Side Story: How Much of This Is a Dream?
I was taking a relatively hot shower to wash off the sweat.
Another good workout today.
While shampooing my hair, I noticed something amiss.
Wait, have showers already been invented in this world?
I couldn’t recall hearing from Severin that he’d finished the project. Even so, I was undeniably standing beneath a shower. Speaking of which, the length of my hair seemed different as well. As I cracked open just one eye to keep the suds out, I found black hair—as dark as Rosario’s—covered in bubbles.
“Huh?” I asked. “What’s going on?”
I didn’t fully grasp this change in my appearance, but first and foremost, I needed to finish rinsing off. After rushing through my shower, I wrapped a towel around myself and stepped out into a familiar locker room.
“This place…” I mumbled to myself.
No doubt about it. This was the locker room of the kickboxing gym I’d attended in my previous life. When I examined my reflection in the large mirror on the wall, my old self looked back at me. She had black hair and dark brown eyes.
Is this a dream?
Despite the shock, it didn’t feel entirely real.
Could I be lucid dreaming due to my exhaustion from the ball? I wondered, staring at my past self for the first time in years. But if this is a dream, maybe I should just have fun with it.
Thus, I finished changing and left the gym, deciding to enjoy this dream world for as long as it lasted. Once outside, I found myself amidst a bustling crowd of people.
“How nostalgic,” I said with a laugh.
As neon signs flickered to life, I marveled at everything while walking down the city street. Then, I noticed a group of people a little farther ahead. When I squinted to get a better look, a gaggle of squealing girls around my age ran past me.
“Is Embert really here?” one of the girls asked. “It’s not every day you meet a famous model.”
“He should be,” another girl replied. “I saw it trending on social media.”
I came to a halt, my eyes widening. “Embert?” I muttered to myself. “As in my Em?”
Yes, this had to be a dream. How could Embert exist on Earth, after all? Curiosity piqued, I ran towards the crowd. Upon arriving, a sea of people surrounded me. Of course, I couldn’t see the person in the center of the commotion. Only the staff’s warnings of “Don’t push!” and “No flash photography!” reached my ears.
“This isn’t going to work,” I grumbled.
Why couldn’t I see what I wanted to in my own dream? As a test, I wished for the crowd to part, but nothing happened. Giving up, I turned to leave. At that moment, I crossed paths with a woman muttering to herself in a white, one-piece dress. I strained to better hear what she was saying.
“My Embert, my Embert, my Embert,” she murmured over and over again.
Her abnormal aura caught my attention, and I couldn’t help but follow her with my eyes.
“Get your hands off my Embert!” she shrieked all of a sudden.
A momentary hush fell over the area. Before long, screams rose from the crowd, and people shoved each other to get away from the woman. At that moment, I spotted a large knife in her hands. With the crowd pulling away from the woman, I could see the man standing opposite her.
Yeah, that’s definitely Em.
A man too beautiful for this world stood behind two bodyguards in black suits. He had emerald eyes and silver hair that shimmered like moonlight. He wore a Chesterfield coat, a white T-shirt, and black trousers. A pair of sunglasses hung from the collar of his shirt, and he wore a scarf that matched his eyes around his neck.
“Wow, Em looks amazing in this world’s fashion, too,” I said. “He’s even more divine than I imagined.”
Though his appearance captivated me, I returned my gaze to the woman. We had bigger fish to fry right now.
“These people are in your way, right?” the woman asked, her breath ragged. “I’ll free you from them.”
With that, she dashed towards Embert, swinging her knife around wildly. Her erratic movements made it impossible for anyone to approach. As a result, Embert and his bodyguards had no choice but to retreat. The rest of the crowd kept their distance as well, sensing the woman’s madness. Meanwhile, I sneaked up on her from behind with silent footsteps. After closing in on her, I grabbed her wrist and squeezed. When she dropped her knife due to pain and pressure, I twisted her arm behind her back.
“What the hell are you doing?!” she shrieked, struggling to break free.
I twisted her arm even harder, and she fell to her knees, unable to withstand the pain. Finally, one of the bodyguards took over, binding her wrists with something like zip ties. The woman hung her head, face contorted with frustration. A moment later, the crowd erupted in cheers.
“That was amazing, miss!”
“You’re hella strong!”
“Weren’t you scared?”
As various people called out to me, I waved off their compliments. “No, no, it was nothing,” I replied.
I sensed someone standing in front of me. I expected it to be one of the bodyguards, but when I looked up, sparkling emerald eyes stared down at me.
“Thank you very much,” Embert said. “You saved my life.”
It was strange to hear him speaking fluent Japanese in his familiar voice. I couldn’t help but stare at him, as the situation felt so surreal.
“Would you mind telling me your name?” Embert asked. “I would love to thank you properly.”
Oh, of course, I thought, my chest aching. He doesn’t recognize my old self.
Though Embert looked the same as usual, I’d returned to my previous self. I was neither a holy woman nor particularly beautiful. Even so, I’d foolishly hoped that Embert would recognize me. When that hope turned into pain, I grit my teeth to hold back my tears.
“N-No, it’s not that big of a deal,” I said, straining to speak each word.