If we're together. 04
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Ji-hoon, who had been hesitating to speak with his mouth open, sighed. The female protagonist, who had been waiting quietly without rushing Ji-hoon, finally couldn't wait any longer and opened her mouth.
"I have a dream."
"…what?"
The heroine frowned, pondering the meaning of the words, which offered no explanation. If she was so hesitant to speak, it couldn't have been literal.
But no matter how much she thought about it, only one meaning remained: a dream anyone can have, one that can only be experienced while asleep. Even after concluding that, the heroine, realizing that it wasn't simply that, asked another question.
"What does that mean? You don't mean it literally, do you?"
"If you meant it literally, you wouldn't be asking for my trust."
"Then don't cut corners and explain properly."
Ji-hoon burst out laughing at the resolute expression on the female lead's face, as if she wouldn't give a damn about the circumstances.
How can even these things be so vividly identical? Ji-hoon pondered this for a moment, then took a deep breath and opened his mouth.
"The dreams I have aren't the ordinary dreams that everyone else naturally has. No matter what I do, the dreams I have become reality. Perhaps this is what they call precognitive dreams, right?"
"You're having a precognitive dream?"
"Yes. On average, I often see the futures of my family and those around me, but occasionally, I see my own future. That dream is why I came here."
"What, I had a dream?"
"It wasn't just the same dream, so to summarize it roughly... it was a dream about meeting you. A dream about meeting you and realizing that we needed each other?"
“What is that….”
"You might wonder what I'm talking about just by hearing it, but I'm not lying. Me transferring to this school, sitting next to you, discovering you can hear other people's thoughts, and now we're talking like this. It's all part of the dreams I've had."
Ji-hoon's shrugging words didn't register properly in my head. Whether or not what I just heard was true, it was difficult to believe everything at face value. Yeo-ju's mind, which had been racing to discern what was true and what was false, suddenly stopped.
Ji-hoon said he saw it. His actions, his relationship with himself.
"You can hear other people's thoughts, can you? It must give you quite a headache, hearing everyone else's thoughts in the same room. That's why you lie down every day, right? If you force yourself to sleep, you can hear less."
'How about that…'
'I saw it all.'
I knew intimate details about myself I'd never told anyone before because I'd seen them all. Because I'd seen myself and my future with myself through my dreams.
Only then did Ji-hoon's words make sense. As she sorted out her complex thoughts, something remained unsettling. Unable to grasp it, Yeo-ju confronted Ji-hoon again and asked.
"What does it mean to realize that we need each other?"
"That's what it means literally."
"I know you need me, but why do you need me?"
"Don't you see, it's the same reason you need me?"
"what…."
"I don't want to dream either."
"…."
"The closer I get to you, the less I dream. The dreams I dream cannot be limited in scope or changed in content. Even if it's someone I don't know, just passing by, if I touch their hand or talk to them, there are times when I see their future. I know where they will be, what will happen, what they will do to me, but I can't change it. Because that's their future, their predetermined fate."
Although he continued speaking calmly, Yeo-ju could clearly sense that his voice was tinged with pain. Ji-hoon was struggling just as much as she was. Ji-hoon was suffering just as much as she was.
Yeo-ju knew, to Ji-hoon's bone, how much hope her existence brought her. She knew how much peace came when she could no longer hear the thoughts of others who had always tormented her.
"So, seeing a future with you, I decided I had to find you no matter what. I couldn't change my dreams anyway, and I had to meet you, but I still had that thought. Maybe it was just my greed, but I thought that if I met you, I would be saved. I thought it was a good opportunity because I could also save you..."
"…."
“…As expected, seeing something in a dream and experiencing it firsthand are two different things. Honestly, I never thought that not having dreams would make me this happy….”
Ji-Hoon's voice, which had become smaller, muttered and poured out his true feelings.
Being together allows us to protect each other from what has always tormented us. To have met someone I thought I would never meet again. As we faced each other, we realized that this was the ultimate happiness.
When we are together.
"So, is that the situation you saw in your dream?"
"that's right."
"How direct must you be to think of this situation as a dream?"
"Rather than being direct, say that you are clear about what you like and dislike."
That's it. The female protagonist's gaze, fixed on the female students gathered in a corner of the classroom, was quite a distance away, but she could tell what they were saying just by the way they spoke.
To summarize, they seemed to be saying things like Ji-hoon's personality was unlucky and that he was a complete different person than he looked. Since he had a history of flatly declaring his inability to befriend approaching female students on his first day at school, it was possible there had been more similar incidents. Otherwise, there was no reason for a group of people to gather together and slander Ji-hoon.
As she gathered her thoughts, Yeo-ju turned her gaze to Ji-hoon. Ji-hoon, who hadn't even glanced at the group of female students from the beginning, felt as if his gaze was piercing through her temples. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Yeo-ju sighed as she pondered this.
"Wouldn't it be easier in the future if we pretended to be somewhat friendly? It's funny even for me to say that when I'm not."
"I don't need that. I don't really have any intention of becoming close with you."
"You really cut to the chase."
"So what? It's true."
“…I am me too, but you seem to be worse.”
"What am I?"
Ji-hoon shrugged, feigning ignorance. Instead of responding, the female protagonist burst into laughter. She shifted her posture. She turned completely toward Ji-hoon, meeting his gaze without averting her gaze.
Calm eyes. With such a calm and peaceful atmosphere, the heroine was able to smile happily for the first time in a long while.