Episode 58. Nightmare (5)
It was dawn, and the world was steeped in quietness.
Kang Dae-oh not having slept until this hour wasn’t all that unfamiliar to him. Ever since he started his business, he had always lived with insufficient sleep. So, on weekends, he would usually catch up on his sleep. Because of this, he would sometimes hear a slight grumble from his wife. However, after Min Seung-yeon started her own business, she showed understanding as to why Kang Dae-oh tended to sleep so much on weekends.
He thought their peaceful daily life would continue, but lately, his second daughter had been a great concern. And the moment he heard the approximate reason from Kang Yera, Kang Dae-oh felt that he absolutely had to make time to have a sincere conversation with Kang Yebin in this way.
He headed to the second-floor terrace, which could be called the family’s private lounge. Normally, having a cup of coffee here would be perfect.
“It’s dawn, so coffee might not be the best idea, right?”
He should be sleeping. He didn’t want to drink coffee and then not be able to sleep. And it was an awkward time to stay awake, so Kang Dae-oh decided to substitute coffee with a warm glass of water.
Kang Yebin, who was already thirsty, tilted the glass Kang Dae-oh handed her. Was it because she finally quenched her thirst? Or was it because her dad was there? Kang Yebin felt a little calmer.
Noticing that Kang Yebin’s expression was much more relaxed compared to when she had just woken up, Kang Dae-oh looked at her and smiled faintly.
“Are you feeling a bit calmer?”
“……Yes.”
“Have you been having bad dreams lately?”
“……”
Kang Yebin slowly nodded.
Without her even saying what kind of dream it was, Kang Dae-oh spoke as if he knew the identity of the nightmare tormenting Kang Yebin.
“It’s because of the memories of your unnie, isn’t it?”
“How did you know that, Dad…?”
“Yera told me. She said around this time, she inflicted bad memories on her dongsaengs, and on me and your mom.”
“……Unnie must have told you everything.”
Kang Dae-oh just nodded silently. There was no need to voice painful wounds. Kang Yebin herself didn’t want it. It was something she wanted to bury in her heart forever if possible, but it was tormenting Kang Yebin again in the form of a nightmare.
“I want to say, ‘It’s all in the past, so you don’t have to worry about it anymore’…” Kang Dae-oh said, putting down the half-empty glass. “Even if I say this, it probably won’t resolve things completely, will it?”
Emotional wounds don’t heal easily. Kang Dae-oh knew that too well. That’s why there was something he really wanted to show Kang Yebin.
“This Thursday, you only have morning filming and no schedule in the afternoon, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Family members tend to share their schedules to some extent. This helps them know if they can eat together at home, or if they can do other activities together.
“We’re all going somewhere this Thursday. Do you want to come?”
“Where is it?”
“You’ll know when we get there.”
Since the whole family was going, Kang Yebin felt a bit awkward saying no. She nodded, indicating she would do as Kang Dae-oh said.
“Make sure to clear your schedule. Got it?”
“Yes……”
Kang Yebin felt puzzled by Kang Dae-oh’s repeated emphasis.
Although Kang Yebin’s condition wasn’t good lately due to nightmares related to Kang Yera, thanks to her usual belief of “doing what she needs to do,” she still showed herself as a 100-point actress in front of the camera.
Today, thanks to Kang Yebin’s excellent performance, the filming schedule proceeded smoothly without delays, according to the planned times.
“Good job, everyone!”
Kang Yebin, after finishing her morning shoot, said her goodbyes to the staff before leaving the set. Her manager, holding the wheel, asked.
“Are we going to the company? Or home?”
“Please take me home. I have a schedule with my family today.”
“Oh, really? Did you decide to eat out or something?”
“I don’t know.”
“Huh? You don’t know? You haven’t heard anything about what you’re doing?”
“No. Dad didn’t tell me.”
The destination, and the reason for asking her to clear her schedule, she hadn’t heard anything. But she could tell one thing: she was sure her dad had prepared something for her because she’d been feeling down lately. She didn’t know what it was, not the details.
Upon arriving home, Kang Yebin tilted her head. Kang Dae-oh had certainly talked as if they were going somewhere as a family, but when she got home, Kang Dae-oh was sitting alone in the living room. Min Seung-yeon, Kang Yera, and even Kang Yeyoung were nowhere to be seen.
“Where are Mom, unnie, and Yeyoung?”
“They’ve already gone ahead. Only we need to leave.”
“What? Where on earth are we going…?”
“You’ll know when we go together. We’re taking Dad’s car, so change into comfortable clothes and come out. Or it’s fine if you go as you are.”
Kang Yebin was more curious about what was happening than changing clothes, so she chose to “leave immediately.”
Kang Yebin, sitting in the passenger seat of Kang Dae-oh’s car, was puzzled by the situation, yet felt an inexplicable anxiety welling up.
“We’re going for something good, right…?”
“Yebin, it might depend on how you perceive it.”
The more Kang Dae-oh explained, the deeper Kang Yebin’s curiosity grew.
After driving diligently with her dad, they arrived in front of a building.
“This place is…”
A small hall with about 1,000 seats. It was a familiar place. It had to be, as this was a place Kang Yera frequently used for her mini-concerts. Thanks to that, Kang Yebin didn’t find the place unfamiliar. She even remembered where she usually sat.
“Now that I think about it, unnie said she’s holding a mini-concert again, right?”
“That’s right. She said she’s starting rehearsals next week.”
“No wonder. So the stage is like that…”
Traces of the stage being set up for Kang Yera’s concert were visible everywhere.
“But why are we here?”
Kang Dae-oh silently pointed forward in response to Kang Yebin’s question.
Then.
“Welcome.”
“Unnie. You just got here? Hurry up and sit down.”
Min Seung-yeon and Kang Yeyoung, who were already there, urged Kang Yebin to come and sit. Kang Yera was nowhere to be seen. Urged by her family who had arrived earlier, Kang Yebin instinctively sat down beside them.
As the four of them, including Kang Dae-oh, sat facing the stage, the lights suddenly came on. A spotlight shone on the center of the stage. Beneath it, Kang Yera slowly walked out.
“Unnie…?”
Kang Yebin was greatly flustered by Kang Yera’s sudden appearance. But soon, this bewilderment gradually subsided due to Kang Yera’s song.
When the wind gently taps on the window
Slowly look out the window
Tired hearts, painful wounds
Will one day melt away.
Everything will be alright.
Because precious moments begin now.
This was Kang Yebin’s favorite song sung by Kang Yera, “Whispers of the Wind.” Whenever she was tired or exhausted, Kang Yera’s beautiful voice, like the lyrics, comforted the listener. That’s why Kang Yebin had always loved this song of her unnie the most.
Kang Yebin gazed endlessly at her unnie, who was singing happily on stage. Kang Yeyoung held Kang Yebin’s hand beside her. As someone who also came from the future to the past, Kang Yeyoung knew well what trauma Kang Yebin carried. So, to offer a little comfort, she held her unnie’s hand.
The warmth of her dongsaeng’s hand. The gentle comfort coming through her unnie’s song. Gradually melted Kang Yebin’s uneasy heart. Tears flowed from her eyes.
After finishing the song, Kang Yera smiled faintly at Kang Yebin and said.
“Why are you crying? I’m singing so happily like this.”
It was true. In the past, Kang Yera never even had the chance to stand on stage. But the current Kang Yera was different. This place she desired was now her stage. If there was someone to listen to her song, Kang Yera could sing anytime. Just like now.
Wiping away tears with the back of her hand, Kang Yebin smiled with her usual expression and said.
“You’re right. I really worried for nothing.”
The antidote for past pain was present happiness.
The memories she wanted to forget manifested as nightmares and tormented Kang Yebin for a while, but thanks to the efforts of Kang Dae-oh and her family, Kang Yebin no longer had to suffer from past memories.
“I’ll head out first. I have filming.”
Kang Dae-oh nodded greatly in response to Kang Yebin’s bright voice.
“Alright. Be careful on your way.”
“Yes!”
Looking at the much brighter Kang Yebin, Kang Dae-oh finally felt relieved.
“That’s a relief.”
Kang Yeyoung nodded at Kang Dae-oh’s words.
“Indeed. Anyway, second unnie, she may seem like that, but she’s a very worried person.”
While helping Kang Yebin with her worries, Kang Dae-oh suddenly wondered something.
“Yebin was in a car accident, right?”
“Yes. It was about five years after Unnie Yera died.”
After that, Kang Yebin also returned to the past, as if following Kang Yera. If that was the case.
“Yeyoung, what about you?”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
Both unnies returned to the past due to an unexpected accident. Kang Dae-oh wondered if this story also applied to Kang Yeyoung. If it did, Kang Yeyoung would also have returned to the past carrying an unhealable past pain, just like Kang Yera and Kang Yebin.
However, Kang Yeyoung smiled brightly and told Kang Dae-oh in a tone that suggested he didn’t need to worry.
“I didn’t have any accidents. But I did have this.”
“What?”
“Just once, I wished I could meet my unnies again. I wished I could share all the stories I couldn’t with them and live happily, and then I fell asleep. But when I opened my eyes, I was back in the past.”
Perhaps heaven took pity on Kang Yeyoung and sent her back to this past timeline. That’s how the three sisters were able to meet and live together again. This time, not separated, but all together in a happy family.
After hearing Kang Yeyoung’s story, Kang Dae-oh felt an immense sense of responsibility.
“I guess Dad needs to do better.”
“Suddenly?”
“Because I have to keep making our youngest daughter’s wish come true.”
Making his three daughters and his wife happy. Kang Dae-oh once again resolved to make this his lifelong mission.
