NOVEL NEXT Chapter 11
“Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, Seo-Ah is in a pretty bad condition due to her addiction to the drugs,”
Lee Yoo-Ram said.
“Yes.”
“It’s a bit annoying since she didn’t just use one type of drug, but I believe that if we take good care of her, she can recover.”
“Recover, huh.”
“There’s been a rise in drugs manufactured by Awakeners circulating recently, causing a lot of problems. The Academy has been putting measures in place, and Seo-Ah could be seen as the first victim of that.”
To properly nurture the blooming students, a lot of things have to be managed, even the issues surrounding drugs.
“That’s a relief.”
“Since she’s your childhood friend and you’ve been together for a long time, it feels like family. You can take good care of her at the Academy.”
Family?
Yeah, that’s right.
She’s family.
Han Si-Hoo knows this fact.
At the very least, he wanted to keep in touch.
But in a situation where he couldn’t just leave the Academy at will,
he sent a text message. It didn’t go through at all.
He tried calling. She never picked up.
Tired of the continuous rejection, Han Si-Hoo decided to let go of his interest in Yoo Seo-Ah.
It wasn’t that he completely forgot about her.
He transferred a significant portion of his income from the Academy to Yoo Seo-Ah.
He told her to use it wherever she needed.
To eat whatever she wanted and do whatever she liked.
He thought she could get a decent room to live in if she wanted.
But it all vanished on her drug expenses.
“…To reiterate, Seo-Ah is in a lot of pain right now.”
“Yeah.”
“Right now, she’s feeling a bit better, but she had a high fever, and the side effects from the drugs seem pretty severe…”
Lee Yoo-Ram hesitated before continuing.
“If, for some reason, Seo-Ah tries to attack you or seems really scared, you can just back off. We have sedatives prepared.”
“Is that so?”
Han Si-Hoo’s tone betrays his despair.
“Just follow me for now.”
Lee Yoo-Ram gestured for Han Si-Hoo to follow.
When they arrived, it was the Isolation Room.
“Alright, she’s in here… Do you want to go in and see her?”
Lee Yoo-Ram stood in front of the Isolation Room.
They couldn’t just leave Seo-Ah here.
If misunderstandings needed to be resolved, that was Han Si-Hoo’s responsibility.
“Okay.”
Is it really okay to go in?
Han Si-Hoo hesitated for a moment before grabbing the door handle of the Isolation Room.
He had to check on Yoo Seo-Ah’s condition.
-Creak-
With a slight noise, the door opened.
Inside was a space surrounded by gray walls.
A brown-haired girl was seen sitting in the corner.
She was wearing a white patient gown.
“Seo-Ah…?”
Han Si-Hoo called her name.
She didn’t react at all until he got closer.
“Seo-Ah.”
“Ah?”
As he approached and spoke to her, only then did Yoo Seo-Ah lift her head.
“Are you okay?”
Yoo Seo-Ah’s complexion brightened.
“Si-Hoo.”
For just a brief moment, her expression lit up.
But immediately, her face hardened.
Her eyes flickered.
“I’m, I’m sorry.”
Yoo Seo-Ah said this while lowering her gaze.
Though she was already in the corner, it seemed she wanted to retreat even further.
*
She always had a kind demeanor.
Seo-Ah and Si-Hoo.
They were close.
Because they were close,
she didn’t want to suffer any more.
Being stabbed in the back is no fun.
She didn’t want to be the one spilling blood on the dirt floor either.
She didn’t want to die.
“Th-That, so… I’m really sorry…”
He needed to ask for forgiveness quickly.
Such things shouldn’t happen repeatedly.
“Eh?”
Even he found it disgraceful.
Asking for drugs during a fight and trying to kill her as well.
He was merely an obstacle.
So if the protagonist decided to deal with him, he’d understand.
In fact, even if he were the protagonist, he would’ve abandoned Yoo Seo-Ah by now.
Just dragging him down— it’d be better to just kill him.
He understands.
“I’m sorry for attacking you. It was a mistake.”
“……”
“It truly was a mistake…”
He spoke with a slightly trembling voice.
She must not have been herself.
Under normal circumstances, she would just be resting comfortably at home.
She wanted to go back home.
To take her medication and lie down comfortably to sleep.
This place doesn’t sit well with her.
Though there were better beds, her mind was uneasy.
“Oh, right. I haven’t spent the money you gave me yet.”
Luckily, the Academy gives out medication for free.
The money remains.
“When I get back home, I’ll return it right away.”
The money that was deposited in her account.
The cash Han Si-Hoo gave for the drug expenses.
Thanks to the doctor providing free medication, she thankfully had no need to spend that money.
So she hopes he takes back the money and lets go of his anger.
She wants to go back alive.
“Ah, I’m sorry for coming even though you told me not to. I just… I just wanted to celebrate your graduation… since you’re a high school student now, so… I didn’t mean to attack you or anything…”
She babbled incoherently.
There were just too many things to apologize for.
She felt like she had done too many things wrong.
She couldn’t see Han Si-Hoo’s expression.
“-It’s okay.”
What does that even mean?
“Don’t worry, it’s fine. I won’t do anything.”
Hearing that made her feel a bit more at ease.
No, actually, she was still scared.
She had no idea what he wanted.
Her mind was a jumbled mess.
Hadn’t she been stabbed?
Right, she had.
She barely managed to stop her breath from getting ragged.
“I’m sorry. Trust me. You don’t have to be scared.”
She is scared?
No, she’s not scared.
She has to think that way to stop her hands from shaking.
She looked up at Han Si-Hoo again.
He looked oddly sad.
“What happened in this fight was… an accident. Seo-Ah wasn’t trying to attack you. She’s not angry at you.”
She explained as if justifying herself.
Right now, it didn’t seem like she had any immediate thoughts of attacking him.
At least not at this moment did she feel hostility.
“I didn’t hurt you intentionally. It was just that my comrade attacked you by mistake, so there’s no reason for you to fear being attacked.”
By mistake, huh.
That felt somewhat reassuring.
It’s a relief if that’s the case.
Not quite friends, but not enemies either.
That’s a relief.
“The last time… I talked too harshly. I really apologize. When you came to find me, well, I’m just sorry, and I’ll apologize.”
Han Si-Hoo struggled to find the words.
She hadn’t wanted to hear any apologies.
It seemed she’s not as angry as she’d thought she’d be.
Her lips had been moving, opening and closing while hesitating.
“…I promised to keep watching over you.”
He muttered something.
“Where did it all go wrong?”
It was hard to tell if he was mumbling to himself or talking to her.
The usual cheerful atmosphere was missing.
This isn’t how the protagonist acted.
“Seo-Ah becoming like this is… because I couldn’t protect you properly.”
It’s too gloomy.
The protagonist shouldn’t have done anything wrong.
Yeah, the protagonist has to stay strong.
Because he is the protagonist.
If he doesn’t act, the world won’t be safe.
“It’s okay, I’m fine.”
I’m fine.
[4 hours and 20 minutes]
As long as there’s still time, it’s okay.
Her fever isn’t that high.
Was it 37.8 degrees?
But it’s dropped quite a bit.
“I’m fine, I’m perfectly healthy.”
She has no pain at all.
She just takes medicine because her cold isn’t getting better.
She can manage just fine on her own.
“I’m not hurting at all—”
She choked up.
She swallowed hard before anything could escape her lips.
The taste of rusted metal.
No, it can’t be blood, right?
Why’s her condition worsening while taking medication?
Is it because she overdid it?
“Seo-Ah?”
Well, she was stabbed, after all.
Stabbed with a knife.
There’s bound to be some blood.
But she didn’t know for sure yet.
“-Are you okay?”
Han Si-Hoo reached out his arm.
Why is he coming closer?
It’s too close.
Her mind freezes.
“Yikes.”
She covered her abdomen with her hands.
Her body instinctively reacted by leaning slightly forward.
Because being stabbed is painful.
She doesn’t want to get hit either.
It wasn’t a conscious action, but a reflexive one.
“Ah.”
Unintentionally, she grew defensive against Han Si-Hoo.
But upon reflection, it didn’t make any sense.
Whether she guarded her abdomen or not, it wouldn’t be a real defense.
Damn.
Why is Yoo Seo-Ah so weak?
“Ah…”
She lowers her hands and waits for his response.
Is she going to get hit? Is she? Is she?
At least the knife isn’t visible.
If it’s just her fist, she thinks she could take a hit or two.
Since she’d fought with another Academy student before.
Sure, she can endure that.
But no.
She really doesn’t want to get hit.
She still doesn’t understand why she got hit back then.
“No, that’s not it.”
Han Si-Hoo backed off in confusion.
It seemed he didn’t mean to hit her.
“Ah, sorry.”
She finally managed to speak up.
She was certainly overreacting.
It’s just that her thoughts were muddled.
Her head feels like it’s overheating.
Actually, she’s feeling warmth, too.
“It’s not like we’re friends anymore, but I know you wouldn’t hit me, so… uh, I mean…”
She rambled on.
It seems she’s trying to say something to reassure herself.
Had she forgotten how to speak coherently?
“Aren’t we friends?”
Han Si-Hoo asked.
“Yeah?”
“Even so, I thought we were still friends. If you don’t want to be, that’s fine, but I still think of you as a friend. Always.”
“Oh, I’m still your friend?”
If they could remain friends, that would be good.
Yoo Seo-Ah’s friendship list was revived.
What a relief.
“Yeah, of course.”
Han Si-Hoo said earnestly.
Reaffirmation of their friendship.
It meant a lot.
“Oh, so we’re still friends.”
That relieved her immensely.
[2 hours and 32 minutes]
But she still isn’t at ease.
Wasn’t it just 4 hours ago?
She needs medication.
There are still some left at home.
For now, as long as she has that medication, she can manage for a while.
Once that runs out, she’ll just go see a doctor and buy some more.
To buy the medication, she would need a lot of money, though.
Killing Han Si-Hoo would ensure she’d never have to worry about medication again.
That’s what the doctor said.
Oh, can she really kill him?
She quickly discarded the thought that popped into her head.
Why would she kill him?
Why would she kill someone who helps her?
But the doctor has helped her plenty too.
“Hey, Si-Hoo.”
[2 hours and 28 minutes]
She didn’t know.
Time was moving too quickly.
Let’s solve the medication issue first, then think about the rest later.
“Can I go home now?”
She really needs to grab her medication.