Seoul, Gangnam.
December 19, 2030, 15:03 pm
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."
The sound of the helicopter's rotor blades echoed from the TV as a female Korean reporter, reported the news.
"This just in, a huge wormhole appeared in the sky above the Pacific Ocean. We don't know how it came to be, but scientists believe it to be a wormhole leading to an entirely different universe from our own."
The female reporter paused, as she pressed a finger against her earpiece, seeming to have been told something, she then looked back to the camera and started speaking again.
"We're getting reports that the UN has decided to send a fighter drone to investigate the wormhole."
As the female reporter's voice sounded out, the camera swerves around to show the scene.
In the middle of the sky, a pitch-black hole several hundred meters wide could be seen. Even from miles away, it still looked enormous.
As the camera zoomed in closer, a somewhat blurry image of what was happening appeared on the tv screen.
Around the wormhole, several helicopters and fighter jets were hovering in the air. From one of the larger helicopters, an object was dropped from it. Before it could fall further down, it transformed into a miniature fighter drone with wings and shot towards the wormhole at high speed.
Before long, it reached the large wormhole and without pausing entered.
Silence ensued.
Everyone seemed to be waiting for something to happen, but as the minute's tick by, until half an hour, nothing had changed. The huge wormhole was still unresponsive and it looked no different from before.
"Ladies and gentlemen, our viewers, today on December 19, 2030 something monumental has happened. Whether it signifies something good or bad for our planet, we do not know, however, I trust that like many of our crises throughout our history, we will prevail. We will give you further updates if anything changes, but for now, this is Lee Hee-Young for South Korea's International New, signing out."
With that, the camera cut to the news station where a male reporter was giving behind-the-scenes information on the current situation.
"Hyung, what's going to happen, do you think mom will be fine?"
On a couch in front of the television, sat two brothers. The younger of the two was eleven years old Lee Min-su, he had his knees tucked under his chin as he watched the TV. Beside him on his left was his older brother, Lee Young-soo, who was sixteen years old.
Patting his brother on the head he said, "Don't worry too much, if anything happens I'm sure mom would be safe."
"Hmm" replied Min-su.
Seeing that his brother still had a dejected look on his face, Young-soo stood up said, "Why don't we go get some yogurt at the convenience store."
Min-su looked up at his brother and said with a smile, "I want the strawberry flavor."
"Okay let's go, and wear gloves along with your coat, it's snowing outside."
On the streets of Gangnam, vehicles could be seen go back and forth on the roads, while pedestrians walked along the sidewalk, most of them with their heads lowered on their phones watching the news.
Young-soo and Min-su came out of their two-story home and headed for the convenience store nearby. Their breaths came out in white puffs as they walked in the snowy weather. Christmas decorations could be seen on several buildings they passed.
Reaching the convenience store they bought their yogurt and started heading back home.
Along the way Min-su was seen happily eating his strawberry flavored yogurt, when a middle-aged man in a suit and tie, bumped into him, causing his happiness to be cut short.
"Ahh! My Yogurt!! This bastard why don't you look where you're going!!" The little Min-su swerve around yelled at the man.
Slapping his brother on the head, Young-soo reprimand, "How many times do have to tell you to mind your manners. Is that any way to speak to an adult?"
Turning away from his sulking brother, he apologized to the man in the suit and tie, "I'm sorry sir for my little brother's words. He…" Young-soo's apology trailed off as he realized the man was still walking away with his head lowered looking at his phone.
Suddenly, a loud crash that sounded like glass being broken could be heard followed by shrill screams and shouting.
Young-soo and Min-su turned back around to see people running around the streets, screaming with fear written on their faces.
The TV store that was further down the street was broken into, along with several other stores. Everything was happening so suddenly the two brothers didn't know what was going on.
A man who was in nothing but his underwear ran past them while screaming.
"The world is ending!! The world is ending!! The world is ending!!"
"Hyung what's happening?" Min-su grabs onto his brother's arm while watching the chaos happening around him.
Before Young-soo could respond, a large earthquake suddenly occur, causing most of the surrounding buildings to collapse. The earthquake lasted a full minute before it stopped.
Getting up off the ground, Young-soo pulled his brother's hand as he started running for their house. Min-su didn't resist and allowed his brother to pull him along.
Reaching the partly damaged TV store the brothers paused.
On one of the still working televisions, they saw the news being reported.
"This is Lee Hee-Young reporting again. An hour after the UN sent a drone into the wormhole, it suddenly started releasing a yellow gaseous fume. The earthquake which occurred just now was felt all around the globe. It was caused by the wormhole expanding to twice its size." As she spoke the camera began showing what was happening.
The wormhole that was now twice as big was releasing yellow gas which was spreading.
The helicopters and fighter jets that were station around it were backing away from the gas, but the speed at which the gas was spreading was extremely fast and soon engulfed them. After a few moments, the helicopters and fighter jets could be seen falling from the sky.
Following that, more yellow gas suddenly spurted out of the wormhole causing it to spread even faster.
"Shit!! everybody hold on, I'm going back up at full speed."
The faint voice of the helicopter's pilot could be heard entering the female reporter's mic. After that, the camera began to shake wildly while it showed the yellow gas coming closer to their helicopter from miles away.
"Mom!!"
Min-su shouted as he watched with tears in his eyes, the gas coming closer and closer to the helicopter.
With only a few seconds after the yellow gas began to speed up, it had already crossed over half the distance between it and the helicopter.
"Park Myung-ho, turn the camera to me."
The voice of the female reporter sounded on the Television.
Soon after, the camera turned to the interior of the helicopter, showing the face of the female reporter that had similar features as Young-soo and Min-su.
With the camera on her, she raised the mic to her lips and started speaking.
"Young-soo, if you're watching this with Min-su, I want you to cover his eyes. Don't let him see this."
Young-soo who was by his brother's side raised his left hand and covered his eyes.
"No!" Min-su protested and tried to remove his brother's hand, but it stayed firm over his eyes.
Young-soo was watching his mother on the television screen with slightly red eyes, while biting his bottom lip so hard a few droplets of blood fell to the ground.
"I want the both of you to know that I love you with all my heart and that I'm sorry I won't be able to see the two of you go off to college and get married someday." Tears started to fall from her eyes as she spoke her next words.
"Young-soo, I want you to protect Min-su when I'm gone, and...Crash!!"
With a violent jerk, the yellow gas engulfed the helicopter causing the cameraman to drop the camera cutting off the transmission.
Min-su's whimper cries could be heard as he turn and buried his head in Young-soo's coat.
Whipping the tears from eyes, Young-soo said, "Min-su we have to hurry back home, let's go."
After saying that he grabbed Min-su's arm and started running back to their house again.
Along the snow-covered streets, people could be seen running around in panic, while some were calling for loved ones that had been in the collapsing buildings.
Young-soo ignored all this and ran with Min-su in tow, determined to follow his mother's last words to protect his brother. But sometimes, life can be nothing more than a tragedy.
Young-soo and Min-su had already reached a couple of meters away from their home when the sound of a truck blowing its horn echoed behind them. The truck driver had to swerve out the way of an oncoming car, avoiding an accident. However, that swerve took him straight towards the two brothers on the roadside.
With horn blasting, Young-soo watched as the truck headed straight for him and Min-su. Without much time to think, he grabbed Min-su's shoulder and positioned himself between him and the oncoming truck.
Just when the truck seemed like it was about to hit the two brother's something strange happened.
The incoming truck crashed into an invisible wall six meters away from Young-soo's back.
Young-soo had his eyes closed waiting for the inevitable, but to his surprise, only a loud crash sounded behind him. Opening his eyes he turned to see what had caused the truck to stopped before he sighed in relief.
He didn't know what just happened, but he was thankful nothing bad had occurred.
"Hyung?" Min-su who was holding onto Young-soo's coat called for his brother.
Young-soo realized he was holding his brother too hard, so he relaxed his grip.
"Sorry, are you okay?"
Min-su nodded his head in response.
"Alright let's go, our house is ju…."
Before Young-soo could finish his sentence, a black wormhole suddenly opened up where the invisible wall had stopped the truck, and a powerful suction force then began to emit from it pulling Young-soo towards it.
Min-su who holding onto him was pulled along with him, causing the both of them to head for the pitch-black hole that seemed to contain the abyss.
Realizing his little brother was being pulled along with him, Young-soo used one of his hands to slapped away Min-su's grip on his coat and used the other to push him towards a metal street light that was close by.
"Grab onto it!!"
Young-soo shouted at his brother as he made the push.
Grabbing onto the metal pole firmly, Min-su watched helplessly as his brother headed for the wormhole.
"Hyung!!"
Min-su shouted in a tragic tone.
Seeing that his brother was safe, Young-soo sigh in his heart as the wormhole swallowed him up. Thoughts of not being able to accomplish his mother's last request of protecting Min-su flitted across his mind as his vision went dark.
After the wormhole swallowed Young-soo, it seemed like a monster that just had its fill, as the suction force slowed down, before stopping.
Letting out noise, that seemed like a burp of satisfaction, a yellow gas similar to the one before came out and engulf the surroundings.
Min-su had just lost his mother and now his brother, he didn't even register when the yellow gas started to surround him, he was just crying nonstop. Soon after, he started to feel faint, before he lost consciousness.
Laying face down on the sidewalk, Min-su's black hair slowly started to turn a fiery red.
Within his blood, the yellow gas began to change his entire body on a molecular level. After a few minutes, his body's cells 'evolved' into something extremely different from a human's.
And at the same time, the snow beneath him started to melt due to the extreme heat his body suddenly started to produce.