2 Arc One (1)

Transmigrating hurt almost as much as drowning.

As pain once more rippled through his body, Nicholas stumbled into a corner of the small room he found himself in. Back pressed into the corner, he slid down the wall and rested his head on his knees while attempting to catch his breath. From the corner of his eye he could see a maroon curtain that stopped approximately a ruler length from the ground. Opposite him was a cream wall with a full-length mirror. It was obviously a changeroom, but unlike any changeroom Nicholas had ever been in before. The carpet he was sitting on, was soft and plush, while the curtain appeared to be velvet and rather than hooks to hang clothes up while trying them on, there was a wooden coat rack with several items of clothing on hangers.

Nicholas blinked as the videogame style dialogue box appeared in the air before him.

"What?" Choose his name? Didn't this body already have a name?

"Ah… Nicholas Kim." He may as well choose his own name— less chance of forgetting who he was supposed to be if he used the name he was most familiar with.

<Character Name: Nicholas Kim.

Mission: Save the Cannon Fodder Nicholas Kim

Save point established>

"Hey!" What was this? He was the cannon fodder? How is he supposed to save himself if he doesn't even know where he is? "Some help would be appreciated."

<You have selected the Help Option. Choose from the following options:

Introduction to World Plot

Sync Original Memories>

"Because that was helpful," Nicholas scoffed at the System before making a selection.

<You have selected the Help Option. Choose from the following options:

Introduction to World Plot

Sync Original Memories>

"Sync Original Memories."

A life flashed before his eyes like a movie on fast forward.

The body he was inhabiting lived in Chicago for the whole of his thirty-one years. His life till now had been unremarkable, yet happy. His next door neighbour growing up, a freckle faced boy called Gabe Seljaro, was his best friend and the two of them had gone to Chicago University together; the original studying law and Gabe studying business. It was while studying in the D'Angelo Law Library (rather, the original was attempting to study while his best friend flirted with the librarian's assistant) that the pair met the female lead of the World's plot. The original never knew why, but sparks had flown the moment his best friend and the female lead laid eyes on each other. Louisa Silvestra was a tiny ball of energy— barely reaching the original's shoulder and able to be tucked under Gabe's arm. They knew this for a fact because, upon seeing the petite brunette struggling to reach a book on a higher shelf, rather than offer his assistance, Gabe had instead decided to lean casually against the shelf, with his hand tucked behind his head, and ask if she was old enough to be on campus unsupervised.

When she turned to retort, her face went straight into Gabe's armpit and their immediate argument elevated to shouting insults in Italian, and ended in all three of them being expelled from the library indefinitely. Fortunately for the original, he was known to the librarian who agreed to lift their ban on the condition that they serve time as library assistants and restock the shelves of a night for the remainder of the semester. Over time, the original found himself stocking shelves by himself while the pair took advantage of the deserted library. They married after graduation and it was only when standing as best man that the original felt his heart break and realised he'd fallen in love with his childhood friend.

That made Nicholas pause, tears slowly sliding down his cheeks as he felt the original's emotions from that day as if from fresh wounds. The original was gay? Did that mean he was too? He hadn't ever considered his own sexuality before; all his time through his teen years had been spent concentrating on study rather than dating and when certain biological urges made themselves known, well, that's what cold showers and his hands were for. Wait…

"Does this body have a boyfriend?" How was he supposed to act? Would he have to continue the relationship or put an end to it? To his relief, the rest of the memories showed the original loyally following his best friend into business and, much like Nicholas himself had, throwing himself into work with no time for personal relationships.

Of course, there had been that one time, during his first semester at uni, when he'd been studying late at the university library. Whether the couple thought the library was deserted at that time of night, or whether the prospect of getting caught was just an added thrill, for nearly an hour the seventeen-year-old innocent studied to a soundtrack of passion. It was disconcerting for Nicholas to consider the human body as a sexual body, even as his study transformed the same into a biological puzzle of interconnected parts serving a mechanical purpose. Rather than attempt to sort through his own confusion, it was less daunting for Nicholas to squash any attraction and use the thwarted energy to further his studies. Which was how an eighteen year old innocent found himself inhabiting the body of a 31 year old virgin who at least had sorted out his own sexuality even if he never acted on his desire for his best friend.

"Nicky?" A low, melodic voice interrupted his musings and the green leather pumps that stopped outside the curtain told Nicholas the female lead had come to check on him.

"Just a minute," the original's memories told Nicholas that he was supposed to be trying on a new shirt to wear to Louisa's birthday party. Eyeing himself in the mirror, he had to at least congratulate the original on his taste. The lilac shirt set off his black hair and made his blue eyes appear almost lavender; an affect that Nicholas was quite taken with. Wiping his eyes quickly with a monogrammed handkerchief found in the pocket of obviously tailored slacks, Nicholas took a deep breath. Time to enter the fray.

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