Just like in January 2016, he was back to being 25. Just like in January 2016, everyone only knew him as an ordinary staff member, not as the man who was about to propose to Nadira.
And just like in January 2016… he had to start everything over. Again.
—
At first, Evan still tried to adjust. After all, this was the second time he had to relive his life from age 25. The difference was, this time he was more prepared. He already knew how this game worked. In early 2016, he was still busy questioning everything. This time, he was more focused.
He didn't want to repeat the same mistakes. Last year, he had worked hard and managed to reach the same position he had in 2015, but all of it disappeared as soon as the year changed. So what was the point of struggling so hard if everything reset to zero every January?
Still, his competitive instinct was too strong to just sit back and relax. Evan continued to show solid performance—not outstanding, but steady enough to maintain his reputation. He deliberately adjusted his pace to stay low-key, unlike the previous year when he had gone full throttle chasing achievements.
One question still lingered in his mind: did this curse merely reset everything, or was there a way to break the cycle? Because if not… it meant he'd keep going back to being 25. Year after year. Until when? 2025? Forever?
Damn.
He had to find the answer before everything became truly meaningless.
—
That morning, Evan sat in his chair, staring blankly at the computer screen. The desk was exactly the same as when he left it two years ago—or more precisely, as it was at the start of 2015. The old black pencil holder still sat in the corner, just like he remembered. Even the faint scratch from his watch was still etched into the wood.
But the people around him had changed.
They had aged.
He had not.
Evan heard Johan talking to someone in the hallway. Johan's voice now sounded more mature, more composed than it had two years ago. Understandable. Johan had gained more experience. Everyone in the office had. New faces had appeared, and some former juniors had been promoted.
And him?
He was still 25.
Just like last year. Just like the year before.
He opened his wallet. His hand trembled as he looked at the birthdate on his ID: 1992. Last year, it was 1991. The year before, 1990.
The same went for his work history. His employment start date had shifted again. His graduation year had changed. It was as if the system of the world adapted to the fact that Evan Nathaniel would always be 25 years old.
Damn.
He rubbed his face, trying to calm his nerves. All the accomplishments he had achieved in 2016—the projects he led, the important decisions he made—were gone. Just like everything he'd achieved in 2015 vanished with the turn of the year. As if none of it had ever happened. As if he'd never worked harder than anyone else in that room.
"Evan, why are you spacing out?" Reza's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
Evan looked up. Reza looked the same as he remembered. But now he was once again a year ahead of him.
"Nothing," Evan replied shortly.
Reza chuckled. "Don't tell me you're still hungover from the New Year's party?"
Evan gave a faint smile but said nothing. Hungover? If only Reza knew he was going through something far bigger than a night of drinking.
He turned back to the computer screen. His hand moved to open his work folders. The documents he had created? Gone. The emails he'd sent? Nothing. The major projects he'd handled? No trace of them.
Evan took a deep breath. If this really was a game, he had to figure out how to win.
Before this curse swallowed him whole.
—
That morning, Evan sat at his desk, staring blankly at his monitor. His hand moved to open the project folders, searching for something that might prove he still had control. But the moment the list of projects appeared, a sinking feeling hit him.
Reza's name was next to projects A, B, C, D, E, and F—projects that used to be his. Major projects he had developed with hard work in 2016, projects that were supposed to prove his capabilities.
Under Evan's name, there were only projects G, H, I, and J. Smaller, mid-level projects. Nothing that could make him shine the way he used to.
Evan clenched his fist.
Damn.
So this year, all of his achievements were truly gone?
He opened older archives, trying to see when this shift had occurred. But from everyone else's perspective, nothing had changed. According to the records, Reza had always handled the big projects, and Evan had always taken on the smaller ones.
Only Evan knew this reality was wrong.
"Evan, Johan wants to see you," said Johan's secretary, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Evan nodded and stood up. He knew what was coming. The annual kickoff meeting. Performance review and target planning.
Inside the office, Johan sat flipping through reports, then looked up at Evan with a calm expression.
"Your performance last year was pretty good," he said. "But I want you to focus more on mid-level projects before moving on to the bigger ones."
Evan held his breath.
This was almost word-for-word what Johan had told him in early 2015, when he first started his career. But in his previous life, he had proven himself and earned a major project by mid-year.
Now?
Now he had to start from zero again.
"Understood, sir," Evan said, suppressing the frustration boiling inside him.
As he left the room, his steps felt heavy. He returned to his desk, sat down, and stared at the list of projects on his screen.
If he had to start all over again… then he would make sure this year wouldn't go to waste.
—
The days that followed felt like déjà vu for Evan. He faced tasks almost identical to what he had done in 2015, but with small differences.
Back then, he saw these assignments as stepping stones, driven by big ambitions to climb to bigger projects. Now? He already knew how things were supposed to end—or at least how they should've ended before everything was reset.
He joined meetings, gave input he had already thought of two years ago, and watched his ideas be accepted as if they were new. No one realized he had lived through all of this before.
But the most painful part was watching Reza sit in the seat that should have been his.
In every presentation, it was Reza who spoke about the major projects. He was the one receiving praise from senior management. Evan knew that, if time had flowed as it should have, he would be the one standing there, confidently presenting his project concepts.
During lunch breaks, some coworkers gathered in the pantry, chatting about the latest project updates.
"That park project Reza's working on sounds interesting," said one of the staff. "They say the design's by a pretty talented landscape designer."
"What's her name?" asked another.
"Nadira, I think."
Evan stopped stirring his coffee.
That name pierced right through him.