Kim Beom-woo cut across the sky above the Korean Peninsula like lightning and sent a brief transmission.

  “Ji-chung, hold.Eighty kilometers. Three o’clock. I’m picking up blood.Moving now. Over.”

  “Copy. Over.”

  When they reached the coordinates, the collision had already happened.

  Too late.

  Two vehicles were locked in a head-on crash.Flames tore through twisted metal.Explosions cracked open the night.

  The moment they landed, everything stilled.

  The wrecked cars froze in their final position—only fire moved, wavering in the wind.

  “Ji-chung,” Kim Beom-woo said evenly,“the four standing there—looks like a family.Confirm body match.Request retrieval.”

  Then—

  A raw sound ripped from Yun Ji-chung’s throat.

  “What are we supposed to do…You poor things… what are we supposed to do…”

  In the front seats sat two crushed adults.In the back, two small children remained trapped.

  A teddy bear, half-melted by fire,hung from a child’s limp hand—its face warped beyond recognition.

  At the roadside stood four souls,clinging to one another,still unable to grasp what had happened.

  Yun Ji-chung moved.

  His eyes were red.

  “You bastard!”

  He seized the opposing driver’s soul and hurled him to the ground.

  Straddling him, he struck him again and again.

  “Do you even know what you’ve done?!Open your eyes! Look at them!”

  Tears streamed down his face.

  Beneath him, the soul thrashed wildly.

  “Damn it! That hurts!Get off! I have to go!”

  His words were crooked—tilted away from reality.

  “How much did you drink…” Ji-chung growled.“Even dead, you still can’t wake up.Today—I’m not letting this go.”

  He reached for the collar again—

  Kim Beom-woo caught his arm.

  “Ji-chung! That’s demerits if you’re reported!You know we cannot punish him!Stop!”

  His voice cleaved the frozen air.

  “Team Leader… look.”

  Ji-chung pointed, hand trembling.

  “There’s a baby inside the mother…You know that too…He destroyed an entire family…”

  His voice collapsed with him.

  He sank to the roadside and wept.

  Kim Beom-woo exhaled slowly.

  “I know.I understand your anger.”

  His voice lowered.

  “But we have rules.We were given power—not the right to wield it at will.”

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  He placed a hand on Ji-chung’s shoulder.

  “Misuse it and you’re disciplined.Accumulate penalties and you face the tribunal.Then you return—reborn as human.

  You know that.”

  Ji-chung’s sobs turned ragged.

  “So calm yourself,” Beom-woo said quietly.“For now, we follow the rules.”

  It took time.

  Eventually, Ji-chung steadied.

  One by one,Beom-woo retrieved the five souls scattered across the silent roadand transmitted them.

  When it was done,he looked once more.

  Front passenger seat—

  The mother’s eyes closed,her head hanging from the shattered window.

  Back seat—

  Two children curled together,small bodies folded into each other.

  Driver’s seat—

  The father’s hands still locked around the steering wheel,forehead pressed into it.

  Opposing lane—

  The driver lay thrown from the vehicle.No seatbelt.The faint scent of alcohol lingered in the night air.

  Police lights flashed in red and blue.Ambulances stood in a line.In the distance, a fire engine roared closer, siren wailing.

  Kim Beom-woo took in the scene one final time.

  Then—

  Without another word,

  he and Yun Ji-chung rose into the dark sky.

  After Sunday noon Mass,they settled into a nearby samgyeopsal restaurant for lunch.

  “No matter how I think about it, something’s off.After the first mission, I almost went bald from stress—like full-blown alopecia.Now the hair’s growing back…but this time it’s the smell that’s driving me insane.”

  Kyung-soo muttered, chewing slowly.

  Da-hye didn’t miss the opening.

  “But Oppa Hyun-pil went through the second mission just like you, Dad,and he’s completely fine.Actually, he looks even cooler now.Are you sure nothing’s wrong with you?”

  She wrapped a perfectly grilled slice in marinated perilla leafand bit into it without hesitation.

  Hyun-pil paused before answering.

  “I’ve had trouble with the smell too.Not constantly…but at night it gets stronger.Sometimes even during the day it just hits me out of nowhere.

  But during Mass today…inside the church, it disappeared completely.Instead… there was this faint, pleasant scent in the air.”

  Yoon-jung stopped mid-bite and looked between them.

  “What are you two now, bloodhounds?Should I apply for airport detection dog positions for you?Decent salary, too.”

  Hyo-jung carefully placed a slice of pork on her plate.

  “Unni… catechism starts this Tuesday at eight.It’s my first class…Would you come with me?”

  The moment she finished—

  Clack.

  Da-hye’s chopsticks hit the table.

  “You and Oppa are starting this week?”

  Her tone sharpened.

  “Then I’ll help. I’m younger anyway.Mom’s exhausted from district office work all day… right?”

  Her eagerness to stay close to Hyun-pil was barely disguised.

  “Hey,” Yoon-jung cut in flatly.“I’m the parish group leader.You’re watching the café. End of discussion.”

  A little later, Hyun-pil smiled at Da-hye.

  “That video you uploaded?It blew up.The editing was genius.You really have talent.”

  The clip from their second mission—especially the moment when Kyung-soo clutched his chest after Yoon-jung pounded him—had gone viral.

  Da-hye had cut everything else out,turning only that moment into a short-form clip.

  It struck perfectly.

  Hyun-pil’s praise was sincere—as if the entire success belonged to her.

  Around them, smoke from grilling pork hung thick in the air.The grill hissed constantly.

  Everyone else was busy eating, laughing, flipping meat—

  Everyone except Kyung-soo.

  He sat quietly, prodding the grill with his chopsticks.

  Yoon-jung and Hyo-jung chatted about church.Hyun-pil and Da-hye whispered about views and subscribers.

  Then—

  Kyung-soo raised his hand.

  “One bottle of soju.”

  He hadn’t planned to drink.But sober chewing felt unbearable.

  He swallowed a bite of porkand washed it down with soju.

  On the wall-mounted television,the news played without pause.

  Kyung-soo tilted his glassand stared at the screen.

  — Breaking News: Traffic accident on a rural road in Eumseong County, Chungbuk…Family of four dead. Suspected drunk driving…

  The footage shifted.

  His hand stopped.

  A burned, twisted vehicle.Scattered debris.A charred piece of a teddy bear.

  “…Damn.”

  The sound barely escaped him.

  The reporter continued calmly.

  “All five individuals were pronounced dead at the scene.Authorities believe the driver was heavily intoxicated.”

  Kyung-soo lowered his glass slowly.

  The restaurant, moments ago loud and lively,felt distant—muted.

  “Crazy bastard…Still driving drunk…”

  The words barely formed.

  The caption scrolled beneath the screen:

  ‘Eumseong family tragedy… two young children among the victims.’

  Kyung-soo bowed his head briefly.

  Then he poured another shot.

  Around him, laughter.The smell of grilling pork.The hiss of fat on fire.

  And in the middle of it all,

  he stared at the television,

  and drank.