Hancheng: There is a door between me and the future

Chapter 67 "Welcome to 'Your' Funeral, Sherry" (Seeking first subscription)
where is this?
Hearing the dense, drum-like sound of rain in her ears, Shirley was slightly taken aback.

She stood still, led by Lin Xiuyuan, her eyes still blindfolded, but the sound of the rain seemed to strike her heart directly, more real than any sight.

And so, those emotions that had been buried deep within my heart, hidden by the darkness, were brought to the surface by the sudden sound of rain.

His breathing suddenly became rapid, and his blood felt like it was boiling.

But before she could speak, Lin Xiuyuan's voice came first, "Shirley, do you want to take a nap?"

"what?"

Shirley was puzzled.

"Because it will take some time to get to the destination of your 'funeral'."

As soon as Lin Xiuyuan said those words, Shirley, who had already been frightened many times, wanted to take off her eye patch.

Thankfully, Jessica Jung, who had been standing nearby, called out, "Sulli, we're all here."

These words temporarily calmed Shirley down, but her voice still trembled slightly, "Unnie, where are we now?"

where?

This question stumped Jessica Jung, so she turned her gaze to Lin Xiuyuan.

Lin Xiuyuan thought for a moment and replied softly, "We are now in a future without 'you,' so we are going to take you to attend 'your' funeral."

As he answered, Shirley felt an incredible sense of unreality; her heart began to race uncontrollably, and her fingertips involuntarily tightened slightly.

With these feelings in mind, the group quickly arrived at the garage, and Park Jiyeon gently helped her into the back seat of the car.

Then he held her hands tightly, as if protecting a frightened little animal.

After watching Lin Xiuyuan close the car door, Jessica Jung, who was standing outside, asked curiously, "Why didn't you tell her now?"

"Because I want her to feel the deepest, most shocking blow. If I want her to fully wake up, I can't spread the impact out; I have to concentrate it and smash it hard into her heart."

Lin Xiuyuan's approach to Shirley's case was very simple and direct: "Once the shock that is enough to overturn all the misfortunes of her first twenty years completely fills her heart, then the answer to her will be readily available."

He gazed into the distance, his voice soft yet like the striking of a hammer, "After all, what could be more impactful than seeing yourself lying inside a tombstone?"

Upon hearing this, Jessica Jung stared at the boy in front of her in disbelief. After a long while, she said, "You're not as impulsive as you were when you approached me. What happened? Did you get a psychology degree here?"

Lin Xiuyuan chuckled, "Being reckless is one thing, but it doesn't mean I'm stupid. What are you thinking?"

As he spoke, he opened the passenger door for her, saying, "Get in, it's time to go."

After an unknown amount of time, vehicles began to weave through the rain.

The heavy rain pounded against the windshield, making a swishing sound. The wipers swung frantically, but still couldn't completely clear the view.

The high beams pierced through the rain and fog, the wheels kicked up waves, and we sped along the slippery highway, as if time itself had been left behind.

Compared to the raging wind and rain outside, the interior of the car was completely silent.

Listening to the sound of raindrops hitting the roof and windows, Shirley sat quietly in the back seat with her glasses on, her fingers intertwined and wrestling, her wisps of hair on her forehead gently swaying in the breeze from the air conditioning.

Park Jiyeon stood quietly by her side, her gaze vacant, as if she were still stuck on the moment she learned everything on the first night.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Jessica Jung looked down at her palm, seemingly lost in thought, suppressing an indescribable emotion.

Only Lin Xiuyuan, who was driving, kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead, his hands firmly gripping the steering wheel, his gaze as focused as a rock.

The wind and rain flowed over his back, but could not shake his figure in the slightest.

The car slowly came to a stop in front of a quiet cemetery.

The rain was pouring down, and there wasn't a soul in sight, as if the heavens had intentionally cleared out this secluded place for them.

"Reached?"

Sherry spoke immediately upon sensing that the car had stopped.

"Well, we're here."

Lin Xiuyuan turned off the engine, took a long black umbrella from Zheng Xiuyan, opened it, and got out of the car.

Even though his feet were covered in puddles, he didn't care that his shoes and trousers were soaked. He walked to the back seat, opened the car door, and reached out his hand to Shirley.

Hearing the other person say, "Still can't it be solved?"

"We've already waited so long, what's a little longer?" Lin Xiuyuan replied with a smile as he took her hand.

These words made Shirley take a deep breath of the damp air, the scent of rain mixed with the smell of earth, and then, led by Lin Xiuyuan, she stepped out of the car.

The rain fell in a dense slant, its icy touch hitting her face. All she could do was grip Lin Xiuyuan's hand tighter and follow him slowly toward their "destination."

The heavy rain made the roads even more difficult to travel.

Even though Lin Xiuyuan's umbrella had already tilted towards Shirley's side, her right hand was still inevitably soaked by the rain. Water droplets slid down from the cuff of her trench coat, gathered at her fingertips, and dripped down.

The stray hairs around her ears were already wet from the rain, clinging to her cheeks, curly and heavy.

"You can take it off now."

Just as Shirley was about to wipe the water droplets from her fingertips, a soft voice reached her ears. It was Lin Xiuyuan indicating that she could take off her eye bags.

However, she was acting strangely now, no longer as anxious and worried as before about taking it off. As if some premonition had enveloped her heart, she stood frozen in place, suddenly afraid to move.

Because in her heart, a voice was whispering to her that after she took it off, perhaps the whole world would be different.

Perhaps, she will change too.

Looking at the silent Shirley beside him, Lin Xiuyuan did not urge her, but stood there quietly with her, holding the umbrella for her, waiting for her decision.

After a long silence, Sherry finally let go of his hand.

He slowly lowered his head, reached his hands behind his head, and untied the blindfold.

A blinding ray of light pierced through the darkness.

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was a grassy field soaked by rain, with raindrops hitting the tips of leaves and mud splashing up.

The rain was heavy, as if it were pouring down from the sky, leaving no gaps.

The wind, carrying rain, pounded on the ground and the umbrella, making a dense and muffled sound.

Looking up again, I saw a tombstone, with a thriving pine tree standing behind it, sheltering it from the wind and rain.

Next to the tombstone were some flowers and photos, and the person in the photos gave Shirley a strange sense of familiarity.

Shirley, her feet seemingly rooted to the ground, began to look beyond the swaying rain curtain and land on the inscription on the monument.

Looking at the words obscured by the rain, she slowly squatted down and reached out to wipe away the water stains.

Sherry recognized words like saint, truth, and Lord, but when put together, she was a little confused.

Staring blankly at the cold stone surface, my mind was completely blank.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment; all I could hear was the roar of the torrential rain and the sudden pounding of my own heart.

Especially after the very familiar names of her family members appeared at the bottom, Shirley immediately turned her gaze to the only two photos next to the tombstone.

The person who just seemed both strange and familiar—who else could it be but her?

Whether by coincidence or not, just as Shirley recognized herself in the photo, a clap of thunder sounded overhead.

The next moment, she suddenly looked up at Lin Xiuyuan, who had been holding an umbrella for her.

The black umbrella had been held over her head ever since she got off the bus, silently shielding her from the torrential rain.

The angle at which they were leaning towards themselves meant that the other person's shoulders and back were already soaked by the wind and rain.

Seeing Shirley look up, Lin Xiuyuan finally spoke again, "Welcome to 'your' funeral, Shirley. Although it's a few years late, at least we didn't miss it."

"What exactly is going on?"

Touching the cold surface of the tombstone, Shirley's fingertips trembled as they traced the familiar yet unfamiliar name.

Shirley knew this was definitely not a dream, and the incredibly realistic rain scene beside her could not possibly be a 'prank' set.

"Is...me?"

Her voice was so low it was almost swallowed by the rain, as if she were asking Lin Xiuyuan a question, or as if she were answering her own question for him.

"This is you, but not you in 2013, but you in 2025. The time and space you are in now is 12 years from now in 2025. 12 years from now, you are dead."

Lin Xiuyuan's voice fell slowly amidst the sound of rain, each word as heavy as a pebble falling into a deep pool, causing no ripples, yet resonating deep within Shirley's heart.

After listening, Shirley looked down at the name on her hand again, and said softly, "So, my future self is already dead."

"Well, dead."

Lin Xiuyuan spoke with a firm and steady tone.

After giving this answer, Shirley, her fingertips trembling, remained silent for a long time, as if chewing on this sudden fate, and then slowly swallowing it.

Then she took a deep breath, raised her head, and said in a calm but firm tone, "Then oppa, can I know the cause of my death?"

"of course."

With permission granted, Shirley glanced again at the tombstone in her hand and the photo on the other side. "This really is a funeral for 'me'."

As she spoke, she slowly rose, clenching her teeth, wanting to see clearly what this world she had "died" was like.

The rain was still falling, the world was a gray-white expanse, and the cemetery stretched out silently in the rain and mist.

All around were tombstones of the same shape, the grass was slippery, the soil was deep, and the air was humid and stuffy.

As Sulli turned around gently, her gaze fell upon those behind her, where she saw Jessica Jung and Jiyeon Park who had come with her.

The two of them had been standing quietly in the rain, just like Lin Xiuyuan, wearing dark coats with wet hair clinging to their faces.

The expression on his face as he looked at her, or rather the tombstone, was tinged with an indescribable sorrow.

Before Shirley could say anything, her peripheral vision caught another scene, and she suddenly stopped.

Not far away, a black umbrella stood alone in the rain.

Under the umbrella was Krystal.

(End of this chapter)