He had no memories of ‘Shin Mua’ either, so he had no connections to rely on, and furthermore, he couldn’t even use current objects skillfully. In a situation where he’d be lucky if he could even send a text on a cell phone, what kind of information was he supposed to gather?
More than anything, as Mua needed to investigate this absurd possession incident, he had to stay as close as possible to the people around ‘Shin Mua’. If the owner of this body was involved in this matter in any way, the people around him—especially Cheon Jieon, who had been living as his ‘contract spouse’—couldn’t be free from suspicion either.
If Mua, who had no information whatsoever, had to grasp a single starting point at this moment, it would be ‘Shin Mua’, the owner of the body, and his husband Cheon Jieon. In this situation, if he suddenly got divorced, how in the world would he approach the chaebol family?
Therefore, Mua had to somehow remain by Jieon’s side for now.
The reason he decided to confess the fact of his possession was precisely that. Even at a glance, their relationship was already broken beyond repair, and in a situation where distrust toward him had grown even more after the accident, it didn’t seem like Cheon Jieon would obediently back down just because he stubbornly held on.
He was a member of a chaebol family with many means at his disposal, and unfortunately, Mua was close to powerless in the Living World.
“Fine. Got it.”
After muttering to himself for a while with things like ‘This is driving me crazy’, ‘Are you really insane?’, ‘Crazy bastard…’ and so on, Jieon finally opened his mouth toward Mua.
“Let’s say what you’re saying is true. Then why can’t you get divorced? If what you’re saying is correct, you’re not the ‘Shin Mua’ who married me, so shouldn’t we get divorced? The Afterlife… hah…”
Jieon, who felt self-loathing while trying to say the words ‘Grim Reaper’, let out a deep sigh. Regardless, Mua was staring at Jieon with wide eyes.
“Do you want to continue living as a married couple with an alpha you’ve never seen before in your life? You’re a literal Grim. Reaper. You’re not even human.”
Technically, Mua had also been human once, but well, there was no need to correct that. Mua calmly began to spout the excuse he’d thought up all night.
“Do you think I want to keep living with a human scrap like this?”
“Human scrap?”
“That’s right. You humans are selfish, cunning, and pathetic beings. If I had my way, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near you either, not even this much.”
As Mua said this, he brought two fingers together to vigorously express ‘this much’. Truly, he didn’t want to be close to these dirty and filthy humans for even a single moment.
“Selfish and cunning? What?”
Jieon made a dumbfounded face at the sudden insults about humanity. Mua completely ignored that expression and continued speaking.
“However, the problem is that I’m a being who belongs to the Afterlife. The life of this body is not mine. For a Grim Reaper of the Afterlife to interfere with the fate of the Living World in any way goes against the laws.”
“Ah, so you’re going to make that excuse?”
“I’m looking for a way to return to the Afterlife. Once I find that method, I’ll quietly disappear from the Living World. Since Shin Mua’s soul has already gone to the Afterlife, when that time comes, you’ll naturally be able to break free from this person too.”
Mua didn’t avoid Jieon’s mocking gaze and faced it head-on with confidence.
In truth, as Cheon Jieon said, the talk about not being able to go against the fate of the Living World was all an excuse.
Since the life of ‘human Shin Mua’ wasn’t continuing, even if Mua made different choices with his body now, he couldn’t be charged with the crime of affecting the Living World. Strictly speaking, Mua, who had suddenly been possessed into a human body, was a victim.
Nevertheless, the reason he made such an excuse to Cheon Jieon was because he couldn’t completely trust him.
In a situation where he had absolutely no idea who had performed the ritual that went against the Natural Order, he couldn’t honestly share all the facts with Jieon and say he’d stay here to investigate.
How could he trust a human?
That was the kind of feeling it was. Mua still didn’t know what kind of person Jieon was. All he knew was that he had a lot of money and deeply disliked the spouse he’d obtained through a contract.
Either way, he wasn’t exactly a trustworthy person.
Mua looked Jieon up and down with a displeased expression and continued speaking.
“So just be patient and wait a little. Once the problem is solved, even if you grab onto my pant leg and beg me not to go, I’ll leave.”
“Am I crazy? To hold onto you?”
Jieon raised his voice sharply. At that immature and frivolous appearance, Mua clicked his tongue and added,
“If you want to send me away as quickly as possible, it would be better for you to cooperate obediently too.”
After finishing speaking, Mua keenly observed Cheon Jieon’s expression. His intention was to watch for any strange reaction he might show in an instant. Humans with ulterior motives always showed signs at some point, in some way.
Mua had once been human, and because of that, he deeply loathed humans. If by any chance Cheon Jieon had orchestrated this incident, he would have to slowly circle around him and find his weak points.
A long silence flowed. Jieon let out sighs without hiding his complicated feelings, then repeatedly messed up his own hair.
He couldn’t decide which was the better situation—the assumption that Shin Mua had definitely gone crazy, or the assumption that he was pretending to be crazy to avoid divorce.
If he was really crazy, it wouldn’t be easy to persuade a crazy person, and if he was pretending to be crazy, dealing with someone who was stubbornly refusing to divorce while spouting such nonsense wouldn’t be easy either. Either way, it was equally abnormal.
“This is driving me crazy…”
Jieon raised both hands to cover his face. His insides felt stuffy and he even felt a bit dizzy. The darkness before his eyes felt like his own future. From beyond that darkness, Shin Mua added,
“What’s so difficult about it? You just need to wait quietly until I solve the case. After I return, Shin Mua will naturally become a dead person, and you can just live as you’ve been living.”
Right. Must be nice for you that it’s so easy.
After making a meaningless retort in his mind, Jieon soon lowered the hands that had been covering his face and spoke in a resolute voice.
“Fine, I get it. Anyway, you have no intention of stamping the divorce papers, is that it?”
“Unfortunately, that’s correct.”
At his attitude that wasn’t unfortunate at all, Jieon frowned. Shin Mua had always irritated him, but not in this way. The Shin Mua that Cheon Jieon knew was far from indifferent.
He had always been excessively emotional. As if he would die if he didn’t obtain Cheon Jieon’s love, he craved affection, and he also regularly hurled all kinds of curses and verbal abuse at Jieon for not giving him what he wanted.
The Shin Mua who now told him to live his own life regardless of their relationship was definitely unfamiliar.
But did that prove he wasn’t Shin Mua? Jieon didn’t think so. Rather, his suspicion only deepened. He was only more creeped out by how desperately he was acting.
On the other hand, he also thought this might be Shin Mua’s last resort. Like the final struggle of a madman driven into a corner.
They say even a cornered rat will bite a cat. He’d already died and come back to life, and in his desperation was even telling such lies. He thought that if he pressed him too hard right now, the situation might flow toward an even worse outcome.
Perhaps it would be a better choice to calm him down before he struggled in an even more terrible way. Having organized his thoughts that far, Jieon spoke again in a subdued voice.
“How long do you think it will take for your matter to be resolved?”
“Hmm…”
“Don’t tell me you expect me to keep waiting indefinitely. If you have even a shred of conscience, you can’t do that.”
“How absurd. I’m the victim here to begin with, so why should I be hearing about conscience from the likes of you?”
“What?”
“If you think about it, I’m the one who’s most inconvenienced right now. It’s already unpleasant that I entered a human’s body, but it’s absurd that I even have to play the role of a spouse with a human, so should I even have to read your mood?”
Whether Cheon Jieon made a dumbfounded face or not, Mua was genuinely in a bad mood. A mere human who would tremble and cry tears if a Grim Reaper appeared—where did he get the audacity to spout things about conscience or whatever? He really was an impudent fellow.
“Wow…”
They say when a person hears something too absurd, their mind goes blank, and that was exactly Jieon’s state right now. He was at a loss for words with his mouth hanging open when Shin Mua suddenly rose from his seat.
Like him, still in pain, Shin Mua let out a short groan and frowned, then looked down at Jieon with an expression so indifferent it seemed arrogant.
“I’m not asking you a favor right now. As one who has the duty to restore order between the Living World and the Afterlife, I’m carrying out what Lord Yeomra has legitimately entrusted to me. The whining of a mere human like you is none of my concern. So keep that in mind.”
And as soon as his words ended, Mua turned around and swept into his room—no, Shin Mua’s room.
“Wow… is he really a crazy bastard?”
Jieon’s muttering, left alone in the living room, unfortunately didn’t reach Mua.
