From the rooftop to the open sky, at this sudden shift in view… as he felt his body turn weightless, now plummeting downward. Only one thought surfaced:
Is this how things end?
He braced himself for impact.
But it never came.
His body suddenly halted mid-fall.
The sensation was so abrupt, so unnatural, that his thoughts blanked for a moment.
He blinked — and the world had changed.
"Huh?"
"What's going on?"
His voice echoed through an empty, boundless space.
"Is this the afterlife? Have I already died?"
He looked down at himself, instinctively reaching out, only to pause.
His body—
Or what should have been his body—
Wasn't solid.
It resembled something closer to smoke, a faint humanoid outline barely holding shape.
Before he could make sense of it—
[You have not died. You have simply entered my Domain.]
The voice cut in.
It wasn't coming from any direction.
It was everywhere.
Min-Jae flinched, his head snapping up as he searched for the source.
Left. Right. Above. Below.
Nothing.
No one.
[I'm right here, in front of you.]
This time, he focused.
Really focused.
And then—
He saw it.
Something.
It had no clear shape, no defined form. If he hadn't been told where to look, he wouldn't have noticed it at all, as if his mind simply refused to register its presence.
What is this? What kind of existence am I meeting?
The thought came instinctively, but he forced himself to stay calm.
Panic wouldn't help.
He steadied himself, drawing in a slow breath as he prepared to speak—
[You can simply think of me as a higher being.]
The voice interrupted again, calm, distant.
[There is a vast difference between our levels of existence. You can barely recognize me as it is.]
Min-Jae froze.
It can read my thoughts?
[Relax. I mean you no harm. And you have not died.]
The voice remained unchanged, almost indifferent.
[This is merely a coincidence. As you fell, you happened to collide with me while I was traveling through space.]
For a moment, his mind stalled, then thoughts rushed in one after another, too many to grasp at once. None of this made sense, and yet—
"…Have I really not died?"
[No, you have not died.]
The higher being repeated itself without the slightest hint of annoyance.
"Then… what is going to happen to me?"
Min-Jae asked again, his voice steadier now, some semblance of calm returning.
[Nothing. After some time, you will simply return to your world.]
Silence followed those words.
Yet, as they settled in, Min-Jae seemed to remember exactly what kind of life he was being sent back to, and a quiet, hollow laugh escaped him.
For a brief moment, when he had fallen — a part of him had accepted it.
Maybe even welcomed it.
After all, it was an end to everything.
But now — he was going back.
Not to something new. Not to anything better. But, back to that same life.
The same place where nothing ever changed.
Where it didn't matter what he did.
Where effort meant nothing.
Where people like him — were meant to stay where they were.
The thought tightened in his chest.
He had never done anything to stand out.
Never crossed a line.
And yet, the bullying had followed him since grade school, clinging to him no matter what he tried.
He had tried everything he could think of to change it, endured, avoided, adjusted, and still nothing worked.
And now — he was supposed to go back to that?
A world where connections outweighed talent.
Where chaebol families stood untouchable.
Where people like Jae-Sung could do whatever they wanted, and never face consequences.
Where someone like him could never even dream of changing anything.
The faint calm he had gathered shattered, and something darker settled in its place: despair.
It showed in his eyes, quiet but undeniable.
And perhaps — the higher being noticed.
[It seems our meeting was not entirely without meaning. Tell me, what is it that you want? I can grant you one wish.]
One wish.
The words struck his mind, echoing again and again like a steady drumbeat that refused to fade, sinking deeper with each repetition.
But the voice did not stop there.
[Money? Power? Revenge? Or changing the very common sense you are trapped in? Speak. I can fulfill your desire.]
For the first time, something lit up in Min-Jae's eyes.
Excitement.
For a brief moment, the answer felt obvious. Revenge. To pay back everything that had been done to him, every humiliation, every moment he had been forced to endure. The thought alone made something stir inside him, something sharp, something alive.
But then — he paused.
The words "common sense" lingered in his mind.
Should he wish for something like that?
Min-Jae hesitated.
If the world itself changed… if it became a place where ability and efforts alone decided everything — then he had confidence.
Confidence that he wouldn't lose.
Confidence that he could rise on his own and take that revenge with his own hands.
So should he wish for that instead?
Min-Jae hesitated, standing on the edge of a decision that felt far heavier than anything he had ever faced. He had almost made up his mind, the answer already forming, his lips parting as he was about to speak—
And then he stopped again.
Is that really enough?
The higher being waited without impatience, unmoving, as Min-Jae's thoughts began to race again, moving past what was reasonable, past what was safe, toward something far more dangerous.
If he could wish for anything…
Then why should he limit himself?
Why should he settle for fixing the world—
When he could stand above it?
The moment that thought formed, the voice answered.
[Yes. There is no need to limit your sight. Think of whatever you desire.]
"Then…"
Min-Jae's eyes sharpened, an intense gleam running through them now, no hesitation left.
"Give me the power to decide everything."
He didn't stop there.
"The very laws and rules that govern this world… I want to be the one who decides them."
A brief silence followed.
Then—
[Reality manipulation… you truly chose a grand wish.]
There was something faint in the voice this time. Amusement, perhaps. Or something close to it.
But there was no refusal.
Between them, a light began to form, faint at first, then growing brighter, gathering into a single point before condensing into something small.
Something simple.
Something green.
Min-Jae stared at it, confusion surfacing.
"A… seed?"
[As a lower existence, you cannot bear the full weight of your own wish. This is the only form it can take.]
[This seed will reside within you, and grow over time.]
Before he could react, the seed moved on its own, drifting forward before sinking into his smoke-like body without resistance.
There was no explosion of power.
No immediate change.
And yet—
Something changed.
Subtle.
Indescribable.
But undeniably there.
Min-Jae stilled, sensing it, feeling something new take root deep within him. And for the first time since arriving here, a different emotion surfaced.
Not despair.
Not confusion.
Something else.
He looked forward again, toward the being, and instinctively, he began to speak.
"Thank—"
The word never finished.
The space around him twisted suddenly, everything spinning at a dizzying speed as his vision blurred, his sense of self slipping as if something was pulling him away.
His consciousness began to fade.
And just before everything went dark—
He heard it.
[Grow well.]