Chapter 46
Chapter 46
Dreaming (4)
Y__Yeonseo
Why would you send something like this? Anyway, thank you for the food. #Support
-Yu Yeon-seo, who said he’d only accept support from someone richer than him, finally gets his first one.
-The person who sent the support: His father (Vice Chairman of Juseong Group / 2nd richest person in South Korea)
└Right... there is someone richer...
└How can you beat family? lol
└But weren’t pictures of Yu Yeon-seo’s childhood rarely released?
└└Our father-in-law has great taste, as expected.
└Ahahaha father-in-law hahaha
└Our father-in-law is handsome and has great taste.
└Why are there so many crazy people here?
Yu Geon-min hummed, feeling pleased.
He had just received a video call from his son, who hadn’t been in proper contact with him for a while. How long had it been since he’d heard a “thank you,” even if it was delivered with a sullen face?
It felt like just yesterday that his son was lying in the ICU, so to see him healthy, attending school, and actively pursuing his entertainment career… to exaggerate a little, he almost shed a tear.
[I saw your second son the other day. He seemed so mature, didn’t he?]
[Does your second son have any plans for marriage?]
[Did you see how your son solved that case? Vice Chairman, you’ve really raised him well. Truly.]
Even his reputation among his peers had improved, to the point where he felt full without even eating.
“What is this?”
“Gah!”
Yu Geon-min flinched and turned around. Yu Chang-ho, the Chairman of Juseong Group, had approached without a sound and was holding out his phone to his son. The screen showed Yu Yeon-seo’s social media post acknowledging the support.
“Father, you startled me.”
“This.”
“Father, you use the internet these days?”
“Ahem…!”
After being scolded by his wife, Park Geum-ju, Chairman Yu had pestered the head of the Strategic Planning Office to learn how to use the internet. But he was too embarrassed to explain the details, so he just silently held out the screen.
“...I sent a coffee truck to Yeon-seo’s filming location.”
“How did you do it?”
“I asked Secretary Im.”
“Who?”
“Yeon-seo’s secretary. Secretary Im Seung-hyeon.”
Secretary Im, Im Seung-hyeon… He thought he’d heard the name from his eldest grandson, Yu Eun-ho. Hadn’t he said they’d assigned a reliable person this time and that he could finally rest easy?
“Seeing as this one has lasted over a year, I’m less worried. As expected of someone Eun-ho picked, he’s quick-witted…”
“But Father, why do you look like that?”
That sullen expression resembled someone’s.
Yu Geon-min narrowed his eyes, studying his father’s face. Surely not?
“You want to send one too, don’t you?”
“Ahem… It’s not like that.”
Chairman Yu shoved his phone into his pocket and feigned a cough.
Yu Geon-min held back a laugh. If he laughed openly, his father would get angry. If he was going to care this much, he should have just said something nice to his face… What was so important about that damn pride that he had to be so strict even with his own grandson…?
“G-give me that secretary’s number.”
Park Si-hwan and Chunbaek saw off the patient, who was ascending in a cluster of light. He had been in a vegetative state for ten years and was finally returning to reality.
“Today was a bit easy…”
The patient had no lingering attachments to ‘Utopia.’ His desire to return to reality and see his family was stronger, so waking him was simple.
“Do you think he’ll be okay?”
“He’ll be fine. They said his family never gave up and stayed by his side.”
“I don’t know… It’ll be a relief if they don’t blame him when they see the mounting hospital bills. The usage fee for ‘Utopia’ isn’t cheap, is it?”
Park Si-hwan frowned and looked at Chunbaek.
“You know, sometimes… aren’t you a little too cynical? You’re not very human-like for a kid.”
“Well, that’s because I’m not human, isn’t it?”
“Oh, right.”
He had spent so much time with Chunbaek in ‘Utopia’ that he’d forgotten he was an AI.
Park Si-hwan unfolded the fan in his hand. This patient’s ideal world was based on a historical drama that had left a deep impression on him as a child.
“Are you logging out?”
“I have to.”
“Then I will see you in the next ‘Utopia’.”
Chunbaek bid him farewell without a hint of regret. The silver hair and purple robes suited him quite well.
“What do you do here when I log out?”
“I just… wait.”
“For me?”
“Yes, for you, Master.”
Park Si-hwan hesitated for a moment before sitting down next to Chunbaek.
“I still have some time left, so maybe I’ll go in a bit…”
“Really?”
Chunbaek’s expression brightened noticeably. He smiled as brightly as a child. It was moments like this that made him forget he was an AI.
“Master, what was your dream?”
“What?”
“Your ambition for the future.”
Park Si-hwan gazed at the distant sky, his face filled with a mixture of regret and longing.
“I wanted to do music… My dream was to be a pianist.”
“You must be more sensitive than you look.”
“What did you say, punk?”
Park Si-hwan put Chunbaek in a headlock. Chunbaek, not feeling any pain, continued speaking with his signature deadpan expression.
“Do you have any regrets? You’ve forgotten your dream and are now working under Chairman Park, whom you disliked so much.”
“That’s all in the past…”
Park Si-hwan loosened his grip.
The arts were a realm of talent, and compared to his peers, he had lacked it. Besides, this job suited him in its own way… and there was someone he absolutely had to find.
“What about you?”
It was ridiculous to ask an AI such a question, but for some reason, he felt Chunbaek would have a plausible answer. Unlike other AIs, he had strikingly human-like qualities.
“Me? Well…”
Chunbaek blinked his right eye out of habit. Then, he looked at Park Si-hwan with a blank expression. The eerie atmosphere made Park Si-hwan lean back.
“I want to destroy this world.”
“What?”
“...It seems our time is up. Farewell.”
‘Dreaming’ depicted Park Si-hwan and Chunbaek’s adventures across various timelines. In the process, writer Jeong Da-hee and director Lee Su-ji maintained suspense by dropping important clues.
-Jin Su-ho’s acting is insane.
-[Dreaming] The more I watch our drama, the more fun it gets. The story is perfect, and the chemistry is insane.
-Is there an AI like Chunbaek anywhere?
-But isn’t there something off about Chunbaek?
└I agree.
└The meaningful expressions and the ominous background music make me think Chunbaek might be the secret villain.
└└I think so too. Given the foreshadowing about a bug in Utopia, Chunbaek himself could be the bug.
└Isn’t it just that Yu Yeon-seo can’t act well yet?
‘Dreaming’ Reaches 15.9% Viewership Rating… Breaks Its Own Record.
Chunbaek’s Wish to Destroy Utopia… Is Yu Yeon-seo a Friend or Foe in ‘Dreaming’?
[Review] JSTV’s ‘Dreaming’ Captures Laughter, Emotion, and Social Issues.
Despite being on cable TV, the viewership ratings remained stable in the double digits. There was talk that the final episode could even reach 20%, and news of export deals came one after another. Fans of ‘Dreaming’ were already conducting surveys for a Blu-ray release.
“Hyung, I’m really enjoying the drama.”
“So, is Chunbaek a villain?”
The students who had worked with Yu Yeon-seo on the group project had all received an A+ without his help. It was a victory of capital.
“Find out by watching the broadcast.”
“Aww…”
The group members let out disappointed groans.
“You’re not taking a leave of absence next semester, are you, hyung? If there’s another group project, let’s be in the same group.”
“Me too!”
The business administration department was notorious for its many group projects. Everyone was already trying to get on his good side to be in the same group as him.
Yu Yeon-seo smirked and got into his car.
Just as Yu Yeon-seo’s semester was ending, ‘Dreaming’ was heading into its second half. It was the episode where the last patient’s story unfolded and Park Si-hwan, who had been searching for his mother, discovered a crucial clue.
“The patient selected for the social contribution program?”
“Yes. His body has fully recovered, and his neurological responses are good, so it seems it’s time to wake him. But…”
The social contribution program. It was a program that selected patients who had been in unfortunate accidents or were from low-income families, providing them free access to ‘Utopia’ to heal their real-world bodies.
‘Lee Min-seong, age 21. Quadriplegic due to a car accident a year ago. Has been connected to Utopia for 11 months…’
Park Si-hwan flipped through the patient’s personal details, then looked up at the hesitant Yang Ju-hui.
“He… was in a car with his family on a trip when they were hit by a drunk driver. Everyone died except for him.”
Park Si-hwan took a sharp breath.
“Then… does he have any other family? Grandparents or…”
“His parents were orphans, so he has no other relatives. Even if we promise to support his prognosis through our scholarship system…”
“He doesn’t know… that his family is all dead, does he?”
Yang Ju-hui bit her lower lip and nodded.
“And you’re telling me to… wake him up?”
“...Yes.”
Yang Ju-hui and Park Si-hwan let out heavy sighs.
“If you’re uncomfortable, you don’t have to do it. I can pass it to another team member…”
“No, I have to do it.”
Though he wasn’t sure if it would go well. Park Si-hwan squeezed his eyes shut.
When he first joined the risk management team, he hadn’t been curious about the patients’ stories. He didn’t care how they would live their lives in reality after he woke them.
For him, waking people up in ‘Utopia’ was just… a job. There were no other emotions involved.
[I have everything I want here.]
[You will come to regret it.]
But the words of Chairman Lee’s mother, as well as Chunbaek’s cryptic remarks, weighed on his mind.
If I wake this kid up and he finds out his entire family, his only support system, is dead, what will happen to him?
“...I’ll connect.”
“Understood, Si-hwan. If it gets too hard, please log out.”
Yang Ju-hui hesitated for a moment before mustering her courage and taking Park Si-hwan’s hand. Surprised, Park Si-hwan’s eyes widened, but then he smiled faintly and held her hand back. The warmth of her touch was comforting.
“Welcome, Master.”
When Park Si-hwan connected to ‘Utopia,’ Chunbaek was already waiting. He narrowed his eyes at the smile on Park Si-hwan’s lips.
“Did something good happen?”
“No?”
“Don’t tell me… did things go well with Dr. Yang Ju-hui? Master, please, spill the details.”
Chunbaek grinned and chattered away, hovering around Park Si-hwan as he walked ahead. I’m the one who hit it off with Ju-hui, so why are you happier than me?
Park Si-hwan brushed aside the annoying silver hair and frowned.
“What did you mean by what you said before?”
“Pardon?”
“That you want to destroy this world.”
Chunbaek paused for a moment, then a smile spread across his lips.
The more time Chunbaek spent with Park Si-hwan, the more human expressions he showed. But now, he wore the same mechanical smile as when they first met. Park Si-hwan felt a sense of unease at the sight.
“How could I do such a thing? If this world is destroyed, my own existence will disappear.”
“...”
“It was simple curiosity. I wondered what would happen to the ‘drifters’ in this world if it were destroyed. Would they be forcibly awakened?”
Park Si-hwan crossed his arms. In the distance, the ‘Room of Memories’ for the current patient began to materialize.
“Well… wouldn’t that be the same as forcibly waking them up? That method is… dangerous.”
There was a reason the risk management team existed. Forcibly turning off the ‘Utopia’ connection device to wake a patient could cause a mental collapse in nine out of ten cases, so it had to be approached with caution.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“By the way, you know the patient’s story, don’t you?”
“Yes, Dr. Yang Ju-hui just updated the information. It’s a pity. He’s still so young…”
Park Si-hwan let out a heavy sigh.
“Is waking him up… the right thing to do?”
Chunbaek blinked his right eye, studying Park Si-hwan’s expression.
“That depends on your choice, Master.”