March 31, 2029, 7:00 PM
Room 201, Cheon Ha Funeral Hall, Gwangju
The long hallway was adorned with a meticulously arranged row of condolence wreaths. Most bore the names of prestigious law firms and prominent attorneys. Small groups of mourners huddled together, clad in black suits and somber expressions that exuded an air of sophistication. The mingling scents of incense and flowers filled the space, underscoring the hushed murmurs of subdued conversation.
In the corner of the room stood Lee Dong-joo, his posture slightly hunched. The striking features of his face were overshadowed by weariness; dark circles beneath his eyes betrayed sleepless nights despite his polite attempts to smile at each visitor. Over the past two days, more than five hundred mourners had come to pay their respects. He had bowed so often his knees were raw, and now every motion of respect seemed stiff and riddled with pain.
"Attorney Lee, you've done well. Stay strong," said Kim Jung-hyun, the head of Han Gyeol Law Firm, gripping Dong-joo's hand firmly. The middle-aged man's eyes glimmered with sympathy, though his usual resolute demeanor remained.
"Thank you, sir. Once the funeral concludes tomorrow, I'll return to work the day after," Dong-joo replied, his voice faint but resolute.
Kim Jung-hyun shook his head gently. "Don't push yourself too hard. Return when you're truly ready."
Behind them, a young woman with sleek, flowing hair interjected softly. Kim Soo-yeon, a junior attorney at the same firm, gazed at Dong-joo with glassy eyes.
"Oppa, don't give up, okay? We're all here for you."
Dong-joo offered her a faint nod. "Thank you, Soo-yeon."
She knew all too well that the sorrow surrounding Dong-joo ran deeper than it appeared. As someone who worked closely with him, she had seen how he often lost focus, preoccupied with thoughts of his mother's battle against pancreatic cancer. Now, that grief felt even more palpable, piercing the hearts of anyone who truly knew him.
Their conversation was abruptly cut short. A sudden commotion echoed from the corridor, shattering the subdued atmosphere. Several people in the main room stood up, their gazes snapping toward the source of the disturbance. Alarmed, Dong-joo quickly moved toward the hallway.
There, in front of a large television, a crowd had gathered. Their faces were frozen in shock, and whispers of panic rippled through the group.
"What's going on? This can't be real!"
"This must be some kind of broadcast error, right?"
Dong-joo followed their gazes to the screen. A news anchor with a tense expression was delivering a report that made his heart pound in his chest.
"Breaking news. NASA has just announced that asteroid 99942, also known as Apophis, has undergone an unexpected change in orbit. Previously, the asteroid was predicted to pass safely by Earth at a distance of 81,000 kilometers. However, new data now indicates that Apophis is on a direct collision course with Earth, traveling at a speed of 100,000 kilometers per hour."
The room fell into a stunned silence. Even the sound of people breathing seemed to vanish.
"This is a joke, isn't it?" someone finally broke the silence, their voice trembling. "Are we watching some kind of sci-fi movie?"
But the news anchor continued, his tone grave and unrelenting, tightening the weight of the room:
"With a diameter of 11 kilometers and an estimated mass of over 20 billion tons, the asteroid is projected to strike the ocean approximately 3,500 kilometers southeast of Okinawa, Japan, on April 13th—just 13 days from today."
The silence turned suffocating. A few people clasped their hands over their mouths in disbelief. One man erupted into a desperate yell, "Change the channel! This has to be fake!"
But anyone who looked at the anchor's face could tell—it wasn't a prank. Slowly, panic began to spread like wildfire, crackling through the crowd.
Amidst the chaos, Kim Jung-hyun stood frozen. His hand trembled as he reached out to grip Dong-joo's shoulder. His voice, heavy with disbelief, broke the tension.
"Dong-joo… what does this mean?"
But Dong-joo could only stare back at him with hollow eyes. The world he had known, the grief that had already consumed him, now seemed to crumble faster than he could have imagined.
In a living room filled with murmurs of disbelief, the television screen displayed news that seemed to freeze the world in place. The people watching exchanged anxious whispers, their voices tinged with uncertainty and dread.
Jung-Hyun stood rooted to the spot, his gaze hollow as it shifted to Dong-Joo beside him. He let out a shallow sigh before speaking, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Don't tell me… this is really happening? The government hasn't officially announced anything yet, have they?"
Dong-Joo turned to him slowly, but words caught in his throat. His face was pale, and his lips quivered before he finally managed to speak. "It might be…" His voice was fragile, trembling like glass on the verge of shattering.
The silence was broken by hurried footsteps. A young man dashed up from downstairs, clutching the TV remote tightly. With urgency, he flipped through channels—KBS, SBS, other news networks—all broadcasting the same harrowing updates. Occasionally, the screen flashed to international coverage like CNN, amplifying the dread that had begun to seep into the room.
"If this asteroid strikes Earth…" the newscaster's voice rang out like a decree from the heavens, "…the impact would be equivalent to 200 million atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima. Within less than ten minutes, a shockwave akin to a nuclear explosion would spread across a radius of 3,000 kilometers. All life within that radius would be reduced to ash. Approximately two hours later, a tsunami over 500 meters high would crash against both hemispheres, including the northernmost regions of Russia, swallowing everything in its path. Following that, earthquakes exceeding a magnitude of 10 on the Richter scale would persist for an entire month, reducing anything left standing to rubble…"
Dong-Joo froze. His body felt stiff, as though gravity had relinquished its hold on him. Everything seemed to slow down. The voices of those around him became faint, distorted, like a broken recording. The world had lost its rhythm.
"So, this is real?" he thought, the question looping in his mind like an unshakable chant. "Is the world truly ending? And why… why now, of all times? Why in the midst of this grief?"
The merciless ticking of the wall clock marked the countdown to 9 p.m., the time the government was expected to release an official statement.
Outside, chaos began to spread. Mourners, who had previously stood solemnly with their heads bowed, now hurried away from the memorial hall.
"I'm sorry, Attorney Lee!" one of them shouted, panting as they rushed out. "I have to leave early…"
Kim Jung-Hyun, his face a mix of confusion and panic, grabbed Soo-Yeon's arm tightly. With hurried steps, he led her away from the venue, his grip firm despite his trembling hands.
Amid the growing turmoil, Dong-Joo remained where he was, alone. His hands shook, but his feet were glued to the floor. His wide, terror-stricken eyes stayed fixed on the television screen, as if willing it to reveal that this was nothing more than a cruel nightmare that would soon dissipate.