Chapter 118: Nightmare. (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 118: Nightmare. (4)
A world built upon someone’s dream.
Because the dreams of Cheon Yu-hak and Kim Ga-eul happened to share the same form, the two dreams merged. And because I happened to be there, I was naturally able to possess a body within their dreams.
But what if I entered the dream of someone I didn’t know? Or even if it was someone I knew, what if I hadn’t intervened in the events of the dream?
Would I become someone else, or would I intervene in my original form?
The answer was simple.
I couldn’t intervene at all.
…What the hell is this? Dammit.
From the perspective of an observer looking down at the events from the sky, I couldn’t move a single muscle. It was a bizarre sensation, as if the boundary between myself and the dream world was blurred, as if I were dissolved into the event itself.
According to my faint intuition, it wasn’t simply because I hadn’t intervened in the event; it was likely because Kang So-hyun was a person who did not exist at this point in time.
However, unlike the previous incident where I could only obtain memories shared between Cheon Yu-hak and myself, this time, I could gain information just by watching.
A man who looked exactly like me was staring at a young girl in an orphanage.
She was likely the protagonist of this dream.
The man wore expensive-looking clothes and was wealthy enough to donate gifts to the children there. In contrast, the girl wore tattered clothes and was incredibly gaunt, likely because she hadn’t been fed properly.
Though the two stood at opposite ends of the social spectrum, they were strangely alike.
Sharp eyes, red pupils, and rare black hair, topped off with a piercing aura.
The man felt a strange sense of kinship with the girl.
He had been told that his wife was born with a weak constitution, making it difficult for her to bear children.
Perhaps if it’s that child, she could become ours.
With that thought, the man reached out. Entranced by the sight of black hair—the first she had seen other than her own—the girl took his hand.
Kang Hyun-woo, the Chairman of Yuseong Group, gained a daughter that day and named her Na-hyun.
Rumors are bound to spread when the young chairman of a conglomerate adopts a child, but he used his power and influence to scrub the evidence. All that remained was the official story: his daughter, who had been away at a villa for her health, had finally returned.
I could feel their emotions as clearly as if they were my own.
The girl was amazed.
The fact that everything surrounding her had changed in a single day felt like magic.
Had the wish she made to the stars every night—just like in the fairy tales—finally come true?
Or was her previous, miserable life the dream, and had she finally woken up from the nightmare?
She soon realized that wasn’t the case.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the girl was quite bright for her age. She had enough intuition and knowledge to understand that at least half of those who showed her courtesy actually looked down on her and viewed her with resentment.
She also understood that she wasn’t in a position to get angry just because she didn’t like it.
No matter how kindly her sudden parents treated her, and no matter how much they resembled her, they were ultimately strangers until just a few days ago.
They would be more likely to kick her out than to put up with the tantrums of a child they had just picked up.
At least, that’s what the girl thought.
This was the girl’s first turning point.
The scene began to shift rapidly.
It was likely moving toward the next turning point in her life.
Just one year.
That was the time it took for her to melt into their lives as family.
The girl, who had been walking on eggshells and trying her best, had endured subtle neglect and petty bullying with grim determination. But a child, no matter how hard they try to be tough, is still just a child.
She broke down and cried.
When she was alone, she cried almost every day. Even when she tried to endure, it was difficult.
Nevertheless, the reason she forced herself to hold on was that she wasn’t starving anymore, and because her father and mother—excluding the servants—truly cherished her.
They are good people.
I don’t want to be a burden.
Thinking this, the child withdrew even further. She didn’t want to cause trouble for such kind people, and she also feared that if she acted out, she would be punished, just as she had been at the orphanage.
“…Hic.”
And so, on that day as well, Kang Na-hyun was crying alone.
“Na-hyun, what’s wrong?”
Her heart nearly stopped at the sudden voice.
It was her stepmother.
Since she had been caught crying, she would be interrogated.
What excuse should she make to get out of this? Was it okay to lie? What if she got in trouble for not sleeping in the middle of the night?
A flurry of worries made her head spin, but all those concerns vanished in an instant.
“What is it… are you hungry? Or can’t you sleep? I’m not scolding you, so take your time and tell me.”
“Ah…”
How long had it been since she felt such a warm touch? No, that wasn’t right. It hadn’t been long at all.
It was just that she hadn’t been able to accept it honestly, even though her mother had reached out to her many times.
She had rejected her because she was scared for some reason.
“Ah, sorry. You didn’t really like it when I approached you, right? Then I’ll keep my distance, so could you tell me what’s wrong?”
She smiled playfully and poured warm milk into a glass.
“I added honey to make it sweet. It’ll help you sleep.”
Though she had lived in the mansion for nearly a year, it felt like the first time she had looked directly at her mother’s face.
Pale ashen hair and soft silver eyes.
She gave off a somewhat faint and fragile impression, but strangely, whenever she smiled, she looked quite mischievous.
As she sipped the warm milk, something she had been holding back collapsed in her chest.
“…Ugh.”
“…Hm?”
“…Waaaaah!”
“…Huh?! Are you allergic to honey?! Ah, no? Is it lactose intolerance?! Mom! What do I do! Honey…!”
When Na-hyun shook her head desperately to clear the misunderstanding, only then did the woman slowly approach and carefully reach out.
For a moment, she seemed to hesitate, wondering if it was okay to touch her, but that hesitation didn’t last long.
“I’m sorry. I was so scared of being rejected that I couldn’t muster the courage.”
No. I was the one who pushed you away.
“If I had known you were trembling like this, I should have hugged you sooner. I thought you would come to me once you got used to things. I’m sorry.”
No. I’ve already received more than enough from you, even though I’m a nobody.
“My baby. Our baby.”
The warmth of the hand being offered was so sweet that she felt it would be shameless to take it. Because it was a happiness that had arrived out of nowhere, she feared it would vanish just as suddenly.
That was why she had rejected it.
“I’m sorry. I’m very clumsy, but… can I be your mother?”
I’m the one who wants to ask.
Is it really okay for a child without a single drop of shared blood to receive such undeserved love?
Is it really okay for me to call you…
“Mom…!”
…by that name?
“Yes, what is it, my daughter?”
It was foolish.
She had delayed and delayed such a simple thing for so long, doubting and hurting this person.
That night, she poured out everything she had been feeling. The subtle bullying, the strange pranks played on her food, the times she was openly mocked.
And the woman, who had seemed nothing but gentle and soft, exploded that day.
She grabbed Na-hyun’s hand, marched to the bedroom to wake up the father, and turned the house upside down.
“Get up…!”
“What… what is it?!”
“Call all the servants right now…!!!! I’m going to wreck every single one of them!”
“No, honey, what on earth is going on?!”
Ah, at least Dad is relatively calm. Thank goodness.
Immediately after thinking that, the father, upon hearing the mother’s explanation, flipped out just as much.
“These bastards. I give them a salary and bonuses, and they did what…?”
…No, wait, who the hell are you? This is Kang Hyun-woo?
I was becoming synchronized with the dream, the boundary between myself and the world disappearing, but I snapped back to reality because he was so different from the man in my memories.
No, his facial features were the same. It was also true that he was basically expressionless.
However, unlike the man who was always cold and showed little emotion, the man who was enraged by his wife’s words began to ring the emergency bell and tear the mansion apart.
“You sons of bitches…! Shuken! Shuke-e-e-en!!!!”
“Yes, yes! Master!”
“I’m firing every single servant under you, so consider yourself warned…!!!!”
“Whaaat…!?”
How should I put it? They looked like a somewhat excessive but cheerful family.
The assembled servants all fell to their knees. The two who had been particularly cruel to Kang Na-hyun begged and pleaded, but they were fired on the spot.
“The three of us are sleeping together tonight!”
“You’re right. The problem was giving her a separate room because we were worried she’d feel awkward! Let’s not just sleep together tonight, let’s do it from now on!”
“…Huh!?”
I guess…
Everyone was different back then. Compared to now.
I could tell the reason why just by looking.
The person who was there instead of ‘me.’
It was likely Kang So-hyun’s mother.
“Na-hyun! Come here!”
“Yes! Mom!”
“Say ‘okay’!”
“Okay! Mom!”
…Wow, how can someone with such a sickly and pure-looking face be so full of mischief? It would be damn exhausting to have someone that playful around you.
Anyway, everything seemed fine up to this point, but the story would likely diverge from here on out.
I thought the scenery would shift rapidly again, but it stopped immediately. It seemed the third turning point in her life had come relatively quickly.
“…Pregnant?”
“Yes. I checked with a test kit and then went to the OB-GYN recommended by our family doctor.”
Because his wife said such a thing so nonchalantly during a meal, Kang Hyun-woo dropped his utensils.
There were certainly memories of that. They had started sleeping with Na-hyun a month ago.
Before that, they had kept trying as if out of lingering desire, so it was certainly possible.
“What about your body…?”
“Well, they said it’s more stable than expected, so it should be fine. They told me to eat well, do some light exercise, and keep my mind and body at peace.”
“Good. No, of course it’s good. Yeah. It’s great, but… can I ask you one thing?”
“What is it?”
“Why did you get tested behind my back and then reveal it so abruptly during breakfast without giving me time to prepare my heart…?”
“Because that’s how you’d be the most surprised?”
“…Oh, fine. I’ll assume the fact that I almost had a heart attack was for your amusement.”
“Hm? Is there something else?”
“You should have at least told the chef behind my back! Shuke-e-e-en!!!! Change the menu to a special feast…!!!!”
“Haha! That’s enough! Honestly, you’re being so dramatic!”
Amidst the still-cheerful family, there was only one person.
A girl who could not smile.
She didn’t know exactly what pregnancy was, but even though her mom and dad were happy, she couldn’t bring herself to be happy.
Her father approached.
He lifted her up and kissed her on the cheek.
“Na-hyun! You really must be the lucky charm of our family!”
“What is pregnancy…?”
“Ah, right. Na-hyun might not know. You’re going to have a younger sibling now!”
A sibling.
Honestly, the moment she heard those words, the girl couldn’t feel happy at all.
If they had a child who was actually related by blood, unlike her, would this kind couple still look at her?
Would all the love she had finally grown accustomed to go to the life that was about to be born?
It was only natural for such anxiety to arise.
Of course, the young girl couldn’t express it in detail yet.
But there was someone who took the hand of the trembling girl.
It was her mother.
“Na-hyun, you’re scared right now.”
“Huh?! Uh… no, I’m not!”
“Oh? We agreed not to lie to Mom, didn’t we? You’re lying about this? You know Mom is sca~ry when she’s angry!?”
“…I’m really not. I’m just surprised.”
“Even if a sibling is born, Na-hyun is still our daughter. I guess Na-hyun doesn’t feel the same way.”
“Huh?”
“Hm? Na-hyun, you shouldn’t think like that. This baby is only being born because you came to us. Even if that weren’t the case, you’re already a precious child to us, so don’t think like that.”
Of course, this cheerful family would be like that.
But even if they said so, it had only been a year since they met.
Couldn’t their hearts change?
“I promise. Even when this baby is born, I won’t neglect you in the slightest.”
It was warm.
The warmth of the hand holding hers was exactly the same as the one that had comforted her on the day she was crying alone.
“…Really?”
“Of course! You’re doubting me again? Mom is hurt!”
“Dad is hurt too…!”
“Uh…? Huh?”
“I won’t feel better unless I get a kiss.”
“If Na-hyun doesn’t give me a kiss, I’m going to keep sulking!”
Watching up to that point, I had to snap back to my senses.
…How did such a cheerful family end up in this state now? Is it really because of me?
“Kiss!”
…And they’re actually doing it. So that’s what their personalities were like when they were younger.
That side of my sister… I didn’t really want to see it. It’s not like I watched because I wanted to, but anyway, sorry for peeking.