Dream, Romance, Future

"Name, age, height, and weight, in that order."

"……Choi Woo-hyun…30…177…75……."

"……Kim…Ye-na……30…160…51……."

Both answered simultaneously to a single question. The first query was always the same. It was a simple procedure to confirm whether the hypnosis had taken hold properly.

Ignoring Park Ha-eun's curious gaze from beside me, I spoke.

"What does that house mean to the two of you?"

"……A dream……."

"……Romance……."

Their answers differed, yet the meaning was the same. The small talk earlier had been to extract as much information from them as possible. That way, the details in the hypnosis would feel alive. A childhood friend and a quiet countryside house just for the two of them. The kind of hopeful story you'd only see in fairy tales or cartoons. If it hadn't been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me, that hope might have come true. Or maybe not. I had no intention of shattering their dream anyway. I was simply going to share a little of it. Isn't that what rural hospitality is all about?

"That house is your dream."

"……That's right……."

"That house is your romance."

"……Yeah……."

"That house is your future."

"……Our…future……."

Staring at the candle flame, the two responded quietly to my words. And in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠suggestion, I did not exist. It was still only the first floor, after all.

Whoosh! The moment the flame went out, I smiled brightly.

"Seniors, while the interior work is being done, do you have a place to stay?"

I first met Ye-na in kindergarten. If I try to recall that time, well… I don't remember it well. I was too young. Even after entering elementary school, we were in the same class for three out of six years. Since our parents knew each other, it was natural for us to stick together. Whenever our families went camping or on trips, the two of us were always side by side.

It wasn't until middle school that I started feeling a little embarrassed. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Probably because of puberty. The other kids teased me for hanging around with a girl. So I tried to avoid her a bit. Then—

"Hey, who do you think you are, avoiding me? Am I embarrassing to you?"

The way Ye-na blocked my path on the way home from school and snapped at me still remains vivid in my memory. I heard we even kissed back in kindergarten, but I can't really picture it. Thanks to bold Ye-na, we became close again.

"Doesn't the countryside smell amazing?"

She suddenly asked while we sat side by side on the bus. All I could smell was the pungent odor unique to livestock barns.

"That's what makes it good. Hey, if you can't get a girlfriend, want to build a house in the countryside and live with me?"

Back then, I just nodded. A middle schooler was too young to understand women.

"If we buy a countryside house and remodel it, it'll be pretty, right?"

Ye-na, who had always been bold, seemed fixated on the house. I wasn't particularly interested, but if I refused she would throw a fit, so I simply nodded like a pigeon.

"Where are you going to university? Let's go to the same one."

Honestly, I hated it. Because of her, even the high school kids thought we were a couple. I didn't have anyone I liked at the time, but if someone appeared, I worried it wouldn't work out because of her.

"You won't get into Seoul University anyway. Might as well go somewhere together."

So university was decided in that forceful manner.

Time passed. After the college entrance exam, on the day I turned twenty—

"Want to get a temporary ID? Great, let's go."

"Where?"

January 1st. She said our parents had already given permission. Then she dragged me to a bar. I had tasted alcohol a few times when our families went out, but it was my first time at a bar. It wasn't like we were committing a crime, yet my heart pounded.

"Hey, we drank, so let's just sleep over."

"Where?"

When I opened my eyes, I had slept with her. On January 1st. Huh.

"You're mine now, got it?"

It wasn't like we were filming some 2000s youth drama. Still, it didn't feel bad. Starting a relationship didn't really change anything.

"You two decided to date? Now? We thought you guys had been together since forever."

Our parents' reaction was the real masterpiece. I had never once imagined dating Ye-na, yet it seemed our parents had already assumed we were a couple.

Feeling wronged, I entered university and diligently searched for other women. I didn't aggressively hit on them like some playboy, though.

"Why do you keep looking around?"

"It's unfair. I never thought about it."

"Look all you want. There isn't a prettier girl than me anyway. Or a better one."

Ye-na was always overflowing with confidence. And that confidence was well-founded. There really wasn't a better girl. Rather, there wasn't anyone more comfortable than her. In the end, I gave up and went to the military. She waited for me anyway. On the day of my discharge, when I saw her crying while waiting for me, I simply hugged her. Honestly, what was I compared to her? Even the idols I saw in the army didn't look prettier than her.

From then on, I loved Ye-na with everything I had. Still, we decided to find jobs elsewhere. It felt a bit awkward otherwise. Even so, the dream remained the same as before. Our own house. With a goal in sight, the preparation process went smoothly. We learned skills we could use while working from home. Enough to earn a living as freelancers. I went into IT, and Ye-na went into design. It was different from our majors, but I thought that was just how life worked.

And now, we had found a house, but it was too old. We had deliberately chosen this kind of house. All that remained was to demolish everything except a few reusable parts and then build and decorate it according to our design. This house contained our childhood dream, our romance, and the future we would create together.

"I was planning to just drop by occasionally to check on the construction."

Or we could sleep at a nearby motel, I added. We couldn't check on the work every single day.

"I see. Then please contact me the next time the two of you come together. I'll prepare the necessary documents."

I didn't have any particularly close memories with my junior, Maeng Do-yun. By the time we were third-years, remembering all the first-years had become quite difficult. I did remember that he followed our instructions well. He was diligent. Thanks to that, we were receiving help like this now.

"Do-yun, thanks. I'll contact you when we come next time, so make sure you decide what you want to eat."

On the way home, Ye-na looked at me while staring at her phone.

"Hasn't Do-yun been really hardworking since way back?"

"Yeah, he has."

That was the image of Do-yun left in my fragmented memories. Though they were short memories.

"He's such a good kid~."

"Right."

"Should we buy something delicious next time? Like snacks."

Sounds good.

"Put your feet down. What if you get hurt?"

"Ehehe~, you'll drive safely anyway~."

She really was my wife, yet my heart felt so at ease.

I met Do-yun again a week later.

Moving was easy. All you had to do was register your change of address. But interior design and remodeling were different. There were countless things to prepare and worry about. Civil servant and licensed real estate agent. When the two of us got together, paperwork like this was far too easy.

"It's been a while since I've felt this excited."

While preparing the second floor build, I felt excitement for the first time in a while. The only regret was Yoo-na. As the play setup wore off, she returned to her businesslike attitude toward me. It was regrettable, but not unpleasant. That businesslike Yoo-na was cute too.

"Do-yun~, over here."

I smiled back at Senior Ye-na, who waved at me cheerfully, and approached her.

"Where's Senior Woo-hyun?"

"He went home for a bit~. Have you been well?"

"Of course. It's only been a week, so nothing much happened. What about you, Senior? I heard it rained in Seoul."

While making small talk, Senior Woo-hyun came out of the house.

"Shall I show you the documents I prepared right away?"

"Ah, shall we?"

Sitting on the wooden floor inside the house, I spread out the documents and explained them.

"That's all. Easy, right?"

"……It's difficult."

"It's because you're not used to it. I'll organize them and leave them here."

After sorting each document, I placed them in a file folder and handed it over. I had to do at least this much.

"Ah, and Seniors."

With a bright junior-like smile, I held out my phone to the seniors who were gathering the documents.

"Could you look at this for just three seconds?"

"What is it?"

Whoosh! If they knew what it was, what could they do? One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Even after just one second of staring, I could see their strength draining away. Like the childhood friends and married couple they were, both wore the same expression as the light faded from their eyes, gazing blankly at the candle flame.

"Are you afraid of your dream collapsing?"

"……Yes……."

Dream, romance, and future. I had reinforced them with suggestions. Naturally, the answer to the question was that they were afraid.

"Then you'll have to visit and check on it once a day."

"……That's right……."

Both of them were perfectly in sync.

"I see. One of you must visit and check the construction site once a day."

"……Yes…one person…visit……."

"If you don't check, you'll feel anxious."

"……Check……anxious……."

I planted the fear that their long-cherished dream might collapse. I repeated it.

One of the two.

"Woo-hyun, should we ask Do-yun?"

"Still…"

"Right? It feels too sorry."

No matter how I thought about it, relying on a junior we weren't even that close with felt burdensome. The two of them were suppressing their upright lives and thoughts as much as possible. However, as one day, two days, and then another passed, their anxiety grew, and the single remaining option shone even brighter.

"Still, should we at least ask?"

"Yeah, that seems right. If not…"

She swallowed the rest of her words. She was afraid being too negative would drain her energy.

"Okay. Then let's go ask together."

It felt awkward to ask something like this over the phone, after ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all.

"What if he's living with someone?"

"Ye-na, it's fine. Let's just ask. If he says no, we'll cleanly end it there."

"Haa~, got it! Let's go! Let's gooo!"

Because they were impatient, all sorts of thoughts came to mind. Still, holding onto the vague belief that it would work out, they headed toward Hanasi.

"Huh? Of course not. I do live alone, though."

"That's…true."

"Who's coming? If it's Senior Ye-na, even more so."

For a moment, Woo-hyun and I made eye contact. That's right.

"Even if we pay rent…is it still like that?"

Still, we couldn't back down here! Who did he think we were?

"We'll pay plenty of rent."

"……Is Senior Woo-hyun okay with that?"

I…… couldn't continue speaking.

"It's fine. It's for our dream, after all."

"Yeah, it's fine."

Who did he think I was! Even if Do-yun went crazy and tried something, would I just let it happen?

"No."

"Hing, please. Hm? Pleeease~."

But he refused without hesitation.

"You two are newlyweds and a couple. Senior Woo-hyun might be different."

"……Then Woo-hyun, you quit your job and go."

At that, the reply came: "Oh, I didn't think of that." Directed at Do-yun.

"I don't need money. That's not the issue, Seniors."

But to us whose light had been severed, refusal only brought anxiety.

"Then Seniors, I'll think about it and contact you tomorrow."

"……Will you?"

At least he had turned his thoughts around. I tried to think positively.

"Or, if you look at this, your mind might change."

"Oh! What is it! Let me see!"

Whoosh!