Limitless Dream - Volume 1 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

LD - 1 . Slave and King (2) (unedited)


A limitless dream .

The Karsharai family rebelled and cursed the king .

He was placed under a curse to continuously suffer nightmares and fail to stop it . He was mentally exhausted from this eternal loop of reincarnation that was caused by this forbidden curse .

When he would wake up, the lofty king begged God to free him from these intermittent dreams . As the irregular sleep schedule will lead to his death .

Han Seo Jin, his life in the dream .

The curse built an imaginary world .

“Your majesty, is your sleep the same as before?”

       “My dream is the same as before . As time flows, there are numerous workers who work hard everyday in hopes to earn money . Those of              higher status benefit from the labor of those beneath them . My life there is more humble as a slave that needs to take care of some                      burdens .

The king said and smiled bitterly .

“Working till the point of exhaustion is a novel experience for me that many people undergo in life .  In any case, the dream is made of lies . I should stop being too immersed in the dream . I’m afraid that I will go mad from the dream’s  influence . But recently, I have encountered a bad situation in the dream . I do not have the results yet, I am waiting for them . ”

The king was blinded by his dream self, as he recalled Han Seo Jin’s cancer diagnosis .

“If you are worried, then don’t talk about it yet . Words have power . Expressing your doubt with words makes me uneasy as the curse is powerful . ”

       “ . . . I see . I will let you know once the results are out . ”

“How is your awareness?”

       “There is no progress in my own self-awareness . In the dream, I fail to remember anything from reality . ”

My self-awareness . Does Han Seo Jin realize that his world is a dream?

Realizing the dream is false would be one of the fundamental ways to overcome the curse . Registering the dream as false would significantly weaken the curse .

“Don’t forget . Your majesty’s imposing power, magic, divine power… neither of these affect the dream currently . However, once your majesty realizes that the dream world is a dream, your majesty shall be able to exhibit your powers in it . ”



The king nodded .

To use his original powers inside the dream while being Han Seo Jin, the curse would certainly be defeated to a certain degree .  

The king touched his forehead .

“ . . . once more sleep is flooding my mind . ”

       “Don’t forget your majesty… everything in the dream is a lie . ”

His vision blurred . The strong curse’s cycle pushed him back into the dream . The king tried to endure the lull of sleep with his willpower, but he still could not resist the curse .  

“Lenorjian’s ruler, Arthur Leone Schulte, take a proper look at yourself and see the only truth in the dream . Please be enlightened there . ”

The faithful vassal’s voice could be heard faintly .

“The subjugation of the curse begins…”

***

Han Seo Jin opened his eyes .

His body was cold . He was hungry but he could not move his right arm . Yet, his appetite persisted .

He struggled to get up and eat breakfast, then proceeded to go to the hospital .

The doctor calmly explained the results of the previous examination .

“End stage pancreatic cancer . ”

Han Seo Jin stiffened and turned pale . He pressed his lips tightly together, and his thin shoulders began to tremble . He was shocked to silence .

After a long time, he stammered the following words .

“Sir, is treatment possible? Such as an operation…”



       “To be honest, surgery would be very difficult to fulfill . The cancer has already spread to the liver, stomach, and duodenum .  

“Then treatment, how…”

       “Listen to me son… eat plenty of tasty food, and do anything you want . You do not want to have any lingering attachments . ”

The doctor could not instill the hope of survival . He could only inform the patient of the truth . His calm statement blocked Han Seo Jin from hope, the wall of despair could not be broken .

Han Seo Jin stumbled back home .

He could not remember how he returned home . His mind was stunned to the point that he appeared drunk . Everything seemed to appear as a blur .  

He sat in his studio, leaning against the wall . As if he had lost his spirit, he blankly watched the hands of the clock tick away .

‘End stage of cancer… that has spread to the point of being incurable?’

That can’t be true .

Although he lost consistently lost a lot of weight, sometimes felt that his abdomen hurt, and did not have an appetite, he should be okay more or less? Ah, he also slept a lot more .  

‘This is nonsense! This can’t be correct! Yes, it is possible that the examination was wrong!’

Han Seo Jin desperately denied the truth . Each time he said it, the painful and calm eyes of the doctor appeared in his mind . Seeing those eyes repeatedly made him feel suffocated from the lack of hope .

He stared blankly until the sun had set outside the window, when he suddenly rushed to take out his cell phone . His hands trembled as he searched for a certain number in his contacts .

Lim Seo Yeong .

A year ago, she had broken up with him due to not wanting a poor marriage life . They loved each other for 3 years, so after the break up he could not bare to delete her number .

He hesitated several times, and then dialed her number .

The call took a long time to connect . As the dial sound was prolonged, he grew more nervous . The number has not changed, maybe it was best to hang up and try again next time .

[Why did you call?]

At last the call connected, and Han Seo Jin grew emotional . His mind turned blank and he could not remember what to say .

[Why did you call me?]

Han Seo Jin was barely able to control the tremble in his voice, and spoke in a calm manner .

“Long time no see, Seo Yeong-ah . ”

[Sounds like you’re doing well . ]

“ . . . ”

He did not know what words to say . The relationship had ended, so why did he have the confidence to call her . Did he want to ask her for some comfort?

He barely mustered up the last bit of courage .

“Yes, I honestly…”

[Oppa, I am getting married next month . ]

Instantly, his heart broke again .  

He was frozen like a stone, unable to speak after hearing her words .

[I wish you happiness, but I still feel guilty about last year . And now, I will not call you from now on . ]

“ . . . ”

[Even though listening to my words may hurt you, oppa, I do not want to deceive you . I sincerely loved you from the bottom of my heart . But to be honest… I was not alone . While I was with you, my beloved oppa, I was not confident in marrying you and had an affair . I’m sorry . ]

“ . . . ”

[Live happily, oppa . I’m serious . ]

Toot, toot, toot… .  

Han Seo Jin blankly held onto the phone after he was cut off . Suddenly, his hand dropped his phone with a thump, and his face was drenched with tears .

~~~

“Has the hospital results come out? How is it?”

A coworker asked Han Seo Jin from the side . In response, he intentionally faked his smile and cheerfully replied .  

“Ah, yes the condition can be treated . Though it will be difficult . ”

       “That’s a relief, The diseases is curable, that is good news to hear . Of course, nothing is better . ”

“Though, the treatment fee will be quite high . ”

       “That… do you have insurance? Did you get the real cost?”

“Due to working like a fanatic, I didn’t know I could file for insurance . I regret not getting it before . ”

       “No matter how hard you have to work to survive, you should always get insurance . Once you get sick, you will run out of money . ”

Seeing how Han Seo Jin arrived cheerfully at work, the coworker seemed relieved .  

“Leaving work early?”

       “Yes sir, I will be getting treatment from an outpatient clinic . ”

“Outpatient clinics do not charge as much . That’s a relief . I told you to not be worried before, the weight loss was nothing critical .

Han Seo Jin smiled and thanked his coworker for his concerns and encouragements .

He found another university affiliated hospital . There, he received a close examination from a prestigious doctor and requested for treatment . Although this would cost him a lot of money, he did not care .

“End stage pancreatic cancer, where the liver, stomach, and duodenum has metastasized to a dangerous degree . Treatment will be challenging . ”

Despite his hopes, the outcome did not change .