Saint Joseph's Academy.

It was one of the most prestigious academies in the city. It offered high-quality education, and the staff had to undergo strict screening before they could be accepted to teach there; and once you're hired, you're immediately offered a good pay.

Erwin Smith was one of the few teachers who had smooth sailing throughout the entire job interview. In fact, they said the head of the school and the HR department who had been present at his interview took one look at him and decided they wanted him in the job ASAP.

Ever since then, Erwin had maintained a clean reputation throughout the seven years he'd been working in the academy. He had a record of never raising his voice during class, not even during times when the students got rowdier than usual, because all it took for him to take back his control was a raised hand and a firm look. He was also never quick to shut down questions from his students, no matter how nonsensical it seemed, and even the students who did not perform as well as others in other subjects always had good grades in his, thereby proving that there was no such thing as a difficult subject, but students just needed a good teacher. He was absolutely perfect in the eyes of everyone, inside the classroom and in the faculty office, and both students and teachers respected him equally.

Erwin particularly enjoyed teaching—but as his godforsaken fate would have it, the gods decided to test him today.

Earlier this day, about an hour before first period, the high school department where Erwin was assigned to had received a late notice for a teacher's meeting. In a matter of minutes, the department had gathered in the conference hall located in the Administration's building.

Erwin sat near the end of the table, glancing at the wall clock. Adrian, who was sitting to his right, had begged him to switch seats because he'd been right in the line of the air conditioners and he 'didn't want to freeze to death'.

"Why do you think they called a teacher's meeting on such a short notice?" Adrian whispered impatiently, sending looks towards the door and expecting the head of the department to enter any moment now. He still had to prepare his materials for first period, especially since he'd arrived later than his usual clock in time.

"I'm just as curious as you," Erwin said in response. Adrian turned to him with scrunched nose. Of course Erwin wouldn't have any problem with the short notice—he was an early bird and always arrived at school at 6 AM sharp most of the time, and he always had his instructional materials readied the day prior, so he didn't have to rush at the last minute.

Erwin Smith, textbook definition of the most responsible, time-efficient teacher in adult society.

"Where did you go yesterday, anyway? Was unusual for you to leave so early," Adrian decided to ask. He caught the way Erwin subtly stiffened, but relaxed after a split-second. It happened so fast he almost missed it.

"I had urgent business to tend to," he answered, curt and vague. Adrian didn't bother to prod. Even in the past life, Erwin was never that talkative—unless he was enthusiastically explaining to them his theory of human civilization beyond the walls, as well as the essence of the Survey Corps in furthering human territory and exploration all during breakfast in the mess hall. If Adrian recalled, it was about the rare occasions where Erwin had worn a bright gleam in his eyes.

The doors slid open, catching the attention of the teachers who were already seated around the table. Adrian looked over and saw the head of the high school department walk in, followed by an unfamiliar man with blond hair and glasses.

Adrian heard Erwin suck in an abrupt inhale.

"Good morning, I'm sorry to call you all in in the midst of your busy morning schedules," the head of their department greeted with a smile as he stood at the front of the table. He gestured for the blond beside him, who took a step.

"This will be the new P.E. teacher in the high school department, Mr. Zeke Yeager. He just moved in the city, so I expect you to be accommodating and guide him well."

From Adrian's periphery, he could see Erwin clenching his hand on his lap.

On the other hand, Erwin's mind had literally short-circuited.

A dream, Erwin thought with a set jaw, this has to be a dream.

A nightmare, to be exact.

What else should he call it? Zeke Yeager was the new P.E. teacher in his department. As if having him in the same city he lived in wasn't enough and was Isanna's fiancé, now he was practically cursed to see him every single day for who knows how long. It would have been a lesser punishment if he'd been assigned to the grade school department, but high school? Out of all the academies in the city, Zeke had to choose the same academy Erwin worked at.

This world was too small.

A silent fume of frustration bubbled inside his chest, and it was all Erwin could do to hold back his temper from rising. His zekephobia was acting up yet again.

"You okay there?" he heard Adrian ask in a whisper.

"I'm fine," Erwin said curtly, eyes strained on Zeke's figure. In that moment, their eyes locked, and Zeke raised his brow just a notch.

It was a gesture unnoticeable to the rest of the room, but was clear as day to Erwin. He could see the interest glowing in Zeke's eyes, most probably thinking of the vilest things he could do to annoy the fuck out of Erwin at work.

Little sh—

Erwin stopped himself. That wasn't a very appropriate line of thought for his new colleague. Nor was it very gentlemanly of him.

His father, who had instilled proper discipline into him, would be so disappointed to hear his thoughts right now.

As the meeting was adjourned, Erwin and Adrian headed back to the faculty office, the former drowning in his own thoughts as he tried to collect his composure and come to terms with his new reality.

"Do you know that guy?" Adrian finally asked, a question Erwin dreaded. How was he going to explain to him that that person was the reason he died in the past life, and that he was also engaged to Isanna? Come to think of it, he never told Adrian of their relationship; back in the past, Adrian had unfortunately died during their first expedition as fresh Scout recruits together with two other girls who were in the same circle as them, who also happened to be Isanna's best friends.

"Just someone I know by name," Erwin briefly explained, not having the energy to talk about Zeke. For now, he just wanted to get through his first two periods in peace.

Adrian seemed to accept his vague explanation and shrugged. When they reached the faculty room, the rest of the teachers were already piling their learning materials in hand for class, while some were lounging in their desks doing other businesses since their first period was free. Erwin handled a lot of homerooms, so he rarely ever got any free periods.

Adrian went on ahead. Erwin gathered the last of his materials and tucked them under his arm as he headed to the door. He was about to pull it open when it was pushed from the other side, and he had to step back to avoid getting hit.

Erwin looked at the person on the other side of the doorframe. Zeke.

For a few short seconds, they stared at each other, wordlessly.

"It's a small world, huh?" Zeke drawled with a casual grin. "Fancy meeting you here, Smith."

Erwin knew well he did not mean any of what he said. But even if he did, Erwin did not return the amiable welcome.

"Indeed, it is a small world," Erwin said, feeling the furrow of his own brows. "Although, it's too small for my liking."

Zeke laughed. Erwin failed to see the humor in their situation.

"Geez, I know you don't like me, but at least make an effort to hide it," Zeke whispered as he stepped forward, slightly brushing shoulders with Erwin as he walked past. "Don't want causing a scene at our workplace, right?"

Erwin tightened his jaw as he glued his eyes forward. He mentally counted up to three to collect his thoughts and bring back his composure; he always did this trick whenever he needed to calm down in the past, and it never failed him even once.

With a shaky sigh, he exited the faculty office and headed to his first class in long strides, eager to widen the distance between them.

───

"And so ended the second World War, with an estimated number of deaths of sixty to eighty million, where fifty to fifty-five million of it were civilian casualties."

"Fifty to fifty-five?" one of the students in the back of the room gasped. "So more than half of the deaths were purely civilians and not military casualties?"

"Correct." Erwin nodded. "In most cases, war between countries always leave civilians the most vulnerable; caught in the crossfire, they have little means of protection, more so especially in large-scale conflicts."

"Eh," another student sitting at the front huffed, "isn't it kind of unfair? Aren't the ones who start wars always belong to big-name figures? Why do normal people always have to suffer for their stupid egos?"

Erwin did not reprimand the student for the lack of formality in his question, nor for his tone and choice of words. Erwin never cared for any of that anyway—while he maintained his authority within the bounds of the classroom, he had a fair amount of leniency as well, and it was because of that leniency that encouraged students to be more open in his class.

In fact, Erwin had been in the middle of discussing how the communist ideology of Karl Marx laid the groundworks of the Soviet Union in the 1900s. Then someone had raised a question concerning the fundamentals of communism and capitalism that had been one of the many sparks that fueled the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, which prompted Erwin to explain the tension between the two states during the time. Another student asked about the origins of said war, so Erwin backtracked a bit and they eventually began discussing what went down during the Second World War.

"War has been and always will be unfair," Erwin said, "and in the lens of history, the corrupt and the strong often go hand-in-hand—which leaves the weak to suffer. This is why people say that in war, there is no absolute winner. It just leaves both sides with nothing but heavy losses. And valuable lessons."

Thoughts of his past life rushed through his memories. War. He'd been fighting in a war, as well. Although most of the wars in this world had been spawned through selfish ambitions of world domination and a strive for power, in the past life, the war Erwin had been fighting in was a war out of prejudice and fear. It was prejudice that had led the entire world against the subjects of Ymir, and it was fear of the blood of the titans that ran through their race that caused the Battle of Heaven and Earth—one that he didn't even live long enough to see to its end.

It had been one of the first few things Erwin had inquired from Hange and Levi. He asked what had happened when they reached the basement, and what went down upon humanity inside the walls after that. When his suspicion of human civilization beyond the walls had been proved by what he heard from their recounts, instead of feeling a sense of satisfaction, Erwin had felt.. hollow.

The discussion stretched on as the class began speaking up.

As Erwin listened to the swapping of views and opinions of his students, he couldn't help but think back to what had happened in the past.

The Rumbling. According to Levi, it had been the last act of tragedy that befell in the war, taking the lives of eighty-percent of human civilization around the world. Apparently, it had been the last attempt at protecting the people of Paradis before it was stopped.

Eighty-percent was no small number. Countless innocents had been trampled to their deaths in cold blood. Had the alliance failed, the Rumbling would have eradicated the entire world except for Paradis.

Just the thought made Erwin sick to his stomach.

It's not like I was any better.

He remembered the operation in Stohess, where about a hundred civilians had died while the Scouts tried to subdue Annie Leonhart as the Female titan—even then, he'd been shrouded with guilt that he bottled and tried to compensate by refusing to let even a single drop of civilian blood spill during the Uprising. It had been a success, and they managed to establish a new regime, but it did not bring back the lost one hundred. Walls—he even remembered the thousands of refugees he had to lead out in titan territory in a poor attempt of 'reclaiming Wall Maria', how he'd ultimately decided to condemn those innocents as part of his responsibility, the self-loathing and disgust that had worsened inside him because of it.

He'd lived as a man with hands soaked in the blood of so many—what right did he have?

"To hell with wars," a student said, breaking Erwin from his thoughts. "Why can't we all just get along?"

A brief silence settled inside the classroom as the student's words registered in the minds of everyone else present, then—

"A world without conflict is nigh impossible," Erwin said as the students turned to him. He thought about his past life, about how, even though cornered behind three walls, humanity still fought against each other, all the bloodshed and the endless fighting, long even after he'd died—he thought about the current world he lived in and its own bloody history.

These were the words he'd always echo time and time again, both to himself and to others.

"So long as there will be more than one person living in this world, conflicts will never cease," Erwin paused as he recalled the same exact words he used to utter in the past. "Because we all have different ideologies, views, and opinions on the same matters. And it is precisely because of that variance that every one of us is different from the other, yet, at the same time, we are all the same."

This was the one thing the world in his past life needed to hear: that they were all different, yet, despite that difference, they were all the same, and they all deserved freedom in their own right—a freedom that no one had the right to trample on.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the period. Erwin had been leaning against the teacher's desk this whole time and finally straightened as he gathered his things on the table. "That will be all for today. And don't forget your homework to be passed on Friday, an essay on a brief explanation of one or more specific historical reasons for the difference between the women's rights movement of the 1890s through the 1910s and the women's rights movement of the 1960s through the 1970s. We will be using your works as reference during our next discussion, be prepared."

He heard a few groans and suppressed a smile. "No word count range," Erwin added. "You are free to write as many paragraphs as you can."

A sigh of relief came from the students, some even muttering a 'Yes!' and Erwin shook his head. He turned back to the general direction of the class and was about to bid his goodbye when someone from the back shot a hand up in the air.

"Sir! One last question!"

Erwin nodded at the student. "Ask away."

The student brought his hand down.

"Is it true that we have a new P.E. teacher?"

Erwin's face fell. He hoped his dismay wasn't obvious. The look on his students told him they didn't notice, but the half-curious-half-excited glint in their eyes only reminded Erwin of his latest obstacle to overcome. Or, to be more precise, to endure.

Holding back a grudging sigh, he nodded. "Yes, it's true."

A barrage of questions was immediately shot at him.

"I heard it's a guy! What's he like?"

"Is he strict?"

"Sir, please tell him not to let us introduce ourselves one by one."

As the overlapping voices rose higher, Erwin said nothing but raised a hand.

Like magic, the class quieted down.

"Unfortunately, I cannot answer all your questions," he said after he lowered his hand back to his side. "I'm not closely acquainted with the new teacher. However, this is a good opportunity for you to meet him on your set schedule and get to know him yourselves, is it not?"

As the students realized and murmured their agreements, Erwin finally gave a nod of his own, satisfied, before he headed for the door.

───

The hours lapsed and lunch time had arrived. Erwin and Adrian made to the cafeteria together; the latter bringing in his lunchbox, while Erwin got his meal from the cafeteria menu that were being served that day. The teachers and staff had their separate dining area, where Erwin and Adrian usually ate together. From there they could hear the vibrant commotion coming from the dining area that was designated for the students.

Erwin calmly watched as Adrian choked on his water. He had just finished sharing to him his history with Zeke Yeager and why he wasn't too fond of him.

"Hold on, hold on," Adrian gasped. He was hitting his chest while grimacing. "So.. you and Isanna? You guys really did hit it off?"

Oh, Erwin thought as he realized Adrian was more preoccupied with his relationship with Isanna than Zeke.

"Yes," Erwin bluntly confirmed. "Is that so surprising?"

Adrian tilted his head as he contemplated. He shook his head, face sheepish. "To be honest, not really. I mean, I'm just surprised you'd actually have a relationship.. you didn't seem to be the type to."

Erwin hummed as he brought his glass of water to his lips, sipping in a small amount. Fair point. Erwin himself never even expected to have one. He even stopped his feelings of admirations for Marie because he didn't want any emotional attachments. Hell, years later, when he realized he was starting to look at Isanna differently and not just within the bounds of familial affections, he remembered how he'd lapse into an emotional crisis, eventually hurting her in the process in a poor attempt of suppressing his own feelings; which, mind you, had backfired so bad he had wanted to bang his head against the wall repeatedly.

It will forever stay as the number one mistake Erwin will never forgive himself for.

"Oh shit," Adrian suddenly said, looking over towards Erwin with eyes as wide as saucers. "So.. wait.. that Zeke guy was a—what did you call 'em? A titan shifter? He was the one who killed you in the past life?"

"And Isanna," Erwin added with a hint of spite as he recalled the painful memory of his last operation.

Adrian shuddered. "Let me get this straight. You reunited with Isanna—only to find out she was engaged to the man who had killed both you and her in the past?"

Erwin nodded. Adrian blanched.

"Wow. Is this one of those Korean dramas or something? Fate must really hate you."

Tell me something I don't know, Erwin sighed in his thoughts.

"But, past life aside," Adrian began, drawing Erwin's attention back to their conversation, "he seems to be a pretty cool guy. I heard he made a good impression among the students."

Erwin raised a thick brow. "Is that so?"

"Yeah. Apparently, he didn't make them do the individual introduction."

Erwin wanted to roll his eyes. Of course a teacher who didn't make the students do the compulsory individual introduction in front of the class was going to be well-liked.

"Oh—" Adrian momentarily froze, eyes focusing somewhere behind Erwin— "speak of the devil."

Erwin could hear jovial voices in conversation, and much to his dismay, that voice belonging to Zeke that never failed to make his skin crawl. Even Erwin himself was shocked that he could dislike someone to this extent.

Zeke, along with a few teachers whom he'd made acquaintance with, passed by their table. Erwin's stony stare followed him until they settled on a table at the other side of the hall.

"You look like you're about to commit a crime," Adrian suddenly pointed out.

Erwin redirected his gaze towards him and blinked. He realized the face he was making and pressed his lips tighter into a firm line, willing his expression to go back to neutral. He seriously needed to hold back from scowling every time Zeke Yeager was within a five-meter radius. He didn't want to let his disdain over that man stain his carefully-built reputation in the academy.

But, doing so would require a lot of patience, and while patience was natural for someone as levelheaded as Erwin, he often found himself getting agitated easily whenever Zeke was around.

───

The clock in the teacher's office read 5:30 PM.

At around this time, some of Erwin's colleagues had already taken their leave for the day. Adrian, who usually leaves around this time, had went home earlier because he remembered he'd ran out of groceries and needed to stock up again. Erwin had heard him grumbling about how it was high time for him to marry because having no one to greet him when he arrived home at his age was depressing.

As usual, Erwin was jotting down notes for his agenda tomorrow. There were only a few desks in the office that still had their owners sitting on it, so there was a comfortable hush of silence as everyone minded their business. The whirring of the air conditioner distributed a chill in the room. Fortunately enough for Erwin, Zeke's desk was located some place at the far back, away from his line of sight, so he didn't have to suffer every time he lifted his head from his desk.

The minutes flew by in a breeze. The next time Erwin glanced at the wall clock, it was already one minute before six.

And, unfortunately, when he swept a glance around the office, he realized there were only three of them left, including Zeke. Erwin never thought of him as a diligent worker. He pictured him as some sort of laidback teacher—at least, those were the vibes he exuded.

Erwin refocused his attention to his work. He just needed to review five more papers and he was good to go. He adjusted his reading glasses and perused through the paper in his hand, making corrections as he went, until his focus was disrupted when the sound of scraping chair legs rang through the otherwise silent office. He narrowed his eyes but kept them on the paper, grasping back his focus when the soft clacking of footsteps got nearer from behind him.

"Break a leg, Smith," Zeke said as he clapped him at the back. Erwin straightened and zeroed a pointed look at him. Instead of getting fazed, however, Zeke just smirked and turned to the other teacher, bidding him a goodbye.

Erwin glued an unreadable stare as Zeke sauntered towards the door with a shoulder bag satchel slung over one shoulder. Right before he stepped out, Zeke looked back to flick a lazy salute at him—Erwin had rolled his eyes—and closed the door once he stepped out.

Good riddance.

He leaned an elbow on the desk and massaged his temple as he closed his eyes. When he opened them back, he picked his pen and was about to flip through the next page when his eyes inadvertently swept to the window towards his left and froze.

His desk gave him a wide vantage view of the school campus, including the parking lot that the school had built for its staff and other academy-owned vehicles. Standing near a parked black BMW was none other than Isanna.

Erwin almost dropped his pen. He was about to stand when he saw her wave at someone.

A quiet pang in his chest followed, as he watched Zeke come into view and walked up to her.

Stuck with no choice, he could only stare from the upper floor as Zeke neared her and pecked her on the forehead—bastard—and they both got into the car. Moments after, the car whirred into life and drove out.

Erwin bit his lip and looked back at his desk, staring at the strewn of papers. He barely realized he was clutching on to his pen so tight that he almost snapped it in half.

Karma. This was his karma.

It felt as if fate itself had solidified in front of him, taunting him,

'If you really want her, fight for her like how she did for you.'

Because, why not? He had no other major responsibilities anymore—all that 'commander excuse' he had in the past was no longer applicable.

And yet, another part—the rational part of his mind answered back: 'But she's engaged.'

Then he remembered his conversation with Adrian. What had he called his dilemma again? Ah—a Korean drama.

While Erwin was not that up-to-date with recent trends among teens, he'd occasionally heard of a few of his students gushing about the latest dramas and whatnot. Maybe he should give it a try? Watch and learn some tips—

What am I thinking.

Erwin thought about Hange and how often he'd seen her blubbering while covered in blanket and curled up on the couch, wailing about an episode. He imagined himself doing the same.

He immediately discarded the idea.

A true dilemma.

How was he supposed to work at the same place as Zeke and expected to maintain his composure when he had a perfect view of seeing them together? Was this going to be a normal occurrence now? At this point, Erwin didn't know which life he preferred:

The past where he was with her, but filled with titans and death, or his current one where titans did not exist and peace reigned their world, but he didn't have her in his arms.

~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: writing Erwin with so much emotions is so hard T.T but also really fun, bc I imagine him as this boomer teacher in modern society and its hilarious exploring that part of his personality💀