They Called Me Trash? Now I'll Hack Their World

{Jin's POV}

------------

Pain.

Not the sharp, immediate kind that makes you scream. This was duller, the kind that settled into your bones and made every breath feel like work.

I groaned, my eyes cracking open slowly. White ceiling. Stone walls. The smell of herbs and antiseptic.

Infirmary.

I tried to piece together what had happened. The goblin nest. The fight. Kyle. The club coming down.

And my arm—

I froze.

Slowly, afraid of what I'd see, I turned my head.

But it was there. Bandaged heavily, wrapped from shoulder to fingertips, but there.

I tried to move it, and pain flared immediately, making me wince. The fingers twitched slightly, responding but stiff and weak.

They reattached it?

I exhaled shakily, letting my head fall back against the pillow.

Then my head throbbed suddenly, sharp and vicious.

Shit—

I clutched my head with my right hand, gritting my teeth as the pressure built behind my eyes. The room blurred, edges darkening.

No. Not now. Not—

I groaned, the sound involuntary, and squeezed my eyes shut. The pain spiked higher. I screamed, short, barely more than a gasp.

The door burst open. Footsteps echoed.

"Jin—!"

Soft hands pressed against my temples. Warmth spread immediately, soothing, easing the pressure like releasing a valve. The pain receded slowly, reluctantly, until it was just a dull ache instead of a white-hot spike.

I opened my eyes. Aria knelt beside the bed, her hands still on my temples.

She pulled her hands back, her gaze searching my face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said, my voice rough. "I'm fine."

She didn't look convinced, but she didn't argue.

I tried to sit up, pushing myself upright with my good arm. Aria's hand shot out immediately, steadying me. "Careful—"

"I'm fine."

"Stop saying that." Her tone sharpened slightly. "You're not fine. You had severe blood loss, neural strain.. you shouldn't even be conscious yet."

I leaned back against the headboard, breathing hard from just that small effort.

Yeah. Okay. Maybe not fine.

"You need to rest," Aria continued, her voice gentler now. "No moving. Do you understand?"

"Yeah."

"Jin."

"I said yeah."

She stared at me for a moment, then sighed. "You're as stubborn as Kyle said you were."

Kyle.

"Is he okay?" I asked.

"He's fine." She adjusted the blanket over my legs. "He's visited every day. Multiple times, actually. I had to threaten to ban him because he kept trying to sneak in after visiting hours."

I almost smiled at that. Of course he did.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"Three days."

"Fuck."

"Language," she said automatically, but there was no heat in it.

Three days. The practical exam had been yesterday. Or the day before. I'd lost track.

I missed it.

I let my head fall back against the pillow, staring at the ceiling.

Aria stayed beside the bed, her hands folded in her lap. She didn't say anything. Just sat there.

"You can go," I said quietly. "You don't have to stay."

"I know."

But she didn't move.

She stayed a while longer, checking my bandages, making sure I was comfortable, talking about nothing important—just filling the silence.

Eventually, she stood. "I should go. Let you rest."

"Yeah. Okay."

She walked toward the door, her footsteps soft against the stone floor. Then, just as she reached the doorway, she stumbled. Her hand shot out, catching the doorframe, her body swaying slightly.

"Aria—?"

She straightened immediately, forcing a smile. "I'm fine. Just tired."

My brows furrowed, but I didn't push.

She looked back at me one more time. "Good night, Jin. Take care of yourself."

"Yeah. You too."

The door closed softly behind her.

I stared at the empty doorway for a moment. She's exhausted. How many patients has she been treating?

I sighed and closed my eyes. Three days. Missed the exam. Failed the semester.

Great.

Sleep pulled at me, heavy and insistent.

I let it take me.

-----

I woke to noise. Muffled voices. Footsteps. The scrape of a chair being dragged across stone.

My eyes cracked open slowly, adjusting to the pale morning light filtering through the infirmary windows.

Then—

"Jin!"

Something latched onto me. Arms wrapped around my shoulders in a crushing hug, and I grunted as the impact drove the air from my lungs.

"Kyle," I muttered, my voice rough from disuse.

He didn't let go.

"Kyle—!"

I pried him off with my good arm, pushing him back. "Idiot. You trying to kill me?"

Kyle pulled back, grinning like an idiot, his eyes wet. "Sorry. Just—you're awake."

"Yeah. I noticed."

I looked past him. Tobias stood near the foot of the bed, arms crossed, looking relieved but trying to hide it. Sira leaned against the wall by the window, her usual hard expression softened slightly. And Emma sat in a chair beside the bed, her hands folded in her lap, her blue eyes wide and clearly relieved.

"You're all here," I said.

"Where else would we be?" Sira said flatly.

I pushed myself upright slowly, wincing. Kyle hovered beside me, like he was ready to catch me if I fell over. "You should rest—"

"I'm fine."

Emma shifted in her chair. "How do you feel?"

"Like I got hit by a wagon."

"That's... accurate," Tobias muttered.

Sira pushed off the wall, walking closer. "You look like shit."

"Thanks."

"Just being honest."

I leaned back against the headboard, letting the exhaustion settle over me. My head still throbbed faintly, a dull reminder of the neural strain, but it was manageable.

I processed that, then sighed. "The practical exam."

I looked at them.

"You failed," Tobias said bluntly.

Kyle shot him a look. "Dude—"

"What? He asked."

"Yeah, but you don't have to—"

"It's fine," I said, cutting them off. "I knew I would."

Kyle's expression twisted with guilt. "Jin—"

"I missed the exam. That's an automatic fail. It's not complicated."

"But it's not fair," Emma said softly. "You were injured. They should've—"

"They don't care." I closed my eyes, exhaling slowly. "Academy rules. Miss the exam, you fail. Doesn't matter why."

"That's bullshit," Sira said.

"Yeah. It is."

Silence hung heavy in the room.

Eventually, Emma broke it, her voice hesitant. "We passed. All of us."

"Congratulations," I said.

Silence again.

Emma shifted in her chair, her hands twisting together. "What will you do? If you failed the semester..."

"I don't know yet."

Kyle stood suddenly. "I'm gonna find something. There has to be a way—"

"Kyle—"

"There has to be." He was already heading for the door. "Just stay there. I'll figure this out."

He left before I could argue.

Tobias shook his head. "He's gonna harass every instructor in the building until someone gives him an answer."

"Probably," Sira agreed.

Emma looked at me, her expression soft. "He's really worried about you."

"I know."

"We all are."

I said nothing.

Eventually, Tobias and Sira left too, promising to come back later. Emma stayed a while longer, sitting quietly beside the bed. She didn't say much—just asked if I needed anything, if I was comfortable, small things that didn't require real answers.

Eventually, she stood. "I should go."

"Yeah. Thanks."

She hesitated at the door, looking back. "Jin?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're okay."

I just nodded.

She left, closing the door softly behind her.

The room fell silent.

I stared at the ceiling for a moment, then sighed and pulled up the status window mentally.

[STATUS]

Name: Jin Raith

Age: 17

Class: Debugger

Level: 11

EXP: 320/1200

Rank: F

MC (Mana Capacity): 38/50

HP: 245/245

MP: 82/82

STR: 15

VIT: 12

AGI: 13

INT: 62

WIS: 39

LUK: 16

Allocation Points: 10

Skills: Poison Resistance (65%), Social Engineering, Alchemy (Basic), Debug Vision

Combat: Unorthodox Fang (Proficiency: 27%)

I stared at the numbers.

MC: 38/50.

Twelve more. Then I rank up. From F to E.

I closed the window and let my head fall back against the pillow, eyes closing.

Just rest. Figure it out later.

------

Darkness pressed against me, thick and suffocating. Then light flickered, dim, sickly yellow, and my stomach dropped.

I was back in the goblin nest. The breeding chamber.

The cages stood before me, rusted iron bars crude and unforgiving. Inside them huddled women and girls, broken things with hollow eyes.

The goblins circled them like scavengers, their yellow eyes gleaming with something that made my skin crawl. Their grins were too wide, too knowing.

No. Not again.

I tried to move. Tried to run forward. But my legs refused to respond.

I looked down. Clawed hands pinned me to the ground, goblins, dozens of them, their grip like iron. I thrashed, struggling against them with everything I had.

"Let go—!"

But they just grinned wider. And then they turned toward the cages.

Toward the women.

One of them reached through the bars, grabbing the dark-haired girl, the one who'd been crying. She screamed, a sound that tore through me like broken glass.

"No!" I shouted, straining against the hands holding me down. "Don't—!"

The goblin laughed. And started tearing at her clothes.

"Stop!" I screamed. "STOP!"

But I couldn't move. I could only watch.

Before he could do more...

The scene shifted.

Not the nest anymore.

A street. Concrete under harsh orange streetlights.

Earth?

But what made my blood froze were three men standing in an alley, their laughter bouncing off brick walls.

And between them—

A girl. Maybe nineteen. Dark hair.

Familiar face.

No. Not her.

She struggled, trying to pull away, tears streaming down her face. "Please..." Her voice broke. "Please, don't—"

The men just laughed.

I tried to move. I have to... I have to stop them!

But my body wouldn't respond. I was frozen, powerless, forced to watch.

"Please!" I shouted, my voice cracking. "Don't do it! Please—!"

They didn't hear me. Or they didn't care.

One of them grabbed her wrist, yanking her closer. She cried out, tears streaming, her voice raw and broken. "No-no, please!"

I fell to my knees, hands clutching my head.

I can't-I can't do anything—

I'm useless!

Just like before.

I couldn't save her. I couldn't save any of them.

Then suddenly...

"Jin."

A voice came, distant and muffled.

"Jin!"

Then closer.

My eyes snapped open.

Light flooded in, too bright, too harsh. I gasped, chest heaving.

Someone's hands were on my shoulders, gentle but firm. "Jin, breathe. Just breathe."

I blinked, vision clearing slowly. Aria knelt beside the bed, her expression tight with concern.

"Why are you crying?" she asked softly.

I stared at her, my mind still tangled in the nightmare.

Crying? I reached up, touching my face and, my fingers came away wet.

I'm crying.