One of the perks of being an almost-but-not-quite divinity was being able to find people without too much effort. Eon Jin might not be an omniscient being, but she knew where and whom to ask.
"Were you pertaining to the good-looking investigator from the other district?" the grim reaper asked, a naughty smile playing on her lips.
Eon Jin flicked her hand in the air, as if brushing off a cobweb only she could see.
“Sure, Hyo Jin, sure. If you said so,” she reluctantly agreed.
It was a chilly morning a week after she met Kim Tae Pyung. Eon Jin was having sweet chamomile tea with the grim reaper — the one who was with her at the site of the recent construction accident — in the indoor garden of her rooftop home after completing another morning assignment.
Out of all the grim reapers she worked with, including the other mythical entities she came to know in the past three hundred and seventeen years, only Hyo Jin was able to forge something that resembled a friendship with Eon Jin. Aside from the fact that she became a grim reaper at around the same time Eon Jin was given her punishment, Hyo Jin was also the only one who was never intimidated by the mistress’ persona.
“So, can you tell me more about this Kim Tae Pyung?” Eon Jin casually asked as she placed her cup down.
Hyo Jin leaned back on the wooden chair and crossed her legs as she tried to recall if there were other things about this Kim Tae Pyung she had knowledge of.
“I don’t really know a lot about him, other than he’s really popular among the lady grim reapers,” she replied. “Whenever we have a violent crime case, everyone — even the middle-aged women — signs up to get deployed in a snap. They’re crazy about him, it’s just unbelievable.”
Eon Jin nodded in understanding. She knew this was credible information since Hyo Jin was already up in the ranks of grim reapers, but this wasn’t exactly the details she needed.
“I’ll personally look into it, if you want,” Hyo Jin proposed. “But you have to let me know what this is about, Eon Jin. You are not the type who asks around for a person’s background just because.”
Eon Jin ran her fingers through her hair as she contemplated if, for the first time, she really wanted to share this piece of personal information to Hyo Jin. Even though they were already congenial, hanging out from time to time and having frequent conversations, Eon Jin still had her walls up.
“I met him a week ago,” she cautiously replied after much thought, although pretending like nothing significant happened during her encounter with the man. “He asked me a few questions about the hit-and-run, if I saw the culprit... the works. Do you recall the foiled plot I mentioned to you last time?”
Hyo Jin looked thoughtful for a bit and nodded.
“He got into my nerves for some reason,” Eon Jin admitted while her fingers kept tracing the handle of the white teapot on her side of the table.
“Ah, our moody mistress as always,” Hyo Jin quipped as she took a sip of her tea. “You could have gone incognito if you didn’t want to be bothered with questions.”
“I was incognito,” Eon Jin shrugged.
Hyo Jin could not believe what she just heard that she had to ask Eon Jin again.
“I was sure I switched to my demigod persona before I went there,” Eon Jin explained with a voice hinting distress. “I always follow the routine and never once did I forget to change disguises before and after I carry out my tasks. Other than that, the paramedics who came to the site of the accident did not see me at all, or else they would have asked me too. But this man actually did!”
“How is that possible?”
Eon Jin leaned back and slouched a bit in her chair.
“Beats me,” she mumbled.
“Have you consulted the deity about this?”
It already crossed Eon Jin’s mind to ask the god of Fate. However, getting a hold of the deity was not as simple as inviting a friend over for a picnic.
“I have neither seen nor spoken to the deity in a very, very long time,” she confessed. “My tasks were basically being communicated to me through those visions that I see before the incidents actually happen. I’ve been working on my own ever since that night when she gave me this punishment.”
“Ah, I see,” Hyo Jin acknowledged.
A few moments later, Eon Jin sat up to lean closer to the table.
“But, Hyo Jin,” she added. “That wasn’t the only thing that was bothering me.”
Hyo Jin looked at her with genuine curiosity.
“That same night, I think I saw a piece of my past,” she admitted.
Hyo Jin propped her chin on her palm, her eyes wide and attentive.
“Like a memory, you mean?”
Eon Jin nodded slowly.
“Although, at this point, I am not a hundred percent sure that it is a genuine recollection from my past,” she continued. “It’s difficult to discern whether or not it is real, since the past had always seemed like several lifetimes ago for me.”
An awkward silence fell between the two women as they both tried to make sense of the situation at hand.
“This is the first time it happened, correct?” Hyo Jin asked some time after. “Do you think it means anything? I mean, what are the odds that you’d fail your assignment for the first time, meet a mortal who can see and touch you, and see a fragment of your past life all in one night?”
Eon Jin picked up the teaspoon beside her cup and mindlessly stirred her tea, the silver clinking against the china in an odd rhythm.
“I guess I need to meet him again for me to find out,” she sighed.
It didn’t take too long for Eon Jin to get the opportunity she needed to figure things out. After a few days, she found herself standing face to face with the man whose existence was making her lose sleep.
She was on her way back from another assignment one afternoon when she saw Kim Tae Pyung walking towards her direction. He grinned when he saw her, those dimples on display again. In the broad daylight, Eon Jin noticed that the way his bangs fell softly above his eyes made him look more charmingly boyish than mysteriously dashing, as he was the first time they met.
She brushed off the latter thought.
Tae Pyung gave her a small wave that she didn’t acknowledge. Instead, she walked briskly past him and straight towards the parking lot.
“Surely, there must be a reason why we keep meeting during unfortunate situations,” he remarked as he followed Eon Jin to her car.
Eon Jin leaned on the door of the sleek, black sedan and crossed her arms.
“Must be plain coincidence,” she said. “It’s illogical to assume that there’s anything more to it.”
Tae Pyung shook his head slowly in pure disbelief. How a woman with a petite build and a hundred and sixty-five centimetres tall was this gutsy, he’d never know. But instead of being exasperated, he found himself curiously amused.
Eon Jin let out a dramatic long sigh and asked, “What can I help you with this time, Officer Kim?”
He shrugged and said, “Nothing, really. I just find it interesting that our paths crossed again. I’m pleased to see you, by the way.”
“I wish I could say the same,” she said without any trace of sincerity. “Anyhow, I just dropped by the logistics company a few blocks away from here for some business.”
All of a sudden, her hand flew to cover her mouth, feigning shock.
“Wow. Don’t tell me I got tangled up in another accident,” she uttered. “Is this an interrogation?”
Her mockery was not lost on Tae Pyung who clicked his tongue in faux reproach.
Shortly after, one of his colleagues called Tae Pyung from the other side of the area to come over. He nodded to the person, then turned back to face Eon Jin.
“I hope we could meet again, but without unpleasant stuff like death or accidents involved,” he joked.
“Nothing is more charming than a meet-cute in the midst of a premeditated murder,” she quipped, her chin jutted forward as she subtly ribbed the guy. “The image of the bloated body would definitely make your daydreams about me more interesting, Officer Kim.”
Tae Pyung chuckled at her impish teasing, simply amazed that the ill-tempered woman he met a week ago actually had some comedy in her vocabulary.
“Well, who knows? ‘Third time’s a charm’ they say,” Eon Jin humored him.
Tae Pyung was so pleasantly surprised at her remark that he could not help but beam at her. On the contrary, Eon Jin was internally questioning herself what in the world came over her and made her say all those things.
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed then,” Tae Pyung said, then slightly bowed before heading back to where his team was.
An idea crossed Eon Jin’s mind as she watched him walk away. Very quickly, she recalled the events from the night of that one failed assignment and knew for sure that a hint must be hidden somewhere.
“Officer Kim!”
Tae Pyung stopped and turned to look at her.
“I think you haven’t properly introduced yourself yet,” she said, loud enough for him to hear. “That’s probably why I end up getting cranky when I talk to you.”
Her candidness, again, caught Tae Pyung off guard. Nevertheless, he found himself tracing his steps back to the woman.
As he closed the distance between them, he extended his hand and said, “Kim Tae Pyung.”
Eon Jin continued to earnestly stare at the man in front of her as she considered her next steps.
Here goes nothing, she thought to herself.
She took a long nervous breath, then placed her hand on his and clasped it gently, already skeptical but also kind of hoping that this gesture would provide the answers to her questions.
“Son Eon Jin.”
Photo by Tea Creative │ Soo Chung on Unsplash
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