"Lana?"
Clark's voice was tight, a faint hitch in his breath.
That feeling again!
"Lana, sis!"
Sarafir, on the other hand, was completely unbothered by Clark's struggle.
He was happily waving his little hands, eyes glued to the vibrant green sundae on Lana's tray, piled high with tempting toppings.
Lana flashed a bright smile, leaning down to carefully place the massive melon sundae in front of Sarafir.
"I spotted you guys from the kitchen, so I snuck in an extra scoop of melon for you!"
She lowered her voice, giving a playful wink. "Don't tell anyone, okay?"
Sarafir got the hint immediately, his little face turning dead serious. He even shot a sneaky glance at the manager patrolling nearby.
Then, with a dramatic flourish, he raised his hand and mimed zipping his lips shut.
Lana couldn't help but laugh at the kid's adorable antics.
She ruffled his hair affectionately.
But her gaze, almost unconsciously, drifted to Clark sitting across from her—a flicker of quiet hope in her eyes.
But…
The sunny boy was stone-faced, his striking blue eyes staring blankly ahead, as if he didn't even notice her. Or…
Was he deliberately avoiding her?
A tiny pang of disappointment tugged at Lana's heart.
She pressed her lips together, about to turn away.
"Lana, why're you working here?"
Clark's voice broke through, pulling her back.
Lana turned around, fighting to keep her smile from growing too wide, her tone softening.
"Stuart, from our class… he's got leukemia."
"I wanted to help raise some money for his treatment, so I took this job. Plus, it's a good spot to organize some fundraising."
She pulled a neatly folded poster from her apron pocket and carefully unfolded it.
It was a hand-drawn Red Cross fundraiser poster, with a photo of a boy lying in a hospital bed.
Clark nodded, battling waves of dizziness.
His trembling hand reached into his pocket, fishing out a few crumpled bills and some coins.
Not Dio's money—just the last of his own savings.
"Here…" His voice was so weak it was barely audible. "Please give this to your friend… Thanks…"
"No, I'm the one who should be thanking you!"
Lana's face lit up as she took the money, but her joy faded when her fingers brushed Clark's icy-cold hand. Her brow furrowed. "You okay? Your hand's freezing."
"Clark!"
Lana's voice was laced with worry as she instinctively stepped closer. "You don't look so good either…"
Yeah.
The closer she got, the stronger that invisible pressure became.
Clark's face grew paler, his breathing labored, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead.
"Lana, sis."
Sarafir, who'd been watching his brother closely, suddenly piped up, his little face full of genuine concern. Before Clark could speak, he said, "My brother's… not feeling great today. Think he caught a cold."
"A cold?"
Lana froze.
Then it hit her—the memory of yesterday by the river.
Clark had jumped into the icy water without hesitation to save that drowning kid, Luther!
Did he get sick from that?
"Hang on a sec."
She spun around, pushing through the kitchen door, the rich, sweet aroma of desserts hitting her as she entered.
But she didn't have time to savor it.
"Ginger tea," she muttered to herself, crouching by a storage cabinet.
She was pretty sure she'd stashed a packet of emergency ginger tea here the last time she was sick.
---
"Bro, if you keep acting like this, Lana's gonna end up hating you." Sarafir shook his head, exasperated. "What guy stammers like that around a girl? You're never gonna keep things going with her at this rate!"
"I'm not trying to act like this," Clark said weakly, feeling like his bones were turning to jelly.
"But every time that feeling hits, it's like… I can't breathe."
"Wait! Sarafir!" Clark snapped out of it, glaring at his brother. "There's nothing going on between me and her! It's not what you think!"
"Then why do you get all red-faced and shaky around her? If that's not a crush, what is—"
"Brother, something's affecting him." A cold voice cut through Sarafir's thoughts, sharp and unsettlingly perceptive. "That woman's wearing something—something that's making him weak."
"It's a green stone."
"?"
Sarafir froze, his spoonful of sundae hovering mid-air.
Even though his "divine" little brother could be sneaky and ruthless, one thing was certain: his words were always true.
Blinking, Sarafir racked his brain.
He vaguely recalled something…
Last year, while playing in the fields, he'd dug up a beautiful stone glowing with a faint, eerie green light.
He'd thought it was cool and showed it to Dad.
But the moment Dad saw it, his face turned deadly serious. He'd told him—
"Sarafir, never bring that stone near Clark."
"It's the Kent family's natural enemy—Clark's greatest weakness and threat."
In his memory, Dad had crushed that pretty green stone to pieces with his strong hands, locking the fragments in a heavy, unfamiliar metal safe designed specifically for those stones.
It clicked.
Sarafir pushed his barely touched, oh-so-tempting sundae toward Clark.
"Bro, eat some ice cream to cool off."
"?"
"Shouldn't I be eating something hot right now?" Clark shot him a look, clearly annoyed. "Where are you going?"
"I'm gonna check on Lana."
Sarafir slid off his seat with surprising agility. "I've never seen the dessert shop's kitchen."
He scampered toward the kitchen.
By pure chance, he reached the door just as Lana emerged, carrying a steaming mug of spicy-smelling ginger tea.
"Perfect timing, Sarafir."
Noticing the manager eyeing her from the side, Lana handed the warm mug to the boy, her voice low and apologetic. "Can you give this to your brother? Tell him to drink it hot—it'll help him sweat it out."
She paused, a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks, her voice dropping even lower.
"And… tell him, to thank him for saving that kid yesterday… I'll treat him to dinner next time."
"Got it! Mission accepted!"
Sarafir nodded enthusiastically, taking the warm ginger tea with both hands. Then, acting casual, he asked in a curious, kid-like tone, "Oh, by the way, Lana, that super cool green stone necklace you were wearing yesterday… you still got it? I thought it was awesome!"
"Green stone necklace?"
Lana blinked, a little surprised by the question.
She reached into her shirt's chest pocket and pulled out a bracelet made of small, polished green stones. "You mean this, Sarafir? It's a bracelet, not a necklace."
Sarafir's eyes lit up.
Under the diner's lights, the bracelet glinted with a deep, eerie green glow.
Case closed.
It was definitely that stone!
But he kept up his innocent grin. "Oh, it's a bracelet! My bad!"
"I thought I saw a green glow in your pocket yesterday and figured it was a necklace. It's so pretty, all shiny!"
Lana laughed, dangling the bracelet. "You like this?"
Sarafir nodded eagerly, eyes sparkling. "Love it! It's like a gem!"
"Well…" Lana tilted her head, then generously pressed the bracelet into Sarafir's small hand. "It's yours, little guy! Play with it."
She ruffled his soft hair, adding, "I got this at the town's harvest festival market last year when I moved back. It's not worth much, just has a cool color. If you like these stones, you can ask Clark to take you to the festival next week to get one."
"And if you can't find any…"
Lana's voice dropped to a whisper, barely audible.
"You can ask Clark to come find me, and we'll take you together."
"Sweet! Thanks, Lana, you're the best!"
Sarafir's face broke into a huge grin.
He turned, carrying the ginger tea back to Clark, but…
His other hand, the free one, flicked quickly and discreetly through the air.
A tiny, almost invisible black rift in space appeared.
Sorry, Lana.
Whoosh~
Without hesitation, he tossed the ominous green-glowing bracelet into the rift.
His fingers moved again, sealing the crack silently, as if nothing had happened.
Only then did he stroll back to his seat, calmly handing the ginger tea to the pale-faced Clark.
The little boy tilted his chin up, a smug, expectant look on his face.
"So, bro, how you gonna thank me?"
His tone was comically grown-up, like he'd just solved the world's biggest problem.
"???"
Clark was totally lost, but he took the ginger tea anyway, sipping it and immediately wincing at the spicy kick.
"Whoa, this is intense! Sarafir, why'd you pick this?"
"Colds and fevers need something to fight the chill. And…"
"It wasn't my idea."
"…"
Clark had no clue why Sarafir looked so smug, but the kid's obvious "praise me" vibe was impossible to miss.
"Thanks, Sarafir," Clark said, ruffling his brother's hair with a smile. "I'm feeling a lot better now."