Gaeul's heart was bursting with myriad of feelings.

There was some hint of nervousness for the future but the rest of the feelings were positive as he stared at the degree in his hand. The degree he worked so hard for. Degree he spent all his blood, sweat and tears trying to achieve. It's finally in his hand. The place he was sitting at had a mirror right in front of him. He looked at the mirror and saw a young lad in his early twenties, with a shy smile on his face, with black uniform on and with the prestigious degree of the police academy in his hand. His hyung always told him that he looked so good in this uniform. And today he looked the best. His face was glowing. With pride, happiness and hopefulness.

The door of the room flung open, Gaeul immediately stood up and saluted at the person that he was waiting for walked in.

"Sir,"Gaeul said standing in the perfect posture with his salute.

Jeongwoo smiled fondly and patted his shoulder,"We two are alone. You don't need to be so formal."

Gaeul smiled politely and put his hand down.

"Hyung,"Gaeul said, that word felt more familiar in his mouth than sir.

"You performed exceptionally well. I just had a talk with your instructors. They were all very pleased with you."

"They're too kind,"Gaeul said, smiling shyly at the compliments. Even though everyone knew he passed the bar exam with record marks and was everyone's favorite student in the academy,"And hyung, thank you so much for taking time out of busy schedule and coming here. I'm honored."

"Of course I had to come and see you in your uniform,"Jeongwoo said while he sat down on one of the chairs of the rooms in the police academy,"I still remember the first time I saw you. You were crying your eyes out over your Lily noona."

Gaeul smiled and took a seat beside Jeongwoo.

"You know what?"Jeongwoo asked,"Back then I was really curious about the little boy for whom Lily handed herself to the police. She kept saying she really wants to see if the police force is completely rotten or not. I really wondered what kind of boy would that boy be. And then..I saw you,"Jeongwoo chuckled,"I understand how she must've felt."

"Is that a compliment, hyung?"Gaeul asked, chuckling.

"Yes,"Jeongwoo said,"It is. I've known you for quite long and I've never found a bad thing about you, Gaeul-ah,"He then looked at Gaeul,"Keep being like that or else.....I'm going to put you under bars."

Gaeul chuckled,"Sure, Mr.Senior Superintendent General! I will be careful."

Jeongwoo had become a part of Gaeul's life really unexpectedly. They met when Jeongwoo was trying to investigate Lily's case and had a plethora of questions about her. He asked Gaeul millions of questions about Lily every time he saw Gaeul. Gaeul cried every time, he was in pain about his noona being in jail. These questions felt like emotional torture to him. After Lily's passing, one day Jeongwoo showed up to Gaeul's school. Gaeul was still not over Lily's passing. He thought Jeongwoo was going to ask about Lily again. He was about to cry out and said,"My noona is dead! What more can I help you with?"

But before he could, Jeongwoo crouched down and ruffled the little one's hair with a warm smile on his face,"I heard you want to be a police officer, champ?"

Gaeul was confused but nodded anyway.

Jeongwoo smiled,"Good boy. From now on, I would guide you to become one. Just as your Lily noona wanted me to."

And that he did. Jeongwoo was a very warm presence in Gaeul's life. He was not always present, but whenever he was, it felt warm. He helped Gaeul stay on right track with education, bar exams, even in the academy. He looked over Gaeul. Just like a teacher would. He sometimes told stories about his bravery in police department and kept Gaeul inspired to be a police officer all through his life. He always kept saying, Lily wanted him to do it and he cannot help but do it. Gaeul's hyung did not mind Jeongwoo's presence in their life. Gaeul was glad about that.

"She would be proud of you, Gaeul-ah,"Jeongwoo said, smiling at Gaeul,"I wish she was here to witness this."

Gaeul knew who he was talking about. None other than his cold noona. Gaeul smiled sadly at that.

Jeongwoo noticed it and ruffled Gaeul's hair. Just like that day outside his school, about fifteen years ago. But then Gaeul was just a little vulnerable child and now he is on the way of living his dream.

"Your noona,"Jeongwoo took a deep breath,"I knew her for a very little time. But she had a lasting impression on me and that honestly kept pushing me to a better and better cop. I chose to be a cop. It was my choice, and I would have to bear the weight of my choice of being honest and helping other people. I can't be rotten and ruin people's lives. Gaeul-ah, make sure to remember this always. This is what she wanted."

"I would,"Gaeul said without any hesitation in his voice. He would live up to what he said, what he and his family wanted him to be.

"And don't be too sad, your noona is in a better place,"Jeongwoo said patting his shoulder.

"She is,"Gaeul smiled.

Jeongwoo also smiled seeing that,"Once again congratulations. I have to head out now."

Gaeul stood up and saluted him once again,"Yes, Sir!"

"You should also get going. Your family is probably waiting for you outside."

Gaeul smiled ear to ear at the mention of his family,"Yes. They are."

Anyone from outside of they knew Gaeul's family history they would think this is the most dysfunctional, insane, unhinged family out there. And Gaeul understand why people may think that but to him it is far from any of that. Of course, all the members of the family and their background is far from normal but together they were such a healthy, beautiful family.

He just knows the moment he steps out of this building that he had been oh so familiar with for the last couple of years, he would see his family standing right outside with a silly homemade placard with his embarrassing childhood photos on it. Big smiles on their faces while they cheered for the youngest one in the family. Gaeul had always them that this placard thing is embarrassing but they keep doing it every time something big happens. And he was right, right when he stepped a foot out of the police academy he saw them, all of them smiling brightly, holding a big yellow placard covering half of their bodies that said 'We have a police officer in our fam now!' along with his silly bowl cut childhood pictures. They started screaming happily when they saw Gaeul exiting. Their happiness melted Gaeul's heart. They perhaps were happier than he was. The amount of support they have given him for as long as they've known each other was immeasurable. Thanks to them, he stands here now with this degree and uniform on.

His eyes fell one by one on all of the members of his family. Again, all the members are weird in their own right. All these weird clashing characters made his family so complete and so wholesome. Like the first person, who is a law firm owner, aged like fine wine, his very own Doyoung hyung. His actual adoptive brother that raised him like nothing less like real family. He was now a very respected person in the law industry. Even though he passed law school in a later age, he is so well respected, so well rounded in law. Doyoung kept saying how his mother, himself and Lily wanted him to become a lawyer. Now he ended up becoming a law firm owner. Doyoung can do anything he puts his head to. All his life, Doyoung has protected Gaeul. Now it's Gaeul's turn to protect his hyung. Nowadays Doyoung is busy with his law firm and his friends from law school. All of them are extremely nice and match Doyoung's energy amazingly. Gaeul is happy that Doyoung is not sad and lonely anymore. His past is very scary and trauma inducing. Gaeul is glad Doyoung has moved on from that darkness and now is living his life to his full potential.

The next person in this family is the epitome of a great person. A person so innocent, so kind, so good that there is no adjective that can describe him fully. None other than his Soobin hyung. He can brighten anyone's day with his dimpled smile. Whenever Soobin and Gaeul go out together, people think that they're real brothers. Their resemble each other a lot. Gaeul wants to resemble Soobin from the heart too. He wants to be as good of a person as he is. There is no bad qualities about him. Gaeul knows about what deeds his father did, everyone is Korea knows about that famous case. How can someone so angelic come from such a disgusting person?

Soobin is currently an accountant. He still plays music in a bar on the weekend nights with his friends. The bar is owned by his friend Yeonjun. They've not lost their popularity or talent. They were still the heartthrobs that they were in university. The bar remains jam packed every weekend.

The next person is a fairly new addition to their family. Miyeon. Soobin's wife. They've been dating for five years after university and then Soobin finally got down on his knees. Miyeon is perfect for Soobin. She accepted Soobin as he is. His past didn't bother her at all when she heard it. When all of it happened fifteen years ago, Lily's face wasn't published neither was the information about her family. Jeongwoo made sure none of their information was leaked to even a fly. But Soobin told Miyeon everything before they started dating. Everything. She was shocked and horrified that all of this happened to him and his sister. Rather than being scared away, she pulled him into a hug and consoled him, saying he's been through a lot. Aside from being a gem of a person, she supports Soobin and loves him with his all. It took her a little bit of time to get adjusted to their little weird family and the weird setting, but Gaeul couldn't ask for anyone better.

The next one was none other than his fluffy friend. Miko. His cat. That his noona let him keep with him, the day she saved him from his horrendous father. It's sad that Miko passed away seven years ago. It would be nice if she were alive and with him. But Gaeul is pretty pleased with this setting.

Coming to the most..interesting part of their little family, the ones Miyeon had taken some time to get adjusted to..well who could blame her? This part consisted of two people. And..none of them were humans. At least not right now.

The summer sun shone high over their heads almost illuminating their figures dressed head to toe in black. The female one of the due showed her signature smirk and shouted,"Are you going to stand there all day, Mr.Policeman?"

Gaeul's smile grew at the dialogue from his noona, his cold noona, none other than the myth, the legend of South Korea, Lily. Now known as Yerim, with her closet family.

She stood there, looking right as she did fifteen years ago when he last saw her alive. Her skin was as perfect as ever, nothing changed. Well, one thing did. She is happy now. And also has a position in the under world.

The person standing next to her, waving his hands enthusiastically was his Jungkook hyung. A demon. A powerful one. His smile was as addictive as ever.

He had Miko on his shoulder, sitting. No one could see this trio right now, except for them. How would they? They're not your regular humans.

Gaeul still remembers the day when it was announced to them by Jeongwoo that Lily mysteriously died in the research institute. Gaeul, Doyoung and Soobin broke down completely. They were a mess. All the time spent between that announcement and preparing for Lily's burial was spent in a blur.

The day of the burial, the graveyard was filled with police, reporters, Lily's admirers. They didn't even get a proper time to grieve properly, if they got caught in the camera, it would be a mess. Jeongwoo did most of the burial, they watched from far away. It was all they could do. Lily did not want their identities to get revealed. She was stern about it.

The place was finally empty at night. They all went into the graveyard at the darkness of night. They all sat around the grave. Gaeul and Soobin cried once again remembering their noona while Doyoung didn't even have tears left. He stared blankly at the gravestone. Gaeul's heart broke for him in a million pieces. For years, Doyoung only had Lily. What would happen to him now? And Soobin? He had finally found his sister after so long. What about him?

Doyoung had stopped eating properly, taking care of him. He was a mess. He didn't talk. Didn't smile. After hours of sitting at the graveyard, finally at the crack of dawn Doyoung finally spoke looking at the gravestone of her,"How could you leave me alone?"

The broken voice made Gaeul and Soobin cry out louder.

Gaeul and Soobin were busy crying and Doyoung was so messed up that none of them noticed someone coming and standing right beside Doyoung.

It was the familiar chilly voice that made them snap out of it and look at the direction.

"Does that mean you can skip meals and go around looking like a skeleton, you rascal?"

The speed that Gaeul raised his head was probably faster than light's. His little heart almost stopped when he saw his noona, standing there with her hair flying with the wind, smirking at them as if she had pulled the biggest prank of the century.

The sun was slowly trying to peak out from under the clouds, spreading its hue all around the dark sky. Chilly wind was blowing, making the hair of Gaeul's back stand up. Little Gaeul couldn't comprehend the situation.

As far as he knew dead people could not come back alive. Then how did she? What?

Gaeul looked around and saw that Doyoung and Soobin were both staring at her quietly. Still contemplating whether she was real or not. Everything looked normal. Too normal. Her clothes were still all black, but a bit fancier from before. She was wearing a long black trench coat with a big black hat.

"I think they're frozen from shock,"Another familiar voice spoke.

They were all so preoccupied with Lily's sudden arrival that they didn't even notice that Jungkook was a few feet away. They only noticed him when he came and put his arm around Lily's shoulder, with a similar 'I pranked you' smile.

Gaeul couldn't take it anymore. Neither he could think anymore. He jumped up and hugged Lily as he started crying. She held him back.

What he said to her while crying, he still is unable to remember that. It was all a big blur. All he remembered was Lily patting his head and saying,"Oh poor thing."

After the hug she went and sat beside Doyoung, who was still frozen in shock. She smirked and looked at her tombstone and tsked, disappointed.

"I told Jeongwoo to write 'Fuck yall' on my tombstone, tsk,"Lily said shaking her head,"Missed opportunity."

Soobin finally spoke,"Noona? Are you real? What is going on? I'm imagining things again, aren't I?"

Lily smiled genuinely at her little brother,"Soobin-ah, I'm real. And I'm here. Not as you'd want me to. But still I'm here."

Doyoung was pulled out of the trance,"How are you real? You are dead. I'm again seeing things. I'm sure of it."

"Listen, Mr.I-don't-take-care-of-my-health-because-I'm-stupid, if Jungkook,"Lily pointed at Jungkook behind her who smiled in return,"Can be a demon, and can exist then why can't I exist?"

"Lily.."Doyoung took a deep breath,"I'm tired. I love you. But I'm tired. Please I don't want these hallucinations right now. I'm mourning. Don't give me false hope."

" I said I'm real!"Lily said.

"How are you real? What are you then? A ghost? A fleeting soul? Did even hell reject your ass?"

Lily was mildly offended by that comment. But Gaeul was sure that Doyoung thought he was hallucinating due to sleep deprivation and was saying whatever came to his mind and not give birth to unnecessary hope in his heart.

Lily stood up and said,"No. I'm none of that."

"Then what're you?"

Lily smirked and flicked her hat,"A grim reaper."

The silence in the graveyard after her words were too much to bear. Doyoung and Soobin sighed, still thinking their mind is playing games on them.

Lily was not pleased at the reaction,"I said I'm the first human turned grim reaper in history."

Doyoung once again sighed and turned to the gravestone. Soobin did the same. Not giving the 'hallucination' a chance.

"Hey? Can I get a little bit of enthusiasm over here?"Lily asked.

No response.

Jungkook chuckled and sat down beside Doyoung and Gaeul,"I will explain everything."

And he did. He explained what happened, how it happened, and that it is all very real and Lily is not leaving them again. She is actually here.

She was a grim reaper. That would collect souls of sinners and lead them to hell and make sure the ride is as bad as possible.

Doyoung still was skeptical, Soobin ran in her arms and it was the longest hug ever. After the hug Lily pulled Doyoung up, grabbed his cheeks and said,"Listen. I'm real. I'm real. I would keep repeating it till you believe me. I'm real..."

Doyoung gave in and broke down when she said 'I'm real' about fifteen times. He collapsed in her arms, sobbing, cursing at her for dying in the first place, giving him the biggest scare of his life, abandoning him and everything. Lily hugged him back tightly and kept repeating that she's sorry. Lily always teased him, but deep down she loved him more than anything and cared tremendously for him. She cried silently with him. Until both of them had no tear in their system. Same goes for all of them.

That night they rediscovered Lily, as Yerim. The newly trained grim reaper in afterlife. And as a genuinely happy person. Doing what she loves best. With her partner by her side. Jungkook being her ride or die. Her partner for life.

Such a beautiful scene.

Over the years, the two of them were constantly present in their life. Not as how they wanted, sure, but still present. Gaeul remembers how amused he was when he saw Lily using her magic in front of him for the first time. He didn't know his cold noona could get cooler but she did. There was nothing she couldn't do. Lily and Jungkook were busy with their duties on the other side, but they never missed a family dinner or any big event. Yes, sometimes it felt weird when anyone asked Gaeul about his family, it was complicated but Gaeul liked this setup.

Gaeul liked how happy she was on the other side. How happy both of them were. The older he gets the more he realizes that this world was not for Lily. She did not deserve all the pain the world gave her. She deserved to find happiness, even if it was in the underworld. So this setup is a bit complicated but Gaeul loves it nonetheless.

Gaeul ran into their arms while all of them started saying how proud they were of him. Patting his hair, congratulating him, telling him he looks so unbelievably cool and what not. Gaeul couldn't hold his tears, he was just too happy. To have this happened to him, to be able to do this.

Years ago, when he was being abused by his 'father' in the cold streets of Seoul, could he have imagined that he would come this far? It was all because of them. Only because of the love and care his family has given him.

So this is his family. A very unique and special one. Like how many people can say they have a ex convict turned lawyer, the purest person in the world, a very nice and understanding woman that somehow got entangled in this mess, a very feisty soul of a cat, a good hearted devil and an eccentric grim reaper in their family?

Only Gaeul can.

"Enough tears,"Lily announced,"Shall we go for jajjangmyeon?"

"Yes, Yerim is right. Let's go for Jajjangmyeon,"Doyoung said while wiping his own tears,"No one cries anymore!"

"Says the adjushhi that is crying himself,"Lily said teasingly. She had found a new way of teasing her best friend. At how he is aging and she isn't. Doyoung absolutely hates it. Before Doyoung could burst Gaeul chuckled.

"Let's go for Jajjangmyeon, I'm starving!"

Lily was standing in front of the big mural that Jungkook drew of her for her birthday years ago. It was her first ever birthday with him. He was so excited to show her this mural of her but Lin had come and destroyed it. But Jungkook had restored it soon after and put a spell on this mural so no one ever touches it.

Over the years Jungkook has given a lot of memorable and thoughtful presents but this mural remains as Lily's favorite. Words couldn't describe how much she loves this mural.

Whenever she had a busy day, and was tired she would come here and look at this mural. She had this routine for years. Like today. She had a fairly hectic day. Gaeul's graduation, a small surprise party after that and then a whole day of soul collecting. She has now come here with Jungkook at night before going home. Tonight Gaeul said he wanted to stay with Miko, hence they left Miko there.

"Tiring day, Huh?"Jungkook asked from beside her.

"Yes But thankfully I was able to collect all the souls today or else V would make me go insane,"Lily said.

Jungkook smiled,"Come on, he's not that bad these days, is he?"

"Don't even ask. He's worse."

Jungkook chuckled listening to Lily complain about her boss. V and Lily were both crazy. They both were known as the crazy reaper duo to everyone in hell. They match each other's chaotic energy and loves getting on each other's nerves. Jungkook finds their banters hilarious. Every time they get into a fight Lily talks about his very 'interesting' sense of fashion and he talks about how batshit crazy she is. It's free entertainment. They fight but also make up the next second.

With that, life's been great for Jungkook and Lily. They are having fun. Their love is still stronger than ever. And it keeps increasing everyday, every minute, every second. Jungkook didn't know loving someone this much would be possible. But seems like it is.

"Kook?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you know why I love this mural so much?"

"Why?"

She looked at him and flashed her gorgeous smile that makes Jungkook's heart flutter to this date,"Because it shows you beautiful I am in your eyes. I'm grateful that I'm with someone that finds me this pretty."

Jungkook chuckled,"You are beautiful.

A slight blush crept up on Lily's pale cheeks, tinting it in a pretty rosy hue. She finds it amusing that she still blushes at these small compliments from Jungkook even after all these years. But unlike the first few times, she doesn't even try to hide her blush anymore in front of him. What's the use? He would know, he is her soulmate anyway.

She turned to him,"Let's go home, Kook,"Lily said,"I'm tired."

Jungkook was smiling at her.

Where is their home? It's in hell. Does the placement of the home matter? To Lily it doesn't. In the past few years she has realized that home isn't just a place. It's a person. With that person even the darkest pit of hell is a cozy home.

To her that person is Jungkook.

And it will always be him.

"I'm tired too, Yerim-ah, let's go home."

Lily smiled and held his hand. He also held it tightly. Lily still feels amazed by how nicely their hands fit with the other's.

Lily's life has been nothing but a rollercoaster. Nothing in that life was normal. Nothing about her is normal. Hence she thinks this is the perfect ending for her. In the afterlife, collecting souls, with him by her side. It might be abnormal for everyone else. But to her this is the absolute happy ending for her. Gone were the misery and pain. Only love and happiness surrounds her.

Come to think of it, she and Jungkook did come quite far together. From him being absolutely scared of her, to being forced to make a bond with her, to slowly both of them opening up to each other, slowly but surely falling in love and having a happy ending in the after life.

Does she feel bad that it had to be in the afterlife and not in the real world like everyone else?

No.

Because she is Lily, not anyone else.

And with the person you love the most, even the afterlife can be as pleasant as a walk in a garden filled with your favorite flowers. Even the dark afterlife can be euphoric.

___________________________

A/N:

That's a wrap on 'Closet Monster'! Yay!! ✨✨✨✨

Oh, it was a hell of a ride(😆). I've started writing this book back in July of 2021, published it so late.

This is probably the weirdest book I've ever written in my entire life and that says a lot, because all of my books are weird. Literally everything about this book is...weird? The idea of the book came to me suddenly and I instantly started writing it, leaving all of my 2527020 story drafts and ideas behind. Only God knows if they'll ever see the light of the day. And it wasn't planned to make this book so long, but it became like this somehow. TT.

Thank you so much for reading this book. I'm forever grateful to you for taking the time out of your day to read this book. 💜💜

Let's talk about the characters. In this book...all of the characters are so weird? Lily is probably the most interesting character I've written about. She is so different from me, and all her decisions are so far from the decisions I would've taken but I had fun writing about her anyway! I am happy that she got a happy ending.

Thanks to our extremely talented and unbelievably sweet sis PurpleLightARMY for this amazing cover! She is super talented, guys. Don't take my word for it, see it yourself in her graphic shop. She won't disappoint you!

What book would I write next? I always plan on what book to publish next, start writing it and then publish a different book(intense clown energy). Like I was supposed to write a pjm circus fanfic but wrote 'Robbing the decade between us' instead and instead of writing the webtoon jjk book, I published this. Yeah I know....very organized of me. Anyway...so the plan for now is to write Vampire Academy, the second part to my book 'Angel Academy', with Enhypen as leads. But I also want to write a different book with two people with very different aesthetics meeting...? And I have a lot more ideas written down. I want to stick to the plan and I hope I do so.

By the way if anyone wants to help me pick my next story idea from my plethora of plot summaries that I have written down, please pm me!

Why did I talk so much unnecessarily without asking how you guys are? How are you, guys? Any new drama you're watching? Any new song you're obsessed with? Share it with me, I would love to talk about it.

And that's it for this book. I hope we can meet in my next book!

Lots of love,
Antu💜💜