Chapter Text
Evan stood in front of a glamorous beach, each hand holding a luggage, while his friends lingered in the corner taking photos of the beach for their Instagram.
Evan let out a grumbled sigh as his eyelashes flickered from the scenery and back to the people who are, supposedly—his friends.
Paano niya ba nasabi?
There's exactly two reasons for that.
His real name is Ethan—and he is not from this world.
Isang araw, he suddenly woke up in a strange world that is hugely similar to earth—his old world—but also greatly contrasts in the fact that supernatural beings like mermaids and vampires are normalized here and coexist peacefully with humans.
Sobrang nakakagulat.
I mean, how would someone feel waking up at 12am and your friends casually telling you that there's an ongoing vampire conclave dynasty conflict sa south, and discussing how it might affect the economy?
Like, hear him out. He could never assume that the word vampire and economy could be formed in one sentence. Like, in what way would that make sense, right?
Everything has just been really weird.
And, it's been exactly 1 week and 5 days and he's still adjusting to everything. Hindi niya lubos maisip kung paanong paraan, bakit, at paano siya napunta rito. He only remembers drowning himself with beer due to so many problems piling up—quite cliché to say, yes. And now he's Evan. A marine biologist. Not "Ethan"—not an indie singer who is on the brink of losing his dreams because of plagiarism accusations.
Napahugot na lang siya ng malalim na hininga at napapikit ang mga mata.
Should this sudden change be a good thing or not?
After all, his life on earth is already messed up—him and his old friends have parted ways. His career has been drowning and he was lost.
Would it actually be better to start over again in this unknown world?
He doesn't even know if he's having hallucinations or if this is actually real.
But if he knows one thing for now? He's probably fucked up. He has to own an identity—someone's life, out of no choice.
Nobody could ever convince him that those ISEKAI stories feel morally good.
He's literally taking over someone's life and lying to everyone. That person's family...friends. Acquaintances—the very things that he is lacking in his old world.
"Evan! Ano ba! Why are you still standing there? Come on, join us!" Sunghoon grumbled as he nudged Evan towards the rest house, "Are you feeling sluggish from the travel? Sabi ko sa'yo magdala ka ng gamot, baliw ka."
"Hindi naman pre, oks lang naman ako."
Evan took a deep breath, forcing a smile as he quickly followed the tall guy towards the rest house with a stiffened smile.
The sand underneath his feet slowly rushed up to his legs and thighs.
Rinig na rinig niya ang mga sigawan at hiyawan ng mga kaibigan ng pagkataong inaangkin niya ngayon.
He let out a grumbled sigh before turning his way, hands gripping the suitcase tightly.
And somehow, a quiet surging feeling enters his sluggish mind.
To have this identity.
An identity that he selfishly wishes to be his permanently.
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"So..." Ni-ki sat up in front of the group and looked at everyone with a curious look, "ano ulit itinerary natin for the whole week?"
Jungwon grumbled and threw a banana peel at him. "Tangina mo, hindi ka ba nagbabasa ng gc?"
Ni-ki immediately avoided the banana peel before whining, "Parang tanga naman 'tong si Jungwon eh! Hindi ba pwedeng gusto ko lang may topic tayo?"
"Ulol! Kung makaasta 'to parang hindi tayo nag-uusap lagi ah." Park Jongseong snickered at the other side, while his hands were occupied as he furiously poked at his phone. "Gago talaga! Lose streak na naman!"
Sunghoon sighed exasperatedly as he watched everyone before glancing back at Ethan, "Ang tahimik mo naman, pre." He paused. "Heartbroken ka ba?"
Evan raised both of his eyebrows. "Huh?"
Everyone glanced in his direction. "Oo nga, gago ang tahimik niya nga."
"Baka nata-tae?" Jungwon mumbled.
Evan scrunched his nose in embarrassment, "Parang mga gago! Ulol, hindi!"
"I was... I was just thinking about—you know I have a new project to work on, right?" he answered, already cringing hard from lying. Tangina, ano ba namang alam niya sa pagiging marine biologist? He was a singer for freaking sake, but now he has to own a job so far from his old career. "Pero... I am just not feeling my job lately."
"Gusto ko sana mag-resign," he added weakly.
The whole room went quiet. "Oh."
"Okay? Ano namang problema do'n." Sunghoon frowned curiously. "What do you plan to do next?" There was no pressure in his question—rather, he was trying to make his friend feel that it's okay to make decisions regardless—but for Heeseung, it was like a dead end question. Ano nga ba ang pwedeng gawin niya?
Would it be weird to answer something about music? Would they start looking at him differently? Hindi niya alam if the previous owner—the real 'Evan guy'—has a thing for music. No. Hindi niya alam how to cover up that question.
Heeseung was silenced as he stared at the mug between his palms.
"Hoon, I think we should not ask him about that muna. Enjoyin muna kaya natin 'yung vacation natin?" Jungwon suggested as he noticed the older's silence. He side-eyed everyone before tapping the guy's shoulder. "Okay lang 'yan, Evan. Just talk to us when you feel ready, yeah?" The younger guy's eyes crinkled as he squeezed his shoulder gently.
"Tara, ayusin muna natin mga gamit natin," Ni-ki urged everyone and nodded at him. "Sige lang, bro. Mag-senti ka muna. We'll just be upstairs. Katok ka na lang 'pag gusto mo ng kiss, ah?"
Heeseung rolled his eyes and gave him a middle finger.
Ni-ki burst out laughing while Sunghoon and Jungwon tugged him upstairs.
"Evan." And there, left standing beside him, was Jay. Wala na 'yong malokong ngiti niya o 'yung iritadong mukha galing sa paglalaro.
"Maybe you should consider going back to your old passion."
Heeseung stared at the retreating figure of Jay, left behind with a huge question.
Evan, sino ka ba talaga?
---
Ethan—Evan—Heeseung, or whatever his name should be, is now standing on the shore at 2 am, throwing stones into the sea mindlessly. The conversation from earlier continued lingering in his head.
"Ano bang ginagawa ko sa buhay ko?" he asked with a deep look. He gazed at the sky and there, wondered for the hundredth time how he should cope with the reality presented to him.
He wants to tell them the truth. To tell them who he is. He wants to confess everything, but something is greatly holding him back.
To connect with them as Heeseung known as Ethan, and not as Evan.
The fear. The loneliness.
The fear of the change. Of the things that could happen. Will they freak out or treat him with hatred if they learn he was not their real friend all this time?
Gustong-gusto niyang magpanggap na sa kaniya na lahat ng 'to. Gusto niya, sa kaniya na lahat. He wants to pretend that his old life didn't exist. Pero how should he do it if he doesn't even know a single thing about marine biology? About what kind of person Evan was in the past, before he came here?
"Tanginang buhay 'to!" He gritted his teeth in frustration as he threw a rock harshly into the sea for the last time, huffing his own breath.
"Ouch!!"
Heeseung flinched the moment a voice appeared out of nowhere. He immediately looked around in alert and fright as he moved away from the shore. "Gago, sino 'yan?!"
Can't he have a single normal thing to happen in his life?
"The hell you're looking around? Ano ba! Why're you throwing rocks around? Is that how uncivilized humanity nowadays is?"
Heeseung frowned before turning his gaze slowly towards the ocean—and there, a bare-chested, brown-haired man with a glowing bluish tail lay in the sand.
Napalunok ng malalim si Heeseung.
He stood there dumbfoundedly, then took a cautious step back as he observed the strange man sprawled out on the shore.
"Holy shit," he blurted out.