Luke "Perfect Partner"/Rewards

Story Summary

This story takes place in Year 1. Luke is not yet in a relationship with the MC.

The MC finds herself in the neighborhood of Time's Antiquities, where she sees a man drop a box in front of the shop and run off when called out to. Luke opens it and discovers a fine jewelry box inside among the used books.

Inside the shop, Luke determines the box may be valuable if it's genuine; he and the MC open the box to find photos of the mystery donor with a woman. The photo includes a note that looks like a rejection, with a line "You are like nobody...." Luke recalls that he's seen the man in the photos before in another book he'd held since it belonged to the library.

Luke retrieves the other book, which is a Neruda poetry book that contains a photo of the same couple from the woman's point of view and a love letter to her. The MC points out the poetry book the letter was in, and the two realize the "rejection" was an incomplete line of poetry that was meant to be a love confession. Seeing that the couple had been apart for eight years due to such a serious misunderstanding, Luke becomes determined to track the two down and clear it up.

Luke and the MC find the Neruda book's donor, arranging a meeting with her at a coffee shop. The woman, Yolanda Jenkins, tells her story of meeting Randy Evans, the man, and then having to go into closed training for a month and missing his love letter. She'd assumed that Randy moved on after not hearing from her for a month; when Luke points out the Neruda quote sounded like a rejection without the poem's context, Yolanda grieves for the lost chance and leaves in tears. Back at the antique shop, Luke collapses in pain as Randy runs away from the shop front again.

After recovering from his pain episode, Luke decides to use a dried fig leaf from the jewelry box as a lead to track Randy, whom he thinks must live nearby. He calls Peanut, who loves figs, and the two follow Peanut to a nearby residential neighborhood.

Having tracked Randy at his home, Luke and the MC try to clear up the misunderstood reply from Yolanda, but the attempt causes Randy great pain. He reveals that after failing to get the jewelry box back when Luke had his pain episode, he resigned himself to the relationship's fate and accepted an arranged marriage with another woman. Back at the shop, Luke and the MC are saddened by the tragic ending of the story, but they focus on their own reunion instead.

Illustrations

None

Video Call

Video Call		Luke: Perfect Partner (After Story 6)

Video Call script

Luke: It's me.

Luke: Nothing's up. I just suddenly wanted to hear your voice...

Luke: Oh yeah, I found a special photo when I was organizing stuff today. Wanna take a guess?

Luke: Hehe. It's when we went camping for my birthday, and your dad took a pic of when I forced you to make a wish with me.

Luke: You weren't willing at first, saying that it wouldn't work. It took a lot to convince you.

Luke: The wish I made? Of course I remember it.

Luke: That we'll always be by each other's side, no matter what happens.

Luke: Now that I think about it, maybe that wish is why we were able to reunite.

Luke: How do I feel about our reunion? ...Very happy, and very lucky.

Luke: Not everyone has the chance to relive the happiest part of their lives a second time.

Luke: Every single second now is a precious and wonderful memory.

Luke: How about you? Are you happy that we're together again?

Luke: I'm glad you're also happy! Then, how about we go camping together when you have time? I have a surprise for you.

Luke: What kind of surprise? You'll find out when we go.

Luke: Please look forward to it, my Watson.

Story Locations

Time's Antiquities
Street

Time's Antiquities
Antique Shop

Time's Antiquities
Detective Agency

Misc
Coffee Shop

Stellis
Outside Randy's Residence

Time's Antiquities

Story Characters

Luke Pearce

Yolanda Jenkins

Randy Evans