Chapter 26
“Shaman...?”
“Lawyer isn't my aptitude. You know that too, right, hyung?”
“......”
“I'm not a ghost.”
“It's a misconception that shamans only chase ghosts.”
“...I can't listen to any more of this. Ha! A dream? Is there such a vivid dream? Then how do you wake up from it?”
“That's...”
I didn't know either. If I didn't even know how I got in, how could I know the way out?
“If this is a dream right now, wake me up immediately.”
“......”
“You can't.”
“Yeah. I can't.”
I admitted it honestly.
“And you expect me to believe you?”
“I know it sounds forced. But you know it too—your own abilities are unrealistic.”
“You're talking nonsense. I'm not a Magic Boy.”
“Hmm...”
I faltered at Choi Kang-min's firm voice.
Is he really not?
Despite the clear evidence and conviction that he was the Magic Boy, I wavered for a moment.
“I'll ask again. What am I?”
“My answer's the same. You're definitely the Magic Boy, hyung.”
“......”
“Hyung, snap out of it. No human can fly through the sky without any equipment.”
“That's offensive. Don't lump me in with everyone else. I'm special.”
Song Seon-yeong had said something similar. That I was special.
“So you're saying you got that power because you're special compared to others?”
“Not power—it's magic.”
“...You mean you got magic?”
“Yes.”
Choi Kang-min, who'd been dodging all along, finally admitted his true identity. A special human. The Magic Boy.
“What's so special about you? Your bloodline? Your birth? If that's it, then Choi Kang-hun's the same.”
“How am I the same as that guy? We came from different wombs.”
Choi Kang-min's tone sharpened, feeling compared to his half-brother from a different birth mother.
“It's not just Kang-hun. Everyone who came from a woman's womb is the same, right?”
“Don't play word games.”
“Does this sound like word games to you?”
“...Any more conversation feels like a meaningless waste of time.”
Whoosh.
Choi Kang-min turned away, hiding his troubled face.
“Hyung, don't forget. If you don't wake up within 100 days, you'll die!”
“......”
Ignoring my warning, he fled the scene.
* * *
At the pinnacle of the world's tallest building, Choi Kang-min gazed down at the world below the clouds spreading like mist beyond the transparent window walls.
No—
“Kang Moon-soo... but how...?”
He was observing a man in a taxi, filled with confusion.
A man who should have definitely died 15 years ago! He'd personally infiltrated the hospital and dealt with that thorn-in-his-side lawyer, Kang Moon-soo.
How could I forget.
He was the human who'd tried so hard to protect his rival and half-brother, Choi Kang-hun, who stood in the way of his success.
But if that were all, there were plenty of similar people, so he wouldn't remember him even now.
“Lawyer Kang Moon-soo...”
To save Choi Kang-hun, Kang Moon-soo had become a lawyer himself and achieved the absurd. Winning against top lawyers amid biased media and all sorts of adverse conditions!
Back then, he wounded my pride.
Kang Moon-soo, who transcended his aptitude, became an instant celebrity. Surpassing the Magic Boy's unwavering popularity for a few days.
That was the reason. The real reason he'd killed Kang Moon-soo.
It absolutely wasn't because he'd helped his half-brother. Choi Kang-hun had already lost his support base and foundation after years in prison—he was no longer a match.
“Ha! A dream?”
What a ridiculous joke.
Beep—
(Chairman, are you busy?)
His secretary, who'd served him since the early days of inheriting the family business, asked through the intercom.
“No. What's up?”
Choi Kang-min's question back to the secretary carried multiple layers of meaning.
(All is peaceful.)
Not meaning the company he was part of was peaceful. The Earth, humanity. Since Choi Kang-min couldn't monitor the latest news constantly, he needed people to be the 'eyes and ears of the Magic Boy.'
The secretary was one of them. One of the few closest aides who knew the secret: that he, the world's top supporter of the Magic Boy and global businessman, was the Magic Boy himself.
“Then what's the matter?”
(The lady of the house called, worried because she can't reach you.)
“If something happened to me, it'd be after the world ends.”
(She seems even more worried because you're someone so secure.)
Unnecessary concern born from not knowing her husband's hidden identity.
“Couldn't you have just brushed it off like last time?”
(She wants to talk directly about your son's issue.)
“...He caused trouble again.”
How lamentable. His father was the apostle of justice protecting the world, yet his son was stirring up problems at school...
(From the sound of her voice on the call, Chairman, your guess seems correct.)
“Hmm. Then tell her I'll call back in an hour. I've got a lot to think about right now.”
(Understood.)
Beep—
As the secretary's voice faded, the top floor fell back into silence.
Think? Is this even worth agonizing over?
Was it funny that he'd said it himself just moments ago? Choi Kang-min chuckled softly and stared down at Kang Moon-soo crawling like a bug on the ground hidden by clouds beyond the window.
Me wasting time like this because of that loser...
His personal cellphone, tossed casually on the plush sofa, had three missed calls.
His wife, a world-famous actress. Their son, arrogant like his mother! They lacked the qualifications to be the wife and son of the righteous Magic Boy, but they were still his beloved family.
If this world was a dream, then his family and bonds were all lies.
“What nonsense.”
Impossible. A dream lasting 20 years? Ridiculous.
Choi Kang-min rationally judged, excluding the 'that power' Kang Moon-soo had pinpointed.
Which made it even more unacceptable.
No way.
Kang Moon-soo's very existence denied his painstakingly built life in its entirety. And that grated on him.
If it grated?
“Time for the apostle of justice to step in.”
My judgment is justice.
* * *
I'd luckily met the big shot Choi Kang-min but failed to convince him, so I immediately hailed a taxi.
“Where to, sir?”
“Elmolrans Hospital, please.”
“Got it.”
Even if I went back to the hospital early, there was nothing to do, and no plans or desires came to mind right now.
What now...?
Seo Hye-ju, the attending physician, had said Choi Kang-min had less than 100 days left.
Should I just wait until he died naturally? Considering time flowed faster here than in reality, enduring a year here would do it.
...Would it really?
I had no assurance that his death would free me from this dream.
Anyway...
“We're stuck.”
The taxi halted in the middle of the road with no sign of moving forward.
Wouldn't walking be much faster?
“Driver.”
“Yes.”
“I'm new to this area, but is it always this jammed?”
“No way. If it jammed often, the GPS wouldn't route us here. I'd have avoided it too. It's purely the accident.”
“Accident...”
Was my luck just that bad? A very uneasy feeling crept in.
The taxi driver, hands completely off the wheel, spoke up.
“Looks like a big traffic accident happened just ahead a bit ago.”
“Can't we detour?”
“Look around—you'll see it's tough.”
“Hmm...”
Buses and sedans stopped alongside us blocked every gap, trapping the taxi completely.
So we waited, and then...
“What the hell!”
“I'm dying here!”
“This is insane!”
People as frustrated as me kicked open their doors and headed into the road to check what was going on.
Curious, I waited and asked a driver returning.
“What happened?”
“A huge rock fell right in the middle of the road.”
“A rock...?”
A rock in the middle of the city? Not even concrete—this lacked realism.
“Cars swerved to avoid it and piled up in collisions.”
“You're not even surprised.”
“It's not like an alien spaceship crashed.”
“Ah, yeah, that makes sense.”
The driver's familiarity with disasters tugged at my heartstrings.
Someone right beside me was used to this too.
“Sir, it'll take a while to clear, so the subway might be better. No charge.”
“Thanks.”
Click.
I got out of the taxi and ran down the street like fleeing.
Why?
Danger!
From the moment I heard about the massive rock in the road, my survival instincts screamed.
Be careful. For now, avoid dark, narrow alleys or anywhere with few people—
“Ack?!”
Heading to the nearest subway on the driver's advice, my body suddenly floated up.
Grab!
By the time I realized I'd been kidnapped—like a field mouse snatched by an owl and dragged skyward—
“Ugh...!”
I'd already been roughly thrown into a deserted park.
And before me stood,
“I am the Magic Boy who protects the world's peace and aptitudes—”
“Choi Kang-min...!”
“...My face has a spell that hinders recognition.”
“What the hell are you doing!”
“I wrote it off as coincidence when you spotted my transformed self at the hospital instantly, but my magic doesn't work on you. How strange.”
“Answer my question!”
“Over the past 20 years, many suspected me, but everyone fell for my magic.”
Flutter~
Choi Kang-min, transformed into a youthful boy, approached me with his red cape billowing.
“A question? I already answered. I'm the Magic Boy who protects the world's peace and aptitudes.”
“I asked what you're doing to me!”
“That's my answer. You're a threat to this world's peace.”
“That's bullshit...!”
“You who call yourself Kang Moon-soo. What are you? Even the progenitor of magic couldn't perfectly defend against my spells.”
“Choi Kang-min. Curious about my identity?”
A great question!
“...Yes.”
“A dream can't affect real people. My very existence proves it's a dream!”
“......”
“I'm not some clown playing along in your dream...!”
“Still on about dreams, even here.”
“You snap out of it, hyung!”
“Whatever. Even if you're the real Kang Moon-soo, it doesn't matter. This time, I'll make sure you can't revive—no, even if you do, I'll educate you so thoroughly you can't appear before me again.”
“Educate? What do you— Aaaargh?!”
In the blink of an eye, my right arm vanished!
“Indeed... as you said, it seems magic affecting the mind is irrelevant.”
Whoosh~
Choi Kang-min spun the staff—looking like a toy wand for kids—in one hand, grinning as the orb at its tip sparkled rainbow colors.
Proof he'd done something at a speed I couldn't even perceive.
“Aaaagh...!”
Pain from my severed right shoulder clouded my mind.
It hurts! Hurts! It's a dream but it hurts! Not a dream? This isn't a dream?!
Rational thought failed me.
“Next...”
“Spare me! Look here! The Magic Boy's gone mad...!”
“Haha! Calling for outside help is useless. This space is isolated by magic. Next is here.”
“Huh?!”
Stumble!
Ignoring his explanation, I'd turned to flee, but I tumbled forward.
Tripped? No.
My left leg had silently vanished after my right arm.
Thud!
Damn! Damn! Damn...!
I couldn't even react to Choi Kang-min, let alone fight back.
“Wah?”
“Yes...!”
The utter powerlessness, the pathetic helplessness, brought tears to my eyes.
“Haha! What a pathetic sight!”
“That's my line! Feeling cocky in a dream? You fucking idiot...!”
“...Still saying that.”
“How many times do I have to— Aagh?!”
“Hey. Forget dying easy. I've got a lot to teach you.”
And then I tasted hell.