It was impossible to tell what time it was when a nervous patter of footsteps suddenly echoed outside the room. The teenage Sang got up and opened the door, only to find Luna standing there, her face etched with worry, on the verge of tears.
She clutched a pillow to her chest, rooted to the spot at the threshold.
“Watermelon, I can’t sleep…”
“Sigh, you’ve been like this for years. Every time you can’t sleep, you come find me and Adolf.”
After a moment, even though the teenage Sang hadn’t brought up anything about 【Grace】, Luna bit her lip and blurted out preemptively, “I’m not scared of 【Grace】. It’s just the blood draw—drawing blood hurts so much. You know how I hate pain…”
Silly girl.
I hadn’t even mentioned 【Grace】, and now you’ve gone and given yourself away with that?
Luna might look strong on the outside, but she was actually incredibly fragile. She was afraid of the dark, afraid of pain… afraid of so many things. That was precisely why her wish was so simple: to be like Sister Lilian and become the dean of the orphanage, spending her life there taking care of the children.
Sang felt both heartache and exasperation for her. He stifled a laugh. “Alright, alright. Luna’s not scared of 【Grace】 at all. Come on in… But if Sister Lilian sees you in a bit, she’ll probably drag you right back to your own room.”
Thirteen- and fourteen-year-old teenagers in the throes of puberty—Sister Lilian was probably a little worried they’d do something inappropriate, so she didn’t allow them to sleep together.
Honestly, in Sang’s eyes, Sister Lilian was overestimating these kids. They were all so late to mature; none of them even knew what romance was, let alone get up to any mischief.
In the end, Luna still slipped into the room shared by Sang and Adolf. Adolf was already asleep.
The two of them lay down on the same bed, keeping their voices low. Luna turned her face toward the ordinary boy beside her, and for some reason, it put her heart at ease. He always had that laid-back slacker vibe, but he really made people feel secure—like no matter what trouble came up, he could handle it.
“You’re staring an awful lot, even though bro’s handsome and all.”
“You were only picked up a few hours before me—quit acting like such a big brother. I don’t accept you as my bro!” Luna pouted.
Yeah, absolutely no way she’d admit Sang was her big brother…
Sang was the sun because he’d been brought back to the orphanage during the day; Luna was the moon because she’d arrived at night—on the same day.
“Why do you wanna be the big sis so bad… Anyway, enough chatter. Go to sleep, be good.”
“Mm… but I still can’t sleep.”
The beds in the orphanage weren’t huge, but they were plenty big enough for two teenagers to sleep comfortably side by side. Right now, Sang lay flat on his back, while Luna lay on her side, staring at him with wide eyes. Her emerald-green irises gleamed like priceless gems under the moonlight.
“Can’t do anything with you… I could sing you a song or tell you a story to help you sleep, but Adolf’s already out. Don’t wanna wake him.”
Yeah.
From a young age, teenage Sang had always loved singing songs from his original world to the orphanage kids or telling them fairy tales from there too.
What could he do? The civilization in this other world was just so backward.
However…
No sooner had Sang finished speaking than Adolf suddenly sat up on his side of the bed. He smiled faintly. “Actually, I woke up the moment you opened the door for Luna.”
Luna murmured a quick “Sorry” to express her apology.
But Sang could tell Adolf was lying. He chuckled to himself but said nothing—in his view, Adolf probably hadn’t been woken up at all. He’d likely never gotten to sleep in the first place. Maybe he was suffering from insomnia over the 【Grace】 business and was just pretending to be tough.
Don’t let Adolf’s height of nearly six feet fool you, or the fact that he could take on several grown men in a fight. He was still just a fourteen-year-old boy.
The next second…
Adolf hopped off his own bed without a second thought and climbed onto Sang’s. “In that case, how about a long-overdue 3P~!”
“3P!!! That’s pretty wild!” Sang teased with a cheeky grin.
Luna and Adolf had no idea what the term meant and blinked in unison. “What’s 3P?”
Sang didn’t want to corrupt the kids’ pure hearts, so he brushed it off. “Nothing much—just means three people sleeping together.”
Adolf, ever the straight shooter, added, “We’ve done 3P countless times since we were little anyway.”
Yeah.
That’s right.
The three of them were the orphanage’s best friends, practically inseparable all day long—closer than anyone else in the world. Especially as kids, they often napped together in a big pile.
Sang had no desire to linger on such a sleazy topic. He waved it off and changed the subject. “Fine, then. Since neither of you can sleep, how about I sing you a soothing song to calm your nerves…”
As he spoke…
Sang pulled a harmonica from the pocket against his chest. It was meant to be Luna’s birthday gift soon, but for now, it was still his.
Luna and Adolf were long used to the weird terms that popped out of Sang’s mouth—not just the two of them, but the other orphanage kids and even Dean Lilian. Everyone had more than once fallen under the spell of Sang’s “talent.” Or rather, his wild imagination.
You’d think that would lead to success?
No, no!
This was a world where knights were the most esteemed profession, one that prized martial prowess above all. Music and literature could only ever be mere embellishments, never a path to true achievement.
On top of that, this world placed huge emphasis on race, family, and bloodlines. Kids from the orphanage like Sang had no background whatsoever—they’d never be accepted by anyone.
And even if there were musicians as a profession, the modern pop songs in Sang’s head would only draw ridicule. No one would buy it. Imagine in the Song Dynasty, when everyone was reciting elegant poems like “May we long endure, sharing the moon though miles apart,” and you suddenly belt out “I love you, just like a mouse loves rice”… Don’t forget, this world was akin to medieval Europe—people were all about classical music.
Sang’s so-called talent was worthless in most eyes. Just petty cleverness, unfit for polite society.
That night…
Sang played two full rounds of “Let It Go” on the harmonica for Luna and Adolf, instantly soothing their anxious hearts.
“What’s that song?” Luna asked.
Sang deadpanned, ” ‘Love’s Offering’…”
“Oh… it’s so pretty.”
After that, the two of them started to feel drowsy. Before drifting off, Luna quietly reached out and clasped Sang’s hand. “Sang… we’ll be okay, right…?”
At her words, Sang squeezed out a reassuring smile. “Yeah. I swear it on my nickname, Watermelon—you and Adolf will be just fine!”
“Mm. Good night.”
“Good night.”
