"See! Because she is a jinx!"
'So loud!'
"No... no. I'm not!"
"Enough, Milo!"
"Vi… this is her fault! August wouldn't be lying there if it weren't for her!"
'Damn it! Can't you guys do it elsewhere!?'
August reluctantly opened his eyes. Reflected in them were people seemingly arguing with each other. There was a skinny young man who kept arguing with the blue-haired girl, a fat young man trying to stop the skinny young man, while a pink-haired girl was mediating the fight.
'What the heck is going on, and who are these people? Why are they fighting in my room…' His thoughts were sluggish as he had just woken up, but after a few seconds passed, his mind became clearer as his gaze subconsciously scanned around, and a sense of both familiarity and unfamiliarity emerged.
'Wait… where in the world am I? This isn't my room. My computer is gone. The white walls and ceiling were replaced by a damp wooden wall, and the window beside my bed is gone. Am I dreaming? That's right I must still be dreaming...'
Believing he was still dreaming, he decided to sleep again. But unknown to him, the pink-haired girl noticed the movement in his eyes. She immediately hurried to his side.
"August, are you awake? I saw you open your eyes."
"Wait, Violet, are you for real?" the fat young man asked.
The pink-haired girl named Violet nodded slightly as her gaze dropped onto August's face and said in a heavy voice, "I saw him open his eyes slightly, but he closed them again."
'Damn, I got caught.' August sighed inwardly and tried to avoid making any movement, but their voices made it impossible for him to go back to sleep. Suddenly, a breath entered his ear. It was cold and ticklish, making him subconsciously cover it.
"Huh, I knew it! August is awake!" Violet's happy tone sounded again.
With no choice, August opened his eyes. But suddenly, when his vision was filled with these four people, memories that didn't belong to him surfaced in his mind. They were the memories of the previous owner of this body.
In those memories, he saw every life the owner experienced, as if he were watching a film sped up. He saw the owner being born under his loving mother's gaze, a burning bridge filled with corpses, the war between two cities, losing his parents in the war, being adopted by Vander, becoming brothers with the other adopted kids, and up to the moment they stole from topside where an explosion erupted, causing the owner of the body to be injured because he protected Powder, who was about to be hit by a large fragment of the wall.
Various information continued flooding his mind, but there was also a sense of familiarity coming from deep within him. From his true self, it felt like he had seen these people before... a sense of déjà vu... but he couldn't quite remember.
'I know this isn't a dream anymore.'
August sat up and rubbed his head as he let out a faint smile. "I saw you guys fighting again, so I decided to go back to sleep."
Violet glared at Milo, causing the latter to flinch, then sighed softly before a smile spread across her face. "Good to have you back, August."
"Yeah..." August only smiled and didn't continue, or rather, he didn't know how to continue. The original August was a silent guy who rarely talked. No one knew what he was thinking or feeling. Despite that, he was kind and warm, and every kid in the Lanes liked him and called him their big brother. He decided to act based on the original personality, and strictly speaking, it wasn't hard, since he and the original almost had the same personality.
Suddenly, a blue-haired girl jumped into his embrace. He was surprised for a moment before letting out a smile as he patted the girl's head. She kept apologizing and crying in his arms, and his shirt was soaked with tears.
'It feels strangely weird… I wonder how they'd react once I tell them that this isn't the real August. Well, they probably wouldn't believe it.' He inwardly sighed. It was the first time in his life that someone cared about him enough to jump into his embrace without hesitation.
'Now that I think about it, I was quite a loner in my past life. I didn't have friends or even a girlfriend. I'm pathetic.'
After a few seconds, the girl finally calmed down. He smiled gently. "Are you okay now, Powder?"
"Hmmm..." Powder nodded.
He wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "Don't worry about it. It's not your fault."
"I shouldn't have touched it… If I hadn't, you'd still be walking."
"People make mista—" August suddenly paused. A foreboding feeling rose in his heart as he clarified, "What do you mean?"
"That was what the doctor said, August. Your leg suffered an injury from the explosion." This time, it was Violet who spoke. Her voice was trembling, as if she were trying to fight back her tears, and her hands were clenched tightly.
If someone were to ask who was the most stressed among them all, it would be Violet. After all, it was her fault to begin with. It was her idea to steal from the topside, so it ended up becoming her responsibility. She was about to apologize as well when she saw August smile at her, causing her to sigh inwardly.
'That's right. August doesn't like me constantly apologizing for every mistake. He wants me to learn lessons from them instead of regretting everything.'
Violet had known August since they were kids. He had always been energetic and liked getting into fights. He was quite a popular troublemaker, but everything changed when they lost their parents in the war between the two cities. The same thing happened to her. August was adopted by Vander, and since then, he had become more silent.
Violet smiled as she watched Milo and Claggor talk with August, with Powder still in his embrace. They laughed together while telling each other stories. She was about to join them when she saw the door open and a large, muscular man enter. With dark hair and gray eyes, Violet couldn't help but gulp nervously, expecting to be scolded by Vander.
But the moment Vander laid eyes on them, his expression softened, before becoming stern again. He coughed, attracting everyone's attention.
"You okay now, August?"
"I'm good..." August nodded slightly.
"That's good then," Vander said, then looked at everyone and spoke sternly. "You three. Out."
The trio didn't argue as they walked out the door.
Vander dragged a chair over and dropped it beside August's bed. He rested his forearms on his knees as he spoke. "You took the worst of it. Doc says you'll walk, but not like before... not for a while. Your leg can't handle strain. It suffered trauma from the explosion, so for now, you use a cane and take it slow."
As August was about to reply, Vander continued sternly. "You're the oldest, and you know how this place works. When they get ideas, you're supposed to say no, August."
After a few seconds of silence, Vander let out a faint smile. "I'm glad you're still breathing."
"I'm sorry, Vander. Everyone wanted to do something meaningful, so I decided to listen one more time since I thought I could protect them. That's why I agreed with them... but I was wrong." August lowered his head. He was truly affected by the original owner's feelings, his fists tightly clenched.
"Good. Then you'd better reflect on it," Vander said.
After calming down a bit, August raised his head and asked, "What happened now?"
"The Enforcers entered the Lanes asking for names, but I already dealt with it, so don't worry about it. Rest well." Vander put the chair back in place. After talking for a while, as he was about to open the door, he glanced at Vi and nudged her to follow him.
"Shit... I think it's my turn now!"
August just smiled at her wryly.
Only after watching them leave did August finally breathe a sigh of relief. Even though he had already absorbed the original owner's memories, he still needed time to get used to them. Talking to people who felt both unfamiliar and familiar gave him a strange feeling and a bit of nervousness.
August tried to move his legs. Just as Vander said, he could still walk, but it was difficult. If he took more than three steps, he would fall. That's why, from now on, he would need a cane to support himself. Thinking about it, he sighed in dismay.
'What a strange situation did I get myself into?'
He slowly stood up, using the chair as support, and went to his desk. A diary and a pen lay on it. In his memories, he didn't remember having a diary, so he was kind of curious.
But the moment he opened it, August's eyes widened in surprise.
'It can't be!'