Let’s break up."
In a quiet coffee shop near the window sat two people, a man and a woman.
Both appeared to be eighteen years old.
The boy, Jet, wore all black. His face was pale and tired, with heavy, dark bags under his eyes as if he had not slept for days. In contrast, the girl opposite him looked radiant and beautiful. Her long dark hair framed a face with cherry lips and big green eyes.
"Did you hear what I said, Jet? I said let’s break up," the girl repeated. A hint of disgust flashed deep behind her eyes as she looked at him.
Jet didn’t answer. He simply stared at her, pale face utterly blank, his bloodshot eyes stretched wide as though the person sitting across from him shouldn’t exist.
The intense, unblinking stare made the girl clearly uncomfortable.
She shifted uneasily in her padded seat.
"Hey, Jet, what’s wrong with you? Are you okay?" She leaned slightly forward, a sudden hint of concern flickering in her eyes. "Did the news break him or what?" a sudden pang of guilt crossed her mind.
She waved her dainty hand in front of his face. "Are you okay? Seriously, you look like you’ve seen a ghost."
Finally, Jet seemed to snap out of his trance. His entire body shivered. He reached out with a trembling hand and touched her fingers. The girl frowned instantly, recoiling and quickly pulling her hand back away from his touch.
"Miriam... y-you... you’re not dead? How are you still alive?" A hoarse, raspy voice escaped from Jet’s throat.
SLAP!
A sharp hand landed squarely across Jet’s face. The loud sound echoed through the quiet coffee shop. The sudden noise immediately drew the attention of the surrounding customers.
People stopped talking, turning their heads to look at the corner table. Whispers broke out, and a few people pointed fingers directly at Jet.The sting of the slap seemed to make Jet sober up slightly.
He rubbed his reddened cheek, his eyes darting across the room before settling back on Miriam.
He began muttering incoherently under his breath, his voice barely audible.
"Impossible... this is impossible. How am I still alive? I remember it clearly. I was crushed under the foot of a Dungeon Monster..."
Jet kept shaking his head. His eyeballs darted around the shop frantically. His lips were dry and cracked, quivering as the thoughts rushed through his brain.
"N-no... no, no, no... this cannot be real. How is Miriam alive? Didn’t she die? Left as a hollow corpse... I remember all her organs were removed..."
He clutched his head tightly with both hands, fingernails digging into his scalp.
He kept muttering to himself, ignoring the stares. "This is not real. This must be a dream. Yes, it has to be some kind of hallucination. The kind of trick your brain plays on you when you die."
Miriam, who had been sitting across from him the entire time, watched his breakdown. The color drained from her face, leaving her quite pale.
Did that slap actually make him lose his mind? she thought, fear creeping into her chest.
She took a deep, steadying breath to calm her nerves, then forced herself to look at the crazed boy in front of her.
"Jet, listen to me. I said let’s break up. I can’t do this anymore," Miriam said, trying to make her voice firm. "We’ve been together for five years. But look around us. All my friends’ boyfriends are either working in big corporations or they are professional dungeon raiders making a fortune."
She paused, looking out the window at the bustling city streets before looking back at him. "I need to do something with my life. I can’t waste my youth on a guy who has absolutely nothing going on for him. Please, I just hope you can understand that."
She tapped her fingers impatiently against the wooden table. "Are you even listening to me?"
Jet did not hear a single word she said. The entire speech was white noise to his ears. His mind was trapped in a completely different reality.
Miriam’s face scrunched up in pure displeasure. She opened her mouth, about to snap at him for ignoring her.
BANG!
Jet suddenly slammed his hands down and surged out of his chair. His eyes were wide and bloodshot. The sudden, violent movement scared Miriam so badly that her face went paper white.
Before she could even think to jump back, Jet lunged across the table. His hands clamped down on her shoulders like heavy iron bars.
She was completely pinned to her seat, unable to move an inch.
Her small body began to shake violently. Mist quickly formed in her large green eyes, and tears threatened to spill over.
Did the breakup completely screw up something in his brain?
The terrifying thought locked her in place.
"What is today’s date?" Jet demanded.
"Huh?" Miriam blinked, stunned. She stared up into his wide, bloodshot eyes.
"I said, what is today’s date?!" Jet asked again. His voice trembled fiercely, cracking under the strain of an emotion he was desperately trying to suppress.
"H-hah... t-today’s date is August 15th, 2075," Miriam answered in a weak, trembling voice. She was practically crying now, her throat tight with fear.
Jet froze entirely. The tension in his muscles vanished. His iron grip on Miriam’s shoulders loosened just enough for her to react. Seizing the opportunity, she violently wrenched herself free from his hands.
She didn’t hesitate for a single second.
Turning on her heel, she bolted toward the coffee shop entrance, throwing one final sentence over her shoulder.
"From now on, we both go our separate ways! Don’t ever look for me again!"
With that, her figure darted through the door and quickly disappeared into the crowded, bustling streets outside.
Jet remained standing by the window, his face frozen in pure shock. The other customers in the shop stared at him with a wide variety of expressions.
Some wore open, mocking looks on their faces, laughing quietly and pointing at the guy who had just been brutally dumped. Others harbored pitiful expressions, slowly shaking their heads at the sad display.
The rest simply remained indifferent, turning back to their coffees; they had no interest in meddling in other people’s dramatic breakups.
A minute passed, then two. Jet stood completely still, like a statue.
After what seemed like an eternity, Jet’s shoulders began to twitch. A small, low chuckle escaped from his dry lips. A few seconds later, the chuckle grew louder.
Then, it erupted into a full-blown, mad laughter. The booming, crazed sound echoed off the walls of the shop, shattering the quiet atmosphere.
It was so loud and unhinged that people walking on the sidewalk outside stopped to peer through the glass window.
"What the fuck? Did the breakup actually make him lose his mind or something?" a man at a nearby table whispered to his friend.
"Well, it certainly looks like it," the friend replied, sipping his drink. "Honestly, I would probably react the same way if a beautiful girl like that dumped me on the spot."
"Damn, how did this guy fumble such a baddie? What an absolute loser."
"I don’t know, man. I think I have some respect for the guy," another teenager chimed in from across the room. "He was actually able to bag a hot girl like that for five years. Respect to him, even though he just got absolutely destroyed and dumped."
The patrons kept whispering and gossiping, all of them watching the boy who was still laughing as if there was no tomorrow.
After a long while, the laughter finally died down. Jet seemed to calm his breathing, though his chest still heaved. He wiped a tear of mirth from the corner of his eye. His red, bloodshot eyes were no longer hollow or blank; they were completely full of excitement.
A raw, crazed excitement that burned bright.He looked down at his trembling, youthful hands, completely ignoring the judgmental glares of the crowd.
He leaned forward and muttered a single phrase under his breath, meant only for himself.
"I went back in time."
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