Chapter Text
He didn't know when it started.
[17,936:23:10:02]
It felt like meaningless numbers when he first noticed them.
"Hey, Kim Rok Soo. Why are you staring above my head again?"
"It's nothing."
He was asked constantly why he would stare at the empty place above other people's heads, the place which wasn't looking empty to him at all.
The numbers above each person's head were different, but they had something in common.
[17,936:23:08:35]
'It's decreasing.'
They were always decreasing, without a pause.
'It's like a countdown.'
For Kim Rok Soo, the numbers looked like a countdown, but he didn't know what they were counting down.
'Let's just ignore them.'
He decided to ignore them since no one else seemed to be able to see them and he didn't know what they were.
'Huh?'
It was until he saw a weird number.
[0:0:01:23]
'What is this...?'
It was the shortest number he had ever seen. He took his eyes off the numbers and stared at the person who was their owner.
'Weird.'
That person was a young woman who was waiting for the bus.
[0:0:0:56]
Kim Rok Soo felt curious. Would he know what that numbers were if he watched that woman's numbers?
[0:0:0:37]
Screech!
He was still contemplating it when a car suddenly crushed the woman.
[0:0:0:0]
Kim Rok Soo froze as he understood what those numbers were about.
The numbers that he could see on everyone except for his own head, were their lifespans.
It was counting down their life.
Kim Rok Soo started to purposefully ignore the countdown. He didn't want to know when his neighbors, classmates, teachers, or co-workers will die.
It was just that something was weird about them.
[13,465:12:54:36]
'It's different.'
The number above his deskmate's head decreased and changed more rapidly than others.
Kim Rok Soo had an extremely good memory. He could remember the numbers clearly if he wanted to, that was why he was sure.
'It's because of me.'
His desk mate's lifespan was shortening rapidly the more they get along.
'...Let's ignore him from now on.'
So he decided to distance himself from his deskmate to experiment his theory.
[14,895:16:46:12]
'...I was right.'
He really was the reason that the lifespans of the people around him decreased.
It was when he started distancing himself from everyone.
'...?'
The rule broke when he first met Lee Soo Hyuk after the apocalypse.
'...Why...?'
He couldn't understand why, but he was sure that he wasn't wrong.
'Why can't I see his lifespan?'
He couldn't see anything above Lee Soo Hyuk's head.
That was the first time.
It felt as if he was finally not alone in a world that was going according to a predetermined fate.
A fate that he never was brave enough to change since he wasn't something like the main character, and didn't want to become one.
Thus, he allowed himself to 'feel' again.
'He's like that too.'
The second person whom Kim Rok Soo couldn't see his lifespan was Choi Jung Soo.
He was a cheeky brat who always tried to make Kim Rok Soo call him hyung.
Kim Rok Soo felt happy.
He felt alive.
'Let's change it.'
It was then that he decided to change the 'fate' that he could see above others' heads.
"What do you mean I can't go? This attack on monsters isn't even that dangerous!"
"You will die if you go."
"..."
He quickly became famous for being a death prophet, as every death he predicted happened without a ditch.
He couldn't change them no matter how hard he tried.
"Rok Soo-ah, won't you predict my death too?"
Lee Soo Hyuk jokingly asked him one day.
"I cannot see your death, Team leader-nim."
Kim Rok Soo's answer made Lee Soo Hyuk stupefied, as he could see that Kim Rok Soo looked happy about it.
"...I see."
He understood what it meant clearly, a smile appeared on his face as he said.
"Well, who cares about that? Being alive is the best."
Kim Rok Soo smiled at that.
•••
'Why?'
Kim Rok Soo thought as he stared blankly above Choi Jung Soo and Lee Soo Hyuk's heads.
[0:0:10:32]
'...'
For the first time, he could see their lifespans. Their lifespans showed the same number.
"We will all die if we don't go back."
He uttered his conclusion while his mind was racing rapidly, calculating several things at once.
They didn't want to leave, however.
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
Choi Jung Soo asked while gasping and trying to breathe.
"I leave it to you."
Lee Soo Hyuk said while staring at him with guilt-filled eyes.
[0:0:0:0]
Kim Rok Soo's time stopped again. It felt as if he was woken up from a sweet dream just to be greeted with a terrible nightmare.
The world turned back to its tracks after their countdowns hit zero.
Kim Rok Soo once again closed his heart.
It was until he heard an old man's voice.
"Young Master, it is morning."
Kim Rok Soo, no, Cale Henituse.
He didn't see anything above anyone's head from then on.
Not even after meeting Sui Khan or the now wanderer Choi Jung Soo.