[ Side Story II ]

Heaven’s Descendants

Heaven.

A place of gatherings, light, and power.

A place for hopes and dreams. To once again walk amongst the Earth. It is also a place that is most out of reach from those who live below the skies.

This was a place where the Sun met the sky and where the most powerful and renowned Gods reigned over the clouds.

“Wonshik-ah, do you want to come with me to the King’s palace today?”

“Yes, father.”

Kim Wonshik, ten years old. A bright yet innocent child whose role model was his father, the God of the Sun.  His father was the only one that was assigned the role by the King of the Heavens for the past few centuries even before Wonshik was born. His father was well respected and powerful. To be able to guard Heaven’s heirloom was the most respected position anyone could wish for.

The King or Ruler of the Heavens, not only rules the many Gods that lived in Heaven, but also commanded the fate of those that lived in the vast lands below. He is also known as the most feared and powerful God in the universe. One who had fought many battles against other powerful Gods and won each of those battles to become who he is today. The title was given to him when he fought against his two younger brothers, the God of the Sea and the God of the Underworld, in order to obtain such a position.

“Welcome. It’s good to see you again.” The King greeted Wonshik and his father. ‘Come this way, I have something to discuss with you.’

Wonshik was a bit intimidated by finally meeting the King at first because of all the stories he’s heard from people around him. But the King that appeared before him was kind and gentle. His father and the King was happily discussing Heaven’s matters that Wonshik had no understanding of.

The King led the two into a large open room filled with beautiful artwork and extravagant architecture. The ceiling was painted with the stories of the Heavens with angels floating above the clouds. Each column was also lined with golden threads that twirled around it and the marble floors reflected the warm light that was shone by the sun.

It seems that the King had invited Wonshik’s father to discuss some important matters and Wonshik ended up sitting nearby, bored with nothing to do. He didn’t know anything about what they were talking about and was beginning to feel rather sleepy from not doing anything. Just as his eyes were about to close, a little whistle caught his attention. It came from another boy, who was peeking into the room and looking at Wonshik. Waving at him and gesturing to him to follow. Wonshik was hesitant whether or not to leave the room and looked back and forth to decide. But he was bored and was curious who the boy was. The boy took Wonshik’s arms and led him somewhere in the palace.

“My name is Jaehwan.” The boy introduced himself as he continued to lead Wonshik somewhere.

“I’m Kim Wonshik.”

“I know. How old are you?” Jaehwan asked.

“Ten.”

“Oh? Then I’m the older one here. I’m eleven.” He grinned.

The boy had beautiful soft golden hair and was about the same height as Wonshik. The boy also had a rather strong side profile with a tall nose.

“Where are you taking me?” Wonshik was curious.

“Somewhere awesome! I know you’ll like it. Just come.”

Wonshik didn’t know where Jaehwan was about to take him except he felt a bit of excitement and expectation as to where Jaehwan was about to lead him. For some reason, he felt that Jaehwan could be trusted and continued to follow. Soon, Jaehwan brought them into a room filled with books, that towered amongst the boys. Wonshik’s eyes widened and the miraculous sight before him and his body began to tremble with excitement, waiting to take one of the books in his hands so he can start reading.

“I’ve heard my father mentioned that you like books right?” Jaehwan asked.

Wonshik nodded. “I do like them but who’s your father?”

“Ah. I guess I forgot to tell you. I’m one of the heirs to the King of the Heavens. The current King is my father. My dad always talks highly about your family and I’ve only seen your father visit from time to time. I’ve been wanting to meet you for a while now.”

“I see. But why did you bring me here?”

“I don’t know.” Jaehwan shrugged. “But I thought we could be friends if I brought you here!”

Jaehwan was one of the many children from the King and was an ideal candidate to be the next King of the throne. He was seen as a child prodigy with much potential and intelligence. However, he had no interest in the throne despite how much his father had tried to encourage him to work harder. Jaehwan had the talents but he wanted freedom more than anything. He liked to explore, to play and just to be who he was.

The two children wandered around the large library of books until they came across another room at the end of the corridors. As they opened the door to the room, a golden globe that was about ten times their size, appeared before their very eyes. Wonshik couldn’t help but drop the book that was in his hands in amazement.

“What… is this?” He asked.

“I’m not quite sure either but it seems to be some sort of device that can watch over the mortals on Earth.”

“Mortals?”

“You don’t know about them? Dad says they’re God’s first creation and have walked on the lands below us for many centuries. They’re quite powerless compared to us but they’re quite… interesting to watch. Not that I care though.”

The large sphere was like a mirror that reflected the lands where the mortals lived. The mortal realm. The two saw how they lived, played, worked, and sleep.  It was rather intriguing to watch for Wonshik. He was amazed at how mortals had to fight for themselves in order to survive and that everything they did was in order to keep on living despite having a much shorter lifespan than the Gods.

They were also granted the opportunity for reincarnation after they had died. Some were chosen to reincarnate into a second life in the Heavens and others, who have died from their sins would wander into the Underworld.

Wonshik and Jaehwan grew up well together, both attended the same school and also helping one another with their studies. Wonshik was hard at his studies whereas Jaehwan couldn’t care less. Despite that, Jaehwan’s grades always seem to be one of the tops in school. They were both growing to be very powerful Gods in Heaven and were the center of attention. Both were seen to be the next God of the Heaven and God of the Sun.

What others didn’t know was that although the two were always together, neither of them shared a common view or interest in anything. After their discovery of the globe, both would constantly observe the lives of mortals.

Wonshik found it rather interesting to study the lives of human beings and hoping to find ways in which they can inspire the Gods as well. Hoping that the carefree lifestyle that Gods had would be changed. He wished that the mindset of humankind could be carried over to the Heavens. Instead of depending on everything by fate and power, Wonshik admired the way humans fought against fate and made their own life.

Jaehwan, on the other hand, could care less about how humans lived. Rather, he was only mesmerized by the greens and blues of the Earth. He wondered how the air would feel down below and how it might feel to take a deep dive into the open blue waters. Jaehwan wanted to make trips down to Earth only for adventure and enjoyment.

Their views on the mortal lives and world contrasted from one another. After some time with their observations, Wonshik became irritated at the sight of Gods trying to control humankind even though it wasn’t any of Gods’ business to interfere. So what if they were created by the Gods? It doesn’t make them puppets to God’s play to fool around with for their own amusement.

Each time Wonshik saw a fellow God descend to the mortal realm to mess with the lives of humans, he would feel the disgust in his stomach and unable to watch without feeling angry.

“Don’t look like that. You’re frowning again.” Jaehwan told him and tried to erase the crease between Wonshik’s eyebrows.

“Huh? Sorry. I just… couldn’t help it. How could they do that? Why can’t they just leave them alone? What did humans do to the Gods to deserve such… trickery?” Wonshik grunted.

“I know how you feel. I really do but there’s nothing we can do about it can we.”

Jaehwan knew of Wonshik developing a certain dislike of Gods over the years as they were friends. They were very different in personality and values but both remained friends. Although he could care less about God’s interference with humankind, he didn’t say a word in front of Wonshik, knowing that it would possibly break their friendship or that the latter would lecture him for life.

“We can. If we can just take over this throne, maybe we can change everything.”

“You know that’s crazy. Even if we did take over and become the next Kings and all, it doesn’t give us the right to change the system that was already set for us.”

“If we work hard enough, of course, it’s possible.”

“But I thought you didn’t want your father’s position.”

“I don’t. But I plan to overtake it or do anything it takes in order to make a change.”

“I thought you respected your father. So why?”

“I do respect him. I still do. But the Sun doesn’t just belong to the Gods, it should belong to the humans as well. Their lives depend on it way more than we need it. Rather than taking the Sun away from them, we should learn to share the warmth with others.”

Wonshik never knew that the role of being the God of the Sun had the ability to manipulate sunlight as his father pleased. There would be some places in the mortal realm that had days and days of dry heat whereas others, would suffer from drought and never seeing the light.

Eventually, Wonshik grew to despise his own kind and his being as a God. He soon discovered another ability that did not require his powers.

Witchcraft.

Witchcraft was first discovered in the human world by groups of individuals with potential powers that could have been the remainders of being God’s creation. They possessed extensive knowledge and intelligence compared to the Gods as well as inner abilities to perform spells and magic. When the Gods found out about these exceptional human kinds, they were afraid. But at the same time, they took that fear for their own and began to study the witches in Heaven. They stole what they had observed from the witches and enhancing their own powers as if they didn’t already have enough. Gods craved for power more than anyone and with every chance they could, they would do anything for power and control.

But since this was considered human practice, Gods that decided to learn about witchcraft would be looked down on.

Wonshik didn’t care.

“You’re at it again! Didn’t I tell you to stop?” Jaehwan yelled at Wonshik.

Wonshik ignored him.

“Are you seriously going to keep this up? You know how bad studying witchcraft is for you. Your father is already furious when you decided to leave home to study it! Do you really hate being a God this much?”

“I do.” He finally replied.

Jaehwan saw the changes in Wonshik’s eyes, day by day. The more they had observed the human world, the more Wonshik grew fond of the place he couldn’t reach. Unknowingly, Jaehwan grew to hate the fact that the humans had such a special place in Wonshik’s heart, and despite how much Wonshik was trying to reform for the humankind, the mortal would never know.

The two were different and their views were drifting their friendship apart.

Wonshik knew exactly what he wanted and wasn’t afraid of the consequences in order to obtain his goals. Where Jaehwan was a coward. He was afraid of such consequences and worried about change. He didn’t want to change. He was afraid that if he had rebelled like Wonshik, his freedom would be taken away from him. As nice as the King could be, he could also be just as ruthless to anyone, even to his own son.

Soon, Wonshik abandoned his life as a God and shut himself into the world of witchcraft and magic. He would hide in his lab to experiment with spells and magic rather than going outside. Other Gods who saw it, began to point fingers at him and gossiped behind his back. But he didn’t care. He became the most powerful witch in Heaven. He was the most knowledgeable in the subject and although some did look up to him, they were too afraid to approach. Unlike Wonshik who had thrown away his powers as a God, others couldn’t let go.

Wonshik had a single goal in mind: a revolt against the Gods.

Jaehwan saw the changes in his friend but he no longer tried to say anything to persuade the latter. He was too tired to try and had to focus on his own training set by his father. He was also assigned to go to the human world for the first time to help with the research on mortals. Jaehwan couldn’t understand why these weak beings were so intriguing to Wonshik at all.

He did visit Wonshik from time to time but each time he did visit, Wonshik would be too busy to realize that his friend had come by. Jaehwan would sit in the room watching Wonshik do his usual experiments and leave by the end of the day without a single acknowledgment from his friend. Jaehwan grew up watching humans just as Wonshik did so why couldn’t he feel the same way for humans as Wonshik did? He felt slightly frustrated at humans, having such an impact on his dear friend.

“I just don’t get it! Why are you doing this much for them? They don’t even know you exist!” Jaehwan finally lost it one day.

“They don’t need to know. I just like what I’m doing.” Wonshik pushed Jaehwan out of the way and went back to his research.

Jaehwan had already forgotten how many times the two have argued about their views on the mortal realm. Too many times that Jaehwan should have already given hope on his friend. But Jaehwan was also too persistent to see Wonshik fall any deeper. He knew that as outstanding as Wonshik was in becoming a witch, it was also a very dangerous position for him. Other Gods would taunt him or even target him, trying to erase his kind from the Heavens. Wonshik had no friends except Jaehwan but still, he liked to be alone. Gods would never approach the boy but rather wish that Wonshik was dead. He was a disgrace to the Gods. A disgrace to the Heavens.

One day, Jaehwan overheard something amongst a group of powerful Gods.

“We need to get rid of him. That witch. He’s tainting the skies.” They said.

They were planning on annihilating Wonshik and erasing witchcraft practices from the Heavens once and for all. If the most powerful witch was gone, others would not even dare approach the subject ever again. Jaehwan was alarmed at Wonshik’s danger and ran to inform him.

“You need to stop! You’ll be in danger if you don’t!” Jaehwan pleaded.

“I don’t care. They can do what they want.”

“How can you be so stubborn? Don’t you care about your own life?”

“I don't. They can try to take it if they think they’re good enough to.”

Jaehwan was surprised at Wonshik’s remark, willing to throw away his own life for his research. He didn’t understand why Wonshik would go to such an extent for his passion.

“What… what about me? If you die, do you seriously think that I won’t be sad about it? Are you just going to leave me behind then?” Jaehwan didn’t know why but the thought of it made him begin to cry.

“What are…” Jaehwan’s sudden tears surprised Wonshik. “Why are you crying?”

“If you die, what about me? Don’t you care about how I feel?”

Wonshik was surprised and tried to wipe away his friend’s tears. Jaehwan couldn’t help himself and his body responded to Wonshik’s touch. He hugged Wonshik tightly and buried his face in Wonshik’s shoulders, afraid of letting him go.

Jaehwan didn’t just care about Wonshik as a friend but he fell in love. For the longest time, he didn’t understand why he had fallen for such a stubborn fool but watching Wonshik become so hard working for his own ideals, made Jaehwan fall for him. That’s why he persisted, that’s why he worried and that’s why he was afraid of the other possibly leaving him behind.

Wonshik saw the sincerity in Jaehwan’s eyes and could feel that Jaehwan had fallen for him. He decided to ask Jaehwan to go out with him and when he did, Jaehwan was happy again. Wonshik began to pay more attention to Jaehwan each time they were together and for once, after so long, the two didn’t fight anymore and were happy. They were ‘friends’ for a long time but they weren’t exactly close friends either. To suddenly become lovers was something that Wonshik still had a lot to learn about. He’s never loved before but he felt his heartbeat at the sight of Jaehwan.

When Jaehwan thought that he had finally won Wonshik’s affection, he realized that the latter was still unable to let go of another interest. Wonshik’s adoration for humans.

Wonshik did not throw away his love for mankind even after going out with Jaehwan. Nor did he stop his research and experiments. Jaehwan had hoped that once the two had started to go out with one another that Wonshik would think only about him but he was wrong.

One day, Jaehwan came across a pile of research on Wonshik’s desk during one of his surprise visits, hoping that Wonshik would be happy to see him. But as he looked through Wonshik’s research papers, he came across a plan that frightened him. As he looked through the script, he began to fear the consequences that would await Wonshik if he were ever to be caught.

Wonshik was devising a plan on stealing the Sun from the God of the Sun, his own father.

The Sun was an heirloom of the Heavens, it not only symbolized Heaven’s power above the skies but also every God in existence. On top of that, Wonshik planned to steal the Moon, the other heirloom that resided in the Underworld. If the two were combined, it would bring chaos to the Gods’ world and their existence.

“What are you doing?” Wonshik suddenly entered in from behind.

“You! This. Explain to me what this is. You can’t be serious about it right? You’re not planning what I think you’re planning to do right?” Jaehwan asked.

“It’s none of your business.” Wonshik snatched the plans back from Jaehwan’s hands furiously.

“Why can’t you just let it go? Why must you be so stubborn about this revolution of yours?!”

“I won’t stop. Not until I see the end of it. The end to the Gods.”

Jaehwan couldn’t believe his ears. Wonshik did not think for once about Jaehwan’s feelings after all, nor did he think that Jaehwan was also one of those ‘Gods.’ Wonshik was still so stubborn in his revolution to overthrowing the Gods that he didn’t care about Jaehwan at all.

Jaehwan became very angry at Wonshik’s negligence of him and his own safety. Jaehwan knew he had to do something but he didn’t know what to do. And before he knew it, it was already too late.

Wonshik had attempted the robbery of the Sun from his very own father and was caught.

Wonshik’s father sensed that there was something off about his son and was prepared for Wonshik’s theft. As much as he didn’t wish for it, he had to punish Wonshik. Wonshik had committed high treason against all Gods and was imprisoned in the Heavens, waiting to be executed.

Jaehwan decided to visit Wonshik and think of a way to get his lover out form the prison.

He saw how frail Wonshik had become after a few days of being trapped inside the cell.

“Are you okay? Are you eating well?” Jaehwan worried.

Wonshik suddenly looked up at Jaehwan and glaring at him.

“It was you wasn’t it.” He said angrily.

“What?”

“You’re the only one who knew about the plans. You told them.”

“No. You’re wrong-“

“You tricked me!”

“I didn’t-“

“Enough. I don’t want to hear more of your lies. Go away.” Wonshik turned away from Jaehwan.

Wonshik didn’t believe Jaehwan. He thought that Jaehwan was the one who had revealed his plans to his father and was too stubborn and angry to hear Jaehwan out. He refused for an explanation.

“Please. You can’t execute him! This is just too cruel!” Jaehwan pleaded with his father.

“Cruel? Then what about his actions? He was planning on revolting against us! Even to the point of stealing the Sun from his father. There is nothing we can do about it except to follow through with the execution. That is his punishment for defying us.”

“But! Please, father, you have to do something. I beg you. I’ll do anything you ask if you just save Wonshik.”

With that, Wonshik’s execution was erased.

Instead, he was exiled from the Heavens and was eventually cast off into the Underworld. Forbidding him to see light ever again.

However, Wonshik didn’t know that it wasn’t Jaehwan’s fault that he was caught in the first place. His father had been secretly keeping his son on watch and knew of his plans for a very long time. He was already aware of his son’s changes ever since the boy decided to study witchcraft.

What Wonshik also didn’t know about was that Jaehwan was eventually banished from the Heavens to live in the mortal realm in exchange for saving him. Jaehwan ended up in a small yet lively town called Pinewoods. A place where he would learn what it means to love mankind just as much as Wonshik did. The place where he made his first mortal friend.