"Dead ?? As in… buried six feet under, no pulse, dead? I don't even remember dying."
"Nobody in this office does," the employee responded, taking a big yawn.
"Just sign this document." Saying so, she passed the form to Ryan.
Before Ryan could protest further, he was distracted by a voice.
"Ryan Park?"
As Ryan looked in the direction of the voice, he saw a tall guy in his late thirties wearing a black long coat, having black eyes, grey ashy hair-combed nicely, holding a cup of coffee that stated, "World's #1 deceased."
As Ryan turned around, Daniel was a bit stunned by the looks of Ryan. His eyes stared at Ryan for a bit longer than a second.
"Daniel Han, Team Leader of Team #7~ Unresolved Soul Division," saying so, he extends his hand with a serious look and no smile.
"Welcome to your new afterlife. Try not to cause a riot…. especially with looks and a face like that."
Ryan didn't understand whether it was a compliment or a warning - maybe both. Without giving it much thought, he decided to go with the flow and went for the handshake.
He hesitated. "Uh.. nice to meet you. I'll try my best."
"Yep, just from the look of it, I can tell that this is the guy in the company who is always overworked and working more than his salary." ~ Ryan thought.
"Come, I will show you the way, and watch your step- the floor occasionally swallows people."
"What??" Ryan quickly glanced at the floor.
" Just joking, " Daniel said.
As they walked through the corridor, which was glowing in a pale blue hue, Ryan saw people - or souls - in black suits rushing around with paperwork. Ryan noticed piles of documents floating in mid-air, ghosts passing through walls, echoing of a typewriter that clattered endlessly from every direction - typing by themselves, some people sat in cubicles labeled with names such as 'Reincarnation Audit', 'Soul Compliance', 'Memory Recycling'.
Ryan was half-horrified and half-amazed.
"So this is…like an afterlife office?"
"Soul Management Department," Daniel corrected. "But yeah, something like that."
His eyes fell on one department which stated "Complaint Department". He almost let out a laugh, but controlled himself.
"You guys have turned afterlife into a full-time job."
Daniel took a sip of his coffee.
"Well, someone has to handle the complaints. You'd be surprised how many cases we get on a regular basis."
As they walked through the corridor, Ryan noticed people staring at him. There were whispers.
"Wow… who's that newbie?"
"Damn…are we recruiting movie stars now??"
"Oh my gosh !!!"
Ryan sighed quietly. He'd gotten used to such reactions growing up - neighbourhood aunties giving him extra snacks, getting chocolates, and numerous gifts from girls in his school and university. Once, a grandmother in his neighbourhood grabbed his cheeks and muttered that he must be the reincarnation of a sea god.
He had neatly parted dark hair, which somehow looked perfectly fine, like it won't misbehave even in the afterlife, a sharp jawline, and his azure eyes, which were too vibrant for this dim world.
Daniel glanced sideways. "You know, you are going to make it harder for people to focus."
Ryan didn't knew how to respond to that comment, so he just passed an awkward smile.
Ryan Blinked. "…..Ah"
Daniel sighed, shaking his head. "Yep. Definitely trouble"
******************
They finally reach a door with the words 'Team #7- Unresolved Souls Division'
There was a quote under it which said - "We help those who refuse to move on"
"This is your new home from now on," Daniel said, tapping his ID to unlock it.
As the door slid open, Ryan took a deep breath. "Wow… it smells like deadline and depression."
"Accurate," Daniel said.
"Welcome to the team, Intern Ryan Park. Try not to die again."
A sharp voice broke the conversation.
"You're late, boss. Again."
Ryan turned toward a woman who was sitting on the edge of her desk - legs crossed, coat too short for regulations, sharp eyes, black hair tied in a messy bun, her facial expression screamed permanently unimpressed.
Her voice had a clean, cutting accent that could be both charming and terrifying in a single breath.
"Mira," Daniel said.
"She has a sharp eye and a sharp tongue. Pretends to hate her job, but she secretly cries for promotion."
"I heard that," She shouted back without looking.
"And if the newbie intern breaks the printer, I am not going to fix that."
"Uh…I'll try not to break it." Ryan bowed and said politely.
"Good on you." She said while tapping on the terminal, her fingers moved so fast that the keyboard begged for mercy.
Across from her sat a tall man with tan skin and tousled chestnut hair. His tie was missing, shirt half-button, posture-pure rebellion. A scythe rested beside him, decorated with a smiley-face sticker.
Rolling a candy in his mouth, he waved at Ryan.
"Yo. I'm Minho." His voice was smooth but lazy.
"Damn, you really got good looks. I bet you can bang a lot of girls."
Ryan just gave a smile and greeted him.
"That's Minho for you. Everything is a game for him. Try not to be too influenced by him."
At the far corner sat a quiet girl surrounded by floating folders that drifted like loyal pets.
"That's Rae, record analyst. She talks less and still gets more of the work done than all of us combined. If you hear her say more than five words in the whole day, make it a historic event."
Rae had thin-framed glasses, short red hair, and a delicate face.
"Hi" as she said so, all the folders waved in perfect sync.
Ryan blinked. "Uh…they waved."
Daniel shrugged. "They do, when they like someone, just try not to pet them."
"And lastly, there is me- Daniel, your team leader, a caffeine-fuelled monster. The one who will take the blame when you mess up."
"Sounds….Comforting." Ryan smiled.
"Don't get used to it."
Daniel said, collapsing into his chair.