A Cut Above the Rest

Honestly, my life has been going well, or rather, getting itself together.

Three years ago I was completely lost; no prospects for the future, picturing myself in some dead-end job I'd hate, living a miserable and lonely life. After all, three years after finishing high school, there I was, working part-time at the small restaurant my mother owned.

Whether it was because I thought a 20-year-old parasite should at least do that much for the mother who always supported him, or for the comfort of thinking I might at least inherit something, I remained in that stagnation.

But like they say, love can change a man.

From wanting nothing out of life and having an aversion to college, I suddenly found myself inadequate for the woman I'd fallen for; so, by the power of love, I quickly sought to better myself.

I enrolled in college for a tech degree, and here I was, three years later, already working as a programmer.

So my life was going perfectly, and I was living my own K-drama?!

Of course not.

The relationship lasted little more than a year, and my mother's restaurant—the one I'd leaned on like a coward—closed down not long after. But despite that, here I was, moving on with my life.

They say God works in mysterious ways, and chaos was quickly being replaced by order again. But if God wrote this, why am I watching my body shatter against the ground while my head—or rather, I—am launched into the air after being decapitated by a high-speed steel cable that snapped off the building under construction next to my office?

I don't feel the impact when my head hits the ground. My face has landed turned toward the pavement. 'Is this how it's going to end?'

Staring at the dirty concrete beneath my lifeless face, I try to make a sound.

'Mom...'

Mom? Is that my last thought? Shit, I'm scared.

Mom...
Mo...
Motherfuc—

AHHHH! I scream with all my lungs as I sit up in bed.

AHHHH! I hear a scream beside me.

AHHHH! I scream again in response.

Annoyed by the sudden scare, I instantly retort, "Shit, you scared me! Who are you?!"

"You scared me! Wait, what do you mean, who am I?!" she replies, first irritated, then concerned as she places a hand on my forehead and leans closer to my face. "Oliver, what do you mean who am I?!? Answer me!"

"Who's Oliver? Who are you? And why are you in my roo—"

Wait.

This is definitely not my room.

I don't remember liking medieval decor, or rather, I don't remember having the money to own what looks like a Bisney prince's room.

Turning my gaze back to the girl, who looks to be about 16, I see her eyes widen. Her eyes, already bloodshot and teary, spill over as she hugs me tightly and cries.

Confused and frustrated with the whole situation, I break free from her hug and hold her by the shoulders. "What is going on?"

The young woman, still emotional, gestures as she gets off the bed. "Y-You don't remember anything? W-We were in history class and suddenly a glowing circle appeared at our feet, radiating a really bright light, and then, all of a sudden, we all appeared in that big church with those people in costumes—" she pauses, "—well, you fainted right after that..." she concludes, her voice softening as she looks into my eyes, as if expecting an, 'Oh, right, now I remember.'

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

⁂

"I see. This trauma could have come from the dimensional fluctuations of the quantum leap or even from the initial contact with magical molecules, so I can't say for certain if his memory will return," says a blond man in a white tunic to the girl from earlier and a new group of faces. "But I can state with absolute certainty that his physical health is impeccable."

Or rather, Helena—that's her name. She was of average height, perhaps due to her age, and her light brown hair was stuck to her still tear-streaked cheeks. Beside her was Clara, a tall, black-haired young woman who was caressing Helena's shoulders in a side hug.

Closer to my bed now was Joseph, a tall, thin young man with dark brown hair, and beside him, Joh, a young man with half the name and height of Joseph, but twice the weight, haha... fat joke.

Well, whatever, just messing around, I'm being mean to the kid. It's just that it seems this punk is jealous that this girl named Helena is so worried about me, so he keeps giving me this weird look.

Get a grip, P— I mean, Oliver. It seems my name is Oliver Hale now. So, get a grip, Oliver Hale, they're just kids, no need to be cruel!

Of course, I sort of understood why Helena was shaken. It seems she's my—or rather, the childhood friend of Oliver Hale, a 16-year-old high school student.

Do I care? Not one bit. My situation seems even more desperate.

Damn it, my mom and my siblings are going to be devastated by my death. After all, it was pretty brutal...

Shit, there's nothing I can do.

Honestly, I'm lost.

Look, I've consumed tons of this stuff, and I know damn well that this isekai plot is everywhere in entertainment these days. So, if this is real, why wasn't I reborn in a body from this world, or why wasn't my real body sent he—

Yeah, I don't think showing up with my headless body would have been a good thing.

The point is, I'm in the body of a young man named Oliver Hale, but he has the exact same appearance I had at that age.

I look at myself in the hand mirror they gave me, looking for anything different.

Nothing.

It's really me.

Lowering the hand mirror, I watch the blond man in the white tunic leave.

Nodding in acknowledgment, I can only come to one conclusion:

I transmigrated into a younger, alternate version of myself, a version that had just been transported to another world along with his schoolmates...

Fuck!