Death 02
Damn, I made a mistake I never make...
I forgot my PPT presentation materials. I meant to put them in the cloud, but after saving the final version to my USB, I just left it plugged in and left.
My wife had already gone out, so there was no one I could ask for help.
Fortunately, there were tickets left for the next train, so I was able to change my ticket. It would be tight, but if I hurried home and back, I'd just barely make it in time.
Is it a blessing in disguise that my conference presentation is the last one?
I parked my car in the apartment lot and hurriedly pressed the elevator button. The elevator, which was coming down from the top floor, felt especially slow that day.
"Hm... I don't have time for this."
With no other choice, I ran up the stairs. It seemed faster that way.
I quickly unlocked the door and grabbed the USB from my computer, when I heard a strange sound from the master bedroom.
"Haaah..."
What is that? Did my wife leave the TV on?
"Geez, how careless..."
Without thinking, I casually opened the bedroom door and I couldn't believe my eyes.
"Wh-what the hell!!!"
On the bed, two beasts were panting.
A man I'd never seen before, and my wife's face, flushed with a heat I'd never seen.
I realized instantly.
This wasn't rape. It was clearly an affair.
"Y-Yeonhee's dad, h-how are you here!"
My wife, startled, wrapped herself in the blanket. Was she trying to hide her filthy body, which that stranger had just been all over, from me? Who's the real husband here? Before I knew it, curses burst from my mouth.
"Y-you! You! You fucking bastards!"
My blood boiled to my head.
Seeing my panicked wife and the naked man, my rage burned away all reason.
A primal urge to kill!
It was the first time in my life I'd ever wanted to kill someone.
I'll kill you! I'll kill you both with my own hands!
I ran to the kitchen. All I could think was to stab them with a knife. Grabbing a kitchen knife, I headed back to the bedroom, when something heavy slammed into my face.
Thud!
What the hell? Was that a lamp?
I hadn't expected a counterattack. I thought if the bastard had any conscience, he wouldn't hurt me.
I was the cuckolded husband, and he was the bastard fooling around with my wife. But instead, I was the one who got hit.
The lamp, with a metal base, crashed into my face. I dropped the knife and collapsed. Only after my head slammed hard against the doorframe did I remember I'd never been in a fight, not even once, in my school days.
Well, I guess there was never any reason to fight.
I was just a goody-two-shoes who studied all the time.
"You little shit, you think you can stab someone?"
Thud! Thud!
The naked man stomped mercilessly on my chest.
I couldn't breathe, and my vision went black. Between his legs, the stranger's genitals swung back and forth. Even as I was being beaten like a dog, why did I notice that?
"Die, you bastard!"
"W-Wonjun!"
Stab
My chest burned as if it were on fire.
I felt hot liquid soaking through my shirt.
Did I just get stabbed?
My wife's scream. The man's excited breathing.
The sounds echoing in my ears faded away.
My consciousness grew dim, and my eyes closed.
Somehow, it all felt like a dream.
At the age of 42.
I, Lee Jung-woo, was stabbed in the heart and died on the spot.
By my wife's lover, no less.
***
"Next, please."
This is the afterlife.
If you imagine the afterlife as dark and gloomy, you're mistaken. How should I put it? Yeah, it's a lot like a bank lobby.
You sit on a plush sofa with a waiting ticket. And a man in a suit l, probably a guide calls you in order and leads you inside.
"Mr. Lee Jung-woo? Is Mr. Lee Jung-woo here?"
"Oh, yes. Sorry."
I missed my turn while watching TV without realizing it.
By the way, the TV here is really fascinating.
Earlier, I asked the person next to me if it was a live broadcast, and he laughed, saying there's no such thing as a live soap opera. Turns out, he and I were watching different channels.
How amazing is it that you can watch different videos on the same device? It's a shame things like this only exist in the afterlife.
"When you go in, please be as respectful as possible, Mr. Lee."
The grim reaper warned me with a stern face.
"Oh, yes, of course."
When I answered absentmindedly, he glared at me.
Come on, what's he going to do, kill me with a look?
I'm already dead.
I nodded reluctantly.
It's true, after dying, the world seems a little more ridiculous.
I wasn't always this cynical.
When the huge door opened, there was red silk spread across the floor, and at the end of the silk, a giant sat on a throne.
A giant. Truly a giant.
Judging by the size of his feet, which were as tall as me, he was definitely a giant.
It was like a live-action version of Attack on Titan.
I craned my neck as if looking up at a ten-story building. King Yeomra stroked his long beard and looked down at me with authority.
"Show your respect."
A servant, dressed just like the guide —commanded me. I bowed deeply. The servant unrolled a scroll and asked me,
"Name: Lee Jung-woo. Age: 41. Born in Seoul, South Korea. Is that correct?"
"I'm forty-two this year."
"We use international age here."
"Ah, then yes, that's correct."
"Be seated."
"Seated?"
Suddenly, a wooden chair appeared behind me. After dying, things like this don't even surprise me anymore. I plopped down in the chair.
"You have suffered a truly unjust death."
A voice that resonated in my chest.
King Yeomra's voice was so androgynous that, with my eyes closed, I couldn't tell the gender. Dreamlike and mysterious. The voice alone made it clear this was not a human being.
"Yes. It was unfair."
"...You evaded the escort's summons and wandered the mortal world for over sixty days before being caught."
The man who seemed to be a servant whispered to King Yeomra.
What a tattletale.
"That was wrong, but in your position, it's understandable. Still, what can you do, even if it's unfair? That too is your fate."
King Yeomra's words made me uncomfortable.
Fate.
It's such an easy word. Like a magic spell you use when you can't fix what's been done.
Getting stabbed to death at home by my wife's lover is fate, he says. What a damn fate.
"What happens to me now?"
"You must be judged. Observer, weigh this man's good and evil."
Ah, so they call them observers, not servants.
At King Yeomra's command, the observer reached into thin air and pulled out a set of scales. Is that a superpower? There's nothing they can't do in the afterlife.
The observer then took out two bundles, one labeled "Good Deeds" and the other "Evil Deeds." What the heck are those?
Noticing my curiosity, King Yeomra explained.
"These are the weights of the good and evil deeds you performed in life. If the weight of your good deeds is heavier than your evil deeds, you will go to heaven. If your evil deeds are heavier, you will go to hell."
"So heaven and hell really exist?"
"Of course! For centuries, prophets have been sent to tell you this, and yet unbelievers still abound! Tsk tsk."
King Yeomra clicked his tongue.
How should I know? I was always an atheist.
No, to be precise, an agnostic.
I can't believe in things I haven't seen.
How can you believe in something you've never seen?
There are so many con artists in the world... I took this opportunity to ask King Yeomra something I'd always wondered.
"But are heaven and hell really that big? The number of people born and died so far must be enormous."
"The concept of physical space is not important. Modern physics teaches that even a universe can fit inside a tiny bead. How can you not know that?"
Ugh, don't say things like that while wearing traditional clothes!
You're making my head spin!
"Now, let's weigh them."