I'd Take a Dream Like This Anytime

A dream like this? I'd take it anytime.

Virtual Reality Experience.

Simply put, it invited an actor into the world of a script.

You put a model registered in a slot through a virtual reality of the script so they could practice their acting. After a vivid experience like that, refining a performance would be a huge help.

But.

I can't use it.

Not unless I had the actors sign nondisclosure agreements first. And even then — would those actually hold?

I'll drop you into the world of the script so you can practice like an absolute beast. Have a good trip.

Whoa, awesome! Director, I'll practice my ass off and come back ready to deliver!

Obviously I'll keep this to myself and never tell a soul!

And I won't go poking around asking how you can even do this, or slaughter the goose that lays the golden eggs!

Ah. If only the world worked like that, how beautiful life would be.

But humans are animals who cannot stand knowing something alone. That sharing instinct is what let knowledge spread and civilization form in the first place.

This is a function I can't use carelessly. There's no way to keep it secure.

Not unless I planned to reveal the Future App's existence to the world.

Apparently the Future App had picked up on my concerns, because it offered advice with uncanny timing.

That changed everything. Time to run an experiment.

Should I try it on Chae Seoyun first?

Was there a distance limit or anything?

Good. As long as they were registered, there were no limits.

Wait a second.

Come to think of it, the underwater scenes I was in charge of were already finished. Practice and then reshoot? Was there any real need for that?

There was still the rest of the shooting schedule with overall director Kim Seongjin, and as a top star her calendar would be packed solid.

I should test this on Hyejin instead of Chae Seoyun.

It said I could make her perceive it as a dream once the script-world experience was over. Might as well time the test for when Hwang Hyejin was asleep.

The part we're shooting the day after tomorrow has a lot of big physical movement — she said it was tough. Let's have her practice that section once in the script world.

Meanwhile, how long was Chae Seoyun planning to sit there staring at the rough CG?

I was about to say something so I could close the laptop when Director Kim Gyeonguk urgently stopped me — wordlessly, with his whole face and body, desperately pleading. Please just leave Chae Seoyun alone.

So I quietly backed off and started breaking down the camera into its case. Being a multi-hundred-million-won camera, the carrying bag was basically an Everest-grade backpack.

The overall director approached me.

"Hello. I'm Director Kim Seongjin, in charge of the CF overall."

"Cha Doyoung, Director at Pine Tree Entertainment."

"Pardon?"

The word "Director" threw him immediately. He'd clearly expected me to introduce myself as a PD or a film director.

"Ah — I thought you were a director affiliated with some studio."

"I'm nowhere near director-level."

"Then… the way you handled Chae Seoyun's shoot earlier…?"

"The CG company said we could just film it roughly."

"Excuse me?"

"The underwater parts are getting buried in CG anyway, so they said anyone who could hit the record button would do. So I stepped in."

"Ah… I see."

He did not see. If anything, he looked even more lost.

I really shouldn't keep finding that reaction so entertaining.

"I'm just the camera carrier. The CG company handles all the actual work."

"I thought you were the director assigned to the underwater portion. My mistake."

"I'm just a Pine Tree Entertainment employee."

After a few more exchanges, Director Kim Seongjin finally got to what he really wanted to ask.

"That real-time CG application technology was incredible. I thought only Hollywood could do that kind of thing. Is it an American company, by any chance?"

My CG company could use the publicity. But I didn't need to exhaust myself reading every last word of a flyer out loud.

"It's a studio that runs a YouTube channel called 30THC. I believe they take CG subcontract work as well."

"Oh — they have an official YouTube channel?"

"They do. Mind if I borrow your phone?"

My channel was currently one of the hottest things in the CG industry, and this guy was reacting like he'd never heard of it.

The moment he hit the channel home, Kim Seongjin's eyes went wide.

"Ah! This one! I've seen the beverage-can mad movie parody."

"You have."

"Yes — not on the channel itself, though. I saw a reupload. So this is the original source."

"You should check out the animation too. The first two episodes are free even without a membership."

I kept a comfortable distance and watched Kim Seongjin. He was staring at the phone like he meant to burn a hole through it. The extra videos seemed to have his full attention — suddenly clapping a hand over his mouth, eyes going round as he pulled the phone closer. Entertaining stuff.

Chae Seoyun was worried the underwater CG quality was so insane it would stick out from the rest of the CF.

If even the overall director was reacting like this, maybe they'd hand me the CG subcontract for the other parts without any trouble.

Late at night — perfect timing for a call with a gorgeous high-school actress whose future looked bright.

If an item function unlocked, you had to try it out, right?

Still, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I was uneasy enough that I quietly called Hwang Hyejin's mother to confirm she'd actually turned off the lights and gotten into bed.

Was that last ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠line a little much for a newbie to say?

Then again, I was a Director who'd been promoted at warp speed. Whatever.

Yes.

Without revealing the Future App's existence to Hwang Hyejin, I'd just put her through the acting practice she was short on — inside the script world.

Lucid dream concept. We're going with that.

"Where… is this?"

Gangnam Intersection.

A familiar landscape rushed past Hwang Hyejin's eyes. Cars crawling along bumper to bumper, barely managing any speed. People lined up on the sidewalk waiting for intercity buses. Office workers and students hurrying past…

"Gangnam Station? No. Something's off."

At first she'd thought it was Gangnam Station. But an unfamiliar building stood boldly at the intersection — one that didn't exist at the real Gangnam Station.

"That's a Haegyeong Group affiliate building…"

Hwang Hyejin clapped a hand over her mouth. It was a subsidiary headquarters that appeared in the drama Winter Castle. The moment the Adulthood Arc began, that building went up in a spectacular gas explosion and collapse, igniting every conflict in the story.

She'd seen the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Adulthood Arc opening sequence that 30THC had made — CG as blistering and majestic as any Hollywood blockbuster. She'd even been disappointed it wasn't the opening of episode one.

And now, exactly as it had looked in that video, the Haegyeong Trading Gangnam headquarters stood there in full glory.

Then it happened.

Something seemed to explode underground, and the ground began to shake. Hwang Hyejin reflexively looked up at the building. Crimson flames were already racing up and down its height.

— RUMBLE!

With a deafening roar, the building started to come down. Falling toward her.

Hwang Hyejin couldn't move. She was locked rigid. Through massively dilated pupils, the collapsing building grew larger and larger. A pitch-black shadow swallowed her whole body, and just as the wreckage was about to crush her flat —

As if by a lie, the building stopped a few meters short.

Everything in the world froze.

And right then:

"Cut. Cut. Cut."

"…Doyoung oppa?"

Still frozen, Hwang Hyejin managed to open her mouth toward Cha Doyoung as he strolled over. Like a frog that had just spotted a viper, every muscle in her body was still locked solid.

"Hyejin. What does the script say?"

"H-huh?"

"Scene 1. The Haegyeong Trading building collapses, and Gangnam Intersection becomes hell. Countless cars and people are crushed under a high-rise. And Han Yuna?"

"…Runs."

"Then run. Why are you just standing there watching the building fall? If you get crushed here, the drama ends."

Hwang Hyejin looked around as if waking from paralysis. Everything was frozen — as though someone had snipped a single frame out of a drama and dropped her inside it. Impossibly, all of it was as vivid as reality.

"Oppa, what's going on? Why am I here? And why are you… what is all of this?"

Hwang Hyejin spun in place, completely lost. Cha Doyoung, camera in hand as always, answered like it was nothing.

"What were you doing before you got here?"

"I told you I was going to sleep, got in bed, read the script a little…"

"Did I or did I not tell you to sleep so you wouldn't mess up tomorrow's shoot?"

"I-I was just going to read a little and then sleep. Really."

"You ignored me, stayed up reading the script, and as punishment you got dragged into the world of Winter Castle."

"F-for real?"

Cha Doyoung grinned.

"Kidding. This is a dream."

"…A dream? When it's this real?"

"Look around. Everything except the two of us is completely frozen. If this isn't a dream, what is it?"

"B-but…"

Cha Doyoung snapped his fingers.

In an instant, everything rewound as if time were running backward. The collapsing building rose back into place. Flames and smoke that had been blasting outward were sucked back inside. Flattened cars inflated to their original shapes and settled into position. People who'd been fleeing walked backward to where they'd started.

Everything returned to the moment before the collapse.

Hwang Hyejin stared blankly at her surroundings, then looked back at Cha Doyoung.

"Oppa? Is this really a dream?"

"Yeah. It's a dream."

"Then what about you?"

"Me? Eh… a fragment of your unconscious, I guess. Nice. Let's go with that."

"How on earth do you even have a dream like this…"

"Honestly, this is all CG."

"Huh?"

"Here — take a look."

Cha Doyoung touched a street tree. The bark surface dissolved into graphic particles and scattered, revealing empty space underneath.

"What is that?"

"You seemed stressed about the chase action, so I built the world of the script in CG. Practice as much as you want in here."

"But this is a dream."

"It's also CG I made."

Cha Doyoung grinned and pointed the camera at her.

"You said the chase action wasn't your strong suit, right? That training wasn't helping much? All of this is fake, so go wild practicing."

A cheerful voice prodded her from behind the LCD that hid his face.

Hwang Hyejin reached out and touched a frozen person's body. The contact point dissolved into graphic particles and scattered, leaving only the sensation of empty space. When she pulled her hand back, the scattered portion filled in again into a complete form.

Clearly nonexistent — and yet as vivid as if it were real.

"I wanted practice like this?"

"Yeah. You have to accept an invitation to get in. Come on, we're short on time — let's work the chase action."

"H-huh?"

"Rolling on three. One, two, three."

BOOOOM!

The ground shook the way it had before. A roar like some massive explosion had gone off somewhere underground. The building caught fire again and came down with a thunderous crash.

Hwang Hyejin looked at the camera. The whole area had plunged into panic — and Cha Doyoung was calmly filming her through it.

Wow. What kind of dream is this? It really feels like I walked into the world of the script.

Hwang Hyejin laughed without meaning to.

"Cut. Again. You can't just start laughing there."

"Ah — sorry. I'll do it right this time."

Maybe the desire to become a perfect Han Yuna was what had given her a dream like this.

A dream like this? I'd take it anytime.

Hwang Hyejin ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thought that as she ran.