I was Hired to Raise the Female Lead

Chapter 1

I wake up one day in the middle of the cobblestone streets, hungry and dirty. I look down and see that I'm wearing the same blood-stained business clothing as the night before when my car lost control and crashed.

I look around and see that I am in a bustling city, but none that I could recognize. The buildings were made out of stone or brick, the roads were lined with lamps, people were riding horse-drawn carriages, and the men and women were wearing dated clothing, walking around in brimmed hats, tail coats, and full-length dresses.

I look up and see the huge morning sun peaking above the buildings. Was the sun always that big? Maybe it was just delirious from waking up on the street.

I stand up and sway a little as I'm overcome by dizziness.

Where are all the modern amenities and the modern people? What happened after the car accident? It was as if I was thrown into the early 1900s.

A man in a jacket and top hat rushes past me and bumps my shoulder. He briefly turns to look at me, "Watch where you are going!" And when seeing my soiled clothing, he raises an eyebrow and mutters, "Sheesh, go back to the alley you crawled out from."

The man leaves and crosses the street. I again look at my bloody clothing. I was wearing a two piece business skirt and jacket, a watch, and a lanyard around my neck. My hosiery was torn at the feet, and I was missing my high heels. My feet and waist were covered in wet blood, but upon checking, I didn't have any open wounds.

I think back to the last memory I had before waking up.

I was driving home on the highway after a late night at work. Suddenly, I hear a small explosion from under the car, the bottom of the car rips open, spraying shrapnel and exposing my feet to the moving cement road. I lost control of the car and hit the median at high speeds. The airbags deploy, and the car flips and rolls to a stop in the upside down position. As I lose consciousness, an angry face comes to mind. It's the employee that I had to lay off earlier today. He made some threats that I would regret my actions. Security had to come in to escort him out because he wouldn't leave the premises.

Back in the present, I began to wonder if that former employee maliciously rigged my car and with the intent of revenge. There was a string of layoffs, and for performance reasons, I had decided that this particular employee didn't make the cut.

But to murder someone! The guy WAS a bit strange, and he certainly drew a lot of attention as he was yelling while being escorted out...

In any case, in the present now, either I was in a coma, or maybe this was the afterlife. I wandered around the streets in my bare feet. I was not in a good situation right now and needed to get out of it. Business men and women walk around me as if avoiding me. I must have been quite a sight.

The giant sun rises higher in the sky. I pass by a bakery, and at the scent of the fresh bread, my stomach growls. I didn't have my wallet or cell phone, so I defeatedly walk past it. I spot some fliers glued to the walls of a brick building in public space. The fliers had a picture had a symbol of a lily flower, with text underneath it. The text said, "Let's work together to keep this country safe! Report any illegal activities to the defense ministry."

It sounded like war propaganda. Perhaps this place was at war? Regardless, I was thankful that I could at least read given that the language spoken here was clearly very different from one I used in my old life. I sighed at the thought that this could be my new life forever.

Around sun set, when all the businesses started to close and people started to head home, I finally snapped out of my daze, and came to the realization that no one was going to save me or wake me up from this surreal dream. So I switched to survival mode. It was getting darker and cooler, and I was getting hungrier and more tired. I inventoried everything that I had on my person. Finally, I looked at my smart watch.