get that. Please say something?”

 

“Can we talk about this when I’m not driving?”

 

“Okay,” she conceded and let Jessica speak to her as she listened on the way back. They’re mostly about her predictions on Snyder’s Cut, and superhero movies doesn’t really interest her. There’s just something about Jessica’s accent or speech pattern that she loves. Talking about fiction would alleviate the thought of the love confession she received a while ago. At least in her mind, it’ll make her focus on the road better.

 

Once they reached home, the reaper called ‘shotgun’ to Taeyeon’s bed and flopped onto the mattress before she could react.

 

“Number 418, wake up!” boomed the Devil. Jessica stood up straight, eyelids drooping.

 

“Yes?” she asked, wiping the drool from .

 

“Have you marked the humans that I gave you?”

 

“They’re done, Lucifer,”

 

“Good. I think I have the answer why your powers can’t kill the human here,” he speculated.

 

“She’s fit to become a devil,”

 

“What?” Taeyeon shouted from the living room. She ran to Jessica. “What the did I just hear?”

 

“I’m only four-hundred-years-old, I didn’t know about this until now!” reasoned the reaper.

 

“Lucifer, sir?” The human tried talking to the disembodied voice.

 

“You’re the first human in a thousand years to have the potential of becoming a devil,” he answered.

 

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

 

“In the afterlife, yes,”

 

Jessica agreed by nodding.

 

“So, how and when would I die if not by Jessica-ssi’s kind?”

 

“You just let nature take its course,”

 

“I can’t pick a different job, like in heaven, maybe?”

 

Satan stopped answering. Taeyeon blew raspberries, trying to stomach the Devil’s words.

 

“Taeyeon…” Jessica whispered.

 

“I’m literally a She-Devil,” she muttered under her breath. “Please tell me you have a plan to get me out of this.”

 

“I’m only four centuries old, I don’t know,”

 

“Question, can you play the harp?” she inquired.

 

“Are you relying on the Greeks now?”

 

“Do I just live my life until nature kills me or whatever?” Taeyeon sat down on the bean bag in despair.

 

“I promise I’ll stay with you until then,” She went to sit down next to her.

 

“Be my moral support for tomorrow?” The soon-to-be-devil gazed at the grim reaper.

 

“What’s tomorrow?”

 

“I’m updating my will. I should also say goodbye to my only friends at work,”

 

“You can count on me,” she smiled broadly.

 

Taeyeon could just be imaging it, but she can hear a clock ticking since she woke up in the morning. The sound stayed with her when she got to change her will and even when she wore headphones to drown out the noise. She thought it would go away in a few hours and sadly, it didn’t. it made her less productive today. Jessica saw from her tiny screen that she was uncomfortable. She texted if she was alright; the human couldn’t explain her situation and just told her not to worry about it.

 

Taeyeon was waiting in the café of their building, the ticking sound was still bothering her. Finally, the door chimed and Sunny, Sooyoung, and Seohyun stepped in. It wasn’t like the chief executive to invite them over for coffee. It wasn’t like her to call them first, at all.

 

“This is new,” commented Sunny.

 

“Are you getting married?” Sooyoung gasped.

 

“Is it wrong that I just wanted to have a normal date with you guys?” she chuckled.

 

“No, it’s weird,” said Sunny with a laugh.

 

“I actually wanted to personally apologize for being the worst quote-unquote ‘friend’ and coworker to have. I got too greedy and sometimes left you to do all the work for me.”

 

“You mean most times?” Seohyun corrected lightheatedly.

 

“Yes,” she admitted with a short laugh. “I’m sorry for being a jerk.”

 

“Taeng,” Sooyoung said. “We know.” She smirked.

 

“Unnie, you gotta give yourself more credit,” started the youngest. “You’re not a complete jerk, you know?”

 

“We trust you, and it paid off. Look at us now,” Sunny gave a smile.

 

“Should we order drinks?” suggested Seohyun.

 

Jessica’s screen shows the four friends laughing and enjoying their food. She felt like a proud mother watching. This proves her that humans are capable of change. Taeyeon became better since she chose to.

 

She went home an hour later, running up to embrace Jessica. She soon relaxed her body and hugged back. Taeyeon buried her head on the reaper’s chest. “Thank you,” she mumbled.

 

“Anytime,”

 

--

 

The two anxiously waited for the time before the human takes her final breath. Throughout the entire week, they avoided talking about Taeyeon’s sudden confession, until she got into a horrible crash.

 

She was a lightweight, meaning she couldn’t take her alcohol well. As a celebration for getting foreign partners, the CEO surprisingly invites every department to a party by renting a karaoke bar. She gave a pass on the drinks that she was being offered and settled with carbonated water as she watched her employees have the time of their lives. Sooyoung being the life of the party and Sunny encouraging Taeyeon to sing. These were the things she missed out on. She couldn’t do this again.

 

While singing a duet with Sunny, she received a text from an employee who purposefully wanted to be left at the office and finish her work. She didn't want to be a bother, she said, but her report was done and she asked if Taeyeon could check it out. She gave an apologetic look to her friend upon receiving the message.

 

The streets were dark and damp, it just rained a few hours ago. The employee called her again, checking if she was on her way. Taeyeon was driving, yet she didn’t fail to answer her call. But she couldn’t respond when a delivery truck on its sides was sliding at 40mph, inching towards her.

 

As it approaches, she hit the rewind button in her brain, watching herself grow up with the people she loves and her growing up without them. Even the faces of people whom she betrayed and those who betrayed her was featured. The vehicle collided with hers, ending the little movie and her life. Hours after the accident, she was reported dead on impact.

 

Leaving her physical form felt tranquil, like the waves on the water surface moved in a steady pace. She had no regrets and she felt more than ready to take the next step with Jessica. The reaper appeared beside her.

 

“Does helping me pass through to the afterlife also above your paygrade?” Taeyeon joked.

 

“I think I lost my job at this point,” Jessica chuckled and offered her hand. They intertwined them together and entered a grassy landscape.

 

“Are you sure we’re in the right place?” she questioned, skeptical at the scenery.

 

“Yup, this is the afterlife where you’ll be judged,” she shrugged.

 

Two doors came into view at each side, one was locked and the other was wide open.

 

“Number 418, please the human to her new home,” ordered Lucifer.

 

“You got it,” Jessica gave a thumbs up. She wrapped her arm around Taeyeon’s waist, guiding her to the open door. Purgatory was like she had imagined: dark, full of rocks, has a river of lava, and has a red sky. It smells awful, too.

 

They’re just a few steps away before the human can have her demonic transformation. A dark blue portal takes shape. Inside were tired devils using their typewriters. Hell looks more like a normal corporation on Earth, really.

 

Jessica’s grip on the human’s waist tightened. Taeyeon turned around to face her, holding both her hands. “Should I cry first?” she laughed with tears threatening to fall.

 

“I can’t visit you, but promise you’ll see me?”

 

“I promise,”

 

They hugged for the final time, eager to be closer and reluctant to let go. Jessica could feel a heart beating on her chest, it was Taeyeon’s. If the reaper had one, it would be racing just like hers. They cherished every second in each other’s arms, taking in the scent and touch of their skin. Taeyeon released her embrace.

 

She steps towards the portal, her foot was halfway there and she couldn’t do it. She tries again, but she wasn’t ready. Taeyeon walked back to Jessica with her arm extended and palm open for her.

 

“Cross with me,”

 

“What?”

 

“Will you?”

 

Jessica eyed the offering hand, contemplating about spending the rest of eternity with a human she barely knows or turn away and continue life without her. She took it without wavering. Stepping inside, 418 felt worried seeing all the devils around her. She gripped hard Taeyeon’s hand.

 

“I don’t think I’m meant to be here,” she thought out loud.

 

She looked at her in puzzlement. “You’re seriously telling me that?”

 

“You’re right, that’s weird,”

 

“Are you ready to accept your fate, human?” bellowed the Devil.

 

“Can Jessica and I at least keep our human suits?” she bargained.

 

“Fine. As for you, 418, do you accept transferring to the Crossing Department?”

 

“Y-yes,” she stuttered in excitement.

 

With a snap of a finger, Taeyeon transformed from human to devil and saw life flash before her eyes for the second time while keeping her appearance. All her past life played in rewind and she remembers every moment of it. Jessica was always there like she is now.

 

--

 

Seconds in the underworld felt like years as hours felt like a century. The time here moves slowly than on Earth. As the two non-humans get used to their new jobs, they spend their free time together after a long day at work. Taeyeon frequents Earth just to hit three birds with one stone: watching over her loved ones, tormenting humans with their inner desires, and also to see Jessica help souls get into the afterlife by chance.

 

While she spent most of her life thinking the world revolved around her, she sees its end with nothing but the people she loves – their smiles and their forgiveness burned into her mind before she departs from the world. The place she left went back to normal after her burial. Her friends and family learned to continue living without her, but she promised herself to keep them away from harm. She left a mark on them; even if it wasn’t a great mark, she showed her best self and asked for their forgiveness.

 

The prominent change brought back love and belongingness and the most essential one, it gave her self-actualization. A person needs to trace back to the first and bottom need and refrain from skipping them. Doing so has led the human in the afterlife with no feelings of regret and unfinished business. She became a fallen angel from her selfish choices on Earth, but she had returned to her old self, the one who was contented with what she has.

 

Jessica went home after work and saw the love of her life reading on their bed. The sky was in the eternal sunset, giving the glow of a burning flame and filled their home with its color. The reaper jumped to their bed and nuzzled her face in Taeyeon’s neck, tickling her.

 

“Good day?” she asked.

 

“Great day,”

 

Taeyeon put down her book face-up on their bedside table and cuddled with her soulmate. She studied her eyes, watching her past lives like a movie. She saw the most recent one with the two of them together, sleeping soundly in their bed. A large picture frame hangs above the TV in the living room, it was them in wedding dresses. The devil held Jessica’s left hand. A silver ring was placed on the ring finger for her human suit. The memory showed the exact same ring worn on both their fingers as their human selves in the other life slept peacefully like they had nothing to fear.

 

She finally asks her, “Do you remember your past life?”

 

Jessica shook her head.

 

“Want me to tell you?”