EunB's eyes slowly opened. She sat up and rubbed her head for any damage from the crash. Miraculously, nothing was hurt. She looked around her body and nothing came up. She finally stood up and looked around her. It was white for miles, no sign of stopping. She looked at the ground and gasped at seeing that that her feet had sunk into the ground a little. She touched it and was surprised by how fluffy it was.

 

'What is going on here? Where am I?'

 

"I believe that I could be of assistance, young lady." EunB spun her head around and saw a guy a couple of feet in front of her, behind a podium. He was standing near a giagantic golden gate that was almighty to behold. The man smiled with his mouth and eyes.

 

"Um, who are you and where am I?" EunB asked hesitantly. He sat there for a second before he processed her words.

 

"No one's really asked me that before," he spoke in fluent korean. "Well, I've been here for so long that I've kind of forgotten. I've always wanted the name Charles, though. So, call me Charles." She walked toward Charles, interested in what he was saying.

 

"You can speak fluent korean?" Charles giggled.

 

"It's amazing the amount of diversity I see on a daily basis here. I need to lead them through the gate so it's best that I should be able to communicate with them."

 

"A-Alright, then. Now tell me where the heck I am," EunB demanded. Charles looked at her sadly.

 

"Ah. You must be one of those people. Unaware that this has happened to them. I see those a lot, mostly because they don't expect it." EunB was getting frustrated at his wording.

 

"They don't expect what?"

 

"Death." At that moment EunB froze and her eyes popped, trying to process what he said. 'I'm dead? What? How? What happened to the other members?' "You must be wondering about what I just said. That's understandable. You didn't know it would happen. Your manager REALLY shouldn't have been driving in those conditions."

 

"Wait wait wait. Do you know what exactly happened? It's all a blur to me." Her eyes remained bulged as Charles grabbed a huge book from under the podium. "What is that?"

 

"Oh, this? This is the record of people who have died this year, a little background about them, and how they died. There are thousands of versions, each with it's own year. So, if you wanted to know who died the year 1286, I could grab the book and read all the people who died that year. Though that would be very boring. Hahaha!" He laughed heartily at his own silliness, which surprised EunB considering he probably had to deal with dead people every day.

 

His laugh settled down when he realized that EunB wasn't laughing with him.

 

"Okay, let's see where you are. Now what's today's date?" Charles flipped through the book of 2014 deaths.

 

"I-I think it's... September 3rd..." Charles gave a confirmative nod as EunB whispered the date to herself again and again.

 

"Anything wrong?" Charles asked.

 

"It's Sojung's birthday. She's a member of my group, Ladies Code. And I died on her birthday. Oh man, this must be the WORST birthday for her!" EunB put her hands on her face as she silently cried.

 

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry that happened to you. Even though death is inevitable, no one should have to go through that." EunB looked up at stared into Charles's sympthetic eyes. She felt a comforting feeling around him and felt a little better.

 

"So, did you find me?"

 

"Yes I did. You are Go Eun-Bi, though I guess you knew that. Born on November 23, 1992, you are blood type AB, weigh around 44 kg and stand at 164 cm. You are the in-law to Kim Sung-Joon, a famous anchor. Ooh, nice! And now your death..." EunB gulped and prepared herself to hear her own death worded out to her.

 

"You and your members had finished a performance and were heading out to your next destination. It was raining terribly and it was around one in the morning. Not all the facts are present, but in any case, the car spun out of control, smashed into a wall, and damaged you and some of your fellow members." EunB sat back down and cried. Charles left his podium and sat next to EunB, rubbing her back soothingly. EunB looked up and bear hugged Charles while wetting his shoulder. Charles just smiled and hugged her back. After a while, the crying faded and EunB unraveled herself from the hug.

 

"I'm sorry about the shoulder, by the way."

 

"Eh, it's fine. The great thing about heaven," EunB sniffled at the word "heaven". "...is that it fixes things fast. See?" She looked at his shoulder and noticed no wet spot.

 

"But it can't fix this, right?" Charles shook his head and replied "No". EunB looked down at the ground and sulked for a bit. She heard a poof and looked up. She saw a Latin American boy with soccer clothes on and looking around. He was around 3 ft tall and had wavy black hair that reached his earlobes. His wide eyes and confused expression made him look adorable.

 

"Excuse me, Eun-Bi. I should deal with this. Why don't you sit near the golden gate and wait. I'll be back." He smiled one more time before heading to the boy. She scooted over to the gate and laid her back on the gate. She hugged her legs close and looked over at Charles and the boy. It seemed like they could understand each other.

 

What intrigued EunB the most was that the boy was smiling, not crying with a shocked expression like she had.The boy then pointed to EunB with a questioning face. EunB blushed and hid her face in her legs.

 

"E-excuse me." EunB heard very broken korean and looked up to see the boy standing over her. "I-It's going to be ok. Don't w-w-worry." He raised his hand, asking for a handshake. EunB shook his hand and watched as the boy smiled and giggled. She started to smile too. "I'm Juan."

 

"I'm Eun-Bi."

 

"I'll see y-you soon!" Juan said as he raced to the golden gate. It opened on it's own and he ran inside, disappearing into the clouds.

 

"That's where heaven is," Charles said as he came back toward EunB. "It only opens to those who are ready to accept that they're dead and they've gone to heaven. Do you think you're ready?" That was the big question. Though, ultimately, EunB had already made up her mind. She looked up at Charles and shook her head.

 

"I'm not ready yet."

 

"I understand. It's a lot to take in. Stay on the outside as much as you want. Plus, I could use the company." And that got EunB smiling.

 

So, for the next couple of days, EunB sat outside the gate and chatted to Charles about anything that came to mind. Though, he wasn't as familiar with the newer things that were happening on Earth, he still listened to EunB go on and on. In return, EunB got a chance to see people of different enthnicities and ages and talk to them a bit, using Charles as a translator, of course. Once in a while, he would ask the same question "Do you think you're ready?" and she would always reply with "No. Not yet." and Charles would understand.

 

...

 

It's been 4 days since EunB has been in heaven(or, the outer edge of heaven) and she relaxed on the gate, resting her eyes.

 

"You okay, EunB-ah?" Charles asked concernedly. They were comfortable with each other enough to drop some of the honorifics.

 

"Yeah, Charles-oppa. I'm just resting my eyes. Seeing so many different at once can give you a headache."  In a couple of minutes, EunB heard another poof, but kept her eyes closed, not really looking to interact with anyone. Until she heard the person speak.

 

"Excuse me. Have you seen my friend anywhere? Is she alright?" EunB's eyes shot open at the familiar voice and turned her head toward the person. She couldn't believe her eyes at who she was seeing. She stood at the same height as EunB, but had longer hair and wider eyes that were filled with fear.

 

"RiSe?" EunB asked. RiSe turned toward the other voice and smiled big. "RiSe!"

 

"EunB!" EunB got up and ran toward RiSe and gave her a big hug. RiSe picked EunB up and spung her around, the sound of happiness filling the endless room. Charles stood back, a smile evident on her face. When RiSe put the younger down, her face had already filled with tears.

 

"I can't believe you're actually here, RiSe," EunB said with tears dropping everywhere.

 

"Of course I'm here, EunB. I told you that I would never leave your side and I intend to keep that promise." They rested their foreheads on each other's and held hands. They just stood there, giggling and crying while Charles stood a good distance away, giving them space.

 

"But wait," EunB realized. She stared at RiSe's eyes as she did vice-versa. "Doesn't this mean that you're... dead?" RiSe straightened her head and sadness sweeped her eyes.

 

"Yes. I am dead. The doctors worked really hard at trying to help me, but I just couldn't go on any longer. I just had this feeling that I needed to let go. Now, I know I made the right decision."

 

"By dying? RiSe..." EunB started but was cut off by RiSe.

 

"No no. I am your unnie and I promised to take care of you. Don't push me away, okay?" EunB nodded as tears swelled in her eyes again. RiSe pulled her into another hug that lasted for a good three minutes. When they let go, they both stared at Charles.

 

"Sorry for making this awkward for you, Charles," EunB said.

 

"It's not a problem, Eunbi-ah. It's not every day you get to see this kind of thing happen." RiSe squeezed EunB's hand for comfort. "So, back to business. Hello, Kwon Rise. I am Charles, the keeper of heaven."

 

"You never gave me that introduction before."

 

"I've been working on it while you were sleeping." Charles smiled playfully, which both of the girls returned. "So RiSe, would you like to know how you died? Or are you good?"

 

"I think I'm fine. If I want to know, I'll ask. If I may ask, how does aging work, because I'm not sure if I want to look old while I'm in heaven." Both girls giggled at the elder's words.

 

"Well, aging actually, doesn't happen here. However old you are when you pass, you stay that age for the rest of the time you're here, which technically forever." RiSe smiled and fist-bumped at that part, which EunB giggled at.

 

"What are we waiting for, EunB? Lets go in!" RiSe started to drag EunB toward the gate when she let go of former's hand. RiSe looked back with confusion as EunB shook her head.

 

"I don't know if I'm ready. If I go in, I'll never be able to go out again. Plus, I won't see Charles again." EunB looked at Charles sadly, which Charles returned.

 

"But, what about me? I'm here now. You're not alone." RiSe walked over and held EunB's hands. "I understand you're scared. But your new life won't move forward if you stay here. Plus, I need you. I don't want to leave you again." RiSe raised her right hand and cupped EunB's cheek. RiSe wiped the tears that came down from the latter's face. After a while, EunB finally nodded.

 

"Charles? I think I'm ready." Charles nodded and pointed to the gate.

 

"You just stand by that gate. Once it knows that you've accepted death, you'll go through. Oh, and hey. You'll be able to talk to me, you just can't go through the gate. Don't worry, okay?" EunB nodded. She went over and hugged Charles.

 

"Thank you, Charles. For everything."

 

"No problem. Now you go with RiSe to heaven. Trust me. You'll like it." EunB nodded and walked back toward RiSe. They stood hand in hand and walked to the golden gates. They gates opened majestically.

 

"You okay, Eun-Bi?" EunB looked at Charles, to RiSe, then toward the gate.

 

"I'm Fine, Ri-Se. Thank You." EunB smiled as she took one step with RiSe following. They then disappeared into heaven, as they started their new forever life...