I Became the Childhood Friend of a D*ug Dealer

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I want to watch.

I just wanted to watch.

It goes back to the moment when the book is being read.

I want to see how the protagonist grows and what trials they overcome.

I want to see them make friends and lead their companions.

But I couldn’t.

Because I was trapped in a strange place.

A tiny space where all I could do was daydream.

It’s too late for someone to come and rescue me.

There was certainly a book I had read.

I tried to recall the content, but all I could remember was the part where I died.

I also remembered that in the end, everyone was happy.

A happy ending.

Happy ending.

[330 hours]

Perhaps the time appearing before me might not be the effect of the drug.

It’s borrowed time that I should have already been dead and gone.

It’s the time that will burden others.

I wonder how much time I’ve accumulated so far.

In the vaguely recalled last page of the novel, I wasn’t there.

I wasn’t the only one missing, but beside the protagonist, there was someone who fit better than anyone else.

It looked like they had many friends.

[329 hours 59 minutes]

“Ah…”

When I opened my eyes, I was home.

Home?

No, that can’t be.

A messy room.

Decaying wood.

A leaking ceiling.

A place abandoned even by its cobwebs.

It resembles a home.

In short, it’s a ruin.

But it’s not my home.

I think about why I’m in such a place.

I remember saying I needed help to the rescue team.

So, what happened after that?

I spread my fingers to count the time.

Seeing that I still have about 330 hours left… maybe a day has passed.

The last time I used the drug, it was just over 360.

-Ah, it’s home.

I think I said that.

Was it in the transport vehicle of the rescue team?

Because there was a place that looked like a home.

It was a street that looked similar.

This isn’t a home.

I just mistook it for one.

There are slums everywhere.

After getting off the transport vehicle, it seems I just walked into any house and fell asleep.

I must have been quite tired.

A quiet space with no people or monsters.

Should I go outside?

“……”

As expected, my body won’t move.

I’m not moving.

I’m really screwed.

Haha.

I laugh out of absurdity.

Staying in this state isn’t such a bad decision, is it?

I could just lie here.

When the drug wears off, I’ll die just like that.

Honestly, it’s not that bad.

I won’t have to be dragged to a laboratory anymore.

I won’t suffer from biological experiments.

“…Urgh.”

Just speaking is a chore.

Waking up feels harder.

“[Get up.]”

I got up.

I can move.

Light is coming in from outside.

As it brightens, the mold on the wall becomes more visible.

It’s morning.

Light.

Morning.

The outside world.

It’s been a long time.

Yesterday was so strange that I couldn’t enjoy it properly.

“Ahaha…”

I have four extra syringes in my pocket.

This should be enough for emergencies.

[322 hours 41 minutes]

The speed at which time evaporates is immense.

Still, I’m glad I can at least move like this.

Anyway, as long as I have drugs, it’s all good.

Yeah.

All I need is medicine.

It has always been that way.

Though it seems to have gotten a bit more serious.

I look at the mirror hanging on the wall.

If I just dust it off, it looks decent enough.

“…Oh?”

My bangs are so long that I can’t see well.

Doesn’t something look different?

I push my hair aside to check.

My eyes look strange.

“Uh?”

Is it because of what happened in the laboratory?

Did it start from then?

I did something weird to my eyes.

They’re vertical pupils.

Cat eyes?

I think lizard eyes were like this.

Only my right eye is like that.

It’s so alien that I noticed it immediately.

“……”

Why?

Is it because of the drug?

Fortunately, it’s hidden by my bangs, so it’s not visible.

Anyway, I appear to be fine on the surface.

I don’t look like someone who’s sick.

After all, I’ve used drugs like that.

Yeah.

Right.

As long as I have medicine, I can manage.

I need to go find more.

Wasting time here is pointless.

Let’s go outside.

It seems like the streets have been in ruins for quite a while.

However, it doesn’t seem like foot traffic has completely stopped.

It looks like people still live here.

“-Yul!”

I hear a voice.

It sounds like someone is searching for someone.

A child.

It appears to be a boy.

“Yul?!”

I stepped outside to check.

About 9 or 10 years old, maybe.

“Yul- Huh, who are you?”

I ran into him on the street.

I wanted to smile to prove I meant no harm.

“Uh, do you live around here?”

I shook my head.

I might live nearby, but…

He looks at me as if judging whether I can be trusted.

“…Well, anyway. Have you seen a girl about this size?”

He indicates a height slightly shorter than him with his hands.

It seems he’s looking for a friend.

“I lost sight of her while playing… She must be hiding.”

I shook my head.

Unfortunately, I haven’t seen her.

“Oh, I see. If you find her—”

He mumbles, seeming unsure of himself.

I nod, indicating I’ll search together.

But how are we supposed to find her?

It feels awkward to call out her name.

Still, I’ll do my best to look.

I wander around the streets here and there.

I was only hovering close to the boy.

“Yul-! Where are you?!”

If she were nearby, she would’ve come out by now.

Is she playing hide-and-seek?

Did she get lost?

“-I’m here!”

A girl suddenly pops out from behind the boy.

“Oh, what? I was worried.”

She must have been hiding to play a prank on the boy.

“But who is this sister?”

Hearing “sister” feels a bit strange.

“I don’t know. I was just here. I helped look for you.”

“Ooh… Sister! I’m Yul. This is Hyun.”

Their names are quite short.

They must have a story as to why they live here too.

“What about you, sister?”

I want to say something, but speaking takes time.

“Ah, did you come from the factory too?”

Hyun asks.

It looks like there’s a factory nearby.

“Right? You know how factory people don’t speak. You know, that information leak…? They say that’s not allowed.”

“This sister isn’t even wearing a mask!”

“…Isn’t she?”

They start to debate amongst themselves.

They don’t seem to think of me as a threat.

“[Factory?]”

The factory sounds interesting.

“Yes, factory people catch all the monsters.”

If it’s a factory that captures all the monsters, that means they use monsters as materials.

It might be the same place that makes medicine.

It’s likely not that far from the experimental zone.

I was transported by the rescue team and was dropped off not long after.

I heard there was a factory area nearby.

I’m not sure if it was in the laboratory or somewhere else.

“And they also provide food and medicine.”

“Medicine?”

“Yes. The factory people come by to give it. They ask if there are any injured people.”

Is it that medicine I know?

Do they give it to children like this?

No, it must be a regular medicine.

“[Something like this?]”

I pull out a syringe to show them.

“Hmm… I’ve never seen that before. Is it a pen?”

“It’s long like it. It looks like a syringe.”

I put it back.

I’m relieved they don’t seem to know.

They wouldn’t give medicine to kids who don’t look hurt.

I wonder why I started needing medicine.

-Doctor?

Doctor?

Yeah.

It’s the doctor.

I recall the first time I met a doctor.

I was coughing.

I needed cold medicine and went to buy some.

The only aid station that had set up in the slums had vanished.

It used to provide food when I visited occasionally.

It was unfortunate it disappeared.

I was staring at the site of the abandoned aid station.

“Where can I buy medicine…”

The hospital is far away.

Getting into the city is tough.

The distance is long, and I have no money.

I had a feeling it would disappear.

Why would they give out medicine and food in the slums?

But still, it was disappointing.

“Should I just endure?”

Coughing all day is a problem.

There’s no aid station nearby.

If the one here has withdrawn, then others likely have as well.

It’s better to head back.

Just as I made up my mind to turn back,

“Ah, are you looking for a doctor?”

A person wearing a black coat stood there.

They seem suspicious.

“Yes…”

“Aid stations have withdrawn, but I heard there are still patients left, so I came.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m a doctor. If you need anything, I can provide it.”

That was my first meeting with a doctor.

“I need… cold medicine.”

“Oh, yes. As a matter of fact, I have something I was told to give to someone in need. You might… Ah, what’s your name?”

“Seo-Ah. Yoo Seo-Ah.”

I remembered that name.

“Then I just need to give it to Seo-Ah. It’s cold medicine. I heard that there are several patients in this area, so if you have anyone unwell, please come this way.”

He handed over a prepared medication pouch.

It was the same type of medicine they used to give at the aid station.

“How much is it…”

I don’t have much money.

The aid station used to sell medicine at very low prices, so it was manageable, but I wonder how much this doctor charges.

“It’s free. Next time, I might collect a fee, but it won’t be expensive.”

“Thank you. Um… Should I come here for the aid station next time?”

I might need medicine again.

“Yes. I’ll be around this area.”

“Um… Since you’re a doctor, where’s the hospital?”

“It’s in the city. You can think of me as temporarily dispatched. I plan to stay here for a while since there are other patients aside from Seo-Ah.”

“Oh, I see. Thank you.”

“I’ll see you again.”

“Goodbye.”

That was a strange person.

He was completely different from the doctor I met before at the aid station.

Younger and with a different tone.

But since I got the medicine, perhaps that’s a good thing.

I swallow the medicine.

It’s the same one I always took.

And I didn’t get sick for about a month.

The next time I went when my coughing got worse, the medicine looked a bit different.

I was okay for about a week.

Then I went back again.

I was okay for about four days.

Then I went back again.

I was okay for about two days.

And then back.

At some point, the medicine I received transformed from pills to a solution that went into a syringe.

I learned how to use the medicine, too.

I also learned that using a syringe was more complicated than I had thought.

And I learned that the doctor was a good person.

I don’t know why, but they said he was kind.

So that means he’s a good person.

But no matter how good he is, I used to smile like that back in the day.

He stroked my head.

“Sister? Why are you like this?”

Yul is laughing.

Hyun beside him has a bright expression too.

Right.

It’s right for kids to laugh like that.

You’re all the future.

Was I the future?

If someone like me is considered the future for everyone, then that’s a problem.

-Children are the future.

The words on the fence I saw while playing at the playground.

The voice of a friend saying we would be the future.

So that’s how adults treat children.

Maybe I just wasn’t that young back then.

Was it a hobby of mine to ruin the future?

Did I lack the qualities to be the future?

Or did I do something wrong?

Why did Yoo Seo-Ah specifically mess everything up?

“D-Did you cry, sister?”

Hyun gently stroked my head, causing a little tear to fall.

It’s tears, not the medicine.

Right?

[285 hours 4 minutes]

I should be happy when I’ve used the medicine.

I was always happy.