Chapter 2

And it wrote down Evan's name on the top right corner.

Evan woke up early and searched for his phone. The groggy Evan couldn't find his phone and jolted up from bed. It was then that he noticed the tiled roof and the wooden room, giving him the vibe that he had traveled back to the Eastern era. Now fully awake, he looked down at the clothes he was wearing and rushed to the nearby window.Looking outside, he confirmed his belief that he was indeed in the Eastern era. He quickly glanced around the surroundings and noticed the book he had been reading the previous night lying across the room. He searched the room again, hoping to find something familiar from his previous environment, but the only thing remaining was the book. Curiosity piqued, he walked towards the table where the book was placed and eagerly flipped it open. To his astonishment, he discovered that the book was empty, with nothing written on any of its pages.

However, what caught his attention was his name stamped on the top right corner of every page. It was then that he recalled something... He remembered that in the book he had read yesterday, the protagonist's name was written instead of his own. After calming himself down, he slowly descended the stairs. To his surprise, he saw a wooden table with eight chairs around it, and a sofa in the dining room. It was exactly the same layout as his previous orphanage.

"Evan, are you awake? And so early today?" Dean Francis called out.

"Yeah," Evan stammered in response.

"Hey, Dean Francis," a girl called out to the dean.

"Hey, Emily... Have you gone out for a walk again?" Dean Francis asked.

"Yes, Dean," Emily replied.

"Hey, lazybones... You're an hour early for someone like you," Emily said to Evan in a familiar tone.

"Yeah."

Emily looked at him with shocked eyes.

"Why are you looking like that? It's strange, Emily."

"Did you... Did you hit your head when you woke up, or something?"

"No."

"Okay... Now that you're awake and Emily has come back from her walk, Emily, go wake the kids up, and Evan, help me with the kitchen."

The dean then walked back to the kitchen. He asked Evan to stir the soup and left to take out the plates and spoons. Evan couldn't stop himself from thinking about his old orphanage. He was in a daze.

"Snap out of it now, Evan... The soup is already done."

"I'm sorry, Dean."

"Now put the soup on the table. I'll bring the rest."

Evan walked towards the table and sat on an empty chair. The kids were shocked to see Evan coming out of the kitchen. One of the kids exclaimed, "Brother... Are you really our brother, Evan?"

"Yes, I am," Evan replied.

Kevin's eyes bulged out with astonishment. The dean interrupted the talk and said to both Emily and Evan, "Both of you, meet me after dinner."

"Yes, Dean," they both replied.

Evan and Emily walked towards the dean's room, with Emily walking ahead and leading the way for Evan. Emily knocked on the door and went in.

"Come in," the dean said.

"Both of you, sit over there."

"Your coming-of-age ceremony will be held at the end of the month, which is only two weeks from now."

"Emily, what are you going to do after the ceremony?"

"Hmm, Dean... I..."

"I know you have been working at the shop in town, but what I need to know is your future plans."

"Dean... I... That is... I... I have someone I like in town, and I think he likes me too. So I would like to try being with him."

"Hmm... Is it the boy working at the bread shop?"

"Yes, yes..."

"Then, you go and bring the boy to me after the ceremony is over."

"Then... Dean, can I... Can I go back now?" Without even waiting for a reply, Emily ran out of the room, covering her beet-red face.

The dean sighed and nodded, allowing Emily to leave the room. He then turned his attention to Evan.

"Now, Evan," the dean began, "I wanted to talk to you about something important as well."

Evan looked at the dean, curious about what he had to say.