Dream and reality . Everything seemed jumbled up, he couldn't tell which world was real . Then the king slowly gained some awareness and snapped out of his confusion .
‘I’m awake . ’
The king quietly clenched and opened his fist .
In his dream, he had denied having cancer, which was a death sentence, and experienced a traumatic phone call . He thought about his dream self’s weakness and a chill ran up his spine . The despair and pain that Han Seo Jin felt was pressing heavily against his own chest .
More than 10 days had past in the dream, but in reality only 20 minutes had gone by .
“Your majesty, you have recovered consciousness . ”
“You have remained here guarding me?”
Thankfully, the faithful vassal seemed to have stayed vigil here .
“A problem has arisen . ”
“Previously you told me about the situation in the dream . ”
“That’s right . Within the dream, I have cepa-coiiner . This devil-like disease has spread to almost all of my internal organs .
Cancer . Cepa-coiiner means cancer in Lenorjian .
The elder vassal, the Archmage, was confused .
“This is not a big problem?”
“The dream world is very different compared to Lenorjian . ”
The king smiled bitterly and explained .
“In Lenorjian, we are able to recover from the disease with the blessings of a low ranking priest… but over there, healing is almost impossible for an infected person . ”
The senior vassal’s face hardened . The king continued talking .
“Among the hundreds of people infected with the disease, 5 people can barely survive . In addition to this, my dream-self has one of the gravest conditions for this disease .
“This has become dangerous,”
The senior vassal’s eyebrows trembled .
“When the dream ends, the curse will be complete . Once your majesty dies in the dream, your esteemed self may turn crazy here . ”
If his dream avatar died, so would his real self . The traitor cursed the king’s life, as if he was playing a joke . If the nightmare does end, then, with his soul pulverized, the reincarnation loop may be permanently broken .
Whether if they were Angels, Devils, or Gods, one would still fear this curse . Death typically starts a new beginning, but the curse may create an eternal end once he died in the dream .
“Now your majesty, we must temporarily stop in trying to make your dream self realize the truth . It is more important to prevent your death in the dream . ”
“Agreed . Do you have any methods?”
“We can gather the best wizards and priests to research about this matter . Maybe they will discover a method to interfere with the devil-like disease and overcome the dream . ”
“ . . . Is that possible?”
“Believe in me, even though I have been incompetent, all of our power will be focused on blocking your death in the dream . Trust me, your majesty . ”
The elderly loyal retainer respectfully lowered his head .
The king replied in a serious manner .
“Please do me this favor . ”
***
One morning, the section chief, Park Haechul, became annoyed .
“Today as well? You still can’t contact him?”
“Yes, the phone is still off . ”
“Hm, why did this guy not report in . ”
Since yesterday, Han Seo Jin has been absent from work and didn't give any notice . When he failed to report to work yesterday, the manager was going to rebuke him for the unexcused absence, but even now it was hard to get in touch with him .
“This guy has been faithful on his attendance for 4 years, why this sudden missing status?”
“He is going to the hospital for treatment . I wonder if anything went wrong?”
“What illness, he said he was fine . ”
“But that’s the only explanation I can think of . As section chief knows, the guy hasn’t been absent for 4 years . I am sure he wouldn’t leave without notice if it wasn’t major . . . ”
At that time, Park Haechul became worried . He wondered if something had happened to Han Seo Jin .
However, around 2:00 PM, Han Seo Jin appeared . Seeing him, Park Haechul was a bit relieved, but he soon became displeasured .
“Han Seo Jin-ssi, is this company a joke to you?”
“ . . . I’m sorry . ”
“Why didn’t you call me? If you really felt sick, you should’ve reported to the company for sick leave . Don’t you know that is proper etiquette?”
Han Seo Jin silently listened and, without a word, took out a white envelope . Park Haechul was somewhat shocked, but he quickly regained composure and had a stern expression .
“I didn’t know you were such a person . After having unexcused absences, fo you think that taking leave would resolve the issue? Working in a company isn’t that easy, you should already know that Han Seo Jin-ssi . What are you trying to do? Are you protesting?”
“I have been diagnosed with end stage pancreatic cancer . ”
“Pancreatic… . . What?”
Park Haechul, who was giving him a lecture, quickly changed his expression .
Han Seo Jin stared at the shell-shocked section chief, and with a trembling voice, continued to speak .
“I confirmed the diagnosis with 3 hospitals . The cancer has metabolized to other locations in my body, it will be hard to treat . ”
“Well then…”
“I’ve been told to just enjoy the remainder of my life . ”
“Ah… I’m really sorry . I don’t even know what to say…”
“No, I should have called in for leave . At the time I was unable to think of doing that, I apologize for the inconvenience . ”
“No, young man! Is the 'calling in' a problem to worry about now? You are going to die, I wouldn’t even think of calling if I was in your position…”
Embarrassed, Park Haechul repeatedly apologized for the misunderstanding . He was also an ordinary employee . How could he criticize Han Seo Jin for missing a day of work? Especially in that circumstance?
“Please take care of my resignation letter . ”
Ah, I understand . Wait a moment! Don’t leave immediately, please rest in the break room for now . ”
Han Seo Jin thought the section chief’s response was weird, but agreed . He entered the break room and rested for a bit . He sadly looked around and thought that this would be his last time here .
An hour later, Park Haechul came back .
“I’m the head of the human resources department, Jung Choong Shik . I’m sorry about your unfortunate situation . ”
“ . . . Thank you for your consolation . ”
Han Seo Jin bowed and wondered, why did the head of human resources come here?
“I came here to… I wanted to express my regret for your unfortunate situation as a representative of the company . I’ve prepared a years worth of compensation payment, as well as your severance pay . Moreover, instead of a resignation you shall be marked down as dismissed . That way you shall receive unemployment benefits as well . ”
“Really? Thank you . ”
Due to the elopement between his mom and the bastard, his bank account was wiped of any money . If the compensation payment, severance pay, and unemployment benefits were added together, he could relax for the remainder of his life . He could even get treatments to prolong his life or fix his current mistakes .
Hearing this, the eyes of Jung Choong Shik brightened .
“If that is the case… could you sign here?”
What he had presented was a contract . Han Seo Jin did not know what this document consisted and glanced at it .
“This is an agreement that you shall not file any occupational lawsuits against the company . Due to the outstanding benefits you are receiving, I hope you will sign this contract . ”
“Occupational lawsuits?”
Han Seo Jin had never thought about this before, so he was slightly confused .
From the side, Park Haechul told him with an apologetic tone .
“Han Seo Jin, you should know that the company is suffering through lawsuits pertaining to leukemia patients these days . In fact, what does pancreatic cancer have to do with the chemicals used when working in a semiconductor environment? … But for the company's sake, I have to be sure about your future actions relating to the company . Please understand my circumstances . ”
“ . . . ”
“Ah, you know how it is . The environment where Han Seo Jin-ssi has minimal contact with chemical agents . Even if you did come in contact with said chemicals, would it have caused the cancer? Of course we know that Han Seo Jin-ssi isn’t like others that create trouble for the company . You are a loyal employee, which is rare these days . Don’t think too hard, sign the agreement . Afterwards, you can get an additional yearly salary without much effort . ”
Han Seo Jin alternately observed the faces of these two . Park Haechul’s eyes held an essence of making a request, while Jung Choong Shik was arrogantly watching him .
This haughty gaze seemed to ask him, ‘What are you going to do about it?’
During his time with the company, he had seen numerous eyes similar to these . At first, this look made him uneasy until he had gotten used to them . After working for four years, Han Seo Jin had long gotten used to this intimidation technique .
He didn’t know why .
Han Seo Jin was a tad offended by this arrogant gaze, then he grew surprised at his reaction .
“ . . . I will sign it . ”
Jung Choong Shik smiled and said .
“You made the right decision, thank you for your cooperation . ”
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