Step #10

Somewhere in Blue City…

Davi's mind was busy as she looked around, her thoughts still focused on that second kiss and run. The truth was that she never meant to do it that way again. She really wanted to kiss him naturally like how normal couples do. However, she thought about step #07 that was written on her notebook.

'Step #07; Make him think about you/make him curious about the things you do/make him wonder.'

Davi thought she could turn the kiss and run into a double-edged weapon. If she could make Sei wonder why she keeps doing it that way, if she could make him think about her a bit longer because of it, then this may just work. But, if in case Sei doesn't react the third time she does it, then she would have to drop that strategy and think of something new.

She would follow Hinari's advise; 'Experiment, experiment... and see what is working and what is not, but remember, don't overdo it.'

After an hour, Davi finally reached her destination.

Standing in front of a certain school gate, she raised her head then stared at the building across the softball ground.

While looking at it, a memory from a year ago came back to her as though it all just happened yesterday.

"Listen to me, Mizuri. You're one of a kind, you're the most exceptional student I have ever met in my entire career as a teacher, so please don't waste that rare potential bestowed upon you. Do you understand?"

Those words came from her teacher, Ms. Lee. She was a good teacher who was always pestering her to pursue her studies and to apply to get into one of the most elite universities in the country. She even gathered a lot of information about other potential universities for her, telling her that she could easily get the most exclusive scholarships at those schools.

At that time, however, Davi's mind was clouded. After she graduated from high school, she immediately went out find a job. Her brother's health was deteriorating and Davi didn't have a choice but to go to work to save her dearest brother. As time went by, Davi almost forgot about her own dreams as her life was entirely focused on working to save her brother and nothing more.

During those times, she was indeed as others described her; an unfortunate diamond that was stuck with the gravel stones.

Until the day she met that person. When Davi signed that contract and sold herself to a stranger, the one thing that was clear to her was that she was no longer allowed to dream for herself. She was ready to bury everything and live a life with an unknown future and yet Sei came along and told her to keep dreaming. Truth was, Davi still couldn't believe it. She didn't know if Sei just said it for her to ease her boredom but it was everything to her. She would happily grab the chance he gave her. She would do it no matter what it took.

"Okay, let's do it!" she said,raising her fist as she finally entered the school, confident and fearless.

A few minutes later, she finally met Ms. Lee. The two embraced each other as though they were grandmother and granddaughter. They chatted for a long while. Ms. Lee expressed her disappointment when she didn't see her name in last year's exams result, however, she said she was still waiting for Davi this whole time.

"I'm telling you, Mizuri, I'm really glad that you finally realized that a life without dreams is nonsense. Even if life breaks you into pieces, as long as you don't let go of that dream, you can survive anything. Believe in yourself."

Ms. Lee's words were like spears piercing through Davi's heart. This teacher was indeed the best teacher she had ever met and could only answer her with a tight hug and a "Yes Ms. I'll do my best."

The teacher then arranged for her to take the entrance exams for the top three elite universities, the following month. Davi told her that she wanted to get the full scholarship, so in order for her to do so, her challenge was to ace the exam.

…

The next day, Sei arrived home but the girl wasn't there. The butler told him that Davi went to Blue City early in the morning.

Not asking anymore details about the whys and whats, Sei went straight to the sofa. He saw thick books under the table. His line of sight fell on the book on top entitled, Medical Microbiology.

By simply looking at it, Sei could already tell what the girl was up to.

After a while, Sei headed to the kitchen to get a glass of water, when something caught his eye. He moves closer to it right away.

Truth was that, even if Davi wasn't home, she didn't forget about her priority. She thought that she needed to keep executing the steps to keep on top of her mission even when she was away from him.

'Step #10: 'Level up the cheesy moves'

One of the leveled up cheesy moves written in her notebook was the so called 'cute romance with a love note'. And one of her ultimate strategies was to cook something for him, then leave a love note with it.

To do this, Davi woke up early that morning to cook a snack for Sei. Afterwards, she left a cheesy lovey dovey sticky note on the fridge.

"I made a snack for you. I hope you like it. ~ Davi" was written on the note and a cute heart with a smile inside it was drawn after her name.