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Title: Too Harsh
Series: 내일 / Tomorrow
Characters: Park Joonggil, Gu Ryeon, Jade Empress/Director, Gob-dan
Summary: For quite some time, he had been feeling bitter towards Gu Ryeon. While it might just be his pride, he wanted her to understand what he felt. But now, he wondered if he had been a bit too harsh on her...
--------------------
Ryeon took a long breath as she headed towards the Director's office. They've finally resolved Chohui's case and saved her life. Still, it didn't change the fact that she had violated Jumadeung's rules. Certainly, the Risk Management team had special clearance that allow them to give out punishment to people whose actions had led to someone having a desire to kill themselves. But they could only do that once they've saved the suicidal people to whom they have been assigned to.Yet the things she has done, those actions were just pure violence. And apart from violating that ruling, she also allowed herself to be caught on camera.
Because of her, her team was at risk to be dissolved. There's no way she could allow it to happen!
Gu Ryeon bowed respectfully towards the Director as she straightened herself.
"I'm sorry. I'll accept whatever punishment you'd give me. If you want me to give up my position as team leader, I'll do that."
She smiled weakly. "If you want me to go to Hell, I'll go..."
"That won't be necessary. "
Ryeon let out a surprised gasp. Before she could say anything else, the Director continued.
"Joonggil has shouldered all of the blame."
Perhaps it's the way the Director had spoken so casually about it that made it seem hard to believe, but Ryeon had a hard time registering what she had just heard.
"W-what did you mean—?"
×××
Joonggil winced slightly as the cut on his face began to throb again. He smiled softly to himself. Mr Ha really went all out to lash out his frustrations at him. Perhaps it's a good thing that he was the one on the receiving end of Mr Ha's abuse and not Ryeon. Because he couldn't imagine the thought of leaving Ryeon alone at Mr Ha's 'mercy'.
He really hoped that things had gone well on the other side. Because he almost didn't manage to stop Mr Ha from continuing his pursuit of Ryeon.
But seeing how earlier the Director was able to keep a calm head while discussing his punishment, he supposed that the matter had already been resolved. He certainly did catch on to the hint from the Director that led to him claiming full responsibility for everything. He wondered if the Director was also trying to save him by insisting that he hadn't any other ulterior motive to interfere with Mr Ha's actions, but he couldn't really quite care about that.
Aside from Ryeon's safety, other concerns were irrelevant.
He could feel a slight shift of the negative energies around him as he pushed himself to become awake. Someone was coming, he thought. Though he didn't expect his visitor to be Ryeon.
"How are you feeling?"
He just shrugged at her. "This is nothing... compared to the pain you've gone through."
"Why did you do it?" she asked him again.
Why? Shouldn't she already know the reason? But even if he said so, would she feel that she was again at fault for him acting this way and being stuck in this horrid predicament? What'll she do then if she knows that he was acting this rashly because of her? Would she be doing something foolish again... like last time?
"Why didn't you tell me about it?"
"About you and I?"
Now that he had all of his missing memories, he could see the truth of everything. Ever since the very first moment she saw him as a grim reaper, her gaze on him had always been the same. Even during the time he had been behaving roughly towards her, she never thought ill of him. Her gaze was always so sorrowful, so forlorn. Even while protecting her teammates and her charges against his assault, she had always taken it silently. Without complaint.
Ryeon did tell him the truth. She never intended to deceive him.
"Even if we had been married once, the thread of fates between us had long been severed. Even if there were any feelings remaining, what else could I say to you... after hundreds of years have passed?"
Ryeon's answer pierced his heart like a sharp blade. Of course. It's already hundreds of years since their lives had been connected. Why would she tell him about a life that he no longer able to remember, save in his worst nightmare?
He more or less deserved to be treated this way.
"Yes, you are right."
"It wasn't due to my feelings for you when I went to save you. It was because of my pride. My pride caused me to misunderstand you... and do all those foolish things."
His answer was more or less consistent with the answer he gave to the Director and the others before, during his interrogation with Mr Ha. So if there was anyone listening to these exchanges right now, they won't be able to notice anything amiss. And that was fine.
Besides, he remembered painfully what happened last time when he admitted that he did something out of his own personal feelings.
"Thank you, for saying that..."
Ryeon turned around wordlessly to leave as Joonggil hastily called out to her.
"Ryeon-ah!"
Are you alright? He wanted to ask her. But instead, he asked her about Ryu Chohui. Even though he should be able to guess that the girl will be alright, he still wanted to ask her that. Since Ryeon wouldn't have answered him honestly anyway if he had been direct to her.
"Will she try to kill herself again?"
"No, I'll stop her no matter what."
Immediately he recalled Ryeon's answer to him not so long ago before all of this mess happened.
"Of course. That's what the Risk Management team do. I understand it now."
"Thank you."
×××
"... as a punishment, you'll be confined here in your current state..."
A month. It's the length of time he was supposed to be confined in this dark, eternal void. Yet, in a place where the passing of time held no meaning... what difference did it make if it had been a month or a thousand years? It hadn't been that long since Ryeon has left, but already it felt like ages has passed since then.
It was due to this disconnection to his senses that he didn't realise what happened as a gentle warmth enveloped his body.
"I'm sorry..."
It was Ryeon.
"I'm sorry that all this has happened because of me! If I had known that things will unfold this way, I should have told you everything from the very beginning."
"Or at least, when you started to become curious about your nightmares again. If I did, perhaps all of this wouldn't have to happen!"
Strangely, when he listened to all these confessions from her... all that he felt in his heart was amusement. Not because he wanted to put all of the blame on Ryeon, but these had been the exact emotions that he felt when he arrived home to find her body lifeless. In a twist of fates, their current predicament was more or less affected by the events of the past.
A soft chuckle slipped out of his throat as Ryeon pulled herself away from him slightly.
"You dare to laugh at me?"
He laughed for real again this time. "I guess, it means that we're even now."
"What do you mean?"
He shrugged at her, well, as much as he was able to with his hands being cuffed behind him.
"There'll be a time and place to explain everything. For now, shouldn't you be leaving this place already? If Mr Ha caught you loitering around here I wouldn't be able to do anything to help."
Ryeon blinked at him in confusion before her mind caught the meaning of his words shortly after. "Oh... right. "
Gentle fingers ran over the cuts and bruises on his face. Even if the gentle touch did nothing to heal the wounds, it still felt like a soothing balm that healed even the wounds inside of his heart.
"I should really be leaving..." she started to say.
Joonggil kept his mouth shut as Ryeon stood up to leave. But before she could go far enough beyond his earshot, he spoke out again.
"Ryeon-ah. Please remember this."
"From the very first time we met, it was never your fault. Whatever happened since that time, the blame was never yours to carry alone."
Epilogue
About 600 years ago. Probably.
A young lady knelt over the podium by herself. Even though she had died many years after she used to have this appearance, the moment she arrived in Jumadeung her appearance regressed to that of her youth. She glanced up towards the regal appearance of the Jade Empress.
"Your name is Gob-dan. Do te you know the reason why you were summoned here?"
The young lady nodded.
"Because I have died. I died while protecting my beloved mistress from the people who tried to harm her."
"Do you realise what crime have you committed?"
Gob-dan eyes widened in surprise. "What do you mean it was a crime? I was only protecting my mistress. How could that action be a wrongful thing to do?"
The Jade Empress nodded her head. "Yes, you're only doing what you think was right for you to do. Yet, because of your death... a great scar had manifested inside your beloved mistress's heart. Even when the blame was not on either two of you, she would still feel that she was to be blamed for everything that has happened and will happen. Because of that, she may choose to condemn her own soul to the worse possible punishment."
Gob-dan let out a loud cry. "No! She can't do that! Everything was not her fault. It never was."
Immediately her mind started to conjure up many thoughts. It was a selfish notion for her to think of it. But she wished that it was possible for her to do something.
"Is there something that I could do? Can you do something to change her fate? Fates shouldn't be so cruel to her like this!"
"From the very beginning, I am but a mere bystander. Whatever fates that one may receive, it all depends on the choices that they've made."
Gob-dan immediately deflated after hearing her response. The Jade Empress eventually smiled. "Still, I will provide her with some choice. Whether or not her decision can change her fate, everything will be up to her."
That brought a smile to Gob-dan's face as she bowed to the Jade Empress to express her gratitude.
"Thank you, Jade Empress. Thank you so much!"
Series: 내일 / Tomorrow
Characters: Park Joonggil, Gu Ryeon, Jade Empress/Director, Gob-dan
Summary: For quite some time, he had been feeling bitter towards Gu Ryeon. While it might just be his pride, he wanted her to understand what he felt. But now, he wondered if he had been a bit too harsh on her...
--------------------
Ryeon took a long breath as she headed towards the Director's office. They've finally resolved Chohui's case and saved her life. Still, it didn't change the fact that she had violated Jumadeung's rules. Certainly, the Risk Management team had special clearance that allow them to give out punishment to people whose actions had led to someone having a desire to kill themselves. But they could only do that once they've saved the suicidal people to whom they have been assigned to.Yet the things she has done, those actions were just pure violence. And apart from violating that ruling, she also allowed herself to be caught on camera.
Because of her, her team was at risk to be dissolved. There's no way she could allow it to happen!
Gu Ryeon bowed respectfully towards the Director as she straightened herself.
"I'm sorry. I'll accept whatever punishment you'd give me. If you want me to give up my position as team leader, I'll do that."
She smiled weakly. "If you want me to go to Hell, I'll go..."
"That won't be necessary. "
Ryeon let out a surprised gasp. Before she could say anything else, the Director continued.
"Joonggil has shouldered all of the blame."
Perhaps it's the way the Director had spoken so casually about it that made it seem hard to believe, but Ryeon had a hard time registering what she had just heard.
"W-what did you mean—?"
×××
Joonggil winced slightly as the cut on his face began to throb again. He smiled softly to himself. Mr Ha really went all out to lash out his frustrations at him. Perhaps it's a good thing that he was the one on the receiving end of Mr Ha's abuse and not Ryeon. Because he couldn't imagine the thought of leaving Ryeon alone at Mr Ha's 'mercy'.
He really hoped that things had gone well on the other side. Because he almost didn't manage to stop Mr Ha from continuing his pursuit of Ryeon.
But seeing how earlier the Director was able to keep a calm head while discussing his punishment, he supposed that the matter had already been resolved. He certainly did catch on to the hint from the Director that led to him claiming full responsibility for everything. He wondered if the Director was also trying to save him by insisting that he hadn't any other ulterior motive to interfere with Mr Ha's actions, but he couldn't really quite care about that.
Aside from Ryeon's safety, other concerns were irrelevant.
He could feel a slight shift of the negative energies around him as he pushed himself to become awake. Someone was coming, he thought. Though he didn't expect his visitor to be Ryeon.
"How are you feeling?"
He just shrugged at her. "This is nothing... compared to the pain you've gone through."
"Why did you do it?" she asked him again.
Why? Shouldn't she already know the reason? But even if he said so, would she feel that she was again at fault for him acting this way and being stuck in this horrid predicament? What'll she do then if she knows that he was acting this rashly because of her? Would she be doing something foolish again... like last time?
"Why didn't you tell me about it?"
"About you and I?"
Now that he had all of his missing memories, he could see the truth of everything. Ever since the very first moment she saw him as a grim reaper, her gaze on him had always been the same. Even during the time he had been behaving roughly towards her, she never thought ill of him. Her gaze was always so sorrowful, so forlorn. Even while protecting her teammates and her charges against his assault, she had always taken it silently. Without complaint.
Ryeon did tell him the truth. She never intended to deceive him.
"Even if we had been married once, the thread of fates between us had long been severed. Even if there were any feelings remaining, what else could I say to you... after hundreds of years have passed?"
Ryeon's answer pierced his heart like a sharp blade. Of course. It's already hundreds of years since their lives had been connected. Why would she tell him about a life that he no longer able to remember, save in his worst nightmare?
He more or less deserved to be treated this way.
"Yes, you are right."
"It wasn't due to my feelings for you when I went to save you. It was because of my pride. My pride caused me to misunderstand you... and do all those foolish things."
His answer was more or less consistent with the answer he gave to the Director and the others before, during his interrogation with Mr Ha. So if there was anyone listening to these exchanges right now, they won't be able to notice anything amiss. And that was fine.
Besides, he remembered painfully what happened last time when he admitted that he did something out of his own personal feelings.
"Thank you, for saying that..."
Ryeon turned around wordlessly to leave as Joonggil hastily called out to her.
"Ryeon-ah!"
Are you alright? He wanted to ask her. But instead, he asked her about Ryu Chohui. Even though he should be able to guess that the girl will be alright, he still wanted to ask her that. Since Ryeon wouldn't have answered him honestly anyway if he had been direct to her.
"Will she try to kill herself again?"
"No, I'll stop her no matter what."
Immediately he recalled Ryeon's answer to him not so long ago before all of this mess happened.
"Of course. That's what the Risk Management team do. I understand it now."
"Thank you."
×××
"... as a punishment, you'll be confined here in your current state..."
A month. It's the length of time he was supposed to be confined in this dark, eternal void. Yet, in a place where the passing of time held no meaning... what difference did it make if it had been a month or a thousand years? It hadn't been that long since Ryeon has left, but already it felt like ages has passed since then.
It was due to this disconnection to his senses that he didn't realise what happened as a gentle warmth enveloped his body.
"I'm sorry..."
It was Ryeon.
"I'm sorry that all this has happened because of me! If I had known that things will unfold this way, I should have told you everything from the very beginning."
"Or at least, when you started to become curious about your nightmares again. If I did, perhaps all of this wouldn't have to happen!"
Strangely, when he listened to all these confessions from her... all that he felt in his heart was amusement. Not because he wanted to put all of the blame on Ryeon, but these had been the exact emotions that he felt when he arrived home to find her body lifeless. In a twist of fates, their current predicament was more or less affected by the events of the past.
A soft chuckle slipped out of his throat as Ryeon pulled herself away from him slightly.
"You dare to laugh at me?"
He laughed for real again this time. "I guess, it means that we're even now."
"What do you mean?"
He shrugged at her, well, as much as he was able to with his hands being cuffed behind him.
"There'll be a time and place to explain everything. For now, shouldn't you be leaving this place already? If Mr Ha caught you loitering around here I wouldn't be able to do anything to help."
Ryeon blinked at him in confusion before her mind caught the meaning of his words shortly after. "Oh... right. "
Gentle fingers ran over the cuts and bruises on his face. Even if the gentle touch did nothing to heal the wounds, it still felt like a soothing balm that healed even the wounds inside of his heart.
"I should really be leaving..." she started to say.
Joonggil kept his mouth shut as Ryeon stood up to leave. But before she could go far enough beyond his earshot, he spoke out again.
"Ryeon-ah. Please remember this."
"From the very first time we met, it was never your fault. Whatever happened since that time, the blame was never yours to carry alone."
Epilogue
About 600 years ago. Probably.
A young lady knelt over the podium by herself. Even though she had died many years after she used to have this appearance, the moment she arrived in Jumadeung her appearance regressed to that of her youth. She glanced up towards the regal appearance of the Jade Empress.
"Your name is Gob-dan. Do te you know the reason why you were summoned here?"
The young lady nodded.
"Because I have died. I died while protecting my beloved mistress from the people who tried to harm her."
"Do you realise what crime have you committed?"
Gob-dan eyes widened in surprise. "What do you mean it was a crime? I was only protecting my mistress. How could that action be a wrongful thing to do?"
The Jade Empress nodded her head. "Yes, you're only doing what you think was right for you to do. Yet, because of your death... a great scar had manifested inside your beloved mistress's heart. Even when the blame was not on either two of you, she would still feel that she was to be blamed for everything that has happened and will happen. Because of that, she may choose to condemn her own soul to the worse possible punishment."
Gob-dan let out a loud cry. "No! She can't do that! Everything was not her fault. It never was."
Immediately her mind started to conjure up many thoughts. It was a selfish notion for her to think of it. But she wished that it was possible for her to do something.
"Is there something that I could do? Can you do something to change her fate? Fates shouldn't be so cruel to her like this!"
"From the very beginning, I am but a mere bystander. Whatever fates that one may receive, it all depends on the choices that they've made."
Gob-dan immediately deflated after hearing her response. The Jade Empress eventually smiled. "Still, I will provide her with some choice. Whether or not her decision can change her fate, everything will be up to her."
That brought a smile to Gob-dan's face as she bowed to the Jade Empress to express her gratitude.
"Thank you, Jade Empress. Thank you so much!"
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