/POP Sana/
Sana hurried to wear his school uniform and went downstairs to see who his mother was. But his actions were still lazy, like nothing really mattered in his life. He still felt confused by Japanese culture.
[ Why is my sister in this world so tempting? She is my stepsister , not my real relative. That's the best part, like I'm a main character, but I swear I won't have that kind of relationship with her. My family had been terrible in my past life, so in this life I don't want to ruin my new life with my stupid desires. ]
He looked at the woman who looked around below 30 years old. Her face looked very tough. She wasn't the type of woman you could easily tease. Maybe she would get angry at you. She must be a strict mother, unlike his mother, who always had a warm smile for him. Sana started to miss his mother now.
Xejo showed an annoyed face while doing things for her daughter, and then when she heard his footsteps, she looked at him and asked in an emotionless tone, "What happened to you?"
[ Why do I feel like I did something bad to her daughter? Why did my sister have that kind of relationship with me?... But looking at my appearance, it's not like I'm related to them by blood. I'm not her son, so maybe that's why she treats me with this attitude. Why don't I feel excited after coming to a new world like a main character in a Japanese novel? This is my dream, right? Why? Why? I hate this feeling. Do I miss Vietnam?... But why was my family still terrible all the time, even after I got isekai'd into another world like some sweet dream of a reader? Did someone summon me to this world?... ]
There were too many questions in his mind.
Sana's voice trembled while his face showed fear toward the unknown things in this world. "I'm sorry... but I don't know who you are. Maybe I lost my memory."
[ I know she is my mother somehow, but with this beginning I have a bad feeling about everything. In all the old novels I read in the past, there was always a tragic event when it came to these weird relationships. ]
Xejo let out a long sigh while continuing her work. "Maybe you're like this because of yesterday... but you need to hurry and go to school."
[ Yesterday? What does she mean by that?... Why is this life so mysterious? ]
Sana nodded, then hurried to go to school. He looked around in confusion. The roads were very clean, and there was barely any sign of people around. Like he was the only person existing in this world. He looked scared, like he had been trapped inside a huge forest. He breathed heavily and clung to his chest to calm himself down while struggling to open his phone screen.
For some reason, his body moved on its own to unlock the password so easily. He showed a relieved face while opening Google Maps. It showed a lot of different high schools. Sana became even more terrified by this problem. So he chose to run back home rapidly because it was nearly 7 AM now. He wasn't sure about anything, but he didn't want to ruin his life like this.
He turned back and looked at the woman preparing to go to work with a sad face. "Mom... where is my school?" His voice trembled from these feelings.
Sana felt weird when he called some random woman his mother, even if she was technically his mother in this world.
[ Maybe my life is terrible even in this new life. What a pain... I don't have any hope for this world. Maybe it's even lonelier than Vietnam. Worse if I keep living the same way as in my previous life. I miss my mother's smile now. ]
Xejo became emotionless when she heard that. She thought her son was just playing with her to make her worry... but looking at him now, it seemed very serious.
After Xejo told him where the school was, Sana hurried and ran while using his phone to check Google Maps. While running nonstop, his eyes stayed fixed on the screen.
[ I don't know what's going on... but it seems I've come to a different world. This world gives me a second chance to change my fate. I swear I'll change myself... and find a good wife and have a better life. This society is perfect for me. I can live without being scared of what people think about me. But Japan still has some bad sides. I hope I never face the same tragedies some Japanese guys have faced because of rumors that ruined their entire families. But that's not real, right?... I'm still not sure about Japanese culture. I need to learn more. ]
When he looked around while gripping his phone tighter, his breathing became heavier while sweat covered his clothes.
[ It seems I'm in Japan. ]
He looked at the high school with an unreadable face. In his past life, he lived in Vietnam. He really loved Japanese culture. Almost all the romance stories he read came from Japan. He even tried learning Japanese too, but he failed because Japanese was too hard for someone like him. Learning kanji was like fighting a real boss battle. His head used to hurt so badly.
But after coming to this world, for some reason he could easily understand Japanese. Like he had some kind of cheat system made for people like him.
[ Maybe I can finally see real romance in this world. I really want to feel that... but I still can't trust anyone in this world. In my past life, I chatted with a Japanese girl on Facebook. I still wasn't sure if she was really Japanese or not, but the way she mastered English and digital art at the same time made me suspicious of her. Not to mention she used her cute side to control people into supporting her with money. Such a young age, only 15 years old... Then I tried becoming a real anti-fan to reveal her crazy side. But that Japanese girl just kept thanking me whenever I used the right words to motivate her while ignoring my bad comments. That's the part I don't like about Japanese people. I need to be careful around these people. ]
When he arrived, he saw a lot of students. He showed a cool face and walked inside while many students came to school together with their friends. There were even some guys who looked just like him. His heart finally calmed down because there were still people similar to him.
[ Lucky, I'm on time. But I still hate the idea of going to school and studying these stupid useless things again. What a pain for my existence... but at least I can experience the feeling of being a Japanese student, right? ]
He walked deeper inside and then saw the leaderboard names. Sana checked his name and class. He was in Class A-1.
When he read the list, an interesting name appeared—
Alice.
[ No way... is this a coincidence?... Maybe it's just the same name somehow, right? ]
Sana blinked when he suddenly realized something. He talked to himself, "Sana... why does my name sound like a girl's name?" He laughed softly. "In my previous life, I chose this name just for fun. I never thought it would actually become my name hahaha."
A big smile appeared on his face.
There were many students around him, but he didn't want to waste time making friends. So he went straight to Class A-1. When he entered, a girl caught his attention.
[ Why does she look like Alice?... I'm imagining things again. ]
A very beautiful girl with soft skin, black hair, and a short skirt. Many boys tried talking to her.
[ Should I try too?... No. Maybe she's different in this life. ]
He rubbed his eyes and looked more carefully before letting out a relieved expression.
[ I'm just hallucinating again. There is no way something like this could happen. She's just a normal girl, not that beautiful. After all, there are no ugly girls. Any girl can become beautiful if she wears makeup and good clothes, right? ]
After he found his seat, the teacher came into the class. Then it was time for introductions.
When it came to Sana, he felt a little nervous. "I'm Sana Dazojio. My dream is to earn a lot of money and live a free life."
[ In my past life, I really didn't want to work because I hated it. I just wanted to spend time doing what I liked. But this time... I'll change. Still, I hate this feeling of saying things like this in front of everyone. Normally in Vietnam we don't have to do this stupid thing. ]
Loji spoke in a teasing voice while looking at Sana's emotionless face. "Your thoughts are quite far ahead, but that's good."
Some other students said, "Oh, he has a great dream. I like it... but that dream is so boring and unrealistic..."
Another whispered, "Do you know him?..."
[ I don't care what they think about me. Pathetic children... Just like some naughty kids in my own country. I like being like this. I'm truly a tsundere in real life. ]
Then it came to Alice.
"My name is Alice. My favorite thing is eating sweet things."
Sana looked at her carefully to make sure she wasn't that Alice. His eyes widened while he lowered his head to hide his reaction.
[ Just like a normal girl... wait, she sounds like the Alice I know. This isn't real, right?... ]
When break time came after studying math, Sana thought—
[ Now is the right time to make friends... but I still don't like it. I'll just pretend to sleep and think about myself. ]
But for some reason—he actually fell asleep.
When the next lesson came, a guy touched him. "Hey, friend, it's time to study."
Sana looked at the guy who woke him up. Just a normal guy, but Sana didn't like that smile. It reminded him of some bad memories.
"Oh... thanks."
Time passed very quickly. If you asked about Sana's studying—well, it was very easy for him because he already knew most of the lessons. So he slept most of the time while testing his Japanese reading skills. The crazy part was that he understood everything.
Now it was time to go home, but he was still sleeping. Suddenly, a loud voice woke him up.
"I'VE HAD A CRUSH ON YOU FOR A LONG TIME, SO PLEASE DATE ME!"
A handsome guy was confessing loudly—that's why Sana could hear it.
When Sana looked toward the voice, he saw the scene through the classroom window. The girl being confessed to... was Alice.
[ No doubt about it. She's beautiful... or maybe she only looks beautiful from my point of view because of the old memories I have with her?... But that handsome guy must be her friend or something else. Still, I should take the chance to talk to her later and see who she really is. ]
But for some reason, Sana really wanted to hear her answer. It was too far away, so he couldn't hear what she said. The boy slowly lowered his head.
For some reason, Sana showed a happy face and picked up his things to go home.
[ He must have been rejected... what a normal student life. ]
He giggled crazily alone while scrolling through his phone to learn about Vietnam in this world. He found out that everything looked very normal, almost exactly like his old world.
"Did I transport into another Japanese guy's body... and then that guy entered my old body?"
He looked at the sky, but suddenly his head started hurting as if old memories were returning to him again.
A memory about the girl he loved the most... the girl whose fresh atmosphere had brought light into his life—
Diễm Quỳnh.