Chapter 47
Chapter 47
Dreaming (5)
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Dreaming (5).
Park Si-hwan and Chunbaek passed through the Room of Memories and entered ‘Utopia.’
The subject, Lee Min-seong’s ideal world, was… high school.
“That’s unusual.”
“The accident happened before his graduation ceremony…”
“So, if he successfully makes it to graduation, will his lingering attachments be resolved?”
“Could be.”
Their clothes automatically changed into school uniforms to match Lee Min-seong’s ideal world, and Park Si-hwan and Chunbaek headed to the classroom where he would be.
“We have new transfer students today.”
Park Si-hwan and Chunbaek were naturally introduced as transfer students. They casually approached the subject, Lee Min-seong, and started hanging out with him.
“Hey, want to go play soccer?”
“Sure.”
A smile spread across Park Si-hwan’s lips. It was nice to reminisce about his own school days for a change. Chunbaek, known as the class eccentric, was constantly surrounded by people. Seeing that no one commented on his silver hair, it was clear this place was different from reality.
After playing soccer with Lee Min-seong, Park Si-hwan and Chunbaek sat on a bench for a moment.
“I think I understand why so many people on the internet miss their high school days.”
“Really? It’s fun, right?”
Unsure of his own emotions, Chunbaek tilted his head before giving a small nod.
“Earlier, the other kids asked about my family, so I just said I was an only child. Do you have any siblings, Master?”
“I have one half-brother. He’s the spitting image of Chairman Park, so I don’t even want to call him my brother.”
“It seems you two are not on good terms.”
“And…”
Park Si-hwan paused for a moment. Lowering his head, he fiddled with his hands and spoke softly.
“I had… a younger brother. Park Si-u… We were close. Like real brothers, not half-brothers.”
“You had?”
“Yeah. He got into a motorcycle accident after high school graduation and ended up in a vegetative state.”
“Then is he being treated in ‘Utopia’?”
Park Si-hwan shook his head, his expression complicated. It looked like sadness mixed with regret.
“That son of a… My father put Si-woo into the ‘Utopia Project,’ and the experiment was a success. If it weren’t for him, the development of ‘Utopia’ would have been delayed by at least ten years.”
“Oh, so along with Dr. Yang Ju-hui, he’s practically my creator as well.”
Chunbaek turned his head to study Park Si-hwan’s expression.
“So did your brother wake up?”
“No.”
Park Si-hwan squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them to stare blankly at the sky.
“Right before the experiment was concluded as a success, a fire broke out in the hospital where he was staying.”
“Then…”
“We couldn’t even find his remains…”
A fire had to break out there, of all places… Park Si-hwan let out a deep breath as he spoke.
At the time, Park Si-hwan had tried to connect to ‘Utopia’ to hear his brother’s last words, but he was told that since Park Si-u had no body to return to, his consciousness left in ‘Utopia’ had naturally dissipated.
And this incident became the reason he took on the role of team leader for the Risk Management Team.
Later, when he found out that his biological mother, Kim Yun-hwa, had been drawn into the virtual world by a ‘Utopia’ broker, bringing her back to reality became his ultimate goal.
“I should have visited him more often… If I had, I could have saved him.”
“…”
“If it weren’t for the fire, he would have woken up just fine, gone to college, and lived his life…”
That was why Lee Min-seong reminded him of his younger brother, Park Si-u. They were around the same age.
This world was tailored to Lee Min-seong. A perfect world without a single worry. At school, he was the center of attention among countless friends, and at home, a warm family awaited him.
But if he returned to reality, he would face an empty world where no one was left. Was waking him up really the right thing to do?
“Time’s up. Let’s go.”
Just then, the school bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. As Park Si-hwan and Chunbaek got up to return to the classroom, Park Si-hwan stopped in his tracks, his gaze fixed on the school’s main gate.
“Wait…”
“What is it?”
Park Si-hwan suddenly started running towards the gate. If he wasn’t mistaken, the person standing in front of it was…
“Mom!”
It was the biological mother he had been searching for so desperately.
But when Park Si-hwan reached the gate after a full sprint, his mother was gone.
‘Did I see it wrong?’
No, he hadn’t been mistaken. His mother, Kim Yun-hwa, had looked at him and offered a faint smile.
“Is something wrong?”
Behind the heavily breathing Park Si-hwan, a calm-faced Chunbaek looked around curiously.
Park Si-hwan wiped his face with his hand and said with a sigh.
“No… It’s nothing.”
The ideal world of the subject, Lee Min-seong, was gradually coming to an end. Time fast-forwarded, skipping several days, and finally, it was Lee Min-seong’s graduation day.
Dressed neatly in their school uniforms, Chunbaek and Park Si-hwan watched as Lee Min-seong received flowers from his parents.
“There’s not much time left.”
“…”
“Master, what… will you do?”
Chunbaek had been by Park Si-hwan’s side, watching his conflict unfold.
“I have to wake him.”
“Reality might be more of a hell for Lee Min-seong. Wouldn’t it be better for him to live a comfortable life in this world until his real body ages?”
“Still, I have to wake him.”
Park Si-hwan lifted his head, his decision made.
“You’re right, reality might be more of a hell. But living in false happiness without any conflict—is that really living?”
“…”
“Lee Min-seong’s accident was tragic, but the living must go on. Not in a place like this… but in proper reality. He needs to experience hitting walls he can’t overcome and know the sense of achievement when he finally breaks through them.”
Even as he said this, hesitation lingered in Park Si-hwan’s expression and actions. He might come to regret this decision.
Even if Lee Min-seong were his own brother, Park Si-u, he would have chosen to pull him out into reality rather than leave him in a well-crafted, false world.
“A wise decision.”
Chunbaek smiled brightly, supporting Park Si-hwan.
“Hey, Park Si-hwan! You too, Chunbaek, what took you so long? We were about to take a picture…”
“Mr. Lee Min-seong.”
Park Si-hwan and Chunbaek’s attire had suddenly changed from school uniforms to neat suits.
“It’s time to go back.”
Lee Min-seong stared at them, bewildered. In the school auditorium where the graduation ceremony was taking place, people began to disappear.
“What, what are you…”
“Mr. Lee Min-seong, you were in a traffic accident in a tunnel on your way to the East Sea. Do you remember?”
“I, wasn’t I already dead?”
He thought it was heaven or the afterlife. It was a common misconception among the many cases Park Si-hwan had handled.
“No, you are temporarily in a virtual world to allow your body to recover. Have you heard of ‘Utopia’?”
“I… think I’ve heard of it.”
Lee Min-seong’s eyes darted around in confusion.
“Let’s return to reality. The server allocated to you needs to be given to someone else now.”
“…What happened to my parents?”
“That, you can check for yourself when you go up.”
Park Si-hwan clenched his fists. He couldn’t bring himself to confirm to that innocent, unknowing face that he no longer had a family.
“Now that you’ve graduated high school, it’s time to enjoy life as a college freshman. In reality.”
Lee Min-seong hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Soon, he sublimated into a cluster of light.
“…I’m leaving now, too.”
“Yes, Master.”
Park Si-hwan stared blankly at the sight, then hurriedly sought to log out.
“Sir, are you awake?”
And in reality, Lee Min-seong blinked, his eyes focusing on an unfamiliar ceiling. Following the nurse’s instructions, he moved his body, only to hear the shocking news.
“My mom and dad… are dead…?”
“…”
The ‘Utopia’ official delivering the details of the accident bowed his head low, his face grim. Lee Min-seong’s breathing grew ragged.
“My mom… my dad…”
“Your future living arrangements will be handled by our ‘Utopia’ Foundation…”
“Why… why did you wake me up…?”
Tears finally streamed down Lee Min-seong’s face. His breathing became increasingly shallow until he was sobbing, gasping for air.
“Aaaargh!”
“Sir! Please calm down!”
“Call the doctor!”
Lee Min-seong began throwing whatever he could reach, screaming in agony. His body convulsed, and a nurse rushed out of the room. Standing at the doorway, having heard everything, Park Si-hwan closed his eyes, his heart heavy.
‘Did I really do the right thing?’
Wouldn’t it have been better to live forever in a dream than to survive in a miserable reality?
Park Si-hwan, who would normally have chosen reality over the false world of ‘Utopia,’ felt his conviction waver.
He left the sound of Lee Min-seong’s screams behind and headed to another hospital room. In that room lay his biological mother, Kim Yun-hwa, with the ‘Utopia’ connection device attached to her body.
Park Si-hwan stared at Kim Yun-hwa’s face for a long time before speaking softly.
“…Is that why you won’t wake up either, Mom?”
Because the dream is better than reality?
A tear fell from his eye, which had been masked by a façade of composure.
He had heard the reason why Kim Yun-hwa fled to ‘Utopia’ from the broker who had put her there.
“Mom…”
Struggling with poverty, she had sent her child to Chairman Park, hoping he would at least grow up without worries. But Kim Yun-hwa could never forget the young Park Si-hwan who had clung to her. She fled to ‘Utopia,’ burdened by the regret and guilt of not being there to watch her child grow.
During his teenage years, Park Si-hwan had resented Kim Yun-hwa for sending him to Chairman Park, but now, in his thirties, he understood her.
If he had lived with his mother in a single room, his heart might have been full, but he would have had to face a harsh reality. He would never have dreamed of being a pianist, nor would he have become a team leader at a respectable company.
Objectively speaking, growing up under Chairman Park—a father in name only—and living off his money was a better reality.
So he wanted to tell her that she didn’t have to feel guilty. And he wanted to tell her that they should now live in reality together.
“I won’t blame you, Mom, so can’t you please just wake up now?”
His tears flowing endlessly, Park Si-hwan sobbed loudly, resting his forehead on Kim Yun-hwa’s hand. The camera slowly pulled back from his figure, and episode 15 came to an end.
Then, along with the OST, a preview for the final episode appeared.
(You’re going to connect? Without a case?)
(Si-hwan! You have to log out now! If you don’t…!)
(There is no paradise in a place you run to.)
The screen briefly showed tense moments of a determined Park Si-hwan and a frantic Yang Ju-hui typing at a keyboard.
(The program is suddenly rejecting…! There are too many bugs!)
And then Chunbaek, dressed in a black suit and sunglasses, commanding men like his private army, stared at the screen with a frighteningly hardened face.
(Get out of here.)
Chunbaek summoned a gun and loaded it. The metallic click sounded heavy.
(Before I force you out.)
Warning in a low voice, Chunbaek aimed the gun at Park Si-hwan.
- WTF
- What’s up with Chunbaek?
- I wish the final episode would start the moment I wake up.
- Chunbaek turning evil is so random.
- Why was there so much screen time for the supporting characters today lol, this isn’t an ensemble cast lol
- Hope this doesn’t have a strong start and a weak finish. The writer is a rookie, so I’m nervous lol
- They’re showing Chunbaek’s turn so openly, I feel like there’s gonna be a twist.
└ I agree.
- Jo Yu-mi’s screen time is so short ㅠ Is she really the female lead? ㅠㅠ
- I bet there’s a huge bombshell about Chunbaek at the end.
The real-time comments, which would have normally been flooded with ‘Yu Yeon-seo can’t act’ and ‘It’s breaking my immersion,’ were now focused on Chunbaek, not Yu Yeon-seo. This meant Yu Yeon-seo’s acting had improved to the point where it no longer interfered with the viewers’ immersion in the drama.
“Interesting.”
Yu Yeon-seo, who had already finished filming the final episode and was watching the broadcast at home, turned off his phone and lay down on his bed, a dry towel in his hand.
“Beta.”
<Yes, Master.>
Now that filming was over, it was time to return to his daily routine.
“Begin memory synchronization.”
<It has been a while. Yes, understood.>
Yu Yeon-seo closed his eyes. He hoped the side effects wouldn’t be too painful…
<Executing random memory synchronization.>