The quiet hum of the apartment filled the room as Yuria leaned back in her chair, savoring the last bite of the gourmet feast that Surreal had effortlessly prepared.
Her expression was a mix of awe and disbelief, her cheeks still faintly flushed from the earlier interactions.
Forreal sat across from her, occasionally stealing glances at Surreal, who remained unnervingly calm, sipping tea as though the evening were just another mundane occurrence.
Yuria set her fork down, wiping her mouth delicately with a napkin. "That was amazing!" she said earnestly, holding a cup of water to slowly cleanse her palate as the conversation went on. Her voice was laced with genuine admiration. "I don't think I've ever had anything this good. To think that I just got a master chef coming to my house and feeding me free gourmet food with all of the presentation. Wait, this is free, right!?
"It is free." Surreal tilted his head slightly, his closed eyes curving into an enigmatic smile. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. A meal shared is a moment to cherish, after all."
Yeah, right, a meal shared with a little tint of preferential treatment, was what Forreal thought as she was holding her empty instant noodle cup with jealousy.
Yuria nodded, smiling warmly—until Surreal shattered the tranquil moment.
"By the way," he began, his tone casual, "Humanity is going to face extinction in the near future."
Yuria's eyes widened as she choked on the sip of tea she'd just taken, coughing violently. "What?!" she sputtered, her voice cracking. "Who in the world starts a conversation like that?!"
Forreal, seated silently in the background, hid a smirk behind her cup of instant noodles. Ah, I feel you, Yuria. She thought back to her own tumultuous initiation into Surreal's chaos. He dropped something just as crazy on me the first time we met.
But outwardly, Forreal said nothing, choosing instead to quietly enjoy Yuria's reactions.
Surreal's serene demeanor remained unshaken. "I find that blunt honesty saves time," he replied smoothly, setting his teacup down with a delicate clink. "Not to mention, I got to see a precious reaction from you."
Yuria stared at him with flushed cheeks, trying to gauge if he was joking. "... You're serious?"
"Deadly serious," Surreal confirmed, his tone unwavering.
Yuria leaned back in her chair, her hands gripping the edge of the table. "And… you came here to tell me this? Why? Do I have some… significant role in this apocalyptic future? Because, you know. It just doesn't make sense for you to suddenly come to my living place out of nowhere if I have no significant connection to this future you're foreboding…"
A flicker of amusement danced across Surreal's face. "Oh, absolutely. You see, in that future, you're my wife."
Yuria choked again, this time on air, as her glass wobbled precariously in her grasp. "What?!" she exclaimed, her voice rising an octave. "Your wife?!"
Surreal's expression softened, his tone casual as if he were discussing the weather. "Yes, my wife. You and I are to be married in the future."
Yuria's face turned scarlet, her eyes darting between Surreal and Forreal, who was now struggling to contain her fair share of conflicted expression, trying to mask it even more by drinking her glass of water.
Yuria fumbled for words, her voice flustered. "I—I don't know what to say. I mean, that's… I… I'm flattered, but…" She trailed off, her hands wringing nervously.
"But?" Surreal prompted, his head tilting slightly in curiosity.
"But… I don't swing that way," Yuria blurted out, her face burning with embarrassment. "I mean, you're absolutely beautiful—stunning, even. You can cook, you appear to be very attentive—but I just… I'm not into women."
Forreal spat out a mouthful of her drink, doubling over as she clutched her sides, laughter bubbling uncontrollably.
Surreal, unbothered, waited patiently for Forreal to regain her composure before addressing Yuria. "I appreciate the compliment, but I think you've misunderstood. I'm a man."
Yuria blinked, her flustered expression morphing into wide-eyed shock. "You're… what?"
"A man," Surreal repeated, his tone gentle. "Forreal over there, is the female one, as you can see from our attire. I dress like a businessman; she dresses like a typical office clerk who is willingly ordered around while zealously working from nine to seven."
"Hey!"
Yuria's face turned an even deeper shade of red. "Oh. Ohhh." She buried her face in her hands, groaning softly. "I'm so sorry. I just assumed…"
Surreal chuckled softly. "No offense taken. It's a common mistake." He then sighed as he changed his gaze to his left, albeit his eyes were still closed as ever. "I'm just that beautiful, and I did my best to maintain it since it gave me a good self-esteem in the workplace. Not to mention, it is also a unique way to plant an everlasting impression."
"Why doesn't that seem to work for me?" Forreal chimed in.
"Because you're a woman who looks like a woman. There is nothing unique about you."
"Rude."
Yuria peeked out from behind her hands, her voice hesitant. "So… in this future where we're married… What's it like? Our life, I mean."
Surreal's smile softened, and for a moment, the playful gleam in his expression was replaced by something more genuine. "It was… wonderful," he said quietly. "Our marriage was the happiest time of my life. You were my ever shining hope, my partner, my equal. We supported each other through everything, sharing each other's woes and hands whenever things got awry. It is a healthy, and strong relationship. One that many couples are dreaming about. The kind that are often romanticized in tales and odes."
Yuria's eyes softened, her nervousness giving way to curiosity. "Really?"
Surreal nodded, his voice tinged with warmth. "We had two children—a daughter and a son."
Forreal, who had been quietly sipping her drink, spat it out again, coughing violently. Two kids?! An obnoxious person like him??
At this point, Forreal just instinctively blocked her own association with this man, and deem that both of them were completely different people.
Yuria's hands flew to her mouth, her eyes sparkling with a mixture of disbelief and emotion. "Two children…" she whispered. "That's… incredible."
"Our daughter is a ball of chaos, while our son is always trying his best to get our praises and attention."
"How did I do as their mother?"
"You're very stern to them when they cause trouble. Otherwise, you know how to embrace them and assure them, explaining the problem properly when they make an honest mistake."
"I see… I guess I acted like how I wanted to be if I happen to become a parent.."
For a while, the two of them spoke in hushed tones, their conversation flowing naturally as though they'd known each other for years.
Yuria asked questions about her supposed future self—her habits, quirks, and even her favorite video games—and Surreal answered every query with uncanny accuracy, from her late-night gaming marathons to the secret stash of chocolate she thought no one knew about.
Forreal sat quietly in the background, observing the exchange with a mixture of fascination and unease. It's like they're reconnecting after years apart. But this is their first time meeting. How… surreal.
The warmth in Surreal's tone began to waver as the conversation took a more somber turn. Yuria leaned forward slightly, her voice tentative. "If… if things were so perfect in the future, then… Why are you here? Why come back to the past? No, that is the wrong question to ask… How did you regress?"
Surreal hesitated, his serene facade faltering for just a moment. Then he smiled—a smile so fragile it looked like it might shatter. "Because I died in that future," he said softly. "And worst of all… I lost you."
The room fell silent, the weight of his words pressing down like a physical force.
Yuria's eyes widened, her hands trembling slightly as she processed his confession. "You… lost me?" she echoed, her voice barely above a whisper.
Surreal nodded, his smile tightening as he fought to maintain his composure. "It was… my greatest failure. Losing you… so many times… is probably one of the worst things that have befell in my entire life."
Forreal watched in stunned silence as Yuria stood abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. She walked around the table. Her steps were slow but deliberate.
"Yuria?" Surreal asked, his voice laced with confusion.
She didn't respond. Instead, she stopped in front of him and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace.
Surreal stiffened, his breath catching in his throat.
"It's not your fault," Yuria said firmly, her voice steady despite the tears glistening in her eyes. "Whatever happened, it's not your fault! Please, don't carry this pain alone!"
Forreal's breath hitched as she saw it—tears streaming down Surreal's face, his carefully constructed facade crumbling in the face of Yuria's kindness.
Surreal closed his already shut eyes tightly, using his black magic to hide any trace of his tears before slowly wrapping his arms around Yuria in return, recuperating this gesture of warmth. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I'm sorry for suddenly forcing all of this onto you, for burdening you with my truth when we're strangers at best…
"But I just couldn't. I missed you so much. I want to see your face. I want to hear your laughter… Once again. It kept ringing in my head, and it won't ever go until I see you...
"These feelings are real to me, but all of them should have been foreign to you… Something that I have forgotten when you asked about the future…"
Yuria shook her head, her voice resolute. "We're not strangers. You and I, here and now. I can feel it. And besides…" She pulled back slightly, meeting his gaze. "I've always been good at discerning lies. And the only prominent lies you've told tonight were the ones where you downplayed your pain."
Losing you… so many times… is probably one of the worst things that have befell in my entire life, that was the prominent lie that Yuria caught.
Because it wasn't one of the worst things that happened to him.
It was the very worst thing that ever happened to him.
Not the fact that he was the chosen one.
Not the fact that he was forced to comply with this shitty role.
Surreal blinked, taken aback. Then, to his own surprise, he chuckled softly. "You were always like this, always acting without hesitation, and doing what you believe is right at that very moment," he said, his tone tinged with both admiration and sadness. He tightened his hold on her, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Would it be… selfish of me… to ask you to hold me a little longer…?"
Yuria smiled, her voice warm and gentle.
"Not at all."
Forreal watched the scene unfold, her thoughts heavy.
So that was the source of the sorrow that I glimpsed on him back then, she realized.
In order to go with his plan, Surreal must annihilate all of humanity except himself.
And his loved ones are no exception.
The fact that Surreal couldn't just make an exception or two to others beside Forreal, the requirement for this plan to work seemed to be much tighter than it appeared to be.
Don't tell me… Using her own personality as a reference, Forreal finally catches the real intention of her enigmatic alternate self. To think that this is also the best course of action I could possibly think of, I'm a little bit disappointed in myself.
Forreal sighed, leaning back in her chair as the two remained locked in their quiet moment of solace.
Forreal couldn't help but wonder—what kind of horror had humanity faced to drive Surreal to this point? And what kind of other pain lay hidden behind his playfully serene, smiling facade?