3 The woman with some screws loose

*Tring Tring!*

Jun suddenly opened his eyes and woke up to another day with a jump. Annoyed, he stopped the alarm. His breaths were slightly restless.

I fell asleep. What was I thinking again last night?

Ah…

Was it the right thing to do?

Jun collapsed back on the bed with his arms stretched out.

Was it right to tell his father the truth about his rebirth?

Was it right to end his relationship with the woman he loved the most after he was reborn?

Was it right to abandon the second chance he got instead of rectifying his mistakes of past life and make a new beginning?

Jun laughed, but there wasn't even a speck of joy in it.

Do I even have the right to be reborn?

Why am I given a second chance? What's the point?

Is it to make things right again that I messed up? But what's the use when the woman I long for doesn't even love me back?

No.

She never loved me. I was crazy for her, but she never truly fell for me.

Even if I changed my ways, what would truly change in the situation? Her heart never had me anyway. She wouldn't fall in love with me no matter what I do.

He shut his eyes and thought back to that deciding moment when everything changed for him.

'Let's break up. I finally realized that I am…not suited for you.'

Jun slowly opened his eyes with a question in his mind.

Why am I alive again if I won't get the perfect ending that I want?

—

Jun arrived at the library like usual today. He greeted the kind librarian and headed towards the third floor where his desk was.

But instead of finding the floor empty like always in the early morning, he noticed someone standing in front of a large bookshelf.

Jun paused.

Someone is here before me…

Jun glanced at the woman for a second and headed back at his desk not caring much about it. He started his morning routine by going through the bookshelves and checking if anything was missing.

By the time he took a right turn, he suddenly stopped in his steps.

The same woman was still standing in front of the bookshelf staring upwards with great concentration. She was at the same position since Jun had last seen her. It was as if she hadn't even moved an inch.

Jun looked at his watch.

It's twenty minutes already and she is still here?

His expression turned cold. This was the part he hated the most about his job. Helping people, especially women because he knew they would be spellbound by his looks and hit on him the next time they saw him, which honestly gave him an urge to just throw those women out of the third floor's window.

Is she doing this on purpose? He narrowed his eyes.

He stood beside her and asked, "Any problem?"

The kind librarian had said to keep his tone polite while talking to the patrons. But it always got chilly whenever it was a woman.

The woman slowly turned to face him. Her gaze met his. Then she kept staring at him.

Jun's brow twitched.

I knew this would happen.

"Any problem?" His tone turned a notch icier as he repeated his question.

The woman retracted her gaze. She looked up and pointed at a book. "I cannot reach it."

Jun looked up and then at her.

Surely, she would not reach it with her height.

Jun stretched his leg and pulled a ladder towards him. "This is here just for that. You can adjust its height depending on how far the book is."

"Naturally, I saw the ladder."

"So may I point out why you haven't naturally used it yet?" He couldn't help but get a little sarcastic.

"I am scared of heights," she calmly responded.

Jun frowned. "The book is not that high up even with the ladder."

"Nevertheless, my feet wouldn't be on the floor, which leaves a chance for me to fall as long as I am above the ground level."

"The ladder is sturdy."

"I am not."

"..."

"So what were you doing staring at the book for so long if you didn't want to use the ladder?"

"I thought if I stared at it hard enough, it would fall towards me on its own, sensing my concentration."

"..."

"The book doesn't have magical powers to move on its own."

"I wish they had, especially the ones sitting high up on the shelf."

Silence.

This woman has some screws loose, he thought.

Jun pressed his brows. Annoyed, he stretched his arm and grabbed the book in a swoop. "Here."

The woman took it and bowed. "Thank you."

"You should have asked for help when I came twenty minutes ago."

"I don't like bothering people."

Jun raised his brow. "So you don't want to use the ladder, and you don't want to ask for help either. How exactly would you have gotten the book if I may ask?"

"Maybe it would have really sensed my concentration and fallen towards me, or if a strong gust of wind blew from outside, it could knock the book out of its place. For that matter, a small earthquake could shake it out of its place too. If this library is haunted, maybe a ghost would have done it too, or a meteorite could have struck the book."

"A meteorite would do more than just knock out the book. Where do you get this baseless confidence from that any of these events might happen just because you want a book?"

"Life is unpredictable. That is my confidence."

Jun tried his best to give a polite smile. "I am the assistant librarian. It's my job to help the patrons here."

Even if I hate it.

"So ask me for help next time instead of standing like a lifeless statue and imagining impossible events happening for your convenience."

The woman pursed her lips. She bowed a thank you for his help again and turned. But she stopped and looked back at him.

Jun squinted his eyes.

The woman said, "I forgot to clarify something. It seems you have a misunderstanding that I am interested in you because I stared at you."

He blinked once.

"Rest assured that's not the case. I won't look at you that way. You are not my type."