Dreaming A Dream | An ONF Fanfiction

The End.

The doors slowly slid open as we approached them. Blue neon lights were illuminating the whole place. Who could have ever imagined something like this was hidden in the nearby woods?
Everyone was looking around the big room filled with tech: wires running across the whole place, complex machinery in every corner, tools scattered everywhere... But we knew what we were looking for. We saw a door on the other side of the room. It looked as if something important was hidden behind it. I couldn't explain that feeling, but I felt as if an ominous presence hovered over us, watching us as we were slowly approaching a forbidden place.

But before we reached the door, my attention was averted by a desk on the side of the room. On it were hundreds of sheets of paper. Most of them were technical sketches, equations, measurements, tables, charts... But a few of them stood out from the rest. A few sheets of paper with dates and text on them. Those were Jaeyoung's notes. He documented everything. Not a lot was left; some pages seemed to be missing, but they would have definitely given us a lot of information. Just with a glance at my friends, I understood they wanted to read them too. So I volunteered to read them aloud. We would have finally discovered the whole story behind this.

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Jaeyoung's notes:

20XX/05/03

I am so hesitant to do this. It's a big project. I will write this note to remind myself why I'm doing this, so in case I ever hesitate again, I'm just going to reread this page.
So, why did I decide to build an android of myself? There are many reasons. But the main reason is pretty simple: I want to create a better version of myself. A new me. I want to be something more. I want to help more. I want people to like me more. I want to be a positive influence on those around me. But my mortal body is so limiting. My brain doesn't store as much information as I'd like it to. It cannot process that information very fast either. And let's not even talk about the physical limitations. I run out of stamina fast. I need to eat a lot to replenish my energy. I need to sleep too. Idol life is so tiring. How much easier would it be if I could just constantly work on my songs? I love dancing so much. I'd love to dance non stop. And how incredible would it be to save people with no effort whatsoever? I could run super fast and get them out of trouble. I could lift heavy weights and help them get out of tight places they're stuck in. I could protect them from ferocious beasts. I want to become someone important. Someone people look up to. A good samaritan. And a better friend.
It sounds like a dream. But I can reach it. I can do it.

20XX/05/17

I am so tired. I've been working on this android for way too long. I need sleep so bad. I probably slept about 10 hours in the whole week. But I can't stop. I need to finish this. Especially now that I'm working on the hardest part: the conscience transfer. My plan is to extract my conscience after I enter the cryogenic capsule. After it is extracted, my body will basically be dead. It should be fine as long as I keep it frozen. My conscience will then be placed inside a small vial, and finally the vial will be inserted into my new body, the perfect version of myself. With its advanced AI, my brain power will grow exponentially. I will be able to learn, remember and process so much more information. It will be like having a computer in my head. I just hope all my calculations are right. In the end, my current brain is not perfect. I will have to check every little detail perfectly, hundreds of times. I want to avoid all problems. Please, make this work...

20XX/06/20

After many months, I think I am finally done with the prototype. But something has been bugging me. I finally figured out what it was: I am being incredibly selfish. I left my friends without a word. I never reached out to them. They cannot know what I'm doing. I don't know if they would accept it. But I am doing this for them too. Minkyun, Hyojin, Seungjun, Changyun and Yuto. I want them to have a better friend. I want to be a better person for them too. I've always felt... so useless compared to them. My singing isn't as good as Hyojin's. My dancing isn't as good as Seungjun's. Our fans love us, but it is undeniable that I feel... Left out sometimes. It is not because of Hyojin and Seungjun. It's just my brain playing tricks on me. I know many people love me. But I'm always so scared to let them down. To not be enough for my fans. For my friends.
I often regret what I did. I regret it so much. It pains me. I feel so bad for them. But there is no turning back now. When I'll meet them again, I'll be a better person. Hopefully, they'll be proud of me. I don't want to lose them.
I haven't really thought about it, but they might hate me now. I really hope that isn't the case. Sometimes I think about abandoning everything and going back. But I can't go back empty handed. It would be unacceptable to show up after disappearing without a trace.
I will go back once I have my new body. I want to make them proud. I want them to be happy with me. I want to be a better person for them.

20XX/08/02

I haven't written a note for such a long time. But this is my last one. Today, I will finally transfer my conscience to my new body. I feel like it is the perfect day to do so. Something about this date just feels right.
I am shaking. Everything is ready. Every little detail has been checked countless times. According to my calculations, the possibilities of something going wrong are basically nonexistent. I will update this note later today. I will go now. A new life awaits me.

— — — — — — — — — — — —

I am now in my new body. I have total control over it. I feel dizzy, but responsive. I will get used to this weird feeling. Apart from being dizzy, I feel like reborn. My body is so light and powerful. My mind is perfectly organised. My vision is perfect clear. After the initial dizziness is over, I will start experimenting and making tests. But what I feel right now cannot be explained with words. I am so happy. I will finally be who I always wanted to be, and nothing will stop me.

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I finished reading the last note with great effort. My vision was blurry. I put down the paper on the desk. I couldn't believe that Jaeyoung, one of the most confident and gentle people I knew had such great insecurities. Insecurities that ultimately led him to try to create a version of himself that would be... better. At least according to him. But it ended up being a version of himself that ended up putting many people in danger. I was heartbroken. How have I never noticed Jaeyoung felt under pressure working as an idol? He never told us. He held everything inside. Until he couldn't take it anymore. At that moment I felt worthless. I could have helped him. But I never did. I was even too exhausted to cry. I just wanted to save him. I wanted him to be himself again. He has always been perfect for us. A talented man. A kind person. An incredible friend. I wasn't even angry at him. I was angry at myself.
As I was quietly breaking down, Seungjun hugged me from behind. The whole group soon joined us in a group hug.

"Let's go save him."

— — — — — — — — — — — —

We hesitantly opened the big double doors at the end of the room. And there we saw him. Jaeyoung's real body was in the cryogenic capsule, just as he wrote in his notes. It was intact. He looked at peace. My mind was all over the place, but at that moment, I knew I felt something very specific. It was happiness. I felt happy. We found him. We could finally save him.

I confidently walked towards the small panel beside the capsule. It had a cavity that was a perfect match for the vial we got from him. I grabbed the vial from my bag. I carefully inspected it for a second. Everything was in place.

I took a glance back at my friends, one by one. They all nodded to me with a smile on their faces.

Finally, I inserted the vial in its rightful spot.

— — — — — — — — — — — —

"Hyojin! We're about to go on stage! Hurry up!"

Seungjun's smile made me feel all fuzzy inside. I was so happy. Today was a special day. We organized another gig for charity since the last one didn't go as planned. But not only that, Jaeyoung was with us again. Everyone was with us. We wanted to dedicate this concert to our amazing friends. The people who will never leave our side. The people we can always trust. The people who mean the world to us.

We walked on the stage as six. Six boys united by a friendship that will never break. No matter what, we will always be six. We have many differences, we may argue sometimes, we may disagree on certain things, but what is undeniable is that we will always make up. I cannot imagine my life without these guys.

We all bowed down to the audience. I looked at my friends: Minkyun, Yuto, Changyun, Jaeyoung and Seungjun. Together, we can overcome anything. We will never be separated.

After a few days spent in misery, I was finally happy again. This was the best possible ending for this tale.
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Or at least this is the ending I hoped we had achieved.