An old ballad filled the head of a young woman of seventeen, subtly drowning the noise of the bustling crowd lined up at the side of the boulevard at lunchtime. The countdown of the pedestrian light was already halfway and yet - to her, at least - the seconds were dragging at an excruciatingly sluggish rate when all she wanted at that moment was to cross the busy intersection and look for a steaming bowl of ramen.
"Jin!" the shrill yell of another teenaged girl faded into the background, piercing through the sentimental melody that was coming from the wireless earphones.
The lady they called Jin gave the device a tap to pause the music and turned to her right where she saw two of her classmates - one with a curtain of long and straight hair and another petite teenager with an equally pretty face - running towards her direction.
"What in the world -?" Jin chided them as soon as they halted in front of her. "Hey, what's the rush all about?"
"Well, you told us to inform you straightaway if something bad happens, right?" Ji Won - the taller of the two girls - harked back in between pants. "That's exactly why we're here, mistress."
Jin closed her eyes and sighed, slightly wincing at the title her close friends mockingly conferred upon her. It was a nickname born out of her bizarre interest in fateful events - good and bad - which was an open secret between her and her two closest buddies. Much to her chagrin, twelve years have passed and they were still under the impression that she only had a penchant for the latter.
'Mistress of Catastrophe' - that was what they called her.
"Even now, I can't understand why you are obsessed with other people's misfortunes, Jin," Jung Hyun said as they took hurried strides back to the academe.
"It's because I'm not obsessed with them, okay?" Jin corrected her as she clumsily adjusted the collars of her coat, keeping it tighter against the bitter breeze of the first week of winter. "I told you so many times that I am intrigued with life's milestones - its beginning, its end, and the occurrences in between - but you keep insisting that I have an exclusive liking towards the bad things."
"I'm talking to you, Ji Won," she promptly added while shooting daggers at her other chingu.
Ji Won scoffed, consequently puffing breath vapors out of her mouth.
"Pssh... then why are we always squeezing through bystanders at an accident, then?" she countered.
Jin let out a heavy exhale - both out of resignation and exertion from their brisk walking - then asked, "Pray tell, President Uhm, what are the odds that we'll be seeing a woman give birth in the middle of the street in broad daylight?"
"Point taken," Ji Won concurred just as they ducked a corner about ten meters away from the school gate that led to a food stall alley which students frequented during breaks.
As soon as Jin saw the swarm of people gathering near the entrance of a condemned three-story building at the far end of the narrow road, her feet slowed down to a pace that was in sheer juxtaposition to her rapid heartbeat.
What if he's here? What if the supreme beings finally granted your wish to meet him again? she thought to herself as panic began simmering in the pits of her belly.
What then, Jin?
She stopped walking altogether as the ghost of the man who haunted her since that one afternoon at the countryside flashed before her eyes.
Five years ago, on the final day of her vacation in the summer of 2039, she dashed from the car back to their ancestral home at the last minute to retrieve a forgotten book. She went straight to the house's mini library, then took a quick detour on her way out to bid her grandmother farewell once more. However, when she reached the old woman's chamber, she saw a svelte female in an elegant black suit standing at the foot of her grandmother's bed through a slit in the doorway.
Jin witnessed her halmoni heave a dying breath and she immediately smothered her compulsive sobs with her hand.
"Cha Si Eon."
The woman in a dark ensemble pronounced her grandmother's name with imposing clarity that sent chills down her spine. She remembered her as Gong Hyo Jin, a grim reaper and a close friend from her past life that she chanced upon a few years back.
"Cha Si Eon."
Even if a decade already went past, Jin still had no idea when, why, and how she found out who Hyo Jin truly was and what role she played in her previous lifetime. For some uncanny reason, she simply knew.
"Cha Si Eon."
What followed was a deafening silence that stretched quite long enough for her to think that it was all over - only to realize that there was yet another secret to uncover.
"Thank you for guiding her soul, grim reaper boss," Jin heard a person with a low, velvety voice speak from somewhere inside the room.
Hyo Jin gave a tiny nod and replied, "All in a day's work, your divinity."
The mythical being whom the female grim reaper was having a conversation with emerged from the shadows and manifested in Jin's line of sight. He was a male in his mid-thirties with a stance that would have made anyone fall on their feet, an air of wisdom that was more ancient than time itself, and a palpable kindness in spite of the vast powers he most likely had in his hands.
"Well, there is another mortal to welcome in the succeeding hour so I'm afraid I'll be taking my leave first. I'll see you at the next summoning," the man said in a casual manner that belonged to old friends than to a god and his subordinate. "Take care, Hyo Jin."
It was Jin's inexplicable curiosity about him that sparked her apparent fixation on certain incidents, hoping against hope that their paths would cross again on the subsequent one. Unfortunately, none of those led her to him and the no-shows disappointed her more than she cared to admit.
Regardless, he regularly graced her dreams with his indisputably handsome face and intriguing charm. The memories of his dimpled smirk never failed to bring butterflies to her stomach and his voice roused her from slumber countless times - especially when she slept through the blaring sound of her alarm clock on weekdays.
Son Eon Jin.
In her visons, he uttered her name in such a way no other person in her life did.
During the first two years, his rich baritone echoed in Jin's ears with gentle scolding as if he knew that she was running late for the morning assembly. His forewarnings resembled that of her mother and father, although eventually, she sensed that it grew softer, warmer, sadder...
Son Eon Jin.
He called her with a yearning that was unfathomable to her juvenile mind. At that time, her feeble knowledge on love was limited to romantic movies, mellow songs, and summer flings that were nipped in the bud before she could even give it the tiniest bit of consideration. Therefore, whatever significant meaning his beckoning held remained to be a mystery to her.
Still, it stirred something deep inside Jin's soul - a sorrow so intense that she started waking up in the ungodly hours crying, her knuckles blanched from tightly gripping the collars of her pajamas as if the clothes were suffocating her. More often than not, she would recover enough to go on with her daily routines. However, there were nights which were absolutely darker than the others and she was left to endure the crippling melancholia without fully comprehending its origins and gravity until daybreak.
Later on, she learned the word for the wistful emotion that was consuming her from within. It was sehnsucht: a profound longing for an unknown joy.
"Son Eon Jin!" Jung Hyun demanded from a few yards away, stomping her feet in irritation. "What are you standing there for? Come over here!"
Jin took a deep breath before launching herself to a sprint, weaving through the onlookers who had no other business than to obtain a firsthand account of the day's biggest headline - unlike her who was on a somewhat unpromising pursuit of a significant piece of an enormous puzzle that was her life.
"Ouch!" a grunt from a child caused her to freeze on the spot. "What is wrong with you mortals? Why are you getting yourselves excessively worked up over a -"
At once, Jin sank to the ground and sat on her haunches to check on the kid who - albeit unbeknownst to her - was one of the gods she was desperately praying to for another encounter with her beautiful stranger.
"Oh, sorry! I did not mean to step on your toe," she gasped with genuine worry. "Does it hurt that bad?"
The eight year-old's eyes widened in recognition the instant he met her gaze.
"I'm so sorry," Jin repeated while patting his slightly tousled bowl cut, totally oblivious that she was using honorifics while he talked to a little boy. "I was in a hurry looking for someone."
Death snorted in spite of himself, obviously finding it amusing that Son Eon Jin managed to run into a deity like himself even in her second lifetime. He was positive that they erased all of her memories - he even exerted meticulous efforts to steer clear from her course, taking Hyo Jin along with him - to relieve her of unnecessary baggage before she reincarnated. That was the least he could do for her in the end.
Even so, it was as if she was always destined to get tangled up with some complications.
"Did you find the person you are searching for, mistress?" Death asked, boldly putting his assumptions to a test.
Only two people addressed Jin with that sardonic appellation; this boy was neither one of them.
Sensing the sudden perturbation in her demeanor, the miniscule immortal offered, "If not, I may actually be able to extend my assistance. Can you tell me a thing or two about this person please?"
The eerie haughtiness of the eight year-old made Jin feel like she was compelled to provide a response nonetheless, so she rummaged her brain for words that would appropriately describe the smolder and depth of the enigmatic man's eyes, the assurance being hinted by his bittersweet smile, the soul-stirring sound of her name on his lips...
"Son Eon Jin!" Ji Won called her, interrupting her musings and pulling her back to reality. "If we're done here, we might as well go to lunch now."
"Come on, Jin!" Jung Hyun seconded her motion. "We might be late for fifth period."
Jin held up a finger to ask for a minute, then swiftly scanned the place for any signs of the elusive man. Nevertheless, she was not able to keep her shoulders from falling upon realizing that her search once again ended up to be futile.
Death dragged out a resigned sigh, then shrugged, "I'm afraid you will not find him here, though - not for another three years or so."
Jin turned her focus back to the child, a multitude of epiphanies incessantly dawning upon her and for a fleeting moment, she was rendered speechless.
"Will you be requesting me to send him your regards, Son Eon Jin?" the deity enquired a couple of seconds later.
She shook her head, biting the imminent tears back before she answered with her signature halfmoon smile.
"Not necessarily, your divinity," Jin told Death with utmost honesty. "I guess I'll put my faith in Fate's timing this time."
—
Still from The Classic (Egg Films)