By Zephyria An earthquake split the ground, and power lines sparked and snapped.
In the blink of an eye, it became a scene of chaos.
“Kyaaaa!”
“Uwaaa!”
“Get out of the way, get out of the way!”
People’s screams rose from all directions. It was on a level that couldn’t be compared to just a moment ago.
A hell was being drawn where people were entangled, trampled, and pushed, each seeking their own way to survive.
Among them was the man who had cursed Ahn Seo-myeong.
“S-s-s-save me!”
He was barely clinging to the edge of a split crack.
“Isn’t there anyone?! Heeik!”
The man’s fingertips trembled. He looked down with a pale face, screamed, and cried out again to be saved.
His eyes were crushed by fear. His hand, barely stretched out, scratched at the air. But no one paid attention to him. Even the people who had protested with him turned their backs to save themselves.
The only one standing close was Ahn Seo-myeong.
A look of resignation crossed the man’s eyes.
There’s no way that guy would reach out his hand. That was the expression of certainty.
It was at that very moment.
“Can you reach out your hand?”
A neat voice that defeated despair was heard.
The man lifted his face as if he couldn’t believe it.
Ahn Seo-myeong was approaching him, supporting himself on the tilted ground. Stumbling! He was risking himself, as if he himself would slip at any moment.
“Y-you…”
“If you have time to talk, hurry up and grab on.”
A distance that seemed to reach, but didn’t.
Even if they stretched out their arms with all their might, it was precarious.
“Ugh!”
“Just, a little, more…!”
Just as the tips of their fingers were about to touch, the ground vibrated greatly.
Rumble! Thud!
The man’s gaze fell downwards.
A black pit with no end in sight.
Death.
“Heoeok, heok…!”
At that moment, the most primal desire of humans burst out. Survival. He screamed and grabbed Ahn Seo-myeong’s hand, pulling with all his might. In an instant, the positions of the two were reversed.
The man rose to the top, and Ahn Seo-myeong fell into the abyss instead.
It was truly a moment.
“Seo-myeong-ah!”
Someone shouted, but the man ran away.
However, it was not calculation or malice.
It was the instinct to live.
The most basic desire that everyone is born with, which cannot be helped even if it is condemned as selfishness.
Meanwhile, Ahn Seo-myeong, who was rolling down instead of the man, burst out laughing in vain and looked up at the Fatal Spirit. The monster was wailing as if spewing out evil.
‘Is that the last thing I’m going to hear?’
People say they see a panorama of their life before they die, but for some reason, only two scenes flashed through his head. A small room with good sunlight, the back of his grandmother’s hand patting his stomach. And Ki Jae-eon’s profile, smiling with his eyes half-lowered.
Loved ones.
‘Grandma… if I’m not there, you’ll cry.’
Regret washes over him for not having treated her better.
Then, suddenly, the thought crossed his mind, what would happen to Jae-eon if he died like this?
If I’m not there, who will be next to Ki Jae-eon? That question pierced his brain.
Feeding Ki Jae-eon food with an ‘aah-’ sound, lying next to each other and sharing passionate kisses, whispering ‘I love you’… What kind of bastard.
‘Absolutely not.’
His fading consciousness became as clear as a knife.
No way.
I’m going to live.
I have to live!
I will definitely survive!
There are still so many things I haven’t done yet.
Damn it, I haven’t even done day 1 yet!
I have to send Jae-eon and Tutu!
The will to live blazed fiercely.
It was then.
His falling body stopped with a clear ‘cling’ sound.
Not only that, but even the concrete debris was frozen in the air as if nailed in place. It was as if time itself had frozen completely.
‘What… what is this?’
What was even more surprising was what happened next.
In that silence where even a speck of dust had stopped, strangely, only Ahn Seo-myeong could move his body little by little. As if only he was allowed time.
A miracle?
‘No, who cares!’
What’s important now is not the reason, but to seize this opportunity.
Let’s live first.
“Ugh!”
Ahn Seo-myeong barely grabbed a protruding piece of rock. His palm was torn on the sharp edge.
A throbbing pain.
Blood spreading red.
It was as if the world was saying that it was not yet time to die.
Ahn Seo-myeong smiled wryly, sweating coldly.
I’m pretty tenacious, you know?
“I’m going to go on a date, with Jae-eon…!”
Even if you dilute it again and again, it’s still ‘black.’
How much resentment must have accumulated to be so poisonous and dark?
Ki Jae-eon slowly closed and opened his eyes.
Cold, humid breath stagnates at the end of his lungs.
A world where front and back, top and bottom cannot be distinguished.
A place where only darkness exists.
This was the inside of the Fatal Spirit.
A body floating blankly, time that cannot be measured.
In the slimy sensation, a day felt like ten days, and ten days felt like a day.
Honestly, he was steadfast for the first few days.
But soon, his heart wavered like a candle flame in the wind. Was he doing well? From doubts about that to anxieties about being forgotten in people’s memories.
He soothed himself by saying that he wasn’t fighting alone, but at some point, a terrible loneliness began to shake his patience.
And the negativity didn’t miss that small gap.
Die with us, deny God, resent the world!
Beings that clung to him tenaciously to drag Ki Jae-eon into the darkness.
Malice weighed down on his shoulders.
‘My senses are numb.’
But every time that happened, Ki Jae-eon remembered.
Family, friends.
And Ahn Seo-myeong.
Was it thanks to not giving up?
Every time he strengthened his will, he faintly felt the wishes of someone unknown.
‘Don’t give up.’
‘You have to go back.’
‘Remember.’
‘I’m waiting.’
‘It probably won’t reach, but….’
Jae-eon-ah, Jae-eon-ssi, Ki Jae-eon!
The sound of calling his name.
Persistence that continued even knowing it was useless.
A desperate desire not to let go of him.
Absolute support for one person.
Those things kept him from losing his way in the long darkness.
They didn’t know, but their prayers had protected Ki Jae-eon from the path of corruption.
‘I’m not, alone.’
Ki Jae-eon took a breath and washed away the remnants of negativity one by one. And he recited a spell.
It wasn’t anything grand.
Eating a warm meal together with everyone.
Picking up trash in the neighborhood together.
Arguing over who would enter the hot tub first.
Exchanging awkward but affectionate greetings.
[Daily Life]
Yes, Ki Jae-eon was fighting for the ‘boring days’ that people often talked about.
He came all the way here to protect that.
That’s right. He had a place to return to.
‘I want to experience more of the world.’
‘There are things I want to eat.’
‘There are many people I want to see.’
As he harbored hope, the darkness around him gradually cleared.
“Hey, do you know that?”
He smiled brightly at the negativity that was slowly approaching.
“The most difficult thing is actually being ordinary.”
He was going to try to accomplish that difficult thing now.
Under Ki Jae-eon’s call, the numerous wills and blessings intertwined with Spiritual Blessing were aligned into a single stream.
“……-.”
Darkness is not something to be cut off.
It’s something to be gently embraced and unraveled.
“Let’s end this tiresome relationship now.”
As Ki Jae-eon’s fingertips brushed the air, a line containing light was drawn.
“This is the last time.”
The Fatal Spirit’s scream began to fill the interior.
“Let’s both go to the places we need to go.”
“Kyaaak, Seo-myeong-ah!”
“Seo-myeong fell down below!”
The children rushed over urgently. In front of their eyes was only a long, tunnel-like darkness where not a single ray of light seeped in. Lee Gyeong-hak grabbed the man who was running away in the distance by the collar and dragged him over.
“If anything happens to Seo-myeong, I’ll kill you!”
The man was already in a panic. Tears streamed down his face.
“Heeuh! I didn’t do it on purpose! I just wanted to live!”
“Is that what you have to say now!”
His fist was about to be raised.
Kim Ju-won suddenly appeared and grabbed the man’s chin, snapping it sharply. Even when he heard a ‘keok’ sound, he didn’t stop.
“If, just if.”
His voice was calm, but his ominous eyes were not human.
“If I can’t find my brother like this, I’m going to kill you.”
“Heeuh, heeik…!”
He didn’t say anything more.
Because there was something he had to prioritize over getting angry or knocking that man down.
“You guys, evacuate!”
“Ju-won hyung!”
“Just go! That’s enough!”
As Kim Ju-won tried to throw himself into the hole without hesitation, the children all rushed in and grabbed his waist and arms.
“No way!”
“Let go! Go first!”
“What are you going to do down there, hyung!”
“There’s no time! Let go!”
Kim Ju-won struggled, shouting, but the hands clung tightly and wouldn’t let go.
“Absolutely not!”
“We’re worried about Seo-myeong too! But we can’t lose you too, oppa!”
“It’s reckless!”
It was then, amidst the commotion.
The ground cracked mercilessly again.