5 – A Strange Dream
* * *
After a quick shower.
She picked up the neatly folded clothes that Yeo-ul had placed in front of the door, thinking that taking a shower on Earth was so comfortable.
It was a cozy-looking sleepwear, with a generous size and fluffy cotton.
After wiping away the remaining moisture on her body, Yeo-ul put on the clothes with a dry body.
Even the sleepwear couldn’t compare in quality to what she had in this world.
It was worth coming back, after all.
There was only one problem, though.
There was a hole for a tail in the back.
Without paying any attention to it, Yeo-ul lay on the bed, which hadn’t been made up until she entered the room.
Perhaps So-young had prepared it while she was taking a shower.
Covered by a bedspread with embroidered flower patterns, Yeo-ul got lost in her thoughts.
The subject of her thoughts was about Ru-won.
Since cutting off her emotions five years ago, she had stopped thinking about her family. The faint memory of the last emotion was probably longing.
However, even the remnants of her remaining emotions had gradually faded away during those five years. Honestly, she hadn’t thought about her family at all until she met Ru-won.
No matter how emotionless she was, she did feel a slight ripple when she met Ru-won, but that was it. There was no longer any sentiment about family left in her.
That’s why she didn’t feel moved even when she heard about her parents’ passing.
If someone asked if she didn’t love her parents, it would be completely untrue. Her home may not have been wealthy, but it was harmonious, and her parents couldn’t fulfill everything she wanted, but they made her happy.
And her younger sister, Ru-won, was always a cheerful and lively child, and she remembers her kindhearted nature.
Yet, she felt no sentiment towards them now, as if something went wrong when she cut off her emotions.
She realized this fact just a few minutes ago when she scolded Ru-won.
In response, she replied without any emotions, as if unfazed. However, Ru-won’s emotions seemed different.
He didn’t regret answering that way. Even the emotion itself felt indulgent to him, as his responses came after careful empathy and consideration.
Whether it made Ryeowoon satisfied or not was secondary.
He thought of his parents once again. Their faces, worn by the passage of ten years, were filled with noise like an old television.
I can’t even remember their faces anymore.
He couldn’t even recall what emotions he had for them.
So it was only natural that he didn’t feel any guilt or remorse for not remembering them.
Whether it was sad or not, he couldn’t judge it himself.
His thoughts then turned to Ryeowoon.
What were his thoughts about her?
First of all, she had grown a lot.
She had become so much bigger than her small and insignificant self when she was young.
He couldn’t have imagined that her sister would grow up like this – this was a memory when emotions were still present.
And the recent incident.
Although he had become bad at remembering, this memory strangely stuck in his mind.
The expression of happiness at seeing her older brother after a long time. It gradually hardened, and the emotions that had overflowed all this time.
Tears that flowed down her cheeks just like the first time they met.
The moment she confidently declared that he wasn’t her brother.
The expression she made when she chased him away.
They passed through his mind like a photo album.
He realizes that a corner of his heart feels suffocated for some reason.
Really after a long time. Maybe it had been five years, or even longer than that. That feeling that was too painful, so he had cut it off himself.
Fragments of emotions.
The true nature of that realization, which he would come to after a long time, was guilt.
* * *
At that moment.
Just like Yeoul, Ryeowoon, who finished her shower and lay on the bed, had the same thoughts.
What she remembered was the memory of when they first met again.
His hair had grown longer and he had lost weight. The atmosphere was completely different.
Strangely, she had immediately sensed that he was her older brother when she saw him for the first time.
That thought had been invalidated by herself just a few minutes ago, but looking back now with a cool head, it was clear that he was indeed her brother.
It was an indescribable intuition.
Then why did her brother behave that way?
Why did he speak as if there was no lingering attachment, emotion, regret, love towards their family?
Why did he seem so indifferent even towards their parents’ death?
She briefly reconsidered his words. A typical but flawed otherworld. His words about defeating the demon king after being stranded there.
Honestly, she couldn’t fully believe it. Judging from his words, the otherworld he had crossed over to seemed to have a considerably high difficulty in returning.
But he claimed to have rescued that world and returned without any magical powers.
It sounded too easy.
Being without magical powers meant being an ordinary civilian, and defeating the demon king was a story that was a hundred times more unbelievable than a normal middle school student winning against a hundred elephants.
Especially since it seemed like it was right before the demon king was about to destroy the world.
Even if her brother was skilled in physical combat or had talent in swordsmanship, there were things that were physically possible and impossible.
And he claimed to have returned to Earth without any magical powers.
Any passerby would have thought it nonsense no matter who said it.
If it wasn’t her brother who said those words.
She had been pondering whether she should believe her brother’s words or not.
It was evident that he was a returnee based on the situation, but to affirm that, she had to believe that he had achieved something physically impossible and returned.
Alright. Let’s concede and say that it’s true.
Then why did his personality turn out that way?
Why did he act like an emotionless machine?
She recalled various cases of returnees with her limited knowledge. There were common terms that were mentioned.
PTSD.
She didn’t know much about it, but she guessed it meant struggling and being depressed. Or perhaps, drastically changing into a very aggressive state.
But her brother didn’t fit any of that.
Instead, she didn’t even feel a tinge of any kind of emotion from him.
What on earth happened in that otherworld?
As she continued her thoughts, she ultimately gave up.
The more she thought, the more she could only think about things that she couldn’t understand at the moment.
The only certain thing was that he was her brother.
If she hadn’t driven him away and had a deeper conversation, would she have been able to understand the reason?
Then, as she watched Yeowool walking out of the house barefoot with only a thin coat on, the thought finally struck her.
She began to feel worried about her brother.
With no money or anything else, he would undoubtedly have to sleep on the cold streets this winter.
After a brief hesitation, she got out of bed and headed to the front door.
Quietly, she opened the door without making a sound.
She looked around. Up and down, left and right.
He’s not here…
Just to be sure, she put on her shoes and opened the emergency exit door, but as expected.
He really is sleeping outside…?
Realizing that she wouldn’t be able to find him if he had already left the house, Yeowool felt a sense of reality sinking in.
Come to think of it, she didn’t even have a way to contact him.
Contact information? A phone? There was no way a person who had just returned from abroad would have such things.
What should I do…
With no other options, Yeowool reluctantly entered the house, but her worry for her brother did not fade.
She wandered around the living room for a while in a state of helplessness, and before she knew it, bedtime had passed. She had to go to school the next day.
However, even lying in bed, her worry did not subside…
While trying to console herself that the returnee would be fine, she kept repeating her concerns about the fact that he had no magic power.
After a while, she finally fell into a deep sleep, as if fainting from exhaustion.
* * *
Meanwhile, in Soyoung’s bedroom…
“But right now, I’m living under the same roof as a man…?”
“What if that door suddenly opens and he comes in to attack me…?”
“It’ll be fine… I’ll just bite him if he comes in…”
“Oh, that’s right. Yeowool said he’s a returnee…”
“But if he has no power, what should we do…?”
“I guess I shouldn’t have let him into the house for no reason…”
“If I apologize, maybe he’ll let it slide…”
“I’m thirsty, what should I do…”
Tossing and turning, Soyoung couldn’t stay still under the blanket covering her body.
Staring at the tightly closed door, wagging its tail, curling through its legs, and turning on the stand by its head.
About to go out to drink water because of a dry throat, but stopped.
Lying down, sitting, standing up.
From Noble mtl dot com
Sooyoung, who tossed and turned for a while, finally fell asleep.
Finally, in a dream, she was caught by Yeoul.
* * *