Chapter 108 – Palace Maid (1)
[Chapter 6 – Section 1] Protect Reality!
Life is a series of mountains: cross one and another appears. So let’s stay positive.
‘At least I’m still alive.’
I’m infinitely grateful for the chance to kneel like a criminal and beg until my fingerprints wear off!
How many girlfriends in this world won’t even give you time to kneel? I’m actually lucky.
“You somehow survived, huh?”
Chief Seo Hye-joo looked at my perfectly intact body like it was a miracle.
“I almost died.”
“You? The guy who could jump off a five-story building and walk away? I can’t picture it.”
“Song Sun-young.”
“…”
“She said there won’t be a second time.”
If she’d just threatened to kill me, I could’ve laughed it off nervously.
But it didn’t feel like an empty threat at all.
‘She’s way too scary!’
There’s probably no one on Earth with more suicide experience than Song Sun-young. Her words didn’t sound like a joke.
“That’s your karma.”
“…Yeah, it is.”
I let my guard down.
Kim Eun-jung, who possessed the protagonist of <I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Count’s Family.>, never knew about “Valentine.”
Nam Hae-soo, the emperor of swimming sent back to the past, died after leaving only a will, so he never told anyone he lost “Park Han-hee.”
‘It was my fault.’
At least back then I was just clueless and wandering.
But after confirming Sun-young’s feelings, the time I spent with “Mi-bong” in <Is This Heavenly Demon for Real?>
No excuse.
“What are you going to do?”
“About what?”
“The next Ranuvel patient. There are about 130 of them worldwide, right?”
“Ah…”
“If you’ve gained enough confidence to start your own business, I have a few patients I’d like to recommend.”
“…”
Business.
An unpleasant word. It means putting a price tag on human lives and picking favorites.
But it’s reality I can’t ignore.
‘I only have one body.’
Unless I quit completely, I have to set an order. I need fair criteria for lining them up.
Chief Seo’s recommendation criterion is the social influence of the patient or their guardian—the most rational one for now.
“So, what’ll it be?”
“…First priority: patients who will die soon if not treated, like Kang-min. Second priority: people like Mr. Nam Hae-soo, whose families won’t resent me even if they die during treatment.”
“Still nervous?”
“Yes.”
“Good thinking. Then when do you want to do the next one?”
“Give me a break for a while. Three hours ago I was on my knees begging my girlfriend. I need to live in reality too.”
“That’s your karma, isn’t it?”
Ahem!
She’s right, but I’m not going to prioritize strangers I’ve never met over my own life.
Besides…
‘Isn’t the dream world honestly better than reality?’
Living as a vegetable without ever waking up and dying when my energy runs out might actually be happier.
“…Ah!”
“What?”
“I want to try an experiment.”
“What kind?”
“Whether a recently fallen Ranuvel patient is easier to wake up.”
“Oh… that’s actually really interesting. If it’s proven, it’ll be a huge reference when setting priorities.”
“Right?”
If early treatment works, we could drastically cut down the time needed.
“If we’re talking about the most recent case… the patient who forcibly pulled you into a dream in the park should be perfect.”
“Is she in this hospital?”
“No. She’s at home. The parents couldn’t afford long-term hospitalization.”
“Ah…”
“Right now they’re suing the man who attacked their daughter with a weapon, but thanks to your nosiness there was no direct injury, so the case is dragging on.”
“You know the details well.”
She knew the patient’s situation so thoroughly it surprised me.
“Surprised?”
“Yes, honestly…”
“She’s completely worthless to treat.”
“Exactly.”
I gave an awkward laugh at Chief Seo’s blunt answer.
“But since you already saved her, might as well finish the job, right? And it’d be a waste to throw away the dream data you earned at such cost. That’s the biggest reason.”
“You’re right.”
“Want to prep right away?”
“Yes, but no rush. I’m not giving up my life for a patient.”
“I know.”
Time to start settling my delayed revenge, one by one.
***
I held a huge grudge against Mao Zhai for exposing my crimes in the dream, but the moment I saw the string of zeros in my bank account, my anger melted away.
This is the caliber of a true magnate!
A mere Wudang punk who only knows how to fight has no right to badmouth him.
“…I can’t let my guard down.”
There’s no guarantee my ability to wake Ranuvel patients will last forever. I can’t blow the money recklessly.
Save! Deposits! Installments! Pension!
Just like a father who ignored aptitude can fall to the next day, blindly trusting aptitude can backfire too.
“Coach, how are my times?”
“A bit slower.”
“Hmm…”
I sighed at Coach Jang Seo-yeon’s stopwatch verdict. I hadn’t swum once in the wuxia world. Hoping to instantly recover the physical ability I lost from dying was greedy.
‘It’s the inner energy problem.’
Until Mao Zhai beat me, I never met a real match, so I got lazy with training and spent time with Mi-bong instead…
Anyway, I slacked off!
“By the way, Moon-soo.”
“Yes?”
“Sun-young said she’s starting swimming again with a super wounded pride. Any idea why?”
“Uh… I think it’s because I got distracted by a mixed-race woman’s body during our date.”
The culprit was the blue-eyed princess from <Is This Heavenly Demon for Real?>, the author-certified best figure in the Central Plains.
How do I know the details?
Because Sun-young interrogated me on my knees for three hours.
“You messed up.”
“I’ve already been punished.”
“But it’s not necessarily bad stimulation, so don’t beat yourself up too much. She’s already established as a model, yet restarting the swimming she’d completely ignored is a good sign.”
“Well…”
The truth was a little more than “just distracted,” but since Sun-young hadn’t mentioned the dream, I didn’t need to.
Shaaa—!
Coach handed me a towel as I climbed out of the pool.
“With these times, 2000 m and 4000 m freestyle are no problem. 1000 m is decent enough for nationals, but a medal will be tough. 10 km you dominate so completely there’s zero worry.”
“Three events, then.”
“Greedy complaint. Most athletes get one event. Two if they’re extremely lucky.”
“Right.”
In the old times, the Emperor of Swimming Nam Hae-soo competed in multiple events alone, but once the P aptitude tester made hidden talents obvious, that became impossible.
Meanwhile, I have three swimming events.
I need to hurry.
“You already know this, but we’re in Olympic prep season right now. Don’t fall asleep for a while and take care of your body. The Olympics won’t wait for us. If you doze off again, we’re really giving up on this year.”
“I’ll be careful.”
Olympics.
They’re held every year, but missing one means you’re suddenly another year older.
Especially fatal in sports like swimming or track where pure physical ability matters more than experience or technique!
‘Two weeks left.’
If I’d woken up even a few days later from Mao Zhai’s dream, I wouldn’t have made the Olympic roster at all. They only waited because my marathon times basically guarantee gold!
“I’ll head out now.”
“You’re busy.”
“Better than being idle. Sun-young’s working hard too.”
“Well… lately my daughter stopped asking for allowance, so that’s nice.”
“Haha!”
I waved to Coach Jang Seo-yeon and left the university pool.
Swimming re-registered: done.
I also had to re-register for track and taekwondo, which had naturally fizzled out during my long absence.
‘Track won’t be a problem…’
The country doesn’t expect much from track anyway, so they’ll happily accept as long as I run the 100 km marathon.
The Issue is taekwondo.
Even after I knocked out the world #2 in one shot last time, they’re being extremely uncooperative.
“Hyung~!”
“Huh? Kang-hoon?”
Choi Kang-hoon, the junior I’ve known since elementary school. He was waiting outside the pool, surrounded by a swarm of female Sports University students.
…The man who has everything, as expected.
Feels like forever since I last saw him—and it really has been forever.
“You’re the worst! Every time I make time to meet you, you’re always sleeping!”
“Haha! Sorry, sorry!”
Kang-hoon looked a bit more manly than a few months ago. Anaerobic training, maybe?
His shoulders were slightly broader, arms thicker.
‘Something about him… he’s been way more motivated since Kang-min woke up.’
Catching the meaning in my gaze instantly, Kang-hoon puffed up proudly.
“I’ve been training hard!”
“Looks like it.”
“But hyung, you got even crazier in the meantime. Knocking out armed gangsters in front of school in seconds—and even the official taekwondo world #2!”
“It was nothing…”
In front of my girlfriend I’m just a powerless male, though.
“Just watch! I’m gonna become a cool man like you!”
“Y-yeah…”
Kang-hoon, you really don’t have to…
“I got intel that your swim practice ends around now, so I’ve been waiting ten minutes. What’s next on your schedule?”
“Ten minutes…?”
“Yeah! Didn’t wait long.”
“I see.”
Judging by the number of female students you’ve magnetically attracted, it looks more like an hour.
Life really is unfair.
“I’m heading to the taekwondo dojang. They say they can’t acknowledge me.”
“…They can’t acknowledge you?”
“Yep.”
“The Taekwondo Association… toward you… yeah, that tracks. Totally possible. It shouldn’t happen, but everyone makes mistakes!”
Choi Kang-hoon grinned ear to ear.
“Now that I think about it… you’re getting your aptitude test soon, right? Time flies.”
The Olympics and the aptitude test always fall around the same time. There are plenty of theories, but the most convincing is that it prevents excessive national attention from fixating on kids who draw god-tier aptitudes.
The classic example is Prophet.
Predicting unavoidable natural disasters or cataclysms with perfect accuracy makes them national-treasure-level 0-priority.
“Dad keeps pushing me to study abroad regardless of aptitude, so I’m torn.”
“Your old man… hmm…”
“What do you think, hyung?”
“I’d say wait until you see the result. It’s not too late.”
“Right! That’s exactly what I think! Tell Dad for me! He does whatever you say!”
“I’m not that—”
“It’s true!”
Kang-hoon kept tailing me all the way to the gym where the taekwondo dojang is.
“How’s Kang-min hyung doing?”
“After he recovered his stamina, he started helping Dad with work little by little. The dream knowledge seems pretty useful.”
“Ah…”
Felt like I got punched in the gut.
Magic boy Choi Kang-min.
A hypocrite who murdered his father, framed his little brother, then played hero; but he did know the future.
‘It won’t be exactly the same.’
A world where humans fly without wings can’t match reality 100 %, but in terms of knowing the big flow of the world ahead of everyone else, Kang-min was basically a Prophet.
“Oh, right! Kang-min hyung’s aptitude test result that kept getting delayed finally came out.”
“Oh! What is it?”
“Businessman.”
“…”
Perfect aptitude for the heir.
‘You idiot…’
If Choi Kang-min hadn’t bullied his half-brother when they were kids and hadn’t been trapped in that dream, he could’ve become the successor he wanted so badly.
“So I’m really torn too.”
“…Kang-hoon.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t decide anything until you see your result. If the aptitude sucks, just tell me. I’ll help you.”
“Got it!”
A taekwondo athlete loitering in front of the gym spotted me, freaked out, and bolted inside.
“He’s here…!”
“What? Kang Moon-soo?!”
“Training halted! Line up!”
The entire dojang erupted the moment they heard I’d arrived.
“People are gonna think I came to smash the place.”
“As expected of you, hyung!”
“Can you even come in here?”
“It’s fine. I bought some stocks while waiting for you.”
“Huh?”
I didn’t understand, but he said it’s fine, so it’s fine.
BAM!
I slammed the slightly ajar sliding door wide open and shouted.
“I’m baaack! Save time—come at me all at once…!”