"I'M afraid I have some difficult news to share with you, Mr. Kang," the doctor began, his voice steady yet tinged with empathy. His somber expression showed that whatever he was about to say would not be good. "Your recent tests have confirmed that you have stage 4 lung cancer."

Haneul felt a lump form in his throat as he struggled to process the doctor's words. "Stage 4? What does that mean exactly?" he managed to ask, his voice barely above a whisper.

"It means that the cancer has spread beyond the lungs to other parts of your body, such as your liver and bones," the doctor explained gently. "Unfortunately, it's quite advanced."

Haneul's heart sank. His already hoarse voice cracked as he asked, "Is it treatable?"

The doctor's expression softened with understanding. "Given the extent of the spread and the late stage of diagnosis, treatment options are limited," he admitted. "At this point, our focus will be on managing your symptoms and ensuring your comfort."

Haneul understood immediately what that meant. He- he was going to die. At that realization, he felt his whole body tremble. He felt so lightheaded that he couldn't think properly. He didn't even know what to feel at this moment.

"How long... how long do I have?"

"I wish I could give you a definitive answer," the doctor replied solemnly, "but with stage 4 lung cancer, it's difficult to predict. Based on your current condition and the aggressiveness of the cancer, I would estimate you have about three months left."

Three months. The words hung heavy in the air. Haneul only had three months left to live.

"We'll do everything we can to support you during this time," the doctor reassured him. "We'll explore options to manage your pain and keep you as comfortable as possible. And if there's anything else you need or any questions you have, please don't hesitate to ask. We're here for you every step of the way."

"Thank you, doctor," Haneul mumbled, then he stood up. "But there's no need for that."

Then he turned around and walked out of the doctor's office.

"Mr. Kang, please wait!"

He heard the doctor called. But Haneul ignored that and continued walking.

Three months. He only had three months to live.

A bitter laugh suddenly escaped his throat. He didn't feel sad or angry about that news. He just felt... numb. All the sadness and anger he had in him had already dried out. This dying body could no longer bring itself to feel anything. The last bit of emotion he had disappeared the moment his comatose sister died.

Last week, in this same hospital, Haeun - his younger sister, experienced cardiac arrest and subsequently flatlined. The doctors were unable to revive her, and she was declared as dead.

He was at work at the construction site when he received the news. When he arrived at the hospital, the only thing that welcomed him was his sister's cold body. He couldn't remember what happened or what he did after that.

A nurse told him that he was beside himself. He was wailing and shouting beside his sister's hospital bed. And then, probably because of too much emotion, he fainted.

When he woke up, he moved mechanically, as if on autopilot. Arranging his younger sister's funeral with a detached efficiency. Three days later, he found himself burying yet another family member—the last remaining one he had.

Ten years ago, a car accident took away the lives of his parents. His sister was with them at the time, and the accident left her in a coma. He was only 18 back then, barely an adult.

The doctors told him that the chance of his sister waking up again was very low. So, it's better if he pulled the life support now. Not just for him, but also for his sister. They emphasized the importance of allowing her to rest peacefully and sparing her from further suffering.

But Haneul couldn't do it. How could he when Haeun was the only one left he could call family? So, he decided to keep her on life support. To afford that, he did not continue college and started working right after he graduated from high school.

He worked all kinds of jobs, mostly in customer service. Because he was thankfully gifted with a nice-enough face, he could be easily hired for jobs that involved interacting with others, such as working in restaurants or cafes. Of course, the income in those jobs wasn't exactly enough, so he also had to do other side jobs.

Because of his appearance, there were times when he was approached to do... unsavory things. Of course, he refused. Even at his lowest point, he refused to compromise his dignity by resorting to selling himself for an easier way out. How could he ever look his parents in the eye if he did that?

But even those kind offers disappeared as years went by. With all the jobs he had to go to in a day, it's hard to take care of one's self. His once good looks slowly deteriorated.

He had been working and working, that's all he had done. He couldn't even take one step towards the dream that he had buried in his heart since he was a child. He worked just so he could keep his sister alive. Slowly, it became his only reason to live.

That's how his life had been for the past 10 years. And now, even that worthless life seemed to be ending.

Haneul stopped in his tracks when he saw his reflection on the floor to ceiling glass wall of the hospital. With tangled black hair, a frail body that seemed like it could be blown away by a breeze, and dark circles under his eyes, he looked nothing like his former self. Now, anyone who saw him would just think he was sick.

And according to the doctor he spoke to earlier, he was.

He probably wouldn't even know that he was dying if not for him fainting in this hospital last week. They did a perfunctory test only to find out that something was wrong with him.

Lung cancer. Ha!

It seemed that his years of smoking had led to this. Not only did smoking destroy his vocal chords, but it also destroyed his lungs. But what could he have done? Smoking had become his only way to cope with the exhaustion of each day. Even now, he couldn't wait to light up a cigarette.

Haneul continued walking. Each of his steps was heavy. He kept on walking, and walking, ignoring all the surrounding sounds.

"Look, isn't that Jung Taeyang?"

"Wow! He's so handsome!"

He heard the voice of a group of girls nearby. This made Haneul stopped walking. He subconsciously followed their gaze and saw a huge billboard of a handsome man wearing a suit. He was smirking at the camera, as if he knew that people would still find him handsome even if he did.

The man on that huge billboard was shining brightly. A stark contrast to him, who was drowning in dirty, murky water.

He felt something wet drop in his hand. He looked down at his palm and saw a few more droplets fall. It was only then that he realized that he was crying.

Oh. So, he still had tears left to cry.

Was he sad because he's going to die? No. There was nothing for him in this life, so he didn't mind if he died today or tomorrow. It wouldn't really make much of a difference.

He cried out in anger and frustration, mourning all that had been taken from him. The past 10 years felt like an endless nightmare rather than a life worth living.

Before he could wipe away his tears, Haneul heard a panicked scream beside him.

"Sarang-ah!!!" a woman shouted, looking with widened eyes at the road.

Haneul glanced in that direction and spotted a young boy, about four or five years old, chasing after a ball. His heart skipped a beat as he also noticed a truck heading straight toward the child.

Without a second thought, he dashed forward, overtaking the woman who had shouted moments before. Surprised by his own agility, he reached the boy just as the truck closed in. With quick reflexes, he shoved the child out of harm's way without hesitation.

He felt a huge impact hit his body and then he floated mid-air. All he could think of as that happened was...

'This damn life is finally coming to an end.'

Before his eyes closed, the last thing he saw was Jung Taeyang's gray eyes staring down at him from that damn billboard, as if mocking the life he had lived.

***

Pronunciation of some names:

Kang Haneul - Kang Ha(↑)-nul(↓)

Kang Haeun - Kang Ha(↑)-yun(↓)

Jung Taeyang - Jung Te(↑)-yang(↓)

*The arrows represented voice intonation.

***

AUTHOR'S WORDS:

Hi! This is Mayspen ! I've really been wanting to write an omegaverse for a while now, but I just haven't been able to choose the right setting for it. Like, should I write it in a medieval/fantasy setting or a modern one? Things like that. But when I was choosing between the two, it was a time when I was kind of into idol korean novels. So, I was a bit influenced by that and just wrote a BL idol novel. LOL.

Anyways, thank you for reading Chapter 1! I hope you will be interested enough to continue the novel. ^^

And also don’t forget that this is my first novel, I hope you enjoy it. Any correction is valued.

THANK YOU!!!!!

HANEUL felt like his whole body was floating, as if gravity had disappeared. He wanted to open his eyes to see where he was, but he couldn't. It's like his eyelids were taped, unable to open them.

But where could he possibly be? Was he on his way to heaven? Surely, he wouldn't go to hell, right? He's not the kindest person out there, but he sure as hell was not bad either.

He never committed a heinous crime, he never bullied nor deceived anyone. He was a standard, law-abiding citizen. Although he got into fights a few times, he was never the one who started it. He only fought back to defend himself.

Even though he couldn't do charities because he was severely lacking financially, at least he didn't go out of his way to make the people around him suffer. That should amount to something, right?

But why was he still floating? Was the journey to heaven this long?

As if on cue, his body suddenly stopped moving. And then he felt like he was being pulled down. Before he could react, his feet had already landed on something solid.

The feeling that there was something blocking his eyes finally disappeared, and he was able to open them.

The first thing he saw was an infinite white space. Wherever he looked, there seemed to be no end. He would have continued on looking if not for the sudden voice behind him.

"You're here."

Haneul almost jumped to his feet because of how startled he was. He quickly turned around and was stunned when he saw someone standing there. It was a gentle-looking grandpa wearing a white suit. But that was not the most surprising thing of all. It's because this grandpa looked like someone he knew.

"Mr. Na Hongki?"

Na Hongki was Haneul's favorite trot singer. He had seen the other's face countless of times on videos as well as pictures online. That's why there's no way he could be mistaken. This grandpa was really Na Hongki.

But why would Na Hongki be here? His eyes suddenly widened in disbelief. Because there's only one reason he could think of for the other's presence here.

"Mr. Na Hongki, did you also just die?"

Then could this place be some kind of stopover for the souls of the dead?

The other person seemed to have found his reaction amusing, as evidence of the soft chuckle he let out.

"No. I just took the form of someone who could easily evoke positive feelings from you."

Haneul furrowed his brows. He couldn't understand what the other was saying. But it seemed that it didn't matter whether he understood or not. Because the man who looked like Na Hongki continued without waiting for his response;

"I go by many names. But the people in your country call me by the name of 'Yeomra'."

Haneul blinked. At this point, he should have laughed and mocked the other for being crazy. What Yeomra? How could the king of the underworld be standing in front of him with the face of his favorite trot singer?

But Haneul couldn't do it. Because for one, the fact that someone with Na Hongki's face was standing in front of him, and two, because he's already dead. That second one was the most important part.

He's already dead, so shouldn't it be natural that he faced the king of the underworld? Then he remembered what this man- no, Yeomra said earlier about taking the form of someone who could evoke positive feelings from him. That meant that Yeomra must have not wanted to scare him, but let him relax instead.

"Are you going to judge where my soul would go from now?" he asked after he calmed down.

After all, according to the myth, Yeomra was responsible for judging the souls of the dead and determining their fate in the afterlife. Where they would be sent depended on the things they had done in their lives.

Yeomra raised a brow, probably surprised that he could calm down thsi fast. "You have good mental strength. Aren't you afraid?"

Haneul shook his head. "I've never done anything to warrant being sent to hell. So, there's nothing to fear."

"You're right. You're not going to hell," Yeomra said in agreement. "But I still haven't decided where to send you."

HANEUL'S brows furrowed when he heard that. What did that mean? Was there other places a soul could go to besides heaven and hell?

The expressions on his face must have been pretty obvious because Yeomra said, as if reading his mind, "Yes, there is more than one destination a soul could go to. Those who committed irredeemable deeds in life would be sent to hell, while those who did numerous meritorious acts would ascend to what you humans refer to as 'paradise'. And the remaining ones would then enter the cycle or reincarnation."

There's only one thing that Haneul got from that. "So, you're saying that you're not sure whether to send me to paradise or to let me enter the cycle of reincarnation? Am I right?"

Yeomra smiled. "Your guess is not completely correct. But it's not wrong either."

Haneul was truly getting impatient with this king of of the underworld. If not for the other wearing the face of Na Hongki, he might have already shouted at him. Maybe that's the reason why the other took on this form. Because he knew himself how annoying he could be.

"Mr. Yeomra? I'm sure someone like you is quite busy, so can you just go straight to the point?" he said politely, but anyone could tell that it's his roundabout way of saying 'can you stop talking nonsense?'.

"I should do that, right?"

'Why are you asking me?' - Haneul almost shouted.

"Hmm, but first, let me ask you something. Do you think I personally go and meet all the souls of the dead that arrive in the underworld?"

Haneul tilted his head, unsure why the other was asking this. But he still said, "Yes, shouldn't you?"

"Actually, no. I only review the lives that these souls had lived, and then make the decision on where to send them. There's no need for me to meet them personally. I only do that when there's a special circumstance," Yeomra explained. "Like now."

Haneul blinked. He didn't expect that there was a special reason why this guy was standing in front of him right now. He thought it was a normal occurrence that all dead people went through.

No, maybe he should have suspected that. After all, he still retained his consciousness, even after death. Maybe the reason for that was because he was meeting Yeomra and the other needed him to be able to think on his own.

"And what's that special circumstance?" he asked.

"Well, in your case, it's because you saved someone who was destined for greatness. That child is a future Nobel prize winner who would one day help solve the problem in plastic waste disposal."

Haneul was surprised when he heard that. Remembering the child he had saved, he didn't expect that the other was what people would call, 'destined for greatness'.

Yeomra continued;

"He wasn't supposed to be on that road today. But one of the new recruits accidentally mixed his record among the files of the people who would die today. And so, a grim reaper was sent to collect his soul.

"It's already too late when I discovered this huge mistake. The grim reaper was already on their way to finish their job. Thankfully, you were there. You not only saved a future Nobel prize scientist, you also saved me from a lot of possible headaches.

"That's why I'm meeting you personally. To give you a reward."

When Yeomra finished speaking, Haneul blinked and could only ask, "What reward?"

"You can either go to paradise, where your soul will experience eternal happiness, peace, and contentment, surrounded by beauty, tranquility, and harmony. Or you can enter the cycle of reincarnation and I will make sure your next life will be full of wealth, fame, and love."

When heard the two options, Haneul felt excited. Not because of the things Yeomra promised, but because of a certain possibility. "If I chose to go to paradise... can I meet my parents and sister?"

He looked at Yeomra, hope filling his heart. He was almost begging inside for the other to give him the answer he wanted. But Yeomra's next words dashed that hope.

"You can't. The three of them had already entered the cycle of reincarnation."

Haneul bit his lower lip. What did he expect? He should have known things wouldn't go his way. As how it had always been.

"Then, can I be reincarnated as their family?" he asked, trying his luck once again.

Yeomra shook his head. "As I've said, they had already entered the cycle of reincarnation. Their next life had already been decided. None of their futures involved any of them becoming a family with each other. But if you want to be a family to one of them, I can make that work."

Only being a family to one, would there even be any meaning to that? A bitter smile formed on his lips. If this was the case, then he might as well make an unreasonable demand.

Since he saved someone who would be very important in the future, surely Yeomra would grant him this much.

"Then I choose the third option."

Yeomra raised a brow. "A third option?"

"I want to go back in time."