It was in the morning; everyone was working on their routines, the usual scene that had been playing every single day. The grey sky morning reminded Himchan of something. Everything in his sight was the same as the view in his memory.

It couldn’t be exactly the same, thought Himchan. He walked along the street and looked at the clock. It showed 8 o’clock, sharp. Himchan sat on the vacant bench. The bench was usually being filled by a man in his twilight years writing something on his diary each and every day, before he was hit by a car right after finished writing his diary, a few years back. The death of the old man reminded him of another bloodshed happened on the very same day which was only less than an hour apart.

It happened on a grey sky Monday morning, Himchan and his best friend were sprinting through the sidewalks.

“Hey! Wait up!”

“Come on! We’re going to get there on time or grandpa would make us sweep the floor!”

Their shouts was slightly breaking and distorting the silence and the serenade sung by the birds. The birds flew away as their fast and furious steps came closer. Himchan heard a laugh from his best friend and laughed, too.

“Himchan!” someone called him out, looking panicked.

“What’s wrong?” His best friend, Junhong, interposed the conversation.

“Your grandfather – there.” the girl pointed to the street.

Himchan ran to the street, followed by Junhong. He saw his grandfather was lying on gory ground, holding onto the diary, “Grandpa!” surged Himchan toward his grandfather whom was bleeding.

Himchan’s grandfather held his hand out to Junhong, which brought Junhong to kneel down. He smiled weakly to both Himchan and Junhong.

“I’m glad I have two good grandsons,” said him, the voice sounded very weak.

The words that were spoken by Himchan’s grandfather made Junhong cry badly for he had no family since he was a child.

“I’m afraid that I wouldn’t be able to see you both anymore,”

“Grandpa! Hold on! The ambulance is on the way!” cried Junhong. Himchan who was crying silently sobbed.

Grandpa was silent; there was no sign of movement.

“Grandpa? Grandpa!” Junhong shook Grandpa’s body,

“No! Don’t leave us! You can’t go! You and Himchan are my only family left – don’t go –! Grandpa!” Junhong continued to cry and mourn.

Junhong stooped and hit the ground. It was unbearable for Himchan to see. Junhong kept crying and murmuring.

“Junhong...” Himchan patted Junhong in the shoulder. Junhong gave no reaction but kept sobbing instead.

Himchan called Junhong again as his best friend was silent.

“Junhong,”

No reaction.

“Junhong,”

Junhong then gasped, which made Himchan felt odd.

“Junhong..?”

“What happened?” Junhong looked confused. Himchan blinked in disbelief, Junhong looked to his left which Grandpa’s body was laying there.

“Grandpa..? Grandpa!? Wake up!” Junhong then cried again. Himchan was flabbergasted to what happened before his eyes.

“You, you killed Grandpa!” Junhong got up and attacked the driver.

“Junhong!” Himchan pulled Junhong and got himself a strong hustle which caused him to stumble.

It happened before his eyes; Junhong fell down to the ground after a loud crash was heard. Blood are everywhere, Junhong was bleeding a lot.

He was already tired of seeing blood.

Himchan wiped his tears away. It was the day he lost his spirit to move on and it was also the day he was all alone.

Himchan watched the people sadly, until something distracted him. Someone was sitting on the bench exactly where he was sitting at. He got up and was petrified.

It was Grandpa, sitting on the bench.

“Grandpa?” Himchan called for his grandfather.

Grandpa kept writing. Himchan tried to touch his grandfather but his hand went through him.

“You can’t touch him” A sudden voice appeared.

Himchan looked at the tall and skinny figure appeared together with the voice. It was a man who looked younger than him. He had a big eyes and a nice smile.

“I’m Daehyun, you asked for my help, remember?”

“Why can’t I touch him?” Himchan asked Daehyun.

“You’re not a part of the time. You can’t touch the history.” explain Daehyun briefly.

“What time? I don’t get you.” Himchan looked at the big eyes, waiting for an answer.

“This is your darkest history, Himchan,” Daehyun looked indifferent, “it’s the day your grandfather and your best friend died.”

A bell rang as he heard Daehyun, “You’ve got to stop it from happening! Please!” Himchan begged Daehyun with flowing tears.

“I can’t...” Daehyun looked away, toward Himchan’s grandfather. His grandfather was about to cross the street.

“Grandpa! Don’t go!”

Himchan’s grandfather turned around and suddenly a car came nearer and his grandfather was on the ground.

“Grandpa!” Himchan ran toward his grandfather. He knew his grandfather can hear him.

“Himchan...” Grandpa called him; Himchan’s tears fell on his grandfather’s face.

“Grandpa!” He heard a voice, his voice.

He saw himself and Junhong. Everything happened to Junhong was playing before his eyes again.

“Himchan…”

Himchan woke up and gasped. A bead of sweat ran down his forehead.

“A-are you okay?”

 Himchan nodded. He saw a familiar face, Daehyun; who had been encouraging and supporting him since he was sent away to the boarding house by his parents; looked worried.

“Are you sure?” Daehyun doubted Himchan’s answer.

“Yeah, let’s do it again…” Himchan went back to bed.

“What’s your purpose on doing this?”

“I don’t know, I just feel that I need to, please…” Himchan looked at Daehyun with a hope that he would help.

“Okay,” Daehyun sighed. He was hurt to see Himchan cry and then woke up looking restless, but he couldn’t say no. “Close your eyes…”

Himchan saw the grey sky morning, again. He walked to the sidewalk, wondering why he was there. He didn’t remember that he was the one that asked for it. He then saw his grandfather sat on the bench he usually sit at and ran toward his grandpa. He tried to hug him, only to find out that he can’t even touch his grandpa. Himchan cried, he tried again and again.

“Grandpa…” Himchan sobbed. He missed his grandfather.

“You can’t touch him…”

“You’re Daehyun,” Himchan remembered he had heard the voice before.

Daehyun didn’t expect for Himchan to remember him at the fifth time doing this.

“I want it to be stopped… You can take me, let me die…” cried Himchan.

Daehyun couldn’t bear to see Himchan suffer, but history must not be changed.  As the time-taker, he should not do that.

But, there are always buts.

"There's always a room for a second chance." Daehyun knew the risk he was taking, but he wanted to help Himchan. It was his choice. He was willing to take the consequences.

"Are you ready?" Daehyun smiled.

Himchan nodded. "I'm ready."

“You can only save one, either your grandpa or Junhong,” Daehyun said it in guilt; “one of them must die.”

“No! Let me die!” Himchan grabbed Daehyun’s shirt.

“One or none,” Daehyun dissolved himself in the air.

He could not care less; he will save them both, no matter what it takes.

Himchan was back to the time of the accident, he ran toward his grandfather when he saw that his grandfather was getting near to the road. He sprinted and pulled his grandfather. His grandfather fell down; he saw that the car was moving fast,

And Junhong was sprinting toward the street.

The world around him was starting to vanish. He knew it was his only chance, one and only. Himchan ran as fast as he could to get to hold Junhong from going to the street. He knew he could do it.

He knew he could.

“Himchan,”

“Himchan,”

Himchan heard someone called him, repeatedly.

“Himchan, you’re awake.” The voice talked in a soft, low voice.

“W-who are you? Where am I? Why is it so dark here?” Himchan can’t seem to recognise the voice and he could see nothing.

“I’m someone you knew.” The voice was riddling.

“Who are you? Tell me who are you?” Himchan frowned and held his hand out to reach out the one who was talking.

“You can’t see me, even if it’s not dark”

Himchan walked and reached nothing. There were no walls, he wondered how big is that place. He kept walking and walking but there was no end to it.

“You’re wasting your time and energy – you’re not in the world you live before, not anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Himchan looked his left and right.

“You never lived in that world. In other words, you never existed”

Himchan frowned in confusion, again. He tried to gather his senses but still he understood nothing.

“Let me show you…”

Himchan was dazzled by the sudden intense light, like someone was pointing a spotlight directly to his eyes. He covered his eyes with his left hand, and then he heard a noise, then more and more noises.

“We are now in the world you used to live. Now, let’s go to your grandpa’s house.”

With only a blink of his eyes, Himchan was already in the house he was familiar with, the house he always had missed. He walked around the living room; it looked exactly the same as he could remember, except for the TV, and the gadgets.

Himchan was attracted to something, a handcrafted model ship in a bottle. Himchan held the bottle, suddenly someone walked in the room, fast. Himchan who was shocked, accidently made the bottle shattered into tiny pieces.

What made Himchan felt odd was that the person wasn’t affected by it. He took a glance to the shattered pieces of the bottle and the handmade ship, it was gone. He then looked at the original place of the ship in the bottle was. It was there, looked like he didn’t even touch it.

“You’re not a part of this world. You’re not going to live like you used to be living.”

“What happened?” Himchan was tearing up; he didn’t want this to happen.

“I’ll show you.”

There, after the second dazzling light, Himchan saw his grandfather. He knew he couldn’t touch him. He couldn’t anymore. His grandfather was walking towards a building; he knew what that building was.

“Call me Grandpa, you’re now my grandson. This is Himchan.” Himchan smiled at the younger Junhong, he was excited to have a company, he always wanted one.

“I’m Junhong!”

Himchan suddenly remembered about his first meeting with Junhong. He wiped his tears and waited to see what will happen.

“Call me Grandpa, you’re now my grandson.” Grandpa was smiling happily to Junhong. Himchan noticed that he won’t be mentioned and sobbed inside.

“I’m Junhong! Grandpa, will I have companies?”

“No, I’m sorry Junhong; you’re my only grandchild…”

That got him. The tears he was containing finally dropped, one by one. Then Himchan found that he was back in the dark dimension.

“What happened to me?” Himchan managed to say something after a while. It was silent, no respond from the voice.

 “I want to know! I want to know why! Who are you really?” Himchan was sobbing harder. He did not understand what the meaning of this was.

Another dazzling light came, Himchan saw he himself, unconscious, with someone, who he did not remember. That person was sitting beside him with a worried look pasted in his face. Did he have an accident? He asked himself.

Himchan saw himself woke up sweating, looking tired. He didn’t get it.

“Daehyun…”

The person who sat beside him finally said something.

“Himchan! Are you okay?”

That voice, he knew that voice.

“Your name is Daehyun?” Himchan shot the voice a question. It wasn’t as sorrowful as the voice but he had this feeling.

“Yes…” Daehyun answered in his sorrowful voice.

Himchan didn’t know how to react. He remained silent.

“Let me show you something else,” said Daehyun.

Himchan saw himself sobbed.

“Grandpa…”

“You can’t touch him…”

***

“I want it to be stopped… You can take me, let me die…”

***

“You can only save one, either your grandpa or Junhong, one of them must die.”

“No! Let me die!”

“One or none,”

***

“You, Jung Daehyun, the time-taker, had broken the most important rule, never to interfere the history; therefore you will be punished. Due to your great service for a very long time, you will not be taken your spirit, you will live, but you will be thrown in the dark. As for the human, Kim Himchan, he will be erased.”

“No!” Daehyun declined, “Let the human live, spare his life. You can take my physical form” continued Daehyun.

“Alright then, but he will be thrown in the dark too.”

“No! Let him-” before Daehyun could finish his words, the judge hammered the table and Daehyun’s figure was fading.

Tears flowed down Himchan’s cheeks. “I’m sorry… Daehyun, I’m sorry…”

It was silent, Daehyun didn’t reply him.

“Why did you do that? Why did you let me live?” Himchan kept shooting Daehyun with questions.

“I didn’t even know.”

“You shouldn’t do that. You shouldn’t…” Himchan put his left hand in his pocket. “I want you to live normally; you should just let me die.”

There was no response from Daehyun; suddenly the dark surrounding was beginning to fade and Daehyun’s figure started to appear.

“What? What happened?” Daehyun looked at his palms, he could see them. “Himchan!” Daehyun ran toward Himchan who was lying down in a pool of blood.

Himchan was sweating and weak. “Daehyun, you’re free… I’ve taken your place…”

Daehyun sobbed and held onto Himchan’s hand. “You bastard! Why did you do this..?”

Himchan trembled and took his breath deeply, “You don’t deserve the punishment for what I’ve done. I don’t want you to suffer for my mistakes. You didn’t have to save me, Daehyun…”

Himchan’s hand was getting cold. Beads of sweat increased and he trembled more. Daehyun cried for he didn’t bear to see Himchan in that condition.

“Daehyun, it’s cold.” Himchan said it weakly and panted slowly.

“I did it because I want you to be happy.” Daehyun’s voice cracked. “I want you to be happy because I love you…” Daehyun looked at the one he always loved. There was no motion, no tremble, no voice, no breathe.

“Himchan!” Daehyun cried harder and embraced Himchan, and then Himchan’s cold body was dissolving into the air molecules. “Himchan!” Daehyun screamed with all his might.

His surrounding darkened.

“No! Himchan!”

A few moments later, running footsteps drummed the floor. “What happened?”

No respond.

“What happened?” the same question.

“Daehyun, what’s wrong?”

“I-I was just having a nightmare…”

Daehyun scratched his head. “Himchan…”