It was a quiet afternoon, the kind that wrapped the city in a sleepy hush. As usual, Javier found himself in the library—the one place that never failed to calm his nerves after a long, exhausting day. He moved slowly between the shelves, running his fingers along the spines of the books, searching for something new to dive into.

Eventually, a title caught his eye. Curious, he pulled the book from the shelf and began flipping through the introduction, letting the familiar scent of old pages and ink settle his mind. Lost in the words, he wandered deeper into the maze of shelves, half-reading, half-drifting.

But his peace was short-lived.

A sudden jolt knocked into his shoulder, and the book slipped from his hands, falling to the floor with a dull thud.

"What the hell—" Javi muttered under his breath, already crouching down to retrieve it. He looked up sharply, irritation flashing in his eyes. "Be more careful, damn it."

His voice was low but firm, not exactly shouting—but definitely not gentle either. He hadn't even seen who it was yet, but the disruption was enough to rattle his already frayed patience.