Inception

Mario's appearance was so sudden that Victor didn't have time to understand how Noh could be thrown backwards into Daniela and Ox. Everything happened very quickly and strangely. It's hard to describe in words.

It would be easier to describe it as a very comical incident. If you've ever watched animated movies, you're used to seeing characters who have the superpower to hit or push someone to bounce away. For example, all of that is seen in the One Piece anime. One Piece fans will definitely understand what Victor is witnessing when this happens. It is really difficult for normal logic to understand.

Even what happens next will only be believed by people who have experienced it. Mario shook Victor's body, which was still shaken by the previous incident.

The door to Victor's room was not closed, making it easier for a bird to enter. The bird bumped into Mario's back who was still shaking Victor's body. Mario was annoyed by the bird as it pawed on his back and neck. Mario let go of Victor and faced the bird.

Victor's mouth gaped watching the bird-like creature turn out not to be a bird. The creature has a human face and body, but it has wings. Both eyes are very similar to owls.

Victor walks backwards in fear while Mario fights against a creature that is not clear what it is. Victor saw that the door to his room was open, he ran to the door to run out, but just before his foot stepped on the threshold, it had already turned into a wall. Victor stepped back and watched his entire room become a wall. Windows, vents, doors, everything disappeared. The inside of the room is still the same, with a bed, a table, a chair, and a closet.

Mario is busy facing the creature with kicks and also fists. Victor didn't know what to do.

"The door that disappeared was just an illusion!" shouted Mario, then he managed to make a jump near Victor, avoiding the attack of the unknown creature.

Quickly, Mario slapped Victor about to come to his senses. Mario slapped Victor fiercely and fell on the bed.

The loud slap was like burning Victor's face. With heart palpitations, Victor opened his eyes again. He was about to return Mario's inhuman slap but what he saw was his own deserted room, no strange creatures nor Mario. The sun even shone softly into his room. The window of his room faces east, so the sun can enter his room at any time in the morning.

Victor saw that the door was installed in place as usual. Everything in his room seemed normal.

"What happened just now? Did I have a layered dream?" Victor rubbed his sweaty face. He then turned on his mobile phone, it was now six o'clock in the morning and five minutes. He breathed a sigh of relief, because he still had plenty of time to prepare for the office.

But soon after, he was again worried if he was still trapped in a strange dream.

"I've never had a very strange dream like this before," Victor told himself.

Is this happening because I've been so stressed lately? But why Mario and... Victor tried to recall everything he saw in the dream. He realizes that he has met several previous boarding house residents, namely Wildo and Daniela, but Ox and Noh, have never once crossed paths in the real world.

Victor took a deep breath. He felt that his life was heading towards a strange place. However, he didn't think about it anymore when he got out of bed. He chose to focus on preparing to leave for the office.

He picked up a towel placed on a clothesline by the window of his room. He bought it a few days after entering the White Castle boarding house. Clotheslines are the most needed objects for boarding children to dry clothes.

When picking up the towel, Victor made sure that the scenery outside was a normal scene, not an aurora like the one in his dream.

"Thank goodness, all of that was just a dream," Victor thought.

Once convinced, he went out of the room and his heart skipped a beat when right in front of the room, he saw Noh coming out of room number 17, walking towards him. Victor stayed in the doorway, his body stiff, he couldn't move in or out. The scene in the dream recalled. Noh walked past him unceremoniously in the direction of the kitchen. Did not say hello nor glance at him. Noh looked normal with glasses over the bridge of his nose. Her hair was curly, the same as the one in the dream. However, his body is not too thin. He looked contained and took good care of his body.

Victor took a deep breath. He felt like he had just had a heart attack because he saw the man who attacked him in a dream. The sensation of shock in the dream is carried into the real world and causes him to be frightened. Victor shook his head and shouted at himself to come to his senses.

Victor then continued his plan, going to the bathroom. To get to the bathroom, he had to go through the kitchen. There, he saw Ox. He stared at Ox for so long that it made Ox uncomfortable and reprimanded him.

"Who are you? Why do you look at me like that?

Ox, who was in front of Victor at this time, had horse's hair. He also wears glasses, dresses in a long-sleeved and loose-fitting T-shirt and jeans.

"He must be fascinated by you," said the curly-haired man Victor often met in the hallway. He came from the direction behind Victor and passed by him while glancing at him. The man then sat down at the dining table. Ox is making coffee. The aroma of brewed instant coffee wafted by Victor's nose. This scene is very different from Ox in the dream, because Ox in the dream sexily grinds coffee using a portable grinder.

"It doesn't look like it," Ox rejected the curly hair man's words aimed at teasing her earlier. Ox handed one of the cups to the man. They already know each other.

"We'd better get acquainted first. Because we live in the same house," Ox continued kindly.

Victor still stood stiffly in place. He still has difficulty thinking clearly. The people he had seen attacking him in a dream were now before his eyes. Just now Noh passed by ignorantly. Now Ox greeted him in surprise.

"I'm Ox, he's Mio," Ox said, introducing herself and pointing at the curly-haired man in front of her.

"I see him a lot, but he doesn't seem to want to know the other residents so I never say hello to him," Mio said as if blaming Victor.

Ox did not respond to Mio's words.

"And the one that appears behind you is Barred," Ox said, pointing to Victor's back area.

Victor turned his head and found a burly man walking past him.

"He's a trainer at the gym... ah I forgot the name, anyway that's the reason why his body looks so burly," continued Ox introducing people.

Victor greeted Barred who was standing next to him with a nod. At the moment when their eyes stared at each other, Victor felt that he had seen Barred somewhere.

"I've seen you in the Celebrity Fitness Center. So you live here?" Barred greeted Victor.

Only then was Victor able to breathe again. It is logical that he also saw Barred in the same gym.

"Yes. I'm a member of the Celebrity Fitness Center. My name is Victor. Hello, everyone..." Victor said, trying to be friendlier and hide his fears.

"I'm Barred," Barred said, introducing himself.

"We never met at home before. Do you rarely go home?" Barred asked as he walked to the refrigerator. He took something from there.

"No. I just often get up late and come home too late. Therefore, never seen you before," Victor said.

"It makes sense, even if we live in the same house, we can never say hello," Ox said. She was already sitting in a chair and enjoying coffee.

"We often meet in the kitchen like this when we are on holiday. It just so happens that today we are all off work. Except for Mio, he works from home, so he'll lock himself in the room," Barred added as he picked up the frying pan and turned on the gas stove.

"Now are you all off?" Victor asked.

"Yes, Barred and I have a day off, but Mio does not. He works in the room every day. I called him to get out of the room," Ox said.

"Oh, so you have known each other for a long time?" Victor tried to understand them one by one.

There was a sound of something being put into the hot oil. Barred was frying something.

"Did you fry dumplings?" Ox asks Barred while Mio answers Victor's question, "Yes, we've been here since 2009."

"Oh, I see. Then what about the other residents?"

When Victor finished saying his question, Noh appeared from the direction of the bathroom.

"Do you already know him?" Ox pointed to the appearance of Noh.

Victor turned his head. He swallowed hard because Noh seemed unfriendly. "Not yet," he answered truthfully.

Noh stood in front of Victor. He glanced at the contents of Barred's frying pan.

"You guys have to get acquainted first, I'll give you one dumpling later," Barred said. He knew that Noh wanted his dumplings.

"Noh," Noh said to Victor. He stretched out his hand.

"Victor," Victor said as he shook Noh's hand.

"It seems that you want to take a bath. Go. After taking a bath, please join us, or do you want to eat dumplings first together with us?" said Barred.

"Oh, no thanks. I don't have much time. I have to get to the office before nine o'clock in the morning," Victor said. "I'm leaving first."

Everyone let Victor continue his activities. When he walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower, Victor felt very strange. The whole scene that had just been experienced felt more like a dream, so he suspected that he was still in dreamland. Victor also slapped himself on the cheek.

"Aw, it hurts!" Victor complained about his own actions. However, the pain was enough to help him realize that he was already in the real world.