Chapter 52: Sisters (I)
Dan Woo slowly disintegrated his Cha Hwa Rim mask as it withdrew back inside him, while he slowly walked toward a beaming Cha Ha Rin. His mind was going through various thoughts. How was he supposed to convince her that this isn’t real, that it’s just an illusion? How was he to convince her they needed to go back to the real world? She had just won her award. Would it be too heart-wrenching to tell her this isn’t real? And in his real form, would she even believe him? She most probably had her memories missing. Wouldn’t that be an issue?
The questions kept coming and coming, yet he continued walking toward the happy Cha Ha Rin, who was lost in the sea of people enjoying the appreciation and applause for her work.
Yet when Cha Ha Rin seemed to notice Dan Woo in the crowd of people, the surrounding area and its people seemed to shift in attitude. The people became silent for a second in unison before returning back to normal.
That small gap in silence gave a sense of chill and eeriness, which seemed to startle Dan Woo, but he remained calm and composed as he walked toward Cha Ha Rin, who was still talking to the many people having fans flock to her, wanting to meet and interact with her, with many talking about how excited they are for the second season of the comic The Great Shaman Cha Hwa Rim and the release of the physical copy of the first season.
Everyone seemed to be happy and excited.
Cha Ha Rin continued talking with the people around her as Dan Woo slowly crept in. He wanted to talk to her, but he gave her the time to interact with her fans.
When suddenly, an unknown number called.
He hesitated for a second before deciding to pick up. After all, he knew the number was from the existence that possibly locked him and Cha Ha Rin in the painting. He needed to find out its end game.
He picked up and immediately—
"Who are you?"
The question came out with power and frustration, drilling through the phone.
The other side was silent for a second before it spoke up again.
"Have you remembered?"
Dan Woo didn’t even give it time to think.
"What do you want?"
"Good. It seems you have. Time is ticking. You need to remember."
"Please, answer me. Who are you and what do you want?"
"It will all be answered in time. But first, don’t you have something to accomplish? After all, the hardest thing to accomplish is to convince a seduced human being, and your sister... sorry, sisters, are very comfortable with their situations. So what will it be?"
"Where is Kim Soo Won?"
"When disaster and pain strike, what do you think humans do? Humans are prisoners of their own circumstances, and the best prison is usually one they create for themselves."
"Just answer me. Who are you? And where are you hiding Kim Soo Won?"
"You have both of those answers, don’t you? After all, you made very good use of my authority. Anyway, I have to go. I have a grand plan to attend to. Hope to see you soon. Don’t keep me or your sister waiting."
Then suddenly, the call dropped off.
Leaving Dan Woo frustrated.
"Unnie, are you okay?" A voice suddenly cut through the frustration.
"Yeah, I am. Don’t worry," Dan Woo said unconsciously as he turned to notice Cha Ha Rin standing next to him, unsure when she had appeared.
He was confused as to why she remembered, as he thought she too had lost her memories.
"You remember?" Dan Woo suddenly asked.
Cha Ha Rin simply breathed and sighed. She didn’t want this to come so soon.
"Follow me," she said as she suddenly started to walk away.
Dan Woo slowly followed her outside the venue and out into the starry sky. The night breeze grazed their skin as the city lights from the vantage point of the area reflected in a beautiful dance of the night cityscape.
"You see all this?" Cha Ha Rin finally spoke. "It’s all mine."
"What do you mean?"
"I am finally freed here, Unnie," Cha Ha Rin finally said. "I-I know that your memories are back, but can you stay with me?"
Dan Woo finally caught on.
"This isn’t real, Harin. We need to go back to the real world."
"But it is for me, Unnie... Do you remember what my dream was when I was a child?"
"Of course. That is to be a cartoonist."
"Yeah, sure. But do you know why?"
"...No?"
"We were born different, Unnie, and being different in the real world is tiring. It only brings about suffering, pain, and endless torture. But within books, within this world..."
She suddenly raised her hand as a wave of spirituality flowed before a digital drawing tablet formed.
"With this, I could do anything I desired, like turning night to day."
As she said this, she scribbled on the drawing tablet. Suddenly, the night sky became day.
"In here, I am free and able to pursue everything, whether it be my desire to be an artist or live among my peers as the one to be looked up to, not to be rejected, or even if I want to fall in love. It’s all available at my fingertips. The only missing piece was you, but now you are here. Can’t we enjoy our days together?"
Dan Woo looked at Cha Ha Rin as her vacant face from before her kidnapping appeared in his mind.
"Was she being bullied?"
Dan Woo wanted to ask what was going on, if she was having a hard time at school, if the antimemetic fallout had impacted her in school, but once again, he stopped himself.
Instead, he took a seat on the steps as she followed him, and he tried to persuade her.
"Ha Rin, this place... it isn’t real. The people, they aren’t real."
"But they are. They are as real as you and me, as real as anyone who goes to sleep at night."
"Do you mean these people are real people dreaming?"
"Yeah."
"Ha Rin, don’t you find this wrong?"
"But I am not hurting anyone. Everyone is living their lives just as they would have. I just don’t feel so estranged here, so different."
"But the real world—"
"Unnie, please." Cha Ha Rin said, tears threatening to fall.
Seeing her state, Dan Woo decided to stop pressing.
"I am sorry. I won’t force you if you don’t want to leave with me... So tell me, how did you come to this situation after you were kidnapped?"
"Oh, that day? I suddenly lost consciousness when those people took me. I only woke up in a blank white room with canvas paper, an art stand, paint brushes, and pencils—everything you would need to make art.
"That’s when a voice told me, ’Draw to your heart’s content. Write its content.’ At first, I was anxious and wanted to get out of there, but the tools called to me, and that’s when I realised that not just the paper, but the whole room was canvas."
"Did the voice tell you what it wants?"
"Nothing. It just told me to forget all my pain and worries and let the pen dance."
"...I see... Is this because of Im Nari? Is it because of me?"
"No, no, Unnie. It’s not that way."
"I can understand her if she was freaked out, especially with me. I mean, who would believe I am your sister? I even wonder how you see me as your sister even though I look like this. Hasn’t the thought crossed your mind that I am not?"
"Unnie, do you believe in reincarnation?"
"Reincarnation?"
"Yeah."
Dan Woo thought through his own experiences and the bizarre nature of it all before answering.
"Sure, but why do you ask?"
"Because I do, and no matter what form you take, I will always be able to recognize you."
"So you think I am a reincarnation?"
"...You are my sister and only family. It doesn’t matter what form you take, as long as we can be together. Even if you are the man of a thousand faces."
"I see..."
Suddenly, a silence descended upon the area as the two, Dan Woo and Cha Ha Rin, went silent. Looking at the surrounding area as people went about the rhythm and rhymes of their lives.
"Do you really have to leave, Unnie?" Cha Ha Rin asked.
Dan Woo gazed at Cha Ha Rin as he contemplated the possibility of staying. After all, in here, he didn’t need to constantly search for a way to feed his system. Maybe he didn’t even need to solve the issue with his incarnation. He could just leave as himself. Maybe he could even convince Ha Rin to allow him to go back to being a screenwriter.
He would be free—not back to his complete original world, but he could at least have a bit of that in this chaotic wild.
The idea of remaining was thoroughly seducing him.
He suddenly opened his mouth.
"You can take as long as you need. As for me, I need to go back to the real world. When you feel ready, you can come back. Now, how do I get out of here?" he said as he stood up.
Cha Ha Rin could only sigh as she turned back to create a door.
"Unnie, you can come back here at any time you want."
Dan Woo opened the door and walked through. He could only hope that Cha Ha Rin would remain safe, as he wasn’t sure what the person who put her there wanted.