"You're going to die"
Those words stung Hyung. He was left stunned for words. Mirai looked at him with seriousness. "I'm going to die?" Hyung questioned, repeating the words that Mirai had said to him. "What about Sonyeo?" he asked. "I didn't see him. Let's not assume anything yet" Mirai replied. Hyung looked at the prophet and gave a reassuring smile. "I guess it's already done" he said with a pained voice. "Hyung, you don't have to...…" Mirai stopped when he saw Hyung's face. It was the face of a man who had accepted his fate. It was the face of a person who had steeled his resolve. Hyung Danmyeong's time had started ticking to its end.
"C'mon, let's forget about it, okay?" Hyung said and walked outside. Mirai followed him. They walked for a long time in silence. They traversed the destroyed roads and the flickering streetlamps. Mirai looked at Hyung who was going straight ahead without looking at his surroundings. Mirai finally spoke to clear the air. "Hyung, where are we going?" he asked but Hyung kept walking ahead in silence. They travelled till they reached a large wall that blocked them to going to another part of the world and stopped their advance. Hyung stopped and touched the bricks that were used to make the structure. He felt the hardness of the materials; the heat that burned through them to strengthen them. Hyung then turned back and gestured Mirai to follow him.
Mirai followed Hyung into a large building. Compared to the others, it was in pretty good shape. The dried bloodstains on the walls showed that it wasn't used very often. They moved through the cobwebs and ascended the stairs to get to the roof. Hyung sat by the edges and patted the seat next to him, calling Mirai to sit with him. There they watched the sky. The empty sky. The dark, desolate sky. Hyung smiled and finally spoke.
"Mirai, do you know what a dream is?" he asked, looking up to the heavens. Mirai had been hit with a curveball; he came to see if Hyung would kill himself not for a philosophical speech. "I think so" he answered weakly. "Do you know why I asked you to divine for me?" "Because of Sonyeo right? You wanted to know what to do to protect him...right?" Hyung simply laughed and pointed up to the gaping chasm in the sky.
"Mirai, this world became like this because of that. You know, before this happened, Sonyeo and I were about to start a sweets store. It was already the grand opening. For a place in Back Louhia, those things never grow. People just want to survive, not eat cakes and doughnuts. No one came. The place was as dry as a desert. Sonyeo cried his eyes out. I couldn't comfort him no matter what I did. As we were about to close, a family of four walked in. Sonyeo's tears immediately dried out. They ordered and they got to eating. The smiles on their faces brought tears of joy to my eyes. I never thought that I could bring happiness to people like that. As they left, the man walked up to me and we talked. He had just been fired from his job and he used the last money that he had to treat his family to a nice place. He said he had never done anything right for them and told me he was going to commit suicide. He hugged me and thanked me for showing him the last semblance of warmth he would ever feel in his life. His family waited for him outside. We shook hands like respectful men. Suddenly, the earthquake happened. The blood of his family got splattered on the doors. He watched them get eaten by a four-headed monster. He went mad and burst through the door. He tried to fight the beast in a fit of rage but he just got brutally killed. I remember his guts flying everywhere as he got eaten. The monster ran into the store but I burned it alive. I looked outside and I saw a massive hole in the sky. I saw monsters spewing everywhere. Sonyeo followed me and held me by the hands. He was shaking. He was scared. I thought to myself "Sonyeo can't live a normal life in this type of world" and I swore to myself I would close the rift that appeared in the sky"
Hyung stood up and stretched his hands to the sky. "Mirai, I don't know if I will ever do that but I just want a world where Sonyeo can live a normal life. A world where he wouldn't need to run for his life all the time. A world where he could go to school and have friends. A world where he could get a good job and settle down with a wife and kids. A world where he could be happy. Mirai, that's my dream". It was then Mirai realised what he saw the first time he stepped into Hyung's world. It was a world for people to live happily. A world where imagination could thrive and anything would exist. It was a world where Sonyeo as a child would enjoy his life. Mirai stood and held Hyung by the shoulders and said
"I'll make it happen. We will close the hole in the sky"
This he said with utmost conviction, swearing to himself to bring this man's dream to reality.