Click

Lucy dragged the body of the still unconscious monster inside her dark mansion and tossed the body of the man housing the monster on the marble floors of the large living room hall in frustration.

'Damn. Am I just lazy or does this man weigh more than an overfed shark!' Lucy shook her head, rested her hands on her hips, and tried to catch her breath.

''Seriously, he is going to pay for ditching me to be with his girlfriend.'' She hissed.

She stared at the monster lying awkwardly on her marbled floor and she remembered her promise to her bestie to lock the monster in the basement. But her body couldn't just bear the pain of dragging this overfed shark down to the basement! She would die or break into pieces if she tried.

But her promise...

''Will he get mad at me again? I hate it when he frowns.'' Lucy bit her nails as she considered the odds. ''Whatever! He wouldn't be that mad since he would be spending more time with his...'' Death suddenly became visible a few feet from where she stood. ''...girlfriend.'' She covered her mouth when she said that and blinked at the unexpected appearance of the God.

'Has he been here all along? She hates it when he is invisible?!'

Death strolled over to the small study area sharing the same floor with the giant living room and sat on one of the chairs that looked like a throne behind a golden desk. Death rested his head back, closed his eyes, and sighed in exhaustion. Lucy stared at him in silence for a long moment because she had never seen her bestie this tired before. Even if he had to deal with the worst kind of monsters.

Lucy went over to him, leaned forward, and began to pat his left shoulder. He has gone through a lot, heard his painful past, and witnessed his longing to be reunited with someone. Though she still had a lot of questions about him. Take the human that came out from nowhere and said she missed him for instance.

''What are you doing?'' His magnetic eyes stared lazily at the face of the devil that seemed to annoy him a lot. He could never forget how they met. She was just too ridiculous yet sincere at the same time.

Lucy smiled, leaned back, and crossed her hands on her chest. ''Figuring if patting your left shoulder could kill you.''

Death suppressed the urge to smile.

''But it seems like I have to try harder and figure out ways to end you. But that would take such a long time to figure out. Hmm, what should I do then?... Oh, I know, I will have to hang around you much longer...let's say around fifty to hundred centuries more or less,'' She mumbled out the last part.

Death smiled at her not bigger than half an inch and shook his head.

''You should be grateful that it will take that long to find a way to end you for good. That means you will be seeing and having more from the sexy she-devil in a red dress.''

The smile disappeared. More Lucy equals more headaches.

''So...when were you planning on introducing me to her?''

''Who?'' Death wondered.

Lucy wanted to say the gf-word but decided it was a bad idea. She also doesn't like it when he glares at her.

''Um, the girl who said she missed you all of a sudden? Who is she and how was your private talk together.'' Lucy winked.

Death raised his long legs and crossed them on the table. His head couldn't just erase the expression she had on her face when he became invisible. She didn't even hesitate to get on the bus like he worried she'd be.

''I told her she makes me uneasy.''

Lucy drew her face in confusion. 'What does he mean by that?'

''I said her face makes me so uncomfortable and became invisible before she could speak.''

Death waited to hear Lucy's reaction to his words but when he got none, he glanced in her direction and was greeted by her face a shade paler and her lips miles apart in shock.

''You said she was ugly?!''

Now, it was Death's turn to be thrown into the shocked and confused zone. He sat straighter and moved his legs off the table.

''I would never call her ugly.'' He said in a serious tone.

Lucy scoffed. Then leaned close to level with him.

''Your eyes, they make me want to puke,'' Lucy said.

Death frowned. ''What's that's supposed to mean?''

Lucy smiled, ''Exactly. What did you mean when you said her face makes you uncomfortable?''

Death wanted to explain but he couldn't. He knew what he meant but how did she...take it? Could it be she...

Oh. No.

Death bit his lips when he finally understood why she stopped at anything that reflected a part of her and couldn't stop staring. She also touched her face several times when she got off the bus. Did I just succeed in making her a little bit insecure about a part of herself?

Death pinched the bridge of his nose, slapped his face repeatedly, and pulled hard at his long hair. He even rebuked himself for not being clear and having the guts to become invisible without any warning in front of her. He needs to stop doing that. He moaned as he realized his mistake.

''Good, you finally get it. Go apologize to her first thing in the morning and tell her whatever the hell you meant by her face makes you uncomfortable. I'm thirsty. I need to drink something expensive. Be right back.''

***

Ha-Yun was woken up by a text message. She stretched her hand from under the covers and got a hold of her phone on the small side table by her right. Her whole body was still buried under the white blankets. She unlocked the phone and squirmed a little at the sudden exposure to light. She rose to a sitting position on the bed and let go of the blankets to see a text message from her former boss, Director Lee.

She tapped on the message to read and it says; Miss Kim. I felt bad for firing you without paying you the two months of hard work.

Ha-Yun immediately received an alert of certain money entering one of her bank accounts.

'I hope you forgive me for delaying two months of your salary while you were working with us. I have also decided to sell out our company to settle some debts. But you kept on being in my mind and guilt made me do a quick transfer to you after countless sleepless nights. I hope you are doing well wherever you are and find a better place to work than with us. Director Lee.'

Ha-Yun couldn't believe the zeros at the back of a digit number. Salary of two months! She never expected Director Lee to give her the money after firing her. What exactly is going on? Ha-Yun cocked her head sideways in thought.

A knock from the door brought her out of her thoughts. Ha-Yun even sat straighter when In-hae entered with puffy eyes and sat on the bed with her head hanging low.

''In-hae...'' Ha-Yun called softly, bending her head to get a better view of her face.

In-hae raised her head and Ha-Yun's heart broke at the sight of her. She did not think twice before shifting close to pull her friend into a hug.

''I am so sorry Ha-Yun for ruining dinner for us.''

Ha-Yun shook her head and hugged her tight.

''I should be the one apologizing. I thought you would be happy if he gave you back everything but I was so foolish to think it would.''

Ha-Yun released her from her hold and stared at her blotchy face. She placed her hands gently on the sides of In-hae's cheeks and wiped the tears streaming down her cheeks with her thumbs.

''Don't cry, okay? You are not still signing those papers until he apologizes for every single bad thing he has done to you.''

In-hae's eyes moved left and right in confusion. ''A..pologise...''

Ha-Yun nodded with a smile. ''I figured out an apology would be better than fighting him to release what he stole from you. And it is also something you want. I promise to bring him to his knees sobbing his heart out that he is sorry for what he did, then...'' Ha-Yun held In-hae's hand in hers. ''We would start all over again together. You like that?''

Starting afresh sounded like a good plan in In-hae's ears. She smiled and said yes.

They hugged again and Ha-Yun hoped that jerk wouldn't have problems apologizing for what he knew he did. She prayed he would think it through and do this not just for In-hae but for himself as well.

*

In another quiet neighborhood in Seoul, a woman dressed and ready for work stepped out of her house and was about to lock her door when she noticed a weird-looking flute lying so close to her door. Her eyes scanned around for the owner because she was sure it wasn't hers but found no one in sight. She wondered who would drop a flute like this at her doorstep. Her fingers moved through the length of the wooden flute and she observed the odd design.

Her phone rang while checking out the flute, she answered the call and began to descend the stairs and leave for work without knowing she carried the flute along with her.

When the bus slowed to a stop, the woman got up and the ominous flute fell from her in the process. The man sitting beside her saw it, picked it up, and gave it back to her. The woman felt a chill run down her spine.

How did the flute get here? Did it follow her all the way here or...she carry it along with her unknowingly?

The woman became confused about what to do. She can't carry this thing to work. Her strict boss might scold her for bringing an ugly flute to work to cause a disturbance. When she was sure no one was looking, she dropped it on the floor and walked away like nothing happened.

Ha-Yun offered to add the new pizza to the menu board. She smiled at how cursive her handwriting looked. She has always been proud of how good her handwriting was.

She moved the menu board a little bit to the left and entered the restaurant. She smiled again when she saw Sang-tae and Rose bickering behind the counter again. Her eyes scanned around and noticed how arranged and neat the entire place looked. But time seemed to still when her eyes fell on the figure waiting outside through the transparent walls of the restaurant.

She blinked several times to confirm if she wasn't dreaming or hallucinating!

How did he...

She quickly pushed open the glass doors and ran outside. She slowed to a stop when she saw him staring at the menu board. His long, dark red hair moved with the wind, and his hands were folded behind his back. He looked perfect.

''You have impressive handwriting,'' he said and faced her.

Ha-Yun thought she would die the moment they locked eyes again. Memories of their last encounter seized her which made her nervous.

What if he disappeared again? What if my face... Ha-Yun looked down. She was determined to hide her face to prolong his stay. He must not feel uncomfortable this time.

Death was moved and bit his lower lip.

''I'm sorry.''

Those words caused her to slowly raise her head to look at him. ''What?'' Then she realized that she had been staring at him for a long and quickly lowered her head.

Death didn't like that.

He closed the distance between them. He placed his gloved hand under her chin and raised it to see her big, brown eyes again.

All her worries melted away the moment he touched her and she was disappointed when he withdrew his hand too soon.

''I had...the worst kind of past even as a God. I was deceived, robbed, tormented, and got separated from...'' Death paused when pain bubbled at the memory of the person he got separated from. ''I suffer so much that I sometimes confuse the past with the present.''

'You with her.'

''You don't deserve to be treated the way I did with you yesterday. I am sorry for saying you make me uncomfortable. I came here to make sure you didn't...take the nonsense I said to you yesterday to heart.''

Ha-Yun was...she couldn't describe how she felt at that moment. But a smile that Death had seen on her face several times made him feel a lot better. He came all the way here to apologize and make sure she was alright after yesterday's saga. That made her feel so special and at the same time...scared.

''Ha-Yun!''

She turned to see Sang-tae running towards her with four boxes of pizza, neatly packed and ready to go.

''We have deliveries at four different locations...'' Sang-tae paused when he noticed the handsome figure with unusually long, dark red hair. ''Who are...''

Ha-Yun collected the packed pizza boxes from Sang-tae. ''Why don't you tell Mr. Shin that I will be gone for a while to deliver this?''

Sang-tae stood rooted in a position as he eyed Death from head to toe. ''Ha-Yun, who is this?'' He pointed at Death while asking.

''Uh..well..he is...'' the almighty God Death? Would that sound believable to him? ''my...cousin.''

Both Death and Sang-tae stared at Ha-Yun in shock. Ha-Yun turned to give Death a nervous grin.

''Cousin? Wow, I thought he was your boyfriend with the way you were both standing close. But why don't you look alike? Did he get cosmetic surgery or something? He looks so gorgeous to be real...'' Sang-tae continued to flap his gums, not minding the scowl Death was giving him.

Ha-Yun shot him a look that told him to shut up and he did.

''I will deliver this and return, okay?''

Sang-tae nodded and left.

Ha-Yun faced Death and immediately apologized for calling him his cousin. Death only nodded in understanding followed by a brief silence between them.

''Would you like to do something fun?'' Ha-Yun asked.

Death wanted to decline but his curiosity got the best of him. ''Fun?''

Ha-Yun bobbed her head in agreement.

''What is that?''

Yes! This is it. An opportunity to spend time with him while he is not having that look of discomfort or wanting to disappear.

''Let's deliver this pizza together!''

*

Ha-Yun came out moments later smiling with two helmets in her hand. She gave one to Death and put on the other one.

Death only glared at the foreign thing and wondered how he would wear it.

Ha-Yun saw that he didn't know how to put it on and she offered to help. The God humbled himself and leaned a bit for her to put it on him. He felt weird after she buckled the little black strap under his chin. Ha-Yun giggled at the look he had on his face.

Ha-Yun climbed on the motorcycle and scooted forward to create space for the God. Death slowly climbed and settled himself behind her.

''Wrap your arms around my waist and hold me tight.''

Death blinked and thought he heard her wrong. ''What?''

''I want to assume that this is your first time riding something like this. I will be going at a fast speed but not one that would be dangerous. It would be best to hold onto me.''

Death didn't want to do it. He saw it as a bad idea but that idea was tempting. He became startled when his heart began to race.

''C'mon.'' Ha-Yun encouraged not knowing how disturbed Death was.

When Death was taking forever, she leaned back a little, grabbed his hands, and wrapped it around her waist causing Death to lean on her.

''Don't worry, you are safe with me,'' Ha-Yun whispered. He eased into her and tightened his hold around her waist. And failed once again to suppress how he felt when he did.

*

Who would have thought that Death would ride around the city of Seoul all day with an interesting human delivering pizzas? While people might find it weird or absurd or even impossible.

Death had fun.

They both did.

He messed up at times or dropped a few boxes while rushing to keep up with the time of delivery but her smile and laughter when she did encouraged him.

He looked away and smiled when she stopped to adjust her clothes and asked him several times if she looked better rolling the sleeves of her uniform to her elbows.

Death noticed the small white ropes that hung loose from her right sneaker and was worried about her falling because of it. He wanted to tell her about it but the elevator opened and Ha-Yun walked out before he could say a word.

He also saw how happy and bouncy she was.

They stopped in front of a door and knocked. The door opened to reveal a smiling human with a baby in her hand.

She received the pizza from them and thanked both Ha-Yun and Death.

In the lobby of the hotel, they went to deliver their last pizza, Ha-Yun turned to face Death walking behind her.

''So, how was it?''

Death nodded that it was indeed fun. Ha-Yun beamed with joy.

Her vision dawned on three girls taking turns to take a picture.

''Why don't we take a picture?''

Death raised his eyebrows at her suggestion.

''I want to look back at the time we spent a whole day together,'' Ha-Yun said.

Death didn't know how this works. He has seen her kind do this several times but has never had his picture taken before. He is always busy looking for monsters and has no time for that.

Light blinked from the back lens of her phone as she took his picture and grinned.

She taught him how to make use of the features of the camera and it took a while if not forever for Death to figure it out and take her picture too.

'She looked so happy.' Death thought as he stared at the pic.

''Now, let's take one together.''

Death wanted to protest but was pulled to a corner that had a lovely background and the camera was switched to the front lens. It showed both of them together. Ha-Yun was in front grinning from ear to ear and Death was behind looking lost.

''Okay. One...two..three.''

Click.

*

Ha-Yun couldn't stop staring at the pictures they had taken together as they exited the hotel and walked to where the motorcycle was parked. They looked good together. He looked good. She smiled.

''Hand me your phone to send you a copy.'' Death suddenly heard her say.

The look Death gave her made her jaw drop. ''You...don't have a phone?'' She asked softly. Death nodded.

Ha-Yun wants him to have a picture of this moment because they both spend a day together. She smiled so many times and she saw him laugh too. The picture is just too good for him not to have a copy. So she had another idea.

''Why don't we go somewhere to fix that problem?''

She didn't even wait to hear what he had to say but dragged him to where the motorcycle was parked waiting for them.

*

Ha-Yun rocked sideways on standing as she watched Death flip his new Samsung phone and stare at it. The money she got today could have settled her pending dues and house rent but she thought it was just to get him a new phone. And she did. She got him the best phone available in the store.

Death was awed as well as taken aback by her generosity. Why would she...

''It's one of the best phones here and the latest in Seoul,'' She began. ''Not only can you flip it open and close like you just did. You can use it to take quality pictures,'' She showed Death where the camera icon was and took a picture of her hand to show her what she meant. She went on to introduce and wow Death with the uniqueness of the phone.

Then she quickly went over to the contacts icon and inputted her number on his phone, saved it with her name, and dialed it. ''You can also use it to reach out to me.'' Her phone began to ring and she showed him with a smile.

Death nodded and thought it was impressive.

''Now, we both have ways to reach out to each other. I can call out to you in the form of a prayer and you listen...you can also call me on that and I will listen to you.''

Ha-Yun then wondered what to store his number as. Death? She shook her head. His name? She felt like it was too random. She wanted him to stand out among her numerous contacts on her phone. When deciding on a name to store his number was proving to be tasking, she let it go and settled on the thought of figuring it out later.

''Do you like it?''

''Yes. Thank you.''

Ha-Yun felt she was in heaven when he admitted to liking what she bought for him.

''Shall we leave then?''

Ha-Yun being restless at the moment was about to leave when Death held her hand this time. She faced him with a puzzling look.

Death brought himself on one knee, gathered the loose shoelaces on her right leg in his hands, and began to tie it to a knot. People passing by stared and whispered among themselves at how romantic that was.

When Death was done, he raised himself and said with a smile, ''Been waiting to do that.''

Ha-Yun heard it once or twice. But she thought it was a lie. The fast racing of her heart. She also thought it was impossible how she felt at that moment but she wouldn't deny not liking it.

''Thank you,'' She said. That was when she realized her blooming feelings for him.