I Returned, and Now I See Strange Things-Chapter 32: Bed Communication

At some point, Hyesung realized he had woken up.

The feeling of the bedsheets against his body.

Music drifting from his smartphone.

And... the sounds of commotion from outside.

His whole body was drenched in cold sweat.

Unlike the dream, the sensations he felt were vivid. Hyesung muttered quietly.

"...A dream?"

At the time, he simply thought that he was having restless sleep from visiting too many haunted places.

Dragging his exhausted body that hadn’t gotten proper rest, he started the day.

Hyesung went through the day looking more tired than usual, and that night, once again, he fell asleep after tossing and turning.

But contrary to his hopes, the dream continued.

When Hyesung opened his eyes within the dream, he realized he was still sitting inside the same subway train.

A shiver ran through him as his body trembled.

The train, right on cue, came to a stop and spit out more people.

And soon, screams of agony rang out again.

Followed by terrible sounds, as if people were being torn apart.

‘Why is this happening to me?’

The number of people inside the train kept decreasing.

As he watched them dwindle, Hyesung thought.

What happens when all of them are gone?

Does the dream end?

Is this even really a dream?

With those heavy thoughts swirling, Hyesung lifted his head—

And saw red liquid splatter across the window.

Outside the train, the scenery was drenched in someone’s blood.

Hyesung squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away immediately.

‘If I went out there...’

The dull but real-seeming sensation against his skin made him hesitate.

He didn’t have the courage to test it.

A series of agonies he’d never experienced in his life.

All Hyesung could do was curl up, wishing the dream would someday end, and try his best to block out the sounds.

Regardless of what he did,

The people inside the train continued to disappear, little by little.

And so, yet another dream came to an end, and Hyesung opened his eyes.

He hoped it had just been a coincidence and tried to get through another day.

When he looked in the mirror, the area under his eyes was dark and sunken.

‘...I’m so tired.’

Once again, Hyesung fell asleep—and once again, he woke up inside the train.

If it had happened not twice but three times, then...

It was no longer coincidence. It was inevitability.

Only then did Hyesung realize this wasn’t just something to brush off.

But there was nothing he could do.

All he could do was pray endlessly that nothing would happen.

And tremble in fear.

There weren’t many people left in the train now.

When Hyesung opened his eyes, he couldn’t think clearly.

Still, it was time to stream, so he got up on autopilot.

He thought he heard someone else’s voice today—

But he couldn’t tell whether it had really happened or was just a hallucination.

Now he was just scared of falling asleep.

There was no way a stream could go well under those conditions.

Eventually, he found himself muttering without realizing it.

"...I’ll post an update about the next stream. I don’t think I’ll be able to go on for a while."

And with that, the broadcast came to an end.

In the dim monitor reflection, Hyesung’s face stared back at him.

It was the kind of face that would prompt concern from viewers.

The skin under his eyes was as dark as if makeup had been applied, and a closer look revealed they were bloodshot.

Hyesung rubbed his dry, gritty eyes.

"...I’m so sleepy."

But... he didn’t want to fall asleep.

He had the feeling that if he did this time, he might not come back.

If something terrible happened to him there... what would happen to his real self?

Images of horrifying ends he’d seen before flashed through his mind.

His sleep-deprived brain refused to think any further.

And then—

There was a knock at the door.

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***

I contacted Hyeyeon first to find Hyesung, since he wasn’t responding.

I’d always hitched rides with him before, so I didn’t actually know the exact location.

I hoped Hyeyeon could come pick me up, but... she didn’t have a license either, so we’d have to use public transport.

When we talked on the phone, she said she was already out and about.

She told me her estimated arrival time, and after checking, I figured if I left now, the timing would work out.

So I hurried to get ready.

Just enough to not look like a mess, pulled my hoodie on, and opened the still-squeaky front door.

Luckily, I could take the subway directly, so I didn’t get lost.

It had been a while since I’d ridden the subway—it was... surprisingly clean.

Aside from the hand grips being mounted way too high.

...I could just hold the pole, but it didn’t feel great.

Anyway.

After passing through the turnstile, I saw Hyeyeon sitting on a bench looking at her smartphone.

Feeling a sudden mischievous urge, I quietly approached so she wouldn’t notice, and poked her shoulder—tap!

"Kyah!?"

Hyeyeon jumped in surprise, flailing—and her smartphone went flying through the air.

I caught it before it hit the ground and grinned at her.

"Why are you so jumpy?"

"Y-you could at least make some noise when you walk..."

Hyeyeon scolded me, her still-darkened eyes furrowed.

I handed back her phone, chuckling, and she puffed out her cheeks like a hamster.

At the sight of that silly expression, I laughed and apologized, then we headed straight for Hyesung’s place.

On the way, Hyeyeon asked me a bit suspiciously:

"By the way... is this really important enough to come find him in person?"

"Mm... probably."

"But the videos are still going ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) up, right?"

"Yeah, but... it’s weird that he hasn’t replied to me. He always gets back right away, and now he’s suddenly silent—something’s definitely going on."

After hearing my answer, Hyeyeon murmured:

"Well, I guess he doesn’t edit his videos himself, so..."

"Really?"

"Yeah. At least that’s how I remember it."

We made small talk and arrived not long after.

I punched in the passcode I remembered, and the lock disengaged.

Unlike my squeaky old door, this one opened smoothly.

The place was dark—maybe he’d turned the lights off.

"Oppa?"

While I was taking off my shoes, Hyeyeon went ahead and called for him as she looked around.

Soon she knocked on the closed bedroom door, and Hyesung appeared.

...Whatever had happened to him—

The phrase "he looks like hell" sprang to mind unbidden.

"What the hell happened to you...?"

I muttered, and our eyes met.

Only then did Hyesung seem to realize something. His eyes widened—and he collapsed to the floor as if his legs gave out.

"P-please help me..."

"Start from the beginning. Tell me what’s going on."

Hyesung nodded silently, and I followed him into the room.

He slowly began to explain what had happened.

At first, he’d thought he was just having nightmares from visiting too many haunted places—but not only did the dreams keep continuing, he said he could actually feel sensations inside them.

If that had been all, he could’ve brushed it off as just nightmares.

But then he described the scenes he’d witnessed, and even I found it chilling.

Hyeyeon, listening with a serious face, murmured:

"This sounds... familiar somehow..."

Then she started searching through her phone.

In the meantime, I asked Hyesung:

"Have you ever stepped outside the train?"

Hyesung replied, shivering.

There was something... a little irritated in his voice.

"Y-you’re only saying that because you haven’t experienced it yourself! If you saw it with your own eyes—"

"I was just asking if you had. Calm down."

"...Sorry. I haven’t been sleeping properly because of this... No. I haven’t gone outside yet."

He rubbed at the dark circles under his eyes, looking just like Hyeyeon.

"Now I’m scared to fall asleep. There aren’t many people left in the train, you know? What happens if they all disappear? I hope the dream just stops, but... what if those things outside try to drag me out? If that happens, will I... end up like those people?"

Hyesung looked like he was in really bad shape.

Not just from sleep deprivation—he seemed completely gripped by fear.

"I mean, maybe I’d just have a heart attack here, but if it’s something worse over there..."

I reached out and took his trembling hand.

"...I’ll do something about it. So try not to worry too much."

"Y-you really mean that? Noona...?"

"Yeah."

It wasn’t exactly the same, but something similar existed in Entera.

Creatures that weakened you through nightmares, and then devoured you in your sleep.

[Creatures like that do exist in Entera... but whether it’s the same, I’m unsure.]

That was the issue.

As I was calming Hyesung and trying to figure out what to do, Hyeyeon’s voice rang out.

"Found it. I think this is similar..."

"Yeah?"

The file she pulled up was about a foreign urban legend called The Monkey Dream.

Reading through it carefully, there were definitely some striking similarities.

Recurring dreams.

Lifeless people suddenly going berserk.

Stuff like that.

But... it wasn’t exactly the same.

Aside from those parts, it could be considered a totally different story.

There was one problem, though.

"Why doesn’t this have a solution?"

"...How would I know?"

"What, seriously?"

Hyesung, listening, teared up with bloodshot eyes.

To calm him down, I said:

"...Anyway, even if the patterns are similar, it’s basically a different case."

"T-then what should I do?"

[There’s only one option.]

I nodded internally at Aslan’s words and told Hyesung:

"Sleep with me."

"What?"

"...Excuse me?"

The looks on both of their faces turned strange.