Following the King of Yama's command, the attendant placed the bundles onto the scale.
In that brief moment, a rush of emotions washed over me.
Looking back, I don't think I ever lived a particularly virtuous life.
I was always self-centered, always putting my own family first. I never reached out to those shivering in the cold or living in poverty, and I certainly couldn't remember ever sacrificing myself to serve someone else.
Not that I ever did anything especially wicked or committed any crimes. I was just an ordinary person—stained by the world, neither good nor evil.
So what kind of verdict would I get?
"Oh! This is…"
"Why? Is something wrong?"
Unable to contain my curiosity, I rose from my chair.
Strangely enough, the needle on the scale pointed dead center.
The bundles of good deeds and bad deeds were perfectly balanced.
"How peculiar. Your good and evil are exactly the same."
"So what happens in a case like that? Heaven half, hell half?"
What was this, half soy-sauce, half fried chicken?
The King of Yama frowned slightly at my lame joke, then muttered as if communicating with someone. Was he wearing Bluetooth earbuds or something?
"…Yes. Then I will handle it accordingly. Ahem. The higher authority has issued the verdict."
"Higher authority? Someone above the King of Yama?"
"Why ask obvious things? I am merely a lower god in charge of the afterlife."
Well, true—there are beings above kings.
Like emperors… or maybe the Jade Emperor?
"Anyway, Your Majesty, what's the verdict?"
"You will reincarnate."
"Reincarnate… meaning I'll be born again?"
"Correct. You will cast your memories into the River of Three Crossings and begin a new life. In your next life, you will accumulate karma again and be judged once more."
"Excuse me? Judged again?"
"Yes."
"So you're telling me to live that wretched life all over again? No way."
"What?"
The King of Yama's eyes widened at my insolent reaction.
Maybe no one had ever refused being sent back.
"In the time I wandered the mortal realm as a resentful spirit, I saw far too many ugly things. I thought everything was finally over, but now you're telling me to live again? No. I don't want to return to the living world. Just pass judgment here. Even if you send me to hell, I'll go quietly. My life was hell anyway."
"Heavens! That is not for you to decide. This is a place for judgment, not choice."
"Oh come on! Just send me already!"
I yelled like a child throwing a tantrum. My outburst left both the attendant and the King of Yama dumbfounded.
Well, what more could they do—kill me again?
Except I was already dead.
Since I'd already shouted, I cast aside my pride and dignity and began to pour out my grievances.
"To be honest, aside from being born with a decent brain, there wasn't a single thing in life that made me happy. I spent over twenty years with my face glued to a desk studying like a slave, and then I got stabbed to death by my wife's lover. And do you know why I was killed? Because my dick was small! Damn it—ah, apologies. I got a little worked up."
"..."
"Turns out my wife was an incredibly immoral woman. During the investigation, I learned she wasn't just seeing one affair partner—she had tentacles everywhere like an octopus. If my performance in bed was lacking, she could've just asked for a divorce. But I guess she wanted to keep the money I earned."
"..."
"What difference would a new life even make? You called it fate earlier, right? I don't know if you've ever lived, but from what I experienced, fate is absolute bullshit."
I lingered in the world of the living because resentment kept me there.
As a vengeful spirit, I followed my child's mother everywhere.
She denied everything during the prosecution's investigation.
Cheating was wrong, she said, but she never told her affair partner to kill me.
But the CCTV exposed everything that happened that day.
After I was stabbed and collapsed, she didn't call 119, didn't call the police—she tried to bury me with the other man. They planned to make it look like I disappeared during a business trip.
In the end she was arrested for solicitation of murder and corpse disposal.
Later, when my bloated corpse was pulled from a reservoir near Gyeonggi-do, tears streamed down my face. I prayed my parents would never see such a miserable sight…
I worried about my daughter left behind, but even that regret vanished. After learning of my wife's infidelity, my parents performed a DNA test.
"…Even the daughter I cherished so dearly wasn't mine. I really was a fool. She didn't resemble me at all, but I never once questioned it."
"..."
My lament went on and on. The King of Yama and the attendant listened silently. Perhaps they pitied me.
"…I have no regrets left. Life gave me nothing but suffering. And now you tell me to live again? How irresponsible. I won't do it. I refuse. If the gods have any conscience at all, they wouldn't force it."
[Hmph. The more I listen, the more impudent you sound. Yama, send him up.]
Suddenly, a booming voice echoed from the air.
What the—who was that?
"This is bad. The God has been angered!"
"G-God?"
"The God witnesses all judgments. He is nowhere and everywhere. Just now, you blasphemed against the divine."
"What? I didn't mean to…"
Claiming God lacked a conscience was apparently blasphemy.
Damn it, then he should've warned me first!
"So… what happens to me?"
"I do not know. From here on, we follow His will. This is beyond my authority."
What irresponsible nonsense!
Then the world went dark. A spotlight flared from nowhere. In an instant, it felt like I had been teleported onto a stage.
"This is the Hall of Fate."
"Wh-what? Where am I?"
"It is the God's domain."
"Hall of Fate? What does that mean?"
"God."
"Who are you?"
If you weren't listening carefully, it sounded like my question and the answer came at the same time—but the answer was a hair faster.
How was that possible—answering before I even finished asking?
Well, he was God.
"There's no need for words. Thoughts are enough."
"..."
"I hear you have many grievances. You say I lack a conscience?"
"..."
"Listen well. I cast the same dice for every human. As a result, some were born with greater talent and beauty, while others had less ability and more misfortune. Yet all of this is part of fate. Why can you not accept it?"
"..."
"Unfair? Did you not possess greater intelligence than most? When others spent ten hours studying without result, you grasped everything in three. That was the talent given to you."
"..."
"What is that? You say you would've preferred height and… a larger 'thing'? Hah. Such a pitiful creature. Dissatisfied with what you have, obsessed only with what you lack."
"..."
"Very well. Since you insist you were wronged, I shall grant you one privilege in your next life. I will not alter anything else. But you may redistribute your current intelligence, height, and that—in centimeters—however you wish. You have 300."
"And… how much is that in total?"
The question slipped out before I realized it.
The God answered before I even finished speaking.
Then He addressed me again.
"How you divide the 300 is entirely your choice. But you alone will bear the consequences. Understood?"
And thus, my second life began.
I opened my eyes.
A ceiling I didn't recognize. Judging by the size, it was probably a studio apartment.
A mirror—I needed a mirror.
The small room had only a cheap wardrobe and a desk with a computer on it.
I found the mirror in the bathroom above the sink.
"…Shit! It wasn't a dream?"
A curse escaped my lips.
When I first woke up, I thought I'd just had an incredibly long dream.
Fell asleep on the train on the way to a conference…
But no, everything was real.
I died. And I was reborn. In a body I'd never seen before.
The reaper who escorted me back to the living world said:
"Normally, reincarnation requires that all memories be erased. But by the God's special grace, you may retain all memories and enter another's body."
"You mean the soul gets switched? What about the original owner?"
"No need to worry. It will be someone whose lifespan has already ended."
"Ah! That's a relief. Right—God gave me a total of 300 to divide however I want…"
"So, how will you allocate it?"