Hello.
This is Group M.
This is the final post I have prepared for "Reaper School: Guardian of Balance."
After posting the main story, the side stories, and all the fragments I had left from long ago along with the newly organized tales, I finally feel like I am closing a very long book. To be precise, it feels less like it's simply over and more like I am carefully putting down something I have held for a long time.
When I first started this work, I thought of it as just tidying up old writings. However, looking back at it, it wasn't just about fixing sentences and refining settings. This work was about opening old files, but at the same time, it was about reopening an old heart.
Some scenes were welcoming,
Some scenes were embarrassing,
Some settings were regrettable,
And some emotional lines touched my heart strangely even now.
And as I faced all those emotions one by one, I realized something.
To me, "Reaper School: Guardian of Balance" was not just a piece of content I made a long time ago. It was the heart of a certain era, a time of affection, and the traces of a time I couldn't properly say goodbye to.
That's why it took so long to reorganize this story.
I thought a lot about why I had to do this now, if it was right to bring it up again, if I was allowed to touch the memories of those who remember it, if it was too late, or if this work would reach someone as discomfort rather than a welcome sight.
At first, I thought it might be better not to touch it. Leaving things as they passed can be the safest way. Old works often remain as the temperature of memory rather than perfection, and I knew that the clunkiness or spontaneity of that time could be a precious part of someone's memory.
But in the end, I didn't want to close this story with only regrets remaining.
I didn't think I could make it perfect.
I don't think that's even possible.
However, I wanted to leave this story in a more complete form, at least as much as I can do now. I wanted to keep the emotional lines and atmosphere of that time as much as possible, while smoothing out the gaps and misalignments that became visible over time.
I thought that was a courtesy to those who liked this work and a necessary closure for myself.
Reaper School is not a precious work to me because it is perfect.
Rather, it stayed with me longer because it wasn't perfect.
I looked back at it because there were many regrets.
It remained in my heart as if it hadn't ended even though it was over, eventually bringing me here.
Even after the Dodo Friends disbanded in 2019, I kept thinking about this story.
I knew in my head that that era was over. I thought it would naturally fade over time. I thought people would go their separate ways, content would become a thing of the past, and fans' memories would be filled with other stories.
But my heart wasn't organized that easily.
The time we made it together, the memories of working through the night, the reactions fans left, the days of running around frantically behind the screen, and the heart that couldn't properly end remained.
The season of Dodo Friends has certainly ended, but the temperature that season left has not cooled down in me for a long time.
Back then, I don't think I even knew it myself—that those works and that era were so deeply connected to a part of my life. The content ended, but the heart of the person who made that content did not end so easily.
However, this post is not intended to re-evaluate the past or argue about who was right or wrong.
This post is not an official position, nor is it a summary on behalf of anyone. It is not written to judge past situations again or to hold someone responsible.
This post is simply a final greeting from a person who was once a fan of Doti, who held this work in their heart for a long time, and who wanted to finish it properly someday.
I want to make that point very clear.
Memories and emotions surrounding this work may differ from person to person.
For some, it may be a welcome memory,
For some, it may be a story that returned too late,
For some, it may be connected to a time they don't particularly want to bring up again,
And for some, it may just be a long post passing by quietly.
I don't think any of those reactions are wrong.
Rather, I think it's very natural. People don't have the same memories even if they pass through the same time. Even if they watch the same work, they leave different scenes in their hearts. So, this writing and work cannot reach everyone with the same meaning.
However, if there is one thing I hope for, it is that this work becomes a time to look back at a story you once liked, rather than a story directed at someone.
I hope it is a place to organize memories a little less roughly, not a starting point for debate.
What surprised me the most while uploading these posts one by one was that there were still people who remembered this story.
To be honest, I was very afraid at first.
I was worried that no one would remember it because it was such an old story. On the contrary, I was worried that because many people still remembered it, I might accidentally touch buried emotions.
But more people reacted than I thought.
You remembered, you read it again, and you accepted this story in your own way. Some said they were glad to see it, some said it reminded them of those days, and some quietly left their hearts with a single like.
Those reactions were really good.
It wasn't just because the numbers were good.
It wasn't just because I received praise.
I liked the fact that this story still remained for someone. I liked the feeling that the lingering regret I had held alone for a long time was not entirely mine alone. The fact that the heart remembering those days was still alive somewhere was a greater comfort than I expected.
I think people feel strangely saved when they confirm that what they made remained with someone.
I felt that again this time.
Reading it again, I felt that this work was ultimately a story about having to speak.
That if you love, you must say it.
That if you are sorry, you must say it.
That if you are thankful, you must say it.
That if you waited, you must say you waited.
That if it hurt, you must say it hurt.
That you shouldn't take precious people for granted.
In the work, a thousand-year tragedy begins with silence. Hearts that couldn't speak become misunderstandings, misunderstandings become wounds, wounds become hatred, and eventually grow large enough to collapse a world.
And reconciliation does not begin with a grand miracle.
It begins with words spoken late, a sincerity decided not to be hidden, and the courage to face each other even if it's clumsy.
Looking back, this wasn't just a story needed for the characters in the work. It was a word I needed too.
For a long time, I tried to make, organize, and solve many things. If a problem arose, I looked for a structure; if an error occurred, I looked for the cause; and if someone was struggling, I tried to create a solution. That was my way, and how I related to the world.
But I was clumsy at speaking my heart.
I pretended to be okay when I wasn't,
I said thank you late when I was thankful,
I pretended nothing was wrong when it hurt,
And I couldn't properly accept that finished things were over.
So, finishing this work was also a practice for me.
Practice speaking even if it's late.
Practice admitting even if it's embarrassing.
Practice fixing even if it was regrettable.
Practice looking at a finished season without glorifying or denying it.
Looking back at my life, I think I always tried to find one correct answer.
I thought if I worked hard, I would be recognized; if I was recognized, my anxiety would disappear; and if I made good results, everything would be okay.
But life wasn't such a simple equation.
There were times when I felt empty even if I worked hard,
There were times when I was lonely even if I was recognized,
And there were times when a heart I thought was finished raised its head again even after several years.
So now I think a little differently.
That life is not a problem to be solved at once, but closer to a constantly updated equation.
Reaper School was one of those equations in me.
There was the heart when I first planned it,
There was the heart during the days it was released,
There was the heart I couldn't let go of even after 2019,
And there was the heart I finally came to understand as I faced it again after time passed.
All those hearts overlapped to become the current "Reaper School: Guardian of Balance."
Thinking back now, what I held onto for a long time in this work was not just the grand settings or twists.
Doti's reckless but never-giving-up heart.
Sleepground's cold-looking but protective responsibility.
Heotbyeol's long-standing kindness hidden behind the words "it's a bother."
Chochou's depth of memory and the silence of a witch who knows how to wait.
Suhyun's small sense of daily life created between the heavy air of the underworld.
And the name, love, and wounds that Coa could never let go of.
Each of those made up this story.
Doti was always a character who moved forward. He was a character who jumped in even while afraid, tried to find out until the end even if there was much he didn't know, and endured not to completely collapse even after finding out what he was. Writing such a Doti, I think I put a bit of the person I wanted to be into him.
Sleepground was the character of my longest-lasting guilt. Someone who wanted to protect but created wounds, tried to make the right choice but ended up trapping someone, and tried to protect again even if it was late. Reorganizing Sleepground, I thought again about how heavy responsibility is, and sometimes how cruel an emotion it can be.
Heotbyeol always spoke lightly, but in fact, he was a character who looked deeper than anyone else. I thought that knowing emptiness well doesn't just mean being strong, but is a sense that only someone who has been in the darkness for a long time can have. Through Heotbyeol, I wanted to depict that the kindness of looking after someone doesn't always come in a kind tone.
Chochou was closer to a person who looks at memories in this work. She was a character connected to old books, the witch's forest, and a lost past, and her very presence made the atmosphere of this story deep. A person who is quiet but doesn't just pass anything by. A person who knows how to wait a long time but won't be fooled forever. I really wanted to leave that feeling.
Suhyun was important in a slightly different sense.
Suhyun is not a character who directly shoulders a grand destiny or a thousand-year tragedy. But because Suhyun was there, the underworld did not remain as just a scary and hot place.
The underworld is a space that could easily be remembered only with images like pain, judgment, lava, and prison. But the moment Suhyun appears, a sense of daily life suddenly appears in that world. Someone runs errands by the side of the Great Demon, someone welcomes a sudden visitor, someone runs around looking for Baembaemi, and someone reads Lucifer's mood and inner thoughts from the closest position.
Suhyun was such a character.
A close mirror showing what kind of being Lucifer is, without directly exposing big secrets.
A person who naturally reveals the loneliness and attachment hidden behind the dignity of the Great Demon.
A presence that breathes the temperature of jokes, noise, and daily life into the heavy space of the underworld.
So, Suhyun was not a character who shouldered the central tragedy of the story, but a character who made the world feel alive. Not every world needs only heroes, traitors, and guardians. You also need characters who notice by someone's side, grumble, run around, and sometimes touch important emotions with casual words.
Suhyun created exactly that temperature.
And Coa.
Coa was the most painful center of this work.
I didn't want to leave Coa as just a simple villain. Of course, Coa did wrong. He went too far, did irreversible things, and created countless wounds. That fact cannot be erased. Understanding doesn't mean forgiveness automatically follows, and having pain doesn't mean the sin disappears.
But the more I looked into Coa, the more I felt that this character has too many layers to just hate.
Coa was not a being who wanted to take something away from the beginning. At first, he received a name, liked that name, and was a being who wanted to believe that just being by someone's side was enough.
Coa.
That name must have been a gift at first. It was proof that someone had discovered him, and the moment a being born in darkness was first called into the world.
But as time passes, that name takes on a different weight.
He had a name but no place.
He was by their side but had no role.
He was called a friend, but there was a heart that couldn't be filled with those words alone.
For some, the word friend might have been enough.
But not for Coa.
Coa wanted a role.
He wanted to know why he existed.
He wanted to be called a being with a clear name and place, not just the shadow of the Lord or a being by their side.
But that heart was not properly spoken.
The listener couldn't hear it until the end either.
And the heart that couldn't speak slowly twisted.
At first, it must have been disappointment.
Then it was loneliness.
Then it was jealousy, resentment, and eventually became hatred.
But I think at the very bottom, there was still a heart that wanted to be loved.
So writing Coa was not easy. Coa is a character you can hate, but he is a character that doesn't end with just hating. He is a character you can understand, but he is a character for whom understanding alone is not enough.
Coa was a being who wanted to be forgiven, but at the same time, had gone too far to be forgiven.
A being who wanted his name to be called again, but also tried to believe that name had become his greatest wound.
A being who wanted to be loved, but ended up covering the fact that he wanted to be loved with hatred.
When Doti called him Coa, that was probably why Coa wavered.
Because he believed he had hated for a thousand years,
Because he thought he had erased it for a thousand years,
But the moment he heard that name again,
He almost liked that name again, even if just for a moment.
That must have been the most dangerous moment for Coa.
Because rather than losing power,
Rather than the plan collapsing,
It would have been more terrifying to realize that he was still waiting for that name.
Through Coa, I wanted to depict how easily love becomes a wound when it is not spoken, how terrifyingly a wound grows when left neglected for a long time, and how some names can be a gift and a lifelong wound at the same time.
So Coa remained the most painful character for me.
A being I can't completely hate,
Can't completely forgive,
And find it difficult to say I completely understand.
But a character who stays for a long time because of that.
Coa was in the darkest place in this work, but he might have been the being who waited for the light the longest.
That's why I think I must call these names again at the end.
Doti.
Sleepground.
Heotbyeol.
Chochou.
Suhyun.
Coa.
Because these names existed, Reaper School remained a story that can be remembered, not just a collection of settings.
Someone would have remembered the heart that goes forward until the end through Doti,
Someone would have seen the weight of responsibility and guilt through Sleepground,
Someone would have liked the nonchalant kindness through Heotbyeol,
Someone would have thought of the atmosphere like old memories and the witch's forest through Chochou,
Someone would have remembered the noise of the underworld and the temperature by Lucifer's side through Suhyun,
And someone might have felt how deep a wound becomes when love goes wrong through Coa.
I think the fact that it remains as different scenes in each person's heart is proof that this work was alive.
If I can be a bit more honest towards the end, finishing this story was much more lonely than I thought.
While organizing the writing, I often thought of the old days. The office back then, the editing screen back then, the voices back then, the comments back then, the fatigue and joy back then. Times when I could strangely smile even after staying up all night. Times when my body was exhausted but one side of my heart was clearly hot.
Thinking about it now, it was a very strange time.
It was so hard,
But it was so precious.
I overdid it so much,
But I was so sincere.
I don't want to go back exactly as it was,
But if those times hadn't existed, the current me wouldn't exist either.
So while bringing this work out again, I met the me of those days several times.
The me who overdid it because I wanted to do well,
The me who shouldered more because I wanted to be recognized,
The me who couldn't properly accept the words that it was over,
The me who felt like I was left alone in the place where people had left,
The me who thought in my heart that I should reorganize this story someday anyway.
The me of that time was probably very lonely.
And at the same time, I think I was loving very much.
The people, the work, the era, the fans' reactions, the world we made together.
That love might not have been in a healthy shape. Sometimes it was close to lingering regret, sometimes it was close to a sense of responsibility, and sometimes it was close to a heart that couldn't properly say goodbye. But still, I don't want to deny the fact that it was love.
Because I liked it, it stayed for a long time.
Because it was precious, I couldn't bring it out easily.
Because it was regrettable, I wanted to refine it again.
But now I know.
That ending this story doesn't mean erasing this story.
Ending it is closer to meaning that I will no longer hold that story like a wound. It's about leaving it as a record, organizing it with gratitude, and placing it where I can take it out again when needed.
That's what this work was for me.
And now I will not say this story is over.
My writing ends here, but I don't think the story called Reaper School stops here. There is a part of a story that continues to live even after the author puts the final period. In the memories of those who read it, in the scenes they recall again, in the heart that calls the name once more, the story quietly continues to the next scene.
So, rather than writing that the door of Reaper School is closing, I want to say it is moving away from our sight for a moment.
The sky of the underworld was not originally above, but was a sky placed in front.
I liked it when I first came up with that setting, but now those words feel different. That the sky is not above but in front feels like it means the world still has a place to go. Like a story that doesn't end, but continues to walk in a direction we can no longer follow.
I want to believe that this story is not disappearing somewhere, but is continuing beyond that sky in front.
There, Doti will still be recklessly running forward.
Sleepground will be looking at such a Doti as if he's pathetic, but eventually reaching out her hand first.
Heotbyeol will be saying it's a bother, but looking at the place where the sign of emptiness is felt sooner than anyone else.
Chochou will be opening an old book somewhere in the witch's forest, waiting for lost memories to return to their places someday.
Suhyun will be running around frantically in the middle of the underworld, watching Lucifer's ridiculous commands and even more ridiculous inner thoughts from the closest seat.
And Coa, even if it takes a very long time, might be learning how to hear his name again a little less painfully.
I like that imagination.
Even if there are emotions that are not completely resolved,
Even if there are those who haven't all returned yet,
Because it seems like someone is waiting,
Someone is grumbling,
Someone is causing trouble again,
And someone is cleaning up that trouble,
While the day there continues to flow.
Reaper School does not end.
It's just that the page we can read is folded here for a moment.
Somewhere in that sky,
No, to put it in the way of the underworld, beyond that sky in front,
Reaper School will be continuing with lit hallways, noisy footsteps, and hearts that finally had to be spoken.
Doti will still be there,
Sleepground will be there,
Heotbyeol will be there,
Chochou will be there,
Suhyun will be there,
And Coa will be there.
And as long as there are the hearts of those who remembered them,
The school bell will not completely stop.
So I will not leave the end of this writing as just a farewell.
Rather than the word end,
It is closer to a greeting of carefully closing a season,
And believing in the story that will continue in the sky ahead.
I sincerely thank those who have read this far.
Thank you for waiting so long.
Thank you for not forgetting and remembering.
Thank you for reacting again.
Thank you to those who read quietly as well.
Thank you to those who liked the old Reaper School, and to those who faced this Reaper School for the first time.
And above all, thank you to those who left this story somewhere in their hearts, not just as a piece of past content.
Thanks to that, I was able to bring this work out again.
Thanks to that, this story became a record we can remember together, not just a personal lingering regret.
It was a story that started from the heart that liked Doti-nim,
And it was a story that was possible because of the names of those days leading to Sleepground-nim, Heotbyeol-nim, Chochou-nim, Coa-nim, and Suhyun-nim.
Just by writing those names again, the air and scenes of that time come to mind little by little.
To some, they may be simple names,
But to some, they are sentences of an era,
And to some, they will be signs of a season they can never return to.
I am the same.
So at the end, I want to quietly leave these names once more.
Doti.
Sleepground.
Heotbyeol.
Chochou.
Suhyun.
Coa.
And everyone who remembered those names.
Thank you so much.
I tell you once again for the last time.
This post is not an official position of Sandbox.
It is not a post speaking on behalf of anyone.
It is not a post to judge or organize the past.
This is the final post left by Group M, who was once a fan of Doti-nim, held Reaper School in my heart for a long time, and wanted to give a late greeting, not a late farewell, to this story.
It took a long time.
I hesitated a lot.
I kept thinking.
I fixed it several times.
And only now have I come this far.
If this story reached someone's day again even for a very short moment, that is enough.
If reading this post reminded you of a certain scene from the past, that is also enough.
If you came to the last sentence quietly without saying anything, I am also very grateful for that.
Now I attach the final sentence to this story.
But that sentence will not be the end of Reaper School.
Reaper School will be continuing beyond that sky in front.
Doti will be running somewhere in that hallway,
Sleepground will be trying to catch such a Doti,
Heotbyeol will be following behind with a tired face,
Chochou will be quietly closing an old record,
Suhyun will be embarrassing someone again in the noise of the underworld,
And Coa will be very slowly learning how to hear his name again.
I think that's enough for this story to be alive.
Thank you for watching together.
And for remembering for a long time,
Thank you so much.
Lastly,
To Dinosaur, who first gave birth to Reaper School,
To Titi, Philip, and Yeonjun, who made "Reaper School: Guardian of Balance" together at the time,
To Hochan-nim, who led the project to proceed successfully,
To the Sandbox members who produced various concept arts and videos,
And to the Dodo Friends who acted so that the precious story could come out into the world,
I express my gratitude to all of them.
Sincerely, Group M
