dodging death | lee minhyuk

① ー the in-between

Wisps of smoke proceeded to disperse within the area, the zone in which the earth met with the afterlife. Within moments, the thin puffs began to materialize, forming a being in a cloak  as dark as ebony, hair as red as fresh blood.

Such an individual could only be the Grim Reaper, he with the ability to travel through each zone as he pleases.  The Mortal Zone, in which humans co-existed,  The Eternal Zone, where the souls of the departed resided after death... here was The In-Between, the gap of darkness just before the crossings into the zones.

The Grim Reaper was the only individual to pass through each zone on a daily basis.
That is, if you didn't consider the new intern he had hired.

Lee Minhyuk was new to the job, a rookie to his role with experience less than a century. Still not accustomed to the function of the In-Between, the intern had appeared minutes later. "Boss!" he exclaimed enthusiastically.

Although sudden, the greeting was becoming rather repetitive, so the Grim Reaper was no longer surprised. Still, he took the opportunity to conjure his ever so iconic scythe to hold by his side in order to proclaim his hostility.

"I'm liking the new haircolor, sir. I told you red was a good color, huh?" Minhyuk grinned widely, gesturing towards his own mop of hair a vivid, velvety rouge. "I don't blame you for copying my style."

The Grim Reaper scoffed in response. "You're the one who copied me. I had this same haircolor eras ago,"

His intern scratched the back of his head sheepishly, the action causing bit of sparkles to fall loose from his red locks. "Oh, right. Sorry boss."

There was a moment of silence before the Grim Reaper himself shattered it. "The list, Minhyuk. Give me the list."

"Right, right! Uhm," Minhyuk slipped his hand in the interior pocket of his blazer, retracting with a scroll in his palms. He handed it to his boss with a bow.

"This is the list for today?" the Grim Reaper unrolled the scroll, gawking at the amount of names that had formed on it.

The underling's smile turned into a wince as he went for his outer pockets, pulling out a few shorter ones. "Actually sir, there's more. Just a bit! The death rate in the Mortal Zone increased by 14.97% percent."

The Grim Reaper frowned as he dismissed the urge to slice the other scrolls in his intern's hands with his scythe. "How am I supposed to deal with all of these departed souls within these 24 hours?"

The two contemplated for a moment, and after conjuring a few ideas a smile crept upon Minhyuk's face. "You know, I think I'm capable of more than just fetching scrolls and other intern things... I've been at this job for almost a century, so it's about time I get a bit more experience, I'd like to think."

His boss gave him a hard look. "No," the Grim Reaper replied firmly, snatching the scrolls out of the intern's grip once the flesh properly formed around his skeletal hands.

"Please, boss! Please let me help you!" Minhyuk dove to the floor, landing on his knees as he brought up his clasped hands in fake prayer. He offered his best "puppy dog" look, trembling his lip as his eyes widened.

Heaving a prolonged sigh, the Grim Reaper finally handed over a single scroll. "The scroll only has their names, location, and set time of death, so the rest is up to you to decipher. I'm much too busy to help you or check how you are, but all I can say is that you'll have to be mindful of your surroundings. And remember, blend into The Mortal Zone."

Minhyuk practically leaped onto his feet, shouting in excitement as his signature cheeky grin returned to his face. "Thank you, boss! Thank you so much!"

"Do your job right! Or the name 'Lee Minhyuk' will find its way on the list of those destined to depart," the Grim Reaper huffed.

"With all due respect sir, I'm technically already dead, so I don't think that's possible!" Minhyuk laughed, though the outburst ended rather awkwardly when his boss stared back without any bit of emotion.

"We'll see about that," the statement finally caused Minhyuk's smile to fade, and he watched as the Grim Reaper disappeared from the area.

Unravelling the scroll of his responsibilities, Minhyuk couldn't help but gasp at the long list of people he had to go through. "Oh boy," he sighed to himself, beginning to stride towards the direction of the Mortal Zone.