INV 51

“Taerim-ah.”

“Yeah. It’s been a while, Mr. Son.”

At around the same time, in another interrogation room, Kang Taerim, who had been accepting handshakes from rookie investigators, was finally greeting the veteran investigator who had made his grand appearance.

From that moment on, Kang Taerim of Afterlife Company Co., Ltd. was swapped out for Kang Taerim of the Haetae Department.

Kang Taerim knew exactly who the investigator calling him so affectionately was. This was partly because Kang Taerim was naturally such a good-natured person with extensive connections, but it was also a fact that it would be difficult to fail to recognize a colleague from one’s starting class if one possessed functioning eyes and a proper mind.

‘Though Gwak Deukcheon is the type of person who manages to pull that off.’

Son Hyeong-taek, an investigator who had once flown into a rage after hearing Gwak Deukcheon ask, “Who’re you? Do you know me?”, was no longer that young man from back then. A middle-aged man, worn down by the hardships of life and grew shrewd with age, stood there holding a thick file. Noticing a gait and a shifted center of gravity that had changed strikingly compared to when he was active in the field, Kang Taerim was reminded of Gwak Deukcheon once again.

‘He said he’d keep running in the field until right before he died. Probably.’

Gwak Deukcheon was not a deceased soul whose appearance was fixed to the time of his death, but Taerim had heard that as long as he belonged to the Underworld through a contract with Great King Yama, he maintained the physical condition of his prime. Whether that was true or not hadn’t been revealed, but when the rumor spread, Son Hyeong-taek was the first to envy Gwak Deukcheon. He had said even back in his thirties, when he was still young, that any human couldn’t help but reminisce about the glory of their youth. Did his old friend, who had let the preciousness of what he possessed slip through his fingers without realizing it, no longer miss his youth? Had he accepted natural aging? He didn’t show even the minimum mindset of trying to live youthfully. This wasn’t about physical appearance. It was about the ember held within.

He seemed as if he wouldn’t even spare a glance at the bonfire in his heart, even though it was completely dying out.

Because it was a change in someone who had been a friend, Taerim felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

Son Hyeong-taek sat down across from him and let out a sigh without preamble.

“You’re going through a lot of trouble, Taerim-ah.”

“Hey, why talk like that? No matter how much trouble I go through, could it be worse than you, Hyeong-taek? Mr. Investigation Team Leader.”

“Aie. There’s really no one else who speaks to me like you do. But lately, they tell me to call it Investigation Division Chief.”

“What? Why are so many things changing these days?”

Before his changed friend, Kang Taerim unintentionally spoke his true feelings.

However, Son Hyeong-taek, unaware that those words were directed at him, continued his grumbling.

“Tell me about it. The things that need to change don’t change, and the things I couldn’t care less about whether they change or not keep changing. Is it because I’m getting old? Huh? Is it because we’ve eaten so many years that we don’t know how the world works anymore, he-he-he… This kind of talk should be done while clinking soju glasses. The location is a bit unfortunate, hey. I’m sorry.”

“Mr. Son. What’s gotten into you? Sorry for what? How can someone who’s an Investigation Team Leader—no, a Division Chief—apologize so recklessly?”

Kang Taerim laughed heartily while facing Son Hyeong-taek.

The typical conversation flowed smoothly like a well-coordinated play. The dialogue, which flattered each other and livened up the atmosphere, was even skillful.

However, it was his behavior in the Haetae Department that was peculiar; Kang Taerim’s original nature was actually closer to this. Kang Taerim was a person who disliked conflict from the start, and he was the type who thought observing situations from a distance suited his temperament better. Rushing in and interfering with others, telling them to do this or that, was something one could only do if they had affection and interest. Kang Taerim was not a person who did such things. He wasn’t stupid enough to start such a meaningless task and feel proud over a mere change like someone else making a better choice.

‘Because I’m not Gwak Deukcheon.’

Therefore, Kang Taerim could smile broadly while rattling off words he didn’t even mean.

Manager Kang, who could be considered the type most similar to Kwon Yihyeon in a way, was a good-natured and hard-working office worker who seemed to smile vacantly anywhere, yet always made sure to take care of important profits and losses.

It was no wonder he was voted the number one boss people wanted to meet even after resigning.

Three or four years ago—that is, before the founding of the Haetae Department—there was a widespread reputation in Afterlife Company that a master key like Kang Taerim didn’t exist anywhere else in the world. If you didn’t know something, just go find Kang Taerim first. If you showed signs of having agonized over it yourself, he would respond reasonably!

However, a boss responding reasonably to a problematic situation was an absurd idea.

Many new employees distrusted that tip. Public opinion was rife that it was a high-quality, new-concept way to screw someone over. However, when the senior who gave the tip actually went to find Kang Taerim whenever a difficult task arose and came back with the problem solved, the rumor spread rapidly at some point.

After that day, Kang Taerim began to be called the Wingless Angel of Hell…

Gwak Deukcheon liked that nickname more than anyone. Even though they were colleagues from the same class, there was a significant age gap, so Kang Taerim had a bull-strong will to avoid fistfights as much as possible, and it was “Wingless Angel” that completely broke that will.

Since the day he became close with Gwak Deukcheon on a personal level was that day, it wasn’t a nickname he entirely hated, though.

‘If I tell him, I’ll be called that for the rest of my life, so this is a secret until the day I die.’

In any case, as one goes through life, there are people who only have a good reputation among subordinates, and in those cases, the higher-ups usually tend to push them down; but Kang Taerim didn’t face such hardships. On the contrary, his superiors adored him even more.

And for good reason—one could see just by the trajectory of his life that Kang Taerim had no rough edges. Since there were no twists and turns in his destined lot in life, he started with a perfect score, and since the occasion of him learning about the afterlife wasn’t intentional, bonus points were added.

Kang Taerim, the second son of the Kang family—a family that had lived on the country’s stipend for generations by devouring themselves in politics or diplomacy—entered the world of the occult by chance.

In the year he turned seven, Kang Taerim, who had almost drowned in valley water, simply thought he must have been crazy as he walked toward the restricted line as if possessed. But his father, who couldn’t believe his normally quiet son had sought out a place to die of his own accord, was different.

And so, his father decided to climb Mount Baengnok with his son. The hiking was so difficult that he wanted to quit several times midway, but once they actually arrived and he locked eyes with a certain grandmother, his fatigue vanished. His shoulders, which had been heavy as if someone were pressing down on them with their feet, became light, and his back straightened naturally.

However, upon meeting the grandmother, his father started wailing altogether. Kang Taerim felt a strange sensation. This mountain was a place that should be quiet. He felt like he shouldn’t cry loudly here. But his father was sobbing as if the grandmother who came out to meet them were some great thunderbolt.

“M-Mansin-nim. Is there some problem with our child…”

“She says there is nothing big. Follow her.”

“Yes, yes. Mansin-nim. Please, our child…”

He heard later that this place, Mount Baengnok—which they themselves called the ‘Great Mountain’—had different people coming out to meet guests depending on the severity of the situation. But since the heaviest Mansin among them had personally made an appearance, his father was terrified that some disaster might strike.

Anyway, while supporting his father and following the grandmother called Mansin, Kang Taerim thought skeptically. ‘What is this? This situation? Do I have to receive a divine calling or something?’ Kang Taerim assumed the worst-case scenario he could guess with his short knowledge of shamanism.

Of course, the world was full of impurities and oddities more gruesome than that, but fortunately, it didn’t seem to be Kang Taerim’s lot. The Mansin-nim, who had entered the shrine, uttered just one sentence while looking at Kang Taerim.

“You have much luck, child.”

Those words were the beginning.

“You aren’t destined to receive the spirit, and it would be perfect if you just resolve it by praying to your ancestors, but for some reason, the surroundings won’t leave you alone. They won’t leave you alone. Most of the humans you’ve met so far, they all stick to you because they like you, right? It’s the same for those who aren’t human. It’s no different. Spirits, ghosts, monsters, immortals, and gods—they all rush at you because they like you, so it’s a situation where you’ve accepted everything that comes at you without even knowing what’s what. A false spirit got mixed in there and you fell into the water? You drank a lot of water and got full. You almost drew your last breath. But the deity who was enjoying the mountains and streams in the valley saved you. A fate that receives this much interest is usually unlucky, but you avoided it. Aigo. You lucky fellow. Even if you want to die, it won’t be easy for you.”

At the flood of words pouring out like a dialect, Kang Taerim froze for a moment. He hadn’t mentioned that he almost drowned, so how did she recognize it?

For an instant, Kang Taerim felt the sensation of being stripped naked and pierced through.