Location: Seoul, Korea {Home}

                                                                The world is going crazy. When I mean the world is going crazy, I mean the world is literally going bat crazy. I leaned back in my chair as I kept my eyes on the TV screen, the blaring sound of the news ringing in my ears as I tried to understand the words they were saying. With a sigh, I rubbed my forehead, feeling another headache coming.

“Just a few days ago, a circular light was seen just above metropolitan Seoul. Scientists had said that it was a ball of energy and may be the sign of an upcoming meteorite. People have been experiencing dizziness and splashes of heatwaves have been washing all over the world.”

A cough sounded behind me and I jumped, whipping my head around just to see my brother entering the living room. He raised an eyebrow at me, a drink in his hand as his eyes fell onto the huge flat TV screen. He cleared his throat and moved closer, his eyebrows furrowing.

“Anything new other than lights from the sky and people dying from global warming?” He asked, and I shook my head, leaning back against the chair. “Before we know it, people are going to say aliens are real.”

“Oppa, you believe aliens are real,” I countered and he shook his head, shrugging.

“I don’t believe aliens are real. The other one does,” he said simply, pushing his glasses up his nose and shaking the empty drink can before bustling into the kitchen. “Aren’t you going to university today?”

I shook my head. “All the universities are closed in the meantime. People are afraid something might happen. What have you been up to?” I asked, turning back to get a glimpse of his clothes. “I see you haven’t even changed out of your clothes since yesterday.”

“I’ve been in the lab. Haven’t had time to eat or sleep,” he said, taking a bite of bread. “Oh, Ahjumma—Have you been cleaning the rooms? Can you clean mine—”

“Ong Seungwoo.” Our 60-year-old housemaid said sternly, walking in with dirty dishes in her hands, wiping her hands on her apron. “Please don’t tell me that’s the first meal you have had since yesterday morning.”

I watched as my older brother faltered, and he gave her a weak smile like a kid being caught with his hand in a peanut butter jar. He pouted and she mumbled something under her breath before saying something about needing all the strength for the following days to come.

“And go take a shower!” She said to him, with a voice that was both gentle and harsh at the same time. “Tomorrow we’re visiting your parent’s grave. Have you ordered flowers from the flower shop?”

“Not yet—But we’re going tomorrow, not today,” Seungwoo said, grabbing an apple and taking a bite from it. “Besides, Harin will place the order if I forget. I’m heading back to the lab. Catch you all later.”

I dragged my head away from him when the news changed and it was now filled with red flashes of breaking news. “Oppa!” I called out. “They said there’s breaking news.” The sound of his footsteps shuffling down the stairs echoed throughout our huge house and he reentered the living room, moving towards the couch and sitting on the edge.

“This is Eunji from Seoul Broadcasting Station and today—” The reporter's face was stricken as she looked up and gasped. “T-There’s people coming down from the sky—This is LIVE! LIVE from—”

The camera shook and it was then pointed towards the sky. Just like she said, it showed people descending down from the clouds, their coats and clothes looking nowhere near modern clothing. I rubbed my eyes and leaned forward.

“There are people coming down from the sky—This is live—” The reporter seemed too scared to continue, her voice blaring in the background. The camera was not on her but on the people that were making their way down. “Everybody—”

And suddenly, it was like I felt a huge power surge, the electricity of the house going out and I was doubling over with the amount of pain coursing through my head. I looked over to see my brother with his head in his hands, trying to stand.

“Harin! Seungwoo!” The voice of our Ahjumma was the only thing I heard when the whole world turned black.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Men descending from the sky. Aliens?"

The next morning was the after wave and the internet was hysterical on who and what those people were. The Korean government had released a statement that everything was under control and everyone could go back to their daily lives—and that the people who came from the sky, to which everyone now called “The Descendants” didn’t mean any harm. Of course, the world was now in chaos and the demand for an explanation was loud from the citizens, especially from those living in the area. The flashing light was still in the sky, somewhat like a portal to the other world that no one knew about.

I had woken up. I coughed and tried to roll out of bed, but my body was tired and I could barely speak. My mouth was dry and as much as I tried to drink water, it was like drinking sand, the liquid causing a burning sensation down my throat. The most prominent feeling was my eyes. They burned from behind my eyelids and what I couldn’t get rid of was the constant ringing in my ears that didn’t stop.

“You okay? You sound like you’re dying,” my friend said on the phone when I called him to tell him that I wasn’t feeling well. “Did you see the news?” he asked and I groaned, trying to focus on his voice to try to drown the ringing sound.

“Yes, Jackson. I heard the news,” I said, not able to open my eyes. “Sorry, I’m not feeling well. I have a splitting headache.”

“You want me to come over?” He asked, his voice laced with worry. “Why don’t I bring some chicken soup? I’ll be there in an hour.” He didn’t wait for my response, hanging up the phone. I tried to roll onto my side with much difficulty when I heard my brother walk in, his footsteps dragging against the floor.

“You look like death,” Seungwoo said and I managed to grin as I peeked from between my eyelids. His eye bags were dark and heavy, and his lips pale. He looked hollow.

“You look like the Grim Reaper himself,” I said back and he heaved, having difficulty breathing. “I guess we both caught a cold.” I managed to say, Seungwoo plopping himself on my bed and rolling onto his side.

“This doesn’t feel like a cold,” he said, rubbing his head. “I also keep hearing this high-pitched ringing sound in my ear, it’s giving me a migraine.” He muttered under his breath and I frowned at him.

“Really? I can hear it too,” I said, reaching over to pass him a cotton ball. “It also feels like I just got off an airplane,” I told him. He shredded the cotton ball into a smaller piece and shoved it into his earhole.

“Where’s Ahjumma when you need her?” He asked and I groaned when another wave of pain passed through my skull. “Why isn’t she here taking care of us? Owwwww—” He yelped, grabbing his head.

I couldn’t comfort him because, at that moment, my body was wretched with pain, my muscles tensing. It was like getting a cramp from your head to your toes and I took small breaths in order to contain myself from screaming out loud.

“Oppa—,” I called out to my brother, but my eyes were blinded by the amount of excruciating pain I was going through when the ringing became louder. I then heard Ahjumma’s voice from the door frame.

“Harin, Seungwoo… They’re here, they’re here. Please help them, they’re just kids,” she begged and I couldn’t open my eyes to see who it was.

“We’re here. Lay, do your thing,” a man’s voice said, and suddenly I fell into a deep sleep.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Sign

                                                                 It seemed like a lot of time had passed but when I regained consciousness; the sun was still up, my eyes slowing widening. I saw a very handsome face looking down at me. He seemed gentle, his dimple showing as he gazed at my face worriedly. I blinked, trying to grasp my surroundings just to realize I was on the living room couch. My brother was also almost awake and I saw him move slowly, his body stretching out as his pupils became visible.

“How are you feeling?” The man asked and I jolted up, expecting the ringing sound to reach my ears but there was nothing. I frowned and watched while he felt my forehead, his fingers warm and soft when another voice spoke.

“Are they awake, Lay?” This voice sounded rough, a small drawl in it and when the man named Lay moved away from my sight, I saw two other men in our upstairs study. What was different was they were all wearing coats, their clothing seemingly made of a material that didn’t seem like cloth. I frowned and looked over to my brother who had sat up, confused.

“Who are you?” He asked, his voice rising an octave at the sudden intrusion. “Why are you in my house?” Seungwoo demanded when a soft “tsk” came from behind both of us and our Ahjumma walked in with a wet cloth.

“Be nice, Seungwoo. These men saved you,” she started, going over to me and pressing a wet cloth over my eyes. The cold cloth felt good against my burning eyeballs and I sighed in relief.

“I see that gratitude is not commonly exercised on this planet.” The person by the window said.

“They’re just startled, Kris,” another voice chimed in. The cloth was removed from my eyes and I dragged my gaze onto the person who spoke, his dark blue coat seemed to have a soft shine to it. He saw me looking at him and flashed me a smile before grabbing an empty glass that was on the table.

‘Thirsty?” He asked, his palm faced down onto the glass and shooting out water from his hand, the water sloshing into the empty glass and filling it up. My eyes widened and my voice caught in my throat at his previous action, my fingernails digging onto the couch.

“Wh-What—How did you do that?” I exclaimed, at the same time Seungwoo had frozen on his spot, not able to move from the shock. “That’s impossible—Y-You literally shot out water from your hands but i-it… It…” Realization struck and I looked over at all of them, scanning from head to toe. “You’re them. The people who came from the sky. The Descendants—”

“Gaians really do talk too much,” the man named Kris said as he paced around the room. “Well, is someone going to do some explaining or do we have to wait for them to have another fainting spell?”

“Relax, Kris. Suho, now you’ve scared them,” Lay said, smiling kindly at us but his action was repaid with both of us with scared expressions. My heart was beating so hard, I could hear it in my ears. They were here—The people who came from the sky were at my house and I’m starting to hallucinate.

“What if I’m just having a psychotic breakdown?” I looked over at my brother, almost accusingly. “Are mental breakdowns contagious?”

“What are you even saying, Harin?” My brother snapped at me then turning to divert his attention to the men. “Are you guys aliens?” Seungwoo asked, his glasses slipping off his nose, his voice trembling. “Are you here to kill us or—If you do, please just me. My sister is still young—”

“Do people really kill each other that easily in this place? Aliens? Is that what you guys call creatures from other planets? We call them the Others.” Lay asked with innocent interest. He had stopped in front of the table and was holding a photo of me and my brother when we were young. He extended his arm and seemed to be comparing how we looked like then and now, his eyebrows furrowing. “I see that pictures do not move here.” He mused.

“How are pictures supposed to move? If they do, they’re videos,” Seungwoo voiced, bewildered.

“Well, why put pictures in this frame when you can put in videos?” Lay asked back, shaking the frame in his hand violently as if trying to make it move.

“Eno