No one knew what time it was when a hesitant set of footsteps suddenly sounded outside the room. Young Sang went out and opened the door—and found Luna standing there, looking so troubled she seemed ready to cry.

She stood alone in the doorway, hugging a pillow.

“Watermelon, I can’t sleep…”

“You’re still the same after all these years. Whenever you can’t sleep, you always come looking for Adolf and me.”

After a while, though young Sang hadn’t said a word about [Favor], Luna bit her lip and spoke first. “I’m not scared of [Favor]. I’m just scared of having blood drawn. It really hurts, you know. I’m especially afraid of pain…”

Silly girl.

I hadn’t even mentioned [Favor], and you gave yourself away the moment you opened your mouth.

Luna only looked strong on the outside. In truth, she was very fragile. She was afraid of the dark, afraid of pain… There were so many things she feared. That was exactly why her wish was so simple: to become the head of the orphanage, just like Big Sister Lillian, and spend her whole life here caring for the children.

Sang felt both sorry for her and helpless. Trying not to laugh, he said, “All right, all right. Luna isn’t scared of [Favor]. Come on in… If Big Sister Lillian sees you here later, she’ll probably drag you back to your own room.”

Lillian was probably a little worried that the thirteen- and fourteen-year-old boys and girls might get up to something strange, so she wouldn’t let them sleep together.

Honestly, Sang thought Big Sister Lillian had far too little faith in these kids. They were all late bloomers, probably so clueless about romance that they didn’t even know what it was. How could they possibly do anything wrong?

A little later…

Luna still came into the room Sang shared with Adolf. Adolf was already asleep.

The two of them lay on the same bed, speaking in low voices. Luna turned her face toward the ordinary-looking boy beside her. For some reason, just looking at him made her feel at ease. He was always so carefree, but he really was someone she could count on—as if he could sort out anything that came their way.

“I know I’m handsome, but you don’t have to keep staring at me.”

“You were only picked up a few hours before me. Why are you acting like such a big brother? I don’t acknowledge you as my brother!” Luna pouted.

Mm-hm. That’s right. She absolutely refused to acknowledge Sang as her big brother…

Sang was called the sun because he’d been brought to the orphanage during the day. Luna was called the moon because she’d been brought there at night. They’d both been found on the same day.

“Why do you like being the big sister so much…? All right, no more talking. Be good and go to sleep.”

“Mm… But I still can’t sleep.”

The orphanage bed wasn’t very big, but it was easily roomy enough for two teenagers to sleep together comfortably. Sang lay on his back while Luna lay on her side, gazing up at him. Her emerald-green eyes glittered in the moonlight like priceless jewels.

“You’re impossible… I’d sing you a lullaby or tell you a story, but Adolf’s already asleep. I’m afraid I’ll wake him.”

Mm.

Ever since they were little, young Sang had liked singing songs from his old world to the children at the orphanage, or telling them fairy tales from that world.

What could he do? The civilization in this other world was so backward.

However…

As soon as Sang finished speaking, Adolf suddenly sat up in the bed beside them. He smiled calmly and said, “Actually, I woke up when Sang opened the door for Luna.”

Luna said, “I’m sorry,” to show that she felt bad.

But Sang could tell Adolf was lying. He just grinned and said nothing. In Sang’s eyes, Adolf might not have been woken up at all—maybe he’d never fallen asleep in the first place. Perhaps he couldn’t sleep because of [Favor] and was only pretending to be tough.

Adolf might be over five foot seven and able to beat several grown men in a fight, but he was still only fourteen.

The next second…

Adolf got off his own bed without a second thought, then lay down on Sang’s. “In that case, let’s have a three-in-a-bed sleepover, for old times’ sake~!”

“Three P!!! Now that’s getting pretty wild!” Sang teased with a lewd grin.

Luna and Adolf had no idea what the term meant. They both froze, then asked, “What’s 3.P?”

Sang really didn’t want to corrupt the children’s innocent minds, so he brushed them off. “It’s nothing. It just means three people sleeping together.”

Adolf, ever the straight shooter, said, “Then the three of us have done 3.P more times than we can count since we were kids.”

Mm.

That’s right.

The three of them were the best of friends at the orphanage. They spent practically every day together and were closer than they were to anyone else in the world. Especially when they were little, they’d often sleep together.

Sang really didn’t want to linger on this dirty topic. He waved a hand and changed the subject. “All right, since neither of you can sleep, I’ll sing you a song to calm you down…”

As he spoke…

Sang pulled a harmonica from the pocket inside his shirt. It was the birthday present he was going to give Luna, but for now, it still belonged to him.

Luna and Adolf were already used to the strange words that often popped out of Sang’s mouth. And it wasn’t just the two of them—the other children at the orphanage, even the head of the orphanage, Lillian, had all been won over by Sang’s talent more than once. Though “wild imagination” might be a better description than “talent.”

You think that’ll help you get ahead in life?

No, no!

This was a world where being a knight was the most exalted profession, which meant military might reigned supreme. Music and literature had little chance of making a name for themselves; at best, they were icing on the cake.

Besides, this world cared about race, family, and bloodlines. Children from an orphanage like Sang, with no connections or background, would never be accepted by anyone.

And besides that, even if musicians did exist as a profession, the pop songs from Sang’s modern world would probably make him a laughingstock. No one would accept them. It’d be like everyone in the Song dynasty composing poetry and reciting, “May we live long, and share the beauty of the moon from thousands of miles apart,” only for you to suddenly burst out with, “I love you, I love you, just as a mouse loves rice.” Don’t forget, this world was much like medieval Europe, where people cared about classical music.

Sang’s so-called talent was nothing special. In many people’s eyes, it was just a bag of little tricks, not fit for high art.

That night…

Sang sang “Let It Go” twice in a row for Luna and Adolf, and it quickly soothed their unsettled hearts.

“What song is that?” Luna asked.

Sang answered with a perfectly straight face, “ ‘Love’s Devotion’…”

“Oh… It’s beautiful.”

Before long, the two of them grew drowsy. Just before falling asleep, Luna quietly reached out and clasped Sang’s hand. “Sang, we’re going to be okay, aren’t we…?”

At that, Sang forced a reassuring smile. “Yeah. I swear on my nickname, Watermelon—you and Adolf are going to be okay!”

“Mm. Good night.”

“Good night.”