Luke "Burning Reminiscence"/Rewards

Story Summary

The MC scrolls through birthday cake designs as she mulls on how to celebrate Luke’s birthday. Luke seems surprised that his birthday is coming up and he tells the MC that as long as she is by his side, that’s enough for him. The MC thinks that Luke seems to regard his birthday as an anniversary to spend with her rather than a celebration of his coming into the world. Suddenly, the news interrupts their talk - there have been recent burglaries in the area where the MC’s parents’ residence is at. Captain Morgan calls them to ask them to come check if anything is missing in the house. In the MC’s parents’ house, almost everything is in disarray. Luke and the MC proceed to tidy up. In the attic, the MC finds an old box and remembers that this box is special - it is the box that contains Luke’s parents’ mementos. Luke’s parents died when he was young and he struggled when he learned of them passing away. The MC’s parents decided to temporarily pack up his parents’ mementos to help him adjust. The scene changes to when Luke and the MC were both kids. The MC visits Luke in his room and promises that she will get the contents of the box. But Luke stops her. He acknowledges that it would be better to say goodbye to his parents for now as he is welcomed into his new family. Back to the present, the MC tells Luke of the box and asks if he wants to open the box. He refuses.

The MC is surprised that Luke refused to open the box. He proceeds to change the topic. They bring the box with them back home, and the MC notices that Luke’s gaze lingers on the box. Luke goes to bed early. However, he is unable to sleep. He wraps himself in the blanket and looks listless. The MC then approaches him and asks him if he misses his parents. She tugs at the quilt, and later on realizes that the scene is similar to a memory when they were young. The scene again changes to young Luke and young MC. Luke is hiding under the blanket and the MC sees him crying. He denies it and rambles on about regarding the MC’s family as the antithesis to his parents. She scolds him and tells him that both his family and her family are his family. Luke apologizes and asks her not to be mad at him. She then asks if she can sleep with him. Back to the present, the MC asks if she can sleep with Luke tonight, and if not, she’ll just head back. He stops her.

Luke finally admits that he misses his parents. In the morning, they go through the contents of the box, despite lingering hesitation on Luke. They found a notebook, obviously filled in by both his mother and father. They also found a videotape of Luke’s second birthday. After finding an appropriate player for it, they watch it together. It is a recording of his parents, Rena and Percival Freeman, celebrating Luke’s birthday. After watching, Luke admits that watching it feels like he’s a bystander. Everything he knows of his parents, he has learned only from others or from videos, so it doesn’t feel quite real to him. He reassures her that he’s still happy seeing the video.

The MC suggests that they recreate the scene from his second birthday for his coming birthday celebration. This way, he might feel closer to his parents. Luke agrees to her suggestion. For the next few days, the MC looks through the address book of her mom searching for mutual friends with Luke’s mom. She wants to try finding any videos or recordings of Luke’s parents. One evening while Luke is asleep, she goes to check if anyone replied to her emails. One “Ms. York” replied. In the phone call, Ms. York recalls that Luke’s parents indeed might have a recording she knows of - it was when Rena was still pregnant of Luke and his parents talked about what they wanted for Luke’s future. Ms. York tells her it might still be in Rena’s old MP3 player. After confirming what it looks like through a photo, the MC starts looking for it in the box. Meanwhile, Luke wakes up and looks for the MC. She tells him of the MP3 player, showing him the photo, but withholds the reason why she's looking for it. Luke remarks that it is a limited-edition MP3 player, so if it’s not in the box, then it might have been stolen as it can be considered valuable to collectors.

The MC calls Captain Morgan and confirms that the MP3 player was indeed stolen, but has already been sold to the black market. After the call, Luke suggests that he go to BAR-L to gather intel to track the MP3 player. In BAR-L, the bartender tells them that the MP3 player can be tracked down but it may take time. Soon, it’s about time to celebrate Luke’s birthday. Both Luke and the MC busy themselves in decorating the room similar to how it looked like during his second birthday. Luke remarks that decorating for his birthday seems novel and immersive as it seems he can sense how his parents felt when they celebrated his birthday. Before they start the celebration, the MC asks Luke to wait for a bit. He reveals that he knows that the MP3 player is something about him since he saw his parents’ initials on it. She tells him that the MP3 player might contain something important for him. She just hopes that the regrets in Luke’s heart can shrink, even if it’s just a little. Luke tells her that she is his most important family member now, so he asks that she forgets about that for now, and celebrate his birthday with him.

Lighting the candles on the cake, the MC asks Luke to make a wish. He states that it seems all of his wishes have already come true. Above all, the MC became his most special family member. He closes his eyes and makes a wish. The MC sneaks a kiss on him. She remarks that she now understands why his parents couldn’t stop themselves from kissing him when he was a baby - it’s because he looks so cute making a wish with his eyes closed. They share a kiss, but before Luke can take complete control, the MC starts tickling him, just like in the video of his second birthday. They are interrupted by a doorbell - the MP3 player has been delivered. The data has been deleted, but Luke manages to restore it. Luke and the MC starts playing it. In the recording, his parents are talking to Luke. They tell him that he’s free to pursue whatever he wants to, and that as long as he embraces justice in his heart, they will support him. His father also hopes that he finds the love of his life, just like how his parents did. They tell him that no matter what the future holds, they love him very much. Luke gets teary-eyed after playing the recording. He acknowledges that from now on, he will cherish his birthday and his parents for bringing him into this world. Luke hugs the MC, kisses her, and tells her that they’ll have some cake later.

Illustrations

TickledLuke... is more ticklish than I thought.

Video Call

Video Call		Luke: Burning Reminiscence (After Story 6)

Video Call script

Luke: Did you just finish showering...? No wonder you didn't pick up despite the phone ringing as long as it did.

Luke: I wanted to tell you something. Do you remember the baby diary my parents kept when I was little?

Luke: I found some pretty funny doodles and messages in it. The drawings are all pretty messy, but the writing is about you and me.

Luke: Looks like our families decided to go on a trip together, and it was really important to them since it was the first time.

Luke: At night, the two of us were sleeping in the crib in matching pajamas, and your hand was on my face.

Luke: As for me... I don't want to admit it, but I think I was looking at you with a silly smile on my face.

Luke: I knew you'd make fun of me if I told you. My parents were no better. It's my baby diary, but I look so stupid in their drawings.

Luke: And that's not all—my mom also wrote an annoying message under the drawing.

Luke: I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to laugh first! Promise me!

Luke: Next to the drawing, my mom wrote: "Poor Lukey. He's completely under her control."

Luke: You promised you wouldn't laugh! Well, she's not wrong. After all, I'd give you the world if you said you wanted it. Unconditionally, of course.

Luke: Even if you asked me to show up in front of you right now, I'd be there in a heartbeat.

Luke: Because I want to make all your wishes come true. If that means I'm "under your control," then so be it.

Luke: So, do you want to see me?

Luke: All right, I'll leave right now. I'm hanging up then. See you soon.

Story Locations

Time's Antiquities
Luke's Home

Main Character's Parents' Residence
Parents' Home

Main Character's Parents' Residence
Parents' Home Attic

Time's Antiquities
Luke's Home

Time's Antiquities
Detective Agency

BAR·L

Coffee Shop

Story Characters

Luke Pearce

Luke Pearce

Darius Morgan

Rena

Percival Freeman

Bartender

News Reporter

Ms. York