A Fated Encounter

Noon drove by quicker than expected. Tang-Ji gazed out of the window into the city, watching the kingdom of drones buzzing around like mechanical flies, servicing the city's citizens. Most of the students had already gone home or attended after-school club activities.

A 'kitakubu' like Tang-Ji found herself wandering in solitude around the desolate corridor for hours before heading home. *(Kitakubu refers to a mildly derogatory term for students who are not actually part of a club or active in club activities and simply go straight home once school is over.)

She knew she had to try—had to reach out, to be something more than a shadow slipping through the cracks. But the first step felt like stepping off a ledge.

The words sat on the tip of her tongue, stagnant, unmoving, like a song left unsung. She understood what had to be done. Yet, knowing was one thing—moving was another.

She strolled down the orange-coloured hallway, painted by the evening sun. Echoes could be heard with each footstep as she walked into the warm realm. The piercing, bright light from the sunset beamed through the school window, covering her azure eyes with a tawny blush.

'Tap, tap, tap.' Tang-Ji was drawn into the sudden appearance of another footstep.

The normal walking gait echoing off her indoor shoes was suddenly counteracted by a harsh and heavy walk emanating towards her.

Right around the corner of the tanned hallway, she was greeted with a "Bang!" Moments later, she was accompanied by multiple boxes tipping all over her.

"Ah! Jeez! Ouch, ouch, ouch, my hand." The tall boy rubbed his hand against the front of his shirt to ease the scratch that was scraped from the sharp corner.

"Why the hell do I have to carry all this crap?" He adjusted his grip, fingers digging into the cardboard edges.

"Just because I'm the club president—" A sharp exhale, his foot scuffing against the tile. "Doesn't mean I have to do everything for those lazy losers."

"They broke the damn computer," Kazami muttered, shooting a glare at the shattered monitor on the desk. A web of cracks splintered across the screen, its once-bright display now a lifeless black void.

"Should be them cleaning up this mess, not me," he added under his breath.

He set the box down with a thud, rubbing his temple. "This was supposed to be a club, not a babysitting service. Why did I even let them in? A few weeks, and they're already slackers." A bitter chuckle slipped out, dry and humorless.

A gentle breeze drifted in from the side window, brushing their pale faces, and their eyes met, lingering in a quiet moment.

His raven hair caught in the breeze, lifting softly around his face, and for an instant, it felt familiar. His downturned lashes swept over deep, shadowed iris that seemed to hold her entire world in place; they were veiled but inviting, like something she should know yet couldn't name.

The warm glow of the setting sun carved faint lines of light across his lean frame, his white shirt barely concealing his slender build, silhouetted in the rich orange light.

The boy immediately bowed low before Tang-Ji, his head nearly parallel to the ground, creating a small gust with the swift motion.

"Hey, are you alright?" His voice wavered as he took a half-step back, hands hovering uncertainly.

"Oh no. I—I'm so sorry." He rubbed the back of his neck, swallowing hard. "I wasn't looking where I was going." His eyes flickered up for a split second before darting back down.

"I sincerely apologise—" A sharp inhale, his fingers tightening around the hem of his sleeve. "For my carelessness." The words tumbled out fast, almost frantic, like he was trying to outrun his own embarrassment.

"You're not hurt, are you?" He asked softly, extending his hand, palm open, after a brief pause. His eyes searched her face, brows drawn together just enough to show he was waiting, hoping for her assurance.

Slowly, she raised her head with a startle while extending out her puny hand, grabbing onto the strange boy. As their hands touched, Tang-Ji's vision rippled, ink-black shadows bleeding into her sight until she was somewhere else entirely—a world that felt suspended between dream and memory.

Once again, she entered my world.

In the hazy glow of a setting sun, a boy stood before her, his face blurred as though hidden behind a veil of mist. He reached out, his hand enveloping hers, warm and familiar, guiding her down a path bathed in fading amber light.

The world around them shimmered, surreal and fragile, the sun sinking low, casting their shadows long and indistinct. And just as quickly as it began, the dream unravelled, pulling her back into darkness as she collapsed, the vision slipping away like sand through her fingers.

Our minds suddenly intertwined, resulting in her passing out cold in the orange hallway.

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She twitched her eyes as they slowly gaped into an unfamiliar ceiling.

"Where am I?"

"Oh, you're awake. Phew! I was worried you might have gotten a concussion. You passed out in the hallway, so I brought you here to the nurse's room."

His voice felt distant, like hearing through water. Tang-Ji blinked, the memory still seared into her mind—shadows stretching, flickering, curling around something she couldn't quite grasp.

It was like watching an old TV playing a half-broken tape, the screen shrunken, boxed in by static lines and a black frame. The edges warped, a faint hum buzzing underneath, while the rest of the screen was filled with nonsense—weather updates, numbers scrolling, a blinking timestamp that didn't belong.

The scene played in a corner of her mind, incomplete, fractured, slipping away like sand through trembling fingers.

"Oh, pardon my rudeness. I am so sorry; please forgive me." Kazami bowed quickly.

Tang-Ji's fingers curled slightly against the sheets. Had it been real? The weight of it lingered in her chest, unsettling.

"I accidentally hit you; I was careless of my surroundings, not to mention I was carrying a heavy load as well." He fumbled his fingers behind him.

She exhaled, grounding herself. "No, it's fine. It was my fault too for wandering around the school grounds while also assuming no one was there."

"Oh, I forgot. Let me introduce myself. My name is Kazami Lynn of class 3B."

She hesitated a second too long. "I'm Tang-Ji Shizukesa of class 2A," she said softly.

Kazami's eyes lingered on her for a fraction too long before he glanced away, his smile tightening almost imperceptibly.

"Shizukesa-san… nice to meet you." His voice wavered slightly, but he quickly masked it with a polite smile, his hands fidgeting in his pockets as if resisting the urge to say more.

She barely noticed.

The ceiling above her was just a ceiling now, but the image of something else—something wrong—still clung to the edges of her thoughts

It was as though time paused with those two; their moments together were short, yet their time was golden.

I knew this day would eventually come, but I could not believe it would come this early. I wonder what will happen once her memories return. Will I disappear?

The two gazed into each other's eyes for a moment before the boy suddenly struck up a conversation to break the tension in the air.

"Hey, if you haven't joined a club yet, how about you join mine? I'm the president of the Esports Club. We basically play games most of the time and practice our skills for national or international tournaments. Obviously, we are representing this high-standard school, so we gotta bring our A-game into every matchup."

"Games, like what?" Tang-Ji slightly tilted her head.

"Oh, we are currently playing an open-world PVP MMORPG called Fever Dream. It's a pretty old game, but recently it was adopted by the new company V.I.R.M., so the graphics and a lot of other things got remodelled.

"Luckily, they didn't reset everyone's stats; otherwise, it would take forever for us to gear up again." Kazami enthusiastically explained.

However, as he continued to speak, he noticed Tang-Ji's faintly fatigued expressions. It jolted him out of his thoughts, and with a nervous cough, he quickly reached for his blazer that was neatly folded on the side of her bed.

Shrugging it on, he straightened and met her gaze, his movements slightly hurried yet deliberate. Tang-Ji's face remained blank, but heart was somersaulting for some reason as she suddenly became acutely aware of just how tall he was.

"Oh! Ummm... no pressure, alright? It's just my way of apologising for bumping into you. The club is full, but I can make an exception for you if you're willing to join."

"As I said before, it was also my fault for not looking where I was going. Your offer, I'll think about it." She said it softly.

"Great, here's my number. Text me when you've made up your mind. Also, get lots of rest tonight, and I hope you get better soon." He smiled vibrantly as he slowly backed away towards the door.

"I have to go back to my club now; I'll see you later, Shizukesa san."

"Thanks for the offer, Lynn Senpai," she smiled before pulling up the blanket above her head.

* (Senpai is a term that is used to refer to your senior, upperclassman)

'Why did it seem so comfortable talking to him? It's as though we've talked countless times before. But I have no memory of meeting this person.

'His gentle smile somehow brought me a strange comfort. Kazami Lynn, huh?' She thought to herself silently under the dimmed light of the nursing room.

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The sun finally slumbered into a dream in the flashing moonlight. Tang-Ji was sitting curiously on her computer, staring at the official game home page of Fever Dream.

"Huh? This email already exists." As She tried again and again to register with her email, it failed to accept her.

"Maybe it's a bug."

She tried to log into the game with the same email password she used for all her platforms.

Moments later.

"It worked? How?"

The screen brightened, launching Tang-Ji onto the home page of the character customisation.

A character under the name Zilynx, along with an in-game character, was displayed right before her eyes.

She began to drive her thoughts into a corner as she tried extensively to figure out what was going on.

'Could I have gotten hacked? How is this possible? Though if I were, I wouldn't be able to log in again,' she thought to herself while trying desperately to fathom this predicament.

A jolt of shock suddenly stunted her mind as she finally realised her situation, the duality of herself is real, and everything she knew was completely different from 7 years ago. Her past has finally decided to begin to lurk back on her shoulders.

"No way; my past self must have played this game before. This account must have been made by myself long ago; no one else could have guessed my passwords." Her lips quivering slightly.

"What did Senpai say his in-game name was again?"

Seconds later, she was struck with a loud text tone.

She pulled out the text message Kazami had sent to her just moments ago.

"His in-game name is Kirizkuuk, huh?"