Edited: Changed Vera Vandermeer to Vera Walton, I don't know why my game gave different last name from the one on the wikis, might be mistranslation

"Do you want to style it as well? It's regrettable if you just trim it. Your hair is nice!"

"Sure thing. I want a simple style then."

"Sure thing, young miss."

It had been a week since the day they caught Stephon red-handed. All the evidence used against Stephon managed to get him some jail time without going to court. However, Vera's parents were notified of what happened and were so angry at her. In Vera's defense, Luna argued back with reasons and her parents became understanding of what she had been going through. They helped her pay back the debt and gave her a little more freedom and financial help.

"And it's done!" The hair stylist announced excitedly. Her hair was now medium length with permanent wavy at the end to give more volume. Luna always wanted longer hair before she cut hers short for easier surgeries and treatment.

Looking at the new look of Vera made Luna conflicted a bit.

At one point, the one Luna was looking in the mirror wasn't her, but at the same time she was now Vera which made things feel surreal.

"Young miss, you look really beautiful now." The hairstylist spoke up, thinking Luna was too stunned to say a word. "Compared to before, you look more relaxed and less stressed, like your burden has been lifted."

"Really? Thank you for the compliment." Luna thanked the hairstylist as she tidied up the workstation.

"Thank you for your patronage!"

Luna left the hair salon after thanking the hairstylist. Her schedule for today was a bit lax since she had done most of the things on the weekend. She decided to clean and redecorate the apartment as she was too anxious to finish the personal story first before making major changes that would catch attention.

Luna knew from the book that it was fairly normal to do this after someone got out from their depression, so she held on until it was over.

She threw away most of the things and donated a few things that were good enough to be donated, like clothing. The other day, her parents took her shopping to "lift up her mood" and brought new clothes. Luna kept the yellow dress that the original Vera wore in her illustration as a memoir of the real Vera. Most of the food in the fridge had gone bad, so she was now doing some grocery shopping.

Another thing she wanted to do was get a part-time job to be a "responsible adult".

As she passed the Music Hall, she noticed the upcoming show that would be held next week. It was usually a concert and opera, but this time it was a Broadway show.

"Les Misérables…"

Luna remembered that Broadway show. She only watched it online because she couldn't attend such a thing with her weak body. Now that she was reborn as Vera, she wanted to watch it live.

"But I think I don't have enough money to buy a ticket…" Luna lamented a bit. "Well, I'm alive and there will be another chance in the future. It's not like I'm going to die soon."

As she walked away in hope, she didn't know that someone was watching her.

~0~0~0~

"Vera, hello!"

Luna looked around and stopped Lucia waving at her in front of her classroom after the class was over. Luna's face was lightened up as soon as she saw Lucia because why not? Luna felt she had connections with Lucia as she's once the player who was playing the game as her. She quickly headed to Lucia, not noticing how the guys wanted to speak with her but Lucia beat them to it.

"Miss Lucia, good afternoon!" Luna greeted Lucia cheerfully.

"Good afternoon too, Vera. And please, you can drop the 'Miss' part. We're friends already." Lucia suggested it light-heartedly.

"Alright then...Lucia." Luna tried to say her name naturally, still a bit awkward.

"Oh, you changed your hairstyle?" Lucia quickly noticed it. Luna read it from a magazine that girls noticed the difference in the other girls.

"Yes, I decided to get a new hairstyle." Luna admitted it in a cheerful tone.

"It suits you very much." Lucia admired Vera's new look. "You also look good as well."

"Oh, thank you."

"I was quite worried about you." Luna admitted it. "The scars on your wrist were worrying, so… I can't help but worry about you."

Even though the wounds were already healed up, Luna could feel the sharp pain of it. She remembered one nurse once told her that "people commit suicide to escape their pain, but the pain moves to another person". She had a younger sibling committed suicide due to internet bullying and even after the funeral, some people still bullied her.

"Seems I caused many people a lot of pain…" Luna spoke for Vera. "Don't worry, I won't even think about it anymore."

"Good for you, Vera." Lucia smiled. "Do you have time to hang out today? I have some free time before I go to work."

"Sure thing, I'd love to hang out with you."

"Alright, let's go to this open-air café near the law firm. It's recently opened."

Luna recalled that café was from Marius's personal story, where Lucia learnt about the possible counterfeit artwork of "Z" from Kiki Bennet. She didn't know what the café looked like as the illustration was limited to a certain area only, so she was amazed by the decorations of the café. The café was outdoor, but they managed to keep it comfortable for the customers.

Lucia recommended a few things when she saw Luna struggling to picture and order the food and drink. In the end, Luna got Vanilla Iced Tea Latte and Peach Pie.

"You like pies?" Lucia asked curiously.

"It reminds me of my mom…" Luna answered her. Back when she was still Luna White, her mother often made various kinds of fruit pies for her as pies were her family's recipes. She couldn't tell Lucia it was the different mother. "I will try to make one sooner or later. Maybe I will send you some when I manage to make it good."

"I'd love to try it one day." Lucia sounded excited about it.

Luna gave her a smile. She still vaguely remembered helping her mother making pies before her body got weak and unable to help or being a normal kid. With the doctors' guidance, her mother managed to make pies she could eat without worrying it would affect her body.

"Oh, that reminds me." Lucia suddenly remembered something in the middle of their talk. She took her purse and pulled out a pair of tickets. Luna quickly recognized it as the tickets for the Broadway she saw the other day.

"I got these tickets from someone." Lucia told her with a hint of teasing. "And I have a feeling that you want to come."

"Yes!" Luna said it too excitedly, drawing some eyes on them. Luna fake-coughed and collected herself.

"Err… Yes, I'd love to watch it, but I'm on a tight budget right now."

"Don't worry, it will be my treat." Lucia reassured her. "So, tomorrow at 5 pm?"

"Yes, I will see you there."

Luna was so excited about the show that she couldn't sleep that night. Lucia was a bit worried to see Luna a bit sleepy when they met up 30 minutes before the show. She reassured Lucia that she would be fine and wouldn't fall asleep during the show. The show was spectacular, Luna was so happy as she watched the entire thing.

"It's everything that I imagined for." Luna said it excitedly.

"Broadway and opera hits really differently. I can see the appeal of it." Lucia commented as she watched Luna's excited face.

"Lucia, thank you for inviting me to the show." Luna thanked her gratefully.

"...You shouldn't thank me." Lucia said it with a mysterious understanding tone. "You should thank someone else."

"Who?"

"Dr. Richter." Lucia revealed it with a teasing smile. "He gave me the tickets and asked me to join you to watch the show. He's worried that you aren't doing well, so he wanted to make sure you're doing well and for us to be friends."

It was completely unexpected, it made Luna blush.

"Re-Really? I don't expect Dr. Richter to pay attention like that."

"Well, Dr. Richter may look like that, but he actually cares a lot of people." Lucia admitted it with a smile.

"Seems he's truly different from my first impression of him." Luna had to remember that everyone she met and everything she experienced were a dream, it was her new reality.

"I should get Dr. Richter something as my thank-you gift." Luna wondered.

"You should! I will help you! If you can't buy it, I will pinch in. You can pay me back anytime." For some reason, Lucia looked more excited than normal.

"Su...Sure…" Lucia's excitement caught her off guard. "But I don't know what I can get for him…"

"Maybe a tie? Cufflinks? Vinyl records are more suitable I think. I once saw his antique turntable in his house when I came to deliver some documents from the senior attorney in the Law Firm." Lucia wondered together with Luna.

As they walked through the streets, Luna stopped at a novelty tea shop and immediately came up with a great idea.

"How about this? I think he will like it." Luna pointed out the novelty tea shop.

"That's...a great idea as well! Let's get some!"

"Uhm...there's a tiny problem…" Luna looked worried, which got Lucia's immediate attention.

"Lucia...can you teach me how to use the delivery service?"

~0~0~0~

For the past few days, he didn't feel like himself at all.

It all started with his curiosity on one of his students, Vera Walton. He still remembered the first time he noticed her in the class, cowering and being quiet in her seat. Her answer to his question was alarming, the self-harm scars on her wrist just added even more. He didn't regret reaching out to her since suicidal case was always the most sensitive one.

However, their second meeting changed it all.

On their first meeting, her eyes were filled with emptiness and hopelessness. However, this time and strangely enough, her eyes were suddenly full of life and fire she never showed before. She didn't even hesitate to cooperate with Lucia to press charges against her now ex-boyfriend. Her Baum Test indicated that she had relatively good mental health, which was off for someone who just went through episodes of depression and suicidal thoughts.

Before he knew it, he was starting to notice her more.

It was a complete coincidence that he saw her outside the Music Hall and with that new hairstyle. He caught her staring at the poster of Les Misérables Broadway show and walked away. It was completely unexpected that she was interested in this stuff and before he realized it, he bought two tickets for it.

It would be weird and scandalous for a professor to watch the show with one of the students, so he asked Lucia to accompany Vera to the show. It was the right choice for both of them.

Or for himself?

DING DONG

"...Good evening." He didn't expect to see a delivery man in front of his door. He surely remembered that he didn't order anything.

"A delivery for Dr. Vyn Richter." The delivery man said it cheerfully.

"That is me." He answered politely.

"Please sign this form and thank you for your patronage!"

"Yes, have a good evening."

The small packet he received wasn't light or heavy, it was at the right weight to be handled. He couldn't come up with ideas of someone that would send him a gift or something like that. Even he told his patients strictly not to do that. Carefully, he opened the packet and revealed something unexpected.

It was a box of tea, or more precisely a blend tea of earl gray tea mixed with dried lavender.

"Who could it be…" He whispered it as he picked up a card attached to the box.

Thank you very much for the Broadway tickets. I enjoy it very much.

I have had this blend in the past, so I know it will be good. I hope you can enjoy it as well.

P.S. Lucia told me everything, so don't be angry at her

- Vera Walton

"...Silly girl…" He chuckled to himself as he read the card. He knew that Lucia would tell her, but for her to send him a thank-you gift was completely unexpected on his side.

He took out his phone and began to text someone, asking for help.

"...I think I will need more self-assessment… I don't feel like myself again…"

~0~0~0~

It was a quiet afternoon when Luna heard the doorbell.

"Delivery for Miss Vera Walton." The delivery man said it in a cheerful tone as soon as she opened the door.

"That's...me? I don't remember ordering anything?"

Lucia might already have taught her how to send a delivery or even order a take-out delivery for their dinner that day. However, she hadn't done that again after that day.

"Well, this packet said it's for Miss Vera Walton on this address." The delivery man mentioned it with a curious tone.

"Well… Anyways, thank you for your hard work." Luna accepted the packet.

"Thank you for the patronage!"

Luna didn't expect to receive a packet. It was too light and it had no sound. According to a book, she should've been alarmed with it, but for some reason, she felt it would be alright. Collecting her courage, she opened the packet.

It was a silk ribbon hair tie with a soft pink color.

"Huh? Who could send this to me?" Luna said it in a curious tone as she picked up the card and read it.

Thank you for your present. I enjoy it very much as well. The sophisticated aroma of earl gray and the gentle lavender are perfect for a blend tea.

If you have time, I would like to invite you for a tea time with the blend tea you gifted me.

P.S. I think pink suits you and Miss Lucia said the same thing

- Dr. Vyn Richter

Luna couldn't help, but blushed at the thought of Dr. Richter asked Lucia what color that's suitable for her when he was getting this hair tie. Also, she didn't expect this could happen and clearly it was out of her knowledge of the game. Besides, she didn't know if Dr. Richter truly meant that or not.

It was the first time she had feelings like that.

The next day, Luna decided to braid a bit of her side hairs and tied it up with the ribbon. It gave her the look of a princess, but she always wanted to do this forever. Surprisingly, the hairstyle suited more than when she let her hair loose. She looked more freshed than she expected.

"Vera, you're trying out a new hairstyle? It suits you a lot."

"That pink color really suits you."

For some reason, Luna received more compliments than the time she showed up with the new hairstyle. It was really embarrassing because she got a lot of attention at once and she wasn't used to being the center of attention.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Richter."

"Good afternoon, Professor."

Without realizing, Luna and the groups of the students were passing Dr. Richter and a professor talking together. She wanted to greet him, but it's rude to cut someone's conversation. She just quietly passed him and the professor.

Then a few minutes later, she received a text.

"My judgment is right. That pink color looks good on you."

Her classmates looked at her in confusion as Luna hid her face because she didn't want them to see her red face.