Chapter: 648 – The First Wish (4)
—
– Kim Ahri
—
Let’s just wrap up what happened next as something too painful to watch with my own two eyes.
Looking back from a distance, it wasn’t anything particularly special.
A lively middle school kid confessed his pure feelings to a girl his age and got shot down?
That’s the kind of thing everyone goes through at least once in their lives, right?
“…”
Seungyub, trembling all over, was finally approaching.
He stuttered so much it looked like he didn’t even know what he was saying.
After pouring out his heart, he hung his head low, like a sinner awaiting the judge’s verdict.
All these scenes flashed before everyone’s eyes.
Soon, the cold judgment of the judge came down.
“I’m sorry. I have a boyfriend.”
Unfortunately, that was a death sentence.
“W-well, if you break up, then I—”
Oh, come on! Seungyub!
What on earth are you saying?
Are you seriously asking her to date you after she breaks up with her boyfriend?
Just as my head was spinning, a sharp voice cut through.
“Seriously! If she rejects you, just give up!”
“Miro, don’t shout!”
Feeling dizzy, I turned to see Kain calmly observing the surroundings.
“… Quite impressive, isn’t it?”
It was a reasonable attitude, considering there might be hidden information within the illusion.
It’s not easy to keep that kind of composure in a moment like this.
After a little more time passed, the entire illusion began to blur.
It seems this is all the hotel permits.
Miro, looking bewildered, asked me.
“Ari, what was in this ridiculous memory?”
“… Seungyub’s gloomy day?”
“That’s it? After going through all that, did you just wish upon the sky or something?”
— Splash!
With a sound like a droplet falling, the illusion came to an end.
—
The moment Seungyub came to his senses, the first thing that happened was Miro’s charge.
“You fool! What a total idiot!”
“Uh? Uh? Why all of a sudden—”
“Shut up!”
Miro hit the back of Seungyub’s head repeatedly, as if she had been holding it in for way too long.
Seungyub looked utterly flabbergasted, but he didn’t seem to want to dodge.
“Wh-what’s going on right now?”
The atmosphere around him showed he had completely no recollection of the previous events.
Well, maybe that’s a good thing.
“… Seungyub.”
“Sis, what the heck—”
“You’d better get outside. Run that way.”
“Eh?”
“Get out!”
“That’s right!”
“Miro, you should get out too.”
“Huh?”
“Just go out!”
After pushing the two kids out, I felt a sudden wave of fatigue and approached Kain.
“Let’s move on to the next person. Now we just have Eunsol, Songee, and Elena left, right?”
“…”
“Seungyub too… I thought it was just a joke, but this is really ridiculous—”
“Did you notice something strange?”
“Are you saying you felt anything?”
I was inexplicably wide-eyed.
Could there be some hidden secret amid the embarrassing memories of the boy we just saw?
“Something about the surrounding situation…”
“Surrounding situation?”
“It felt way too convenient.”
“What?”
“I might need to think a bit more about it. Let’s talk more about it outside; for now, let’s check the next person’s dream.”
“Okay. Next is… Eunsol’s dream is right next.”
—
Eunsol’s dream was set in an office.
The dazzling marble floor and the antique mahogany desk merged to create quite a decent atmosphere.
Indeed, it looked every bit like a rich heiress’s office.
Eunsol was sitting in the office chair, dressed in a suit, gazing out the window when a voice rang out.
“So you two came in together?”
I wondered if it was directed at someone else, checking around, but it was just Kain and me.
Eunsol was already conscious, unlike some of the previous companions.
“Sis, you’re already awake.”
“Well… I guess.”
Soon, Kain briefly explained the current situation to Eunsol.
“The First Wish.”
“Do you feel anything?”
“I did sometimes want to escape from my rather annoying family. It might sound spoiled, but our family relationships weren’t that smooth.”
Wanting to escape from family doesn’t really connect to the ‘Blessing – Wealth’ aspect.
So Kain made a face indicating it wasn’t enough and asked again.
“Is that all?”
“Well, I did think about wanting to start my own business.”
“Hmm….”
This time I posed a question.
“What memory is this?”
Eunsol’s expression darkened suddenly.
It certainly didn’t seem like a normal day.
“… It was the day my father scolded me.”
“Your father?”
“The day I was reprimanded severely.”
That caught me off guard.
Based on what I had experienced, Eunsol was quite capable, after all.
The idea of Eunsol disappointing someone to the point of reprimand just didn’t click for me.
“Such a memory does seem peculiar.”
“Sis, do you remember the reason you got scolded?”
Eunsol fell into a brief silence before sharing a strange story.
“I used to know. Or, I thought I knew.”
Kain immediately asked back.
“What do you mean?”
“When I was younger, I thought my father had high expectations for us.”
If you’re the child of a chaebol, it would make sense for the parent to have high expectations.
With such excellent genes passed down and a lot of support, expectations would be a given.
You could be expected to get into prestigious universities, perform excellently at work, show a diligent attitude, and have good interpersonal relationships.
But Eunsol’s nuance was somewhat different.
“My father was always disappointed in us. He tried not to show it, but if you watched closely, it was obvious. We all tried hard to gain our father’s approval, and in that process…”
“Competition probably intensified.”
“Yeah.”
“You think differently now, don’t you?”
“…”
After a moment of silence, Eunsol answered with a serious expression.
“You said this is an illusion, right?”
“Right.”
“I need to see Father—no, his illusion. You two come along. Try to observe him carefully if you can.”
—
Once we stepped out of the office, we found the Ocean Group employees bustling about everywhere.
They were all actively moving, but every time they caught sight of Eunsol, they subtly lowered their heads.
“Good morning, Executive Director!”
“Good morning!”
“Executive Director, about the Shanghai project—”
“Next time, next time.”
Only Eunsol recognized Kain and me, and there was no discomfort in their movements.
“It looks like an ordinary company from a glance.”
“I’d say so too.”
Eunsol stopped in front of the elevator and waved to the waiting employees.
“I’m sorry, everyone, but I’d prefer it if you take the next elevator.”
“Oh, understood.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“My pleasure.”
At that moment, Kain tilted his head.
“Did you see something?”
“Is Eunsol displaying some executive power?”
“What’s so powerful about doing just this?”
“Is that so? I’ve never worked in a corporate setting…”
“What about you during the Aleph days?”
“Thinking back, I did boss people around back then too.”
— Ding!
Then, Eunsol entered the elevator alone.
Of course, “alone” meant in the eyes of others.
In reality, Kain and I were also inside.
Once the watching eyes faded, Eunsol spoke again.
“The 16th floor is where my father’s office is. Both of you watch him carefully.”
Asking us to closely observe her own father…
What could that mean?
— Ding!
“Executive Director, it’s been a while.”
“Secretary Park, I came because my father called. He’s inside, right?”
“Please wait a moment.”
Right at that moment!
— Splash!
With that now familiar sound, Eunsol’s illusion began to fade.
“Already?”
“Is this it?”
“I thought it would show us more—”
Suddenly, Eunsol moved like lightning.
“Urgent business!”
“Uh, um—”
The elderly man, Mr. Park, looked flustered but didn’t stop Eunsol as she dashed toward the chairman’s office.
Of course, it was to be expected since she wasn’t just some average executive but rather the chairman’s daughter!
— Bang!
The door to the chairman’s office swung open.
Inside was a middle-aged man with a serious expression, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, as if irritated by the external commotion.
“What reckless behavior is this? This is the company, not home—”
“Look! Look at this!”
Ignoring her father’s presence, Eunsol unexpectedly exclaimed.
“Does my father look human? Or is he… perhaps a regressor?”
— Splash!
Just then, as if someone hit a switch, everything went dark.
Eunsol’s dream was forcibly terminated.
—
“…”
“…”
Inside the dream kingdom filled with gray fog.
The moment Eunsol came out of her dream, she immediately asked us again.
“So, what do you think? Does my father look human? Or could he, just maybe, be a regressor!”
A regressor?
“Wait, wait, sis. I don’t think you get it just yet.”
“What?”
“The people in the illusions can’t recognize us, just like we can’t clearly recognize them.”
“…”
“I mean, you could liken it to an immersive movie?”
“Does that mean we felt nothing at all?”
“Yep. I just sensed a dignified 60’s East Asian man. You can’t figure out the mystical something just by looking at the illusion.”
“And Kain?”
“Yeah.”
Eunsol looked a bit disappointed, opening her mouth to explain.
“The reason I wanted you to observe my father was—”
“Let’s discuss that outside.”
“Huh?”
“There are still two people left: Songee and Elena.”
“Let’s head to Songee first. It’s closer.”
—
Songee’s dream was going on in a regular family home.
“At a glance, there doesn’t seem to be anything special here.”
“The situation looks like the most ordinary dream. The spatial background is a regular family house, and the temporal background is at night?”
“Just like Seungyub’s, where the background was a home.”
“Did you forget how it started with game sounds? That was the craziest dream of all!”
Kain awkwardly chuckled while scanning the area, soon spotting Songee.
“Wow…! Looks like it’s a dream from childhood.”
“Yeah. She seems to be under eight years old.”
In my eyes, she looked around seven.
At that moment, little Songee started tilting her head toward us as if she sensed us.
“Eh? Eh? Huh….”
“She seems to be waking up.”
“Looks like it.”
“Ah! Ah!”
Some of the companions aren’t waking up, while a few are waking up like they’re in a lucid dream.
Is there some special reason here?
Anyway, Songee soon regained her senses.
“What’s going on…? What situation is this?”
“I’ll explain it to you.”
Quickly, Songee nodded.
“The First Wish? What a fascinating story.”
“Do any memories surface? Like today being a special day?”
“Uh… I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“Oppa, look at me. I’m barely six or seven years old, right?”
“That’s true. So you’re super cute.”
At that, Songee puffed her cheeks in satisfaction.
“High school Songee isn’t cute; only this younger version is adorable?”
“… What are you saying?”
“I’m just joking. Anyway, it’s too early in life for me to remember anything.”
“That’s right.”
Though it’s hard for most people to vividly remember what happened when they were seven.
Still, I felt we needed to figure something out, so I asked.
“Where are your parents right now?”
“Dad’s a veterinarian at quite a big hospital. He had a busy night shift.”
“And mom?”
“Similar. So, the little me was often left at home alone, just like this….”
“…”
“Thinking back, my parents were quite heartless. If this were in America, that’d be considered child abuse, right?”
Watching Songee grumble made me feel awkward.
Her body seemed young, but her attitude and dialogue carried a quality more like an adult, creating a noticeable dissonance.
Kain, who was surveying the vicinity, then spoke up.
“There seem to be a lot of animals at home? A birdcage?”
“Dad loves animals, and so do I!”
“Of course, he is a vet.”
“Mom liked them too. Just a few common interests amidst the conflict between my constantly fighting parents.”
Naturally, she fell into a tale of parental discord.
Back when we were in Room 107, Songee had narrated this memory with considerable pain.
Now though?
Outwardly, she seemed to handle it quite well.
At a time like this, it’s better to pretend not to hear than to offer useless sympathy.
“Happy! Happy! Come here! Wow! Long time no see.”
Suddenly, a tiny, white Maltese dog bounded up beside little Songee and began to prance around.
The sight of the doll-like puppy playing with young Songee was exceedingly cute; it was a moment that made me wish for a camera.
Truly a picture-perfect, adorable scene.
So it felt strange.
If this was just an ordinary day for seven-year-old Songee, why would the hotel choose to show it?
“Songee, is there truly nothing you can remember?”
“I really don’t know…”
“If you can’t recall today, maybe general memories from this time are okay too.”
“General memories?”
Finally, the girl hugging her Maltese pet seemed to grasp something, giving off a peculiar expression.
“Ah, um… This is a bit embarrassing, but…”
“I can guarantee that whatever you say won’t be anything major.”
“Eh?”
“I’ve seen all sorts of things. So don’t stress, just share.”
“… Oppa, do you know the term ‘secret friend’?”
“Manteau?”
“Not that silly event you do at school. Like how kids sometimes claim they have imaginary friends.”
It’s not unusual for children to treat their stuffed animals or toys like friends.
There are various child psychology and educational analyses around this, but generally, it appears more often in lonely children.
“Did you have that too?”
“Ehehe! I was just a kid back then. I used to call my pets my friends.”
“Isn’t it enough if they’re a dog or cat to become friends?”
“Uh, um…”
“Come on, spill.”
“Not just a simple friend, but I told everyone my dog and cat could talk human language.”
“Ah?”
“When it was just the two of us, I would insist they could speak human. While my dad or adults would laugh it off, at school, other kids teased me… though it was more likely a case of auditory hallucinations.”
It seems little Songee regarded the animals as true companions, like real people.
Kain nodded, beginning to keenly observe the surroundings.
“Is there really nothing more?”
“Not sure…”
Amidst the home noise made by animals, time passed like the wind.
Kain and I were somewhat anxious, while Songee looked void of concern, playing with her Maltese puppy.
— Creak!
At the sound of a door opening, everyone hastily turned their heads.
“A dog?”
“Oh wow! Somi! I totally forgot that Somi would be here after all these years!”
“Somi?”
“A golden retriever. I had her when I was a kid, but she passed away when I was in elementary school.”
An elderly dog, now struggling to move, ambled over to little Songee.
Seeing a dog she parted with long ago brought a mix of joy and sadness to Songee’s eyes, forming slight tears.
“Somi! Long time no see. Although you’re just an illusion, I’m still so happy—”
Right at that moment.
– Songee!
“Huh?”
– Songee!
“…”
From the dog’s mouth came the words of a person.
– I’m scared!
– It hurts!
– I’m in agony!
“…”
– Save me!
– Get me out of here!
—
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