Kim opened his eyes, expecting to be greeted by the dark walls of the circular room where he finished his battle with the horned demonic bear. But the sight that greeted him was completely different.
He saw himself in a place which he recognized intimately. The place he was in was not something as jaw dropping as the Interstellar walkway, neither was it as intruiging as a different world. No, it was actually quite the opposite.
Kim found himself stood in a living room, the room was just like any other simple and uninteresting living room back on his home planet. It didn't have anything extravagant or especially eye catching. It was just an ordinary living room with a television and home system set, a few ouches and chairs around the room as well, a few portraits and bland pictures were hanged here and there as well as an air conditioner at the right side of the room. It was in every sense of the word, normal.
It was apparently a normal room, yet it couldn't have had a greater impact on Kim. He had an inkling of where this was but still had some doubts, his head turned as he frantically searched for something on the wall at the left side of the room.
His eyeballs moved swiftly as he searched for the one thing that would confirm his inkling. Untill all of a sudden, his eyes stopped and fixed itself onto a single portrait that hung on the walls. It was a potrait.
The portrait had a medium sized frame which seemed like any other normal black frame out there, totally devoid of any intricate designs. But it wasn't the frame which drew his fascinations, no, it was actually the picture inside the frame. It was the picture of a young boy that looked no older than three years old, the boy had black hair and eyes. His skin was fair and filled with youth, the child wore a smile on his face.
'wore' a smile was the best way to put it as his overall expression didn't match the overly wide smile on his face. Although handsome for a child, his facial expression was quite dull and it conflicted the toothy smile that was supposed to show a sort of happiness. The child was obviously bored during the time when the picture was taken. The two unmatching expressions combined to form a very awkward image of a child, but his parents still hung it on the walls as it was the only picture in which they managed to get him smile that entire day.
Kim's eyes widened at the sight as a sudden realization washed over him, as if he had just had an epiphany.
'T-this place...it's my old house. The place where I spent my early childhood...'. he thought. Somehow, he was back in his old home in Seoul. The place where he lived with his mother for the earlier parts of his childhood, before a certain incident separated them.
He felt a little bit of warmth at the sight of his old home but more than even that, he was confused.
'How did I end up back here? Did I transmigrate... No, impossible. Earth was destroyed, there is no way this place is still like this even after all this time'.
He knew for sure that his home would have been destroyed after the apocalypse, but the sight in font of him contradicted that statement.
'rem!' he called out to his assistant. But no reply came back.
'what the.... Rem! Are you there? Answer!'. Kim screamed inwardly. The absence of his assistant only served to raise Kim's confusion, and fear started to creep up.
He kept on internally calling out to his assistant all to no avail.
'shit. What the hell is going on'.
His internal confusion was interuppted by the sound of a kettle that had just finished boiling followed by the prompt exclamation of a young boy:
"Mom! It's done!"
'huh, that voice...uh, no time for that, I have got to hide somewhere'. Kim thought as he frantically searched for a proper hidding place, the living room was quite small so it didn't have many good hiding spots except one corner at the far bottom edge of the room. But just as he was about to run towards it, a young child entered the room through the corridor.
'sh*t'. Kim thought as he froze in place, moving at this point was simply pointless and all he could do was pray that the kid somehow didn't notice a fully grown man in a running posture at the centre of the living room.
'i am air, I am weightless, I have no form, I do not exist'. Kim thought while closing his eyes tightly, praying and hoping for some sort of miracle to happen.
Strangely enough, the kid didn't seem to notice Kim as he just ran right past him and straight to kitchen.
'eh.....it actually worked'. Kim said, his mouth open ever so slightly as his eyes followed the back of the kid that somehow didn't notice him.
'hold on....'. Kim thought as a thought crossed his mind, he needed to confirm something. He looked around the house and noticed a mirror hung on the right side of the room. He quickly walked over to it and looked at himself, or what was supposed to be himself.
There was nothing. Kim looked straight into the mirror, but no reflection stared back at him.
'what! How... Oh no, don't tell me I died and became a ghost doomed to wonder aimlessly in the flow of time for eternity'. Kim coming to this idiotic conclusion was expected, after all he was a big fan of fiction in his old world and he had read all sorts of novels. It was the only way to keep himself entertained, given his peculiar childhood.
While Kim was lost in his delusions, a woman also walked into the room. She looked to be in her mid–to–late twenties, but was still brimming with youth. She was a beautiful woman with gorgeous shoulder long black hair and auburn eyes. Her eyes, nose and lips were carved to perfection, she had a slender build but was endowed with nice assets and had all the right curves in the right places.
She wore dangerously short shorts and a pink crop top making her look quite sexy, she also held a book in her left hand. Kim's eyes were pinned on this woman as he tried to confirm something.
Kim never knew his father, he had only heard stories of him from his mother and although he didn't spend a lot of time with her due to a certain incident, he could still vividly remember all of her features then. He studied the woman who just walked into the room for a few more seconds before it finally dawned on him.
'that woman....she's....' She was Kim's mother, in the flesh. Kim couldn't believe his eyes but who could blame him, he hadn't set his eyes on her for almost ten years now.
Kim's eyes grew waterey and before he knew it, a single tear dropped.
'huh, I am crying....is that even possible for a ghost'. He thought while wiping away his tears.
The woman started walking forward–towards Kim and for a moment there, Kim forgot that she couldn't see him. The woman wore a kind motherly smile as she looked forward prompting Kim to unconsciously stretch out his arms in an attempt to receive the incoming woman, but she just walked right past him and went into the kitchen.
'ah...I forgot that I am a ghost now'. Kim said dejectedly, his voice was quite depressing.
He was drawn out of his inner brooding by the sound of a lively kid. The kid ran out of the kitchen carrying a cup of orange fruit juice, he was followed from behind by his mom who was carrying a cup of tea while still holding the book in her left hand.
Kim recalled that his mother was a beverage fanatic who loved all sorts of beverages, her passion for it led her to opening her own coffee shop which also sold all kinds of tea, the money from which she used to support herself and Kim then.
"Come on mom, your so slow". The kid said as he sat down on the couch and kicked his legs impatiently while waiting for his mother.
"Calm down, I'm coming". The boy's mother replied while chuckling. She sat on the couch, right next to the kid( Kim's younger self). She took a while to get comfortable before taking a sip of her tea then dropping it to hold up a book. Immediately she did this, Kim recalled this moment.
It was the first time Kim had read a proper novel when he was seven years old, and he had read it with his mother. Kim recalled how excited he was then.
It was a mystery novel that had a few touches of fiction here and there, but overall it was a great book and a bestseller at the time it was released.
The books name was Shirley hommes, it depicted the life of a young female detective and her best friend Weston. Shirley, the main character, had a fierce personality. She had acute observation and reasoning skills which allowed her to solve even the strangest of mysteries. The novel was a resounding success and so was the film.
Kim recalled that he had a hard time with some of the words in the book but his mother, being a fellow lover of literature, would always lend him a hand. It was a marvelous experience he had then and the book had remained on his top five list to this day. To Kim, the book just couldn't contend with some of the best fiction novels he'd read.
Kim's eyes shook violently at the sight of him and his mother bonding over one of his favorite books till date. He couldn't interact with them, but he felt happiness at just being able to watch them read together. It warmed his heart.
'i wish it could stay this way forever...' He thought, but reality wasn't so kind as almost immediately afterwards a system message appeared.
*Ding*
[Error has been addressed. You will now be returned to your original timeline!]
'ah'. He said as his body started disappearing.
Slowly, from his legs, Kim's body started turning to dust. He had just experienced his past and was now being returned to his present.
He stretched out his hand again, still holding on to the false hope that someone would come take hold of it. But alas, no one returned his gesture. He proceeded to allow himself silently disappear the thought they would never ever know that he was here lingered in his mind.
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His consciousness returned to him and he was immediately assaulted by the pain of the injuries he had sustained during the earlier battle.
'urgh. What was that?' he thought, but before his question could be answered he felt his body being shook violently. He could hear words that sounded like nonsensical mutterings at first, but as his fous returned he realized that someone was calling his name from the physical world.
"Kim. Kim! Wake up dammit!" The voice shouted followed with violent shaking of the former's body.
'who?' Kim thought as he slowly opened his eyes.
"Holy sh*t!" He exclaimed as the sight startled him. Instead of being greeted by the dark walls of the circular room, he opened his eyes to meet his senior–Lucas, just a few inches away from his face.
"Aha! Your finally awake!".
"Huh, Lucas? What, how did you get in here?"
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