He slowly moved under the blanket and groaned.
[Just five more minutes...]
The alarm rang loudly beside him.
[Wake up! Wake up!]
Aren hit it without opening his eyes.
Silence returned.
He sat up slowly, still half asleep.
His hair was messy and his eyes were barely open.
Then he looked down at himself.
Shirt. Hands. Body.
Normal.
He let out a long breath and dropped back on the bed.
[Good. I'm still me.]
That was the first thing he checked every morning.
Because sometimes, he wasn't.
Aren was just a normal boy.
He went to school, talked with friends, and lived a simple life.
Nothing special.
But three months ago, everything changed.
One night, he went to sleep like always.
And when he woke up, he was not in his room.
He was in another world.
And not just that.
He was in a girl's body.
[I am dreaming. This has to be a dream.]
That was what he said at that time.
He stood in front of a mirror and stared at his reflection.
Long hair.
Soft face.
Completely different from his own.
[Why do I look like this...?]
He slowly looked down.
Then quickly looked away.
[No. Nope. This is not happening.]
He shouted.
[Loudly.]
Which made things worse.
A voice came from outside the door.
[Lady Lira, are you alright?]
Aren froze.
[...Who is Lira?]
The voice replied.
[You are, my lady.]
He stayed silent for a few seconds.
[...Oh.]
Now, back to the present, Aren was walking to school.
His bag hung over his shoulder.
[Day here means night there.]
He looked at the sky.
[So when I sleep... I go there.]
In class, his friend Riku leaned toward him.
[You look dead.]
Aren kept staring forward.
[I am living two lives.]
Riku blinked.
[What?]
[I mean I didn't sleep well.]
[That makes more sense.]
Aren tried to focus on the lesson.
But his mind kept going back.
The other world.
That place was not normal.
There were big buildings, servants, and strange rules.
And somehow, he was living there as a girl named Lira.
Aren put his head on the desk.
[I don't even understand one life… now I have two.]
After school, he returned home.
The sky slowly turned orange.
Evening.
Aren sat on his bed quietly.
He looked at the window.
[Time again.]
He lay down and closed his eyes.
[Let's go.]
Everything became dark.
For a moment, there was nothing.
Then light returned.
Aren opened his eyes.
Different ceiling.
Different room.
He slowly sat up.
Long hair fell over his shoulder.
He looked at his hands.
Small.
Different.
He sighed.
[I'm a girl again.]
A soft knock came from the door.
[Lady Lira, are you awake?]
Aren rubbed his face.
[Yeah... I'm awake.]
He quickly corrected himself.
[Yes, come in.]
The door opened.
A maid walked in and bowed slightly.
[Good morning, Lady Lira.]
Aren forced a calm expression.
[Good morning.]
He stood up and walked to the mirror.
The girl in the reflection looked calm and elegant.
Nothing like how he felt.
[This is my other life.]
He touched his face.
Still strange.
Still not normal.
Two worlds.
One mind.
When it was night in his world, it was day here.
When it was day here, it was night there.
No control.
No explanation.
Aren looked out the window.
The sun was already high in the sky.
A new day had started in this world.
He took a deep breath.
[Alright.]
[Let's survive today too.]