Sacrifice

The days passed by uneventfully.

Since Victor no longer tried to hunt Luna down in school, she could return to peacefully studying in the library once more. Although Luna could come up with several possible reasons for Victor's behaviour, she believed that it was no mere coincidence that he would suddenly be so obedient now.

The same private investigator from before was hired to follow Erica again. The reports she received this time were very normal. Unlike before, nothing stood out to Luna. Erica went to classes in the morning, then went for her extra curricular activities or hung out with her friends after class. Like Desmond, Erica was doing a good job at establishing the contacts they may need in the future.

Luna glanced at her laptop and books in front of her. Compared to her siblings, she already had her hands full with just her studies. As such, the only times she could attempt at networking was during class and group works. However, it was never successful. She could not seem to improve her social presence or skills no matter how many relevant books or videos she read or watched. People always ended up gravitating towards someone else and never once invited her anywhere or initiated a conversation with her.

/Hm? The window in her classroom broke and she volunteered to manage the issue?/

Although volunteering to take charge of events and matters was a common occurrence in this school, not to mention for Erica, things like classroom maintenance was still considered a menial task that not many would bother about.

The window ended up taking longer than Luna thought Erica would have it settled.

Erica ended up becoming friendly with the person in charge of the school's maintenance and worked together to come up with a new design for the windows that would increase the durability but reduce the costs of making it. As thanks, the first product created was used to replace the spot where the broken window was, before they would mass produce it and replace all the windows in the school.

This became yet another one of Erica's achievements and her reputation among her peers soared. Her family was, of course, equally proud of her as well, including Luna.

The problem was that Luna could not shake off the feeling that things were more than meets the eye.

Luna stared at her laptop screen with a faraway look in her eyes. /The classroom's just above… It wouldn't hurt to just check it out, right?/

She packed her belongings and left the library that took up two floors of the recreation building to head to the fourth floor.

After checking that the classroom was empty, she went in. Her eyes scanned the large room that has canvases, mannequins, and other models placed around the room. Since the report even specified the exact window that was replaced, Luna had no trouble locating it.

Admiring Erica's work, she gently slid her fingers down the glass and across the metal edges, feeling the coolness of the material underneath her fingers. It looked as if she was caressing the window. She gripped the bottom then slowly pushed it upwards. It moved smoothly and easily. A cooling breeze blew in and chilled her face. Upon closer inspection, there was really nothing wrong or out of place with the new window.

/It really is a nice design… Did I think too much this time…?/

Somehow, Luna found that hard to believe.

/Is this really the end? Did I really manage to cut the string of fate between them? Did I really manage to derail the plot? Is this really possible?/

While her mind was filled with thoughts like these, she silently gazed at the view outside the window. It was facing in the same direction as the window that Luna always sat beside in the library. A row of plum blossom trees lined the building and there was a footpath leading into the well-maintained beautiful garden.

The view calmed her down enough for her mind to wander and eventually she wondered about how the view adjacent to this side of the room would look.

When she tried to push another window outwards, she realised that the window seemed to be stuck. Not wanting to accidentally dislodge the window and cause a freak accident by forcing it open, she opened the window beside it instead.

The disturbing thought stayed on her mind while she pushed open the other window and it soon turned into paranoia. She looked down and found that the windows were directly above the footpath leading into this recreation building and elsewhere.

/What if someone else tries to force it open? I better call for it to get replaced./

After making the call, she stayed in the room and studied while waiting for the maintenance worker to arrive.

As soon as the worker arrived, he got to work without acknowledging Luna's presence. Being used to such behaviour, she paid it no mind.

Something odd soon attracted Luna's attention though.

"Hm? It's not the stiffness of the joint? Doesn't seem to have any ru-"

"Excuse me." Luna interrupted his mutterings.

"Ah!" He yelled out in shock. "You- When were you here?"

"Sorry for scaring you, but I was here all along." She stepped aside to show him the laptop on the table. "I was the one that called you."

"Oh… Damn, really sorry for not noticing you earlier."

Luna shook her head. "Do you mind taking this window down for me please?"

"Sure, I was about to do that." He continued to talk while he got to work. "I tried oiling it and such already but I think the window pane's the one with the problem. It's strangely heavy. I wonder how this got here in the first place. Do you know how dangerous this is?"

Luna only listened half-heartedly while he continued to ramble on. Her mind was occupied with something else. /Erica… So this was what you've been up to…/

She then requested for the window pane to be replaced immediately with the spares the school has in their storage and thanked him for his effort. Afterwards, she instructed the private investigator to change his target to Rina with a special specification. "When she approaches the recreational building, message me immediately."

While Luna was busy trying to figure out Erica's next move, she did not notice Lucas studying her for the entire time, again.

Lucas's migraine attacks were finally gone with Victor's recent obedience. Victor no longer went around creating troubles and was even seriously taking his advice to heart. The couple was learning to be more careful so that jealous people could not take advantage of their carefree nature and turn it into their weakness.

Now only one thing was left on his mind.

Lucas sat at his usual spot in the library staring from the corner of his eyes at the person responsible for the nagging irritation gnawing away at him.

It was as if her words started a vicious cycle in his mind. Ever since the most recent issue with Victor and Rina made her words take root in the forefront of his mind, he began to reflect on himself and question his actions even more.

/Why can't I let Rina go? Why can't I just leave them alone? I'm sure I can find a way to gain an upper hand with Principal Koo since Victor's an idiot. I'm sure Rina wouldn't be the only girl to treat me as an equal. I'm sure there'll be others who'll see me for me. What exactly did she do to warrant me having a soft spot for her?/

Yet no matter how much he tried to fight against his irrational feelings, he always lost. They somehow remained as his first priority. He then thinks about Luna's words again which would spark a whole other cycle of self-reflection.

His current state felt like a strange enlightenment that was more of a torture than blessing. He could not help but wonder if Luna was going through the same thing or if she found a way to break free from this situation.

As a result of his constant observation, he noticed a new behaviour she acquired recently. As soon as her phone vibrated, Luna would check it without delay. It was as if she was waiting for some urgent news. Her behaviour really made him curious since he had pegged her as someone with impeccable focus that could rival his.

When he saw her leave the library early one day, his curiosity got the better of him and he ended up tailing her.

Since he was kept abreast of the news in school, he knew of Erica's new achievement and knew that the window Luna was inspecting at the moment was the one Erica designed.

He easily kept watch over her through the open doorway. /I'm not even trying that hard to be hidden but she doesn't notice me. She really lacks vigilance. Isn't it dangerous? Her family is still powerful enough for her to warrant some level of caution./

When he saw her take her laptop out to study, his eyebrows twitched. He felt defeated. While she did not let a moment pass by wastefully, here he was wasting his time stalking someone. /How did I get reduced to this?/

He was about to leave when he caught sight of the maintenance worker coming up the stairs, prompting him to hide in the classroom adjacent to the one Luna was in. /... Just a while more./

Thanks to him staying on, he realised the possible reason for Luna's disregard for her safety.

/He didn't see her, did he? Yeah, she may be completely silent since she's only reading something on her laptop, but she's just right there./ 

Upon having that thought, he experienced a brief moment of deja vu.

After spending some time trying to understand why, he suddenly recalled how Erica said something similar to him before. He was no different from the maintenance worker. Luna had always sat at the same table as him but he only noticed her recently. 

/What sort of life must she have led this whole time? To the extent that she already expects and assumes that nobody would pay her any notice and attention.../

When he noticed a shadowed look fleeting across her face, he knew that there was something wrong with the window.

Lucas later went to secretly inspect the faulty window pane and realised what was wrong with it.

/Protecting your sister again? Huh. So you are caught in this like I am./

Despite the odd sense of camaraderie he felt with Luna, he noticed an uncontrollable growing frustration and rage rising from the pits of his stomach at the thought that Erica was still up to no good.

School was just over and Luna was on her way to the library as usual when she finally got the message that Rina was on her way to the recreation building.

Luna immediately changed direction and hastily headed towards the business faculty to find Erica. The business faculty was not too far away from the science faculty, however she still whipped out her phone to call Erica in case she missed her along the way. She did not forget to text to ask Desmond to meet her at the art room before making the call.

The call connected almost immediately and Luna coincidentally ran into Erica at the same time.

Erica put down her phone and spoke directly to Luna, "Jie? Is something wrong?"

"I just need some help with a business proposal I have to come up with for my elective." Luna smiled wryly. "But could it be that you're busy now? You looked like you were headed off somewhere."

"Mm mm!" Erica shook her head. "I'm free now, let's head to the study area there?"

Unbeknownst to Luna, Erica had been on her way to find her as well and was about to call Luna, which was why the call connected almost immediately.

Her perfect plan was already kicked into action. Everything was planned and timed delicately.

The classmate from her art class was on her way to meet Rina at the art room for a modelling session. This entire meeting was easily manipulated by Erica who made careful suggestions for models who might suit the theme of "innocence".

Erica then created a delicate mechanism linking the door of the art room to the window hinges. Everything would literally fall into place as soon as Rina reaches the recreation building and the classmate opens the door to the art room.

Erica's only goal right now was to ensure that Luna stayed away from the library.

Luna soon found it odd that Erica looked and sounded especially calm. /Wasn't she going for Rina earlier? She doesn't seem to be in any sort of a rush…/

As such, she made up her mind to test Erica. "Alright, I got an idea now. I know what to do. Thank you, Erica."

"You're going back to the library now?"

"Of course. What about you?"

"My friends are busy today. There's nothing for me to do at school. How about we go home early today?"

/This isn't normal. I must have missed something./

"You can return home first, I have materials in the library that I can use. See you." Luna hastened her packing and walked off but was held back by her arm.

"Jie, at least have lunch wi-"

"Erica, you did something again, didn't you?" A hint of sadness entered Luna's eyes.

Erica was stunned but instantly replied when Luna tried to pull her arm out of Erica's grasp. "Jie! Please stop interfering, it'll all go well! It'll just look like a freak accident. Everyone will blame it on the old faulty windows and change all the windows to my new design! It's all fi-"

"It's not all fine! Whether it be due to Lucas's smarts or Victor's wrath, it'll somehow get traced back to you! I don't care if Rina dies, I don't want you to die or suffer meaninglessly!" Luna flung her arm out of Erica's grasp and ran off as fast as her legs could carry her.

Luna reached the entrance to the recreation building to see the window pane begin its descent accompanied by a piercing scream. The scream attracted the attention of everyone present there who only looked up and stood there frozen in shock, including Rina.

As Luna watched everything happen, her speed did not drop. Instead, she was able to pick up her speed thanks to the adrenaline rush.

/Just in time!/

Just as she took her last step to push Rina out of the way, another figure burst out from the other side of the corner of the recreation building and covered Rina's tiny frame. Her eyes rounded in shock as her body slammed into not one, but two bodies.

Lucas had found it odd when he noticed that Luna was late. /Did something happen today?/

Since his guard was already up and he was feeling antsy, he was able to react immediately when he heard the piercing scream. He jumped up and dashed out of the library to see Rina looking up with a pale expression.

Like Luna, his speed only increased upon being met with this scene. He could already guess what was happening.

He jumped out and was ready to tackle Rina down and out of the way of whatever was falling towards her.

In the midst of his jump, he found himself being tackled down with Rina in his arms by someone or something, causing him to fall in a different direction. Thanks to this, what would have slashed his entire back ended up grazing the side of his forehead and shoulder.

His head hit the ground hard upon landing.

There was a loud and crisp sound of glass breaking accompanied by two sharp screams.

He struggled to find out what happened but everything in his vision was moving super slow and a blur. He tried hard to move but he felt so out of it that he was not sure if he was even moving.

The only reason why he knew that he must have moved was because he could now make out the entrance to the recreation building.

He could hear Rina still crying by his side and asking if he was okay but there was only one thing on his mind. 'Who?'

With his vision still blurred, he could only make out a figure hunched over what seemed to be a bloody mess. He could not focus his vision no matter how hard he tried and squinted his eyes. Nonetheless, he made a guess. /Luna Lee…/

Unable to hold onto his consciousness any longer, he passed out.

Erica witnessed everything.

She had recovered from her stupor to find Luna gone, so she ran after her, only to be greeted with the sight of Luna and Lucas running into each other. They had come around the same corner from opposite directions at the same time.

"Jie Jie!!!" Erica shrieked while the window crashed directly onto Luna in the next split second after Luna pushed the other two out of the way.

Erica continued in her run towards the bloody limp body on the ground.

Ignoring the glass shards on the ground, she knelt down by Luna's side. Her face was already covered in tears, her voice was no more than a whimpering squeak, and her hands were trembling and hovering above Luna as if afraid that touching her would cause her body to shatter.

Luna found it incredibly tiring and difficult to keep breathing. She felt increasingly cold and weak. There was a strong temptation to just go to sleep. However, she stubbornly willed herself to move her sluggish mouth so that she could tell Erica something. "Ignore... Victor... Rina... Lucas... Our family's... Downfall... Please..." She managed to squeeze out before passing out.

"LUNA!!" Desmond's voice reverberated throughout the entire area just as passed out.

He had been about to climb the staircase to head to the art room when he noticed a small crowd at the entrance to the building.

Through the crowd, he caught glimpses of a pair of awfully familiar looking girls. He did not like that it was familiar because one of them was covered in blood.

Just to be sure, he ran towards the crowd.

As soon as he was close enough to recognise them as his beloved sisters, his heart broke. Having been trained for such situations, Desmond retained enough of his senses to call for an ambulance immediately.