NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18
Brown hair. Eyes with a hint of red.
Seo-Ah was sitting on the bed, swinging her legs back and forth.
She looked happy.
Han Si-Hoo returned to the dormitory, but he didn’t notice.
As he pondered whether he should greet her, Seo-Ah spoke up.
“Is dying okay?”
She was still smiling faintly.
Just an everyday mutter.
Maybe that’s why there was no change in her expression.
“…Si-Hoo?”
She noticed him.
He wondered if he might have misheard.
The sound of the television wasn’t distorted either.
He should tell her that dying isn’t an option.
– I’m sorry, please kill me.
That was an unpleasant memory.
He focused his mind as it started to get foggy.
“Welcome back.”
The conversation with Seo-Ah wrapped up.
It was decided that Han Si-Hoo would hold onto the medicine brought from home.
It’s possible to forcibly grab or limit the medicine as well.
Since he already had the medicine, he had no choice but to listen to Han Si-Hoo.
Still, that’s not right.
It’s not any different from a doctor.
There were many questions he should ask.
There were plenty, but he couldn’t bear to.
He was also afraid of what Seo-Ah might say.
He wondered if she was aware of the state of her own home.
After all, she didn’t immediately realize when he mentioned the broken window.
Thoughts of the bad things Seo-Ah might have gone through lingered in Han Si-Hoo’s mind.
Even if he tried to stop those thoughts, they wouldn’t quit.
A chaotic home, the scars left on Seo-Ah’s body, and drug addiction.
Could it be… that happened because of that or that?
He hoped not.
The darker thoughts only gained speed.
Han Si-Hoo wished his thoughts were nothing but delusions.
He walked out into the living room.
His throat felt parched, so he grabbed a drink.
Seo-Ah was staring blankly at the television again.
Since using the medicine once, she hadn’t asked for more.
She seemed to have some degree of restraint.
Though it’s uncertain if sticking a syringe in a few times a day counts as restraint.
It seems she has her own line.
He despised himself for letting Seo-Ah become this way.
He also hated the other factors that made Seo-Ah so strange.
That doctor or whatever, that villain.
He must deal with it.
Han Si-Hoo would personally take care of it.
Last time he couldn’t attack properly because Seo-Ah was there, but next time he would face it head-on.
There should be no more incidents where Seo-Ah is held hostage.
“But why Seo-Ah of all people…”
Despite thinking over and over, he couldn’t comprehend the doctor’s intent.
If the doctor had wanted, he could have killed Seo-Ah right in front of him.
He knew that fact too, that’s why he acted cautiously.
He even stood by as Seo-Ah was saved.
As if the very act of getting Seo-Ah addicted was his goal.
What were you doing, leaving your childhood friend behind, huh?
Like it was a taunt.
Extremely malicious behavior.
Thus, what Han Si-Hoo must do was clear.
Gather information.
First, he should investigate the medicine he brought along.
He had already provided some samples to Lee Yoo-Ram.
If he waited, he would receive some contact.
…But it was too quiet.
While living with Seo-Ah, had there ever been this much silence?
Seo-Ah was gazing blankly at the screen, faintly smiling.
He couldn’t tell if she was focused on it.
It might be good to have some conversation.
What did he usually say?
While Han Si-Hoo sat at his desk pondering,
Ding!
His phone vibrated.
[Lena: Si-Hoo!]
[Lena: What’s going on?]
[Lena: Are you alright?]
She was the one who accidentally attacked Seo-Ah.
She probably has plenty on her mind as well.
The fact that she stabbed a civilian must weigh heavily on her.
“Hah.”
Not alright.
But he couldn’t direct his anger at Lena.
She was just sticking to the basics of dealing with adversaries.
[I’m okay.]
Since they were both in the same Academy, they might run into each other again.
That was likely.
He couldn’t imagine how Seo-Ah would react if they met.
No, he could predict it.
“…Ah, damn it.”
Seo-Ah, who had been looking at the screen, flinched in surprise.
It seemed like his words were directed towards her, so she turned down the volume on the TV.
“…S-Sorry. Did I interrupt?”
“Ah? No, don’t worry about it, it wasn’t because of you. I’ve never thought of you as a nuisance. Just relax.”
“Okay.”
She cautiously raised the volume slightly.
Seo-Ah was still concerned about Han Si-Hoo.
It seemed she didn’t want to just relax.
What should he do?
How could he restore his relationship with Seo-Ah?
She had clearly been his closest friend.
Even if the relationship was shattered, if only he could bring her back to normal…
Ding!
His phone vibrated again.
[Yeon-Hwa: Thanks for that time.]
[Yeon-Hwa: I left you a gift; did you receive it?]
Ah, the gift.
The paper bag still hadn’t been opened.
He had rescued Yeon-Hwa from danger in the last urban dungeon.
It wasn’t unusual to receive a reward.
But with Seo-Ah around, it felt different.
[Yeon-Hwa: A girl received it for me.]
[Yeon-Hwa: Saw someone I didn’t recognize… Can I ask who she is?]
It was hard to explain.
[She’s a friend.]
He replied like that and opened the gift bag.
Just a few simple snacks.
[Thanks for the gift. I received it.]
That was enough.
“Ah.”
Speaking of which, he had something he wanted to give Seo-Ah.
A ribbon he found at home.
He had brought it impulsively, but now he wanted to give it back.
“Seo-Ah.”
“Yeah?”
He thought he should get her a proper gift later.
It felt weird to recycle a gift, so he couldn’t bring himself to call it that.
“A present.”
A lightly given gift like a joke.
They used to play like this.
Like giving something he had already given before.
He spoke lightly, reminiscing about those times.
“Hmm…?”
Seo-Ah received the black ribbon and hesitated.
“Where should I attach it?”
Good question.
Han Si-Hoo hadn’t thought that far.
There wasn’t anywhere to attach it since it was just standard Academy attire.
If it had been a school uniform, there would have been places to pin it on.
A school uniform.
That’s it.
“…Let’s go shopping for clothes.”
“Outside?”
“Yeah.”
Upon thinking carefully, the original plan was to buy clothes.
He couldn’t buy them since he didn’t know her size.
He should take Seo-Ah out with him.
“Where do we buy clothes?”
He asked again.
“There are some shops inside the Academy. They operate even during the break.”
Han Si-Hoo replied.
Within the Academy premises, there were plenty of shops selling clothes.
“Looks like we should get the uniforms fitted too.”
“Yeah.”
Seo-Ah nodded her head.
“Let’s go out and grab lunch. I’ll get out some clothes you can throw on first.”
*
Han Si-Hoo said he would buy clothes for her.
He felt uneasy as he was taking so much.
After all, he hadn’t done anything for her.
He felt bad for being a burden.
He still needed to return the money Han Si-Hoo gave him for the medicine as well.
“There’s no one around.”
Not even three people caught his eye until they entered the clothing store.
And those seemed to be Academy staff.
“It’s because of the break.”
“Thank goodness.”
[Warning – External stimuli can shorten time.]
He hadn’t seen that for a while, so he said it.
As he interacted with more people, the effectiveness of the medicine dwindled quickly.
No one enjoys feeling worse.
He had to quickly figure out the clothes since he needed to prepare the uniforms and get back.
Once the break was over, more people might show up; he needed a strategy.
Would it be fine to refuse classes?
“There aren’t any staff either.”
“Since it’s equipped with a device, it calculates automatically. They just open the shop during break.”
“That’s interesting.”
He knew there were clothes shops in the Academy, but he didn’t expect them to be unmanned.
The automated system was unexpected.
It was high-tech.
Well, after all, this was an institution dedicated to nurturing the nation’s finest talents; they had to have at least this much.
“The uniforms over there come in every size.”
A uniform based on a neutral color with red accent points.
The tie and skirt were a light checked pattern.
It reminded him of the time he was suddenly hit in the stomach on the street.
Those guys were wearing Academy uniforms too.
What would happen if they met here?
Would they recognize him?
If they did, what would he do?
Let’s leave the bad memories behind.
He refocused on picking uniforms.
“Why are there so many uniforms?”
There seemed to be more on display than expected.
Did everyone fit their uniforms here?
“Many students tear their uniforms during duel matches at the Academy.”
“Ahah.”
“Even outside of dueling, there are plenty of rough activities.”
Well, naturally, if everyone was using swords and spears while casting magic, their uniforms wouldn’t remain intact.
It was clear that the Academy wasn’t that peaceful.
Perhaps it was created to deal with the monsters that appeared from time to time.
As he browsed through the uniforms, something strange caught his eye.
[Impact Absorption 3 / Magical Resistance 2]
There were odd numbers on the clothing tag.
Was that the performance list for the clothes?
This academy, full of Awakeners, clearly had unique uniforms.
“But how much is this one?”
He muttered while inspecting a uniform.
It looked expensive, but there was no price tag anywhere.
“Uniforms are provided for free to Academy students, up to five sets.”
“Then for the sixth set?”
“Either pay a high price, or wait for another distribution.”
“I see.”
He’d better be careful not to tear his uniform.
Was he really expected to engage in such rough activities that his uniform would get torn?
Though he thought they would give him some leeway.
Weren’t there special classes or something?
It was indeed special.
Even asking him to fight like an Academy student would be an issue.
Unless he took the medicine for 100 hours again.
The thrill from that time still lingers in his mind.
“Did you pick out your clothes?”
“Yeah.”
He selected what seemed to be roughly his size.
A skirt and a pair of pants.
“You can try those over there.”
“Okay.”
As he stepped into the changing room to try on the uniform, he realized something felt off.
It would probably be better to have some underwear on.
He thought he should ask for some underwear as well.
He checked if the uniform size fit well.
The uniform would do for now.
He needed to buy other clothes.
Casual clothes to wear normally.
He examined the price tags and looked for something wearable.
He felt averse to overly feminine outfits.
He doubted they would suit him.
He decided to pick clothes that wouldn’t be uncomfortable when inserting a syringe.
If necessary, he might have to stick the syringe through his clothes.
Nothing too thick would be good.
A shirt, and a pair of appropriate pants.
He momentarily blanked out while selecting underwear.
“What should I wear?”
He wasn’t sure.
There were many types of underwear, but he didn’t know well.
Wasn’t anything fine to wear?
It was a problem since there were no staff.
“Uh, ah… that’s right…”
Han Si-Hoo was flustered.
Guess he wasn’t any help with this.
It felt odd to be of assistance in such matters.
He was fine either way.
“Just buy anything.”
“Okay.”
He settled on something that looked fairly plain.
Wearing long-sleeved clothes would hide most of the scars, which was a relief.
He didn’t know much about fashion, but looking in the mirror, it seemed decent enough.
“I’ll pay you back later.”