Chapter 3

The school semester finally began.

The standard public high school curriculum was practically a breeze for me.

Immediately, I started planning my second "chance" encounter with Julian.

During the fall break, I picked up a part-time gig as an equipment and floor assistant at a prestigious private fencing club in his city.

On the morning of the third day, Julian walked in for his private training session.

I quietly watched him from the shadows of the gear rack.

Right as he was wrapping up his drills, I murmured softly from behind him.

"On that final lunge, you should rotate your wrist inward."

Julian whipped around instantly.

I couldn't clearly see his eyes behind the mesh of his fencing mask, but I could feel the sheer shock radiating off him.

"It's you! You can spot my technical flaws?"

Could I? Of course not on my own.

He was the one who had spent hours teaching me in our past life.

I played dumb, tilting my head. "Just a tiny habit I noticed. Wait... do we know each other?"

Julian pulled off his mask. A brilliant spark of delight danced in his dark eyes.

I gasped dramatically, covering my mouth. "Oh! It's you!"

We grabbed lunch together at noon.

"You're a minor," Julian observed, eyeing my oversized staff apron. "Why are you working here?"

"Shh! Don't let my boss hear you. I fudged my age a bit."

"Do you need money that badly?"

"My dad passed away in an accident. My mom took every cent of the insurance payout and ran off with my sister. If I don't work, how else am I supposed to survive?"

Julian fell silent for a long moment.

"Come spar with me this afternoon."

I hesitated, fidgeting with my apron. "I still have to mop the floors..."

"A hundred bucks an hour."

"Say less, boss!"

Julian let out another genuine laugh, nearly choking on his drink.

After fencing practice that afternoon, Julian invited me to dinner.

I was just about to say yes when I spotted Sierra lurking outside the club's glass doors, craning her neck.

"Rain check! I really have to run."

When he handed me my cash payment, we naturally swapped numbers.

Back at my dorm room, my phone buzzed with a text from Julian.

[Did you get home safely?]

I couldn't stop the grin spreading across my face, but I kept my cool and typed back a single, casual word:

[Yep.]