Before Alice made the call, she sat alone on her bed in complete silence.
The trophy from the origami competition rested on her desk, shining faintly under the room light.
Normally, she would've been smiling nonstop after winning.
But right now—
all she could think about was Stacy.
The image of police cars outside the school refused to leave her mind.
Alice hugged her knees quietly.
"What even is happening anymore…"
Minutes passed.
Then her eyes slowly drifted toward the colorful paper scattered across her desk.
Without thinking too much, she picked up a sheet and began folding it carefully.
Fold after fold.
Corner after corner.
Her hands moved naturally.
Soon, a small paper bird rested in her palms.
Alice stared at it silently.
Then she laughed softly at herself.
"It would've been cool if you were real," she whispered.
"Even if only for a minute."
The moment those words left her mouth—
the bird moved.
Alice froze.
The tiny paper wings slowly flapped once.
Twice.
Then suddenly—
the bird lifted into the air.
Alice's eyes widened in complete shock as the origami bird flew around her room clumsily.
"T-This…"
Her breathing became uneven.
It was real.
Actually real.
The bird circled the room for less than a minute before suddenly collapsing onto her bed again as nothing more than folded paper.
Silence filled the room.
Alice stared at it with trembling hands.
Then immediately grabbed her phone and called Nova.
⸻
Back to the phone call—
"Nova…"
Alice sounded nervous.
"I think something is really wrong about this…"
Nova immediately sat up straighter.
His expression darkened slightly.
"So…" he said quietly.
"You know too?"
Alice blinked.
"What?"
Nova exhaled slowly.
Then asked directly,
"So let me guess…"
"You have powers too?"
Alice went completely silent.
Nova continued carefully.
"But there's probably some kind of drawback, right?"
Alice tightened her grip on the phone.
"But how do you know all this…?" she asked quietly.
Nova hesitated for a moment.
Then finally replied,
"Because I have powers too."
Silence.
Alice's eyes widened.
For a second, neither of them spoke.
Everything suddenly felt far too unreal.
Nova leaned back slightly in his chair, thinking carefully about what to say next.
Part of him wanted to tell Alice everything.
About Stacy.
About her reaction earlier.
About how she clearly had powers too.
But he stopped himself.
He had already promised Stacy to keep it private.
And Nova took promises seriously.
So instead, he spoke carefully.
"Listen…"
"I think we should talk about this in person."
Alice nodded instinctively before realizing he couldn't see her.
"O-Okay…"
Nova lowered his voice slightly.
"Will you come with me to Stacy's house? I'll explain everything later."
Alice looked uncertain.
"Right now?"
"Yeah."
Alice hesitated.
Sneaking out wasn't really her thing.
But after what happened today…
after the flying paper bird…
she couldn't pretend life was normal anymore.
"…Okay," she finally agreed softly.
⸻
A little later—
Nova stood downstairs while putting on his shoes.
His mom looked toward him suspiciously.
"Where are you going this late?"
Nova tried to stay calm.
"Alice needed help with homework."
His dad raised an eyebrow.
"Homework? At night?"
Nova forced an awkward laugh.
"We kinda have a lot to finish…"
His parents exchanged glances.
After a bit more convincing—
they finally sighed.
"Fine," his mom said.
"But don't stay out too late."
Nova immediately smiled.
"Thanks!"
Meanwhile—
Alice was doing exactly the same thing at her house.
"I'm going to Nova's house for homework!" she called out nervously.
Her mother looked confused.
"At this hour?"
Alice quickly nodded.
"We forgot about some assignments…"
After several questions and a lot of awkward explaining—
her parents finally allowed it too.
Nova and Alice finally arrived outside Stacy's house.
Police cars were parked everywhere.
Several officers stood guard near the entrance while others patrolled the area carefully.
Alice looked nervous immediately.
"That's… a lot of security…"
Nova stayed quiet while staring toward the house.
Something felt wrong.
The two slowly approached the front gate.
One of the officers immediately stepped forward.
"Stop right there."
"We're friends with Stacy," Nova explained quickly. "We just want to check on her."
The officer didn't even hesitate.
"The family is busy right now," he said coldly.
"You two should leave."
Alice frowned slightly.
"But—"
"I said leave."
Nova's expression darkened.
Something about the officer felt strange.
Too aggressive.
Too impatient.
Nova glanced toward the house again.
Then his eyes narrowed.
Inside the house—
he saw him.
The same man from school.
Nova's heart skipped a beat.
"What the—"
The officer stepped closer.
"You kids deaf or something?"
Nova made a decision instantly.
Without warning—
he punched the officer directly in the face.
Alice's eyes widened.
"NOVA?!"
The officer collapsed onto the ground unconscious.
Another guard turned around in shock.
Before he could react, Nova knocked him out too.
"We don't have time!" Nova shouted before running toward the house.
Alice hurried after him nervously.
The front door was unlocked.
The moment they entered—
they heard shouting upstairs.
Nova sprinted up immediately.
Sure enough—
the man was there.
Stacy stood near the corner of the room while her parents argued desperately with him.
"You can't take her!" Stacy's mother shouted.
The man ignored her completely.
"We don't have a choice anymore."
He grabbed Stacy's arm forcefully.
Stacy looked terrified.
Nova immediately reached into his pocket.
Luckily—
the button had returned.
The familiar black button appeared in his hand once again.
Nova didn't hesitate this time.
He pressed it immediately while imagining one place clearly.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The man vanished instantly.
Gone.
Once again.
The entire room fell silent.
Stacy's parents stared in complete shock.
Alice froze beside the doorway.
Nova slowly lowered his hand while breathing heavily.
Stacy looked at him with trembling eyes.
Then suddenly—
she broke down.
Tears streamed down her face as she collapsed onto the floor.
"I don't understand what's happening anymore!" she cried.
"I didn't ask for this…"
Alice quickly rushed toward her side.
"It's okay…"
But Stacy kept crying.
For the first time since all of this started—
she finally let everything out in front of someone other than her parents.
And neither Nova nor Alice knew what to say.