Chapter 5: A Random Run-In with Mr. Perfect
1057 Words
Thu Ly walked into class, doing her best to keep a straight face—as if she hadn’t just been magically tossed back into her seventeen-year-old self.
She had barely made it to her seat when a familiar voice called out from the front.
“Hey Ly! Did you finish the essay?”
It was Hương Trà, the girl who sat in front of her, turning around with a hopeful yet anxious look.
Thu Ly blinked.
Oh. Right. The essay.
She vaguely remembered the assignment was about analyzing some passage from a piece of literature… but with a 35-year-old brain shoved back into a high schooler’s body, well, let’s just say the RAM wasn’t loading fast enough.
“Yeah… I finished it. But it’s kinda… messy,” she replied, trying really hard not to sound like someone who graduated college over a decade ago.
Hương Trà eagerly flipped open Thu Ly’s notebook and scanned the page. Not even a minute later, she let out a laugh.
“Wow, suddenly my essay doesn’t seem that bad! And Ly—what’s up with your handwriting today? Not as pretty as usual. And honestly… your vibe’s kinda off.”
Thu Ly gave her best fake pout. “My brain’s still rebooting, okay? I haven’t fully recovered yet!”
Tú, the boy sitting next to her, leaned over, clearly amused.
“Want to copy mine? I’ve got genius-level ideas. Teachers are gonna cry reading my work,” he teased with a wink.
Thu Ly rolled her eyes, propped her chin on her hand, and sighed dramatically.
“Stop bullying a poor girl who just survived a full-blown brain crash. Remember: talent is permanent—bad days are temporary, alright?”
The school day rolled on without major disasters. She was lucky enough to dodge any pop quizzes in trig or chemistry, but the close call made her painfully aware that she really needed to brush up on the basics. Sure, she couldn’t solve the hardest problems anymore, but the easy ones? Come on.
Finally, the last period rolled around—homeroom. The teacher came in, gave a few announcements, assigned a monitor to take over, and then left.
With some free time, Thu Ly let her mind drift again… this time, to her mom’s illness. She pressed her lips together, feeling the familiar itch for a cigarette.
Look, she wasn’t addicted or anything—really. But something about holding a cigarette helped her think. The ritual of it gave her focus. Over the past few days, she’d been too busy downloading the “timeline update” in her brain to feel it, but now? The craving was real.
She raised her hand and asked to go to the nurse’s office, using the “I feel a little lightheaded” excuse.
As she walked toward the back corridor behind the classrooms, a faint scent hit her. Cigarette smoke. Barely there, but definitely real.
Her inner bloodhound kicked in (but, like, a stylish one in heels). She followed the trail to the back stairwell—and paused.
Standing there, leaning casually against the railing, was a guy who looked like he’d walked straight out of a K-drama — messy-perfect hair, sharp jawline, that distant “I-have-deep-thoughts” stare, and, of course, a cigarette in hand.
It was him.
The star boy from Class A1 — straight-A student, annoyingly good-looking, and pretty much the unofficial heartthrob of the whole grade
Thu Ly raised an eyebrow—not because he was handsome (he was), but because… he was smoking. At school.
She folded her arms and tilted her head, her voice half-serious, half-snarky.
“School prince smoking on school grounds? You’re not worried about getting caught?”
He turned to look at her, unimpressed. His eyes said, And who invited you here?
But instead of being intimidated, Thu Ly found it… kind of funny.
“What’s that look for?” she asked playfully. “Breaking rules on your own turf, Mr. Hall Monitor?”
Still no reply. He took another drag and then finally asked, flatly:
“You want one?”
Oh. So this was how he scared people off.
She could imagine most girls would’ve turned tomato-red and sprinted the other direction.
But not her.
She held out her hand with a casual smile. “Sure. Give me a fresh one. Oh, and your lighter too.”
He hesitated—just a second—before handing it over. The surprised look on his face? Priceless.
Thu Ly shrugged, lit the cigarette smoothly, and let the first puff escape her lips like it was no big deal. The tension in her shoulders relaxed just a bit. After a few seconds of silence, she glanced at him again.
“What’s your name again? I forgot.”
He squinted at her, voice dripping with dry humor.
“How’re you gonna report me to the teachers if you don’t even know my name?”
She smirked. As if I’d tattle.
Sure, she knew he was in A1—the elite science-track class. The golden boy. Top grades, killer athletic stats, student council type. Everyone loved him.
But names? Nah.
“Hoài Nam,” he finally said.
“Ahh, that’s right. Hoài Nam,” she repeated, nodding slowly like she’d just remembered an old password. “Nice name, by the way.”
They went quiet again, each with a cigarette in hand, letting the smoke drift into the morning sun. Neither said another word.
Before she turned to leave, Thu Ly gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder—like an older sister talking to a kid who didn’t quite know better.
“Try to cut back, okay? You’re still just a student.”
She walked off, totally unaware of the pair of eyes watching her go with curiosity and something else she couldn’t name.
Behind her, Hoài Nam muttered under his breath,
“You think you’re any different?”
Thu Ly strolled around a bit to let the smoke fade from her clothes before heading to the nurse’s office. Her mind had already shifted gears—time to map out a plan.
She needed to hit the local internet café and deep-dive into natural healing and diet therapy. There had to be something out there—a clue, a key—something that could help her mom.
- Writer
