Red String | Tomorrow Fanfiction

03 - Jumadeung

Year 2021

"Sorry ma'am, do I know you?" Jihyeon asked the woman who wears nice clothes, stand in front of her grandfather's grave. She just arrived to visit her dad's grave and found out a stranger woman visiting her family's cemetery.

The woman smiled before she answered, "I just one of your family colleagues. Are you Lee Minho's daughter?" Jihyeon looks confused because she almost knows all of the Lee family's colleagues since she is quite active in the business gathering, and she felt that she never saw this woman. But Jihyeon gets somewhat familiar feel with her for some unknown reasons.

Jihyeon just nodded and then put the flowers she brought on the grave written 'Lee Minho'. Then she clasped her hands and sent some prayers.

"Until now, I still feel sad that my dad gone before he can see me graduated from university. Although the major is not related to our company, he was really happy when I told him that I wanted to be a novelist." Out of nowhere, Jihyeon started the conversation with that woman.

"But what makes me more sad is he can't meet Aunty Mikyung again even though aunty is gone first." Jihyeon continued her conversation.

The woman looked at her with a curious gaze, "Why do you say that, miss?"

Jihyeon looked at her then chuckled, "What I'm gonna told you will sound ridiculous, ma'am."

"Go on, I'm all ears." She said.

Jihyeon took a deep breath and then tried to tell the story.

"12 years ago, my aunty got yelled by my grandpa because she had ordinary man as her boyfriend while my grandpa's company just hit the peak at that time. Maybe my grandpa was too harsh with her and wounded her heart till the point that she felt that no one was on her side. Because later I heard from my mom that her boyfriend left after grandpa gave him some money, I can say that the amount is not that small for him. And that whole situation makes her feel even worse then chooses to end her life by her own hand." Jihyeon sighed, then sat between her dad's grave and her aunty's grave.

"At that time, I saw it with my own eyes how she lay lifeless in the bathroom. But she's not alone, there's a man and woman who tried to save her but it's too late. Then I heard a man say that my aunty souls would be collected."

The woman looked surprised, "Collected the soul?" Jihyeon nodded. "Now... when I thought about this, I assumed that it was what we called Grim Reaper because I was experiencing the same situation when my grandma passed away a week later."

"Do you mind telling me more, Lee Jihyeon?" The woman asked.

Jihyeon nodded, "Sure." Then she felt dizzy and her vision getting blurred. "Not this feeling again." She thought.

Suddenly, the woman put her palms on Jihyeon's head, and Jihyeon felt lightheaded. "You need to sleep a little bit, honey."

**

Jihyeon opened her eyes and then realized that she's not in the family cemetery but in a greenhouse. In front of her, the woman she met at the graveyard sat while enjoyed her tea. She noticed that Jihyeon's awake then offered the tea.

Jihyeon sipped the tea and looked around. "I'm not dead yet, right?" The woman chuckled, "What make you think like that, miss Jihyeon?"

Jihyeon looks around and then looks at the woman, "Because I don't feel the same aura when the grim reaper wanna take the soul. No one mentioned my full name, my date of birth, and the causal of my death. But, I also don't feel like this is my real body. Where am I actually?"

"This is Jumadeung. The underworld. All the souls will do some process here before we send them to hell or heaven." The woman explained.

Jihyeon tilted her head, "So this is like immigration area? Between the world of humans and the world of souls?" The woman nodded, "You can say it like that if that makes it easier for you to understand." Jihyeon sipped her tea and nodded. "Oh, every country has their own Jumadeung. This one is the Korean branch." The woman added.

"Your response is quite normal compared with the real soul that we already collected." Jihyeon shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. I don't feel like this place is that strange. I actually feel familiar with this place." The woman nodded.

"Excuse me, ma'am. May I know your name? We just talked, and I don't even know your name. It seems impolite for me that I don't know my convo partner's name."

That woman laughed, "You're quite unique, aren't you? People in this place called me director. But, people in your world called me 'The Jade Emperor'"

Jihyeon nodded before she realized, "What?"

*

"So... you keep experiencing headaches and blurry vision, then suddenly you can see things you've never experienced before?" The director asked.

Jihyeon nodded, "It's like deja vu. But the setting feels really old, like it's not from the current year I live. Yet I feel familiar with it. First, it just happened when I met my family like my dad, my mom, and my brother. Its like I can know their past life, and it turns out that we have been related since that time. But then, it also happened when I met one of the grim reaper who would take my dad's soul. I can hear a girl voice that sounds like me, but I don't think it was me, was called him Park Joonggil?"

"Park Joonggil? He is one of the best reaper from our elite team. We called it the escort team." The director explained. Jihyeon nodded and then asked, "Director, what happened with me?"

The director sighed, "Honestly... I also don't know the answer to your question, Miss Jihyeon. Your past life should be locked when you reincarnate. You can access your past life when you work here, at Jumadeung. Even you can only access your own past life. But what you experienced is beyond my understanding, even though I'm the director here."

Jihyeon looked dejected when she heard the director's response.

"Actually, as a human, you can't enter Jumadeung. I am also quite surprised when I can bring you here even when you haven't died. I can say that I know you, but I can't reveal the reason because it is considered a violation of Jumadeung's rules. Let's say that you have some special power to make it happen." The director added.

"So, I can go back here when I am still alive?" The director shook her head. "You must be invited here. And maybe when you reach the end of your life, you can work here as a reaper." Jihyeon laughed.

Then, they continued the conversation. The director explained to her each division in Jumadeung. They talked for quite a long time, suddenly Jihyeon felt dizzy and she noticed that her body became transparent.

"Looks like you reach your limit here as a human who is still alive, Jihyeon."

"Will I forgeting this conversation?" She asked. The director shrugged her shoulders, "Who knows. If you remember this conversation, please keep in mind that it will be your new secret, Miss Jihyeon."

Jihyeon smiled, "Okay. Thank you, Mrs. Director. See you soon." After finishing her sentence, Jihyeon is completely gone.

The director finished her tea before someone walked into the greenhouse. "Director," the reaper gave his respect. The director nodded, "Oh... Joonggil-a. Why?"