“You did good Hangeng.”

Hangeng looked across the table to his sunbae as they sat in the coffee shop, invisible to all the humans that surrounded them.

“I don't know how you do it Jongwoon. It still shakes me up every time I have to bring someone to the elevator. . .”

Jongwoon smiled and reached across the table to pat his friend's shoulder. “You will get used to it. By the time you finish your term as scheduler death won't affect you anymore.”

“My term is almost over Jongwoon-ah” Hangeng laughed and looked at his watch. “Sixty days and then I can go back and finish what I didn't get to when I was alive. How much time left do you have?”

“Wow that's not much left at all. Keep in mind I'm a scheduler supervisor. My term is longer than the standard five years.” Jongwoon said smoothly. “Because what I want to finish is more than simply saying goodbye to people in my former life.”

“I wish I could remember what it is I've been working as a scheduler for. I know I have to finish something but I can't place exactly what it is. . .All my memories of my human life are gone but the feelings that went with them still remain.” Hangeng sighed.

Jongwoon sat back in the chair and looked over at his friend. “I was told that as you get closer to finishing your term as scheduler you will start to feel more emotions and remember your human life. By the time you finish here you will remember exactly what you want to finish.”

Hangeng's phone buzzed and he looked at the screen where a schedule with names, dates, and times was displayed. He looked at Jongwoon before pointing at a tall man with dark hair who had just gotten coffee and was heading outside the shop. “Its time. That man is going to get hit by a car in three. . .two. . .one. . .”

A loud crash occurred just as the man began to cross the street that hurtled him through the air. The two schedulers stood up as the humans in the coffee shop all started to either watch or call for help. Jongwoon watched as Hangeng snapped his fingers and was instantly wearing a black suit before Jongwoon clapped him on the shoulder. “I have to go too Hangeng.” He held up his phone. “Looks like we got another scheduler I have to train.”

“Okay. I will talk to you later Jongwoon.” Hangeng nodded and started to walk outside past all the observers. The man had already noticed that he was separated from his body when Hangeng approached and he looked up at him with pleading eyes.

“Can't you help me? I can't die yet. . .”

Hangeng held up his phone as the paramedics arrived and started trying to bring the man's body back. It was useless though, this man's time to go was set before he was born just like everyone else.

“Your body is already dead. Its time to move on.” Hangeng said with sad eyes. He knew this man. Well, not personally, but the schedules that were sent to the schedulers' phones contain profiles on each person. This man had a life he was trying to put back together after screwing up when he was younger. Hangeng couldn't change what fate had already decided though, he was only there to take people to the elevator.

The man started to cry a little bit when Hangeng stepped away from him and called the elevator. It materialized in front of them and the man stared at it in amazement before looking around at all the spectators.

“Can't they see this?” The man asked. Hangeng shook his head.

“You, me, even this elevator. . .we are all in the spirit world. The moment you separated from your body you became invisible to the humans. You are just a soul.” Hangeng said as he stepped aside. The man hesitantly stepped into the elevator and the door closed, ending his life in that world. Hangeng ran his hands through his hair as a tear escaped the corner of his eyes.

“Get ahold of yourself Geng. . . Everyone has to die eventually. . .” He tried to reason with himself.

But reason did nothing when it came to feelings.

-~-~-~-~-~

Hangeng walked across the small bridge that crossed the quiet stream below him. Everyone passed by him, showing no hints of knowing that he even existed. He could make himself visible if he wanted, but there wasn't anyone in particular he wanted to talk to. They were all strangers to him.

Schedulers got perks like that to go along with their job. They could instantly appear anywhere with just a snap of the fingers. They had almost everything at their disposal except the one thing they wanted most - The memories of why they were working such an awful job in the first place.

Hangeng was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of his phone ringing. He touched the screen and answered when he saw it was Jongwoon calling.

“Hey Jongwoon what's up?”

“Where are you?” Jongwoon asked. Hangeng thought he sounded kind of irritated but he dismissed it.

“I'm at the park over here near Gangnam why?” Hangeng said quickly.

“Can you do me a favor and take my schedule for that area? The new scheduler I am training already got himself into some trouble and I won't be able to make the appointment if I go help get him out of that mess.”

Hangeng nodded even though he knew the other man couldn't see him. “Yeah sure. Just send it over.”

Jongwoon thanked him before hanging up and moments later Hangeng opened up the message with the scheduled time and place of the person who was going to die. It was a young man in his twenties who would fall asleep at the wheel from staying up all night working and rear end the car in front of him.

Hangeng sighed and walked over to the appointed spot and put in ear phones while he waited for time to pass. He still had fifteen minutes before the appointment and he didn't have anywhere in particular he wanted to go. Besides it was nice to just sit and relax for a few minutes.

He decided to people watch while listening to his music and saw the same things as usual. A couple being a little too touchy feely for such a public area, a workaholic yelling something into his cell phone, a child walking hand in hand with its mother. Nothing he hadn't seen before. He was just about to close his eyes when he felt his heartbeat quicken. It was the first time he felt that since becoming a scheduler and his mind immediately thought of what Jongwoon said about how he could have stronger emotions near the end of his term. He placed his hand over his heart and smiled a bit.

“I kinda missed it. . .this feeling.” He murmured to himself before he lifted his gaze to see the sky. Something else caught his eyes though and he focused on a broken looking man staring into the traffic. He was tall with dark hair and a pretty face and perfectly shaped lips, but something was off about him by the way the circles beneath his eyes were a little too dark and his clothes were just a little too ragged.

Hangeng felt his heart quicken again and he stared at the main, trying to figure out what he was doing. He looked scared to death but walked towards the oncoming traffic anyways. Hangeng felt his phone vibrate in his pocket to let him know it was time for his appointment and he searched for the red convertible. He didn't have time to worry about some random man. He had a job to do.

Hangeng looked to the left and saw the convertible come speeding around the corner. From where he was standing he could clearly see the man's eyes closing and he waited patiently for the crash to occur. The other man would live. He didn't have anyone else on his schedule for that time so he didn't have to worry about whatever stunt the broken man was planning on pulling. He just had to do his job and call the elevator for the driver of the car.

The man stepped out into the street just as the car started coming straight for him. Time started to slow down, the broken man's eyes closed as he waited to be hit. The car grew closer and closer, and just as he was about to be hit another man darted out from the observing crowd and pulled him back. The two went flying backwards onto the hard concrete as the red convertible crashed into a another car and a tree before finally stopping.

People started to crowd around, looking at the scene before them. Once again people started to call for help but it was too late. This man's time was up.

Hangeng snapped his fingers and his attire changed to his formal suit before he stepped across the street and looked down at the soul that was panicking in the car.

“What happened to me?! I can't touch anything!”

“You are no longer part of this world.” Hangeng stated and the man stared at him with disbelief on his face.

“I can't be dead! I'm talking to you aren't I?!” He screamed. Hangeng only raised an eyebrow and let the elevator materialize behind him.

“It's time for you to leave this world.” He said and lead the soul out to the elevator. The man tried to run away but overheard the paramedics declaring him dead. He had no more hope. “Look you can run away all you want but that won't change the fact you are just a soul without a body. You can't talk to people or do anything. You can't even touch anything.”

The elevator doors opened and the man looked between them and his now dead body before he sighed and stepped forward onto the elevator. The doors closed and Hangeng sent a message to Jongwoon that the appointment had been completed. He checked his phone for the next person on the schedule when a woman's scream from a second crowd gathered on the sidewalk caught his attention. He stepped over to see what was going on and saw the man who had tried to kill himself leaning over the man who had saved him with shock on his face. His eyes were wide and unfocused as the amount of blood on the sidewalk got his attention.

The paramedics rushed over and checked for the injured man's pulse before lifting him on a stretcher to take to the hospital. Hangeng wasn't concerned over it though. That man wasn't on his schedule. He wasn't going to die yet.

The crowd started to dissipated after the injured man was wheeled away, leaving the broken man kneeling on the ground alone. Tears started to stream down his face and Hangeng felt bad for a brief moment when something else registered in his mind.

That guy's body should be in the ambulance. . .so why. . .oh .

Hangeng quickly called Jongwoon on his phone without taking his eyes off the man who was still laying on the concrete.

“Jongwoon I need your help. A person who isn't scheduled to die is laying here.”

“Okay so what's the problem? If they aren't scheduled to die that means they live.” Jongwoon asked. He didn't understand why Hangeng sounded so nervous.

“His body was taken away by paramedics for hospital treatment because he has a good chance of living.”

Jongwoon still didn't understand what Hangeng was getting at. “Hangeng are you alright? If they aren't on the schedule then they are going to be just fine.”

“His body is still alive and they took him to the hospital. But I don't know what to do about this situation. . .the soul is still laying here right in front of me.”

Jongwoon blinked as he finally understood. “Its alright Hangeng calm down. Sometimes these things happen. The soul gets separated from the body while the body is still alive in the event of comas and things like that where their body is essentially dead as far as responding to outside stimuli. I've had a few of these cases and can help you with it so just stay calm okay. Just explain to the soul for now about the forty nine days option and I will come over there to help you as soon as I wrap things up over here.”

“Okay thanks Jongwoon.” Hangeng said and hung up before putting his phone in his pocket. He swallowed and stood over the still sleeping soul and the man who he had saved. The soul stirred for a moment before he opened his eyes and started to sit up. He looked like he had just awoken from a deep sleep and not just involved in an accident.

“Where am I?” He said and rubbed his head before looking around. People passed by and some who were standing around seemed to be staring straight through him. Like he wasn't even there.

The soul waved his hand in front of their faces before he spun on his heel in a panic and saw Hangeng looking right at him.

“Can you. . .see me?”

Hangeng nodded and vaguely registered that the man who had been crying over the man who saved him was being led away by someone, probably a friend. He didn't focus on that for very long though and instead focused on keeping the soul standing before him calm.

“What's wrong with me?” He asked.

“Well I don't know what exactly is wrong with your body but because of an accident that occurred your soul is separated from your body.” Hangeng said easily.

“So . . . why can you see me if I am a soul?”

Hangeng pursed his lips and chose his words carefully. “I am a scheduler. I'm not part of the human world anymore.”

“A s-scheduler?” the soul asked as he looked over his own body, which was surprisingly very fashionably dressed if Hangeng did say so himself.

Hangeng nodded again. “I take souls to an elevator when it is their predestined time to die. The elevator takes the soul to the next world.”

The soul's eyes widened as the words began to sink in. “You mean. . .It's my time to die?”

Hangeng shook his head. “No. Under normal circumstances I would take you to the elevator.” he held up his phone. “But you weren't on my schedule for today. It's not your time yet so I am not here to take you. Like I said there was an accident and your body is in a state of being basically dead to the world. Your heart is still beating but its like you are trapped in a deep sleep.”

“So what's going to happen to me?” The soul asked. “Am I going to be a wondering soul forever?”

“You have two options. You can either try to come back to life or I can call the elevator for you now if that's what you choose.” Hangeng said and remembered that Jongwoon had told him about this situation before. Jongwoon had to deal with this situation four times, and one of them chose to just take the elevator right then and there.

The soul stepped closer to him and he looked down curiously at the defiant look in the man's feline eyes. It was a look full of vigor and life and it made a slight smile pull at the corners of Hangeng's lips.

“Why would I give up now? There's still things I want to do with my life.” The soul said quickly. “Screw the elevator. I want to live.”

Hangeng's lips spread into a full grin. Never had he seen someone with so much passion for living and it intrigued him.

“Great. I'm Hangeng by the way. I will be in charge of you while you're a soul.” Hangeng said as he looked at the man before him who was smirking triumphantly even though his trials had just begun.

“Heechul. Kim Heechul.”