Lexie frowned slightly. Something about the book didn’t sit right with her. It gave off a strange energy—something magical she couldn’t explain.

“Really? What if the owner came back for it and just missed you?”

“I checked the area before I left. No one was there. I don’t think anyone came back for it,” Alexa replied.

Lexie simply nodded, casting one last look at the book. “Come on, let’s eat. You can go back to writing after.”

She walked out, and Alexa followed, already eager to return to her story once she was done eating.

---

Meanwhile, in old house, an older man was in distress—they still hadn’t found the magical book.

“We’re going to be punished for this, Lucas. Why didn’t you check what you were grabbing?” the older man scolded, voice tense.

“I’m sorry, Grandpa,” Lucas said, guilt heavy in his voice. “I was in a rush—I didn’t realize I grabbed the wrong book.”

The old man was about to say more when he felt a strange shift in the atmosphere. His eyes narrowed.

“It seems... today is the day, Lucas. He’s here.”

Lucas quickly ducked behind a bookshelf as a blinding figure appeared before the old man.

A figure shaped like a person emerged from radiant light. Its face was unseeable to ordinary humans—just pure, blinding brilliance. But not to the older man name Victor. As the guardian of the magical book, he could see the figure’s face and form clearly. The true owner of the book now stood before him.

“You’re facing a problem, Victor. Am I right?” the mysterious creature asked calmly.

Victor’s eyes gleamed with regret. “I’m sorry. I know you’re already aware of what’s happening.”

“Do you understand that some fates are about to be rewritten because of this mistake?” the mysterious creature continued in a soft but serious tone.

“I do. But I’m already doing everything I can to find the book.”

The mysterious creature turned its gaze around the room, eyes scanning the shelves. “I’m afraid it may take you a while. You should know—the person who found the book has already started using it.”

Victor’s worry deepened. No one was supposed to be able to write in the book—not unless they were chosen. Every word written inside manifests in real life.

“If that’s the case, then I need to find the book immediately. But… if you know where it is, can’t you tell me?”

The figure shook its head slowly. “I can’t, not now. The writer has already begun a story. You cannot take the book now—doing so would disrupt the destinies of the characters she’s created. Claiming the book now would put those people in danger.”

“But what about the people I wrote into the book? They’re supposed to meet. It’s already written.”

The mysterious creature turned to Victor and looked straight into his eyes.

“That’s your responsibility. The fated pair you’ve written about has already been delayed because of this. And now, the one who picked up the book is writing a story of her own—with characters who aren’t even certain if they’re meant to be together. So you must find her before she finishes her story. Make her understand how important the book truly is. If not, we could face serious consequences. She might bring together people who were never meant to cross paths—and that could destroy the relationships meant to form in the future.”

Victor sighed heavily, unsure where to even begin. “I’ll do everything I can to find the book... even if I don’t know where to start.”

The mysterious creature turned again. “You’re not going to like what I’m about to tell you. You wrote in the magical book—but you didn’t finish. And because you left the last page incomplete, the book may interpret those unfinished words incorrectly. The woman you wrote into your story—she’s in danger because of your negligence. And the one destined for her... he will be the very reason for her suffering.”

Victor’s eyes widened in fear at the being’s words.

“You must find the book before it’s too late,” the being warned. “If you don’t, both your story—and the one written by the new author—will spiral into disaster.” With that, the creature vanished.

Victor stood frozen, haunted by what he had just heard. He clasped his hands tightly and paced back and forth, his mind overwhelmed by everything that could go wrong.

Lucas peeked out from his hiding spot and saw the troubled expression on his grandfather’s face. He hadn’t heard the conversation, but he knew—it was about the book he lost. Guilt washed over him. He looked away and quietly returned to his room.

---

Meanwhile, Alexa had returned to her seat, ready to dive back into writing in the magical book. She paused for a few moments, trying to recall where she left off so she could continue seamlessly.

What Alexa didn’t know was that everything she wrote in the book vanished from the page as soon as she finished—and came true in real life. She never reread what she wrote. She simply reopened the book at the page where she last stopped and continued from there.

Today, she had stopped on a blank page—no writing, no markings. Taking a deep breath, she picked up her pen again, ready to write the next chapter of her story… unaware that every word was already becoming real.

---

The next day, Daniella went to school early again because she didn’t want William to say anything more to her. What she had already heard from him had slightly hurt her feelings, and she would rather stop there than let things escalate to the point where she couldn’t recover.

Their class went smoothly and there wasn’t much to do, since the first week was just introductions and none of their subject teachers had started lessons yet.

William and Daniella had agreed to meet again in the school garden, where William would give her a sample quiz and formulas from their Math lessons back in third year.

They were both already in the garden, seated at the same spot where they had spoken yesterday. William silently placed a rather thick stack of papers on the table, directly in front of Daniella.

In Daniella’s mind, “I thought it was just a short quiz. Why does it feel like every single test we took back then is in this super thick pile of papers?”

“I know what you're thinking, how you're staring at that thick stack. That’s not even the quiz yet. These are just formulas and solutions. You need to read and memorize everything written on those pages,” William said.

As Daniella reached for the papers, her hands moved slowly, almost reluctantly, because the moment she touched them, she already felt like nothing would sink into her head—even if she hadn’t read anything yet.

While reading, her eyes scanned through the pages, but everything seemed to blur together. She couldn’t even remember how to solve a single problem anymore. Nervously, she decided to ask William for a favor.

“Hmmp! Can I ask you a favor?” He looked at her without answering, so she continued anyway. “If it’s okay, can you teach me this first so I can at least answer something on your short quiz?”

William stood up and sat next to Daniella, surprising her with how close he was.

“Which part don’t you understand?” he asked.

Daniella froze, staring at his face so close to hers. “Everything! Even my feelings for you,” she blurted out without thinking.

William frowned at her response. “Focus on the paper, Daniella. Not on my face,” he said bluntly.

She snapped back to reality and turned her gaze to the paper filled with numbers and letters. At first, she understood a few things, but as William began explaining multiple formula solutions at once, everything went over her head, and it only made her head ache.

William must’ve noticed, because Daniella fell silent, and so he stopped talking.

“Did you follow what I said?” he asked.

Daniella only nodded, which puzzled William. She was unusually quiet. He could see it in her face—this wasn’t the Daniella he knew. Over the years in school, he had grown used to her being lively, especially when it came to how she felt about him.

“Are you okay?” he finally asked.

Since her head was already aching from William’s explanations, Daniella just nodded again. She kept her eyes on the paper and avoided looking at William.

William frowned again and crossed his arms, watching her. “Look at me,” he said.

Curious, Daniella looked at him, still silent.

“Let’s do this instead. I’ll only tutor you on weekends, not during break time. We’ll meet at a park near our school. Is that okay with you?”

“I’m fine with that,” Daniella answered softly.

“Class is about to start again. You should put that reviewer in your bag.” Daniella took the papers and quietly put them back in her bag.

She stood up but paused in front of William, who was still sitting.

“I was going to say something.”

“What is it?”

“Did you know you’re like a Math problem?”

William looked up at her. “A Math problem? Why?”

“You’re hard to understand and difficult to solve, but if someone puts enough effort and focus, they’ll eventually say, ‘It’s not really that hard—I just wasn’t focusing enough to find the right solution and the correct answer.’”

“I don’t get it.”

Daniella’s mouth dropped open. “You’re smart—how can you not get what I’m saying!”

“Wait, there was a deeper meaning to that?”

Her eyes widened. “Of course there was! You always have a book in your hand, you’ve forgotten how to throw a good pick-up line!”

“Is that really necessary?” William asked innocently.

Daniella could only scratch her head in frustration. “In short, even if you’re like that, I’ll still find a way to make you notice me—no matter how long it takes!” she said loudly. “Ugh, I give up! You’re so hard to talk to.” She walked back to the classroom, leaving William sitting there.

“I’m the one who’s hard to talk to? She’s the one whose mood changes so fast—just a while ago she was all sad, and now she’s walking out on me.” William just shook his head and followed her, not wanting to be late for class.

That afternoon, it was time to go home, but Daniella wasn’t heading straight to their house. She seemed to be walking toward a park—possibly the one William mentioned earlier. She wandered around, looking at the people nearby. She sat on a bench and watched a dog wagging its body energetically in front of its owner, seemingly asking for food. The woman was holding some fries, which amused Daniella as she observed them. When the pair finally left, she stood up and quietly made her way home.

---

It was Saturday, and Daniella was in a small hut, staring at the paper in her hands. It was the thick stack William had given her, and now she was trying to understand all the formulas—but it looked like her eyes were about to bleed from all the numbers and letters she was seeing.

Daniella dropped the paper and stared into space.

“There’s really no hope for me to memorize what’s written here. It’s just too hard!” she exclaimed, messing up her hair in frustration.

While she was in that state, her mother arrived carrying snacks and was surprised by her daughter’s appearance.

“What kind of look is that, Daniella? You’re studying, not acting in a horror house.”

Daniella’s hair was messy, and her eyes had dark circles underneath from the lack of sleep the night before.

“Mom, maybe I should just stop studying.”

Maria frowned. “What do you mean stop studying? It’s only been a week since school started and you’re already giving up? Don’t be ridiculous, Daniella!”

Daniella picked up the paper full of formulas and solutions and showed it to her mother.

“This is why, Mom. I don’t understand any of it!”

Maria took it and read it. “What’s hard about this? It’s just Math,” she said calmly.

Daniella’s eyes widened at her mother’s response. “Come on, Mom. That’s hard—for me! It’s Math! Try solving a few of the questions if you think it’s easy!”

Maria gave her a sharp look.

“Why should I be the one answering this? I’m not the student here, you are. Stop making excuses just so you don’t have to do your work!”

“This isn’t even homework. It’s from my tutor.”

Maria looked confused.

“Tutor? Since when did you get a tutor? I didn’t raise you to be brainless, Daniella.”

Look who’s talking. She can’t even solve this either. We’re the same.

“I know that look, Daniella. Are you saying I don’t know Math?!”

Daniella raised both eyebrows.

“So you can read minds now?”

Maria sighed at her daughter’s stubbornness. “Just start studying. You talk too much. Oh, by the way, who is this tutor of yours who agreed to teach you? And where are you going to get the money to pay him?”

“No, Mom. It’s a special program at school. Your daughter just got lucky and was chosen to be tutored by William.” She even flipped her hair confidently.

Maria’s brows furrowed.

“William?”

“Yes, Mom. William—the guy I’ve had a crush on since first year high school.”

“Really? Just the other day—” Maria trailed off when she noticed Daniella’s expression, clearly waiting for her to finish.

“What was that, Mom? Just the other day what?”

Maria rolled her eyes.

“I was thinking of buying pork, but it’s too expensive.”

“That’s not what you were going to say.”

Maria stood up, ready to leave.

“Just study. You already have snacks. Hopefully, that’ll help your brain grow a bit.” She exited the hut, leaving Daniella speechless.

“What does she think, that I’m stupid?” She picked up the paper, stared at it, then dropped it again—followed by banging her forehead against the table. “She’s right. I really am stupid. Whatever happens, I’ll just answer what I can on William’s quiz before he starts teaching me other subjects. But I think unless I get a high score, we’ll just keep repeating this over and over.”

Daniella spent the entire day focused on Math formulas and solutions. She did the same the next day, because on Monday, William would give her the short quiz. Their tutoring session at the park near school wasn’t until Saturday, so for now, Daniella was doing everything she could to memorize the solutions—even if her brain wasn’t functioning very well.

That night, Daniella stopped solving and sat by the window in her room, staring at the moon, which shone brightly that evening. She stared deeply, seemingly lost in thought, until she finally stood up and closed the window to prepare for sleep.

---

It was Monday. During lunch break, Daniella was already in the school garden, but William had not yet arrived. She ate first before going to the garden, thinking that William must have eaten too, which explained his delay. Daniella made sure not to look at William earlier in class, avoiding any eye contact with him.

A few minutes later, William sat in the seat across from her. He immediately noticed how Daniella was hunched over, with her hair covering her face.

“Did you review?” William asked.

“Of course! You’re talking to me!” Daniella boasted.

“Really? Let’s see then.” William slid a piece of paper toward her. Daniella took it and examined it.

Her head shot up in shock. “Wait! You said this was just a short quiz! Why are there fifty questions, and with solutions required too? Do you really think I can finish this before the bell rings?!”

Her eyebrows were nearly touching from how tightly she was frowning.

“Did you even sleep?” William asked seriously.

Daniella touched her eyes—her dark circles were evident after two sleepless nights.

“I did sleep. Why?”

“You look like you stayed up just to review what I gave you. Are you okay?”

Daniella smiled, thinking maybe he would cancel the quiz. “I’m okay.”

“Alright then. Answer it.”

With that, William opened his book and began reading. Daniella was left gaping at him.

“I thought he’d be nice to me.” She rolled her eyes at William, who wasn’t even looking at her. So, against her will, she started answering the quiz, leaving it up to fate whether she’d finish before the bell rang.

Daniella was so focused on answering that she didn’t notice William peeking at her from behind his book. He saw how determined she was to answer the quiz he gave her, and a small smile appeared on his lips before he returned to reading.

Almost thirty minutes passed, and the bell rang. Daniella had to stop answering. She had only reached question number 20.

“Are you done?” William asked.

“Of course not. The bell rang—how could I finish?” she replied in frustration.

William took the paper and checked how far she had gone. “This is fine. Let’s see if you got even one answer right.” He then placed the paper in his bag, stood up, and started walking back to the classroom. Daniella followed right after him.

---

The entire day of classes finally ended for Daniella, and it was obvious from her eyes that she was moments away from falling asleep from exhaustion.

She wasn't going home with Bree because Bree had rushed off earlier. As Daniella was about to step out of the school gate, William called out to her.

“Wait!” he shouted loud enough to make her flinch.

Daniella lazily turned to look at him and simply waited for him to approach.

“We’re going somewhere. Follow me,” he said before continuing to walk.

Daniella frowned. She wanted nothing more than to go home.

This William… he could’ve just said he wanted to be with me. Why pretend otherwise?

Despite her tired face, Daniella smiled faintly and trailed after him.

She walked five steps behind him, her head lowered as she dragged her feet. William noticed this, stepped back, and slowed down until he was beside her—something she didn’t even notice.

She followed him into a park she recognized—the same one she had visited a few days before.