Lost Memories?

"I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?"

3

Dice put a hand over his face in an attempt to rub off his growing anxiety.

A case of mistaken identity?

Could it be that Assistant Kim brought him to this place last night, thinking he was his Boss, that so-called Professor? But Dice really had no recollection of leaving his house. 

What was his last memory?

Watching funny short video reels, probably?

The normal 2 am habit of any young guy.

Liking posts of some pretty online celebrities, messaging his friends for the next night they will play the newly released RPG of their favorite franchise…

Was he really kidnapped?

Dice roamed the bedroom once more. He still could not find his phone. Or anything that could help him for that matter.

Aside from clothes and shoes, there was nothing else in the cabinets.

Who was the Professor?

In the end, Dice decided to take a shower to somewhat cool his head. 

There was no use panicking. He was in an unfamiliar place, pretending to be someone he's not to fool a person of questionable identity. The moment he loses his composure, his life would probably be in grave danger.

'Huh? This appearance? Me but…older?'

When Dice stepped inside the luxurious bathroom the size of a hotel room, his reflection on the mirror was what first greeted his eyes. 

It looked wrong, and he had to rub his eyes to make sure he was not simply seeing things.

'Damn, I look like Dad in his old pictures.'

In the mirror was a tall man in black pajama pants. His bare chest exposed an extremely fit physique, his muscles nothing like that of a bulky bodybuilder with fashion muscles, but slimmer like that of an active athlete. 

Short military-cut black hair, thick brows and dark eyes on a pleasant-looking face with strong manly jaws. 

Dice looked like a sociable guy next door, the big brother neighbor type, if not for the distorted frown on his face.

His finger traced his skin near his abdomen. There was a small, faded scar about an inch long at his waist, a scar he earned back when he was lost in the mountains as a child and luckily escaped the pursuit of a bear.

There was also a burn scar on his left shoulder, one he earned during his military service.

It was his body…but also not his body.

'I am not this buff!'

The man in the mirror seemed to be in his late twenties, with an extremely grim expression, nothing of the easygoing look he used to sport back in university.

'I look older? Three years, maybe four?'

Dice was stumped at the realization. 

What, had he lost his memories of the past few years? Did he hit his head somewhere and had amnesia? 

Then, shouldn't he at least wake up in the hospital, surrounded by family and friends? 

Even a nurse would do, not a scary nonhuman assistant.

But it was the only reason that made sense—that he, Lee Suho, somewhat became a bigshot person and unfortunately had amnesia.

'But really? A professor? Did I pursue a Master's degree as soon as I graduated?'

Dice wanted to check the current date, but that would have to wait for later once he manages to get his hands on a cellphone or laptop. 

'It would be weird to ask Assistant Kim about the date and the year, right?'

A part of him was telling him he shouldn't let that man know his current situation.

'I don't want him to get suspicious. I still have goosebumps on my arms.'

As he recalled the vanishing cup incident earlier, Dice lifted his hand and aimed a finger on the faucet three meters away from him. 

He wanted to try something.

Dice flicked his finger, imagining water to burst out from the sink at the gesture, but nothing happened. He tried once again, trying to sense the changes in his body or in the air around him, but there was no reaction.

He tried to focus on one of the bottles on top of the sink.

Nothing happened.

He bashfully scratched his head.

'Ugh, forget it.'

After taking a quick shower, Dice let the water continue running to give the impression that he was still in the shower. That way, it could delay Assistant Kim from checking on him.

'It should buy me ten more minutes.'

He stepped back to 'his' bedroom and hesitated on what to wear. There was an array of clothes in the walk-in wardrobe, ranging from business suits to comfortable casualwear, all of them branded and foreign, too high end for his taste. 

To his confusion, they seemed mostly unused, about half looking like they were only worn once.

'Is this really mine?'

Dice wondered if he also won the lottery in those years he could not remember.

'I don't think the 'me' in my right mind would purchase all these for no reason. I'm no prodigal son.'

'What happened to me in the years I have no memory of?'

After choosing to wear a plain black turtleneck sweatshirt and white pants, which could pass as both formal and casual, he proceeded to search around the bedroom for the third time.

His cellphone.

'If I can check my phone, then half the confusion can be solved.'

…

Nothing.

Was this really a house where someone lives in?

There were no personal items on the tables, neither in the drawers nor the shelves.

Dice was starting to suspect once more that he had been kidnapped, and this place was not his actual residence, but some sort of safehouse with a different name in the housing registration, like the ones used by fugitives in mafia and yakuza movies.

As he sat on the edge of the bed, he glanced at the only item near the smart touch lamp.

"Tubby," he called out to the echo device on his bedside table, "call my cellphone."

[Which cellphone, Master?]

There was more than one?

"Tubby, call my personal number."

[Calling…]

Jackpot!

To Dice's delight, he was able to hear a phone ringing.

But the strangest thing was that it was not inside the bedroom.

The ringing was… inside his head.