Chapter 195 – Singer (5)
There are people with few flaws, but no one with absolutely none.
If someone were perfect from head to toe, that person would be a god.
That’s why humans, like other mammals, seek out partners with excellent genes to compensate for their own shortcomings.
‘Love is science too!’
Among the countless beautiful women I’ve encountered so far, the reason I’m drawn to Song Sun-young’s long, pretty legs is exactly the same.
…Because my legs are short?
Not exactly, but every time I had to shorten the legs of the expensive pants I bought, I felt it was such a waste.
‘I wonder what Sun-young thinks?’
I don’t know about reality, but in the dream, the young Song Sun-young was clearly attracted to me because of my exceptional stamina that made up for her own weakness.
“Oppa~”
Sway sway~
Every time I saw her growing more beautiful day by day, I had to firmly hold onto thoughts of my real-life girlfriend.
I became lovers with her again because I didn’t want to see her taken by another man, but if a real stamina-packed baby were to be born, there would be no turning back.
I don’t have the confidence to abandon a new life and return to reality.
“Shall we walk around school today?”
“Yes! There’s a nice walking path in the woods behind the school. It’s too small to really call it a forest, though.”
How could I not know? I spent three years at this high school too.
But this place holds great meaning for us.
It’s where I first seriously accepted the “occult” and decided my future.
If I had made the wrong choice here, I might still be trapped in the dream even now.
With massive hospital bills as a bonus.
Of course,
‘Shaman Yoo Il-am. Right on schedule.’
The man who pushed me off the school rooftop ended up paying those bills instead!
A black vehicle belonging to the “genius shaman” Yoo Il-am was visible on the school field.
His disciple was waiting with him until filming permission was granted.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say we were able to meet because the diligent homeroom teacher had invited him to school.
“The view’s nice. You can see the students leaving.”
We sat on a bench under the tree shade, looking down at our old school.
Swoosh—
Song Sun-young leaned her head on my shoulder and linked arms with me.
As if declaring she didn’t care about anyone watching, she even closed her eyes.
While reality and dream Song Sun-young differ in many ways, moments like this really make me feel they’re the same person.
“……”
“……”
We quietly enjoyed the silence.
I gazed at the school rooftop, waiting for Kang Moon-soo and Yoo Il-am to appear.
‘…No way?’
She hasn’t fallen into the dream, has she?
I cautiously called out to the unusually quiet girl.
“Sun-young-ah?”
“Yes, oppa. It’s so comfortable I’m getting sleepy…”
Swoosh—
Her sleepy voice was so cute that I couldn’t help but stroke her head.
An affectionate gesture I had never done to the same-age Song Sun-young in reality.
But here, perhaps because she was younger, she accepted my touch happily without resistance.
‘Nothing happened at all.’
The young Kang Moon-soo and Yoo Il-am, having reached the rooftop, finished their search without any notable incidents and came back down.
I decided to eavesdrop on their conversation using the “domain distance extension” technique I had recently learned from Mother.
(I have no intention of becoming your disciple.)
(You’ll regret missing the chance to become the disciple of the genius shaman Yoo Il-am, you know?)
(I absolutely won’t regret it.)
(I’ll do you a favor. No tuition fees!)
(Even if you paid me, I have no intention of becoming a shaman’s disciple. I have to go to my part-time job now, so please stop bothering me.)
Yoo Il-am was desperately trying to drag a “real shaman” onto his show.
(You’re still too young to understand how important this is.)
(Is there anything more important than making a living?)
(You don’t seem to know this industry, Kang Moon-soo student. Appear just a few times and you’ll make way more than your part-time job.)
(I’m not the one earning it.)
(Ugh…)
I used to be one of the many people who looked down on “shamans.”
I thought of Yoo Il-am—who would do anything for view counts—as little more than a fraud’s cousin.
(Thank you for coming.)
(I’ll give you 15% of the broadcast revenue on top of your convenience store part-time salary. It might sound small, but it’s still way more than what I give my current disciples.)
(…Really?)
I was far too weak to money.
(Ask any ten people passing by if they know the genius shaman Yoo Il-am. Even if not all of them do, at least one will. Imagine the rumor spreading that someone like me scammed a high school student. I’d never be able to show my face again.)
(Hmm…)
(I’m not asking you to come every day. Just Wednesdays and Saturdays. On other days, whether you work your part-time job or go drinking with girls, I won’t interfere at all.)
That’s pretty radical, isn’t it?
Even the young Kang Moon-soo seemed to think the same.
(…What exactly would I have to do?)
(It’s simple. To prove you’re a real shaman, you just have to reveal P’s aptitude test result sheet live on air and act as my disciple.)
(What kind of acting?)
(When your master—I—does something, you just chime in or react. Editing and filming will be handled by my first disciple. He’ll become your senior brother.)
(I’ll think about it.)
(Haha! Looking forward to working with you!)
(I said I’d think about it…)
(Here’s my business card. If any other shamans approach you, don’t even talk to them. They’re all frauds.)
(I’ll think about it.)
For now, the conversation ended there, and the young Kang Moon-soo and Yoo Il-am parted ways.
‘Things are turning out hilariously.’
If.
It’s a pointless hypothetical, but if I had never met Song Sun-young, things probably would have flowed similarly to this dream.
(Moon-soo-ya~!)
(Noona, hello.)
(You’re late today?)
(A shaman came to school.)
(Oh, I see~)
The Ranuvel patient—who had quickly established herself as a “singer” in reality using her experience—was greeting the young Kang Moon-soo warmly.
Her goal: my bloodline and abilities.
And from there, the overwhelming fame and power that would follow.
But everything has its proper order.
If I don’t awaken my abilities as a “shaman,” none of the rest matters.
“Oppa, are you meditating?”
“…Shall we head out soon?”
“Yes!”
I wanted to keep watching the “young Kang Moon-soo”—who never met Song Sun-young on the rooftop—and see what choices and judgments he would make next, but I couldn’t forget why I entered this dream in the first place.
Skiing, luge/skeleton, equestrian.
To solve all three at once, I proposed an overseas trip to Song Sun-young.
“ Siberia…?”
“If you take a plane from here and fly straight north for about four hours.”
“I-I know that. But it’s so sudden…”
Siberia.
That region—covered in snow year-round—has excellent ski resorts clustered together, and the sled dogs from that bloodline are top-tier.
As for horses, if you head just a bit south from Siberia, there are countless stables raising everything from food-grade to racehorses!
The plan is for me to scout them here, then have Mother purchase them on my behalf in reality.
“I have to compete in the Winter Olympics three years from now. As a national representative of the Holy Roman Empire.”
“Why you, oppa?”
“My aptitude isn’t athlete, but let’s say it’s to spread the glory of the gods.”
It’s not a lie.
Just that the Winter Olympics I’ll be participating in will be the same yet different.
“Ah…”
“Of course, I’m not saying we go right away. Your Summer Olympics come first.”
“With the Olympics so close, won’t it be hard?”
“Why? Your mother—who was a national team member—has connections, doesn’t she?”
“It’s because my skills aren’t good enough.”
“Don’t feel pressured. What’s the big deal if you don’t win a medal at the Olympics? You’ll still be pretty even if you don’t.”
“You idiot…”
Song Sun-young twisted her pretty legs in embarrassment, and the sight was utterly lovable.
I mentally saved it as one of my treasures.
A scene I could never see in reality—so this dream was worth entering.
‘I was curious about this too!’
In the original flow, she gave up on the Olympics because of my persuasion and became a swimsuit model instead.
That always weighed on my mind. It felt like I had blocked her success.
It’s an irreversible “what if,” but like Pandora’s box, I couldn’t help wondering.
“Shall we go to the sea?”
“Oppa, do you have a car?”
“Of course!”
To drive around the vast Siberian plains—where public transportation is almost nonexistent—I had already gotten my driver’s license.
Where did the money come from?
Mother taught me how to beg, but I chose a different method: relieving desperate gamblers of their money.
100 matches, 100 wins!
I got banned quickly because I drained them too fast in a short time, but the activity funds I’d already earned were substantial, so I wasn’t too upset.
“What kind?”
“I’ll show you tomorrow.”
“Okay!”
The yellow sports car with a frog-face front that the real Song Sun-young drives.
By including the car in my domain, I could avoid even massive traffic accidents—so I boldly invested.
‘I’ll get tons of practice here, then go back to reality and get my license for real!’
All in all, this isn’t a bad dream at all.
***
It might seem like I have enough free time to date a younger girlfriend, but that’s absolutely not the case.
…More precisely, I became so busy precisely because I had free time and ended up doing all sorts of things—including getting a driver’s license.
A prime example:
“Hmm.”
Whenever I have a spare moment, I use my smartphone to catch up on novels, manhwa, movies, dramas, and more.
Every Ranuvel patient bases their dream world on either the present era or the setting of some work.
If someone has truly exceptional imagination, they might create an entirely new dream world from scratch—but I haven’t seen that yet.
‘Imitation is the mother of creation!’
There’s nothing completely new in a world touched by human hands in every corner.
Fantasy, martial arts, romance, modern…
And when you add religion—the essence of “classic fantasy”—it becomes perfect!
I only learned this time that Christian angels are exclusively “male.”
“This one…”
I could use this later when persuading patients.
Regardless of male-oriented or female-oriented works, angels appear almost as often as fairies in fantasy novels.
Usually as women.
If someone argues that angels in alien worlds include females, I’d have no comeback—but in dreams set on Earth, this should work perfectly.
「A Good Day for Fortune-Telling! Chapter 116」
「My Disciple Has Changed! Chapter 6」
「Damn Shaman Brat! Chapter 34」
「Yoo Il-am’s Ghost Hunt! Chapter 45」
“Hmm…”
In the meantime, the young Kang Moon-soo had become the disciple of the fake shaman Yoo Il-am.
His living conditions noticeably improved once he started receiving broadcast appearance fees from Yoo Il-am, but he wasn’t even utilizing his “shaman” aptitude, let alone awakening any abilities.
‘Kang-hoon’s been quiet too.’
Their relationship remained the same, but he never asked to treat his half-brother Choi Kang-min.
The change?
Every time he met the young Kang Moon-soo, he compared Yoo Il-am to a mosquito or a leech and cursed him out.
And the variable?
(Moon-soo-ya! Try entering the Olympics.)
The Ranuvel patient ‘Lee Na-yeon’—who knew my bloodline and future—was egging him on.
But she didn’t know the details either, so her persuasion wasn’t very effective.
(Noona, why the Olympics all of a sudden?)
(You’re a shaman!)
(That’s why I’m asking… I’m not an athlete. Why would I go to the Olympics?)
(J-Just do it anyway!)
(Okay.)
Unable to resist the urging of his older, successful singer girlfriend Lee Na-yeon, the young Kang Moon-soo tried out swimming, track and field, and taekwondo at a sports university.
But the results were a complete failure!
A “shaman” without any foundation built in the dream was no different from an ordinary person with zero standout talent.
As for Song Sun-young…
“Oppa~!”
“Yeah. I’m watching.”
Thanks to her mother Jang Seo-yeon’s connections as a former national team member, her aptitude, and her current performance, she managed to enter the second-tier team without much difficulty.
But second-tier.
She had only just begun training, and being young gave her room for growth—but her weak stamina meant limited practice volume, and limited practice meant her physical completion remained low.
And crucially,
“Oppa~!”
“…I’m watching, I swear.”
She spent far more time looking at me sitting in the stands on my smartphone than she did actually practicing swimming.
“Son~”
“You’re here.”
“I’ve been here for a while. With the future changing, the Empire’s policies changed too. I was curious, so I went to take a look.”
“Ah…”
“Word of Yoo Il-am’s disciple has reached even the other side of the globe.”
“…….”
The unusual tone in Mother’s voice gave me nothing but ominous premonitions.
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