I was stuck in a dreamless, pitch black state of mind but it was extremely relaxing. All the pain left my body and I even forgot I was breathing for a while. However after some time, sounds started to trickle into my ears and my mind awakened again as a result. My eyes remained closed but I couldn’t ignore the shifting sounds I was hearing from the side. Clenching my fingers a little, I tried to open my eyes again. The light in the room was much dimmer but my eyes still stung a bit. This time I blinked through the pain and tried to get an idea of where I was.

I was in a simple room with the nearest door to my right. As my eyes paned to the side, my head shifted a bit so I could get a better look. Surprisingly my muscles seemed much less sore than before and small movements weren’t hurting as much. But what surprised me even more was the person standing at the entry of the open door.

He was a guy who looked like he was in his mid 20s with short dark brown hair covering his forehead. He was staring back at me looking even more surprised than me.

“Y-you woke up.” He let out a small breath and smiled a little. “H-how are you feeling?”

I blinked, wondering if it hurt to talk now. I took in a small breath and slowly opened my mouth. “Fine.” I didn’t feel my vocal chords vibrate but my throat still burned. It felt very dry.

He nodded and motioned at me to wait. He turned around and picked something off of a small cart. It was a tray covered with bowls and small plates of food and a glass of water. He clumsily closed the door behind him with the heel of his foot and approached the side of my bed slowly.

“You must be hungry.” He said quietly, holding out the tray toward me.

With just one look at the food and the attack of the smell on my nose, I knew he wasn’t lying. I pulled myself up rather quickly, ignoring the minimal pain in my back and arms and waiting patiently for him to set the tray down in my lap. The trap folded outward so it rested across my lap and on either side of my upper legs sturdily. Nothing shook or fell off from the top.

I took in another breath and looked back at the guy. I wanted to thank him, but after saying one word before, my throat was burning like fire.

“Eat.” He motioned at me to dig in.

I gave him a very small smile and slowly picked up the chopsticks resting on the side of the plates. I surprised myself a little about how naturally I held them in between my fingers, but all of my thoughts disappeared as I took one small bite of one of the small, saucy pieces of kimchi. The taste was extremely nostalgic and I craved more. The other food also raised my euphoria; the mildly spicy and salty taste of the bean paste stew and the moist, satisfying rice that felt like gold rushing down my esophagus. I finished everything on the tray in less than two minutes and quickly reached for the glass of water. My mouth was burning only a little bit from the kimchi but once the water hit my mouth and throat, it felt like I died and went to heaven. I downed the entire glass quickly and rested it back on the tray, letting out a small sigh of contentment. My energy seemed to improve a little as well. I felt less sleepy and more light-hearted.

“Wow. No joke, you were starving.” The guy said quietly.

I completely forgot he was still in the room and looked at him quickly while wiping some water off of my chin. I didn’t notice that he had pulled up a chair and was sitting close to my bed watching me. When I put down the glass, he stood up.

“Do you feel better now?” He asked.

I smiled again and nodded.

He chuckled lightly. “Good.” He seemed a bit unsure about what to do. He looked like he wanted to take the tray away, but he glanced over his shoulder and his eyes seemed to focus on a black cube in the corner of the room. I looked at it too but I couldn’t tell what it was exactly.

“…I’ll be right back. Please wait here, okay?” He looked back at me and carefully took the tray off of my lap. I watched him leave the room and gently close the door behind him. My gaze lingered on the door for a moment then wandered around the simple room. Somehow the atmosphere reminded me of a hospital room, but without any medical equipment. And it was less welcoming; no bright colors or pictures on the walls. There was just the closed door, the black cube in the corner of the room, a small window on the wall to my left, and the bed I was sitting in.

The questions that formed in my head before slowly came back to me and curiosity made me turn my gaze back to the closed door. I wanted to see what was behind it, but after a moment, I decided to wait like the guy asked me to.

Then my gaze shifted to the black cube in the corner of the room. I didn’t know what it was exactly, but it made me feel a little uncomfortable for some reason. It didn’t move or make any sound. I would have thought it was some kind of camera, but I honestly never saw a camera like that…

The sound of the knob turning caused my gaze to turn back to the door. The same young guy entered the room and closed the door behind him. Looking at his clothes a little better, I noticed that he was wearing a white lab coat with an ID tag resting on the left side of his shirt.

My head leaned to the side a little. He’s a doctor? Am I in a hospital?

He approached the side of my bed and still seemed a bit nervous. “…you must be a bit confused right now.” He said quietly.

I watched his face, waiting for him to continue.

“…you see…my team and I…we just accomplished something very big…” He slowly met my gaze. “…m-maybe I should introduce myself first.” He sighed a little and touched the palm of his hand to his upper chest. “My name is Choi Minho.”

I nodded politely. “Nice to meet you.” My voice came out naturally with my bow but my throat still burned a little.

He quickly bowed too. “It’s nice to meet you too. Really nice.” He chuckled lightly. There was a great amount of sparkle in his eyes as if he was looking at a gigantic pile of gold. “The fact that you can even speak so naturally…it’s really amazing.”

I took in a deep breath. “Where am I?”

He hesitated for a moment, then slowly sat down next to me. “I know you have questions, but can you answer some of mine first?”

I gave him a long look and then nodded.

“Thanks.” He nodded and pulled out a small notebook with scribbles on one of the pages. I couldn’t make out any of it. “’What’s your name?’ Already covered that…” he scribbled my name into the notebook and scanned it for a second. “…ah okay…” He looked at me again. “What is the most vivid thing you remember before waking up in this room?”

“…you mean the first time?” I asked.

“Yes.” He nodded.

I was silent for a moment, my gaze wandering to my lap. I thought back to as far as I could, but I couldn’t see anything. Just darkness.

“…I don’t know.” I answered quietly.

“Anything at all? Any people or places?” He continued.

I thought harder but my mind continued to draw blanks. I shook my head slowly.

He nodded silently and wrote something else in the notebook. There was an edge of disappointment in his eyes that I could pick up just from looking at them. It made me feel a little embarrassed.

“…alright, why don’t you ask me a question now?” He looked at me.

I glanced at him with slightly widened eyes, expecting him to have more questions. “…where am I?”

“…you’re in a research facility.” He answered.

I blinked. “Why?”

He was quiet for a long time. “…my team and I…found your DNA in a time capsule and we successfully recreated your entire body.”

That sentence stuck in the air like dew on leaves. I stared at him in widened eyes and a half open mouth.

“That’s why I asked you if you remember anything before you—we awakened you here.” He said quietly. “We want to know if you can remember your past life.”

“P-past life…?” I slowly swallowed the saliva in the back of my throat. “S-so I’m a zombie?”

His eyes widened and he quickly shook his hand. “No no no! Nowhere near close!” He chuckled a little. “You know what a zombie is?”

“Why wouldn’t I know?” I was feeling extremely agitated now and wanted to leave.

“Please listen to me.” He must have sensed the upset in my voice and leaned in a little. “You know your name. You know how to eat food and drink water. And you know how to greet someone you’ve never met before. These are all qualities of a soul who has successfully traveled through the afterlife and back, without having to learn basic human mannerisms all over again. Even though you can’t see anything before waking up here doesn’t mean this is a hopeless situation.”

My mind was racing as he spoke. “S-so…you cloned me so you could learn about my past?”

He nodded. “That’s the basic idea, yeah.”

I continued to stare unblinkingly at him. “…w-what year is this?”

He paused again before answering. “…2516.”