Ending #5. Second Playthrough



Why does that kind of thing happen?

When you dream too much, your memories get jumbled.

When you wake up from a long sleep, the boundary between dream and reality is blurred, and you talk nonsense for a while.

I was exactly like that.

I couldn’t get used to my plain, casual clothes.

I was sure I was wearing a suit from a low-cost brand…

The lively conversations of the college students easily shattered my peace.

“Hey, Lee Mina. Wake up.”

A girl with short brown hair called me.

Who was she? Someone I don’t keep in touch with anymore.

As I stared blankly, she flicked her fingers to get my attention.

How annoying.

“How many part-time jobs are you doing that you’re so out of it?”

To the cheerful question, I reflexively folded my fingers.

“Cafe, pub, flyers…”

“That’s three now.”

Listening to me, the girl in the front seat handed me a can of sports drink with a striking blue design.

It must have just been taken out, as there was moisture and coolness on the surface.

I reflexively put it to my cheek.

It was cool.

“‘Now?'”

“Ah, I have a new part-time job starting next week.”

I popped the can open with my fingernail and poured the sports drink into my mouth.

As the strangely flavored liquid went down my throat and into my stomach, I felt my hazy mind gradually clearing.

I had a very strange dream.

I, as an office worker, still couldn’t escape the tiresome shackles of my family.

Then I got caught up in an incident with someone and wandered the world.

Perhaps because it was a dream, the worlds I traveled to were diverse.

There were places like the real world, and I saw cities of the distant future.

I spent a day in a European-style mansion and strolled through meadows where horses galloped.

Against the backdrop of the past and present, present and future, I dashed around.

It must be because it was a dream. I think I’ve been under a lot of stress lately.

“You’ll collapse if you keep this up.”

A classmate whose name I barely remember is worried about me.

I was grateful for it, but it felt unfamiliar.

It was as if I was seeing a connection that had been severed over time suddenly resume.

“You know my family situation.”

While gratefully accepting the concern, I made the other person aware of my situation.

“Ah…”

“I have to pay tuition, transportation, food, and contribute to living expenses, so how can I reduce my work?”

“Sorry.”

My friend apologized quickly.

“What are you sorry for? I’m just saying.”

“It must be a lot on your mind. But take care of your health. Your life is more important.”

My friend was sincere.

I put the half-empty drink back in my mouth, thinking about what to say.

[Don’t make that face. Some people live this kind of life.]

That was the first thing that came to mind.

If there are people living like princesses somewhere, there must be people slaving away like slaves somewhere else.

That’s what I thought.

That’s why I couldn’t escape the shackles, and I thought I had to accept it because it was my fate.

“Um…”

I put the can down and wrapped my hands around it.

I had something to say to my friend.

It wasn’t a defeatist thought, nor was it an optimistic one without a plan.

What I felt during the eons of time…

“I have to cut it off. When I graduate from college.”

The choice is ultimately mine.

“Huh? Cut it off?”

“I’m going to live a new life in a place where they can’t find me.”

“Oh… oh… that’s a different answer than last time.”

“Is it? Anyway.”

Leaving behind my classmate’s surprised face, I got up from my seat.

I have to go to my part-time job.

“Then you can get married like you said before, right?”

My classmate said, getting up as well.

“Marriage?”

“Mina, you’re popular. If you didn’t have that ‘shackle’ you always talk about, wouldn’t marriage be possible?”

“Um…”

Marriage.

“Well, I guess so.”

I could get married.

“Oh… I like that proactive attitude. By the way, what kind of husband do you like? Like, what’s your ideal type?”

“Hmm…”

What kind of man is my ideal type?

It’s a bit of a strange question for me. I’ve never really thought about it.

But I think I can answer.

Because I know that the dizzying dream of traveling through so many worlds wasn’t really a dream.

“Someone who will eat caramel popcorn with me?”

Looking at my classmate’s face that said, “What the hell are you talking about?” I laughed.