Chương 4: PARALLEL WORLD

"I WANT to go back to the time before my parents' accident," Haneul made it much clearer. Then he did not forget to add, "With all of my memories intact."

That was the start of his family's tragedy. If he could go back and prevent that, then the fate of his family could be changed. Then he could also change the path that his life had taken.

From what Yeomra had said about that child who was destined for greatness, it could be concluded that one's fate could be altered. Even if that child was just accidentally put on the list of people who would die today, his death was still set in stone. Haneul's intervention altered that fate, saving him from death.

This meant that a person's action could change another person's destiny. If Haneul could do it for that child, then he certainly could do it for his family as well.

He looked at Yeomra, staring at the other with eyes full of intensity.

"That's an interesting choice."

When he heard that comment, hope bloomed inside him. Thinking that what he proposed was possible. But Yeomra's next words dashed that hope into smithereens.

"Unfortunately, I don't have the power to do that."

Haneul quickly wilted when he heard that. He wanted to shout at the other, to rage, and just to scream at the top of his lungs. But he knew nothing would change even if he did that. He had experienced so many setbacks in life that at this point, he no longer had the strength left in him to get angry.

"That event had already come to pass. If I let you travel back in time with your present memories, it will disrupt that world's timeline and a lot of bad consequences might result to that."

Haneul no longer cared. He didn't even want to hear the other's explanation. What's the use of that when nothing would change?

"But I could send you to a parallel world where that event hadn't happened yet."

He jerked his head up quite forcefully when he heard that. "W-what do you mean?"

"It's exactly as you've heard. Although I can't send you back to the past of the world you came from, I can send you back to a parallel world in which the accident of your parents hadn't happened yet."

Haneul's empty eyes were starting to be filled with hope once again. But before he could feel excited, he quickly doused himself with cold water. The key to what Yeomra said was 'parallel world'. Meaning that it would be a different world from where he came from. And that could also mean that the parents and sister he had there might be different from the ones he knew.

He quickly voiced that worry.

"Don't worry, they're still the same parents and sister you had. They have the same name, appearance, and life experiences. A parallel world is simply just another version of the same world. With just a few tweaks here and there to make it just a tad bit different. But in essence, they're just the same."

Even though Haneul was currently just a soul, he felt as if he could sense his heart pounding relentlessly inside his imaginary body. There's still hope! There's still a chance that he could change what happened. Even if it's in a parallel world whatsoever, the important thing was his family was still his family. And that's all that mattered.

"Then please send me there!" he quickly said before Yeomra changed his mind or imposed some condition.

"Sure. Just let me check which parallel world meets your need." Yeomra then closed his eyes. "Oh, there's only one world that's suitable. But... hmm.. this would be interesting."

Haneul completely ignored the amused tone Yeomra used when he said the last part. All his attention was focused on the fact that there's a suitable parallel world he could go to.

Yeomra opened his eyes and asked with a meaningful smile, "Are you sure you want me to send you there?"

"Yes!"

Yeomra nodded. "Then I wish you good luck."

The other clapped his hands. Then a light pillar appeared from above and enveloped Haneul's whole body.

Before he completely disappeared from that white space, he heard Yeomra say, "Oh right, I just gave you a blessing. Whether it becomes a gift or a curse is up to you."

And that was accompanied by a grin, as if he found this whole situation amusing.

After Haneul completely disappeared from where he was standing, Yeomra looked into the distance and smiled.

"Oh, it seems that I have another interesting guest."

Yeomra changed his appearance once again as he waited for the arrival of this guest. As he was doing that, he started evaluating the other's soul. Once he finished his evaluation, a wry smile appeared on his lips. Because the death of this 'guest' seemed to be another mistake.

Was it time to hire new employees?

Finally, the new guest appeared. Feeling inspired by his interaction with Haneul, the first thing he asked was;

"Do you want to go back to the past?"