Lucid Dreams of Late: Luckless Trinity

CHAPTER 7: 心配しないで下さい [Don't Worry About It]

Tsukiko got closer and closer to school, though she wasn't scared, she only wished for her brother to be safe no matter what. She clenched her fists in determination and boldly marched on towards school.

After 5 minutes, she had reached her destination. The gates flung open once she got within the required distance, and they slammed shut once she was inside. She couldn't help but flinch at this and felt that the gates were louder than usual today, though I personally think that the sound the gates made was the sound of her confidence crumbling but hey, it's just a thought. Tsukiko, with a little less confidence, bravely continued to walk to class.

Strangely enough, with every step she took, Tsukiko became less and less confident in herself and her abilities. She was well versed in all aspects of magic which would come in handy, so why did she feel like she wasn't good enough when clearly, that wasn't the case. Once she got to her classroom, she realized it was almost completely empty.

There wouldn't have been a single soul in that classroom with her if not for the fact that there was a boy sitting on the same seat Jae-sung sat on yesterday with his head on the table. The boy raised his head and looked towards Tsukiko's direction with a very sleepy look on his face. This boy was of course none other than Kim Jae-sung. At this point, Tsukiko felt a bit shy. "I can't believe I didn't figure out it was Jae-sung, how stupid of me!", she said while covering her face with both her hands and turned around, now facing Jae-sung with her back.

Although sleepy, Jae-sung realized it was Tsukiko and he immediately stood up straight, rubbing at his face. He too felt a little shy. " How embarrassing!". Jae-sung pretended as though nothing happened and cleared his throat in an attempt to get Tsukiko's attention.

Finally, Tsukiko turned around and also acted like nothing had happened and said with a straight face, "Good Morning". Jae-sung also replied with a straight face, "Good Morning". For some time, nobody said anything, and the situation became a bit awkward. Finally, not being able to take it anymore, Jae-sung brought up their mission.

"So, about the investigation, I've been able to meet with the owner of the place I mentioned yesterday, and it seems we'll be able to get the information we need". Tsukiko felt ecstatic.

"That's great! So, this means all we have to do now is make sure we can defeat all the monsters that anonymous person may throw at us". She was practically bouncing off the walls in joy at this point, though it seemed Jae-sung wasn't as excited as her, in fact, he didn't seem excited at all. He had a very helpless and depressing look on his face, like the kind that a person being bullied by his pairs would have. Tsukiko was confused, wasn't this a good thing?

She was just pondering over Jae-sung's lack of excitement when she suddenly remembered that Jae-sung talked about a price system for all the information exchanges, perhaps that was what was bothering him so much so carefully, she tried testing the waters to see if her speculation was correct. "Jae-Wsung...what's the price for the information we need".

Jae-sung looked at her sadly and sighed before he said, "It's something very...strange. You'll know once the time comes". This confirmed her previous speculation though now, an even bigger question that needed to be answered- Just what was this "strange" price they had to pay and why was Jae-sung being so mysterious about it anyway? it couldn't be that bad.

Tsukiko kept thinking about it with her serious expression on her face and Jae-sung noticed this and looked at her, seemingly understanding that she was trying to figure out what they would have to exchange or do for the information. With a sigh, Jae-sung patted her head and ruffled hair. "You really don't have to think about it so much, you'll know soon enough". Tsukiko was even more confused, why couldn't she know now? was it really that bad?