ETERNITY - Tomorrow Kdrama Fic

What it takes to be a team

°°°

When Ryung-gu let go of Haneul's hand, the two were standing in front of Joongil. Haneul would've been surprised if she wasn't so destabilized from the travel.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Mr. Lim addressed the invisible soul, hand protectively outstretched to his side.

"Get out of my way," Joongil tried to order him, his voice unconvincing.

"I can't, not yet. I'm sorry, 'sir."

"Koo Ryeon was the one who brought you to Jumadeung, didn't she? She spoke highly of your talent," Joongil started, voice deathly low. "I didn't oppose her then.. But, to think there would come a day where you dared to defy me like this."

"I don't think Mr. Lim is defying you, 'sir. It's more about doing our job, regardless of who is standing in front of us," Haneul tried to defend Ryung-gu although her voice wavered slightly.

"You are the weak link of your team, Haneul, and that's saying a lot considering how un fit the whole team seems to be when it comes to being reapers."

It felt like a huge blow, rendering Haneul speechless.

Ryung-gu didn't say anything to contradict Joongil. 

"I'll be punished anyway. I might as well make sure this ends well." These were the only warning words before Ryung-gu leaped at Joongil, tackling him as they both disappeared, whisked away.

Haneul was now alone with a soul she couldn't see. Turning to the empty air where Ryung-gu seemed to have been talking to, she spoke, "You'll be better off not going back to Mr. Park. Wherever you have to go, make sure it doesn't lead you back to him or Mr. Lim and Team Leader Koo's hard work will have been for nothing."

Of course, no one answered.

Haneul laughed at the absurdity of it all as she dug her nails into her skin trying to snap herself back to reality. 

She couldn't even tell if the ghost was still here, and so she left, careful not to accidentally meet Joongil if the soul had decided to follow her.

"I'll take you to Kang Woojin," Haneul informed the empty air.

She climbed a few stairs, walked down a few halls and came face to face with the Suicide risk's room. Hospitals, no matter how different they look, all seemed to have similar layout, and Haneul couldn't find herself easily in what others thought to be a maze.

Gripping the door handle, Haneul slid the room door opened, only to be met with an empty room.

Fuck.

°°°

Team Leader Koo had left with Joongil to sign a Reaper's Guarantee of Responsibility and all Ryung-gu could think about was how utterly wrong everything had turned out, only for one runaway soul. He trusted in Koo Ryeon's judgement, of course he did, but was it all worth it? All for one single case?

Finally, Koo Ryeon reappeared in front of them, face grave. 

"Team Leader, a Reaper's Guarantee isn't even protected by the Company. Not even the Jade Emperor can void it!" Ryung-gu shouted, loosing his temper.

"What's the reason for doing all this?" Junwoong worriedly scolded from next to him. "Who knows what he'll demand in return?"

"Because we need to save Kang Woojin," Koo Ryeon simply answered, seemingly satisfied with herself. Ryung-gu felt his blood boil at her irresponsibility. He knew she was mature enough, old enough and smart enough to make her own decisions, he shouldn't be so offended. But perhaps it was because she usually makes good decisions that he now felt like she was acting rashly.

"Even so..."

"Mr. Lim. You said you don't want the Risk Management Team dissolved," Ryeon answered as if it clarified everything. "Choi Junwoong, what does our team do?"

"Save suicide risk cases," he answered meekly.

"Exactly, so let's go find Kang Woojin."

Ryung-gu sighed, but nodded alongside Junwoong as they entered the hospital, splitting themselves so they could find the suicide case faster.

When he finally found him, Kang Woojin was hanging in the air, only held back by a sweaty Haneul who was trying to hold herself off a slippery handrail and yelled at by Team Leader Koo, who didn't seem to be getting through to him.

"Please let go of me!" He thrashed in Haneul's hand. "Just let me die, already!"

The girl was bitting her lip so hard, blood was slowly dripping on her chin.

Finally, the runaway soul grasped her husband's hand and Kang Woojin turned numbed as they met in his mind. The sudden weight of Woojin's lost of consciousness seemed to take its toll of Haneul as her hand on the rail started to glide down.

Koo Ryeon snapped her blackened fingers together and they appeared right next to her, both of them seemingly unconscious.

°°°

Haneul thought she was a goner.

Her fingers had started slipping and she knew there was no way she could get a better hold. When all seemed lost however, Team Leader Koo had snapped her fingers and she—along with her problematic risk case—gently laid on the cold floor. It managed to appease the tenseness of her muscles and Haneul closed her eyes in relief.

"You can't keep using your powers like this!" Mr. Lim scolded Koo Ryeon. "First the Reaper's Guarantee of Responsibility, now this? Look at your hands! Look at the black tendrils! Are they worth it?"

Haneul felt guilty that the Team Leader had used her powers for her. She would've sat up to apologize, if not for what they said next.

"Are they worth it? Mr. Lim, Haneul could've died! She's part of our team."

"Is she?" Ryung-gu snapped back, making Haneul sick to her stomach. "We didn't choose her! She isn't even competent—I mean—Junwoong was thrust upon us, but at least he's useful. Haneul can't see souls, can't fight, barely speaks and almost died—because she's alive. She's nothing, but a burden! Why do we have to take her in? If all Jumadeung needs is to hold a contract over her head, why can't they do so from the—let's say—the welcome department."

"Because she can't see soul, what good would she be in the welcome department?" Koo Ryeon tried to argue, but it only managed to hurt Haneul more. "The Risk Management Team is the only one who are in contact with alive humans, she has potential."

"What kind of potential? She has shadowed me for a while, and although she's decent with desk work, today proved how unfit she is for ground work. It feels like babysitting!"

"Mr. Lim!"

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A/N : I honestly don't know if I'll regret making Ryung-gu so freaking despicable, but I think it's necessary for now.

Ryunggu is a detached character and I never felt in the kdrama like her enjoyed Junwoong at first. It's pretty understable considering he had to fight for his positions with hundreds of other candidates, but Junwoong was simply handed a reaper post without even knowing what it was. That's what I'm trying to portray here : Ryunggu believes everyone should know as much as him, if not they are inferior to him.

This separation grows smaller as he gets closer to someone—like with Junwoong for example—but it's still present nonetheless. 

Anywho, don't hate me too much, and thank you so much for reading!