Time is not linear. Sometimes, unbelievable things happen as if they never happened at all. This was probably that kind of happening.
Rahey should be dead. It was jarring to say but he had overdosed knowing quite well that he was beyond saving. The drunk partygoers who were there with him would have never thought of calling for an ambulance. In the haze and confusion, time would have run out before someone even noticed.
"Young Master! You were poisoned!"
It was a loud sound.
"It's a miracle you survived. Hmm what's wrong?"
The second line was more distant as if he was hearing it from someone else. It was as if his head was submerged underwater.
"I'll tell them all right away that the young master has awakened!" Again that loud, excited voice resounded.
"Can't you remember? Do you remember your name? What about your parents?" The second voice followed more cold than warm.
"What parents?" He spoke for the first time, his words filled with bitterness, but the voice was not his own. He was finally able to see. His eyes drank in the view as much as he could but the light was a bit blinding. He hadn't been able to see or feel anything for a few moments. Those moments had felt like his ticket to the afterlife but the odd sounds he heard made him realise that he wasn't dead. The voices were too solid to be the voices of ghosts, demons or holy judges. Rahey didn't know if he had cheated death or if he had just been rejected by it.
"Young Master? Who are you speaking to?"
"Stop addressing me like some rich lord of old." The words were like a reflex action. The voice was grating because his brain hadn't fully started to process the situation. Rahey looked up, his vision clearing. The man in front of him wore a red silk shirt and loose khaki pants. He had on a white headband like servants of the past. More importantly, he was acting as if Rahey was the son of some wealthy noble. The man's eyes went wide and he started trembling as if a cold wind had blown into the suffocating closed room.
"Young Master...what's wrong?"
That was when it struck him. He had assumed that he was in the house of one of the partygoers or maybe at some small herbal clinic. The possibilities were endless in his head and Rahey usually guessed right when it came to his surroundings. Alas, it looked as if he had underestimated the situation. The polished vase on the table across him let him catch a glimpse of his face. He knew for certain that he did not look anything close to what the reflection showed. He hadn't just evaded death, he had apparently transmigrated into the body of someone else.
He looked down at the loose blue garments he was wearing. They were soft and screamed luxury. Rahey cleared his throat, feeling a prick of sympathy for the man standing in front of him. Nobody would believe that their precious young master was someone else now. "It's a bit stuffy. Fetch me some water and my phone."
He gauged the reaction of the servant who looked a bit more at ease but faltered. He was wilting faster than a lotus in the desert. "Uh...pardon me. Your phone?"
"Yes and I want the water to be carbonated. If you can't do that, some soda will do and get me a supermarket lunch. It's 30% off on weekdays."
Rahey had tried to think of as many modern sounding things as he could to put in a sentence without it sounding unnatural. He also hoped to get some information if the man happened to just have an eccentric fashion sense. There was still an off-chance that it was an elaborate hoax. He had no reason to be targeted in his old life but he might have made some enemies without noticing. Perhaps it was VR?
The servant dropped to his knees in a frenzy and began to prostrate on the ground. "I'm so sorry but I don't know what you are asking for, young master." It was obvious by his face that the servant thought he was possessed or crazy but was of too low rank to directly make any comment on it.
Rahey smiled and then he laughed. It was fake laughter meant to ease the tension but it was also a sort of delirium. What was he doing? "It's fine. I was in the mood to joke. It must be the poison. Please, fetch any normal water."
The servant stood up and bowed low before leaving in a rush.
What was happening could very well be a hallucination or a dream but he decided not to question it. He had too little information to make any real guesses but he was someone of high status and from the looks of it, the perpetrator was going to get some bad news soon of their botched assassination attempt. Hopefully he was safe. It would be a shame to die twice before he got the chance to live.