Ch.49Dream Interpretation (2)

At the end of the bookshelf, Choi Serim is calling for me.

As I reach the mahogany bookcase, she gives me a faint smile.

“You came?”

It’s her usual gentle voice.

Slowly raising her hand to place it on my shoulder, Choi Serim gestures toward the depths of the library.

“Follow me.”

Before I knew it, I was holding Choi Serim’s hand.

From behind, I could hear voices calling my name, but I couldn’t stop walking.

All I could manage was to lift my head and call out to Choi Serim.

“Noona.”

“Yes?”

We run through the marble corridor.

We descend a spiral staircase with no visible end.

“What is it, Dabin? Is something wrong?”

“There are other people… coming behind us…”

“It’s okay.”

“Noona, aren’t you going back?”

I corrected myself mid-sentence.

Because it felt like I absolutely had to. It feels like someone is pressing down on my thoughts, forcing them in one direction.

“I will go back.”

Choi Serim, who just stepped on the last stair, answers with a smile.

“Let’s read a book together, then go back.”

The place we arrived at is somewhere I’ve already seen in my dreams.

A place where countless wooden bookshelves stretch endlessly.

It reminds me of the old-fashioned libraries of Western universities I once saw in a documentary.

“Wait here. I’ll find a book.”

Choi Serim let go of my hand and went between the bookshelves.

“Huh, what?”

Suddenly, anxiety washed over me.

Why did I follow her all the way here? What about the others?

Just as I was about to turn around,

Tap.

A pale, slender hand rested on my shoulder.

“Stay still, Dabin. You’ll get lost.”

“…”

Now I think I understand a little.

The nature of that mysterious aura Choi Serim possesses.

They say skilled hypnotists can hypnotize with just their voice. Maybe it’s that kind of ability?

In other words, the power to control thoughts.

I looked up. Choi Serim is looking straight into my eyes and smiling.

“Or would you like to come find a book with me?”

“Yes, unni.”

I nodded.

Now that I’ve come this far, I need to know the reason. That’s what I thought.

I’m definitely not being swayed by her ability.

With a soft chuckle, Choi Serim moves between the bookshelves.

Holding my hand with one hand and a candle with the other, Choi Serim walks slowly.

Strangely, the candle flame doesn’t flicker at all.

“Here. This is the book.”

Choi Serim pulled a thin book from the shelf.

The cover is dark red. In the center is an eye.

[Why?]

“Read it slowly, Dabin, and when you’ve processed the content, let me know. Then we’ll read it together.”

“Aren’t you going to read it, unni?”

“No.”

I’m curious why, but Choi Serim just smiles quietly. She doesn’t seem to have any intention of answering.

Well, I should read the book first.

I turned the cover.

The following is a compilation of Foundation documents from a higher narrative layer perspective to uncover the details of Incident 2000.

* For information on narrative layers, refer to the [Metaphysics] document.

[Groups of Interest]

[■■]

An unidentified group observed by the Foundation Council member ‘Professor’ through future-viewing abilities.

They actively utilize anomalous entities to lead the extermination of humanity

They appear to have succeeded in research that removes anomalous properties or transfers them to other non-anomalous entities

They have theories about timelines, but show no movement to interfere with past worldlines.

>> It seems the Foundation knew to some extent about future events.

The following summarizes the Foundation Council members’ meeting at the time of the incident.

[Council Meeting-1 Summary]

– All Council members participated in [Meeting-1].

– To prevent the mass extinction of humanity and deletion of worldlines by ■■, decisive preemptive action must be taken.

– The Foundation had identified the purpose and characteristics of ■■.

– For the aforementioned ‘preemptive action,’ the Foundation Ethics Committee’s approval is ‘naturally’ required.

– The Ethics Committee has shown a positive attitude toward the Foundation’s request for approval.

– Under the Foundation’s protection, humanity will ‘never’ be defeated.

“Um… I finished reading.”

Choi Serim, who had been quietly watching me, flinched.

“Already?”

“Yes. The next pages are all blacked out—”

As I held up the book, Choi Serim squeezed her eyes shut and quickly turned her head away.

“I get it! I understand, you don’t need to show me. Dabin.”

“Okay…”

“Just put the book back on the shelf.”

After composing herself for a moment, Choi Serim gently stroked my head.

“It’s okay, Dabin. It’s okay, so can you explain what you saw in the book now?”

When I explained what I had seen, Choi Serim nodded with her arms crossed.

“I see…”

“Yes. That’s all I saw.”

“Okay. Thank you, Dabin. Let’s go back now.”

From far away, I hear familiar voices.

Voices calling my name and Choi Serim’s. The others were looking for us.

“Dabin?”

Choi Serim reached out her hand, but I didn’t move from my spot.

“Unni. What is Metaphysics?”

“Was that word in there?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll explain it slowly when we get back. Let’s go for now.”

Choi Serim urges me. But still, I can’t bring myself to move.

After checking the contents of the book, an intense question has been swirling in my mind.

■■

In Choi Serim’s hand is a candle.

The strangely dark flame maintains its shape without changing, as if completely detached from reality, even when the wind blows or we move around.

After staring at the flame for a while, I spoke.

“You’ve been here before, haven’t you, unni?”

“Huh? What did you say, Dabin?”

“We met in a dream, didn’t we?”

“Ah.”

Choi Serim briefly showed a troubled expression, then quickly returned to her usual expressionless face.

“We did.”

“I remember the contents of the book I read there too.”

“What?”

I pulled a few lines from my memory.

“That this wasn’t originally an apartment.

That this place was separated from space-time.

That we can’t escape until we resolve something.”

“Wait, hold on.”

The voices searching for us could no longer be heard.

Choi Serim put the candle down on the shelf and pressed both hands on my shoulders.

“Dabin. Look at me.”

Again, I feel my thoughts being suppressed.

But it’s not as strong as before. I can resist if I focus a little. I continued speaking.

“And there’s one more thing.”

“Dabin.”

“I saw what you looked like when you were younger, noona.”

“W-where?”

“In the water tank. When we saved Claire.”

“…”

Choi Serim murmurs softly, “Claire.”

Her gaze turns to the floor. Now all I can see is the hood covering Choi Serim’s face.

“Noona.”

I reached out and gently removed her hood.

Now it was me looking into Choi Serim’s eyes.

“Give me a clear answer.”

Choi Serim tried to look away at the floor, but couldn’t.

I kept my eyes locked with hers.

“What happened back then? Why did so many people come here for refuge?”

A tearful voice answers weakly.

“Dabin… why are you suddenly like this…? Why are you still so lucid…?”

Choi Serim tried to avoid my gaze, attempting to hide her agitation.

Maybe it’s because of the ability Choi Serim possesses. Or maybe it’s just because her expression is so pitiful.

My heart aches too much to continue speaking.

But this is something I absolutely need to know.

I clutched her clothes tightly and asked.

“It’s related to what was in the book just now, isn’t it? The book mentioned some disaster. And the Foundation moved to prevent that disaster from exterminating humanity. But in the end, the Foundation failed, and the disaster spread, and you were driven into this apartment. Isn’t that right?”

Choi Serim listens to my words in silence.

Just a little more.

To hear her answer, I need just a little more.

“I came here when I had just moved into my new home. And in Haewon’s case, he came here while filming an internet broadcast. But the times are slightly different.”

There’s a lot coming to mind, but it’s hard to organize. I had to pause occasionally to refine my thoughts.

“I talked with Jung Haewon, and we had a novel we both read.

[Ghost Story Club].

Come to think of it, the last time I read it was around chapter 40, and it had only been a few months since I stopped reading. But Jung Haewon had read up to chapter 800. Plus, he said there was even a first-round spin-off planned.

So, I thought about it. How long has Ojikjaemi been serializing?”

The more I speak, the more the fog in my mind seems to clear.

My brain is spinning non-stop, and logic is clicking into place.

Perhaps it’s because Choi Serim’s composure has completely collapsed.

I watched as her fingertips trembled slightly.

“But that wasn’t it. The time periods were different. I came from the past, Haewon from a bit further in the future. And you, noona, I think you came from much further in the future. And that ‘disaster’ must have happened sometime between Jung Haewon’s time and yours.”

“Thinking this way, what I saw in the dream makes sense too. This place is separated from space-time.”

“So, you know what’s going to happen in the future, noona. How the disaster occurred. You already know what happened back then.”

“No. That’s not… I…”

Thud.

Choi Serim collapsed onto the floor.

“I think I understand why you’re doing this alone. You’re trying to prevent the disaster, aren’t you?”

“…”

“You don’t have to do this alone anymore. So,”

I looked at Choi Serim one last time.

The atmosphere that seemed to manipulate thoughts at will could no longer be found in her.

“Tell me. About you.”