Revelation 22:21

The last verse of the bible

After what had happened, the afterlife had changed every single rule they had. They had every background check, every soul put into place, every demon ripped off their wings and the Grim Reapers had to work full time.

Everyone was proven wrong.

Bora’s passing took everyone like a whirlwind. It was one of those things you didn’t expect to happen and couldn’t wrap your hand around, a pain that you knew would linger and as much as you tried to ease it away, it’d hit you on nights that you were alone, making you wonder why good people had to go.

It hit Baekhyun the hardest.

The loss of his sister was something he never thought about but now, he’d find himself aimlessly walking down the streets. He didn’t even want to get out of bed to go to her funeral and his father was heartbroken—his only daughter, the one he so truly loved was gone.

But the funeral did come by and as everyone stood by her grave, her name etched on the stone with such elegance, they wept. Kyungsoo didn’t cry, he didn’t know how to, not when his heart felt so heavy. He was in daze, so much more when he found out Kyungha had died. While everyone hugged one another, all Kyungsoo did was wonder the same thing he did when he found out about his sister.

‘Was this the price of goodness?’ he kept repeating in his mind. He was no stranger to loss; he was no stranger to pain but this—a friendship that he wanted to hold onto had slipped away from his fingertips because of the evil that had tainted the Earth.

And like that, Kyungsoo tucked himself away, hoping to keep it as a reminder that sometimes good could be bad.

Sehun and Kai were in denial, Kyungsoo could see that. As Baekhyun clung to Chanyeol for comfort over the loss of his sister, Kyungsoo could see the difference in his friends. Sehun and Kai still tagged Bora in their group chats and on some days, he’d see “Drinks?” and Bora’s name thrown into the mix. He didn’t blame them, people mourned differently.

Matthew—Oh, Matthew. Kyungsoo knew that he’d try his best to figure out what had happened to her spirit. Kyungsoo knew that it was something Matthew would do and he watched his friend head to the afterlife, scouring for any hope that she might be somewhere.

But it was like she was erased, her records clean and her existence gone exactly how it would have been if she was obliviated and Matthew would come back heartbroken each time. Kyungsoo would watch him cry on the couch that was supposed to be hers. Chanyeol had taken over her apartment and decided to keep living in it for her but Kyungsoo disagreed—he thought that it’d be harder for them to move on.

But he found himself coming back over and over again and they would sit there, Matthew telling him that he didn’t want to live this way.

Matthew was in pain and he didn’t try to hide it. As days passed, Kyungsoo saw that he was an empty shell.

“I don’t know why I feel like I want to die when I’m technically dead,” Matthew had murmured once more, Kyungsoo staring into space. Matthew had been trying to keep himself busy and even Mark had wondered why he had always showed up in Canada.

Kyungsoo would like to say that some days, it was easier. Some days, he found himself thinking of what Bora would do. She was always so soft when he met her, so easily swayed by her love for those around her. If there would be someone for the world to become a better place, it would be Bora.

But that was life, wasn’t it?

Ky