I sat in silence with Geonhak as the area around us became foggy. We held each other tighter as it started to become hard to see in front of us. I looked at Geonhak who was just as spooked and confused. I hoped the others were okay.

"Seoho, may I ask something?" Geonhak asked without meeting my eyes.

"Sure." I said as my eyes darted everywhere.

"Is there something going between you and Hwan...?" he asked quietly.

I kept quiet. I didn't think we'd be found out. How did he know?

"No sense in lying. Yeah, Hwan and I decided to date. I know, dating during an apocalyptic situation isn't smart." I confessed as I played with my fingers. "But I think it's not all bad. It hasn't hurt us or any of you four."

Geonhak looked at me with the saddest eyes I've ever seen. Was he disappointed? Jealous? I didn't know and I probably never would.

"What's wrong?" I asked curiously.

"Nothing really. You're both cute together." he said with a small smile.

I smiled happily as I was afraid that the others would be displeased by it. The fog around us was thick. We stood on alert at the sound of loud crashing.

"Hey, didn't that come from the direction they went in?" I asked warily.

"Yeah... I'm hoping that's a good sound." muttered Geonhak as he held my wrist tightly.

The fog started to clear up, but the sky was still cloudy. Another loud crash was heard and the clouds started to disperse, revealing small patches of clear blue sky. Geonhak pulled me into the sidewalk then looked in the direction they left in.

"I think they've done it." Geonhak whispered, but I had caught it.

I noticed the ground started to shake and soon leaves and petals suddenly appeared, leaving behind unmoving humans. We separated and checked them over to see if they were alive or dead. I exhaled in great relief at their slow pulses. I looked towards Geonhak who gave me a thumbs up. I rose from my squat position then noticed my phone started to ring.

"Did it work? Are they back?" Youngjo asked through parted breaths.

"They are. They're unconscious though. Hurry back so we can celebrate." I said happily.

He hung up and I hurried over to Geonhak.

"So, when will Hwan come back? Did he say when?" I asked impatiently.

"I'll tell you when the others get back." he said sadly.

ㅠㅛㅠㅛ

We were soon all together and the humans were still unconscious. I looked at Geonhak who whispered to the others.

"Seoho, about Hwan..." Dongju said then looked at Keonhee.

"He didn't actually go anywhere. He..." trailed off Keonhee who then looked at Youngjo.

"Believe it or not, he's not that far away... Hwanwoong is..." Youngjo said then burst into tears.

"Hwanwoong is... dead, Seo. He fell into a crevice. Even if he survived the fall, it's impossible to survive being smashed..." Geonhak said, finishing what the others couldn't.

I blankly stared at them. I shut my eyes as I covered my ears and crouched down. It couldn't be true. Tears escaped my eyes and ugly sobbing emitted from my throat quietly before steadily getting louder. Everything hurt. Memories of Hwanwoong flashed in my mind, making the pain worse. I fell onto my side and found it difficult to breathe. It couldn't be reality.

I felt my body being touched which only caused me to scream louder. Hwanwoong couldn't be dead. He wasn't clumsy enough to fall into a crevice. I started to gasp like a fish out of water due to crying uncontrollably and not allowing myself to really breathe. I felt my body being pressed against someone else's then a constant cool breeze being directed into my face.

"Maybe we shouldn't have told him..." said Dongju as he looked at me with guilt.

"No one expected him to fall..." Keonhee replied as he comforted Youngjo.

I couldn't quite understand them as my body was more in tune with who was cradling me in their arms and my own disgusting sobbing. I started to quiet down after a while then heard the person whispering sweet and comforting words in my ear while stroking my hair.

"It's gonna be okay, Seo. Let's try to sleep, okay? You're probably very tired after crying so much." Geonhak said before planting a kiss on my temple.

Geonhak motioned for one of them to do something as they took off quickly. He was right. I was tired and could barely lift my limbs. I let my body go limp in his arms as I was completely drained.

ㅠㅛㅠㅛ

I opened my eyes and found myself lying in a bed. The room wasn't my own. I sat up and found I was alone. I moved to get out of bed then hissed as a few spots on my body felt sore. I turned towards the door that had just opened.

"Keonhee...?" I called out in confusion.

"My place was the closest... How are you feeling? Can you eat?" he asked.

I simply nodded. He left the room and I then slipped out of bed. I walked over towards the window and saw people carrying on as usual, as if the entire Earth didn't swallow them whole. A part of me wished I could forget, just like them. Maybe then it wouldn't hurt so much. The door opened again and Youngjo had joined me by the window.

"Doesn't feel right does it?" he asked softly.

"Not at all." I responded, knowing exactly what he meant.

"What will I tell his friends? Parents?" he grumbled before hitting the window. "His mom would be the most devastated..."

I sighed then moved away from the window. He didn't say anything. I opened the door to leave the room. He was still silent. I closed the door behind me.

I went out for a walk then grimaced at the carefree humans. What were they so happy about? They didn't have a right to be happy. I started to wish we left well enough alone. I sighed then kicked a pebble. I kept walking then passed by a high school. I looked farther down the block and saw a playground.

I quietly sat on the swing as I let myself feel upset. I shouldn't have pursued him. Would that have changed things? I heard the swing beside me move, so I looked to see what it was. My eyes widened and my mouth was shaped into an "o". There sat someone with the spitting image of Hwanwoong. I tried to greet them but found myself at a loss for words. Maybe it was his brother.

"Hwanwoong?" I called out. He looked at me with a confused look. "Sorry, I... mistook you for someone else."

I quietly swung then felt myself starting to feel broken all over again.

"How do you know my name?" he suddenly asked.

I stopped then looked into his serious face. Everything looked exactly the same. There was no way he wasn't the real deal.

"It's me, Seo! We met at the mall in Chuncheon." I said hurriedly.

"Give me a straight answer or I'm calling the police." he threatened.

"I swear, we know each other! You're a dancer instructor and you teach from ages 10-50. Your best friend is Kim Youngjo that famous fashion designer. You live up north in Chuncheon..." I blurted out, unsure of whether or not it would help or hurt me.

He tapped on his phone then put it to his ear. I scrambled out of the seat and dashed down the block. Was it really Hwanwoong? Didn't we all see him die?

"Hey!" I heard a familiar voice shout.

I stopped and let Hwanwoong catch up to me.

"Look, I don't know you nor how you know so much about me, but if Jo is vouching for you... I guess it's okay." he said then held out his hand.

I nervously took it and was amazed at how real it felt. He wasn't a ghost.

ㅠㅛㅠㅛ

I was snapped out of my thoughts by a person sitting across from me.

"Well, what did you think about?" she asked.

I retold everything then felt more hollow inside. It wasn't real. Hwanwoong wasn't reincarnated. I never met him again. I heard her sigh then jot something down.

"It seems we're going to be meeting a lot, Mr. Lee." she said with a sad smile.

I just nodded. It was impossible for me to function right after everything. They were fine with letting me have a paid leave as I worked on bettering myself. I covered my face as I contemplated on how I let myself spiral down to the point I needed therapy. I wished we had never saved the world as it meant I'd still have him in my arms. Perhaps I started thinking of taking matters into my own hands and sending others to join Hwanwoong in eternal sleep.

I was crazy enough at this point to do it.