The fire came , just as was meant to " Fire ! Everyone , run ! " " Help me ! Don't take the elevator " The sounds of panicked footsteps , screams , and crashing furniture filled the air . Thick smoke billowed through the room , making it impossible to breathe . I summoned the system . I want to go home . 09:37 Chapter 2 [ Acknowledged . Commencing transfer protocol . Countdown one minute ] [ Due to physical harm sustained during your mission , a compensation of 3 million dollars has been approved . The funds will be deposited into your original world bank account . ] I let out a slow breath , already planning what I'd do with the money . Just then , my phone began to vibrate violently . It was Peter . " I'm on my way back to the restaurant , " he gasped . " Seraphina wasn't in an accident . She said it was just a prank .... Seraphina's voice screamed in the background . " Peter ! I forbid you to go back ! " " Get out of my way , " Peter said coldly . " Wait for me , " he said to me , his voice strained . " I'm running . I'll be there soon . " I didn't say anything . All I could hear was his ragged , desperate breathing , the sound of wind rushing past , and the blare of car horns . And sirens . And the groan of collapsing beams . " That sound ... " Peter paused . " What is that sound ? Why is it so loud ? Are those sirens ? Who's screaming for help ? What's happening ! " His voice climbed , cracking with a terror I had never heard before . " Where are you ! Tell me ! Are you still in the restaurant ! What's going on there ! " " Say something ! Are you safe ! Answer me ! " I held the phone , listening to the belated , useless panic from another world , and felt only a deep , profound sense of irony . [ Countdown : ten seconds . ] " Ten ... nine ... " " Peter . " The other end of the line went completely silent , save for his ragged , terrified breaths . I smiled . I could almost see his face through the smoke , his expression frozen in horror , the blood draining from his face . " Congratulations , " I whispered , my voice as light as a feather , about to dissipate into the wind . " You're finally free . " " What do you mean ! You- " [ Countdown complete . On one of those days , as I was chatting with the director , the system's voice suddenly echoed in my mind . [ HOST ! THE NARRATIVE HAS COLLAPSEDI THE WORLD IS NEARING DESTRUCTION ! CAN YOU PLEASE COME BACK AND SAVE IT ? ) What ? What happened to Seraphina and Peter ? The system's usually cold voice was frantic . [ The timeline in the book moves faster than yours . Seven years have passed . The male lead , Adri- an , left . The second male lead , Peter , went completely dark . He bankrupted Seraphina's family , sent them all to prison , and now he's trying to kill himself . ] 09:37 Chapter 2 It showed me a recording . I saw Peter , like a wild animal , charging heedlessly into the fire . He was tackled by Adrian , who kicked his knee with a sickening crack Pater collapsed , tried to get up , but his leg wouldn't support him . Choking on the smoke , he began to crawl , his fingerds tharing as he clawed at the ground , leaving bloody trails on the pavement . Adrian just kept dragging him back . The firefighters arrived and put out the fire . I was the only casualty . A much better outcome than the original story Afterward , Peter locked himself away . Adrian dragged him out and told him the truth . That their world was a book , that his original late was tragic , and that I wasn't dead - I had just gone home . He told him the only way to see me again was to destroy the world of the book ...And Peter believed him . He went dark . After getting his revenge , Peter returned to the rundown apartment where I used to live . He sat on the sofa , a ghostly figure , clutching the ted- dy bear I had rejected . There was a gruesome , self - inflicted wound on his wrist . He was just waiting to die . [ Host , if you go back now , you can still save him ... ] " I refuse , " I cut it off . Why would I give up this beautiful life to save someone who had hurt me so badly ? The first time , I had no choice . This time , I did " I am never going back , " I said , my voice firm . " Get lost . " 12 " Chloe ? Are you okay ? " The director's concerned voice brought me back . " You've been staring into space for a while now . " The system had gone silent . The sound of a car pulling up outside drew my attention . I glanced toward the gate . My breath caught in my throat . The book I was holding fell to the floor . It was Adrian . The original male lead from the book . No , not exactly . The Adrian in the book was eighteen , his face still holding the softness of youth . The man standing before me was tall and composed , the boyishness replaced by a quiet , steady strength . He picked up the book I had dropped and smiled . " I told you we'd meet again . " 13 " Chloe , you don't remember me , do you ? " " You're the male lead from the book . " He chuckled . " And in this world ? " Nothing . I had no memory of him . He saw the confusion in my eyes and sighed . " I figured as much . " " I was in this orphanage , too . I'm two years younger than you . When I first got here , I was small and skinny . A group of older , bigger kids used to steal my food . " As he spoke , a vague memory surfaced . A group of bullies who picked on the new kids . " I remember it clearly , " he said . " It was the Mid Autumn Festival , and we all got a mooncake with our dinner . They comered me again . And you saw them . You walked right up and dumped your entire tray of food on the leader's head " I blinked . I did do that . I thought the kid was going to fight me , but he just stared , stunned , and then walked away . He avoided me after that . I never thought the quiet , teary - eyed little boy he'd been bullying was Adrian . " Not long after that , I was adopted , " he continued . " I never got a chance to thank you properly ... " 7/8 09:37 Chapter 2 " I remember now . " I interrupted . " But why were you in the book ? " He looked at me , his gaze intense . " Because I couldn't find you . " * After I left the orphanage , I kept track of you from a distance . I knew which university you went to , which company you worked for Then on day , you just ... disappeared . Everyone who knew you forgot you ever existed . " " They all told me I was crazy , that I had imagined you . Then a thing calling itself a ' system ' found me . It asked if I was willing to play me part of a male lead in a book . It said you were there , too . So I agreed . The next thing I knew , I was eighteen again , and Seraphina was confering he love to me . " I was speechless . " What was your mission ? " * To play the part of the male lead . To follow the script . " " But the book goes on until they're thirty . Why did the system let you come back ? " " You came back , " he said softly . " There was no reason for me to stay . " I stared at him . " The system just ... let you He paused , then nodded . leave ? " Of course , it wasn't that simple . The system had insisted he finish the story . So he'd killed himself . The system , forced to expend energy to revive him , brought him back . So he killed himself again . And again . The system , drained of the energy it needed to both revive him and maint- ain the world , finally had no choice but to send him home . But he didn't need to tell her that part .