Chapter 1

"For souls need to accomplish their task, in order to regain their lost memory"

Jiyong appeared in front of a temple located in a place beyond the imagination of human beings. Agonizing screams of the damned echoed through the deep pits of hell. Jiyong didn't flinch for he already heard those screams for five years.

"Who's there?" A deep voice demanded.

"It's me," Jiyong replied.

Once Jiyong replied, the doors swung open revealing a dark hallway. Souls who spotted him turned and bowed at him. It still confuses Jiyong as to why whenever souls see him, they tend to bow at him. At some point, he irks the way they treat him like he was some person who has the royal blood.

As Jiyong walked, doors started appearing on the hallway. At the end of the hallway, there stood the door which led to the Old Council is. The memory of him being judged there at that room was still fresh to him. Souls are being judged after they died. It is whether they will receive eternal punishment or to serve them. And Jiyong was chosen to serve the Council. He was lucky, as the souls said, that Jiyong was favored by the Council.

"You're here," Jia nodded as Jiyong entered the room.

"So why are you all looking for me?" Jiyong asked.

"You know. The usual," Dongwook answered.

"We have an another task for you, boy," Jaesuk, the eldest one said.

"What am I gonna do this time?" Jiyong asked.

Dongwook approached Jiyong and whispered to him about his task.

"What would be the prize then?" Jiyong asked the Council.

"What else? Your precious lost memory that you all want to retrieve," Jia answered him.

Jiyong nodded, "Is that all?"

"Yes, you may leave now," Jaesuk watched as Jiyong turned his back to them and walked to the door.

"Ah, and Jiyong," Jaesuk called after him. Jiyong looked at Jaesuk as a response.

"Don't let the Dusk find and catch you," Jaesuk said and Jiyong nodded and left the room.

When Jiyong was gone, Jia turned to Jaesuk, "Isn't it a few more tasks until he retrieved all of his memories? What will happen to him if he already finished it?"

"It's either he would choose to be reborn again or he'll remain serving us,"

Jiyong was about to go to the portal to the human world when Seungri approached him, "Ya hyung!"

"What are you doing here, Seungri? You don't have a task right now?"

"Actually hyung, I'm in a middle of it tho," Seungri scratched his head, "I'll just you know.. visit her,"

"You mean Chaerin?"

"Yeah. She haven't moved on still tho it's been already 7 years."

Jiyong was about to say something when he remembered that his task needs to be done immediately and has time limit, "Sorry, Ri. But I have to go now. My task has to be done immediately."

Seungri nodded and patted Jiyong's shoulders, "Alright, hyung. Take care and don't let the Dusk find ya,"

"Noona? Are you there?" Cheondoong asked as he knock on his sister's door.

It's already been twenty minutes since Cheondoong started knocking on Dara's door but still to no avail, no one is answering the door.

Cheondoong was about to leave when the door swung open, "Oh hyung," he said as he saw Seunghyun. Cheondoong peeked inside the room.

"The usual hyung?" asked Cheondoong.

"Yeah. We saw her laying unconscious at his grave yesterday and when we already brought her here, she suddenly woke up and began to cry hysterically and keeps on saying that it's her fault that he died," Seunghyun sighed and shook his head, "Took us hours to calm her down."

"Sorry for that hyung," Cheondoong said as he went inside his sister's apartment.

"It's okay though both Bom and Dara is still sleeping right now. I'll be back, Cheondoong. I'll just buy our breakfast, arasseo?"

"Arasseo, hyung," Cheondoong said. The moment Seunghyun left the apartment, Cheondoong plopped himself on the couch. 

He was staring ahead to nothingness and then he realized that he was staring at the portraits hanged at the far end of the wall. Portraits that he knew his sister treasures more than her life. Portraits that he knew that made his sister remember that one person. That one person that made his sister feel like she's the happiest and luckiest person in the whole world. But as they say, everything has it's ending.

Cheondoong was about to stand up when he heard the door of one of the bedrooms opened, "Cheondoong?" Bom asked as she stared at Cheondoong dreamily and yawned.

"Oh, noona. You're awake," Cheondoong said removing his eyes from the portraits.

"Yeah. Had a good sleep though. Where's Tabi?" Bom said as she stretched her arms.

"Hyung went outside for a while. He said that he's going to buy our breakfast," Cheondoong sighed, "Is Dara Noona okay?"

Bom nodded and plopped herself beside Cheondoong. She noticed the portraits of Jiyong and Dara hanged on the wall. She smiled bitterly, "She really loves him, ne?"

Cheondoong stared at the portraits again and nodded, "I wonder if Jiyong hyung is okay out there."

Bom was about to answer when the door to Dara's bedroom bursted open. Dara came out rubbing her eyes and yawning. Bom and Cheondoong exchanged looks and nodded.

"Good morning, world!" Dara chirpily said while stretching her back but still she doesn't noticed the two sitting on the couch.

"Good morning, Noona," Cheondoong greeted her. Dara turned and beamed at her brother.

"Doong-ah! What brought you here?" Dara said and ran to her brother and hugged him tight.

"Noona. Can't. Breathe." Dara immediately loosened her hug and stared at her brother worriedly.

"Aigoo, I'm sorry, Doong-ah! I just missed you too much," Dara said and giggled.

Bom cleared  and said, "Dara, are you feeling better now?"

Dara released Cheondoong and turned to Bom, "Nae. Thanks for staying with me last night tho hehehe," Dara said and scratched the back of her head.

"It's okay Dara, that's what bestfriends are for, right?" Bom said.

"Yeah, oh wait. Where's Seunghyun?"

"He just went to--" The door opened and Seunghyun went in carrying two plastic bags containing takeout foods from the fastfood restaurants nearby, "Speaking of the devil," Bom muttered.

"Heard that, Bom," Seunghyun said and chuckled while putting down the plastic bags down on the dining table.

Jiyong stepped out of the portal and arrived at his destination where his task will take place. He counted to ten and snapped his fingers.

He watched as the time slows down until it comes to a halt. Noises of the busy city of Seoul died down. Everything that moves suddenly stops. It looks like as if someone has pressed the pause button on their remote control.

Jiyong looked around as he search for the person assigned to him. He searched for trails of black markings. Then there he saw, trails of black markings that living human beings cannot see. He followed the markings and there he saw his assignment enveloped in a thin black smoke.

He touched the forehead of his target with his finger and looked at his target's eyes and there he saw the person's memories playing like a movie. From the moment his target were born up to the moment he will die. The black smoke slowly faded away and was replaced with thick white smoke.

Jiyong removed his touch from the person's skin and closed his eyes and chanted a strange hymn that he was taught to say. After chanting, he looked again at the person he cured. Seconds after, he willed the time to resume.

The noise of the busy city went ringing again on his ears. Everything was moving again. Just like the way when you pressed the play button again.

Jiyong walked away from the area and stopped at a pedestrian lane. He waited for the stoplight which was green at the moment turn in to red light. Even if he could pass through anything solid, he still choose to walk normally like what humans do.

While waiting, Jiyong leaned at the pole of the stoplight and if his eyes are not playing tricks on him, he noticed at the opposite end of the pedestrian lane that there was someone staring at him and it was easy to say that it is not a living human anymore. He stared back at the soul. It smirked at him and immediately disappeared leaving a trail of black smoke. "," he cursed and immediately vanished.

N O T E:

Hello! ^^ I didn't expected someone would take a look on this story ^^ I really thank you guys~ kekekeke~