Chapter 72
Chapter 72
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Dream or Reality?
#207
“……Sob.”
It had been ages since I'd dreamed that old dream.
A dream I'd never forget for the rest of my life.
In the dream, I wept endlessly, like a lost child.
My parents, holding me tight, stifled their breaths alongside me, tears soaking the bed.
So much that I wondered if we'd all just dry up and die. We simply cried and cried.
As if we'd forgotten how to stop.
To wipe the tears streaming down my face like rainwater, I raised my hand to rub my eyes, feeling a rough texture at my fingertips.
That's when I realized.
Ah, my face was burned.
But wasn't that in the past?
I had to wake up from the dream, quick.
From my parents' embrace, I took one step out of the hospital bed to escape—and a stabbing pain pierced through me.
The vivid agony I'd felt before brought not torment, but fear crashing over me like a tidal wave.
No way.
Where am I right now?
Or rather, from the start.
…Which one is the dream?
What if this place isn't the dream, and the happy days with Jun-woo up until moments ago were the dream?
Chaining worries made my whole body tremble violently.
‘…Hey.’
I wanted to deny it outright, but that sliver of possibility swelling in the corner of my mind left me without certainty.
…This isn't right.
Surely in the past, I'd begged for the dream not to end if it was one.
Time had passed since getting together with Jun-woo, and now to say it was all just a fleeting dream?
What a cruel joke.
‘…Jun-woo?’
No way.
That tender gaze he fixed on me.
Those scorching lips devouring my entire body.
That gentle voice whispering eternal love in my ear.
Those countless nights enveloping me like we were the only two left in the world.
No, none of it could be a dream.
I knew Jun-woo better than anyone.
The instant that thought hit—to return to Jun-woo's side—
“Seo-ah!”
His desperate voice calling me lifted my heavy eyelids with a soft rustle.
Even in my watercolor-blurred vision, my one true love stood out crystal clear.
What had done this to you? That usually steadfast face brimmed with worry.
“What kind of dream has you shedding tears like this, worrying me half to death... You're okay, right, Seo-ah?”
…
“…Was I crying?”
As his worried words reached me and I reached to wipe under my eyes, the dream's rough texture made me freeze for a moment.
…No way. I repeated it in my heart once more.
Moving my hand, thankfully—truly thankfully—unlike the dream, it felt soft, with damp moisture.
“Yeah, you were. Hurt my heart just watching.”
Jun-woo whispered it earnestly, no trace of a joke.
Smoothly—
His large hand cupped my face, wiping the other eye I hadn't reached.
“Nightmare?”
“…Yeah, looks like it.”
A vicious nightmare.
If before it was just my ruined face haunting me, now precious memories with Jun-woo were mixed in. Terrifyingly vicious.
“Seeing my honey this heartbroken... Was it about me?”
Jun-woo always used that special pet name to soothe me when I was mad or sad.
I'd tease him with a smile, saying it lost its magic each time, but now I understood.
Once, at crucial moments.
As I slipped softly into the arms of Jun-woo lying beside me, with that loving pet name.
My dripping tears, my quivering hands—all stilled at once.
“…You weren't there... boo hoo... next to me...”
“Me?”
“Mhm...”
“My bad. Punish me.”
“Don't wanna...”
Even to my out-of-nowhere words, he smiled faintly, patting my body with a sorry and his warm touch melted my chilled body and heart alike. Along with that nightmare.
Yeah, looks like I can't do without you, Jun-woo.
“Why'd you sleep on the floor instead of next to me...”
“You told me to sleep on the floor...”
“So it's my fault...?”
“Thinking it over, yeah, my fault. Sorry...”
“So before rethinking, it was my fault...?”
“……Honey, can't breathe.”
“Darling, am I the one who can't breathe...?”
“………”
Realizing more words would only dig him deeper, Jun-woo buried his face in my chest and shook his head side to side, begging me to stop.
That adorable attempt to lift my mood drew chuckles from me as I stroked his soft hair.
How did the past bubble up today? I'd buried it for so long.
Because yesterday on the way home, I revealed a bit about my regression to Jun-woo?
Or because I fell asleep without nestling in his arms for the first time in ages?
Or because his spartan workout last night wrecked me? …Suddenly resented him. Just a tiny bit.
If I had to guess carefully… probably bringing up the regression. The me in the dream was from that erased timeline.
What face will Jun-woo make when I tell him I regressed someday?
He might brush it off as a joke or check my temperature, worried I'm sick.
But if I insist it's true, he'll smile awkwardly like it's trouble—but eventually believe me. Like always.
Jun-woo. Hard to say right now, but someday, I promise I'll tell you.
Because I want to show you everything—nothing hidden, not even one bit.
All of me.
#208
Seo-ah had finally settled, her soft breaths tickling my ear.
Tormented by a nightmare just because I wasn't there.
About to tease, What'll you do when I enlist?—but yesterday's cafe chat with Seo Sa-rom and Kim A-ri flashed back, sealing my lips.
Say it now, and today might be the day we conceive our first.
A kid like me and Seo-ah would be so lovable. The day our eyes met, I'd fall head over heels—no doubt.
Just picturing it overflowed happiness and joy.
But.
Not yet. Mmm, not yet.
Shoving that urge aside, I savored her full chest to my heart's content before lifting my head ever so gently. Dawn's hush filled the room.
Not fully dark, yet not quite morning—somewhere between night and the rising light.
Of all days, morning class today. Even more sleep now, and we'd be wiped? I started to speak.
“Seo-ah, today...”
“Mmm, darling...”
The pet names we saved for fights or sad times between us.
Usually back to normal once settled, but today—whether her mood lingered or she liked my pet name—she placed an index finger on my lips, shaking her head softly.
As if saying, not yet.
“…Like the pet name?”
“Yeah. Makes me dream of our future. Not the past.”
“It will be someday.”
My matter-of-fact words drew a beaming smile from Seo-ah, sadness fading.
Like a spring flower bursting into full bloom—dazzling my eyes.
Love that you love it so much. Made me happy too.
“So, honey. Still mopey—wanna ditch the lecture?”
“Nooo... Two days already, can't skip more.”
“But...”
“You're gonna skip just to worry about me, right, darling...?”
“……Obviously.”
A brief moment with her unrelenting gaze and a light smack on the butt.
But wrapped in each other's arms, sharing warmth, we murmured on softly.
Breakfast plans, today's to-dos.
The little everyday things we'd share.
As we chatted, drowsiness hit; our eyes drifted shut smoothly.
Only our faint snores echoed softly in the room.
#209
“Lee Jun-woo, you thinking part-time?”
“...Outta nowhere?”
Total curveball.
After a morning swat from sore-muscled Seo-ah for yesterday's workout, prepping breakfast as penance—phone rang. Kim Seung-hyun.
Part-time, huh...
Me or Seo-ah, allowances from home covered us fine. We weren't big spenders.
But hey, a college kid can't survive on food alone. Yeah, right.
Textbooks with prices screaming guilty conscience, drinks with the crew, eats out—boom.
Money. Everything's money.
Especially freshman start: drinking sessions, upcoming dept MT... Money evaporates breathing. Current allowance might pinch.
Alone, whatever—but I wanted to shower Seo-ah with anything she desired, no skimping.
—Sigh, tough.
Unlike school days, just exams and Seo-ah.
Career paths, clubs, jobs, dept life. Daily brain-full.
“Uncle asked around for someone decent. You in or out? Spill, punk.”
“What job? Gotta know to decide, you trash friend.”
“Oh, forgot?”
“Yeah, mofo...”
“Gym gig—they'll let you use free...”
“I'm in. Bro, hook me up, please.”
“Psycho...”
Workouts... free?
Idiot to pass.
First time Kim Seung-hyun proved useful in life.