Chapter 71

71. Reincarnation

"Your name is Suho? Oh~ That's a cool name! Why don't you come in and have a warm glass of milk?"

Mansik gestured for Suho to cross the cloud bridge.

Suho, who had been gazing at the night view of the living world from a distance and the clouds below, muttered to himself and took a step forward.

"…The boundary between the living and the dead. I never thought I'd come here as a guest."

"Huh? What did you say?"

When Mansik asked, Suho smiled brightly as if it was nothing and said,

"Uncle~ Do you have strawberry milk?"

"Of course! We have banana milk and chocolate milk too. This place…."

Mansik made a show of whispering as if sharing a secret.

"We also have melon milk."

"…."

"Why? Don't you like melon milk? Oh, maybe you didn't have melon milk when you were alive? Then you haven't tasted it. Try it this time. It's delicious."

"Hotel Bluemoon is the entrance to the afterlife where souls who have met their end ascend. Hotel Redmoon is the exit where souls who have completed their tasks descend for reincarnation."

The unexpected professional words from the six-year-old child made Mansik, who was enthusiastically advertising the newly released melon milk from the living world, pause for a moment.

Suho's voice continued.

"So, Bluemoon received permission to serve items from the living world to help confused souls adapt to the afterlife. Redmoon… I think they didn't get the permission…."

Whoooom!

Squeak!

"Are you selling items from the living world to souls about to be reincarnated to earn points?"

Woooom!

Squeak!

Mansik and the Redmoon staff were startled as if they had encountered King Yama himself.

"Wh-What is this child saying… Everyone, everyone does this! It's just a… small… indulgence!"

"Hmm~ Well, it's fine. I don't have to work anymore."

Suho crossed his arms behind his back and walked past Mansik onto the cloud bridge.

Mansik, with a face that looked like he had aged ten years, asked the staff,

"What is he? Here and Bluemoon… regardless of age in the afterlife, everyone appears as they were when they came to the afterlife."

"That's right. At Bluemoon and Redmoon, the older you are, the younger you look, and vice versa."

"Still! He came here at such a young age, and his record is clean, which means he's almost immediately reincarnated. How does he know so much about the afterlife system?"

"He's suspicious. Should we keep an eye on him? It would be troublesome if he causes problems in the living world."

Mansik watched the child walk into the hotel without his guidance and said,

"Rather than surveillance… let's classify him as a VIP. Have the crows keep a close eye on him to see if he does anything suspicious."

"Got it!"

Mansik and the staff quickly ran after Suho.

Suho, who had entered the hotel first, was gaping at the interior.

"Wow… Kim Mansik… this guy…."

It was impressive.

"Come on, come on! Here! Here! Gangnam! Gangnam! Cheongdam and Daechi have seventeen spots left! Only 998,000 points! Uniform price! Only until midnight today!"

"I have 10,000 points! Can I put the rest on hold and collect them before reincarnation!?"

"No credit! Cash only~!"

"No installments? Hahahaha!"

"Where have you heard of installments for reincarnation! Do you want to pay for reincarnation in installments?"

At that moment, Mansik, who had just caught up, shouted at Suho.

"I told you not to do this! This is a casino! What? A reincarnation auction!? If King Yama secretly comes for an inspection, everyone will have their reincarnation canceled, do you know that!?"

"…."

The spacious hotel dining room, filled with bustling souls, suddenly became as quiet as a mouse.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

The boss's charisma had a three-second expiration date.

"Pay attention for a moment~! A figure skating prodigy spot just opened up. Of course, it depends on your effort after reincarnation, but you'll be born with innate talent."

"What's the gender?"

"A boy, and the family isn't very wealthy. Unlucky in childhood, but it's a case of hard work paying off. A destiny with a high potential for success…."

Thud!

Suho stomped his foot hard on the ground.

Then—

His foot hurt terribly.

"Ouch…!"

Suho grabbed his painful foot and hopped on one foot like a rabbit.

Mansik, who had been staring at Suho in surprise at the sudden physical comedy, became convinced that he wasn't a secretly visiting King Yama.

"…Here, it's almost like the living world, so you can feel pain better than in the afterlife. But… why is the floor so cold?"

"You don't need to know! It's a habit!"

Suho, who had been rubbing his painful foot, glared at the noisy souls and turned to leave.

The staff, who had been standing next to Mansik, said,

"Haha, the child is cute. It's a habit. Anyway, what should we do about this situation? Should we tidy up?"

Mansik looked at the door Suho had left through and said,

"No, let it continue. No matter what others say, I'll make money. I'll earn a lot of points…."

"To meet that person?"

"Yes. I have to go before it's too late. I'll go to take revenge."

"Boss, if you push yourself too hard, you'll fall into corruption."

"So what? No, I already have. Sigh, what's the difference between them and me. Haha."

Mansik, with a wistful look, watched the souls pushing and shoving each other to be born into wealthy families and turned around.

"Suho, bring me some melon milk."

* * *

The young soul Suho, who fell in love with melon milk from the living world, always carried a bottle of melon milk as a symbol as he wandered around Hotel Redmoon.

Even when he went on outings to the living world or had career consultations about reincarnation with Mansik, he always had a straw in his melon milk.

What started as a product placement became a permanent part of Suho's character due to the enthusiastic response of the filming crew, who found Suho's frequent melon milk sipping adorable.

The brand was blurred due to the limited number of brand exposure times.

"It's a nice day~!"

Today, Suho was on an outing in the living world with his friend, melon milk.

While walking around Yeouido Han River Park, Suho stretched and looked up at the sky.

"Reincarnation is such a hassle. Maybe I'll just stay at Redmoon and tease Mansik while living like this~?"

Sip!

After taking a sip of melon milk.

"Sigh~ No soul remembers me! Well, Yama is gone, and I was a human soul, a part of Yama. Technically, I'm not Yama. I can't even summon a sword from my hand… I don't have the strength to catch a single demon."

At that moment,

Suho's eyes widened as he saw something unbelievable.

A melon ice cream, a similar item in the living world that other souls had told him about, passed by.

The melon ice cream that Mansik had promised to stock but kept forgetting…

"…Huh?"

Beyond the child holding the melon ice cream, a young couple was walking.

Suho's expression became blank, like a dazed child.

Everything in his vision began to slow down.

A woman with the same face as Wolsoon Chasa was walking with her hand on her lower abdomen, alongside her husband.

This was Yama's memory.

The human child Suho's memories surged, pushing Yama's memories aside.

The drama scene, written by director Choi Mincheol, who had specially participated in the scriptwriting for Hotel Redmoon, vividly depicted the scene.

A village ravaged by bandits had not a single living chicken or dog left.

But a small child, covered in black soot, was crawling out of the hearth of a thatched cottage.

The child, Suho, emerged into the yard, trembling and covering his mouth, bursting into tears.

Director Choi, who had special confidence in Siwoo's acting skills, wrote the scene with great detail.

In the yard, over a dozen bandits lay dead, poisoned by the mother's ingenuity, and among them…

A beautiful woman with Wolsoon's face lay fallen.

Suho wobbled over and knelt in front of his mother.

"Mom… Mom…"

"Suho…"

"Y-Yes! Mom… Are you okay? Are you… very… very hurt?"

The woman, whose eyes had lost focus, moved them to find her child and opened her mouth with great effort.

"Our baby… go and… eat some rice…"

"Mom… Mom… don't die… Sniff…"

"…"

"Mom? Don't sleep… Mom!"

Mom fell asleep.

Suho, who had been shaking her, sniffled and lifted her arm, then snuggled into her embrace.

He waited for days, hoping she would wake up.

Mom never woke up, and neither did Suho…

A moment later—

The melon milk fell to the ground.

The child was not Yama, who had governed the afterlife for a thousand years.

He was Suho, a six-year-old who had missed his mother for a thousand years.

Swish.

Suho's soul materialized in Yeouido Han River Park.

Points were mercilessly deducted for unauthorized materialization, but with the mountain of points he had accumulated, it was no problem.

Suho, ignoring the rapidly decreasing points, ran towards the woman who looked exactly like Wolsoon.

The woman, noticing the child running towards her, stopped in her tracks.

When Suho stopped in front of her and looked up, he shouted loudly,

Words he had kept deep in his heart for a long time.

"Mom~!"

The woman, thinking he might be calling someone else, turned around, but there was no one behind her.

She realized he was calling her.

Turning back, she saw a pretty child with tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Why… why are you crying? Did you lose your mom? Are you looking for her?"

The child shook his head.

And said,

"I found my mom. I can meet her now."

"Really? That's good. Where is your mom?"

As she looked around to find the child's mother, the child vanished as if by magic.

She asked her kind-looking husband,

"Where did the child go?"

"I don't know? He was just here. Wow, they say kids disappear in the blink of an eye, and it's true. Wait, why are you crying, honey?"

"Huh? I'm crying?"

Tears had rolled down the woman's cheeks, unnoticed.

* * *

Hotel Redmoon.

Suho, who had entered the boss's office, shouted at Mansik, who was secretly eating tteokguk alone.

"Uncle~ I want to be reincarnated!"

"Choke! Cough! Cough! W-Water… W-Water…."

Startled, Mansik coughed, and each time, a piece of tteokguk flew out of his mouth.

Suho ran over and handed him water.

"T-Thank you."

"Eating delicious things alone makes you sick~"

"Hey, I'm not a bad boss! I tried it first! If it's good, I'll treat the staff… Cough. So, you want to be reincarnated? You can go anywhere you want. Where do you want to go?"

"Um. I want to go to my mom~"

A few days later.

Mansik and Suho, along with the staff, stood in front of the reincarnation gate in the backyard of Hotel Redmoon.

"Okay, when you open this door and go in, all your memories of your past life and the afterlife will disappear. Is there anything you want to say last?"

Suho opened the reincarnation gate with his small hand.

Turning to Mansik with the open gate behind him, Suho said,

"Uncle~"

"Y-Yes?"

"Don't be too hasty. Fate ultimately connects everything, even after a long journey."

Mansik, puzzled by Suho's meaningful words, asked,

"What do you mean?"

"Um~ I'll whisper it!"

"…I've never heard a soul whisper their last words in the afterlife. Okay, go ahead."

Mansik came to Suho, knelt on one knee.

Suho whispered in Mansik's ear,

"The woman you're looking for…"

Mansik's eyes widened as if they would tear.

After finishing his whisper, Suho stood in front of the reincarnation gate.

"Y-You, who are you! Who are you!"

Mansik, who had jumped to his feet, shouted at Suho in shock.

Suho, with a bright smile like when he first came to Redmoon, answered,

"Who am I? Um~ my previous job~"

"Your previous job?"

"I am Yama."

"…!"

"Bye!"

Waving to Mansik and the staff, who were gaping in shock, Suho, leaving behind countless memories from the living and afterlife, threw himself into the reincarnation gate.

* * *

A few years later, the 14th episode of "Hotel Redmoon" ended with the scene of a six-year-old child, Siwoo, happily playing with his mother in Yeouido Han River Park.

Viewers across South Korea and Asia flooded the comment section.

Oh