Chapter 51: Rest
Under the starry sky in the middle of the vast ocean stood a woman. She could see the tides rise and fall. There was this biting wind that scraped against her skin, and wavy shadows just sat at the edge of her vision. But what scared her was the ever-progressing tide. She had tried doing all she could—running, swimming, even drowning—but she couldn’t escape that wave. That torrential roar was inescapable. Her body seemed rooted, unable to escape the screams of the sea.
She could only relent as the wave of voices after voices quickly rose against her, washing over her, hearing every word, every thought, everything that there is to be heard, feeling every emotion there is to feel. Unable to fight against the heaviness of it all, when suddenly—
"Cha Hwa Rim."
That familiar voice called out to her. She could feel her hope linger as she drowned out the passing screams and focused on that singular voice.
"The Great Cha Hwa Rim."
Suddenly, Cha Hwa Rim opened her eyes to meet the face of her sister, one who was expectant. Cha Hwa Rim could only groggily sigh as she rubbed her eyes and temples, washing away any remainder of sleep from her eyes.
"Unnie, did you have a nightmare again?"
Cha Hwa Rim turned to look at Cha Ha Rin as she stretched out her hands.
"Nothing to worry about, our master cartoonist."
"Are you sure?"
"Aren’t you supposed to be heading to school?"
"Unnie, have you forgotten?"
"Forgotten? What have I forgotten?"
"Unnie... We are supposed to go to school together today."
"...Oh, we had an appointment today. Sorry, Ha Rin. Had a very busy day yesterday. Clients are lining up now more than ever. People like my designs, don’t they?"
"Unnie, we will be late."
"Yeah, yeah."
Cha Hwa Rim said as she stood up, ready to go freshen up.
"Give me some minutes while I freshen up. I will make breakfast, then we can head to school."
Cha Ha Rin nodded as she checked the time on her phone before sighing and walking to the living room.
Cha Hwa Rim quickly freshened up in the bathroom, wore something simple, before jumping into the kitchen to prepare something small that the two of them could eat.
As she did this, a new message popped onto her phone.
It was the same old message saying the same words.
Remember.
Yet Cha Hwa Rim wasn’t sure what she was supposed to remember.
This was the fourth time this month. Different numbers, but the same message: Remember.
It pointed towards a link to a drama show.
What was she supposed to remember, my eternal knight? Whose eternal knight?
She did her ritual of blocking the number and resumed preparing the small breakfast for her sister and herself. After they had their fill, the two of them took to Cha Hwa Rim’s motorcycle.
"Unnie, today you are not doing your usual style. Do you perhaps have a date that I don’t know of?" Cha Ha Rin said as she giggled.
"Shut up, Ha Rin, and just wear your helmet." Cha Hwa Rim said as her eyes rolled. "You don’t want your teachers to suddenly call the cops on me?"
"Right. You look good, though."
Cha Hwa Rim jumped onto the motorcycle, with Cha Ha Rin following behind her, hugging and holding onto her before the two of them zoomed across the city to Hanseoung Academy.
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In a mundane area with computers, student files, and loads of paperwork, along with the scent of ink and morning coffee, sat two people—a young man in his mid, maybe late twenties, and a young woman in her early twenties.
"So far, Cha Ha Rin’s schoolwork looks good, but I feel her potential could be better. Looking through..."
The young teacher continued speaking, yet Cha Hwa Rim wasn’t listening. She was still processing all the information that was flooding into her right now.
A few minutes earlier, she received the same message from a different number, asking if she truly gave up on her sister. That was when she decided to call the phone, but before she could get any words in, she could hear an orchestra playing on the other end.
As this happened, Cha Hwa Rim’s missing memories, which she didn’t even realize were missing, came flooding back.
She remembered when she was still in the churning mist, unable to escape, and then she opened the door.
Only to find herself in the middle of an ocean.
The water was just water, but within it were the thoughts of everyone and everything—the sound of the collective consciousness, emotions, feelings—that almost drowned her. It only stopped when she finally clutched onto a sudden, familiar thought, feelings, emotions, and memories, finding herself in front of that portrait from her ’divination.’
For weeks now, she was unsure what that dream meant.
But now she knew.
It wasn’t a dream.
It was a memory.
And right now, they were living inside a painting.
"Cha Hwa Rim-ssi."
The male voice cut into her thoughts.
"What do you think?"
She could only nod to the man, pretending that she was listening.
"It is good."
She said as the man continued talking.
Dan Woo was still processing the situation and those words after the performance.
He could only relax a bit and just continue living this lie with Cha Ha Rin until she attended the webtoon awards for her nominated entry of The Great Shaman Cha Hwa Rim.
Cha Hwa Rim tried to summon his timer but found himself unable to summon it, and he felt a bit relieved.
Ever since he transmigrated, he had been jumping from one point to another. These three weeks felt like a relief for him.
Just Cha Hwa Rim, living as Cha Hwa Rim—a tattoo artist taking care of her younger sister.
Maybe there was an author that was controlling his fate, because he had just complained that he wanted to rest, and it was delivered to him.
But he didn’t give it a thought.
He only needed to attend the Manhwa Awards, see Cha Ha Rin happy, and then he could end it.
But what did that voice mean when it asked him which sister he would choose?
Was that a threat?
Had something happened to Kim Soo Won?
He could only sigh and continue playing the role of Cha Hwa Rim in this dream world.
He only hoped that not too much time had passed in the real world.