Chapter 581 – Someone’s Beginning, Someone’s End
—
– Han Kain
Images and videos flicker through my mind—memories that trigger thoughts.
Have I ever had such an intense experience since gaining insight?
Even when the Blessing was intact, it felt impossible…
It’s hard to explain without the intervention of a sponsor.
I will pay the price for this.
But it’s information I must know, even at a cost.
*
A cool breeze, but warm spring vibes in the air.
That’s my take on February weather in Jeju Island.
After filling my stomach since the morning and strolling along the Jeju Olle Trail, my mood naturally brightened.
Ah, I wish I could just keep traveling like this.
Sure, scoring well on the entrance exam feels great, but with the start of school looming, my heart feels heavy.
“Phew…”
“Why the sigh?”
“Eek!”
Who, who’s that?
I turned around in surprise to see a boy with a nonchalant expression.
“Do you live around here?”
“Why are you sighing?”
Is he a local kid?
He looks young and carefree, speaking casually to me, which I found ridiculous, yet oddly not annoying.
“I have to go to college once this trip is over.”
“College?”
“You might not know, but these days, just getting into college doesn’t cut it. You have to ace your credits from freshman year—”
“Kick!”
“…”
“Aha! Hehe!”
The boy laughed so hard that tears welled up in his eyes.
But seriously, what about what I said is that funny?
“Ah, sorry. Your words were just so hilarious, I couldn’t hold it in.”
“Was there a punchline or something?”
“Of course! You’re worrying about things that might never happen before they even begin; how could I not laugh?”
Worrying about things that probably won’t even happen? What do you mean?
“More importantly, Kain, stop for a second.”
I halted.
I was surprised when he suddenly called my name.
“How do you know my name—”
“Smell.”
“What?”
“Focus on the scent around you.”
“…”
When he said that, I noticed a faint, sour, yet burnt smell.
I probably wouldn’t have realized it if I hadn’t been prompted.
As I tilted my head, trying to figure out what it was, the boy moved closer to me.
“…”
There’s an inexplicable refreshing vibe surrounding us.
“Be grateful. I’ve saved you once before.”
What does that even mean?
I can’t make sense of it.
However, it feels like something mysterious is unfolding.
“In Buddhism, there’s the concept of the Six Realms of Rebirth. It says that when living beings die, based on their actions in life, they can be reborn in hell, as hungry ghosts, animals, humans, or gods.”
“…”
“There’s also a belief in reincarnation in Hinduism. What do you think?”
Suddenly plunging into such a strange topic, he asks me a question.
I found it oddly compelling, unable to resist the atmosphere he created.
“Don’t you believe in reincarnation? It just comforts weary souls in this harsh reality—”
“Stop, stop! Let’s say reincarnation exists, though.”
Reincarnation exists?
“Well, that’s an interesting concept, but also unreasonable.”
“Why?”
“Because I would face the consequences in my next life for crimes I didn’t commit.”
“That means that a being reincarnated as an evil person is different from the being who suffered in hell, right? Why is that?”
Are the beings before and after reincarnation still the same?
I don’t think so.
“They’re different. Their personality and memories are different.”
“If personality and memories differ, they’re different people?”
“Exactly.”
The boy, who seemed like he would argue, suddenly smiled and nodded.
“I see it that way too. However, what if an evil person is reincarnated and becomes evil again? Shouldn’t we throw them into hell ahead of time to protect their victims?”
“Isn’t that like asking if we should kill a young Hitler if he were in front of us?”
“Kind of.”
My thoughts on this are clear.
“I think the premise itself is flawed.”
“The premise is flawed?”
“Assuming an evil person reincarnates as an evil person and that young Hitler will definitely become a mass murderer is where the fatal flaw lies.”
“…”
“Although there may be innate differences in character, no one is born as a killer. For example, if you met a mugger and lost everything to them, that mugger is the bad guy. But what if it were a mugger from an African country that’s been in civil war for 30 years? Shouldn’t you be grateful they spared your life?”
“Uh, well, that seems a bit off.”
“What I mean is that if good citizens of developed countries were born and raised in Somalia, their way of thinking would be different.”
No one is predestined to be a killer from birth.
So, killing a young Hitler would be a senseless murder.
“So where do you stand on this?”
“What?”
As I turned in surprise, I realized I was the only one left on the Olle Trail.
*
Which side am I on?
As I pondered, memories fled like the wind.
My head is starting to hurt.
*
A peaceful afternoon at three o’clock.
I strolled through a Hallabong farm, enjoying the fragrant air.
Baskets of Hallabong for tourists were hanging here and there, allowing me to have a delightful time.
Ah~ I’d love to just keep traveling—
“…?”
Am I imagining things?
I heard this remote farm isn’t frequented by tourists like me…
There were way too many people around.
As I tilted my head in confusion, a bright voice called out from behind me.
“Hi there!”
A girl with a playful expression was there.
She looked pretty ordinary, probably around my age.
Is she another tourist visiting from Seoul?
Or maybe the farmer’s daughter?
“Um… hello?”
“Already the second time today.”
“Excuse me?”
“Never mind. Hallabong, is it delicious?”
So she’s definitely the farmer’s daughter!
“Ah, it’s delicious! Peeling it is a little tough, but the sweetness and tartness are really nice.”
— Clap!
Instead of responding to my comment, the girl suddenly looked around and clapped her hands.
“…”
— Clap!
“What are you doing?”
“Lowering the population density because it’s too high!”
“What?”
“You should really be grateful to me.”
I didn’t understand what she meant.
I feel like I’ve heard something similar before, but oddly, I can’t recall this morning’s events.
“Hand me a Hallabong.”
“Uh?”
The girl casually took a Hallabong from my hand and effortlessly peeled it in a flash.
“See? Just pinch the stem and pull it off. Don’t touch the bottom.”
“Thanks.”
“One day, it started raining from the sky.”
“What?”
“It rained so much that the whole world could be submerged. If this goes on, only fish would survive in the world.”
“…”
Suddenly, a huge flood discussion from peeling Hallabong?
That’s quite the abrupt topic change.
“To keep the world’s lineage going, I made an Ark, and I gathered survivors from all corners of the earth.”
“Is this the story of Noah’s Ark?”
“Similar, but the latter part has a bit of a twist. People appeared late.”
People who showed up after the Ark was already full?
The atmosphere just got a little tense.
“And those who appeared late…”
“People?”
“They killed all those who had already boarded and took their places.”
“…”
That’s a tragic story.
“What do you think?”
“A horrible story.”
“Are those who took the Ark away evil beings?”
“…”
I was at a loss for words.
So, does that mean to be good, I have to drown and die in the flood?
“That’s a tough question. If I had to answer, I’d say it’s a matter of perspective.”
“Perspective?”
“From the viewpoint of those who boarded first, the ones who arrived later are like demons. From the perspective of those who arrived later, it’s a desperate act for survival.”
“And if…”
“If what?”
“What if this happened again in the future?”
“That’d be a scary story.”
“There’s also another scenario. Let’s say the last survivor among the earlier passengers exists.”
“That sounds worse!”
“That survivor grew up without knowing anything from their childhood and only learns about the past once they become an adult.”
“…”
Just imagining it is suffocating.
It mirrors a situation where the loving parents I was raised by turn out to be the kidnappers who brutally killed my real parents when I was young.
“… That’s hard. I don’t know.”
Interestingly, the girl sighed alongside me.
“Yeah, I don’t know either…”
“Why are you asking such questions?”
Suddenly realizing there was no one else around, I looked up and found I was alone.
*
Those stories are so vague yet clear.
The keyword ‘Ark’ keeps coming up repeatedly.
Now, it’s genuinely hard to endure this headache.
*
In the evening.
Having finished my sightseeing all afternoon, I was sipping coffee near the hotel when someone sat across from me.
It was a man who looked to be in his early thirties, with quite a cheerful demeanor.
“Wow~ Looks like you had a fulfilling day?”
“Uh?”
“You’re planning to head to the hotel as soon as you finish that coffee, right?”
“… And?”
“Do it that way.”
“Me?”
“There’s still more to do, but you don’t need to worry. Once you enter the hotel, everything after that will be out of your hands.”
More things to do?
Once inside the hotel, everything falls out of my grasp?
What on earth is this guy talking about?
Feeling uncomfortable, I got ready to stand when—
Someone grabbed my arm firmly.
“…”
“Hey, hey, sit back down.”
“If you don’t let go, I’ll scream—”
“Yah! Little girl and lady are fine, but an adult man? That’s some serious discrimination!”
“What do you mean?”
“Sit down, will you? I’m gonna buy you more cake and coffee, so just sit.”
“…”
“I have something to tell you. You’ll be really thankful later on.”
In the end, I sat back down.
It feels like he’s not a bad person at all.
“Today’s an important day for you, but for me, it’s actually really significant.”
“Why’s that?”
“Hey, Kain. What do you think is the hardest thing in the world?”
“…”
This weird topic change felt oddly familiar.
The kind I’ve experienced multiple times before.
“… World peace?”
“Ooh! That’s tough. Try again.”
“Space travel?”
“Also a valid point! Name something even harder.”
“Galaxy conquest?”
“That’s a hefty one! But isn’t there something harder to do?”
“I have no clue.”
“I think the hardest thing in the world is creating ‘Heaven.’”
Heaven?
“Can you imagine what Heaven looks like?”
“… Hmm, a place flowing with milk and honey—”
“Milk 1 liter doesn’t even cost 3,000 won. Honey is similar. If you buy a ton of that, is that Heaven?”
“Isn’t it a place where everyone thrives?”
“A place where everyone is well-fed and prosperous? Right now, most citizens of developed countries are already well-off.”
I was lost for words.
“I’ll share an interesting fact. When people think of hell, they conjure some of the wildest imaginations, but when they think of Heaven, they get stuck just like you did.”
“…”
“Even in creative works, hell is portrayed stunningly, but Heaven remains hard to depict. Do you know why?”
“It’s hard to imagine a situation where everyone is happy.”
“That’s it. While material prosperity is easy to imagine, it’s difficult to think beyond that.”
“…”
“A person needs the failures of others to feel happy themselves. For example, your happiness from acing an exam is a perfect illustration.”
The sense of achievement through competition inherently means ‘everyone’ cannot share it.
If there’s a winner, there must be a loser.
“Mental happiness generally requires others to fail. Hence, a Heaven where everyone is happy lies in a dimension hard for people to imagine.”
Now I understand why creating Heaven is the hardest thing to achieve.
“Is this why you’re holding me back to say all this?”
“Listen a bit more. Let’s say you’re a god.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re not omnipotent, but you’re among the best in the universe. There’s practically nothing better than you.”
“…”
“How would you create Heaven?”
“I wouldn’t know. It sounds like an unimaginable way to do it.”
The man smiled slightly upon hearing my words and suddenly averted his gaze.
His gaze landed on the hotel where I was staying tonight.
“There’s someone in the world who aims to create that Heaven.”
“Excuse me?”
“But that person created a million hells to make Heaven.”
Creating a million hells to build Heaven?
What on earth does that mean?
“I don’t get what you’re saying…”
“What do you think the reason is?”
“…”
“What significance could there be in creating a million hells just to build Heaven?”
This question feels bizarre.
It’s something I’ve never considered before.
But suddenly, a fitting answer popped into my mind.
“At the end.”
“At the end?”
“Maybe they believe that by creating Heaven, they can erase all the failures that came before?”
“…”
“Even if it means crafting a million, or even ten million hells, they might think that if they could somehow create Heaven, it would redeem all those preceding hells, right?”
A heavy silence fell.
I believed ‘this time’ the man would disappear somewhere again.
“… You.”
This time, he didn’t.
“Excuse me?”
“You have a sharp insight. I think you’ll figure out what piece you’re going to obtain.”
“Could you explain?”
“Let’s head to the hotel.”
“Did you book the same hotel as me?”
“It’s a similar location, but our destinations are different.”
“What do you mean?”
The man had already risen, gazing quietly at the hotel.
“You’re just starting; I’m at my end.”
*
This was the final memory revealed by insight.
“Ugh…. Aaaah!”
“Kain! Are you okay?”
“Han Kain!”
—
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