- “talking with a voice”
- {talking with telepathy}
- Future Yeon and Shin-ju – from 2024
- Current Yeon and Shin-ju – from 1938
Rang
I woke up the morning of Seollal feeling warm which was a strange feeling for me. As Yeo-hee and I dressed for the celebration in our new hanbok, I thought back to a week ago when half of my older sister was healed. Seeing her and both versions of my hyung channel the lightning bolts was amazing, along with keeping her alive while she was unconscious. Thinking back to my childhood he had shown me the same caring parental attitude.
I was glad they’d come back in time for Seollal, allowing the four of us to spend it as a family. It was thrilling to help our people with the one act of rebellion still allowed by making sure the Korean households got the traditional foods delivered safely right under the nose’s of the Japanese.
The deep clean by the general staff to remove all the bad luck and welcome positive energy for the year of the Earth Rabbit had been successful. Hong-ju had been busy making sure everyone had their hanbok ready including my sister and future version of my brother. Yeo-hee told me how my Noona had been dressed up like a doll by the snail bride and Hong-ju to figure out which style of hanbok suited her best.
Moo-young was in charge of the ancestral rites which was going to include a blessing for all of us, especially my sister’s healing this year. A thought hit me that I would be celebrating new years with my family, since I had been a bandit leader for 30 years. I needed to make the most of the celebration as I had the feeling, this would be a one off time with all my family. We headed to the room where the Ancestral rites and blessing would be taking place. The table set up was perfect along with the seating arrangement.
Hong-ju had done a great job with our hanbok, it suited our tastes and yeo-hee told me fabric was starting to become harder to find with rumours of another world war looming. 30 minutes later, everyone else started to enter the hall, looking amazing in their hanbok, especially my Noona and both versions of my Hyung.
The Ancestral rites were led by Moo-young; the space transformed with our Korean ancestors and my adopted Noona’s aboriginal ancestor spirits being present. They stayed for the blessing, Moo-young brought Rose and future Yeon to the front and he was about to place his hands on them when he was stopped.
A gentle warm wind entered the space carrying cherry blossoms, spoke with a warm tone “Daughter you are loved by so many here, your path has been hard so far and there is more to come so trust yourself, along with the closest to you. Moo-young you have our thanks for healing our Lady Roseia. Lord Yeon, please watch over our daughter, the next few months will be hard on her” the voice paused.
“Everyone based in this time I know you have been fighting for freedom, keep going you are on the right track. Trust each other and stay strong. We bless everyone in this space for the coming months and years” as the voice finished each of us was touched by a cherry blossom petal which glowed and disappeared inside our body. Noona was surrounded by petals, with the gentle wind leaving the same way they arrived.
Everyone stayed seated and slowly left the hall once they felt it was appropriate. My gut feeling told me to stick close to my Noona and hyung, I followed them to Hong-ju’s room where I noticed her lying down on top of the bed. Current hyung motioned to me to join him on the couch, “you’ve had a look on your face since the blessing, what’s going on in your head?”
“Something is going to happen today involving Noona and your other self. I don’t know when but I know we need to make the most of the time we have left with them.” I was pulled into a hug which I didn’t fight. We sat there keeping our sister company while others got lunch ready with food and table decoration.
The both of us could smell when lunch was ready, this meant we weren’t surprised when Hong-ju appeared in the room. She helped our sister to fix up her appearance after her short nap. For a second her body looked see-through, so I looked away and back again to find her body solid again, so my gut told me this was a sign of what was to come.
The four of us walked towards the pavilion Moo-young, future Yeon and Yeo-hee were waiting for us at the entrance. It was a nice feeling to be surrounded by my blood and found family. The rest of the seats were filled and Hong-ju got everyone’s attention “Saehae Bok Mani Badeuseyo, jal meokgesseumnida.”
We waited for Hong-ju, Moo-young and future Yeon to start eating as they were the oldest at the table. The food was so good I couldn’t stop myself from letting out “masisseoyo.” A cute giggle left my wife’s mouth which put a slight smile on my face. Throughout the meal I kept sneaking glances at my noona to check whether she was still in her solid temporary form or see-through. Everyone was enjoying the feast but something was off with my future hyung and noona so I was on edge. At the end of the meal my gut feeling became really strong. I whispered to current hyung “keep an eye on your other self and be ready to catch him if needed.”
With no warning my future hyung and Noona fell off their chairs and before they could hit the ground, I had caught Rose, while current hyung had caught himself. We were directed by Hong-ju to place them in her bed, once they were changed in pj’s Moo-young took a look at them. There was nothing wrong physically but he could tell their energy was fading into and out.
It clicked in my mind to why she had seemed see-through for a moment so I mentioned to Moo-young “her body did go transparent just before lunch.” He went quiet for a minute or two then he had an Aha moment, “their cores are ready to return to the future.” The plan of action was to keep them comfortable and keep them company while they transitioned back to their bodies.
My observation of Moo-young and Hong-ju told me they’d see my brother and sister again. We had been advised to spend this time with them as we might not get another chance. I approached the bed feeling torn as to who to sit next to, when my wife made the decision for me by sitting by her brother-in-law.
I gently held my Noona’s hand, afraid to hold it too tight in case anymore damage happened, a voice startled me {you can hold my hand normally, Rang. You won’t damage it.} I knew I was crying when part of me was fighting the tears while the rest of me allowed them to fall.
{I want to see both of you better so grab some pillows to prop us up. It’s tiring to keep lifting my head.} I was about to get up when Hong-ju and her assistant entered with three to four pillows. Yeo-hee and I held their upper bodies up while pillows were placed behind them, creating a pile for my brother and sister to learn against.
We gently laid them back on the pile of pillows and she weakly smiled at me before glancing over at our brother. {I don’t know how much longer I will be able to communicate so Rang and Yeo-hee I hope we can meet again in the future somehow.} My attempt to cry silently failed when Yeon woke up saying “been a while since I’ve heard you cry like this.
Yeo-hee has been a positive influence it seems” and my wife blushed at the complement “thank you Yeon.” Rose couldn’t stop herself from yawning so I brought the blanket up to her shoulders and assured her “I won’t be far away so it’s ok to rest.”
Rose
I stopped being able to keep track of time during the Seollal feast, so it was disconcerting to find myself lying down in Hong-ju’s bed with Yeon next to me. The presence of my brothers when I first woke was comforting so I knew we were coming to the end of our time in the 1930’s. This was my first time seeing my younger brother openly crying and allowing himself to be vulnerable.
At this moment I wished there was a way for mum to bring him back using his reincarnated self in 2024, but I knew mum would never agree to this. Instead of feeling sad about it, I decided to find a way to see my brother and his wife in the right time period. I could feel my energy slipping away so I needed help from a pile of pillows to keep my head supported. The only element that made sense was the warmth and love I felt coming from everyone in the room and it was this warmth making me sleepy. Rang assured me it was safe to rest so I closed my eyes.
While I was resting, I could hear FNF and Youtiful which were two of my favourite Stray Kids songs being played. It was comforting and confusing at the same time so when I heard the voices of Shin-ju and Ji-ha, my confusion level went up. Why was I hearing elements from 2024 while my temporary body was in 1939.
I opened my eyes to see Moo-young sigh in relief and it took me a second to realise my body had been affected in some way. After a few strained breaths I asked “what happened while I was asleep for you to react with a sigh?” “Both of you changed to a transparent form, so when you became solid again I was relieved,” he replied.
I took my time gathering breaths before I spoke “Yeon have you heard anything out of the ordinary, which belongs in 2024?” There was a moment of silence before he faced me “I kept on hearing Ji-ah and Yun’s voices all around me in the darkness”, he continued “what did you hear sister?” {I heard the music of Stray Kids and the voices of Shin-ju and Ji-ah.}
Moo-young went silent for a few minutes with a pondering look on his face, “I will be keeping an eye on your fluctuating energy levels.” His silence told me he was hiding important information, so I wondered how long it would take till both of us were back in 2024. I entered a dreamlike state while awake sometime after the conversation with Moo-young, where the faces and voices of those sitting beside us blended all together.
Once Rose and Yeon remained transparent it was clear to Moo-young, both of them would no longer be in 1939 within a few hours. He gathered everyone of importance to allow them to say their goodbyes, starting with Current Yeon. He calmly spoke “thank you for being there for me and I look forward to meeting you in the future. Future me look after our only sister.”
It was Hong-ju’s turn so she stood in front of them, “i don’t know what the future has in store for all of us. Rose I see you like a sister so please look after Yeon if we never meet again. Your presence has helped heal my brother since I last saw him, so thank you.” She paused, trying not to cry, “I hope there is a way for us to meet again. Goodbye for now.” It was clear she wanted to give them one last hug but their transparent forms didn’t allow for physical contact.
Hong-ju pulled back as Yeo-hee walked forward to sit next to Rose with tears ready to fall from her eyes, so Hong-ju held on to her. “Rose, we have just met so saying goodbye doesn’t feel right to me. I echo your words of wanting to meet again in the future” she stopped talking as tears overwhelmed her.
Hong-ju pulled her into a front on hug, while Yeo-hee let her tears flow freely while her husband watched with tears in his eyes. Rang sat down next to Yeon and everyone could hear he was ready to break down crying. “Hyung… thank you for changing my path… last time you were here. … noona I want more time… to get to know you.” He took a few deep breaths and with a shaky voice he continued ”I love you sister… I hope to see you somehow in the future. Say hello to my niece.” He retreated back to the couches where current Yeon was waiting to embrace him in a hug.
Moo-young stepped forward and with a knowing expression on his face “Rose thank you for trusting me with your life when it mattered the most and I know I will see both of you again. We will be here till the end. Don’t worry about anything and let yourself be taken back.”
After this everyone stayed in Hong-ju’s room keeping Yeon and Rose company, while they remained in this time. The signal they were returning their bodies fading in and out of existence. Each length of time they faded in and out got longer and longer till they faded out for the last time.
the World Acording to Rose 
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