Grim Reaper
“Whew-” The flames that had been flickering in the sky disappeared with a single breath of my breath.
Unlike the time when I used to light candles with my grandmother and mother's blessings, now the candles were blown out in front of my grandmother's grave, where not a trace of warmth could be found.
"..." I have no emotions. I don't feel emotions like a normal person. I learned to feel emotions, but that was it. With my unconscious mother and my deceased grandmother, I no longer needed those emotions.
Then, as I was getting up from my seat and taking off my clothes, someone approached me.
“..You?” The voice was low and had a hint of dialect.
"Did you blow out the candle?" "...Who are you?" "Me? The Grim Reaper." "...Am I dead..."
"No...? I came to this world because of your candle."
“…? So…you’re saying…I blew out the candle and…you appeared…?”
"Yeah...so...you're saying you're my bride?"
This is nonsense. This isn't some kind of goblin or anything...
I was just trying to pass by because I thought he was just a sick person, but the man spoke to me again.
"Did you just think I was sick?" "Yes." "It's true... Trust me."
"Should I trust you…?" "Trust me. Because I have to stay with you for at least a month."
"..What is that.." "Please take care of me, okay?" What does that smile mean? Why do people smile? It was an emotion I couldn't understand at all.
I was born with a congenital lack of empathy. That meant my brain, which regulates emotions, was severely underdeveloped. However, I was not unaware of emotions. I learned from a young age that emotions were something my mother would do every day: laugh when others laughed and remain calm when they cried. But as I lived, those emotions alone weren't enough. Behind laughter, there could be sadness, and behind laughter, there could be anger. I laughed along with people's emotions, which were difficult to understand. Why did I laugh?
I was even scolded for being funny. So I didn't know how to live.
I'm keeping a straight face today too.
"Student...smile a little..." Following the old man's words, I raised the corners of my mouth slightly.
I said it forcefully, but my smile seemed completely forced.
Expressing my honest feelings was harder for me than a math problem. Tick-tick-tock! It's 5:23 a.m. I always wake up at this time.
As always, I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, holding my phone in one hand.
The main article on a portal site was about the divorce of actors Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo. Just a few years ago, they were considered the couple of the century.
Divorce? I absentmindedly clicked on the article. Among the comments under the article, there was one that said, "If only Song Joong-ki had met a more ordinary woman..."
The word "ordinary" in those words reminded me of my mother again. She kept saying that until the accident happened. I tried my best to pretend to be ordinary wherever I was. I learned about emotions from my mother and grandmother, and I also learned to smile when everyone else smiles and to make a bad face when everyone else cries. But can something that was not ordinary in the first place become ordinary?
Could green grapes really just be grapes? Lost in thought, I hurried my usual steps to my mother's hospital. One thing that had changed along this familiar path was that two people were walking it, not alone.
"..Father, where are you going from this morning.." I call myself the Grim Reaper.
I looked up at the man. He didn't look all that ordinary. Again, I wondered, "What does ordinary mean? What does ordinary mean?"
Finally, I arrived at the hospital. I went to the room where my mother was.
For some reason, the grim reaper became quiet from the entrance of the hospital.
"...Mom, what on earth is normal...?" The question that had been swirling around in my head for a while finally exploded. There was no way Mom could answer.
Since my mother was still unconscious and seriously ill, I went to the grim reaper
He approached her and asked, "...Sir, my grandmother...why did she die?"
“Uh…huh…?” The grim reaper looked very embarrassed.
“If you don’t know…don’t say it…” With that, I left the hospital room and the old man followed me.
I came out. Suddenly, the man put his hand on my head. And then
The old man who looked up at me and smiled faintly seemed to be about to say something.
He opened his mouth. "I don't mind if my bride isn't ordinary haha" He laughed.
My body felt strange. My chest felt ticklish and for some reason my body temperature suddenly went up.
It seemed to have risen sharply. Is this normal?
