Barely keeping her composure, Haein waited for the reaper to finally leave.
More than the fear of her thoughts being discovered, it was the fact that he always appeared out of nowhere to startle her that made him unbearable.
She knew well enough that hating him was pointless, and yet, she couldn’t help it.
Her eyes kept wanting to sharpen without her realizing, so Haein quietly fixed her gaze on her paws instead. At least it was fortunate that, as a cat, it was easier to control her expression.
[Good. No more questions? You won’t be seeing me for a while, so if you have anything to say, now’s the time.]
“I don’t! That’s enough—just hurry up and send me back home!”
[Home, is it? You’re calling it that now?]
“…I live there, so of course it’s my home.”
[Well, true enough. Still, your adaptability is remarkable. Honestly, I thought that after a month or two of living as a cat, you’d throw in the towel and beg to just wait it out quietly here instead.]
Haein’s eyes widened. So that was why he showed up every two months, testing her resolve?
This time she didn’t even bother to hide her expression—she puffed her cheeks out as far as they would go.
“So that was your plan all along! You were waiting for me to give up, weren’t you?!”
[Well, I was worried about how you were getting by too. Living as a cat isn’t exactly easy.]
“Ugh… Well, if I had to live on the streets, I would’ve given up ages ago…”
[I thought you’d surrender quickly, but as luck would have it, you found yourself an owner. Guess it really pays to have built up merit in a past life.]
“Uh… maybe I did a few good things before?”
Her anger forgotten, Haein’s eyes sparkled as she looked up at him. A cat’s face when curious was impossibly adorable.
The reaper thought to himself that it was almost ridiculous how transparent her thoughts were on her face.
[Looking at the registry, you actually did quite a bit.]
“What kind of things? Hm? Can’t you tell me?”
[…Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter if I do. I’ll have to erase your memory later anyway.]
“Tell me!”
[You once died in place of a child.]
“…What?”
That didn’t sound like something to be praised for at all!
[Another time, you were executed after giving remonstrance to a king. Before that, you drowned saving a child who had fallen into a river. No wonder in the life after that, you were born a cat that despised water. In any case, you always ended your lives early that way. Which is why, this time, you’re destined to live a very long life.]
What kind of past-life spoiler is this…
Haein didn’t like what she was hearing. No—she found it downright frustrating.
“That just sounds stupid… not noble.”
[You could see it that way. But don’t you still have the same tendencies now? If a child is near water, or if someone’s about to get hurt, you can’t help but intervene. Those deeply ingrained traits of the soul never change, even after death, no matter how many lives pass. You really are one of the rare, truly kind souls.]
“…I don’t see it.”
[That’s why it would be a disaster if you were taken away too soon. A soul like yours is meant to live long, accumulating merit.]
“….”
[…Sorry.]
For the first time, the reaper apologized, his cheerful chatter cut short when Haein glared at him.
Her cheeks puffed out even more.
“Ugh! If you’re sorry, then just send me back! My body! My life!”
[I’m working on it. Can’t you see how much effort I’m putting into this? I’ve even enlisted the help of a celestial friend. I’ve told you already, but you are important to me too.]
“…Mmgh.”
[I promise I’ll restore you to your original form. So don’t worry.]
Oh, thank you so much.
Haein’s lips stayed stubbornly pouty. Instead of reassurance, the promise only made her chest feel tighter.
She had only half a year left until she could return. And rather than relief, that fact weighed heavily on her.
The closer the day drew, the sadder she felt.
All because of Siyul.
Why did we even meet?
The thought of parting from him was unbearable—so much so that she wished they had never crossed paths.
And yet, since they had met, there was no rejecting it, no turning away. The entanglement was helpless and complete, making her forget there had ever been a time apart.
Suddenly, a thought struck Haein. Maybe this was…
“I have another question! About that registry you mentioned earlier.”
[Hm?]
“Does it also list fated ties? Like, a destined partner…?”
[Of course it does.]
Haein’s eyes gleamed brighter than ever. The reaper shook his head before she could even ask.
[Ah, typical. You really are a girl, being curious about things like that. But I’m no fortune-teller. I don’t need to tell you about your soulmate—]
“You’ve already spilled plenty!”
[….]
“If you’re really sorry, then you can at least tell me that much!”
Her unexpected outburst gave him pause. After a moment of hesitation—whether out of guilt for his mistakes, or because Haein clearly wasn’t going to back down—he finally sighed.
[Fine. But this will be the very last thing I tell you.]
“Deal!”
Haein resolved to squeeze every bit of information she could out of him. If he was just going to erase her memory later, what did it matter? Besides, he was far too loose-lipped for someone who called himself a reaper.
[From what I know, in this life your destined tie is the king who once, in a past life, exiled you after you reproached him. He only regretted it after your death, and built a monument in your memory.]
“…A king?”
[Yes. In his next life, he wished only that the two of you would meet under different circumstances.]
So that meant… in this life, her soulmate was a king in his previous one.
That was… quite the big shot.
Immediately, a certain proud, arrogant man came to her mind. A man whose self-centered nature somehow suited him all too well, and who happened to bear the surname Kang.
[As he wished, that soul did meet you again. But the moment he did, you died.]
“…Wait, don’t tell me—”
[The child you saved, the one you died for—that was the king reborn. Your loyalty was astonishing. Twice you gave your life for him.]
“…That’s… quite the stubborn bond.”
[It’s no wonder that soul harbors such a deep regret toward you.]
The reaper wasn’t lying, so Haein had to admit the connection was layered and inescapable.
[And it was only in the most recent past life that he finally became your mate. Even if the two of you were only beasts then. Perhaps out of gratitude, he devoted himself wholly to you, and as a result, your fates remain bound even in this life.]
Someone who had once killed her, someone she had once saved, someone who had once been her mate when they were both animals—and now, in this life, that very soul was her destined tie.
Silently mulling over the reaper’s words, Haein could guess that in her previous life, her destined one had also been a cat, just like her.
And inevitably, Siyul came to mind.
[That soul may very well accompany you through all the lives you have left. His obsession with you—no, his yearning—is extraordinary.]
“…You don’t know his name, do you?”
[That, I don’t. I can’t just go rifling through the registry of every soul. I could find it if I filed the paperwork, but it’s outside my jurisdiction.]
Of course. Bureaucracy, even in the afterlife.
“It doesn’t make sense. You knew my parents’ names. You even knew I’d live long.”
[The registry even notes how many children you’ll have. But not their names. Because those events haven’t fully come to pass yet.]
The reaper had an annoying habit of suddenly turning solemn and weighty in his words. Just like now.
As if to remind her she was merely human, he spoke with condescension in his eyes.
Haein’s cheeks remained puffed out in irritation.
[Fate is like a tree full of dry branches that have yet to sprout. Which branches put forth leaves depends entirely on you. Human vitality is such that you may even grow entirely new ones. That uncertainty is what makes it remarkable. Your destined one is the same—he exists, but you might not meet. Or you may already have.]
“Ugh… This is too hard.”
[Because fate is fixed, but destiny is not. Look at yourself—you died before your appointed time more than once. That’s why we’re kept so busy.]
Haein’s expression was one of clear dissatisfaction, so the reaper fluttered into the air and landed atop her head. His message was clear enough: no more questions, time to go back.
“Is it possible I might never meet my destined one?”
[Of course. If your destinies cross and miss.]
She asked quickly, almost desperately,
“…Then, if I do meet him, will I recognize him?”
[Hard to say. Humans often mistake someone else for their fated one and ruin themselves in the process. But one thing is certain—if he truly is your tie, then no matter how many times you part, you will always meet again.]
And that was what made it destiny.
The reaper’s voice faded like the wind.
________✧⑅˖♡∘˚˳°↝^._.^_________
When Haein blinked in the darkness, she was back where she belonged.
The warm bedroom, bathed in silver moonlight.
There was no trace left behind of the reaper’s visit.
Wide awake, she padded close to Siyul’s sleeping face before wriggling between his shoulder and pillow.
“Mmm…?”
Half-asleep, Siyul’s low voice rumbled in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. Stroking her soft, round body, he sighed in contentment and slipped into deeper sleep.
Haein stared at him for a long moment before closing her eyes. Yet sleep would not come.
Her heart was restless.
Her unease only grew, along with a helpless sorrow.
Half a year—that was all they had left. Barely enough time to spend with someone she wanted to stay with.
And yet, the reaper had given her one truth she could not ignore.
We’re destined to part. But I want us to meet again. And if we do, then maybe we’ll never have to part for the rest of our lives.
Kang, let it be that way. Promise me it will.
Too selfish to say aloud, she held that thought tightly within and pressed her cheek against Siyul’s.
As she slowly rubbed her face against his, a wave of sadness came over her.
Even with him by her side, she felt more anxious about the day they’d be torn apart than reassured by his warmth.
The more her feelings grew, the more her greed grew with them.
Before, she had only wished that even if she forgot him, he would not forget her. That alone had seemed enough.
But now—now she didn’t even want to forget his warmth.
The day of parting felt unbearable. More so with every passing day.
________✧⑅˖♡∘˚˳°↝^._.^_________
Knowing when the last day would come with someone who had taught her the joy of being together—there was nothing comforting in that knowledge.
For the first time in her life, she found herself dreading the spring.
She prayed this winter would last as long as possible.
Because once the short spring passed, summer would come—and with it, the end of her days with Siyul.
Whenever the reaper came and went, Haein always found herself sunk in melancholy, as though left with some heavy aftereffect. This time was no exception.
Those were the kinds of truths the reaper always forced her to face.
“…I’m doomed.”
Like this, for example—her utterly ruined birthday cake.
Haein stared in despair at the sponge cake she had baked, flat as a fried egg and darker than mud.
This was not something whipped cream and fruit could disguise.
When she poked it, it wasn’t soft and springy at all—it was hard, like the sole of a shoe.
“…Strange. I’m sure I did exactly what Kang did.”
Siyul made it look so easy every time. She had been confident that, with her memories of watching him and a recipe off the internet, she could pull it off.
That confidence had been sorely mistaken. Her proud creation looked less like a cake and more like a burnt pancake—an utter waste of ingredients.
Still… maybe…
“…Maybe he’ll eat it anyway.”
If it was Siyul, maybe he’d eat it for the effort, even if it tasted terrible. Haein toyed with the idea of just brazenly setting it in front of him.
That was how desperate she felt.
It had only been a few days since Siyoung had dropped by, and from her, Haein had learned that today was Siyul’s birthday. That was fine. But she had nothing to give him.
She had no money.
She might have managed something if she’d regained her true identity, but along with the destroyed tea, all her belongings had vanished—cash, cards, everything.
She didn’t even have an ID.
And though she’d tried to think of replacing it, even that was impossible. Photos were required, and in her current state, her human form never showed up properly. Only her cat form appeared in pictures; her human form looked strange and distorted.
So, really, she had no options. And too little time.
Birthdays meant cake. No money meant effort. That had seemed like a brilliant idea at the time. She’d raided the cupboards and begun to bake.
“Right! Even if it looks like this, it might still taste fine!”
Just in case, she decided to try a piece.
Haein shook crumbs loose from the cake pan, gathered them up, and popped them into her mouth. Only to spit them immediately into the trash.
“Pfft! Why is it so bitter?!”
How could a cake taste bitter?!
There was no way she had used the same ingredients Siyul always did. She rinsed her mouth out with water at once.
This wasn’t something anyone could eat. Definitely not something to give to someone she cared about.
And there was no time or ingredients to try again.
Siyul would be home in thirty minutes. And today was his birthday.
Haein trembled, staring at the front door like a cornered mouse.
At this point, there was only one last resort.
“…I’ll just have to put a ribbon on my head.”
The dryness in her throat wasn’t only from the horribly bitter cake.
