Overnight••√•• a foreign omega”

chapitre : 1

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A deluge of sorrow engulfed the city, as dense and merciless as Smith's own thoughts. The sky, heavy with charcoal clouds, cracked under the weight of his grief, releasing icy tears that drowned the streets and, in doing so, flooded the sealed chamber of his heart. Every drop that crashed against the windshield resonated like a hammer blow to his soul, a melancholic reminder of the dead end in which he found himself.

He finally parked, the engine stalling with a metallic sigh. Under the pallid glow of a streetlamp, he read his mother's message for the umpteenth time. The words, polished and implacable, danced before his blurred eyes: "Don't forget dinner tonight. The Chois are good people. Be on time." A code for an arranged meeting, a stage set for his own surrender. No one understood him, not even those who shared his blood. He felt like an exotic bird locked in a gilded cage, the bars being the suffocating expectations of his family and the disapproving gaze of society. His wings, the ones that carried him toward the forbidden desire to love a man, were clipped, mutilated.

Today, he had to bury this essential part of himself. He had to shake an unknown woman's hand, smile at her, and feign a future that should never have been his. A sharp bitterness rose in his throat. What he hated above all was that absurd, devouring jealousy that gnawed at him: he was dying to be in that young woman's place. She had the right to marry a man. She could dream of a ring on her finger, a "yes" spoken at the altar, a life built on sincere attraction. He, in secret, dreamed of a masculine hand slipping into his, of a deep voice asking him to share his life, of a proud gaze presenting him to parents as "the one who matters."

A burning tear, laden with all his despair, traced a salty path down his cheek. He closed his eyes, letting his forehead gently bump against the cold leather of the steering wheel. Here, in this bubble of steel and glass, he allowed himself a moment of weakness. Sobs shook him, silent and violent. It was so heart-wrenching to have to betray his own heart for the love of those who refused to see him as he was.

Tap, tap, tap.

A sharp, light noise made Smith jump. He lifted his head, his heart pounding wildly. On the other side of the passenger window, a young man was smiling at him, a radiant smile that seemed to defy the laws of physics. Stunned, Smith realized the rain had vanished. The sun bathed the dry asphalt, the air was warm and smelled of hot concrete. He was no longer in front of the fancy restaurant, but in the crowded parking lot of a shopping mall. Panic, cold and sharp, stabbed him in the chest. Should he scream? Flee?

Dizzy, he obeyed his first instinct. With a trembling hand, he rolled down the window and unlocked the doors.

"Damn, Smith, what's gotten into you?" the stranger exclaimed, his voice tinged with a warm familiarity. "Locking yourself in your car as if you wanted to call off the wedding! I just went to buy you something to spice up your wedding night, you know, for your dear Day!"

Smith's blood ran cold. Day? Wedding? Wedding night? He watched, mesmerized, as the young man placed a grocery bag in the back, next to other parcels with colorful wrappings. He had soft hair, crescent-moon eyes, and a contagious energy.

"Right, let's go home now," he declared, settling into the passenger seat with ease.

Smith stared at him, lost in a fog of incomprehension. His brain was desperately trying to catch up with the reality that had just shifted. Friends? He who had never had any, rejected because of his orientation? Where was he supposed to go?

"I... Go home... Where?" he stammered, his eyebrows furrowed so deeply it hurt.

The young man looked at him, dumbfounded, before bursting into laughter.

"Don't tell me you forgot where you live! Even if you'll soon be living with the hottest man in town, you should at least remember you still live with your parents for a few more days!"

Without waiting for a reply, he got out, walked around the car, and opened Smith's door.

"Come on, move. I'll drive; you look completely exhausted. Too much excitement, huh?"

Like an automaton, Smith slid into the passenger seat. He watched the young man drive with disconcerting serenity. The pieces of the puzzle began to assemble in his feverish mind. Here, he was not an outcast. Here, he could love. Here, his heart was not a mistake. To avoid being sent back to his old life, that gilded hell, he had to learn. Learn everything. But first, he had to put a name to this savior with the brilliant smile.

"I know you're wiped out from the preparations," the driver continued, his voice softer now. "I'm doing my best to help, and I'll always be here, you know. I'll stay your best friend, even when you're married and decide to give Day half a dozen gorgeous babies. I can't wait to see you with a round belly; you'll be radiant!"

A round belly? The question burned on Smith's lips, but he swallowed it. He had just landed in a dimension where the impossible was reality. And this reality, as incredible as it was, granted his most secret wishes, even those he had never dared to formulate. A wave of shock mixed with a crazy hope overwhelmed him. He who had always lived bent under the weight of rules now stood at the threshold of a life where he could finally breathe.

"Why are you making that face?" his friend asked, concerned. "Okay, fine, I'm exaggerating a bit. I know you've never been the type to dream of marriage or... of carrying children. But life is full of surprises, right? So at least be happy for me, since I'm like you. You'll be there for me when I start my family, won't you?"

They had just parked in front of a house that Smith recognized immediately. It was his house. The same garden, the same facade. A car parked behind them, and his brother Nam got out. But it wasn't quite the Nam he knew. This one had a less severe face, less burdened shoulders.

"Julien, you're here too!" Nam exclaimed as he approached. "I hope my brother didn't make you run around too much."

Julien. His name was Julien. And from the look Nam gave him, filled with unconcealed tenderness, Smith understood that their relationship went far beyond simple friendship. His brother, the serious, eternally single pillar, seemed to finally be living for himself.

The revelation was a thunderclap. Smith hadn't just swapped his life for another where he was free to love. He had landed in a world where everyone seemed to have permission to be happy. A new determination, both fierce and gentle, was born within him. He had been given a second chance, not only for himself, but also for those he loved.

He looked at Julien, then at Nam, and a genuine smile, the first in so long, illuminated his face.

"I... I'll be there for you, Julien, just as you are for me," he promised, his voice regaining a strength he didn't know he possessed. "And don't worry, I am happy. Truly happy. And I'm not just saying that to please you."

The joy that lit up Julien's face was his greatest reward. Smith was home. In the right world. And he silently swore to protect this happiness at all costs, even if, to do so, he had to learn to navigate a universe whose rules he did not yet fully know.