Chapter Text
Kim Rok Soo doesn’t know what happened.
One moment, he was standing. Knowing he was going to a mission to contain a sudden breach in the frontlines, he’d prepared as much as he could with what little time was given to him by his company. It wasn’t the first time that something had burst through the blockade and it certainly wasn’t the case that the company and all the survivors so far had become sloppy.
No. Years of fighting against waves of monsters teaches you never to let your guard down, never to relax for one moment, and never take anything too lightly.
But it still surprised him, either way.
“Buh.. Ugh….”
Fresh crimson blood bubbled out of his mouth as he gripped the giant claw that had pierced right through his stomach, like he was nothing but butter. There was a ringing to his ear and he can vaguely understand that people are screaming and trying to run towards him.
The monster was dead. He’d told Kim Min Ah to make sure of that, even as he was skewered like a kebab, because there was no way they could allow it past this point.
It was funny. Kim Rok Soo was sure that having “survived” the descent of an unranked monster, either death by overwork or a similar monster would be the end of him, and yet here he was.
Dying.
To a monster that’s not even at the foot of what he witnessed that day.
‘I guess that’s just how it is in reality.’
“T-TEAM LEADER!”
Kim Rok Soo felt it before he really realized it. The way he staggered down to his knees, not even trying to wrench the monster’s claw out, knowing that it would just make things worse. Bleed him out faster. He can’t do anything about the internal injuries but at least this—
“Healer! Get the healer!”
“The healer’s been buried under the rubble in the initial commotion. We have to dig him out first but that will take time!”
“Does he look like he has time?!”
The voices have become clearer, and yet at the same time, it felt so distant. Like he was listening to something underwater. Like he was listening through a compact glass wall.
“T-team lea—Kim Rok Soo! Don’t you dare close your eyes!”
“Ahjussi!”
“Dig out the healer! Stop wasting more time!”
Something wet falls down Kim Rok Soo’s face and there’s something strong gripping at his arms like a vice. It was like being in a hazy dream, unable to figure out which is which but also clearly seeing certain things but without certain parts. An imbalance or so to say.
And when the wet thing doesn’t stop falling on him, it was only then that Kim Rok Soo realized.
The members of his team were gathered around him, crying over him.
Kim Min Ah was the one holding unto him, yelling something he couldn’t make out in the middle of her tears. There were some of them who were hovering, ugly sobbing or grabbing unto one of Kim Rok Soo’s limbs as if they believed that would keep him from going somewhere far away. Kim Rok Soo could even see the youngest member of the team, down on her knees on the ground, and crying like a child.
‘What are you all crying about?’ Kim Rok Soo almost wants to say as he watches all of them cry in despair, his body feeling lighter and lighter as time went on.
Death was normal in this line of business. Death has always been the expected outcome of their lives.
It was either this or something else.
“Not yet!”
The sharp cry that came out of one of his team members snapped Kim Rok Soo out of his daze briefly, the sound coming out of them as if it was punched out of their lungs.
“D-don’t go yet! Not yet, no, please!”
Ah.
The Team led by Kim Rok Soo has always had 0% death rate. After everything that happened to it before, Kim Rok Soo had put himself in danger time and time again just to make sure of that, because otherwise, he didn’t know how he would have been able to live with himself.
All that effort would go down the drain and his regrets will be renewed within the people he’ll leave behind if he doesn’t speak here.
So that’s what he exactly does, despite the difficulty and strain.
He does not call all of them by name, he does not leave behind instructions for his will, he does not give them a sentimental speech that would only make them cry harder.
He does not even apologize.
“M-my…”
All eyes fall on him as they find him speaking and everyone bursts into panicked screaming, trying to tell him not to speak, that maybe there was still hope, but Kim Rok Soo shakes his head, knowing better than to lead them on, as he says.
“…My re… r-record…”
Everyone stared at him with round confused eyes, and Kim Rok Soo almost wanted to snap at them and say, not the ability. Not that record.
“Z-zero deaths…” He adds in with irritation in his eyes even as he was hunched over and supported by a trembling Kim Min Ah who was slowly starting to have an idea of what he wanted to say. Kim Rok Soo’s infamous track record of never letting a single death happen in his team.
He looks each and everyone of them in the eye before curling his lips upward despite the pain.
“Beat it.”
It was the most eloquent thing he’s ever said through the blood in his mouth and he doesn’t regret it.
His eyes could say it all, but he wanted them to know. To hear it from him.
One last order.
‘I know you can do it.’
Keep each other safe. Don’t let anyone die. Survive, survive, survive.
Until the world is safe. Until the team is safer. Until you forget all about my dying breath.
Tears well up in all of their eyes once again as they collapse around him, realizing that this was really it, but they do not say no. They don’t shake their head and refuse a dying man’s demand. They nod through their tears and tries noises of affirmation even through the gasps, and that’s all Kim Rok Soo needed to finally…
Relax.
“TEAM LEADER!”
They cry out to him in agony, but Kim Rok Soo already closed his eyes and let go of the claw in his grip.
Falling in his dreams, Team Leader Kim Rok Soo has fallen asleep.
---
The first time Kim Rok Soo came to, he was in an office.
Not his office, but someone else’s. Owned by someone who was definitely weird.
That someone was the person sitting right across the table from him, his hands on the bridge of his nose as he seemed to be putting his hands together in a hesitant act of frustrated prayer. To who, though, Kim Rok Soo wonders.
Because although this was his first time seeing it, he’d picked up on it right away.
Who in the world would the god of death pray to, considering that he, himself, is a deity?
“…It’s wrong.”
“…Excuse me?”
Kim Rok Soo has been in this office for the past 15 minutes and this was their first conversation.
“Everything is wrong because of you right now, young man.”
“…I’m sorry?”
The god behind the counter sighs as Kim Rok Soo hesitantly offers his apologies even though he’s not even sure what the heck was happening here, and he puts a hand on his temple.
“No, I mean, technically, it’s not your fault but at the same time, your body for some reason wouldn’t let me interfere when it needed it most. You weren’t supposed to die today, you punk. Although, you were supposed to die a long time ago… your friends made sure to not let that happen. Right now, I should be talking to someone who is alive.”
‘Friends?’
Kim Rok Soo’s eyes widened slightly.
‘Don’t tell me…’
“I had this whole grand plan prepared because Choi Jung Soo refused to transmigrate so that he could save you.” Shuffling through some files in his drawer, the god of death clicked his tongue as he pulled one particular file out, “As heroic as he was, after all, we needed something. I was planning on giving you a luxurious life as a noble in this one world and give you necessary information to change the outcome we had, but now that you’re dead, I can’t possibly switch you with that noble.”
“Choi Jung Soo, what…? Hold on—”
“I know, but I can’t even blame him. Actually, now that I think about it, he’d probably be very angry to see you here once he gets back. That punk, Lee Soo Hyuk, too.”
Kim Rok Soo sucked in a sharp intake of breath.
“…They haven’t… reincarnated or anything? Moved on to the next life?”
“Lee Soo Hyuk has. Only partially though. Choi Jung Soo’s heritage makes it impossible for him to be reincarnated so he really has no choice but to work for me and move around under my name.”
They were here.
Emotions that Kim Rok Soo didn’t think dead spirits could have bubbled up to his throat.
He does not cry, but he almost does. Maybe it was because the weight that has been on his shoulders throughout his life was finally gone in the event of his death. He felt lighter. Maybe happier. Finally hearing that those two bastards who went before him were doing fine, Kim Rok Soo was, honest to god, relieved.
“I believe they should actually be coming back for a report right about…”
There was the sound of a door being kicked open.
“YA! What the fuck do you mean Kim Rok Soo died in ba… AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH?!?!”
“…Now, I suppose.” The God of death said, tiredly.
“Rok Soo-ya!” Lee Soo Hyuk called out in surprise from the doorway, his form disheveled and his ponytail sloppy, but no one could surpass the mess that was the blood-covered Choi Jung Soo wrapped in bandages and pointing at Kim Rok Soo with comically wide eyes in shock.
They looked like they’ve both been healthy, which was ironic, because the both of them had been dead.
‘Oh, that makes the three of us, now.’
Kim Rok Soo marveled at his sudden weird thought.
“…I’ll give the three of you time to catch up while I figure out a way to fix this mess.” The god of death stood up and then left, slowly, as if he was dragging his own feet, not really wanting to deal with a situation that would be particularly hard to salvage.
The two Koreans by the doorway shuffled inside as the god made his way out, and then when the door clicked shut…
“YA! How could you die in battle to some low level monster?!”
“You’re not feeling disconcerted or anything, are you? Did you at least beat it back?”
Question after question poured out as the two people that Kim Rok Soo have not seen for so long traversed the distance between the door and the chair so quickly and shoved themselves right unto Kim Rok Soo’s personal space.
This was not what Kim Rok Soo was expecting to see when he was dying.
It was such a contrast from the darkness that he’d experienced back then, and so familiar like something he used to have before, that the laughter advertently came out without him meaning to.
“…???”
“………”
Kim Rok Soo tried to reel in the laughter but as if a dam broke, he couldn’t stop it. He laughed and he laughed and he laughed that he was in tears.
‘But why would I cry? I’m happy.’
Without even thinking, he grabbed the confused Choi Jung Soo and the sadly smiling Lee Soo Hyuk and pulled them into his embrace, not caring for the blood and gunk on Choi Jung Soo. He hugged them tightly as if he was scared that they would disappear if he were to let go, and he let his tears roll down and cause wet patches on their clothes.
“…Hey.” Choi Jung Soo shakily tried to say from where his head was resting unto Kim Rok Soo’s shoulder, his eyes turning glassy against his will, “I think this guy hit his head. Should we call for a doctor…?”
Lee Soo Hyuk just serenely smiled at him while patting both of his dongsaengs comfortably on the back.
“All three of us are dead.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to check.” Choi Jung Soo said but his tone was starting to wobble as his own arm was starting to hover behind the quiet Kim Rok Soo’s back.
His statement pulled out another disbelieving laugh out of the crying guy though.
‘How long has it been since we’ve had this?’
“…Rok soo-ya, my arm is starting to get sore. Don’t you wanna take a seat and catch up? Until when are you going to squeeze us like a stuff toy…?”
Kim Rok Soo’s lips tugged upwards as he buried himself deeper between his two friends.
“Just a little more.”
Just let this be for a little more and then he’ll be ready to talk.
---
Kim Rok Soo lost interest in talking the moment the punk with the same birthday as him started complimenting his muscles and going “ooh” and “aaah” at his scars.
Lee Soo Hyuk laughed the entire time and encouraged Choi Jung Soo’s behavior like a traitor.
Kim Rok Soo had thought that a decade of disconnection would warrant a longer and deeper conversation than “scars are cool, I wish I had one too”, but apparently even though they could no longer interact with Kim Rok Soo who was living, they had been watching him like guardian angels before and knew the general events of his life without them.
Actually, it seems that they even learned more about him than Kim Rok Soo knew about himself.
“It was a dog-fucking curse?”
Like the reason for everything wrong in his life, for example.
“Well, actually, it was just part of it. Kim Rok Soo, you weren’t originally supposed to be born in Earth it seems. You’re quite literally a soul from another world who got pushed out of your infant body at birth.”
“Like an alien…!”
“What goddamn alien?”
‘I can’t believe it’s an actual curse that downgrades the quality of life.’
Kim Rok Soo grimaced while Choi Jung Soo sheepishly tried to keep the atmosphere positive despite the talks about curses.
“Hey, if it comforts you, at least you got one good thing out of the body theft.”
“Hah?”
Choi Jung Soo broke into a smile as he pointed at himself, “You got us!”
If this was before he lost them, Kim Rok Soo would have automatically responded with a deadpan, “I would like to have a refund.” But because too many things have happened, and he was hearing this now, Kim Rok Soo couldn’t help but smile a little to that as well.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Oh, are the three of you done talking now?”
“Ah-”
The three friends turned to look as the god of death strode back in like he owned the place, which he technically did. The deity sat on his office chair and put a hand on his temple like he was having a headache as he let out a very heavy sigh.
“First of all, good news. Kim Rok Soo, you’re hired.”
“…??? Um, thank you?”
Kim Rok Soo didn’t even know he needed a job while he was dead, but okay?
“One of the other gods was devastated by your death, so they offered to support your inauguration as my assistant. The God of hope sends her condolences and hopes to talk to you over tea. But aside from that, when I worded it like I was using you to stop the bastard that stole your original life from going wild, there wasn’t much opposition. Well, balance wanted to say something but that one will always want to say something.”
“…Am I supposed to call you Sajang-nim, now?”
The god of death made a face but then suddenly became stoic. As if he was currently contemplating something.
“…We’ll discuss that at a later time. On to the second news. The bad news.”
The god of death frowned.
“It seems that we are in danger of being sued by a transmigrator-turned-regressor for manipulation and fraud.”