The Voice in the Dream
The chat room went silent for a moment. But it didn't last long; a flood of confused reactions poured in.
Guardman couldn't speak for a while either. Hesitating, he asked in a trembling voice, "Where is that bastard right now?"
Park Jihun answered briefly, "Contact him."
"What?"
"Tell him you'll lend him the money."
"..."
"But tell him you'll give it to him in person."
Guardman understood immediately. "You want me to find his location, right?"
"Yeah. He'll be alone right now."
"Understood. I'll contact him right away."
Park Jihun added immediately, "And when you meet him, don't pry into what's going on."
"...What?"
At that moment, a short scene flashed before Park Jihun's eyes again. A dark room. A video call record left on a phone screen. A stranger's profile picture. A thumbnail of a recorded video. A long list of contacts next to it. Names of family, friends, and coworkers. And a threatening message saying the video would be leaked if the money wasn't sent. A screen showing a completed transfer flashed by. But soon, a message demanding an even larger sum arrived. The man clutching the phone slumped onto the floor. And the next scene. A high-rise apartment balcony. The man stood there, looking far down below.
Park Jihun opened his mouth. "Don't ask until he tells you himself."
"...Understood."
Park Jihun continued, "Go and stay by his side."
Guardman didn't ask any further. "Yes, I'll do that. Thank you."
With those words, the Discord connection cut off. Even after Guardman left, the chat room remained noisy for a while.
Park Jihun didn't look at the chat for long. "Picking the next person."
With that, the chat room stirred.
As the roulette spun, the chat room heated up again.
The roulette flew past several nicknames quickly. Then it slowly came to a stop.
[PeppermintCandy]
Most viewers expressed their disappointment.
Park Jihun put his mouth to the mic and said, "PeppermintCandy, come in."
A moment later, a voice came through the speakers along with the Discord connection sound. "Hello."
But it wasn't just one voice. Young male and female voices were flowing out almost simultaneously.
Park Jihun asked, "What are you curious about?"
After a brief hesitation, the woman spoke first. "Well, I'm in the early stages of pregnancy." Her voice was mixed with a little excitement and nervousness. "It's my first time, so there's so much I don't know. I'm curious if the baby will grow up healthy and what I should be careful about. Oh, and I don't know the gender yet, so I'm curious about that too."
The man immediately cut in from the side. "I hope it's a daughter."
"I want a son."
The woman retorted in a playful voice. "No, why a daughter again?"
"How pretty would it be if the firstborn is a daughter?"
"They say sons take after their mothers. How handsome would he be if he takes after me?"
"That's cheating, saying it like that."
As the two bickered playfully, the chat room reacted immediately.
Amidst the noisy chat, Park Jihun opened his mouth. "The baby will grow up healthy without any major issues."
The other side of the Discord went quiet. "And it's a son."
The woman gasped. The man asked a beat later, "Is it really a son?"
"Yeah."
A moment later, the wife burst into laughter. "Wow, thank you! See? I told you it was a son."
"Too bad. Still, he'll be handsome if he takes after you."
"...You're good with words."
Laughter erupted in the chat room as well.
The husband asked cautiously, "Then is there anything we should be careful about?"
Park Jihun said briefly, "Nothing to worry about too much."
"Yes."
"Instead, don't worry too much about useless things. It'll only make the mother tired."
The woman immediately laughed softly. "That's exactly how I am right now."
"The child isn't one to just stay inside. Their energy is reaching far outward."
The couple went quiet at the same time.
"If you hold them back too much, they'll feel stifled."
"...Ah."
"Let them run and play outside."
The husband laughed first. "I feel like I can already see their personality?"
"Same here. Anyway, thank you. I was worried about this and that for no reason."
Park Jihun said briefly, "Take care of the mother's health first. The baby is fine."
"Yes. Thank you."
"Thank you so much."
The Discord connection cut off. The chat room continued with calm reactions.
Meanwhile, Kim Taehun was in his home study, watching Park Jihun's broadcast. His tie was already undone, and the top few buttons of his dress shirt were open. On the laptop screen, Park Jihun was speaking with his usual expressionless face. "The baby will grow up healthy without any major issues."
Kim Taehun wasn't very interested in the current reading. He was waiting for the next roulette. "And it's a son."
Just then, the study door opened. "Not asleep yet?"
It was his wife, Yoon Jiyeon, who had entered the room. Kim Taehun turned his head without taking his eyes off the laptop screen. Yoon Jiyeon's gaze naturally drifted toward the laptop screen. "What are you watching?"
"Just a broadcast."
"You watch internet broadcasts?"
Kim Taehun answered briefly, "Because of work."
Yoon Jiyeon approached and stood next to Kim Taehun. From the speakers, the excited voices of the young couple continued. Kim Taehun mindlessly moved the mouse to turn down the volume. Then Yoon Jiyeon said, "Don't turn it down. I'll listen too."
Kim Taehun hesitated for a moment, then took his hand off the mouse. Yoon Jiyeon kept her eyes on the laptop screen. Meanwhile, Park Jihun opened his mouth again. "Take care of the mother's health first. The baby is fine."
The young couple thanked him repeatedly. Even after the connection was cut, Yoon Jiyeon was looking at the chat room without a word. Kim Taehun turned his head to look at his wife's profile. Yoon Jiyeon was scanning the chat room without saying anything, then asked, "Is this person an OB-GYN?"
"No. It's a broadcast for spiritual readings."
"Spiritual readings?" Yoon Jiyeon finally looked at Kim Taehun. "Didn't you say you weren't interested in that kind of thing?"
"There's just something I need to verify."
Yoon Jiyeon looked at Kim Taehun for a moment, then turned her gaze back to the screen. "Is that person good at it?"
Kim Taehun answered in a calm tone, "They say he is."
"Does he answer anything if you ask?"
"If you get picked, he'll read anything."
"If you get picked? What does that mean?"
"There's a way to get a reading. Either you wait in line, or you get caught on the roulette."
Only after saying it did Kim Taehun realize he had explained it too thoroughly. Yoon Jiyeon seemed to feel it too. After a brief hesitation, she said, "You know more than I thought."
"I've watched a few times."
"A few times?"
Kim Taehun didn't answer. Just then, Park Jihun on the screen was bringing up the roulette window again. "Picking the next person."
At that moment, Kim Taehun's gaze was fixed on the screen. The chat room moved rapidly.
The roulette started to spin. Countless nicknames flew past quickly. Kim Taehun leaned toward the monitor without realizing it.
[TheFirst]
His own nickname flew past. Kim Taehun's lips moved on their own. "Please."
Yoon Jiyeon looked at Kim Taehun with a bewildered face. Kim Taehun didn't even notice that. The roulette speed slowed down gradually.
[LaRibe] [TomatoSoup] [TheFirst] [cdc0312] [AlDente] [PeachBlossom] [MuseRia] [GamsungPa]
The arrow seemed to be approaching TheFirst again. Strength went into Kim Taehun's hands. However, the arrow passed TheFirst and slid a few more spaces before landing on another nickname.
[DreamAspirant]
Kim Taehun's face darkened. The strength in his clenched hands faded. "...Ha."
Yoon Jiyeon, watching from the side, asked as if she couldn't understand. "Were you staying up all night watching this just to do this?"
Kim Taehun looked up belatedly. "That's not it..."
"What was that 'please' just now?"
"There are circumstances."
Yoon Jiyeon pointed at the laptop screen and asked, "Is he that good?"
Kim Taehun couldn't answer. Good? That word wasn't enough. He was seeing things others couldn't. That was why he was trying to get a reading directly, no matter what. Then he turned his head. "You."
"Yes?"
"Do you have an Ocean account?"
Yoon Jiyeon narrowed her eyes. "There's no way I would."
"Then sign up."
"Me too?"
Kim Taehun nodded. "Sign up with your phone. That's the only way to apply."
"Apply?"
"Just do it."
He couldn't bring himself to say that the probability would increase if his wife applied separately. Yoon Jiyeon looked at Kim Taehun for a moment, then slowly took out her phone. "Okay. Since you're paying this much attention to it, I'm getting curious too."
While Yoon Jiyeon was taking out her phone, Park Jihun was speaking. "DreamAspirant, come in."
***
The Discord connected. A stranger's female voice flowed out. "Hello."
Park Jihun asked, "What are you curious about?"
DreamAspirant hesitated for a moment and answered, "This might sound a bit strange, but I've been having the same dream lately."
"What kind of dream?"
"Someone keeps calling my name."
At those words, the chat room became noisy.
DreamAspirant continued to speak. "At first, I thought it was just a nonsense dream. But it's been repeating for a few days now. So when I wake up, there's no one around. Because of this, I've become sensitive and my nerves are on edge."
Park Jihun stared at the screen quietly. A blurry scene flashed past the nickname DreamAspirant. A dark semi-basement room. A flickering fluorescent light on the ceiling. A woman sleeping curled up inside a thick blanket. And outside the window. Beyond the small window facing the street, someone's shadow was crouching low. It was a man in a worn-out jumper. He had been staring into the semi-basement room for a long time. The sleeping woman's face. A hand slightly sticking out from the blanket. Shoulders rising and falling slightly. The man raised his hand to knock on the window, then stopped. He couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he barely spat out a name he had endured for a long time in a very small voice. "...Yujin."
At that moment, the woman tossed and turned inside the blanket. At the rustling sound, the man stiffened. Then, as the woman showed signs of waking up, he hurriedly stepped back. And he disappeared into the narrow alleyway. A moment later, the woman slowly opened her eyes. It felt like someone had called her name. She jumped up and looked out the window. But there was no one there. A narrow alleyway. Under the streetlight, only the faint steam marks on the glass remained.
Park Jihun slowly opened his mouth. "That's not a dream."
The other side of the Discord went quiet. DreamAspirant asked cautiously, "...Yes?"
Park Jihun said again with an expressionless face. "The one calling your name."
DreamAspirant swallowed hard. Park Jihun continued as he was. "It's not a dream."