Chapter 113.

Maybe I should write a story about all this crazy stuff and try to monetize the whole haunted apartment story? I could sell the story online and just pass it off as a fictional horror story. I wouldn't want to claim it's real and have people think I'm some sort of delusional author who was unable to differentiate between reality and fiction. They would surely think I'd lost my mind if I really labeled it as 'based on a true story,' or if I claimed it was a nonfiction work.

Well, I suppose I'll leave that for another time. Working on this stupid presentation she pushed on me comes first.

I immediately set out to work and read through all the different documents. I took pages upon pages of notes on my laptop. Eventually, I completely lost track of time as I mindlessly slaved away as I skimmed through them one by one. I scanned through it for only the distinct notable keywords that I knew those geezers were so fond of.

It would be very difficult to scrutinize every single detail in the reports with the limited time available to me. With what looked like thousands of pages to go through, I knew I needed to cut corners where I could. Hour after hour went by and before I realized it, thirty-two hours had gone by completely unnoticed to me. By the end of it, my eyes sagged down low in a similar fashion to how they had when I was back in university. I truly was mentally exhausted to the extreme.

It really was such a mundane, boring process that drained all the life out of you. It was simultaneously the embodiment of every university student's worst nightmare. The horror of waking up one morning after continually procrastinating every day, not having started your presentation, and realizing it was due in only a day or two. I thought I'd rather die than ever have to write reports or presentations under conditions like that ever again. I greatly feared I'd trigger a bad resurgence of insomnia whenever I thought back to those days.

It was only now when my body rebelled that I realized how hungry I was. I headed over to the kitchen and put a TV dinner in the microwave. A metaphorical tear of gratefulness rolled down my cheek. Thank you chef Stouffer's for your decades of hard work. Without you, I likely would have dropped dead from starvation on countless sleepless nights over the years.

Now that I had a bit of idle time, a sudden realization hit me. If I remember correctly, didn't I accidentally double book today? I told Adele we'd go on that date today, but Boss said she'd come over to help with the presentation after work as well.

I was in a major pickle. I, of course, wanted to find out more about Adele's so-called dreams, but I naturally didn't want to let down my boss either. A potential business partnership was a pretty big deal and I could deal with Adele later. Still, the thought of seeing Adele's disappointed face was like a weight at the back of my mind I couldn't shake off. I didn't know how to break it to her; if at all possible, I'd rather just avoid her and act as though I'd forgotten all about it. I'd rather see her mad face than a look of disappointment with those abandoned puppy dog eyes of hers.

While waiting for my food, I wanted to get a bit of fresh air. It was honestly pretty rare for me to actually want to go outside, but after that nightmare in the void, it was understandable. I went out on the balcony as a change of pace to refresh myself a bit and take in the scenic view.

The nice thing about living here was the place had a rather interesting design to it. It was split into three separate buildings connected together. There was a west, central, and eastern wing with walkways enclosed by a glass dome that connected the three buildings on each floor.

I liked the western and eastern wings the best because we had access to an open-air balcony on the side facing the central building. We also had the luxury to look out over the city in the other direction whenever we exited our units and entered the corridor. It was a nice plus that the east and west wings could get a good look at the city down below and watch the pedestrians go about their day in the comfort of your own personal unit.

The central wing didn't have the luxury of an open-air balcony like the east and west wings. They only had a long window in the corridor similar to ours that fully encompassed each floor of the central building. The layout of units in the central building was maze-like in comparison to its much more simplistic detached east and west wing counterparts. Some people who lived in the central building found it more interesting as it kept their minds active, while others found it outright annoying.

These various features made the location rather unique, and it attracted a wide variety of different people of all ages.

While I looked down over the edge of the balcony in deep thought, my eyes wandered about randomly through the endless swarms of people on the bustling streets below. It was already approaching the evening, so most people were either going out to party with friends or returning home after a long day at work.

It felt strange to not be part of the crowd, it was typically around now that I'd be getting off work.

Shhhhhhk.

From my side, I heard the sound of a door slide open. When I glanced over, I immediately recognized who it was by the signature long white hair blowing to the side in the wind. It was the very same person that I was internally conflicted about meeting at the moment,

Adele...

It seemed she hadn't quite noticed me yet. She just vacantly looked down at the crowd in a manner similar to how I had done just moments before. I was uncertain whether I should escape or whether I should call out to her. The guilt of bailing on her really weighed on my mind quite a bit.

I... really should say something to her about it though. Just when I worked up the courage to call out to her, I saw something I never imagined possible.

I saw myself walk out of her unit...

My eyes shot open wide in shock.

I quietly stood behind her without alerting her of my presence. My heart stopped in place, frozen, unable to comprehend the sight. Was it another hallucination?

What I saw next made my knees grow weak. The spitting image of me behind her raised one arm up, then slowly and quietly extended it out heartlessly towards her back. He ruthlessly pushed Adele who'd leaned her full weight on the balcony's railing.

"You're a nuisance, you're no longer needed the way you are."

It was hard to make out the words from the person behind her on the balcony with the appearance identical to my own. Unfortunately, I didn't have long to think about the meaning of his words.

"Wha- Kyaaaaa!"

A shrill scream echoed out loudly. I instinctively fell backward onto the ground from the horrifying scene I'd just witnessed. I shivered uncontrollably when I registered the voice of the victim's scream. I knew I hadn't slept for quite a while, so it wouldn't be unreasonable if I suddenly started seeing things that weren't real, but this was far beyond anything I ever expected. I took a few deep breaths, stood up, and looked at her balcony again. The door was closed like there was never anyone there, the me I'd seen was long gone.

What the hell was this? What happened? Why!

"Hah. Hah. HAH. HAH. HAH! HAH! ..." Hyperventilating heavily, I stood back up...