Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Episode 8. The Chick's Dream (3)
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The sky was dyed orange as the sunset spread across it. Here on the floating island, one could see a horizon a little farther than elsewhere. Gaeul had been watching idol videos on the hologram from her watch, then had just dozed off. Perhaps because she was younger than the other two, she always fell asleep just like a human.
Yoo Ji-tae was gazing at her small golden nape. His thoughts were complicated.
"Mind if I sit for a bit?"
It was Bom's voice.
He nodded. She came over and sat next to him on the sofa. Normally, she would just come and watch TV without a word, but today she seemed to have something to say.
"Something on your mind?"
"Can I?"
"Go ahead."
"It's about us..."
After glancing at him hesitantly, Bom opened her mouth.
"We weren't lucky."
She began her story in a calm tone.
"By the time we hatched, Ascalifa had become a poor place for wandering. There was a great famine with no food, plagues swept the continent, and wars never ceased."
It was a story he had no interest in until the previous loops. But now, it was something he needed to hear.
"The world had become one where we couldn't have good experiences. The elders wanted us to wander to a nearby dimension. Fortunately, dragons who had wandered to neighboring worlds left some of their memories. We set off with a bit of those."
"Then the dimensions twisted?"
"Yes. Even I couldn't foresee that. We ended up in a dimension too far away, and couldn't return."
He nodded, and Bom continued.
"We struggled a lot. Everything we brought vanished. The dolls to mimic humans. The guardians to protect us. So we couldn't blend in easily with people and were exposed to danger."
Up to there, it was a story Yoo Ji-tae knew. He decided to ask what he was curious about.
"Why don't the adults come looking for you?"
He didn't expect much. In past loops, they had always insisted they didn't know.
But this time, Bom hesitated.
A sigh-like words slipped from her mouth.
"They can't find us."
"What?"
"Dragons are mentally connected. Like strings, metaphorically. But several of those strings snapped on the way here. I can't explain in detail, but... We were anxious. Me, and Yeoreum and Gaeul too."
Her expression grew a bit gloomy as she spoke, then she raised her voice again.
"But since coming here, things have gotten a little better. It feels like stability in life. Thank you, Ajusshi."
Bom's words brought him a small comfort. It meant the direction of this loop wasn't wrong.
"But, Ajusshi."
"Yeah."
"Could you maybe let Gaeul try the entertainment industry?"
"..."
A somewhat out-of-the-blue question. But it was also a conversation that had to happen eventually.
Yoo Ji-tae held back his answer.
"It's not like that. After we started wandering, I helped Gaeul with personal broadcasts because I knew she'd like it."
"And?"
"They weren't very popular, it seems. For a few months."
This was a bit puzzling.
Personal broadcasts and the entertainment industry were things Yoo Ji-tae knew little about. But in past lives, Gaeul had become a hugely successful celebrity multiple times.
The reason was probably nothing special. She was pretty, after all.
But no popularity on personal broadcasts?
"Then, while she was worrying, she got street-cast, and they started giving her ridiculous orders. Tied to the contract."
"What kind?"
"Gaeul didn't tell me the details."
That's when she ran away and ate poisonous mushrooms in the Amazon.
"If you filter out the bad people, couldn't Gaeul become a celebrity?"
Yoo Ji-tae closed his mouth and shut his eyes for a moment.
Around then, Gaeul's breathing changed. Her heartbeat too. She had started listening while pretending to sleep. It was a situation needing a careful response.
This wasn't a pleasant one for a regressor.
In every loop, the gold dragon became a celebrity. A singer or actress. As the daughter of the gold clan closest to humans, it was almost natural.
If he let Gaeul loose here? Like all past loops, she'd seize wealth and fame this time too. And even more love than she wanted.
And that was a problem.
In one past loop, Yoo Ji-tae had asked a psychologist about Gaeul's story.
Why someone loved by the masses despaired, broke down, and died.
'...If there's such a person, they probably died from loneliness.'
Excessive love became poison in some branches.
With everyone having their tastes, mismatches were inevitable. Those mismatches bred hostility. Gaeul's pure personality played a part.
Having always received overwhelming love, when mismatched attention turned to curses, her childlike mind couldn't bear the loss.
Depression, emptiness. Or maddening loss. The gold dragon started acting out uncontrollably.
Sometimes more than the red dragon.
"No."
A future the regressor must avoid.
So Yoo Ji-tae told Bom and Gaeul that. The yellow head pretending to sleep twitched. She was probably deeply disappointed.
But no helping it.
"..."
However, Bom didn't back down. As if she had expected it.
With slightly pleading eyes, she met Yoo Ji-tae's gaze.
"Really no?"
"No."
"Absolutely?"
"That's not something I can control."
Bom's lips trembled briefly before she asked again.
"Not even just one year of experience?"
She was trying to compromise after his firm stance.
He considered relenting once.
No. Even a year was too long.
"No."
"Six months?"
He gauged the time. Memories of how the gold dragon broke in just half a year surfaced.
So six months was no good either.
"One month? Just try it and quit if it doesn't work. That should be fine, right?"
He shook his head. Even a month was too long. Enough time for misfortune to strike.
Rejected repeatedly, Bom bit her lip lightly.
Then she turned her head slightly and muttered to herself.
"Stubborn."
Yoo Ji-tae didn't respond.
"Fine then. Just once?"
"Just once?"
"Just let Gaeul stand in front of people once."
This might be okay.
Dragons don't forget. Even one experience could become an eternal good memory.
Love and attention are addictive, but maybe the first time is fine.
"Can you be satisfied with once?"
Bom didn't answer. It was a question aimed at Gaeul.
"U-um, I'm sleeping."
A flustered voice leaked out.
"I know. Answer me. Satisfied with once?"
Yellow eyes slowly opened. She sat up.
"Um, uh, well..."
After hesitating, she answered.
"Um, I don't know. There were so many seats there, right?"
"Yeah."
"All filled with people. Thinking that many people seeing me makes me, like, tremble."
She mumbled before speaking up.
"It was exciting."
Her voice trailed off.
But Yoo Ji-tae had no response. As silence stretched, she glanced at him and added.
"Ah, ah! But I can't stand at the entrance ceremony, right? I'm not asking for that. Just, even in a small place, standing before people once. That would be great."
"..."
"I-it's fine! No is okay."
Silence fell again.
Gaeul waited for Yoo Ji-tae's answer, looking anxiously at Bom. Bom nodded as if it was okay.
Finally, Yoo Ji-tae spoke.
"Okay. Got it."
The chick covered her mouth in surprise.
"...Really?"
"If it's just once."
Slowly, a huge smile spread across her face. "Unni!" An excited Gaeul hugged Bom. Bom hugged back and gave Yoo Ji-tae a thankful look.
Then his phone rang.
-Hello. Is this Yoo Ji-tae's guardian?
A familiar voice. PR Team Leader Yong Do-hee.
"Yes. What brings you to call?"
Yong continued. The production team really wanted to see Gaeul. If they were considering auditions, come once.
He had planned to refuse, but now the situation flipped. Telling the chicks would make them ecstatic.
The pieces fit too perfectly. It felt artificially arranged. Then he recalled green dragons reading the future through providence.
On a hunch, he looked up at Bom. She slyly averted her gaze.
Yoo Ji-tae let out a hollow chuckle.
This kid.
"..."
Ha Jun-su PD, facing Gaeul directly, was speechless for a long time.
"What's wrong?"
Even when Gaeul asked, he remained silent.
Like beholding a masterpiece of art, Ha Jun-su just stared blankly at her face, over and over.
Then he felt a sharp gaze. The guardian. Realizing his mistake, Ha Jun-su looked away and waved hurriedly.
"Ah, ah. Sorry. Yoo Gaeul cadet, right?"
"Yes."
"In about a week, there's final selection for the freshman declaration speakers. Like a final audition."
"Ah, yes."
"As you know, the 'Freshman Declaration' is the highlight of the entrance ceremony. Your image fits perfectly, cadet Yoo Gaeul. Time's short, but want to prepare?"
Reactions were mixed.
'Yes!' Gaeul beamed.
'Aigoo... PD-nim again...' Team members who knew the usually bullheaded Ha Jun-su shook their heads.
The mood among the team, excluding Ha Jun-su, was overall poor.
What was the 'Freshman Declaration'?
The most spotlighted event among the ceremony's programs. Media flocks to it, people compare to last year's reciter and judge this year's freshmen.
In other words, it meant becoming the faces of that year's cadets.
As Gaeul left with her guardian, they sighed.
"Aigoo, PD-nim being stubborn again."
"Right. No way prepared kids will lose to a last-minute one. How much did those kids prepare?"
"Tell me about it. Speech academies in Hate Ling are packed."
All citing negative outcomes.
Then the youngest in production glanced around and asked.
"Why? That cadet was super pretty."
"What? You don't get it. Pretty is secondary. Needs charisma."
"Charisma?"
"A newbie has to captivate the entrance ceremony cadets and viewers behind the cameras."
"Aah..."
Now the youngest recalled last year's reciter and understood. Tall stature. Voice lower than a cave, brimming with charisma, dominating the audience.
That guy had left Lair and was acting in Hollywood now.
That kind of presence was needed.
"I see..."
"She's too bright and young. Cute, but image doesn't fit. Can a kid like that represent facing huge threats as a soldier, or the despair of the lost?"
Maybe.
Up to then, Yoo Ji-tae standing in the hall started walking slowly. He had come just in case, and got a decent hint.
Dragons could assimilate others' emotions and memories. So he could help Gaeul.
"Huh? You'll help with the audition?"
"Yeah."
"You, Ajusshi?"
"...That's how it is."
"Oh. Then, um, there's a word I don't know. Can you tell me this?"
Gaeul shoved the declaration script at him.
So Yoo Ji-tae and Gaeul sat together immersed in the script. Bom watched them.
That was when Yoo Ji-tae's gaze lifted. Then Bom and Gaeul's heads turned as if measured with a ruler.
Their eyes fixed on the blue egg.
Crack-.
A crack began to form on the egg.