Chapter Text
"Bastardー wake up."
I jolted upright after someone smacked the back of my head. It was a hit that didn't exercise any restraint. The sudden pain immediately dragged me out of my sleeping daze.
"Ow, ow, ow…"
I massaged the stinging spot and looked up from my desk. Someone was glaring at me, an expression I was already used to seeing.
I frowned at the other person’s annoying face.
"... Was that necessary?"
Yoo Joonghyuk shrugged his shoulders.
"You wouldn't wake up."
He already had his school bag slung over his shoulders. I blinked and looked around. It seemed like we were the only ones left in the classroom now. The sun was already low outside, and streaks of gold filtered through the windows. I could faintly hear the cheers from some outdoor club outside.
"You didn't have to hit me that hard."
"You wake up more quickly when I do."
I sighed. Of course, that violent wake-up call wasn't the first time. There was no use trying to argue with this guy.
"So I'm guessing Sooyoung is done?"
She had been called in by the principal earlier. Something about winning another literature award. Joonghyuk and I had agreed to wait for her in the classroom, and I seemed to have fallen asleep after some time.
I glanced at the time on my phone as I stood up the desk. About an hour had passed.
"You know, I had a really weird dream."
I said this while we were walking down the hall.
"I didn't ask."
Ignoring his comment, I continued, "It was bizarre. The world had ended and there were monsters and crazy tasks where you'd die. Even magical abilities. You and Sooyoung were present. Sangah, Heewon and Hyunsung from the next class were there too. Even Miss Uriel. And for some reason, all of us were older too."
Joonghyuk didn't react. I took that as a sign to keep going.
"Well, you were the same temperamental bastard, but in this particular scenario you looked really c—"
I stopped myself right before I could say 'cool'. This guy, even in a dream he seemed to always end up excelling in everything. As if it wasn't enough that girls fawned all over his good looks, he was naturally smart and athletic too. He was even really good at games.
My eyebrows furrowed. He was, undoubtedly, like 'a main character straight out of a story' . Sooyoung and I had exchanged that sentence countless times with a grudge.
I tried to remember the older version of Yoo Joonghyuk from my dream.
Truly, he had been an unyielding main character. Even while bloody and beaten, the determined light in his eyes said that he wouldn't give up even if his body broke apart. I had seen him raising his pure black sword. The tattered coat he wore fluttered behind him like a pair of wings.
He did look cool there. Though I hated to admit it to myself.
"A-Anyway, even Sooyoung too. Something about having the powers of a black… dragon? There was also… ah… everything's getting fuzzy."
Like all dreams, its contents were slowly slipping from my mind the more the seconds passed.
"... Sounds like something she would write."
Yoo Joonghyuk finally said something. I glanced at him and laughed.
"Right? It was a really long dream too… I feel like I just experienced a lifetime's worth. Even my heart's still beating like crazy now… weird, it's like I ran a marathon."
The dull thumping in my chest was indeed still there, something I had only noticed now.
Yoo Joonghyuk scoffed.
“You wouldn’t even get past the first one hundred meters in a marathon.”
“You prick, who says I can’t.”
He turned to me, glancing at my pale complexion and skinny arms and legs. He cocked his head. Then, he raised his eyebrows with a mocking face.
"Weakling. You fainted during P.E. the other day.”
“... Asshole, I’ll punch you.”
"I'll hit you harder in the head next time."
“—What, I was gone for a bit and you're already getting physical?”
We had arrived in front of the building and turned to the third person who had cut between our petty squabble. Han Sooyoung was sitting at the top of the stairs, sucking on the same lemon-flavored lollipop she loved. In her hand, she was fiddling with her phone.
I shot a glare at Joonghyuk. In return, he just shrugged. He walked on ahead down the steps, glancing up at both of us with a bored face.
“Hurry up.”
Han Sooyoung stood up and we followed after him. As we did, I noticed she was holding something gold and shiny in her other grip.
“A trophy?”
“Yeah,” Sooyoung replied without much reaction. “Another one to throw in the cabinet.”
“How many does that make?”
“Twenty-two.”
She said it like it was nothing. As always, it was impressive how nonchalant she was whenever it came to her hobby. Because of the way she passed it off, I always forgot how Han Sooyoung was actually an up-and-coming celebrity in the world of literature, winning national awards here and there since middle school. Last time I checked, she had been interviewed in some prestigious magazine a month ago.
I remembered one question she had answered in particular.
‘Miss Han Sooyoung, do you have any plans of publishing a novel in the near future?’
‘Yes,’
‘As expected of such a renowned talent. Publishers will be clamoring for—"
‘It’s not the kind of novel you’re thinking of. I’m going to write a fantasy webnovel.’
She was definitely an eccentric person. Someone who could capture the attention of top writers and critics but was planning to follow a career path that was completely on the other side of the spectrum of the genres she usually wroteーthat was Han Sooyoung.
She didn’t care what others said. What mattered to her was simply writing what she enjoyed the most.
“Oh, speaking of, I had a weird dream earlier while waiting for you.”
I told her what I could still remember. The already fragmented pieces of the dream were fading away, but I was able to share the general gist of it.
“That sounds interesting.”
She said this after I finished. Then after a moment she added, facing me with a serious expression.
“You’ve been reading way too many webnovels, Kim Dokja. Are you sure your head’s alright?”
“It was never alright from the start.” Joonghyuk interjected. He had been listening to our conversation.
“... Ugh. Forget I said anything.”
I had already expected this kind of response from them. In truth, I didn't really know why I decided to share it in the first place. I wasn't even sure what I was trying to get by doing so when it all really seemed so stupid and childish out loud.
Still… I felt a restless need. Like something was urging me to talk about it while I still could.
It was definitely a weird feeling.
The three of us walked the path we took on our way home. The same scenery. The same faces. The same repeating motions.
Overhead, the sky grew dimmer and dimmer as the sun sank.
I glanced at Yoo Joonghyuk and Han Sooyoung beside me. We were talking about something funny. Joonghyuk spoke with a sour look. Sooyoung made a retort. I laughed. Our shadows extended on the pavement behind us, moving and mingling as we bickered and joked around.
This was how the days usually went. Every day the three of us got together, a mismatched trio that seemed to get along well despite our differences.
All of a sudden, I recalled one scene from the dream.
An older Yoo Joonghyuk, who was frozen with a blank expression.
An older Han Sooyoung, who was crying and hitting my chest.
An older Yoo Sangah, Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung from the next class, who were struggling to hold me in place.
The crying faces of other people I didn’t seem to remember. I think there had been kids among them.
And then...
… A train station platform, looking at myself walking away surrounded by those people with a smile.
Although my heart had calmed down already, there was something that replaced it after remembering that. A feeling that I couldn’t quite explain.
Slowly but surely, an invisible hand was crushing the inside of my chest in its tight grasp.
Then, suddenlyー
[ー■■■]
I froze in place. I thought I heard something.
“What’s wrong?”
Han Sooyoung and Yoo Joonghyuk were a few steps ahead when they realized I had stopped walking.
I looked at them. When I did, a sharp pain stabbed through my head. I winced.
Why… Why did this scene look so familiar?
For a second, their figures seemed to overlap with the ones from the dream, the older versions of Han Sooyoung and Yoo Jonghyuk. They had the same worried look in their eyes, as if afraid that the person behind them was going to disappear. That I was going to disappear.
… That’s right. They had looked back like this.
I blinked. The overlapping figures dissolved.
Either I was going crazy and seeing things, or I really needed more sleep. Naturally, I assumed it was the latter. Maybe I stayed up too late reading last night.
I shook my head.
“No, it’s nothing... And shut up, Yoo Joonghyuk.”
Joonghyuk scowled, offended.
"Bastard, I didn't even say anything."
"You had a face that looked like you're about to."
I stepped towards them, pushing the uneasy thoughts aside. My legs felt heavy and I couldn't get rid of the buzzing in my ears.
I looked at the setting sky, a multi-color of red and purple.
In the distance, I could almost hear the faint clattering sound of a train.