When Lucid had agreed to shoot the ad for the public library, the inst.i.tute's chairman had promised to get him something he wished for. Although the children's personal activities had to be agreed upon by the teachers in charge of them, the ad had to be presented in a way that appeared to be of Lucid's own volition, in order to avoid any legal troubles later on. As such, the chairman wished to give him something of equal value to the pay Lucid would have received as a model, and Lucid had asked for books. This turned into a bit of a headache for the chairman and the director of administration, since they couldn't quite decide how many books to buy to even things out. That's when the public library had proposed a rather clever idea: working together to improve the city's welfare, just in time for the autumn exhibition. In this case, “working together” simply meant building a library within the inst.i.tute, which would then be presented as a part of the city's efforts in bettering their community. The inst.i.tute had jumped on this opportunity, and plans were made to vacate an area on the first floor, next to the administrative office. And just like that, right before the beginning of winter break, the inst.i.tute library was opened, filled with roughly three thousand books suited for all ages, from kindergarten to high school.
For Lucid, it was much, much better than getting the couple of books he had originally intended. Ever since the library was made available two days ago, he had rushed to get there right after dinner and stayed until bedtime. Still, as with most libraries, the majority of the books only dealt with basic sciences and literatures, which he could borrow from the school library anyway, rather than the more advanced academic papers Lucid wished to read. Though this was a rather huge disappointment, he still decided to read the other books available to him. After all, it couldn't hurt to learn about different fields. With this newfound determination, he looked forward to his evening reading time every day.
Being so excited over the new facility, Lucid didn't notice the two figures watching him from down the hall. The director of administration turned to the teacher standing next to him.
“Has he ever mentioned his parents or his previous inst.i.tute at all?” he asked.
“No, never.”
“Hmm. That might become a problem.”
Having personally taken care of Lucid's doc.u.ments for his enrollment in elementary school, the director knew better than anyone that there was nothing wrong with him, at least on paper. With the library ad and the TV program having both been released to the public, it was good that no one had shown up at the inst.i.tute claiming to be his parents. However, the director also knew that it was only a matter of time before problems arose. For example, there was something brewing at this very moment that could get the inst.i.tute into quite the legal trouble, should his parents actually decide to show up. Even if the child were to be adopted into another family, they would still face legal issues if the biological parents claimed him.
“We have some people coming in next week to meet him. You should tell him.”
“Of course, I understand.” the teacher nodded.
And still, Lucid paid the two no mind, smiling to himself as he learned about Newton and the law of universal gravity.
On the first weekend since the start of winter break, the inst.i.tute found itself housing quite a few visitors, which wasn't unusual given the time of the year. As always, there were high school and university student volunteers, but with Christmas awakening everyone's humanitarianism, many others had sought out the inst.i.tute as a way to help the community. The inst.i.tute was quite the popular volunteering spot for those who didn't know any better, as they imagined themselves happily playing around with the children, but in reality, volunteers most often helped with the upkeep of the building itself. For example, they had to help clean the hallways or the atrium, wipe down all the windows, pull out weeds, wash curtains or blankets, or even repair broken chairs. In short, their main priority was cleaning, with repairs being the second priority.
As for the children, they spend their time running and playing around in the courtyard, which, unbeknownst to many of the volunteers, was something they enjoyed during very much. People easily thought of the children as just pitiful, lonely orphans in need of care and love, but they couldn't be more wrong. The children adjusted to their living situation just well enough and even went out to meet their friends. Sometimes, they would befriend the volunteers that came most often, but they were wary of newcomers and actually avoided them, choosing to play amongst themselves instead. Even the younger children (too young to play in the courtyard) preferred to play amongst themselves, rather than have older volunteers look after them.
“Over here!”
“Got it!”
Lucid, playing as the goalkeeper, kicked the ball with his right foot, and the children watched in awe as the ball shot through the field, much farther than expected from how softly he had kicked it. With his continued practice, Lucid had finally gotten the hang of it. He simply kicked the ball, without applying any magic, so that enough force would be exerted upon it. Right as the ball separated from his foot, that was when he would cast his magic, resulting in the ball flying out with reduced drag, thus conserving all the energy from his foot. Then, a couple of seconds later, the magic would vanish, just as he intended, allowing the air to slow the ball down once again. At this point, the ball would begin its downward trajectory, landing near the opposite goalpost. The children had been amazed at this at first, but now that they were used to it, they ran like crazy whenever Lucid kicked the ball.
As the children rushed to the other side of the field, Lucid spent some time thinking to himself. That's when a voice rang out from behind him.
“Aren't you cold?”
When Lucid turned around, he was faced with a familiar face, though he couldn't exactly recall why it was familiar.
“No, I'm fine.” he answered curtly.
The other goalie was wearing a thick sweater, since goalkeepers didn't run around the field and were bound to get cold. However, Lucid was wearing a T-shirt, just like all the other kids running around. He had no need for thick outer clothing, since he was continuously casting magic (he had to renew it every so often, since it didn't last long) to warm himself in the cold weather. Plus, he didn't want a jacket or a sweater to dull his movements.
“Have we met before?” the familiar person asked again. “I feel like I've seen you before.”
How could he know? She could have seen him on the library ad, or on that TV show.
“Maybe you've come here before.” That was also an option.
“Oh, yeah. Maybe.”
The girl looked up at the sky, trying hard to remember. It was a beautiful sky, so clear and blue without a cloud in sight.
“I remember!” she said at last. “I saw you last year, I think. That's how I know you.”
The girl, Jiwon, had finally recalled their meeting long ago.
“I asked you for your name, remember? But you didn't tell me. Wow, you haven't changed a bit! Still as dashing as ever, I see.” She caught herself on that last bit and cleared her throat awkwardly, chiding herself for not thinking before speaking. “Anyway, are you still not going to tell me? Your name, I mean. Oh, do you know my name? I'm Jiwon. Jiwon Yang. Like the singer.”
When Lucid told her his name, Jiwon burst out laughing.
“What's up with that? It… It suits you really well!” she managed to say between giggles. It didn't sound sincere at all, which didn't bother Lucid. He simply made up his mind to ask the chairman why he had chosen the name he had.
“Do you like soccer?” Jiwon asked, pointing to the courtyard. “You don't look like you're having fun.”
“I do. I just don't feel like playing right now. I'm only here because I had no other choice.”
“What do you mean?”
“They're cleaning the library.”
Indeed, four volunteers were turning the new library upside down and inside out, cleaning out every nook and cranny. The chairman had grumbled (in pa.s.sing) something about reading s.p.a.ces needing to be spotless, but the volunteers had taken his words to heart and were now h.e.l.lbent on actually turning it spotless.
“You really like reading, don't you? What kind of books do you read?”
“Stop him!!” Cheol-yong cried out.
Lucid had been watching the game all throughout his conversation with Jiwon and was already prepared to receive the ball without needing prompting. With a loud thump, the ball flew towards him. Right at him, actually, which made it all too easy to block, especially with Lucid's hidden trick. When it reached about two paces in front of him, the ball lost considerable speed, and by the time it reached Lucid's hands, he was able to catch it with barely any effort. Looking up, he saw Myeong-su frantically waving his hands at him.
“Wow, you're pretty good,” Jiwon remarked, clapping her hands. Lucid was growing rather bored of this conversation, if it could even be called that. How could this line of questioning be called a proper conversation?
“Excuse me.” He said at last. “Aren't you busy?”
“Not really. Why?”
“Most volunteers have a lot of work on their hands and they don't usually stand around to talk to us.”
“I think talking to you is also pretty important work, though.”
“Why would talking to me, or rather us, be work?” Lucid asked, turning around to face her directly.
“What?”
Lucid's sudden change in mood caught Jiwon by surprise. He wasn't glaring at her, nor was he angry with her. He was just looking at her, expressionless, and that scared her. She had just been thinking that he was better looking than most celebrities, but now, he reminded her more of the Mouth of Truth, looking into her soul and demanding answers. But she couldn't bring herself to speak, and when he saw that she wouldn't provide an answer to his question, Lucid turned around again. Knowing that she couldn't talk to him again, Jiwon fidgeted a bit before going back inside.
Lucid watched as the other kids ran around the courtyard. Up until now, he hadn't really thought of himself as being on the same boat as them. Myeong-su was a good friend, yes, but that was all. They had no shared life experiences. However, other people thought of them as the same, and this realization only now hit him. There was only one reason for this perception: they were both orphans. Still, Lucid didn't think he was. Sure, his father had pa.s.sed away, but his mother was alive and well. She was just gone, for now. Along with his brother. This is why he didn't think of himself as an orphan. He had a family. He just had to find them again. And yet…
“What am I doing here?”
He now understood that if he continued to delay, he would really end up like the other children, orphaned forever, and this chilled him to the bone. Though his magic was still actively warming him, he began to shiver uncontrollably.
