Dream 4

What happened next was simple.

Chief Kang gave me time to talk to my mother, who spent a long time begging for my forgiveness.

Why she left me behind that day.

She talked about her own weakness.

She also said she should never have left that day.

With genuine regret in her eyes and voice, she poured out her apologies.

And I listened to all her stories with one ear and let them slide.

No, to be precise…

‘I’m starting to see an angle.’

I ran simulations in my head, making adjustments to my plans or even completely overhauling them.

All the while, I kept observing my surroundings and planning an escape route.

After some time had passed:

Knock knock knock

Someone knocked cautiously and entered the investigation room, where I was alone with my mother.

“Hello, Mr. Lee Han-soo.”

Who is this guy?

He doesn’t look like a detective at all.

“I’m sorry, but could the guardian please step out for a moment?”

“Ah, yes……”

Soon after my mother left the interrogation room and the new guy took the seat opposite me.

He held a fairly thick stack of documents in his hand.

“I’ve heard everything from the interrogation to the mess you caused before that. There were quite a few interesting details in there, Could we talk a bit about that?”

The man in glasses didn’t bother to introduce himself; he spoke with a calm voice and a gentle expression. It was only then that I realized what was really going on.

‘Psychiatric evaluation.’

This guy had come to assess my mental state.

And depending on the result…

‘I’ll undoubtedly be transferred to a mental hospital.’

I quickly simulated what would happen next.

Could going all the way to the psychiatric ward be part of the ‘tutorial’?

‘…No way.’

Based on my gaming experience, that was absolutely not the case.

If this were a game, being transferred to the psychiatric ward would most likely mean game over.

A sort of bad ending.

Perhaps I would be trapped in the hospital for life, forced to take medication and live as a mental patient.

So…

“Yes. You can ask me anything.”

I turned off Barbarian Mode and switched on Gentleman Lee Han-soo Mode.

“Thank you. You’re much kinder than I heard.”

“That’s how I usually am.”

“You said you were dragged into a game. Is that true?”

“No. It was a lie.”

“Then where were you during the time you were missing?”

“I don’t remember where exactly, but it was a very dark place. I was trapped there until the guys who took me suddenly brought me home. That’s why that incident happened too. I thought the kidnappers had come back.”

“Hmm… Do you know why they kidnapped you?”

“I don’t know. I was just kidnapped and held captive. You know that movie? The one where they only gave him dumplings… Yes, just like that movie. They just kept me locked up and did nothing else.”

“But why didn’t you tell the truth when you were questioned earlier?”

“The kidnappers threatened me. They said if I told anyone about them, they’d definitely come find me and take revenge… I was too scared.”

It was a story I made up in an instant, but it sounded plausible enough.

However, the problem was…

“But is it okay to tell me such a story? You said you were threatened.”

“Well, that’s… you seem reliable and kind, sir… I, I decided to be brave.”

Pretending to be a naive young man, I caught Glasses studying me for a moment before he gave a slow nod.

“Trustworthy and kind, huh? …Understood. Let’s end today’s session here.”

Ah, uh, hmm…

“…I think I screwed up.”

The old saying, “If anything can go wrong, it will,” proved true once again.

Glasses who came for the psychiatric evaluation left, my mother, who had finished her visit, waited outside and I was locked up in a detention cell to spend the night.

“Mr. Lee Han-soo, please come out.”

The next afternoon, I was released from the cell and escorted outside.

“Chief Kang, where am I going?”

“…You’ll find out when you get there.”

Damn it.

‘I failed.’

If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have talked about the game during the investigation.

As I pressed my lips together and looked down, Chief Kang — perhaps realising there was no point in hiding it — offered a few words of comfort.

‘Still, it’ll help your case in court.’ Attempted murder, aggravated assault… Normally, even as a first-time offender, you’d be looking at prison. So think of it as a place to rest and recover…”

Yeah, right.

Rest and recover, my ass.

“I’ll visit often, and your mother will try to help you especially.”

There was no reason to listen anymore. His voice faded away.

Step.

Chief Kang’s voice slowly faded into the background as my attention drifted elsewhere.

Step Step

A special transport vehicle was parked just outside the station, with several uniformed personnel standing beside it.

“He’s a five-star high-risk patient. Do not provoke him and proceed with extreme caution.” Glasses gave a stern warning to the uniformed officers.

‘What’s with the five stars… Is this the explorers’s guild or something?’

I sighed and glanced around.

The guards, following his warning, began preparing some sort of straitjacket.

Even though protocol required them to remove my handcuffs soon, they weren’t stupid. They knew that was when things could go wrong, so they stayed on high alert.

Time to move first.

Now.

I turned to Team Leader Kang.

“Han-soo? Do you have something to say…?”

“Just… thank you for everything.”

“No, it’s my job. It’s nothing to thank me for.”

“Your job…”

That actually made me feel a little better.

Just as Chief Kang was doing his ‘job’, I’m simply doing mine.

CRACK!

A headbutt straight to his face—the same one I used often back in my newbie Barbarian days.

“Argh!”

“Gaaah!”

I pushed him down and reached for the spot on his waist that I had noticed earlier.

“Why isn’t it here?”

What?

That wasn’t part of the plan.

“Uh…”

I froze, genuinely flustered.

“Ugh…”

“Chief Kang!”

“That bastard again!!”

Chief Kang grabbed his bruised nose and waved off his colleagues. “I’m fine! Stand down!”

“But—!”

“I said, don’t!”

He slowly got up and looked me in the eye.

“…I figured you might try something, so I gave the keys to someone else.”

Ah. I see.

“I don’t blame you, Mr. Han-soo. You’re just hurting, that’s all. Just listen to the doctors and take your medicine, and you’ll get better soon.”

Yeah, I’m done for.

***

White. Everything white.

The smell of harsh disinfectant filled the air.

“AAAHHH! AAAAAHHHH!”

As always, the patient’s screams from the next room lulled me to sleep while I gazed through the specially reinforced glass window.

“Hehe……”

‘Exhausted’ didn’t come close to capturing how drained I felt in the afternoon.

A burly man in a nurse’s uniform stood in front of me, clipboard in hand, with a nervous rookie nurse at his side.

“This is the patient I mentioned before — Lee Han-soo. What’s the first rule when dealing with him?”

“Never engage in personal conversation!”

“You might’ve worked in other hospitals, but this one’s special. Like Professor Park said, this patient lies, deceives, and acts as naturally as breathing.”

“R-really?”

“Yes! He might seem calm now because of the meds, but he’s always looking for a chance to escape. He thinks reality is a game. Give him a knife and he’d stab us to death, laughing that he ‘got one.’”

“…Understood!”

“Take it seriously! I heard he knocked down three cops during arrest and strangled one almost to death.”

“Y-yeah, I heard that. Even when he left the station, he caused a scene, right? And even here, several nurses got badly hurt…”

‘Well, thank God for that. Thanks to that, we got clearance for heavy medication. See? Now he’s docile.’

“Yes. He hasn’t even looked up once during our talk.”

That’s because if I look, they won’t talk.

These conversations I’m listening to are all information in their own way…

“Haaam……”

I’m so tired I could die.

That’s enough for today, I should just sleep.

‘But… how many days has it been already……?’

I’m not sure, but rest is also part of the battle.

As I closed my eyes and let sleep take over, I reminded myself—

Stay sharp.

No matter what anyone says, this place is still a dream world.

I’m still trapped in a trial, and as always—I’ll find a way to win.

But—

“Mr. Lee Han-soo, it’s time for your meds. Open your mouth!”

“Ah…”

gulp

“…Ah, he’s just pretending to swallow again. Nurse Kim! Bring that thing! We’ll have to do it by force again. Tie him down for an hour so he can’t throw it up!”

It was probably the antipsychotics that I took every day. Sleep came whenever it wanted and I woke up feeling groggy each time. Even my daily walks were eventually cancelled. Now, I spend every waking moment strapped to my bed.

Amidst this monotony, a thought began to creep in:

“Is this… really a dream?”

Each time they allowed visitors, my mother showed up with tearful eyes and a trembling smile.

All the memories and experiences I gained in Raphdonia tell me that this situation must be a dream. But one crucial contradiction left me confused:

‘Why on earth……’

Is no one trying to kill me?

***

A world where one misstep meant death.

Bad luck meant death.

Even a little ignorance meant death.

That hellish world full of death flags—

[Dungeon & Stone].

If my body still belongs to that world and I’m really just dreaming, it doesn’t make sense.

Why am I still alive?

One day, two days, three days, four days…

Why doesn’t anyone try to kill me, no matter how much time passes?

I hit the detective in the head and almost strangled Team Leader Kang to death.

Why is everyone so non-violent?

‘As if……’

I had really returned to the modern world.

No, precisely…

“As if I really have gone insane.”

No matter how firmly I steeled myself, the doubt crept in.

Maybe it was just the meds, but—

What if the doctors, the nurses, the detectives, and my mother were right?

“Is there something wrong with my head?”

If I actually took a moment to think about it, the possibility didn’t seem that far-fetched. There was, after all, a non-zero chance this was real.

My childhood was so miserable that “stress” and “trauma” felt like understatements.

Games I immersed myself in as an escape.

Among them, the one I played the most obsessively, [Dungeon & Stone].

And then there was the heartbreak of losing Hyun-byeol while I was still playing it.

It wouldn’t be strange if all those things had overlapped and caused my mind to snap.

Even the average person would agree, ‘Yeah, that checks out.’

“So… everything that happened there… was just me going crazy…?” I mumbled

“Everyone cover your ears! The Hansoo patient’s about to pull another stunt!”

“Yes! He’s pretending to be sane again to lower our guard!”

Regardless of the reactions of the hospital staff around me.

‘No, that can’t be.’

I shook my head and clung to what little resolve I had left.

I haven’t returned.

This place is still the dream.

The moment I accept this as reality, the trial ends. From that moment on, it’s clearly game over.

Yeah, so…

‘I need proof.’

To firmly steel my heart, I need proof.

I need to build the sturdiest support to prevent it from collapsing.

“A letter… Please deliver a letter.”

“A letter? To your mother?”

“No… Overseas. You can open it and read the contents, I don’t care, just send it via international mail.”

“The address is… Canada? Is this the letter to that ‘Canadian friend’ you mentioned before?”

“Yes. Please, I’m asking you.”

“…Alright. I’ll make sure it’s sent.”

Maybe he thought it would help with my therapy — my doctor agreed and sent it.

About two weeks later, a reply arrived.

[I don’t know how to start. Hi, Han-soo.]

[I was incredibly surprised to see your letter. At first, I thought my friends were playing a prank, but if the information about you sent by the doctor is true, then I feel I must reply, so here it is.]

[But your attending physician might not like it. To be honest, for a moment, I thought your words might be true.]

[Because it doesn’t make sense, right? I also played [Dungeon & Stone] and was part of related communities, so you could have found out my name or address by searching the internet.]

[The fact that my first kiss happened at seventeen, and with my girlfriend’s best friend, of all people. Or that I’d once wanted to be a veterinarian after losing the puppy I raised as a kid.]

[I have never told those stories even once. Not on the internet, nor even to my close friends.]

The Canadian friend’s reply became the definitive proof that I was trapped in a ‘dream’.

Well, it makes sense, right?

 

If everything I experienced was just a ‘delusion’, how could I have known the details about my ‘Canadian friend’ who lives far across the ocean?

“Sigh…….”

Good, I’m not crazy.

So, let’s just pull myself together and find a way to escape.

Thinking that, I continued reading the letter.

[But while part of me finds your story plausible, another part hopes it isn’t true.]

[If what you say is true, it means I already died in that world, and the current me is just a fake with some unknown purpose… That’s just too sad, isn’t it? I have a family I love, and a lover too.]

[I don’t know about you, but I believe this is real.]

[Of course, what you choose to believe as real is up to you.]

[Ah, and if you ever need someone to talk to, you can always send me a letter. Even though we’ve never met and you’re far across the ocean, I have a feeling we could become good friends.]

[PS. I also heard about your childhood. You must be an incredibly strong person. I believe you will overcome this, and I’ll be cheering for you, even from afar.]

After finishing the letter, I let out a deep sigh.

“Haa…….”

This, in its own way, left me with complicated feelings.

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