I Returned, and Now I See Strange Things-Chapter 30: Dream

Clatter, clatter.

A strange energy filled the inside of the subway train.

Though it was clearly in motion, the interior of the train was unnaturally dark—enough to make one question it.

The overhead lights, the only source of illumination, flickered on and off—until,

Crack!

With a sharp sound, thick darkness fell over the entire train car.

But no one paid it any attention.

The train continued to move forward.

The passengers only swayed with the motion of the train.

They looked less like living humans and more like decorations—void of any sign of life.

Screech, screeeech...

With the sound of the brakes, the train began to slow.

The sudden deceleration caused people’s bodies to sway violently and bump into each other.

Crash! Slap!

Some even fell to the floor.

But not a single one let out a cry.

Not even a breath could be heard.

Once the train came to a full stop,

The tightly shut doors slid open,

And a delayed station announcement began to play.

—This stop is 'Millstone'. Please make sure you don’t disembark at the wrong station.

A nonsensical announcement.

Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.

And yet, no one showed any signs of confusion.

Whether it was because it didn’t matter to them—or because they lacked the capacity to even think about it—was unclear.

Meanwhile, a few people began to shuffle off the train with stiff, awkward movements.

Once no more passengers exited,

The doors closed.

A grating noise like stone scraping against stone echoed,

And then the screams began.

No longer lifeless—these were vivid, real screams.

Soon after, the train resumed its journey.

The screaming faded, growing more and more distant.

Leaving behind that desperate chorus, the train traveled for quite some time before reaching the next station.

—This stop is 'Six O’Clock'. Please make sure you don’t disembark at the wrong station.

Accompanied by an announcement from an unknown source,

Another group of passengers stepped off the train.

Then—

“W-What the fuck!?”

A man screamed and stumbled back onto the train in a panic.

Shaking with fear, his teeth chattering, the man cursed as he frantically looked around for somewhere to hide.

But there was no such place on a subway train.

And then, as a shadow suddenly descended—

The man was dragged off the train, crying out in pain.

Immediately after,

A grotesque, almost inhuman neigh echoed through the air.

And the man’s scream was the first to ring out.

Soon after, the doors closed, and the train departed with the man’s agonized wails fading into the distance.

Despite the commotion, none of the passengers—

Showed a hint of concern.

No.

There was one.

One man, seated quietly, staring down at the floor, holding his breath.

The only touch of color in that bleak gray space.

“I believed in you, unnie!”

As Hyeyeon shouted and hugged me, I thought I was going to suffocate.

The crushing force of those large fat deposits was that intense.

She smelled nice, but still.

Since it was already late, I decided to postpone greeting Hyesung’s parents until the next day.

I ended up falling asleep while recounting what had happened to Hyeyeon in her room.

When I rubbed my eyes and sat up, I saw Hyeyeon sleeping beside me.

With a strange feeling, I sat on the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Then the door swung open—

And an unfamiliar middle-aged woman appeared.

No—she wasn’t a stranger. She had to be Hyeyeon and Hyesung’s mother.

As a son of the Land of Morning Calm, I quickly came to my senses, jumped up, and bowed.

“G-Good morning!”

...Maybe it was because it’d been so long since I’d seen a friend’s parent.

But I bit my tongue by accident.

With a soft laugh, she said,

“I heard from Hyesung. He said you’re friends with Hyeyeon and Hyesung...”

“Ah, yes... yes, ma’am.”

When I looked up, I saw a woman who clearly passed down her genes to Hyeyeon standing there.

“I’ve prepared breakfast, so could you wake Hyeyeon and come out with her? That okay?”

“Ah, yes, I-I’ll do that.”

Her warm smile left a strangely comforting impression.

As she turned around with a gentle smile—

“Ah, w-wait!”

“Hm?”

I scrambled over and handed her the beverage gift set I’d bought the day before.

“Oh my? What’s this for...?”

“I was taught it’s rude to come empty-handed.”

Hyeyeon’s mother smiled and praised me for being a rare kind of young lady these days, then said she’d enjoy it and stepped out.

“...A young lady, huh.”

Somehow, that had more impact than being called “unnie.”

“Eugh...”

I shook off the bitter feeling and shook Hyeyeon awake.

The large masses of inherited fat jiggled from side to side.

“Mm... Mom, five more minutes...”

Now I’m a mom after being a ‘young lady’?

I shook her a little rougher, and Hyeyeon blinked her shadowy eyes open.

Then she looked around like she was trying to figure out the situation.

In a sleepy voice:

“...Unnie?”

“Breakfast.”

Then Hyeyeon sprang up and covered her face in embarrassment.

“Whaaat... you should’ve said something if you were up...”

“You’re awake now, aren’t you?”

Still half-asleep, Hyeyeon showed a surprisingly cute side as we went out to the living room together.

Unfortunately, her father had already left for work, so he wasn’t there.

Thus began our quiet breakfast.

Just like last time—it was incredibly delicious.

Seeing me eat like a starving beast, her mother packed me up with a bunch of side dishes for the road.

Probably helped that Hyeyeon was pecking at her food like a bird beside me—made me look even better.

Anyway, I got to ride back in Hyesung’s car, now armed with a bag full of side dishes and in a good mood.

Back home, I sorted out the side dishes with a little hum.

Felt good not having to worry about what to eat for a while.

As I chuckled in front of the fridge, Ignis’s voice rang out.

[You seem awfully pleased.]

“Yeah, it’s ‘cause you’ve never tasted food.”

[...Please summon my true body so I can eat.]

“No.”

[But I helped you so much last time!]

...She had a point.

“Still, summoning your true form just to eat? That’s a terrible deal.”

[Next time, something else might catch fire.]

“Fine! Not now, but... someday. You know how hard it is.”

[Hmph...]

Bringing out Ignis or Aslan’s full form outside of Entera is difficult in many ways.

The biggest problem is someone might see it.

And after that—

I simply don’t have enough power.

Even just partially summoning Aslan during the hide-and-seek ritual had drained me.

Put simply... I didn’t have enough fuel.

Part of it was my changed body, and part of it was that Earth, unlike Entera, didn’t overflow with magical power.

So to summon their true forms...

I’d either have to push myself harder, or retreat somewhere full of natural energy and gather strength.

But I’m someone who has to work.

Since I never know when Hyesung might call me for a shoot, I need to stay in touch and be ready to go.

It’s definitely not because I hate the idea of living in some deep forest drinking spring water.

...These days, people call that kind of thing “healing.”

I wonder if I’ll ever be able to feel healed by that sort of thing.

In any case, I didn’t need to worry about side dishes for now, so I kept washing rice and eating meals with what Hyeyeon’s mom had given me.

And I waited for Hyesung to contact me.

But... the guy didn’t get in touch.

It seemed like things had wrapped up fine, since the police hadn’t contacted me either.

Just in case, I checked his YouTube channel—and saw the video from the shoot with Arin had already been edited and uploaded.

So it wasn’t like that caused any trouble.

Other edited streams were being uploaded too, so he was still active.

‘...Don’t tell me this is the end?’

Afraid I’d just been fired, I sent a text to Hyeyeon.

Hyeyeon

Yes, unnie?

What’s your brother been up to lately?

Huh?

He hasn’t contacted me since the shoot.

Ah... Uh, I dunno? Now that you mention it, he hasn’t said anything to me either.

“Did I... actually get fired?”

[Oh no...]

[Perhaps he found out the truth.]

“That can’t be it.”

Random thoughts floated through my head.

Hadn’t it only been a few days since I said I liked this lifestyle? And already it was under threat?

Come to think of it, oppa’s looked kinda unwell lately... If he asked you, that means you don’t know either, huh?

Yeah?

He still comes over to eat sometimes, but he picks at his food. I checked his stream—he can’t focus at all.

It definitely seemed like something was wrong.

So... I wasn’t fired.

I replied to Hyeyeon briefly, then sent a message to Hyesung.

I didn’t know if it would help—but it had to help.

For both our sakes.

Not knowing what he was up to, I sent the message and waited for a reply...

When [N O V E L I G H T] I heard a knock at the front door.

“...Who is it?”

Was I expecting anyone?

Confused, I locked the chain and turned the handle.