BIA Ch. 2 

Could it really be the police? Have the police already found out and come here? Then would I be arrested as a murderer? No, there’s a note on the refrigerator door, if I just show them that…, Of course they wouldn’t believe it, would they? They would surely say that I killed him and then clumsily tried to fabricate an alibi.

In a short moment, all sorts of thoughts raced through his mind. Meanwhile, the knocking on the door grew louder. Eventually, the person outside started yelling.

“Isaiah! Are you in there? Why aren’t you answering the phone, you damn bastard! Are you still sleeping? Hey, do you even know what time it is?”

Fortunately, it seemed it wasn’t the police. Relieved, Isaiah belatedly perked up his ears. Wait, is the owner of this house also named Isaiah? Then is it possible that we became friends through that encounter yesterday?

“Isaiah! Hey, are you dead? Damn it, where is the manager around here?”

Isaiah, who had been holding his breath, waiting for the man to leave, was terrified. It sounded as if the man would bring the manager and force the door open at any moment.

“W-wait a moment! I’ll open it now!”

Isaiah barely managed to get up and with trembling legs, made his way to the front door, avoiding the corpse. Click, as soon as the sound of the lock turning was heard, the other person flung the door open roughly and yelled.

“This bastard, why didn’t you answer when you were here…What is this?”

Despite his rough speech, he was a clean-cut looking man. His eyes were overly intense and his head was close-shaven, giving him a rather fierce impression, but based on looks alone, he would be considered handsome.

“Damn it, I’m already late.”

The man, dressed in a neat suit and a comfort coat instead of a jacket, wasn’t surprised to see the body by the entrance. He simply uttered an annoyed sigh and closed the door. Then, he squatted by the entrance, examined the corpse’s face and finally, with a serious expression, asked Isaiah.

“Did you kill him?”

“No! No way!”

Isaiah shouted urgently.

“I-I didn’t, I didn’t kill him.”

“Then who killed him?”

“I, I don’t know. No, I mean, I know who killed him, but I don’t know who that person is.”

“What are you talking about? Have you been drinking?”

The man frowned and stood up. Isaiah cautiously began to speak as he followed the large man toward the living room.

“By the way…um, do you know me?”

“What?”

The man sat down on the sofa, frowning. To the man who stared at him as if he had spoken nonsense, Isaiah quickly apologized.

“I’m sorry. I can’t quite remember I drank a lot yesterday… …”

“Fuck, don’t play around. I’m incredibly busy.”

The man abruptly cursed as he pulled a cigarette from his coat pocket.

“And cut out that fucking tone. What the hell kind of act is this?”

What does he mean by that fucking tone? Could it be that he didn’t like the constant use of polite speech?

It felt like asking would only provoke him. Isaiah dropped the honorifics and instead spoke in as calm and polite a tone as possible.

“I’m really sorry. I’ll be careful in the future.”

“…….”

The man’s expression crumpled instantly.

This isn’t right. Isaiah swallowed dryly. Well, this person looks at least ten years older than me. Even so, it had been too disrespectful of him on a first meeting.

“…sir.”

Isaiah added belatedly. The man’s expression darkened further. The next moment, he threw the cigarette he was holding onto the floor and yelled angrily.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? I said I don’t have time for games, you crazy bastard!”

“I-I’m the same!”

Isaiah retorted urgently.

“I don’t have the time or mental capacity for games either. I don’t even know what’s going on right now… …”

“Hey, Isaiah.”

“Yes, that’s right. My name is also Isaiah. But I don’t know your friend Isaiah at all.”

“Hey.”

The man cut Isaiah off and stood up.

“Are you still drunk? No, wait. You don’t drink, Right?”

“I…?”

Before Isaiah could ask what he meant, the man strode closer. He bent down towards Isaiah’s face and sniffed, then suddenly widened his eyes and exclaimed,

“What? You did drink? Is that why you’re acting like this?”

At his surprised reaction, Isaiah asked again,

“I didn’t usually drink?”

“You said you don’t.”

“I did…?”

“And I’ve never actually seen you drink.”

At the man’s words, Isaiah blinked, bewildered. What?

“Didn’t you meet me yesterday?”

“What are you talking about? Are you really crazy?”

The man shouted, looking dumbfounded.

“…….”

The thought arose that something was seriously amiss in their conversation.

“I-I don’t know….”

My heart started beating hard again. Isaiah, suddenly short of breath, clutched his hair and muttered,

“I guess I had too much to drink.”

“Isaiah.”

“It’s strange. Something now…, I can’t come to my senses. When I woke up, I was in an unfamiliar place, and I didn’t have my cell phone. There’s even a corpse lying by the front door, but I have absolutely no memory of it. I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Isaiah.”

Watching the extremely anxious Isaiah, the man also wore a nervous expression. Isaiah, instead of answering, asked the man.

“What is your name?”

The man looked at Isaiah with bewildered eyes for a moment, then answered shortly.

“Manny.”

Isaiah tried calling the man’s name. He had hoped that if he said it aloud, he would remember, but that didn’t happen. It was still unfamiliar and strange, as if he had never uttered the name in his life.

“Anyway, Manny, so you knew me before then? We hadn’t met for the first time yesterday, right? So when had we met? How had we met?”

“Hey, wait a minute.”

Manny raised both hands in a calming gesture.

“Let’s talk one thing at a time before I go crazy too. First, Isaiah, what day is it today?”

“Today? Maybe… November 9th.”

“Good. What is your name?”

“Isaiah, Isaiah Diaz.”

“What…?”

Manny’s eyes widened.

“Isaiah Diaz.”

Isaiah enunciated clearly once more.

“So, your last name is Diaz?”

“Yes.”

“Now, wait a minute.”

Manny pressed his forehead gently with one hand.

“So you’re…, uh, what is it, Hispanic?”

“Latino.”

Isaiah corrected him sharply. He had expected Manny to argue that it was the same thing, but surprisingly, Manny said nothing. He just stared blankly at Isaiah with his mouth open.

“How… old are you?”

Manny asked after a long while.

“Nineteen.”

“What?”

Manny yelled. Isaiah was inwardly offended by the extreme reaction. Anyway, white guys are rude in all sorts of ways.

“Despite appearances, I’m a freshman. I entered Eloy State University two months ago.”

Isaiah strongly emphasized that he had been a high school student just a few months prior. He had thought this would be enough for Manny to understand, but Manny’s face became even more filled with shock and horror.

“Did you take drugs last night?”

“Manny, please. It’s true that I don’t look my age, but this is too much.”

“Isaiah.”

Manny said in a serious tone, tapping Isaiah’s displeased cheek with his palm.

“Listen carefully. You are Isaiah Cole. Not Latino, but Asian. You are thirty-one years old this year.”

“What?”

This time, it was Isaiah’s turn to be bewildered.

“What nonsense. I…”

Before he could finish speaking, Manny grabbed him and dragged him into the bathroom.

“Who did you say you were?”

Manny shouted, holding Isaiah by the scruff of his neck and pushing him in front of the bathroom mirror.

Who… is this?

Isaiah had, of course, expected to see himself in the mirror. A little over 5.6 feet tall, with slightly dark skin, voluminous black curly hair, and deep brown eyes.

But there was a completely different person there. Perhaps in his early, or maybe mid-twenties? A tall, slender Asian man, easily over six feet, was looking back at him. Perhaps due to his thin double eyelids, his eyes themselves were rather sharp, but despite that, there was a certain gentle impression. It was probably because of his eyes. The man’s eyes were black, and the irises were particularly large compared to the size of his eyes. And they were exceptionally clear. Like water-soaked jet-black stones, his eyes created a strange contrast with his pale complexion. That was surely why it was difficult to guess his age.