Nightmare (4)
'It's exactly like reality.'
At the convenience store's outdoor table, Min Ari had claimed one seat and was sitting there. Perhaps because it was cold, she clutched a warm coffee, and several unopened hot packs lay scattered on the table.
"Min Ari."
I called out to her, and Ari slowly lifted her head. Her cheeks were slightly flushed from the alcohol, and her eyes glistened more moistly than usual. Just looking at her, she seemed clearly drunk. But there was something off about her gaze. Her pupils were sharply fixed on me, clear as if she weren't intoxicated at all. Like someone completely sober, her mind sharp, staring right at me.
Then Ari's eyes slid sideways. She'd spotted Min Deulle standing next to me. Her expressionless gaze shifted back and forth between us.
"……."
No words came. On the phone earlier, she'd been all "Mong~ What’s up~ How'd you get here~?" with that cutesy tone, even repeating lines like some NPC. That sweet, pleading voice begging me to come pick her up was nowhere to be found. Cold? No, wary fit better. Like she'd been caught off guard by an unexpected guest, uncomfortable with Min Deulle's presence.
The silence stretched on. A chilly night breeze rustled the hot pack wrappers on the table, and Ari just kept staring up at us, still gripping her coffee can.
"Unnie. What the hell did you drink so much for? You've got a boyfriend—why drag Oppa out here like this?"
Min Deulle stepped forward, breaking the silence. But Ari said nothing. She glanced at Deulle for a moment, then dropped her eyes back to the coffee can.
"Get up already. Let's go home."
Min Deulle swept her gaze over the hot packs on the table. "And what's with buying all these hot packs?" She grumbled, but her hand reached out toward Ari's arm anyway, trying to help her up.
At that moment, Ari's hand moved. Slowly, pushing Deulle away.
"I'm fine."
A short, icy word. Deulle's hand froze in midair. She stared blankly at her rejected hand.
"Fine? Then get up yourself. I'm tired, and Oppa's tired too."
Deulle muttered lowly. Ari braced her hand on the table to stand alone. Her body swayed, but Deulle didn't help. With no choice, I stepped over to Ari and grabbed her arm.
"You okay?"
"……."
Ari turned her head to look up at me. For a brief moment—just a split second—her gaze softened. Then, without any resistance, she leaned into my arm.
"……Yeah."
Her small reply as she gripped my arm. Completely different from how she'd shoved Deulle away. And Deulle was watching it all. Her sister, who'd brushed off her hand, now meekly clinging to the guy right beside her.
"Ha, unbelievable."
Ari leaned against me as she slowly started walking. In reality, she could barely move before, but now she walked far more steadily. Supporting her, I said,
"Deulle, mind opening the car door?"
"Sure, Oppa."
Min Deulle walked ahead of us and opened the door. The back seat. I tried leading Ari that way, but she stopped dead.
"……."
She glanced at the open back door, then gently pushed me aside and headed for the passenger seat. She opened the door herself, slipped in, and even slammed it shut. Deulle and I just stood there, dumbfounded.
"I went and opened the damn door for her...!"
Deulle snapped, storming toward the passenger side. I grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Calm down, Deulle. She's drunk. You don't fight with a drunk person."
"……."
"Let's just get in the back. Okay?"
"Yeah……."
……
The car was quiet. Ari had her eyes closed in the passenger seat, and Deulle said nothing from the back. I glanced at Deulle in the rearview mirror. She was staring out the window, her expression sour.
…Sorry, Deulle.
I muttered inwardly as I turned the wheel. Truth be told, I'd brainstormed plenty of other options. Drop Deulle off at home first, then go for Ari. Drive over and stage a sudden acceleration accident in advance. Follow Deulle and heroically dive in to save her. I scribbled and erased ideas on my phone over and over, manipulating the dream.
But there was one problem. Maybe because the dream was titled Nightmare, I couldn't manipulate it cleanly without any incidents. It wouldn't revise into a conflict-free path where no one got hurt. In simple terms, I had to make the dream nightmarish, fitting the title.
So this was the best I could come up with.
Propose Deulle tag along, then pick up Ari together. From Deulle's perspective, this seemed to qualify as her own kind of nightmarish ordeal.
I still feel bad about not preventing the sudden acceleration accident itself... But this had to be the best option...
One more thing I'd discovered while manipulating the dream: Normally, you can't input someone's name directly unless you spend coins to register them as a character. That held true here too—I couldn't enter Min Ari's name into the app. But I could vaguely guide events without naming her: 'Uju-mong suggests Deulle accompany him. Deulle accepts. Uju-mong and Deulle move together. Uju-mong's group returns home safely.' A kind of narrative trick.
Of course, even I—the one manipulating the dream—had no idea what specifics would play out. I hadn't set detailed events for the "safely returning home" part.
"…Oppa."
Deulle quietly spoke up.
"Yeah?"
"Unnie's wearing you out, huh?"
Her voice was flat. But the intent behind it was clear.
"I'm good. Not tired at all."
"Liar. How could you not be, getting dragged out in the middle of the night?"
Deulle pressed on. "Unnie's always like this. Does whatever she wants, expects everyone to handle everything... She could've called her boyfriend, so why you?"
"……."
"Oppa, you're just too pitiful."
As those words landed, a faint movement came from the passenger seat. Ari's face twitched subtly, like she was having a nightmare herself.
"She's just using you whenever it's convenient. Don't you think it's time to tell her straight up? That it pisses you off being used like this."
"……."
Deulle wasn't wrong. But what could I say? I'd spent ten years happily putting up with being used like that. Sure, annoyance was starting to bubble up, and it was getting tiring, but I couldn't bring myself to snap, 'Cut this shit out.'
Silence stretched again. With no response from me, Deulle spoke once more.
"No... I got too worked up and said something dumb. You've got your own reasons, Oppa."
Her voice deflated as she backpedaled. I wanted to say something warm, reassure her it was fine—but for some reason, my mouth wouldn't move.
Is the app interfering? Can't even speak.
……
The apartment complex parking lot, near the walkway. I pulled into a spot there.
"We're here."
Words finally came naturally, but the mood had already stiffened solid.
Deulle opened her door and got out; I opened mine too.
"I'll help Unnie."
"Nah, better if I do it."
"Okay……."
I opened the passenger door, revealing Ari asleep inside.
"Ari. Wake up. We're home."
"……."
No response. "Min Ari." I placed a hand on her shoulder and shook gently. The soft feel of her shoulder pressed into my palm.
Then, Ari's eyes fluttered open. No confusion in her gaze. No surprise or panic at seeing me. Not the eyes of someone just woken. No haze, no drowsiness. Like she'd been awake the whole time, her clear pupils stared straight up at me.
"Ari…?"
Before I could say more, her hands cupped my face. And before I could react, she yanked me in.
"…!"
Soft sensation. It took a moment to register it was Ari's lips. A brief kiss. As they parted, cold air rushed between us.
"…Thanks for coming to get me."
Low and soft. Ari was smiling. Her gaze, looking up at me, slowly slid sideways. Over my shoulder. To the back.
"Wh-what…."
Deulle's voice trembled.
"What the hell are you doing?! Unnie, are you insane?!"
"Ju-mong… I feel weak. Hold me…."
Ari stretched her arms toward me, slurring suspiciously. Completely ignoring Deulle as she clung to me. Stunned, I found myself supporting her.