Chapter 19: How did I go viral?

NOAH

As I screamed her name, I jolted upright, pulling my body forward, my arm instinctively wrapping around someone beside me.

When my vision cleared, I froze. It was just a nightmare. My body was drenched in sweat, and I could hear the heavy rhythm of my own breathing.

"That’s definitely one heck of a nightmare," I muttered, running a shaky hand through my hair.

A voice answered, half amused, half relieved.
"Finally awake, Sleeping Prince."

I turned to my right. "Cassie? You’re okay!"

She arched an eyebrow. "No, are you okay?"

"I think so… Why do you ask?"

"Well, for starters—you can finally let go of your body pillow."

"Body pillow?"

I blinked and looked down, realizing I was still hugging someone tightly. When I loosened my grip, I froze again.

It was Zoe, my doppelgänger’s med school classmate.

"Why is she here?" I murmured under my breath.

Cassie folded her arms, smirking. "So, are you going to let go of her or not?"

"Oh—yeah, sorry."

I quickly pulled my arms away. Zoe’s face was flushed, her lips twitching between awkwardness and a small smile.

"I guess you’re alright," she said softly, brushing her hair behind her ear. "I’ll go inform Miss Kim."

Before I could reply, Zoe quietly slipped out of the room.

"Inform Minnie? About what?" I asked, frowning in confusion.

Cassie tilted her head. "You really don’t know?"

"Know what? What happened to me yesterday?"

Cassie sighed. "Yesterday? Noah… you’ve been asleep for four whole days."

"Four days?"

I stared blankly ahead. My thoughts scattered, the edges of my nightmare still lingering like static in my mind. It felt like only four hours had passed.

Before I could process it, the door burst open.

"Noah!"

Minnie rushed toward me, relief washing over her face as she threw her arms around me. Her embrace was tight, trembling slightly.

I hesitated, then hugged her back, still dazed.
"Minnie… I’m fine, really."

She pulled back, holding my face gently between her palms. "You scared me, Noah. You wouldn’t wake up—no matter what we did."

Her eyes shimmered slightly, though she tried to mask it with a smile.
"I even had the doctor come twice. But your pulse was steady, your breathing normal… it was like you were just lost somewhere else."

"I’m sorry," I said softly. "I didn’t mean to make everyone worry."

"You never do," she replied, smoothing a wrinkle from my blanket. "That’s why you have to stop scaring me like that."

I gave a small smile, half-embarrassed. "I’ll try. I guess… I just needed a long nap."

She let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. "A long nap, he says." Then her expression softened again. "I’m just glad you woke up. I really am."

For a moment, she lingered there, like she didn’t want to leave in case I disappeared again.

"Get some rest," she said finally, patting my hand. "Don’t rush anything. I’ll bring you something warm to eat."

"Thanks, Minnie," I said quietly.

She smiled, warm, motherly, and a little tired. She left the room, closing the door softly behind her.While Minnie went to prepare the food, the others began to arrive, Yuki, Wolfgang, and Cassie, who came back with Zoe, Jiji, Junko, Naomi, and Akira.

Both my real classmates from Amadeus Academy and my fake classmates from Med School.

Everyone was here.

"Hey guys…" I said, my voice still groggy.

"Man, you didn’t have to scare us like that," Akira said, crossing his arms with a sigh of relief.

"We were really worried, you know," Junko added, her tone softer.

"At least we know you’re okay now," Yuki said, flashing me a small smile.

Still, Jiji tilted his head. "But what happened to you? We couldn’t figure it out. Even the doctors said they didn’t understand what caused you to sleep for four days."

"I’m not sure," I admitted. "All of a sudden, my head started hurting… and my whole body went weak. I just couldn’t stay up."

"Well, whatever it was, it’s all gone now," Naomi said with a shrug.

I forced a small smile in return, but inside, I knew it wasn’t gone. This wasn’t some random health problem, it felt like someone’s doing. The sensation still clung to me, cold and heavy, like the echo of something sinister. It stank of Hollow.

That night, the voice that called to me—it wasn’t random either. A woman’s voice, whispering over and over, telling me to kill myself. It mimicked Asuka’s tone perfectly.

The influence of self-harm… a Hollow’s curse.

But I couldn’t tell them that. They wouldn’t understand, not in this world, not now.

Jiji suddenly stepped forward and held out his phone.
"I have a question," he said, showing me the screen. "Why are they calling you Michael Mercury?"

"Huh?" I leaned in. On the screen was a video, of me playing guitar at the beach.

I recognized it immediately. That was the day I ran after Melody, trying to get her attention through music.

"So tell me," Jiji continued, "why are they calling you Michael Mercury?"

Zoe, Akira, Naomi, and Junko all looked at me curiously.

Of course. Since Misaki had used my real name before, anyone from med school would remember me as Noah Maesutoro. But now, they want information that of my fake name, Michael Mercury.

Cassie, Wolfgang, and Yuki already knew the story. Wolfgang’s uncle had been the one to enroll me under that alias, to protect my privacy.

To cover the lie, I took a breath and said casually, "Oh, that? Some people started chanting it when I played in the street. It kind of stuck as a stage name."

"Stage name?" Akira asked, leaning against the wall. "Why not use your real one?"

"It’s about privacy," I explained. "My mom owns the Maestra clothing brand, and my dad’s a well-known doctor. I try to keep a low profile. Using another name helps with that."

Junko grinned, nudging Naomi. "Well, look at that. Mister Humble himself. Guess we’ll call you Mister Mercury from now on."

I chuckled awkwardly. "Please don’t."

"Anyway," Jiji said, pointing back to his screen. "That’s not the only thing I wanted to show you. Look at the views."

I glanced down.

"Ten million views?!" My eyes widened. "How is that even possible?"

"Who knows?" Yuki said, grinning. "But you’re going viral."

"But all I did was play guitar in public," I said, still stunned. "What makes it blow up like that?"

Zoe smiled faintly, her tone thoughtful. "It’s because of how raw it was. You didn’t need words—you just played from your heart. That kind of sincerity reaches people."

Before I could reply, the door opened and Minnie came in, carefully balancing a tray of soup and bread.

The others began gathering their things.
"Guess we’ll leave you to rest, Michael Mercury," Junko said teasingly as they headed out.

When the door closed, Minnie gave me a puzzled look.
"Michael Mercury? What’s all that about?"

I sighed and showed her the same video Jiji had shown me.

Her eyes widened. "Wait—this is you? Noah, you’ve gone viral!"

"Yeah," I muttered, rubbing my forehead. "It’s… not as great as it looks."

"Why? Is it because they’re using the wrong name?" she asked gently.

I shook my head. "No… it’s because now my parents are going to find out that I’ve been playing music again."

Minnie blinked, realizing what that meant. Then she quietly set the tray down and said, "Then I guess we’ll have to be careful, won’t we?"