LD - 1 . Slave and King (1) (unedited)
The king had a dream about a slave .
In the dream, he lived dozens of years as the slave . His dream was so vivd that he thought the life was real . When the king dreamt of being a slave, he even forgot that he was a king .
In his dream, dozens of years had passed, but in reality little time had passed .
The king woke up and looked around .
Within the luxurious golden bedroom, faithful vassals were on their knees and high priests were praying for his complete recovery .
“Your majesty, your deceptive dream is only a curse . Please overcome it . ”
Suddenly, the king had a thought .
Did the slave dream of being a king, or was a king dreaming of becoming a slave?
Which is the dream and which is reality?
***
“Han Seo Jin-ssi, what did the hospital say?”
As he stood in line with his work uniform on, his coworker asked that in passing .
“I will know the results when they come out . ”
“Don’t worry too much . Everything will be fine . There are many misdiagnoses of cancer at the early stages . Han Seo Jin-ssi, you are young, so it can’t be cancer . ” Spoke the 40 year old coworker without worry, but Han Seo Jin couldn’t readily agree .
The doctor’s complexion seemed extremely poor when meeting him .
“Mhm, to begin with, they have to take a biopsy again . Then there will be another discussion after the results of the biopsy are out . ”
An ominous feeling arose from the multiple interrogations in the past . Each time the results came out, the doctor would later conceal the truth of his results .
Han Seo Jin was working at the assembly line, and then looked down at his chest . He kept thinking about the doctor’s facial expression . His heart raced faster than usual .
‘If it really is cancer, then what should I do?’
His every thought made him feel hopeless .
When he was young, his parents divorced and pushed the family to poverty . With his sister, the two siblings relied upon their mother’s support for basic living needs .
Soon after graduating high school, he got an assembly job at a semiconductor factor . After 4 years of working 3 shifts a day, he earned a large sum of money . Though to others, this was not a large sum of money .
However last year, his mother withdrew all his money and vanished without a trace . She had eloped with a man she met in a restaurant .
“Idiot, why did you entrust all your salary to mom? I told you to do withdrawals yourself . ”
His younger sister criticized him with tears in her eyes . It is heartbreaking for a mother to abandon her children for something less important like money .
She even broke contact with them completely by getting rid of her cell phone number . He still doesn’t understand how she could be so cold .
Han Seo Jin glared at the process line .
The conveyor belt had an abundance of products riding it . At each section, there were employees getting immersed in working . He was one of them .
Time for work .
Now, he put aside his grudges against his mother and worry for his disease .
“Get up . Lunchtime is over . ”
Thump . He glanced at the hand that patted his shoulder .
“Han Seo Jin-ssi, you’ve been taking multiple short naps lately . Come to think of it, you’ve lost a lot of weight . Is your body alright? Why don’t you go see your doctor?”
Han Seo Jin awkwardly smiled at his worried coworker . He had already went to the hospital, his diagnosis was either cancer or something else he did not know .
“I know, my body has been too tired lately . At random moments, I would fall asleep for an extended amount of time .
“That is unexpected fatigue . Don’t forget to take vitamins for it . Don’t you know you should take care of your body while you’re young?”
“Thank you so much for the concern . ”
“Let’s go in now . ”
Han Seo Jin dragged his sluggish body . His head throbbed as the sun shone down on him . A headache suddenly formed, causing sleep to seem as a sweet dream .
‘This wretched headache…’
He scowled his eyes .
Was this headache related to cancer? They did not examine him for brain tumors .
After lunch ended, Han Seo Jin continued to work the process line . He repeatedly executed his job assignment at his spot .
Coworkers tend to find such repetitive simple work to be boring, but Han Seo Jin thought this type of work was great . Compared to his poverty-ridden childhood, being able to work for a living was a blessing .
‘The results of the examination come out tomorrow . I’m sure its nothing . ’
Han Seo Jin calmed himself down, and continued his role as a simple gear in the huge factory .
After he finished his 3 shifts, it was time to go home . But a part of the coworkers left to have some alcohol .
Han Seo Jin did not want to associate with that group . He went home and entered his bathroom to wash up .
On the mirror, a face that was more gaunt than before appeared before him . He scowled and washed his face .
Due to his poor appetite, he prepared for a simple dinner . He reluctantly ate some spoonfuls and laid down in his sick bed .
‘It will be alright . It will be alright…’
He repeated this mentally until he fell asleep .
***
He awakened and saw a bright chandelier .
The king sluggishly arose from the bed and blinked as he looked around the room . Thin veils hung over the bed, and he could see a beautiful woman holding silver containers of wine . Their eyes met and she immediately proceeded to bow to the king .
“Where is this…”
A mind-splitting headache surged into his head . In his confusion, the events between dreams and reality entangled with each other . Multiple words invaded his head .
Republic of Korea . Lenorjian . Han Seo Jin . Arthur . Slave . Lofty king . Dream . Curse . And traitor .
Who is Han Seo Jin, and where was he? Who am I, where am I . . .
“Your majesty, wake up . ”
A vassal’s voice, like cold water, brought him to his senses . He was confused about his dizzying memories that abruptly appeared .
Instantly, the king understood the situation .
Which is a dream, which is reality .
Kneeling in front of him was the faithful Archmage, Noshina . He observed quietly and opened his mouth .
“With my permission… tell me how long was I asleep?”
A tanned maid politely replied . “4 hours, your majesty . ”
“Unfortunately, we failed this time . ”
The king continued to speak calmly .
“I do not understand everything that happens in the dream . I did not know who I am or my name . I did not understand the events that occured in the dream . The curse is very powerful . The wish to move the dream to one’s desires is difficult . Currently, it’s best to continue enduring it . ”
So one month’s dream is one hour in reality . Han Seo Jin is just an imaginary person from the dream, not him . The king let a shabby slave-like life, lacking almost everything .
The king mumbled to himself .
“Curse… this curse has worked for so long, about a year . ”
The old vassal urgently bowed forward, as if rebuked by the king .
“Sorry, your majesty . Your servant’s ability is too poor… your servant will bet on his life on finding the cure . We will, without fail, solve your curse! . ”
“I am not reprimanding you . ”
The king silently shook his head in disagreement .
The intense confusion he had when he first woke up, already disappeared .
“How is the Karsharai clan doing? Are they still imprisoned in their fief?”
“Your majesty . ”
The old vassal hardened his face and spoke heavily .
“They were one in-laws with the royal family, but now they are a traitorous family . Confining one’s family in their fief already goes against the law . We are already bending the laws for them .
“ . . . ”
“Please do not weaken your heart more . Your subjects petition for the extermination of the Karsharai family has reached the heavens . The Karsharai family must be punished . Please reach a decision about this . ”
The king let out a bitterful laugh .
Earl Karsharai . The Earl, who sired the Queen, was once a noble who received the people’s love . Overnight, they were branded as a treasonable family, and imprisoned since long ago to work on their fief .
The old vassal, like a overboiled kettle of water, advised in a grave tone .
“The traitor boldly placed an ancient curse on your majesty, why give mercy to that family?”
Chapter end
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