Chapter 62
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: A Dream Wedding
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I must be pretty invested in my close senior and hyung's wedding. Otherwise, how could I have a dream like this? No, at first, I didn't even realize it was a dream. The trigger for lucidly realizing it was nothing special.
"Congratulations on your marriage, Hyunwoo!"
"Congrats! Epic congrats!"
Friends I hadn't even talked to since the year-end party-slash-New Year's gathering were suddenly congratulating me on my wedding. If this wasn't a dream, what was it?
'Talking about a wedding.'
I didn't even have a girlfriend, let alone a proper job. Dreaming something like this made me feel like such a weakling. When I should be facing reality head-on and working harder, was I trying to pull off some mental victory with nonsense like this?
'Hmm. Still pretty amazing, though.'
In my 29 years of life, I'd had dreams now and then, but this was the first time one was so vivid that I realized it was a dream while still in it. And what can I say... it felt way too real.
All my previous dreams were bizarre—like a goblin suddenly pulling out a magic club to bash my head, or me inexplicably turning into a boomerang and flying off. They were always weird like that, but this one was too realistic.
The scenes were crystal clear in my eyes.
"Honestly, I figured you'd get married someday, Hyunwoo."
"Of course. With three beauties like that by your side. And it was obvious they all liked you."
Three beautiful women?
The moment I heard that, the girls living with me in the one-room came to mind.
Oh Hana, Han Ae-bom, Yoon Sua.
Was this a dream where I married one of them?
'Crazy bastard. You're having the delusions of a stuffed pig.'
No, more importantly, why was I just standing there silently listening instead of saying anything?
Meanwhile, my friends were excitedly chattering away.
"Hey, relax your face. It was your choice in the end. No matter what anyone says, we respect it. Good call. Honestly, if it were anyone else, they couldn't have pulled off a decision like that."
What historic decision? No, wait—was this actually the future or something? I'd seen stuff like this in fantasy novels. Seeing the future, blah blah.
If this really was my future, in those novels, someone always woke the protagonist up right before revealing what that epic decision was.
...The moment that thought crossed my mind, a familiar voice rang in my ears.
Hyunwoo! Hyunwoo!
"Hyunwoo! Get up. You need to get ready for the wedding."
"...It's real."
Rubbing my sleepy eyes as I sat up, Yoon Sua tilted her head. She was wearing an apron.
"What's real?"
"Nothing. Never mind."
Usually, novel protagonists would feel super disappointed at this point. But I wasn't. It wasn't like I'd seen the future—it was just a ridiculous dream.
Absurd. One of these girls marrying a guy like me?
'We're all just gonna go our separate ways eventually anyway.'
Probably because of the regrets mixed in with Bong-gyu hyung's wedding, that's what spawned the delusion.
"Yawn."
I'm gonna die of sleepiness.
[AM 10:20]
[April 12th (Sat), Schedule - Bong-gyu hyung's Wedding 13:20]
I'd come back from my night shift, crashed immediately, and only slept about two hours. My eyelids were so heavy, I could pass out in ten seconds if I lay back down.
I stretched repeatedly, scanning the room.
Han Ae-bom was reading as usual. Oh Hana was already diligently doing her makeup, her profile visible. And Yoon Sua's back as she brewed coffee to wake me up.
Beauties everywhere—that perked me up a bit.
'Me marrying someone like this?'
Ha. A hollow laugh escaped me.
....
Still, dreams are free. If I had to marry one, who would it be? They all liked me in the dream... With my personality, I probably couldn't pick just one.
Is that why it was called a historic decision?
"Who was it really?"
"Who? It's on the invitation. You didn't even check?"
"Gah! You scared me."
Oh Hana's face popped up right as I muttered to myself—my heart nearly stopped. I'd been fantasizing about futures where I married them one by one. And right then, I was imagining marrying Oh Hana.
Me having a pretty little princess who looked just like her, nothing like me.
"Oppa. I get you're tired."
She pinched my cheek lightly and pointed at the bathroom with her index finger.
"Go wash up now. I'll do your makeup after you get dressed."
"Makeup?"
I made a disgusted face, but she looked even sterner.
"Of course! Do you know how many people will be at the wedding hall? You can't just go looking like your usual self in front of that many!"
"......"
I'd figured throwing on a suit would do. That's how I'd done it at the few weddings I'd attended before.
Fill a seat, hand over the cash gift, huddle sadly in a buffet corner, scarf food fast, and head home.
...But telling Oh Hana that would get me kicked, so I reluctantly shuffled to the bathroom.
"Take your time! Shave so clean no stubble shows at the roots!"
"What, it's not laser hair removal."
Grumbling, I grabbed a new razor blade, loaded it into the shaver, and stared at the mirror.
What an ugly guy staring back. Would any woman marry a dude like this? One of those three beauties outside?
'Definitely a bullshit dream.'
I knew that. Even knowing it made no sense.
"Damn it."
I swept a hand down my face and sighed softly. That stupid dream had filled my head with wild delusions that now scattered like clouds.
I'd even thought up kids' names over nothing before, then decided to drop it. Was the illness flaring up again?
Shooo...
I soaked the razor in hot water, then meticulously shaved. But what if—just what if—I ended up marrying one of these girls? Would we build a stylish home, living something like this?
Oh Hana fussing to dress properly for appearances. Han Ae-bom's sharp, ghostly glare spotting my mistakes. Yoon Sua gently covering for me no matter what.
Ugh. Insane. Marrying any of them paints the perfect future.
No. This wasn't something I could just quit whenever.
Shooo...
Foam rinsed away, revealing smooth, stubble-free skin. My complexion seemed better than before, maybe. Still, ugly face.
They say guys rate their own faces generously in the mirror. Why didn't mine look handsome to me?
"Really. So ugly."
I muttered self-deprecatingly. Not wrong, though.
"Ooh. Looking pretty good."
My face burned. I'd heard clothes make the man, but for me, Oh Hana was the bigger wing.
She pounced like a starving predator the second I emerged, picking panties to belt to socks—everything.
"No one's gonna notice anyway."
"What? These little details add up to huge differences. Subtle color shades create the perfect look. Masterpieces have similar big-picture frames, but differ in fine points."
"Only if the base frame is good."
...I grumbled.
Who was that guy in the mirror now? I'd half-dozed, eyes closed, enjoying Oh Hana's touches.
Opening them revealed a total stranger.
"Ae-bom unnie, Sua unnie. What do you think?"
"Looks good. Especially the hair."
"Whoa! Thumbs up. Thumbs up. Hyunwoo, you look so handsome today."
"Kyaa. This is all me. My work! They say a guy's looks are 80% hair. Lucky you, oppa—no bald spots yet."
I stared at Oh Hana, lost in self-praise.
"Makes me wonder if I can even bring you to the wedding hall."
"Why?"
Sorry. My intentions for bringing her were impure from the start. Through Han Ae-bom, recapturing that feeling from my parents' place. Refreshing. Like my own value rising too.
Using her to feel that again at this wedding—or ease my discomfort—was the same. But I lacked the guts to go alone.
"Worried you'll outshine the bride in her wedding dress."
"......!"
"......!"
"......!"
The room went dead silent. Crap. I belatedly realized how that sounded.
"Y-You're insane! What the hell?!"
"N-No, I mean. Just. It's true, right? You're too pretty. Should've gone plainer."
"What bullshit!"
Oh Hana spun in front of me.
"I put effort into my hair, sure, but this outfit? The world's safest white-and-pink guest dress with a black ribbon accent. All I added was Ae-bom unnie's designer handbag."
I agreed. But her hanger figure made even safe clothes stand out. Fact.
"Phew. Scared me."
Fanning her face, she beamed brightly.
"Still, felt pretty good?"
"......"
"I thought maybe you felt guilty using me as a shield, watching my reactions."
Guilty as charged.
"But even you wouldn't stoop to that, right?"
"Wouldn't I?"
"Of course not! You followed my fanning for two weeks, helped tons, and I owe you. Hesitating over this? I'd ditch you instead."
"......"
"Nothing more burdensome than fake niceness or showboating. If you give, learn to receive. That's manners, consideration. Just giving is selfish satisfaction."
Han Ae-bom and Yoon Sua nodded beside her.
"Weirdly wise words."
"What?!"
"Hana's cool."
"Thanks a bunch!"
Damn. Oh Hana looked so pretty right now, I wanted to hug and kiss her.
But we'd only had sex—we weren't like that. My ardor cooled instantly.
Licking my lips with a smack, I slipped on my shoes, ready to head out.
"No, oppa! Can't forget this!"
"Forget wha—mmph."
As I looked up puzzled, Oh Hana pressed her lips to mine, passing something from her mouth.
A quit-smoking candy I'd bulk-bought online.
"Eat it on the way. Can't be rolling cheap candy in your mouth there."
She licked her lips, unwrapped a new one, popped it in, and grinned.
"Doesn't tasteless quit-smoking candy taste a bit sweet like this?"
I instinctively rolled the candy on my tongue and nodded slightly.