WHEN I WAS HUNTED

Chapter 8: Hours after sorrow

As you know, when a person dies, their brain replays its best memories. I cherished those moments of joy, but my body wasn't in pain when I opened my eyes. It was a total white and glazy place with a pathway lined with beautiful white roses. The place had a vibeless atmosphere, and there was always a mild trumpet sound, urging me to go deeper into the place. I was sure that this was heaven. I couldn't get angry because the place was so kind. I rushed in and called for the supreme to appear before me. I yelled out, unable to express my true anger, just a bit of it escaped. Suddenly, a man appeared in front of me, dressed in a polished white outfit. He smiled at me and said, "Welcome, kid, you're very special to us. But it seems you've had a sorrowful ending. Still, you've made it to heaven, be grateful," he muttered. Angered, I asked him, "Grateful? Why? Whom should I be grateful to? To the almighty? To that evil family? Or those addons? Just tell me! It's all your fault for creating such dirt in this world! Can I get one chance again? I haven't lived my life yet; I want to live happily." He rejected my request. I yelled at the heavens, looking up, "Unjust has happened in this world. If your ears are open, you can just hear my situation. Please close them. If your eyes are open, close them too because you can only see it. If you have a heart that can shed true tears and feel true feelings, please feel my place just once. I call upon hell to hear my plea for justice. If I am wrong, I will pay for my deeds!" Suddenly, the ground trembled and vibrated, the floors resembling a chessboard, and the roses turned black and white. Two thrones popped out, and there was a man who dressed like the supreme, but in black. Both were identical and at the same time asked me, "What do you want?" I replied, "I need to live again, and I need pure revenge. If I go to hell, I'm pleased. Being betrayed and stabbed, going to heaven is worthless after living such an awful life with filthy hearts. I'm not going to beg for a chance because I was not given one. And if you don't give it to me, it's a great show that you will never get justice, even if you meet a demon or an angel." Both stopped and said, "Yes, you can't beg because what was done to you is not what you deserve. But we can't send you back to your world without changing you. Saints can say peace, and rebels can say blood, but to you, peace and blood are not enough. You need powers in your heart." So, they gave me the power of will, strength, and determination and blessed me. They gave me a bag, which was given to me by my father, and said, "The answer is here!" They also said that I would have a guardian angel with me always and then vanished into thin air. I disappeared into a loop, and my body went like jelly. At last, I ended up in an open pit near the beach. I woke up and watched everyone. They stared at me differently. I wished them a good morning and walked away. There was a huge mirror, and when I saw myself, I was dressed half black and half white, like a clown. I heard a voice shouting my name behind me. When I turned, it was Si Woo. He tried to come near me, but I ran away. However, he chased after me and asked me what happened to me and my family. When he grabbed me, I could hear a voice, and that was the Heaven Supreme. He said, "He is your guardian angel, just follow him. Next time I will talk through him." Suddenly, Si Woo gazed at me. I yelled at him and went, but a sudden force pulled me towards him. But at the same time, my body was cleared, kept at home safely, and the grounds were washed perfectly with liquids. The clothes worn by the evildoers were collected and burnt. My body was kept there because it was late at night. They slept comfortably without a pinch of guilt. Here I was stuck with Si Woo. We walked, and suddenly a girl from school came by and started talking. I turned because people at school might share it with the evildoers. Si Woo didn't know this, grabbed me, and said that he found Ju Kyong. The girl asked where, and she laughed and went away. He was shocked. But people at the beach saw me, and I got some sense. I took his hands off, then called the passerby and wished. I touched him and called the person again. He didn't turn or respond. Then he looked at me and asked me to be calm. "Now you are under my protection. We will never leave you like this again. We all came to protect you inside our hands. And I will protect you because I am grateful to you. His words made me shock yet his words were powerful. I asked him whether will he join my hands to get revenge. I kept his hands on mine and said yes. I may feel like the legendary phoenix which may born from the ashes. I am Minokawa who is ready swallow the moon to shun the lights from the evils.