Kaede collapsed to the ground.
People nearby noticed and rushed to help him, but they were too late.
While unconscious, Kaede's memories began to flash before his eyes. In his mind, he muttered:
"Is this... the end of me?"
Tears welled up inside him—not from pain, but from overwhelming regret. He hadn't done anything he truly wanted in life. Everything felt wasted. He never got to say sorry to his best friend. He never told his parents he loved them. All the sad and bitter memories surged through his mind as his heart began to slow. Despite being half-unconscious, he could still hear people around him yelling:
"Are you okay?! Hey, wake up!"
"Someone call an ambulance!"
"I never said sorry to my best friend... I never told my parents I loved them. Haha... what a weird reaction from me. Is this what people think before they die? Weird, huh..." he thought bitterly, buried under the weight of pure sadness and regret.
"If only I had a second chance… or some power that could change me. I want to do things right. I want to change. I want to fix my mistakes."
He felt himself falling deeper and deeper into a dark void in his mind.
"I don't want to die! Please... help me! There's still so much I want to do. If only... if only I had another chance..."
And just as he was about to fade completely, he saw it—
A hand.
A woman's hand reached out from the darkness. His eyes widened as he instinctively reached back. The moment their hands touched, everything inside his mental world began to distort—glitching, shaking violently.
A voice whispered, glitchy and broken:
"Don't... do... the... same... m__t_k_... ag_in..."
Before he could respond—
RIIING!
The alarm clock blared.
Kaede opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling. Confused, he sat up slowly.
"Huh...? I'm... home?" he muttered.
He remembered collapsing—his headache, the strange voice, the darkness.
"Was that... just a dream?" he asked himself.
But then his eyes caught the time.
"7 A.M.?! I'm going to be late!"
Panic hit him like a truck. He rushed to the bathroom, took a quick shower, got dressed for work, and bolted out the door. On the train, his eyes were dead again. He knew what was waiting—another scolding, another exhausting day.
Meanwhile, at the station, a high school girl noticed him and raised an eyebrow.
"Wait... Kaede? Why is he isn't wearing a uniform?" she whispered to herself, puzzled. "Is something going on with his family again?"
The girl continued walking toward her school as Kaede arrived at what should've been his workplace.
Only... something felt off.
"Huh...? Why does this place look different?" he mumbled. "Did they renovate it already?"
He walked inside, confused. The interior wasn't what he remembered. Nothing was familiar. No sign of his office. No familiar coworkers. Just... unfamiliar faces.
Then, a man approached him.
"Hey, kid. Why are you here? You need something?"
Kaede turned toward him, eyes blank. "Huh? What do you mean kid? I work here."
"What? I've never seen you before. You look like a high school student. Are you new or something?"
"What do you mean...?" Kaede's confusion turned to slight irritation. Kaede try to explain it.
"This isn't Dorata Company, you know. What are you talking about?" the man said, now clearly annoyed. "This is Medira's Company. Are you out of your mind?"
Kaede looked around again. He blinked. Nothing looked right. This wasn't Dorata. This wasn't what he knew. It wasn't even close.
Before he could gather his thoughts, the man shoved him outside.
Stunned, Kaede stared at the unfamiliar building. His heart pounded.
"What's going on...?"
He decided to just go home. "If this really wasn't Dorata... maybe i'm already get fired?" said to himself
He spend the rest of the day in the park near his working place, after hours later
He walked to the train station, boarded the train, and got off near his apartment. It was only about 500 meters away.
As he walked, still dazed, someone ran up behind him—fast—and suddenly jumped onto his back. A pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders.
"Hey! What's up? Something wrong?"
He turned around slowly—eyes wide in disbelief.
"Huh...? Why... are you here...?"