Chapter 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Dream
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Scene 2. Dream
“Oh my, what a pretty child! Is he really a boy? Goodness, he's just perfect. Look at those chubby cheeks.”
“Hey now. Just because you're buying a few bars of soap doesn't mean you can pinch my son's cheeks! Shoo, get away.”
"You look like a young bachelor, but you talk just like an old man."
"That's what happens when you spend all your time schmoozing with ladies, gents, grandmas, and grandpas all over the country."
“Oh, ho ho ho. Listen to this father. Here. I'll buy a scouring pad, too. So just let me touch your son's cheek.”
“Hey! I'm not selling to you, ma'am. A single scouring pad won't cut it!”
“He must take after his… no. He must take after his mother. Am I right?”
“What are you talking about? Who else would a son take after but his father? Just look. My boy and I are practically twins.”
“The boy’s father is quite the charmer. Ho ho ho ho.”
The chatter of the neighborhood women gathered around the peddler's truck, selling miscellaneous goods, was endless.
Just then, an old woman with a hunched back approached and picked up a plastic basin. The women who had been cackling around the truck suddenly fell silent at her appearance and quickly dispersed.
‘What’s with them? Is she the town’s cranky old lady?’
The truck owner was slightly annoyed that the old woman had scared off his customers, but he didn't let it show, greeting her with a wide smile.
“Greetings! It's not every day you see us, but we'll go anywhere you need us. Welcome to Man-dong's General Goods.”
One would expect her to smile at the peddler's spiel, but the old woman simply picked up the basin with an indifferent expression.
“How much?”
“Two thousand won for one basin! Buy another, and I’ll give you two for three thousand five hundred.”
“A basin isn't a snack you save for later. Why would I buy two?”
The old woman lifted the side of her skirt and pulled out a coin purse of a kind only people from a bygone era would use.
She spat on her fingertips—*p-tooie!*—and counted the bills, ‘One, two,’ before holding out the money.
“Here’s two thousand won.”
“Two thousand won received. Thank you.”
After taking the basin, the old woman turned away without a word, then turned her head back to look at the truck owner's son.
“Hmm.”
“Is something the matter?”
“He’s a lucky charm.”
“Pardon? Ah, my son. Of course, he is! He’s a bundle of joy! Ha ha ha.”
“But he’ll die if he stays on land.”
“What?”
“If he stays on land, his life will be hell, or he’ll just die.”
The truck owner’s face crumpled at the sudden talk of his son dying. He was about to snap back, asking what kind of nonsense she was spouting about someone's precious son, but the old woman spoke again.
“It doesn't matter where, but cross the water before it's too late. His future depends on it. Yours too.”
“Now, hold on, ma'am. What kind of strange talk is that…?”
“If you don't want to listen, don't. Whether he lives or dies, it's his own fate.”
With those final words, the old woman shuffled off toward the edge of the village.
In his life as a peddler wandering all over the country, he had met all sorts of people, but this was a first.
“Hah! What a crazy old…”
The truck owner spat on the ground as if to ward off the bad luck from her words.
“Maybe it's time to quit this peddling business.”
Lately, with convenience stores popping up even in small rural towns, making a living had become difficult. Hearing such strange things on top of it all just soured his mood completely.
“Son. How about we try selling food?”
At the man's question, the boy, who was as pretty as a girl, nodded with a bright smile.
"As long as I'm with you, Dad, I'm happy with anything."
"Ha ha ha. Really? Aigoo. My son is the best. The best!"
*
“Professor. Professor!”
“Mmm…”
“Wake up!”
Just as I was in the middle of a sweet dream, someone started shaking me awake.
“Hurry! We’re already late!”
“Ugh… Jane?”
“Yes. It’s your ever-loyal assistant, Jane. Today's the day Eurostar launches, remember? Are you not going to attend the ceremony?”
“Ah… right.”
Yu-hyeon stretched and sat up.
“Hurry up.”
“Alright, I get it. Stop rushing me. Why are you making such a fuss over an event I could skip anyway?”
“How can you say that! The man who single-handedly designed the next-generation nuclear fusion system shouldn't talk like that! All those people who did nothing but poke at their food with forks are scrambling to get their faces on camera! Are you just going to let that happen? I won't stand for it! You did all the work, so why should they get the spotlight?”
“What good would that do me? Dealing with the media is just a hassle.”
Yu-hyeon pushed Jane away as if to tell her to tone it down, his ears ringing, and lightly washed his face.
As Yu-hyeon was about to grab something random from his lab wardrobe, Jane blocked his path again.
“Oh, come on! Not today. Wear this.”
“Huh? This is…”
“Hee hee. I bought it with my bonus from last month. To make our Professor Kang look dashing.”
“Tsk. If you have money for this, you should be saving it for your wedding. Why do things I didn't ask for…”
“Marriage? What for? I'm going to grow old and die single, just like you, Professor.”
At Jane’s declaration of singlehood, Yu-hyeon wore another look of disbelief.
“Jane. You seem to have misunderstood something. I’ve never been a celibate by choice.”
“Oh? Really? Everyone thinks you’re committed to being single.”
“I just ended up living alone because I was busy with work.”
“Because there were no women?”
“Half the world is women. Why would there be no women?”
“But you said you didn't get married because you were busy.”
“It just means I never got married. Doesn't mean I haven't done everything else. So, don't go around spreading strange rumors. Last time, a researcher from the mechanical department heard a rumor I was gay and started hitting on me.”
“Pwahaha.”
Jane burst out laughing as if she couldn't believe such a thing had happened.
“Alright! I’ve decided.”
“What now?”
“I'll marry you, Professor. It’s perfect. No need to go looking for someone else. I can assist you with your work. And instead of saving for a wedding, I can keep buying you clothes, just like today.”
“There's a twenty-year age gap between us. I'm fifty this year.”
“What does that matter? You look like you’re in your late thirties.”
“Enough joking around. Let's go. We'll be late for the event, just like you said.”
“Yes, sir! I’ll go get the car. Come right down.”
“Alright.”
*
Was it because of the dream?
As I sat in the passenger seat, gazing at the scenery outside, the rural landscapes I used to travel through in my father's truck kept coming to mind.
‘If it hadn't been for what that old woman said back then.’
My father, who had been running a food truck, suddenly decided to immigrate one day. It was so abrupt, without any warning at all.
I thought that would be the start of our second life in a foreign land, but…
“Professor. We’re here.”
“Ah. Right. Let's get out.”
Breaking from his thoughts, Yu-hyeon got out of the car and walked toward the event hall. Jane, dressed up more than usual, linked her arm with his as if she were his date.
“It's hot.”
“Even if it's hot, just bear with it. I might be your assistant, but on a day like today, treat me a little better.”
“I take great care of you.”
“No. Not like an assistant. Like a woman.”
“Are you still not done with that joke from earlier?”
“I told you, it's not a joke.”
Jane glared, her expression asking, *Are you pretending not to know, or are you just that dense?* Yu-hyeon snorted as if to say, *Not a chance*.
“It's because I'm quick on the uptake.”
“Tch!”
As the two entered the event hall, guests who had already arrived swarmed toward Yu-hyeon.
He had started his studies late in life but had shown incredible ability, making a name for himself. A genius of the century who had even sparked an energy revolution that would shine throughout human history!
“Dr. Kang Yu-hyeon, please look this way! Over here.”
“How do you feel? Your decade of research is finally seeing the light of day. A word on that…”
Reporters desperate for any comment from Yu-hyeon, and politicians pushing them aside to secure a spot next to him, created a chaotic scene.
“Is the lady next to you your fiancée?”
“Oh, Dr. Kang, are you finally getting married? Congratulations.”
When one reporter mentioned the word “fiancée” upon seeing Jane, others started making misguided assumptions. He was about to cut them off with a firm no, but Jane looked up at him with sparkling eyes.
‘What’s so great about an old man like me?’
‘Old? Who? You, Professor? Goodness!’
Jane wrinkled her nose as if to ask who had been spreading such nonsense.
Guards who arrived late began to block the reporters, but the questions and requests showed no sign of stopping. In the end, he was only able to escape after promising a separate press conference after the event.
“This is chaotic. This is why I…”
“This is exactly why you have to come. The world needs to know who wrote this page of history. Who completed it.”
The opening ceremony for Eurostar, the next-generation nuclear fusion power plant, concluded successfully. All that remained was the event to ignite the tokamak.
Upon entering the central control room, the first things he saw were the broadcast reporters and cameras assigned to document the event.
When Yu-hyeon nodded, the part chiefs began the plant's start-up sequence. Moments later, the nuclear fusion system, named Eurostar, began its full operation.
"NBI-X (Neutral Beam Injection ver.x) injection!"
"Check temperature and density!"
“Readings are within normal range.”
"Confirm SPI (Shattered Pellet Injection)!"
“Temperature rising! Reaching target point.”
“Three thousand, six thousand, eight thousand, one hundred million!”
"ELM control!"
“Stabilization sequence initiated! Ten seconds… one minute… five minutes! Plasma green!”
"CDS!"
"Current drive system, confirm!"
“Power generation unit!"
“Power generation unit, beginning checks!”
Ten minutes had passed since the voices of the team leaders filled the control room. Yu-hyeon stood in the center of the room.
“Eurostar. Commencing power transmission.”
“S-Success! Power is being transferred to the substation! It's stable!”
“Wooo!!!”
“We did it!!!”
The attendees, who had been waiting for the results with bated breath, couldn't contain their excitement and let out roars of triumph.
A single Eurostar unit could produce a staggering 10GW of electricity.
That was equivalent to the output of ten nuclear power plants. And that wasn't all. There was no risk of radiation, no danger of explosion. All the fuel it needed was hydrogen extracted from seawater.
Near-limitless power generation through clean energy! The nuclear fusion power plant, once a thing of science fiction, had finally succeeded in commercialization.
Building just three more Eurostar units would be enough to decommission all the dangerous nuclear power plants, so it was no wonder that politicians and ordinary citizens alike were cheering.
As they exchanged congratulations and celebrated, a sharp noise cut through the air.
Everyone wore a look of confusion, but Yu-hyeon's expression hardened instantly.
‘Gunshots?’
Yu-hyeon had once served in the Foreign Legion to obtain his permanent residency and citizenship. It was a sound he had heard to the point of exhaustion; there was no mistaking it.
Then it came again. A gunshot, closer this time.
*Rat-tat-tat-tat!*
“Huh?”
“What was that?”
“That was a gunshot!”
As everyone's expression froze, the head of the security team and an agent from the security bureau rushed into the control room.
“It's a terrorist attack! Everyone, please evacuate!”
“What! What do you mean!”
“This is urgent! Quickly!”
At the security chief's plea, the attendees finally snapped to their senses and began to flee frantically.