"Ilyas you might not believe this, but I'm actually a ■■■■■"
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"Huh?"
Ilyas blinked his eyes.
Ethan, who was just in front of him, was nowhere to be seen, and instead of his bedroom, he was sitting in front of the dining table, eating chicken soup with his grandmother.
'What just happened?'
Confusion swirled inside his head. He stood up and looked around the apartment.
The kitchen, the bedroom, the bathroom. He opened every door in the house yet no signs of Ethan could be found.
"What is this? I'm sure we were talking in my room before, so why..."
There's a gap in Ilyas' memory, something must had happened when they were talking but when he tried to remember, a sudden headache struck him – preventing him to recall anything.
"Sit down Ilyas! Why are you snooping around like a maniac?"
"Grandma! Where's Ethan?"
"What? You sent him out of our doorstep yourself, so why are you asking me?"
"What?"
'I sent him out myself? When?'
At this point, Ilyas already knew something was terribly wrong.
He had no dementia, there's no way he would forget if such things happened. He searched the apartment once more, but all he got was a painful headache.
'Hm?'
The clock on the wall caught his attention.
Right before Ethan started their conversation, he looked up his watch to check the time, that also prompted Ilyas to look up the time.
Was it 4 P.M.? Or maybe 5?
But the current time on the clock was far from that.
7: 52 P.M.
Time had jumped forward.
BAM!
"This kid! What are you slamming the table for?!"
"Grandma! Please tell me everything you two have been talking about!"
Ilyas realized his voice trembled at the end of his words, but he couldn't help it. If he wanted to know the truth, he shouldn't let fear engulf him.
The universe's gaze that affected Ethan and his thin presence in this world — both of them must be connected to the gap in his memory.
Something was blocking Ethan from conveying information to him. But after realizing the foul game the universe was playing, Ilyas wouldn't let it slide.
Shamanism was his family's specialty.
So this time, he would be the one to protect Ethan.
.
.
The sky outside had turned dark, with snow slowly falling to the earth below, turning the air chilly. In this weather, people would rather stay cooped up inside their house than wander around the street.
One of them was me.
Lying on the bed and staring blankly at the ceiling was the first thing I did after coming back from Ilyas' apartment. I had told Ilyas everything – my transmigration, a glimpse of my past life, Ethan's struggle and the fact that this world was a comic.
But Ilyas didn't show the reaction that I was hoping for. He just stared blankly and nodded a few times through my story, as if he was listening to someone else's business.
Then, after I had somehow told him most of my story, he suddenly said, "It's getting late, shouldn't you head back now?"
He chased me out.
Although I had gathered the courage to tell him everything, he didn't seem to care about it. His response was cold.
Did I do something to upset him?
I didn't think I did anything that would make him mad, there were only a few things that could upset Ilyas anyway.
So why?
I didn't expect him to help me, I just expected him to at least sympathize with my story. As his lover, I just expected some kind of comfort from him.
And in case something happened... I wanted him to at least be prepared for it.
I glanced at the table beside me. I had thrown all the stuff in my pocket there. One of them was my house key, with a violin keychain hanging beside it.
Picking it up, I brushed it with my hand. Just like Ilyas said, when I looked at this keychain, all I thought about was him.
"Haa... Having a strong mind my ass."
With the threat of death hanging around my neck and the case involving the nation's safety in my hand, I felt like I was holding the weight of the world itself.
The butterfly effect was too huge for me to handle.
At first, I just wanted to live righteously, reforming the male leads to make Ilyas' life better. But the effect of my meddling came to bite me.
Now I was just a pawn in the author's hand.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Ethan! I bought you some snacks, come out and let me see your face yeah?"
Wilson knocked on my door, inviting me out cheerfully. I had known him long enough to know what kind of thoughts he's having inside his mind. He must be worried because I went straight to my room after I got home. He's always like that, putting up a cheerful attitude on the outside but worrying too much on the inside.
"Wait, I'll be out soon."
My room had a built-in shower, so I quickly took a wash and came out of the room at a lighting speed.
"Come sit beside me."
Wilson invited me to the living room sofa. He was watching a horror movie with a bag of chips in his hand. He was hiding behind a pillow, occasionally peeking out his head to watch.
I raised my eyebrow, "Don't you usually get nightmares when you watch a horror movie at night?"
Wilson squinted his eyes at me, "Ethan, do you know human urge controlled 90% of humans' actions? This is precisely it, I'm having the urge to watch a horror movie even though I have to pay the price later." he smirked, "If I have nightmares, I'll just sleep in your room."
"No, go sleep in your own room, I won't let you in." I rolled my eyes as I sat down beside him. That made him pout, but that didn't last long before he's all smiles again.
I picked up one of the chips on the table, it was one I used to like over the past two years but now I didn't know if I could even smell it.
Letting out a sigh, I put it back on the table. Rather than opening it and letting it go to waste, I would rather not open it at all.
"What's wrong? You usually go crazy for that chip."
"Nothing, I'll just save it for later."
Wilson observed my face, squinting his eyes, but I averted my gaze. He already bought it for me so I felt a little bit guilty for not eating it, but it's better than retching on the floor because I couldn't stand the smell.
DINGDONG-!
The doorbell rang even though we both weren't expecting any visitors today.
I stood up and opened the door.
To my surprise, soft brown hair covered in snow was the first thing I saw. Ilyas — shivering under the chilly air of winter — stared at me with a serious gaze.
"Ethan, let's talk."