Dream Breaker

I no longer wanted to be involved in Choi Kang-min's problem.

But money! And money! More money...!

In a capitalist society, money is needed to survive, and to make money, you have to be willing to do things you don't like.

'I guess that's how I'm becoming an adult...'

Putting aside my carefree mindset of just getting free meals, I leaned slightly forward and engaged in the conversation with a serious attitude.

"I'll give you all this money."

"Great!"

Choi Kang-min's treatment cost was an amount I couldn't gather even if I worked part-time for ten years.

How could I refuse that?

I'm a man who never misses an opportunity once I get it.

"Hmm~"

The meaningful smile on Manager Seo Hye-joo's face as she looked at him was intriguing.

The meaning was probably,

"I'm vulnerable to money."

There's no need to be embarrassed. It's natural in a capitalist society.

"It seems so. Ah! If Mr. Kang Moon-soo wants, I can write up a contract."

"That's okay. Because I trust Manager Seo Hye-joo."

The 'Director Seo Hye-joo' I saw in my dream was a trustworthy person.

'She had many opportunities to harm me.'

If there were ill intentions at Elmorangs Hospital, it was also possible for her to confine me during the precision examination and perform a horrific biological experiment.

Dissection, torture, administration of drugs...

But she prioritized my human rights over satisfying her curiosity.

"Thank you for seeing me in a good light."

"But, there's a condition."

"What is it?"

"From now on, you have to take my words seriously and not dismiss them as a joke or bluff."

"That's not a difficult condition. One of the virtues of a doctor is to listen seriously to the patient's stories."

"Ah ha!"

However, a serious listening attitude doesn't necessarily equate to trust.

'In that case...'

At present, I was sitting in a place that seemed to be Manager Seo Hye-joo's personal research room.

Certificates, medals, trophies…

The 'Vice Director Seo Hye-joo's laboratory' I met in the dream was similar, but there was a crucial difference.

"You don't raise jellyfish."

Perhaps because I specifically mentioned jellyfish out of countless plants and animals?

Manager Seo Hye-joo's expression stiffened.

"...Are you talking about the Turritopsis nutricula jellyfish?"

"I don't know the scientific name. It was some kind of immortal jellyfish..."

"Small protective tower jellyfish."

"Ah! That's right. That was the name."

"It's surprising. How does Mr. Kang Moon-soo know about the jellyfish that I am modestly researching as a hobby?"

"I saw it in a dream."

"Could it be, you saw me raising that jellyfish in your dream?"

"Yes."

"That's impossible! Dreams are restructured based on a person's memories and information. You are not among the people who know that I am researching Turritopsis nutricula. But how..."

"Do you want to hear?"

"Absolutely! Mr. Kang Moon-soo, you know how to lead the conversation to your advantage. You would do well in business."

"Is that a compliment?"

"It's more than a compliment."

"Thank you."

After laying a trustable groundwork, I smoothly continued the conversation.

* * *

"So you're saying that patient Choi Kang-min is trapped in a world where super-real abilities, or superpowers, actually exist."

"Yes."

"It's very similar to the current trend of virtual reality game addiction. Except for the difference that he does not wake up even with some external shock."

"That difference is very significant."

Because if it's a game, it ends immediately when you unplug the electrical outlet of the connecting device.

"Even if we put aside the problem of patient Choi Kang-min, it's very interesting. I'd like to experience that dream myself! Mr. Kang Moon-soo. Has technology advanced a lot on Earth 13 years later?"

"Well, cars were still moving on wheels 13 years later."

"It's either the limit of the dream or there's no visible progress."

Manager Seo Hye-joo smirked and seemed very disappointed.

"Ah! In the future, you looked the same as now. You didn't age at all."

"That's the most hopeful news I've heard so far!"

"Really?"

Choi Kang-min's life had somehow been pushed to the back burner.

"I just needed to find a way to treat the patient, but there's a lot of unexpected harvest."

"It doesn't seem like I was much help..."

"To a woman, appearance is as important as life. The information that my appearance is guaranteed for at least the next 13 years is a huge gain that money can't buy."

"Ah ha!"

In a light-hearted atmosphere, we continued our miscellaneous conversation.

And when we ran out of things to say,

"Shall we wrap up now?"

"Sure."

We returned to the problem of Choi Kang-min, which had been pushed aside.

"Patient Choi Kang-min has been in a coma for about 7 years - let me correct that. He's in deep sleep. During that time, 20 years have passed in his dream. Is that correct?"

"Yes. It seems to be about 3 times faster than reality."

It was the same in Song Seon-young's dream of going back to the past when she committed suicide.

Although I spent a long time with her learning to swim, in reality, only ten days had passed.

"It's really baffling. Doctors have been struggling for 7 years to wake up the patient, but the patient himself is engrossed in playing hero and has no intention of waking up..."

"Wait a minute!"

"What is it?"

"He has no intention of waking up?"

I felt like I was hit hard in the back of my head.

'Right! That's right!'

A blind spot that I had overlooked even though I already knew about it.

"That's the situation, isn't it? Like a child who doesn't let go of a toy displayed in a store because he wants to buy it, the patient is brainwashed into believing that he is really a magical boy, not a dream, right?"

"That's correct."

Choi Kang-min was exactly like that.

He refused to acknowledge reality and denied my very existence, claiming that the place was a dream.

In the form of silencing me by killing me.

'That crazy bastard.'

He demanded while tormenting me, instead of simply taking my life away.

To acknowledge the dream as reality.

But I denied it to the very end.

"Although it's my inference, if patient Choi Kang-min acknowledges it as a dream, he will wake up. Before it's too late."

"That must be it."

I agreed with Manager Seo Hye-joo's speculation.

Because I had the same thought?

No.

It's a certainty.

* * *

"Kang Moon-soo seems to recover very quickly... Is it natural?"

"It's effort."

Manager Seo Hye-joo wanted to verify the treatment method right away, but I firmly refused.

The reason?

Because I only have time on weekends!

On weekdays that are not holidays, I have to go to the university's swimming pool and mark my attendance under the coach's watchful eye.

"Hmm. I've raised many athletes, and it's not just about effort. If effort was all it took, I wouldn't have blindly trusted P's aptitude test."

"That's true."

The swimming coach who had confidently asserted that he would keep a distance from me for at least a year.

But he broke his word in just two weeks!

"My eyes were accurate. Your record is improving day by day!"

"Thanks to your trust and excellent guidance, coach."

"Ha ha! It's true that I trusted you, but saying that I guided you is an obvious flattery. Not that I dislike it."

Indeed.

My swimming record was getting shorter little by little every day.

2 minutes 32 seconds, 2 minutes 29 seconds, 2 minutes 26 seconds...

Borrowing the coach's somewhat exaggerated expression, it's a miraculous growth rate that only the top 0.2% of geniuses with swimming aptitude can achieve!

He seemed to encourage my complacency, but….

"Is your aptitude really a shaman?"

I get confused every time he asks this question because I can feel his sincerity.

"It's true. I even showed you the aptitude test results because you kept doubting."

"Geez! It's really amazing. Does it make sense that a shaman swims better than a swimmer?"

"Take it up with P."

"Ha ha! I'm not saying I'll argue with the inventor. I mean you're doing a great job."

"Yes."

I'm also very amazed, just like the coach.

'Does this make sense?'

Before learning to swim from Song Seon-young in my dream, I could only do the dog paddle.

Although it was due to a lack of will and opportunity to learn swimming, even considering that, my lung capacity has noticeably improved since I met Song Seon-young.

And this result is not a dream, but a stark reality!

I have no choice but to accept it.

"Ah! And Kang Moon-soo, there's an important match tomorrow, so save your energy."

"A match? All of a sudden?"

"I subtly provoked another coach. Ha ha!"

"What?"

What is this person saying now?!

"Understand. I pushed a bit because the new semester is about to start."

"Why?"

"For you."

"For me?"

"You know you're staying in a double room at the dormitory, right?"

"Yes."

So what?

"After the entrance ceremony, you'll have to share it with a freshman."

"I suppose so."

"Don't you want to use it alone?"

"...Does that have anything to do with tomorrow's match?"

"Oh! You're quick to catch on? Right. If you win, the opponent will share the double room with a freshman instead of you. Good news, right?"

"Not at all!"

"Why?"

"If I lose, I'll be humiliated, and if I win, I'll be resented."

No matter how many times I thought about it, only a gloomy future was painted.

"It's okay."

"It's not okay!"

"I'll buy you meat if you win."

"Please buy beef."

"Heh! You're coming on strong! Good. Grade 1 prime rib that melts in your mouth, for three people! How's that?"

"That's good."

It seems like there's something else I don't know about in tomorrow's match, but for now, let's just focus on improving my living conditions!

* * *

A beautiful girl, who didn't fit in with the old commercial building, had been lingering in the corridor for three hours.

"......"

"......"

Her beauty was enough to stop the steps of passers-by who happened to find her.

Especially, men couldn't take their eyes off her jeans...

'Wow! Who is she?'

'Her figure is insane!'

'She's really beautiful...'

With her noticeably long legs compared to ordinary people, they couldn't help but stare, even drooling.

Regardless,

"When on earth is he coming? He even quit his part-time job...!"

The person in question was not paying attention to the surroundings and was just getting annoyed.

"Excuse me..."

"He's really cheeky! Making me wait!"

"Miss?"

"Just wait till he comes. I'll nag him all night!"

"Excuse me-"

"Do you know me? If you're not Kang Moon-soo, don't talk to me."

"I'm, I'm sorry! I didn't know you had a boyfriend!"

The brave young man who was attracted to her beauty and tried to talk to her, ran away.

Regardless,

"He's not meeting another girl, is he?!"

She was growing angry, suspecting the boy who had left the house.

Then,

"Pretty girl."

The real estate lady who heard the news approached and spoke to her.

"......"

But she didn't even look at her.

She treated her like air!

Nevertheless, the real estate lady, with her strong professional spirit, tried to engage in conversation again.

"Who are you waiting for?"

"......"

"Did you come to see the house?"

"...What are you talking about?"

The girl who had been ignoring her like air finally responded.

"What do I mean? I'm saying this because it's a vacant house."

"Wait! Wait a minute! You said it's vacant?"

"Yes."

"Since when?!"

"About... two weeks, I think."

"Do you know the guy - the boy who used to live here?"

"Kang Moon-soo?"

"Yes! That's right!"

"Of course, I know him if you're talking about that diligent student. I introduced him and he moved into this one-room apartment."

"What happened to him?"

"He left like the wind!"

At the real estate lady's breezy remark, she exploded with anger.

'He said he had no plans to move...!'

It was a lie.

"...Where did he go?"

"I don't know that either. But what's your relationship with that student?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Ho ho! Because real estate agents exchange information. Maybe you know? We might be able to find out where he moved..."

"I'm his girlfriend."

"Oh my!"

"That bastard is my one and only man in the world."

Song Seon-young left her name and contact information with the real estate agent and left.

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