(cr: sk-lyrics.tumblr.com)

Chapter 20

Day…. : Empty

--

What was there to be lost? I just had lost my most precious treasure that I kept under my wing until now… It has been 10 years that I had been trying to protect her, and this was the first time in a thousand years that I felt like this. How could she forget everything with a simple confession? I just had returned to my starting case.

It was wrong to start all of this anyway. Why had I done this back then? The results of crimes were always felt after everything turned wrong. And I had to learn the hard way.

I sigh. My daughter, do you know how much I would like to resent hate against you? But I can’t. I might have accidentally felt “love” and “appreciation” once, but I won’t let myself feel anything else anymore. This heart that I had created for myself to only feel “affection”, I have kept it away from eyes, in a hidden place, and I only wait for you to find it because I know you’re the key to repair this cruel game.

I sigh once again. I’ve been walking along this busy street for an hour now, just to go and continue the job of Death. Yes, my client, or should I say, my victim, is supposedly to be found in a bar, his place where he should have his last breath.

I walk into the bar that’s surrounded with neon lights and scrunch my nose at the heavy alcohol and cigarette smell. I wouldn’t mind it but it’s stinging my eyes and I can’t help but make that face. Since I walked in my human form, some eyes turned to me before turning back to the strippers on each set.

The girls are dancing around poles and removing their clothes’ pieces one by one while the customers look at their private areas hungrily. I find it sad for them to be watched like this and then getting money stuffed into their . My victim is there in the corner, buying himself another cup of beer. He still has some time so I decide to wander around to waste time.

I end up backstage and subtly walk by the girls before I stop behind a sparkly black curtain. I hear a sobbing and curses. I peek in and see a girl by herself in the empty room filled with props. She’s talking to herself as she wipes the tears forming in her eyes.

“Quick money my . This is worse than anything! I can’t even face anyone straight without being reminded of what I do at nights. All of this because I have someone to keep in the hospital. Damn fees!”

The girl takes a deep breathe in and looks up to the ceiling, trying to dry her tears so her makeup doesn’t get messed up more than this. Her face features look so similar to Jungah’s… Ah, why did I have to remember her now? I want to hear more of her story, so I walk up to her.

“You look really similar to someone I know.”

The girl almost falls out of her chair and I run to keep her steady. She looks at me with big eyes and starts stuttering as she’s to talk but I cut her.

“Who do you have to keep in the hospital?”

She seems a bit taken aback and a small frown appears. She mustn’t have liked the idea of some eavesdropping on her. “My mother… but she doesn’t know it because she’s in a coma.” This story sounds way too similar now.

“Do you have a sibling? Why don’t they take care of your mother?”

“I think I do… I’m not sure to be honest. I ran away from the orphanage about ten years ago, to search for my real mother. From the rumors inside there and the gossiping, I fished out that I got kidnapped and have been left here or something. I have spent a long time searching for her and finally found her by accident when I saw someone who looked like an older version of me sitting with a middle-aged woman on a bench in the park. I was sitting under a tree when I was watching them. This sounds creepy, but I actually followed them for some time and even stalked into their windows. One day, the older woman got moved to the hospital and I found out the older lady wasn’t in good terms with her dad. I don’t think they noticed till now that I have been covering most of the hospital fees. I did say to the counter that I didn’t want them to tell the family that I pay most of it, but wow, they must be so concentrated on something else that they didn’t notice that it’s impossible for an hospital room to cost less than 50,000KRW.” She paused for a bit and narrowed her eyes when she took notice that she had told her life’s story. “Why did I tell you this?”

I shrug. “Good question. You know what, give me an outfit and change yourself. Wait at the front and don’t move, okay? After this night, you are DEFINITELY not returning here anymore.”

“Huh? Wait. What do you mean- why are you doing this?” She gets up while I go in front of a mirror and start applying some makeup.

“That means I felt like being nice and I’m not what you think I am. Now shoo off!” I turn her and push her to the outfits. She starts picking up some accessories, still stuck with a confused look.

After I’m done, she gives me a set of stage outfits. She removes her own costume and puts back on her casual outfit. She quietly exits by the back door. The way I look right now, if I don’t make someone bleed from the nose tonight, then my name isn’t Death anymore. A man appears by the door and searches for the girl that was with me a second ago. I look straight into his eyes and he freezes.

“I’m taking her place tonight.”

He nods and turns around as I follow him. He mentions the closed marine curtains and I walk into them. I’m welcomed with a blinding hot pink light. The pole is standing in the middle and I walk up to it, swaying my hips on the way. The music starts and it seems some kind of remix of a certain heartbroken song. I put a hand on the pole and start turning around, stopping a bit to do some y waves over the pole. I bit my lips and start letting out sensual cries while some drunkards are sweating like pigs. Am I too good for them?

I jump on the pole and let myself fall back as I turn around. I unlatch my bra and let my chest be seen. They extend their hands, wanting to touch but I put myself back into place, shaking my finger. I slide down the pole and get my lower part closer to them. I can already feel a good amount being stuffed into my underwear’s strings. I continue the routine until the song end. I eye my customer from the side and I can see a string of blood flowing down his nose. His eyes turn into his head, showing his white. Ah, he fainted.

I see the guard dragging him outside and I manage to invisibly stand by him. He finally comes back to his senses after lying on the cold ground for a while. His eyes open big when he sees me, in my real self. He screams and turns silent when I have already plunged my hand into his chest, removing a string of white particles. It dissipates into my skeletal palm and he lies there dead.

I walk around the building and spot the girl, trembling in the cold. I change back to my human self with proper attire. With a coat in hand, I surprise her from behind when I put it on her shoulders. She jumps from the sudden touch and lets a sigh of relief when she sees me.

I hand her a thick bundle of cash, with elastic around it. Her eyes practically bulge out from its place to see the huge amount of money. She lowers her head and starts to cry. I smile and hug her close.

“You should go meet your family.” She nods into my shirt.

I can’t tell her what happened to her mother. I will let learn that truth by herself. She should get to see her sister too. I can’t tell her she ended up in the hospital because of a cancer too…

“First thing, go visit the hospital and tell the truth, okay?”

“Y-yes… thank you so much… I will try to do better things instead… umm…”

“You don’t need to know my name.” I smile at her and smooth her straight caramel hair down before patting her back.

“E-eh?! B-but-

“No buts, missy. Let me just tell you that no one else will do this act to you again so don’t end up falling into dirty traps… Now go!” I turn back and run away myself. After turning a block, I turn to invisible.

“W-wait!” She runs after me, but after turning the corner, she looks around and I’m nowhere to be found while I watch her with a tender smile.

Do your best.

She looks up and grins sadly. She nods to the deserted road and turns around, running who knows where.

--

I’M JOKING- THIS IS A FAKE CHAPTER MUHAHA. I had to do this after doing the first love joke in the previous chap. Ya the girl is supposed to be the irl lil sis of Jung but do NOT TAKE THIS SRSLY. I created a fake side story just for le fun. BUT there’s only one sentence that’s REALLY related to the actual storyline. Find out yourself muhahahaha. And that pole part is pretty mature so I’m hiding it.
Ok ok, here’s the real chap nyeaah

--

Chapter 20

Day 15: Hidden (Tuesday Night)

--

She slides the door close behind her and with her head still lowered, she walks into the corridors. She takes some turns here and there before getting to the elevator. She enters inside the box and presses the button destined for the first floor. She revises what she’s going to say to Yujin as she walks out of the elevator after it stops at her destined leve