Park Shinui, who frowned at the intense lighting, stared ahead with bewildered eyes. In the distance, Esper Im Hasik, whom he had seen in his dreams at some point, stood at the MC’s podium with a serious expression. The numerous guests seated in front of him were also familiar faces he had often seen in his dreams.
“Those people……”
‘Seeing that all the characters are exactly the same, it must be the novel.’
“But why is there such nonsensical content……”
Park Shinui could only blink, unable to do this or that. He couldn’t judge at all what expression to make or what action to take here. His head was already a mess with tangled settings and questions.
However, his dilemma didn’t last long. Contrary to his desire to run away, his legs, betraying his will, moved forward on their own.
“What, why is this happening?”
Park Shinui was horrified at his body moving mechanically regardless of his own will. He wanted to shout right now, ‘What kind of nonsensical dream is this!’ and run out of the ceremony hall, but his limbs moved on their own like a puppet being controlled somewhere.
— Walk. Head up.
To make matters worse, he even heard a chilling hallucination digging into his brain. What is this voice now? Who are you! Park Shinui trembled with the creepy goosebumps flowing down his spine.
“What is this, seriously?”
Every time he took a step forward, a scene he had never seen in his life unfolded before his eyes. Pink flower petals fluttered from the sky like rain, and wind carrying a sweet fragrance wrapped around his entire body sweetly. A melody soft enough to melt his eardrums filled the hall.
It was absurdly dazzling. A landscape that could never exist in reality, only possible because it was a dream. But Park Shinui, who was walking through the middle of it, couldn’t even move his body as he wished. It was nothing but a beautiful prison.
Even while watching with his own eyes a supernatural phenomenon that couldn’t be created even with computer graphics, Park Shinui couldn’t believe the current situation. A scene that made his fingers curl on their own might be romantic when seen by a third party, but to the person involved, it was terror itself.
Click, click.
Along with blinding flashes, loud shutter sounds poured down like bombardment. Dozens of cameras that appeared from somewhere kept bursting flashes at him.
Park Shinui passed in front of the reporters with stiff, robot-like steps, unable even to swallow his saliva properly. At a glance, the number of reporters was excessively large. This is crazy, where in the novel does this scene appear!
“It’s Park Shinui!”
“Waaaah!”
“Congratulations, you two!”
“Congratulations!”
Would national athletes bringing honor to the country receive this much cheering? Park Shinui, whose life had been far from being in the spotlight, felt dizzy from the enthusiastic reaction he had never experienced. Moreover, to receive this kind of treatment while holding a bonding ceremony with Kang Taejun—he really couldn’t understand what was what.
— Smile.
At the same time as the voice scratching his mind was heard again, Park Shinui’s mouth corners went up as if convulsing. Even though he didn’t want to smile, his facial muscles drew a smile on their own as if caught in someone else’s hands.
‘Why, keep. On your own.’
Park Shinui quickly scanned the surroundings with his smiling face. However, he couldn’t even guess who or by what principle was doing such a bizarre thing. Before his eyes, there was only the cheering crowd.
Led by an irresistible force while wearing a picture-perfect smile, Park Shinui moved his steps as if being dragged all the way to the front of the platform.
“Next, we will meet the other protagonist who has been waiting for this dreamlike day more than anyone!”
At Im Hasik’s voice that was heard, Park Shinui’s head snapped up. Right. This was a dream anyway. Even though it’s content not in the original…… well, so what? It’s all lies and fantasy anyway. Park Shinui gradually relaxed while organizing his dizzy mind.
‘Let’s calm down. Even though the content is different, it’s still inside the novel. I’ve never even imagined that Kang Taejun would bond with a man, and Park Shinui at that…… but dreams end once you wake up.’
“Dear guests, please welcome Esper Kang Taejun with vigorous applause!”
When the MC’s voice rang loudly through the hall, the murmuring grew louder. Park Shinui reflexively tensed his shoulders and opened his eyes wide.
Kang Taejun. A man whose very name was befitting of a fantasy novel protagonist was standing there. Unbelievably, to bond with Park Shinui.
‘Whew……’
Even though it was an awkward situation, opportunities to see Kang Taejun at such close range weren’t common. Park Shinui swallowed dry saliva and fixed his gaze. Would he finally get to see his face completely?
That was because, although he had dreamed without missing a single day, Park Shinui had never once properly seen the face of the novel’s protagonist, Kang Taejun. Because he went around with a mask covering one eye and half his face.
‘Could it be that he didn’t take it off even today?’
Honestly, he was a little excited, that was also true.
“Kang Taejun!”
“Waaaah!”
“Kang Taejun!”
All the lights in the hall went out and the spotlight focused on just one place. At the end of the path Park Shinui had walked, along with a long shadow, the form of a man was revealed.
It felt like his breath stopped. The cheering sounds, the shutter sounds, all the noise buzzing in his ears became blurred in an instant. He could feel the weight of hundreds of gazes turning to the same place all at once. No, what he felt first was something else. The air. From the moment he took a step, pressure as if something was rushing toward him touched his skin.
‘What is this, why am I trembling so much?’
Is this what it feels like to meet a favorite celebrity? Although it was a dream, excitement rushed over him at being able to actually face Kang Taejun. Park Shinui swallowed dry saliva with difficulty while hearing his heart starting to beat crazily.
“……Ah.”
However, contrary to his expectations, Kang Taejun was wearing his mask today as well.
A dark iron-colored mask covered his right eye and half his face. The runes carved on its surface glimmered faintly under the lighting. It wasn’t that he couldn’t take it off but that he chose not to, but what story was hidden behind the mask—even Park Shinui, who had read the novel to the end, could never know.
So what about the mask? He’s Kang Taejun.
He, who appeared amid the people’s cheers, soon moved his steps steadily toward Park Shinui.
Park Shinui felt his breathing gradually becoming rougher. The closer he got to Kang Taejun, the heavier the air itself seemed to sink. Watching as an audience member and actually facing him were completely different things.
In his dreams, Park Shinui always looked at him while maintaining some distance. Even while watching the same scene, the sense of being outside the story was clear. But now it was different. The sound of his footsteps was transmitted through the floor to his toes, and every time he moved his eyes on the masked side, the weight of his gaze touched his skin. This wasn’t a video.
Kang Taejun, approaching with overwhelming physique and sharp gait, was much more massive than what he had seen in the dream videos. His movement was closer to a carnivorous animal targeting prey rather than the fluttering steps of a pair bonding ceremony.
— Look ahead.
“What?”
At the voice heard once more, Park Shinui blurted out words reflexively, then turned his head in confusion. A cold voice digging into his head. Was it Kang Taejun?
— Close your mouth.
Hurriedly closing his mouth that had been open without him knowing, Park Shinui sucked in a breath. Come to think of it, it was a voice he had heard countless times in past dreams. To think he didn’t realize that.
“Today, our two protagonists have finally stood in one place. Please give them all your blessing with applause.”
“Wow!”
“Wow!”
Shouts loud enough to deafen filled the ceremony hall. Park Shinui flinched and trembled before staring straight ahead.
‘Calm down. Let’s calm down. That kind of reaction has no meaning. It’s a dream anyway, so there’s no need to be nervous.’
However, there was no way he could calm down.
Kang Taejun was standing next to him. He wasn’t even looking this way or speaking to him, but his mere presence already made it impossible to breathe properly. Just being in the same space, his entire body was recognizing him. The steady breathing heard from the side sounded louder than the cheers of hundreds of people.
Park Shinui quietly inhaled. They had been nothing but text and video. But now, the flower fragrance, the vibration traveling up his toes, the body heat of the person standing right next to him—everything was real.
‘He’s really here.’
Only then did the realization rush over him. Even knowing it was a dream, being shaken might be a natural thing.
“At this time, the Director of the Ability Management Center will give a congratulatory speech to bless these two people’s future.”
The MC’s voice filled the hall again. Park Shinui blinked while holding onto his consciousness at that sound. He saw a familiar face coming up onto the platform. He knew that person too. Jo Hyeonuk. It was a face he had often seen in his dreams.
