The Magic That Made the Playboy Who Never Dates Fall for Me Chapter 02
So I’ve been chasing Mason for a while now, and then the school drops a big midterm on us.
Results come out—first major exam of the term—and Mason is not feeling it.
He doesn’t say a word, but he straight-up rejects the breakfast I brought him.
I sneak a peek at the rankings:
🥇 Evan Caldwell – 1st
🥈 Mason Prescott– 2nd
[SYSTEM] For context: Male lead and second male lead have been academic rivals since day one. Emotionally, Mason grew up with the female lead, but he never stood a chance once Evan—the ML—showed up late to the party.
I nod.
System already told me: the female lead will transfer to this school soon for Evan’s sake.
After that, Mason’s gonna be so busy chasing her that he’ll never outrank Evan again.
Then college—he goes abroad, works his butt off, comes back to win her over…
…only to find she’s already married Evan.
And what does he do? Never marries anyone.
Spends his whole life waiting for their divorce. Even schemes to break them up a few times. That’s devotion, right?
Too bad the ML and FL are rock solid. In the end, she cuts Mason off completely—and it destroys him.
After that, he’s just drifting through life.
His company blows up, he’s got more money than he can spend, but none of it fills the hole. Dies young.
From all that, I draw two conclusions:
Confidence matters. I need to build Mason’s up.
Happiness matters. I need to make Mason happy.
So I find him skipping class on a bench under this big tree.
The second he sees me, he closes his eyes and goes, “Can you not bother me right now?”
I don’t answer. Just quietly sit next to him.
Then I pull out a small round bottle with a black lid.
“Mason, let me teach you a magic trick.”
He opens his eyes—probably about to tell me to get lost—
Until he watches me shake one die out of that little bottle… into a pile of tiny dice. 🎲
“Okay so—under this lid there’s one die, and the tiny ones are hidden inside here.”
Mason catches on. Nods.
I reset the trick, screw the lid back on, and hand it to him. “Your turn.”
He takes it. “Just shake it?”
I nod.
He shakes.
Instead of turning into tiny dice? The die inside turns into a piece of candy. 🍬
Mason’s hand jolts.
He won’t look at me. Stares at the bottle, pulls the candy out, muttering: “What’s the point of all this—”
The second he unwraps it—he freezes.
Because inside is a tiny slip of paper that reads:
You’ll always be number one in my heart. ❤️
(I came up with the trick. The note? A collab between me and the System.)
[SYSTEM] Host, do you think Mason’s gonna cry from being so moved?
Before I can even answer—System starts sobbing in my ear:
[WAAAHHHH WAAAHHHH I’M ALREADY CRYING—]
It’s this weird, crackly electronic wailing, and I just sit there eating the breakfast Mason rejected this morning.
Turns out, Mason the Peacock has been through some stuff.
He keeps his head down for a beat, then closes both the candy and the note into his palm.
Stands up. Walks stiffly toward the classroom.
“Mason?” I follow him. “Where are you going?”
“You’re so annoying.” His breathing’s all uneven, eyes darting everywhere. “What else would I be doing in the classroom? Studying, obviously.”
Then he moves farther away from me.
“Stop chasing me. I don’t date in high school.”
……I stop walking.
“System… has Mason never dated in high school?”
[SYSTEM] That’s right, Host. Mason’s always followed a strict policy: flirt but never actually commit.
“So… that’s what people call a player?”
[SYSTEM] Well… technically, he flirts, but he’s never crossed any lines. At most he gives hugs—never even kissed anyone… actually no, he’s totally a player. Let’s go with that.
I nod.
Ever since I woke up in this world, my first convo with Mason happened because he casually tried to flirt with me out of boredom.
But lately… I watch his retreating figure.
Lately, he hasn’t really been talking to other girls much.
“System… why’s that?”
[SYSTEM] Maybe ’cause you flirted back and it threw him off his game? 🤷
I nod, half-understanding.
“My fault.” 😅