Rebirth; A New Age || seongjoong || ATEEZ

Chapter 20 : The Beginning of the End (pt.2 finale)

*this chapter does contain 18+ content, if that isn't your cup of tea that is totally fine (it's not super descriptive tho)! you can skip over the scene and won't lose any of the story*

They used to say that when the skies turned black like the night and the sun burned red like the hot embers of a fire, that death was coming.

They used to say that when it started raining dark ash for days, blocking the sun's red beams, that something big was coming. The wind was an aider, carrying the ash from fires and detonations, in the mystery of the red sun. The black ash that covered the high grass and collected in the window wells was a physical reminder of what was happening. It was like snow, though it never melted no matter how high the sun was in the sky, it only disappeared when the wind would pick up and carry it off to sea.

The black ash that plagued the sky like a migrating flock of birds first came in the late month of August.

It came from the fire in Mokpo, the huge explosion that even they felt. The ground rumbled like it was alive and breathing, it was a feeling that none of them could forget. Even though they weren't all that close to the city itself, they had heard the distant explosions when the bombs were dropped at night. They sounded like distant fireworks, though they were sure they were nowhere close to as pretty and only left behind holes instead of awe's.

The ash followed a day later, magically appearing on the ground when they all woke up. Yunho had run his fingers through it and stared long and hard at the black soot between his skin and stood still while the falling ash settled down in his hair and on his clothes. They all watched from the safety of the covered porch as Yunho stood there for a long time before looking up at the darkened sky that looked like it was nearly night despite it being day.

Seonghwa watched him carefully, leaning against the doorframe with his arms wrapped around himself.

When Yunho turned around to look at all of them, Seonghwa could finally see the switch that seemed to click within him.

"It's over," he said, all the muscles in his face relaxed. There was no other emotion, no sadness, no fear, no happiness- just what looked to be complete acceptance. "It really is over."

Seonghwa remembered that day as the day that really sealed the deal for them. Especially for the four of them that never saw Busan or Masan, two beautiful and once-thriving cities, leveled to the ground. For Seonghwa, seeing the dark ash collect along the path they'd walked easily a thousand times, the earth completely silent for once, it felt lonely. For the first time, the world felt empty and desolate.

He couldn't understand why when he stretched out his hand to let the ash fall onto his open palm, he felt that the world had finally crumbled to its final form.

The ash rained on them for a whole week, completely covering the land in a dark layer of fake snow. The sun was red due to the heavy amounts of smoke that filled the atmosphere, making all the days seem dark and gloomy. During that week, Seonghwa found himself really struggling to accept what was happening. Even with the proof right in front of him, he found it so hard to believe that after everything, it was ending just like that.

After years of fighting for their lives, a few bombs and heavy firepower would do what they failed to do. It felt wrong in so many ways, to watch the land burn down in flames as a restart button. Seonghwa was so beside himself that all they had to do was sit back and watch. After ten years of turning themselves into completely different people just to stay alive, the ending didn't match the beginning like he hoped it would.

He wished he was the one starting the fire. He wished he was the one going through the cities and doing what needed to be done. He wished his friends, his family, were right behind him helping every step of the way. This was the one part of a horror movie that he wished he could be a part of- but wasn't given the right. The part where the main characters got to make a difference themselves, where they were the ones to save the world and humankind- that's what Seonghwa wanted, that's what he thought was going to happen if the apocalypse was ever going to end.