Deciding to call it a night and go to bed early, I washed my face and brushed my teeth, then got into bed. I set an 8 AM alarm on my phone and laid my head down. I was asleep in less than thirty seconds.

 

Again, it felt like my body was falling down. After the white noise dimed, I could hear sounds of waves rolling in the tide and felt a soft, warm wind against my face. I was nervous for a moment, but slowly cracked my eyes open. The sun was glaring right on me and I had to look away. After blinking several more times, I realized I was in a sunny, grassy, wide-open space with many large rocks around me. They were tall and had distinctive faces on them, and all facing in different directions. It was all very peaceful, which made me a little nervous. I was half-expecting something scary to pop out.

 

I slowly turned around, surveying the whole area until my gaze settled on a person standing on the edge of a cliff some distance away from me. He had short black hair and was wearing a small sunhat with the dress style of a modern twenty-year old guy. I took in a small breath and slowly made my way closer to him. Once my footsteps could be heard to him, he turned around and met my gaze. Even though his eyes were shaded by his hat, I could see them clearly and I recognized him immediately.

 

The figure in the top hat. The voice I spoke to through the radio.

 

He smiled at me pleasantly. “Hello.”

 

“…hello.” I bowed a little.

 

“Come stand with me.” He motioned me to come closer and turned back to the plateau he was looking at originally.

 

I walked to his side and glanced over the plateau. It almost looked like the bottom of a volcano that had been grown over by vegetation and foliage.

 

“You must have a lot of questions.” The man said.

 

I turned to him. “Who are you?”

 

“My parents named me Jung Hyunchul, but I decided to rename myself. You can call me Seo Taiji.”

 

I nodded softly. “Okay…can you tell me what the hell is happening to me? Why am I having such bizarre dreams these days? How are you communicating with me, especially through a radio and my dreams? Are you supposed to be my guardian angel or something?”

 

He didn’t respond to my questions, just kept staring out over the plateau with a look of serenity on his face.

 

I blinked. “…hello?”

 

“I heard you.”

 

“Oh…” I blinked and continued to stare him down, obviously impatient.

 

He sighed quietly after a moment then turned to look at me. “I’m not your guardian angel. But I am someone very special to you and only you.”

 

I blinked again. “Okay?”

 

“You’re my reincarnation.”

 

“…what?”

 

He motioned for me to follow him again. “Walk with me.” He started walking away from the plateau and toward a set of mountains across from the sunny, grassy field. I stared at him for a second, then I jogged a little to catch up with him.

 

“E-excuse me??” I looked at him wide-eyed.

 

“What can you tell me about the Human Dream?” He kept his gaze straight ahead while walking.

 

“Wh…” I sighed a bit huffily. “I-I couldn’t find a lot of information, but it was a project done in 2009 where scientists tried to create a robot that could grow and learn like a human but the robot they created ended up being accused as a killer and was tried to get executed.”

 

Taiji nodded. “That’s right, but do you know the reason why the robot was labeled a killer?”

 

I thought for a moment. “…no I don’t.”

 

“It’s because he was caught in a fit of rage watching his brother easily push a beautiful woman off a tall tower and arriving too late to stop him.”

 

I slowly looked at him questionably. He kept his gaze ahead but I could see pain in his eyes.

 

“But why should a robot ever possess rage? That would make him a killer, wouldn’t it? But humans get angry too. Anyway, the police came in and only witnessed the robot punching his brother in the face. It ended up breaking his nose. The police saw the woman lying dead on the ground below us and immediately blamed the robot for the murder. The entire town that was once excited to see a robot ‘born’ into existence was suddenly ready to see it die painfully.”

 

I stared at him and stopped walking. “How do you know all of that…?”

 

Taiji stopped too but didn’t look at me. “Because I was there. I survived the execution.”

 

My eyes widened. “You’re…the robot?”

 

He turned around to look at me. His eyes gave me the answer.

 

I took a small step back. “H-how…wh-what…?”

 

“Are you scared of me?”

 

“N-no…m-maybe…this is just all really weird!” I shook my head a little, staring at him unbelievably.

 

He nodded softly. “I understand, but these are things you need to know.”

 

“But why me?” I asked exasperatedly.

 

“I told you before. You’re my reincarnation.”

 

“Yeah, about that.” I stared him down hard.

 

“You know those connecting dreams you had? About seeing your father push a button and you fade back into consciousness?”

 

“…yes.”

 

“You were experiencing my memories.”

 

“Your memories?”

 

He nodded. “I was a very troubled child. My parents loved my brother more than me even though they always swore that they loved us both equally. I could sense their love was greater for their human son. There were times I acted out of jealousy and tried to injure my brother, and at one point it got too far. My father was given a device that would shut down my central nervous system and turn me off, but when he tried to push the button, it ended up malfunctioning and breaking.”

 

“But why did it feel like I died after he pressed it?” I asked.

 

“My consciousness was turned off for a moment, but I was awake in the next ten minutes.”

 

I was quiet, taking all of the information in.

 

“…you saw her last night, before I took control of your subconscious.” He said quietly.

 

I looked back at him. “Her? You mean the woman in white?”

 

Taiji’s entire expression became very solemn. “She was very beautiful. Before seeing her I never really understood the bond between a human man and woman. Seeing her interact with my brother made me truly happy. To me it looked like love…but even that can be deceiving as I learned.” His gaze lowered.

 

“…you loved her, didn’t you?” I asked quietly.

 

He nodded very softly. “I did. And after seeing her die instantly after getting pushed off that tower…it felt like a part of me died as well.”

 

I continued to stare at him. He was acting more human than anyone I ever met. Was this guy really a robot?

 

After a moment, he turned to me. “There’s a task I need to ask you to do.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“There is said to be a portal to another world in the Bermuda Triangle. I need you to go there and I will meet you there.”

 

I blinked. “N-now?”

 

“When you wake up, of course.”

 

“I-I can’t just leave! I have an exam at my university on Monday!”

 

“You can’t go into any facilities now. They’re looking for you.”

 

“Who?”

 

“The government. When you searched on that particular webpage on your phone and gave away your social security number, they tracked your phone down and are looking for you now.”

 

“W-what?! How did you know I did that?”

 

“I can see information in machines that use radio waves. Anyway, this project is top-secret. The government wants absolutely nobody to know about it. Therefore they will eliminate anyone who finds out about it.”

 

“This is crazy.” I chuckled dryly. “I seriously have to leave the country as soon as I wake up? What about my friends and family?”

 

“Don’t worry about them. As long as you get out of the country and into the Bermuda Triangle, everything will be okay.”

 

I sighed a little. “Look, I’m sorry, but I have a life here. And even if the government is coming to take me away, I wouldn’t feel comfortable missing out on the exam that would give me freedom from university and bail on my friends so suddenly. What would I even tell them??”

 

“Tell them you’re taking a vacation.” Taiji shrugged a little.

 

I stared at him for a moment, then sighed again and rubbed the side of my head.

 

“Shinwoo, please follow my instructions. Everything I’m saying may seem unbelievable to you, but it’s the truth. Once you reach the middle of the Bermuda Triangle, I promise you will understand everything.”

 

“Are you going to leave me again?”

 

“You’re waking up soon. I will contact you in any other way I can once you’re awake, but please make sure you get moving soon.”

 

Before I could respond, the area around me suddenly became blurry and my vision started to go black.

 

“Wait…” I reached out my hand toward him, but soon my eyes only saw the ceiling of my apartment.

 

My alarm was ringing on my phone. It was 8 AM.