A Prophetic Dream
‘What the hell is this?!’
Shock stole the words from my mouth. Come to think of it, no sound came out at all.
‘Aaaah! Aaaaaah!!’
No matter how loudly I screamed, my voice never reached the outside world.
Worse still, I was standing there completely naked, yet the countless people gathered in the courtroom paid me no attention whatsoever.
It was as if I were invisible.
‘Noona?’
Amid the crowd, I spotted my sister and brother-in-law seated in the gallery.
She looked visibly tense, while he held her hand tightly, his eyes fixed on the proceedings.
What kind of trial could possibly bring my busy sister here? And what exactly was happening?
A hallucination? A dream? Or had I somehow experienced an out-of-body journey?
While I struggled to make sense of anything, the trial continued. The more it progressed, the closer I came to a shocking truth I had never known.
“…In summary, the defendant’s car horn startled the victim, Ahn Namsu, who was passing by. He fell and struck the back of his head on the curb. The victim is currently in critical condition and unconscious. However, the defendant claims he honked reflexively after a dog suddenly darted into the road. Based on witness testimony, there is no evidence of intent. Therefore, the defendant is found not guilty.”
‘Wait, what did he just say? Ahn Namsu? Why is Grandpa’s name coming up in this?!’
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The moment the judge’s gavel fell, my sister shot to her feet. Tears streamed down her face as she screamed in anguish.
“Don’t make me laugh! You said the CCTV and black box were both broken! If that isn’t evidence tampering, then what is it?! Sir! A person can’t do this! You told me clearly that no dog ran out in front of the car! You said it was caught on CCTV too! So why is it suddenly broken now, and why are the recordings gone?! Why did you lie and say you saw something when you told me you didn’t?! Why?!”
Security guards rushed in to restrain her as she sobbed and shouted.
The defendant rose from his seat, yawning as though none of this concerned him, and walked right past me.
His muttered words pierced my ears.
“Fucking unlucky. That bitch. She should’ve just taken the money when I offered it and settled. Then none of this would’ve happened.”
“……!”
I spun around in fury and swung my fist, but it passed straight through his head like an illusion.
‘You son of a bitch!!’
“Stop right there!!”
I bolted upright, gasping for breath.
Huff, huff…!
The courtroom had vanished. I was back in the familiar darkness of the motel room.
My entire body was drenched in cold sweat. I took a shower, deliberately using cold water, and the last traces of sleep fled as my mind cleared.
‘What the hell was that just now?’
It had been far too vivid to be an ordinary dream.
Normally I would have forgotten it the moment I woke, but this one lingered in my mind as clearly as if I had just lived through it.
Especially the sight of my sister and the mention of Grandpa’s name during the trial… I had never experienced anything like this before, which only made it more bewildering.
I froze.
‘Wait… a dream?’
Could it be?!
“Status Window!”
Trait:[Oneroi’s Arrangement]
When falling asleep, you can probabilistically experience prophetic dreams.
‘That dream just now… was a prophetic dream? Does that mean Grandpa’s accident wasn’t just a simple accident……’
Grind.
My hands clenched into fists so tightly my knuckles turned white.
If the dream was true, then there was a hidden story behind what we had believed was a simple accident.
And the outcome had been disastrous for our entire family……
‘Noona must have hidden the truth from me because she was sure we would win the trial.’
In the dream, she had clearly received confirmation from the convenience store owner—the only witness—that no dog had run out in front of the car.
Yet something had happened to him afterward, and he had suddenly changed his testimony.
Because of that, we lost the case, and the culprit walked away with a shameless not-guilty verdict.
‘Still, I should check with Noona just in case… No. She’d definitely pretend she knows nothing.’
Fortunately, I remembered the case number from the dream. A quick phone search confirmed everything.
Just as I feared……
‘It really wasn’t just a dream.’
The hit-and-run case involving victim Ahn Namsu was indeed ongoing.
The real problem was the defendant’s identity.
‘Oh Se-jun?’
I searched the internet just to be sure, and his profile appeared immediately.
‘So it’s this bastard.’
Oh Se-jun.
The third and youngest son of Chamyung Construction’s president, a company ranked twenty-sixth in Korea’s business world.
Aside from an article about his return to Korea a year ago, there was almost no information on him. In particular, there was not a single mention of the hit-and-run incident anywhere.
‘They must have buried it with money.’
Every instinct screamed at me to go find him right now and grab him by the collar, but I couldn’t.
The trial loss hadn’t happened yet, and even if I went looking, someone like him would never agree to meet me.
In the end, I headed straight for the convenience store near the accident site that my sister had mentioned.
“Excuse me. Could I speak with the owner?”
“What’s this about?”
“You know about the hit-and-run that happened here three months ago, right? I’m the victim’s grandson. I heard the owner was a witness, so I’d like to ask a few questions.”
“Ah, I see. One moment, please.”
When I explained the situation, the night-shift part-timer contacted the owner and immediately handed the phone to me.
“Hello, sir. This is Ahn Humin, Ahn Namsu’s grandson. I’m sorry for calling so late.”
[I’ve already given my full statement to the police. If you contact me again like this or come to the store, I’ll take legal action. Keep that in mind.]
Click.
“Hello? Sir? Sir!”
“He hung up?”
“Ah, yes. I’m sorry, but could you try calling him one more time?”
No matter how many times we tried, the owner refused to answer.
He had told my sister he hadn’t seen any dog and that it was recorded on CCTV, yet now his attitude was ice-cold……
‘Looks like Oh Se-jun’s people already got to him.’
From the way the owner had changed, it was clear Oh Se-jun’s side had already worked on him. If things continued this way, the outcome would be exactly as the prophetic dream had shown.
Anger toward the owner boiled deep in my chest, but I forced myself to stay calm.
The training I received at the Baekryong Guild’s training facility wasn’t limited to physical skills.
Even in the most dangerous and urgent situations, learning to steady your mind and form a clear plan was part of the basic curriculum.
‘If Oh Se-jun’s people made a move, they probably used bribes rather than threats. It’s easier to keep secrets when you turn someone into an accomplice instead of creating more victims.’
Of course, they wouldn’t have used something as crude as transferring money directly into the owner’s account.
‘I need solid proof that Oh Se-jun bribed the convenience store owner……’
I lacked both the ability and the time to uncover that on my own.
In the end, I had no choice but to entrust it to a professional……
‘Ah, that’s right. There’s someone perfect for this!’
“It’s been a while, Humin. How have you been?”
“It’s been a long time, Uncle. I’m sorry I haven’t kept in touch more often.”
“Sorry for what? We’re both busy living our lives. If you want to see me, just call like this and we’ll meet.”
Go Yeong-gwang looked exactly the same as I remembered.
He had aged a little, and the years showed on his face, but he was still the uncle I knew.
“By the way, when was the last time we met? Probably at your sister’s wedding, right?”
“That’s right. It’s already been three years.”
“Time really flies. Three years already? So, how’s Grandpa and your sister? I tried contacting him a few months ago but couldn’t reach him.”
“Well… Uncle. Actually……”
I told him everything about Grandpa’s accident. As he listened, his expression hardened in real time.
“Is that true?”
“Yes. It is, Uncle.”
“……”
He downed the rest of his iced americano in one gulp, chewed the ice with a loud crunch, and spoke.
“So that’s why you contacted me.”
“I’m sorry……”
“No. You did the right thing. Who else would you turn to at a time like this but your uncle?”
“Do you think it’s possible?”
“We just need to prove that the convenience store owner took a bribe from Oh Se-jun and hid evidence, right? Leave it to me. If I can’t even do that much, I might as well close up shop.”
After retiring from the police force, Go Yeong-gwang had opened a private investigation agency, putting his detective experience to use.
Rumor had it that his success rate on every case was 100 percent, which was why clients had to wait up to a year to hire him.
“I’m counting on you, Uncle. I’ll find a way to pay you somehow.”
When I bowed my head, he frowned and waved his hand dismissively.
“Hey, forget it. I’m making plenty of money these days. And kid, do you really think I’m doing this for the money? To you, he’s your only grandfather, but to me he’s no different from a father. I told you before, right? My dad died young from lung cancer, and your grandpa helped my mom and me a lot even though he didn’t have much himself.”
Both my sister and I had heard the story.
Grandpa had never told it himself; we had learned it from Go Yeong-gwang. Ever since then, he had regarded Grandpa as his benefactor.
“If it weren’t for him, I probably would’ve ended up as some lowlife thug getting stabbed instead of becoming a cop. And now that man is lying in a hospital bed after an unfair accident. If his adoptive son can’t clear his name, what kind of person would that make me? A worthless bastard, that’s what.”
“Uncle……”
“Just trust me and wait. Don’t worry about the money. I need to get started right away, so I’ll head out first.”
“Yes! Uncle. Thank you!”
“Yeah.”
Grandpa always used to say that treating people with sincerity would one day come back as good fortune.
Watching Go Yeong-gwang wave and leave the café, I finally understood the belief Grandpa had lived by.
‘Then I should start preparing too.’
Of course, I had no intention of sitting idly by and leaving everything to him.
