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Episode 2
I’m Living My Life for the Second Time? (2)
“Please, have a seat.”
The doctor, who had a kind and friendly face, smiled gently as he pointed at the chair.
Shihoo sat down, feeling a little nervous.
“I heard Professor Hong Jeyu referred you here. You’re Ahn Shihoo, right?”
“Yes.”
“I hardly ever see Professor Hong recommend someone. You two must be pretty close.”
“We’re seniors and juniors from college. I’m technically her senior, but… Jeyu is just amazing.”
The doctor chuckled.
“That’s not unusual these days. Now then, could you tell me what’s been bothering you?”
After a bit of small talk, Shihoo briefly explained the strange dreams he’d been having.
The doctor listened carefully before thinking for a moment.
“First of all, not being able to sleep because your dreams feel so real is a type of sleep disorder.”
He continued.
“You could say dreams are the brain’s way of organizing memories while you’re asleep. Most people either don’t remember their dreams or only recall a few random scenes. Some people even realize they’re dreaming before they wake up.”
He looked at Shihoo.
“Your case is closer to the first type, but dreams this vivid are pretty rare.”
“…Is it serious?”
Shihoo asked carefully as he swallowed nervously.
The doctor shook his head.
“Not really. It’s a little unusual, but nothing dangerous.”
He thought for a moment before explaining.
“It’s possible your brain is processing so much information that you aren’t consciously aware of it. In other words, there’s so much to organize that some of it is overflowing into your dreams.”
“Jeyu said it might be some kind of prophetic dream.”
“That’s one of the most common signs people experience before awakening.”
The doctor smiled.
“Let’s run a few simple tests first.”
A nurse led Shihoo into the examination room.
He sat down in a soft chair while she turned on a machine.
“Please roll up your sleeves so your wrists are exposed. And pull up your pant legs and socks so I can reach your ankles.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t worry. You won’t feel anything.”
The nurse attached large clip-like devices to both his wrists and ankles.
After pressing a few buttons and checking the monitor, she said,
“Just relax for about five minutes. Don’t move. Pretend you’re drifting off to sleep.”
Shihoo leaned back, relaxed his body, and closed his eyes.
Since he’d been sleeping so poorly every night lately, he almost fell asleep immediately.
A few minutes later…
“All done. You can go back to the doctor’s office.”
He opened his eyes.
The clips have since been removed.
After straightening his clothes, he returned to the consultation room.
The doctor was already looking over the test results.
“Come take a look.”
He turned the monitor around.
The screen was full of charts, graphs, and numbers that meant absolutely nothing to Shihoo.
“Compared to an ordinary person, your nervous system is much more sensitive.”
“The nerves themselves aren’t damaged. This kind of result can happen temporarily when someone is extremely focused on something or very tired.”
He paused.
“But even considering that… your numbers are unusually high.”
“So… do I need medicine? Maybe sleeping pills or something to calm my nerves?”
The doctor shook his head.
“No.”
“This isn’t something medicine can fix.”
“Those kinds of drugs are more like painkillers. They only hide the symptoms.”
“If we want to solve this, we need to find the real cause.”
“…Hmm.”
For those few seconds, Shihoo unconsciously stopped breathing while waiting for the doctor’s answer.
He wasn’t being told he had a terminal illness…
So why was he so nervous?
Finally, the doctor nodded.
“I’ll write you a referral.”
“I recommend you get a full examination.”
“You don’t need to worry about the cost.”
“It’s completely free.”
“A… full examination?”
Shihoo blinked in surprise.
The doctor checked the chart once more before calmly continuing.
“I think Professor Hong was right.”
“It’s rare, but cases like yours do happen.”
“If anything… this might be good news.”
“I… don’t really understand.”
The doctor smiled.
“I think there’s a very good chance you’re becoming an Awakened.”
“It’s much better to find out beforehand than to suddenly awaken without warning and lose control of your abilities.”
“It’s safer for you…”
“And for everyone around you.”
Shihoo felt like things were slowly starting to go wrong.
He had finally escaped that miserable future and returned to the peaceful past…
Was he really going to end up walking the same path again?
Ignoring the confusion on Shihoo’s face, the doctor finished writing the referral and handed it over.
“Take this to the research center.”
“If possible…”
“I recommend going today.”
“This place is huge…”
The building belonged to the Korean Awakened Association. It served as both a research institute and a medical center.
It was Shihoo’s first time here.
Maybe he’d visited once in his previous life, but if he had, he couldn’t remember it now.
Trying to calm his nerves, he carefully walked inside.
“Hello. How can I help you?”
“I went to the hospital, and the doctor told me to come here…”
Part of him wanted to turn around and leave.
But before he knew it, his trembling hand was already handing over the doctor’s referral.
The receptionist checked it, made a quick phone call, and then came out from behind the desk.
“This way, please.”
“Okay.”
From there, the full examination began.
He lay inside a machine that looked like an MRI scanner.
Electrodes were attached to his hands to measure his body’s reactions.
He filled out several questionnaires.
Then came a bunch of other tests that he didn’t even understand.
He simply followed every instruction he was given.
About an hour later…
Half exhausted…
A holographic window suddenly appeared above the machine.
<The Akashic Stream has registered a new streamer, Ahn Shihoo.>
“…Huh?”
Shihoo could only stare blankly.
The message clearly meant one thing.
He had awakened.
Before he could even process it, someone held a tablet in front of him.
“Please read this and verify it with your fingerprint.”
The researcher’s voice finally snapped him back to reality.
The screen was packed with text.
The summary was simple.
He had officially become an Awakened.
He had been registered with the Korean Awakened Association.
From now on, he was required to follow the Awakened Protection and Management Act as well as the International Awakened Protection Treaty.
Shihoo pressed his right thumb against the screen.
A message appeared in both Korean and English.
He didn’t bother reading all of it.
The giant word at the top immediately caught his eye.
Congratulations!
“Is this really something to celebrate?”
Sure, only one person in ten thousand awakened.
By that standard, he was lucky.
But…
He wasn’t sure luck had ever been on his side.
It felt more like he’d just accepted a quest that he could never refuse.
“…Ugh.”
Suddenly, the room spun around him.
Shihoo staggered.
Fortunately, the researcher caught him before he fell.
“You’ll need to take it easy for a while.”
“Right after awakening, some people accidentally activate their abilities without realizing it.”
“And even when you use them on purpose, you’ll probably need practice learning how to control them.”
After listening, Shihoo became curious.
“So… can you tell me what kind of ability I awakened with?”
The researcher shook her head.
“You’ll have to check your own Status Window.”
“Our job here is only to confirm whether someone has awakened, determine their basic characteristics, and register them in the Awakened database.”
“I see.”
“Could you unlock your phone for about ten seconds?”
“My phone?”
Shihoo unlocked it with his fingerprint and handed it over.
The researcher placed it on the machine for a moment before giving it back.
“I installed an app called HunterNet.”
“It’s required for every Awakened.”
“You can use it to view information about other Awakened, watch training videos, read guides, and access various resources.”
“You can also register your personal information and decide what other people are allowed to see.”
“If you want more details, just read the guidebook inside the app.”
“So… that’s everything?”
“Almost.”
“When you stop by the front desk, they’ll give you some medicine.”
“You should only take it if you experience symptoms like headaches, fever, indigestion, or trouble sleeping.”
“Only take it when you have symptoms.”
“If your condition doesn’t improve within thirty minutes after taking it, make sure you visit a hospital that specializes in treating Awakened.”
“For the first thirty days after awakening, all medical expenses are fully covered by the government.”
“So don’t try to endure it.”
“You can even call an ambulance directly through the app.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“You’ve been through a lot today.”
“Take care on your way home.”
“And… congratulations on awakening.”
After picking up the medicine, Shihoo took a taxi home.
Just in case.
Fortunately, nothing unusual happened on the way back.
After taking a quick shower and changing into comfortable clothes, he made himself a cup of hot coffee and stepped out onto the balcony.
The cold winter wind hit his face.
For some reason, the coffee tasted unusually bitter today.
He still didn’t know what kind of ability he had awakened with.
But one thing was certain.
His body and mind were already much stronger than those of an ordinary person.
“The future is the future…”
“Since I’ve awakened anyway… maybe it’s okay to look forward to it a little?”
He laughed bitterly at the thought.
“After everything I went through… and after finally getting a second chance…”
Taking out his phone, he opened the HunterNet app.
He carefully read the guidebook from beginning to end.
His basic information had already been registered.
According to the guide, his name, class, and physical attributes were automatically recorded the moment he awakened.
As he grew stronger, the information could also update automatically.
“Didn’t the researcher say I could choose what information to make public?”
Reading further, he found the answer.
Some information had to be shared with the government.
Things like his attribute type and skill category were mandatory because they were necessary for research and public safety.
Of course, that didn’t mean everyone could see them.
He could personally choose which other Awakened were allowed to view his profile.
If he set it to private…
Not even the government could freely inspect his detailed information without proper authorization.
It works a lot like a social media privacy setting.
“That seems fair enough.”
It wasn’t much different from registering things like his height, weight, or blood type in a medical database.
He didn’t really mind.
After finishing the guidebook and checking everything in his profile…
Shihoo took several deep breaths.
He set his coffee down on the table.
“So…”
“…Status Window?”
The moment he spoke the words…
A holographic screen appeared in front of him.
“…Whew.”
Without realizing it, Shihoo let out a slow sigh.
His expression stiffened slightly as he began reading the information on his Status Window.
Even now…
He still couldn’t fully believe that all of this was real.
