Mr Love: Dream Date Chap 9 Dashed Dreams

By this point in the game, I had somehow found myself gravitating towards Lucien. I guess it was due to a combination of the inner strength he exudes, the confidence he carries, the way he teaches and inspires, the turmoil that is constantly waging within him, his doting tenderness towards you and the entire mystery that enshrouds him that made him a prime candidate for my heart. It is actually quite realistic to discover that while looks caught my attention originally, it was personality that eventually won me over. Actually over time, Lucien began to look quite attractive to me with his rather dopey eyes. Anyway since I knew this chapter was going to be all him, I was really motivated to push through to level 40 to unlock this chapter.

Spoilers ahead!

The chapter begins with a direct continuation from the previous one. You had been brought to the hospital after the incident with the hackers to rest and recuperate. When your attending doctor recognised you, he contacted Lucien who immediately rushed down to the hospital to find you. While his friend informed you about how worried he was, Lucien didn’t seem to quite appreciate his candour. I can’t really quite read this – was Lucien embarrassed or was he more a private person and didn’t like others probing into his personal life. Probably the latter. When alone with him, he has never been shy about telling you how he feels.

The doctor said that you had probably over exerted yourself with the events of the last few weeks and was now experiencing the repercussions. He prescribed you an IV drip and said that you could discharge after the drip ran its course. When the nurse came by to place you on the IV, for some weird reason, you felt terrified of the needle. Lucien tried to lighten the mood by teasing you. However when the nurse failed to get it right on the first try, Lucien was evidently upset about it as you could sense the sudden coldness in his attitude.

After you finally got on the IV drip, Lucien gently tucked you in and told you to have a good rest. You felt his presence leave the room and it made you slightly lonely. When you awoke, you felt a weight on your hand. You looked up and saw that Lucien was sitting next to your bed with one hand reading a book and the other holding your hand. He said that he didn’t want the IV needle moving while you were sleeping. You felt incredibly flustered and quickly withdrew your hand. Honestly I don’t know what to make of this. On one hand, I am touched by his tenderness, on the other hand, Lucien has the exact making of a yandere and being with him is like flirting with death.

You quickly changed the topic to clear the heat from your cheeks. Lucien shared he was reading a book about Childhood Madness and asked if you ever had crazy thoughts as a kid. Despite not having much memories of your past, you shared that you used to speak to kittens and imagined that they were actually aliens who could confer you superhuman powers and whisk you away to another world. Lucien listened to you intently and you felt embarrassed by his attentiveness. Before you discharged, he also bought you some canned oranges to eat as you had not have anything to eat. You ate the oranges delightfully and asked if Lucien looked upon you as a kid. To which he replied that you could take your time growing up with him. This guy has such a sweet tongue.

Lucien gave you a lift home. He reached over to buckle you but you quickly told him you could it do it yourself as you felt uncomfortable with how close he was. He replied coldly, fine. When you reached home, he didn’t accompany you up as he had other business to attend to. You thanked him for taking care of you and he asked you how you intended to repay him. Caught off guard, you said you will think about it. After you got home, you received a call from Kiro asking after you. You reminded him of the interview and also your promise to clear Key off the allegations.

Before you knew it, it was evening. The doorbell rang and you saw that it was a food delivery service which you didn’t order. Having gone through a spate of life threatening events, you refused to open the door. You later learnt that it was Lucien who had ordered the food for you and so you tucked in heartily into the delicious chicken noodle soup. Lucien is so caring and attentive that I would really die of diabetes if there was someone who treated me like this. As a super independent woman myself, I think I will be at a loss if a guy treats me like this.

After dinner, you set about drafting the outline for the documentary on Key. While preparing the show, your thoughts return to what you learnt about Black Swan. You tried to do some research on the organisation to no avail. You also dropped Gavin a message asking him to contact you. If there was anything sinister about their intentions around Evol, surely Gavin would be in the know.

The next day back in office, you shared the good news that you had scored an exclusive with Key. The office burst into action to produce the documentary which received many positive reviews and accolades. To celebrate the occasion, your team went to a bar. You realised that Minor kept keeping you away from drinking and when you finally confronted him about it, he said he was trying to look out for you on behalf of Gavin. He can be such a cute character. You realised that Gavin had not responded to your message and wondered what he was busy with.

Later you received a call from Lucien. He congratulated you for your show and then invited you to go on an excursion with him to show your gratitude. I realised that Lucien is always bringing you to far flung, secluded places whether in the main story or on dates. I guess part of it is because he loves nature, the other part is because he just enjoys the peace and quiet. As mentioned earlier, I think he is a mind reader hence being away from crowds is probably the only way for him to keep sane. However, the story also always has a way to make it seem like he is going to reveal his real possibly evil intentions at some point in time.

On the bus trip there (strange he takes a bus when he could drive…), a discussion about the seasons suddenly turned into an almost confession. You didn’t know how to worm your way out of the conversation so finally resorted to taking a nap for the rest of the trip. Lucien looks at you dotingly in your sleep before muttering that you were much too trusting. I totally agree! In your nap, you had another premonition dream. This time you were overlooking a wide ocean which was surrounded by some kind of reddish flowers. Suddenly the rocks you were standing on quaked and you fell into the sea.

You started awake with your arm outstretched. Lucien hurriedly grabbed your hand and leaned you onto him to calm you. After you regained your composure, you realised that he was somewhat embracing you and he quickly let go. Can I say that I like this Lucien look a lot!! Finally out of his lab coat, he looks really great in the turtle neck and black trench coat.

Lucien decided to take a short detour towards your destination which you have no idea where. He told you it had a breathtaking scenery. While wandering through the wheatfield, you discussed literature with him and realised that he seemed like a different person today. Not too far off, you heard the sound of mewing and found an injured kitten. You decided to find the owner since the kitten had a collar. Your search brought you to a quaint little village and the house of an elderly woman.

She wanted to give you a nicely crafted pouch as a gift but you asked to learn how to make a peace knot instead. After many attempts you made one successfully while Lucien wandered away. As you looked for Lucien, you found him standing among sheets looking so distant. This was a very different Lucien from the one you knew. When you passed him the knot, he admitted that it was pretty badly made but accepted it nonetheless.

Both of you continued the walk to your destination. As you took in the scenery and fresh air, you cheerfully suggested that both of you return here again next autumn. Lucien remained silent. You finally arrived at a giant camphor tree which looked really familiar yet foreign. Lucien asked if you remembered the spot but you couldn’t recollect anything. Lucien stroked your head gently and you suddenly felt sleepy as you gazed upon his face displaying multiple conflicting emotions.

You awoke, not knowing whether you’re still asleep or in a dream. With Lucien next to you, you saw a young girl talking to two small kittens near the tree, speaking of superhero powers. Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice a young boy who was watching her as he drew under the camphor tree. When she noticed him, she crept up to him playfully and asked to see his drawings. They were beautiful lifelike portraits of people. The little girl quickly introduced herself by writing her name on his book and asked for his name. He wrote his name on a slip of paper and passed it to her. On it were the words ‘Lucien’. They became fast friends and agreed to meet again. You turned to Lucien, surprised to find another boy with the same name here. If I could, I wanted to slap myself. Isn’t it obvious that this was a vision of her as a kid and how she had met Lucien as kids?

Suddenly the ground quaked. It was now evening and you couldn’t tell if you were still in a dream or reality but you knew intuitively that time had passed. You saw the same young girl sitting sullenly under the tree. You asked her if she was waiting for Lucien. She nodded but added quite eerily that she knew he wouldn’t be coming because she can see into tomorrow. She also said that you would be waking up soon and that the man who was with you would be leaving. Was that why Lucien didn’t reply you about coming back here next year? Her words disturbed you so you turned to ask Lucien if he was really leaving. He replied he wouldn’t and asked you if you would miss him. You unabashedly told him what an important friend he was to you and you would certainly miss him. Lucien covered your eyes. I kind of feel sad for Lucien for being friendzoned.

Again, the ground quaked. This time you found yourself standing by a rainswept street. You saw Lucien standing nearby, soaked in the pouring rain and staring ahead at the same young boy from the tree. He was basking in the happiness of being with his parents when a truck suddenly crashed into them. Your heart stopped at the sight. Shards of broken glass scattered in all direction and you felt the distinct pain of being cut. You realised that the boy was still alive and rushed forward. However Lucien grabbed hold of you and covered your eyes again.

You awake and now ever more confused if everything you had seen was a dream or a premonition or a flash from the past. Lucien explained that what you had seen was a lucid dream – a situation when you know you are dreaming while asleep. So while the dreams felt real, they were not. You couldn’t understand what he was saying, and honestly neither could I. In a super anti-climatic turn of events, Lucien called for a car to send you home while he went off on his own. As you spied his figure through the rear view mirror, you couldn’t help but have a bad feeling. In your pocket, you found a slip of paper with the word Lucien on it. Chills down my spine.

After you departed, Lucien clutched his heart in pain. He had planned to help you recollect your past but in the end, he ran away from it. He blamed himself for losing control of the process. In his frustration, he tried desperately to rub off a carving from the trunk of the camphor tree.

Meanwhile Victor’s plane landed at the airport. He was keen to meet you after being away for a month, in his hand a paper bag which he looked fondly upon. Goldman however informed him that you had taken the day off to recuperate after being hospitalised. Victor was visibly affected by the news as he opened an envelope containing a document and the note, ‘There’s news on the target.’

This chapter was slightly confusing for me but mostly full of angst. Who exactly is Lucien and what was he trying to do with you? Why did he want to help you recollect your past and did he himself also have a tragic childhood? Does he truly care for you or was he using you right to the end to serve some unknown purpose or possibly both hence the conflict? Did these past events take place before or after the orphanage? Nonetheless, I’m still rooting for Lucien and I really hope I won’t be disappointed.