I had officially cut ties with the protagonist.
Half of the few connections I had were sacrificed to get the money I needed.

And then I walked all the way home.

Every time I felt like I was going to die, I popped another pill.

Once I ran out of pills, I took a painkiller instead.

[9 hours 56 minutes]

Painkillers lasted a lot longer than the other meds.

Even after I got home, there was still plenty of time left.
The effect was strong enough that I could skip a day of injections.
I had no idea why the painkillers were so much more effective than the regular meds.

“My head hurts.”

Even lying still, my head throbbed.

My body was exhausted.
It was hard to even move a finger.
My mind was equally tired.
It felt like a struggle to think.

But I couldn’t fall asleep.
It was like I had just downed a ton of coffee.

I wanted to shut my mind off, but it wouldn’t cooperate.

“At least you feel good, right?”

The doctor asked.
He was dressed in a black coat.
His face was hidden in the shadows.

“I mean, sure, the meds help me feel good, but... why are you in my house?”

“Well... the door was open. I assumed it was an invitation.”

“Uh. Well, could you close it then?”

“I already have.”

Half of the people I knew were in this room.
The doctor who sold me the meds.
Or was he more of a pharmacist?
Anyway.

“Hey, doctor, since you’re here, could you give me some sleeping pills?”

“I’m not here to sell meds today.”

“Then why are you here?”

If he wasn’t here to sell meds, wasn’t he just trespassing?
He walked into my house so confidently, it was unnerving.
But I was too out of it to argue.
Besides, if he’s a doctor, he’s probably trustworthy, right?

“You wouldn’t be able to afford any meds anyway, would you?”

True enough.
Just yesterday, I hadn’t had a single cent to my name.

“I’ve got money now. My friend gave it to me.”

“A friend?”

“Yeah, Han Si-Hoo.”

The doctor paused for a moment, as if in thought, before continuing.

“I seem to remember you saying you’d never ask a friend for help. The last time Si-Hoo offered to help, you made up some excuse and pushed him away.”

“I needed to buy meds.”

“Still, going out of your way to ask for hundreds of thousands of won is strange.”

“I didn’t borrow it. He gave it to me.”

There’s a big difference between borrowing and receiving.
It would’ve been awful if I had to repay the money after he cut me off.
In that sense, the protagonist was rather generous.

“Gave it to you?”

“And then cut me off. He said he never wanted to see me again.”

“I see... interesting.”

The doctor seemed intrigued.

Then he bent down, lifted me off the floor, and—

Thud.

“Ugh.”

He forced me into a chair.

“Let’s sit and have a nice, honest conversation.”

“I just want to sleep...”

“For your health, it’s better if you stay awake. It’s been a while since I’ve gone this far for someone.”

He pulled up another chair and sat down right in front of me.

What’s he planning to do?
Isn’t it bad enough that he barged into my home uninvited?
This was beyond rude, even for a doctor.
But my head hurt too much to think deeply about it.

“You cannot lie to me. Understood?”

“Uh, sure.”

His tone grew harsher for a moment.
It felt like I was being interrogated.

“Where did you go today?”

“To the academy.”

“To meet Han Si-Hoo?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“To borrow money.”

Why was he asking me the same thing over again?
I’d already explained this.

“Do you have no pride?”

Pride?

Ah, I guess it does hurt your pride to go crawling back to someone you’ve fought with.
I know what he’s getting at, but...
I don’t really care about that.

“I needed the meds.”

“I thought you had strong feelings for Han Si-Hoo. But now it seems that doesn’t matter anymore, does it?”

“...Strong feelings?”

Did he think I had a crush on the protagonist just because I’d read the novel?
There’s no way I’d have romantic feelings for him.
I’m not Yoo Seo-Ah, and I don’t feel that way.

Well, Yoo Seo-Ah did have feelings for Han Si-Hoo.
Since I inherited most of her memories, I knew that.
I might have felt a little of that lingering affection, but the meds cleared that right up.

“I don’t have any feelings like that.”

“...”

“Why would I?”

It’s just common sense.
From my perspective, it’s obvious.

“Has your brain gone bad?”

“What?”

“Never mind. Let’s end this here.”

Never mind?
You just asked if my brain’s messed up.
Does he think I didn’t hear him?
Even if I’m a little out of it, I’m still thinking.

“So, why are you here in my house at this hour?”

“Are you really that curious?”

“Most people would be, don’t you think?”

“It’s a long story, but...”

The doctor trailed off.
He seemed to be deciding whether or not to explain.

“...Well, I’ll tell you anyway. We might be seeing more of each other soon.”

“More?“

Does that mean I’ll be buying meds from him regularly?
I don’t want my health to deteriorate to the point where I need him constantly.
That’s terrifying.
I can already see a future where I’m too broke to afford more than a single day’s worth of meds at a time.

“Are you worried about seeing me often? Isn’t your plan to do whatever it takes to get the meds?”

He seemed a little offended.

“It’s not like that...”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“How about this, then? If you kneel down and lick my shoes, I’ll give you a day’s supply of meds.”

“Should I do it now?”

Honestly, no matter what I do, I’ll feel good.
Pride doesn’t feed you.
I don’t care if my image gets a little tarnished.
As long as I get the meds, I’m fine.
One day’s worth of meds costs over 100,000 won, so of course I’d do it.

“No. My shoes will get dirty. Don’t do it.”

“Oh...”

I was rejected for a reason I didn’t expect.
Of course, if someone offered to lick my shoes, I wouldn’t like it either.
Not because the shoes would get dirty, but for other reasons.
No normal person would go around licking people’s shoes, right?
You wouldn’t want to associate with someone like that.

“Well, how about this?”

“What?”

“I’ll give you a year’s supply of meds.”

A year’s worth of happiness?
It sounds like a dream, but there’s no way that’s possible.
I don’t have the money for that.
If I had known this was coming, I would’ve asked Han Si-Hoo for more.

“I can’t afford that...”

“In exchange, you’ll kill Han Si-Hoo.”

“...What?”

It took me a second to grasp what he was saying.

“Can you do it?”

Another condition I hadn’t expected.

Killing Han Si-Hoo.
That’s what Yoo Seo-Ah had done when she was on the verge of death in the novel.
So this doctor was the one behind it.

He must have been the reason the protagonist had to watch Yoo Seo-Ah die right in front of him.
He must’ve convinced her to fight Si-Hoo with promises of meds.

Of course, it wasn’t even a real fight.
Yoo Seo-Ah was already dying, and Han Si-Hoo couldn’t bring himself to raise a weapon against someone he knew.
He had no choice but to watch her fall apart in front of him.
After that, Han Si-Hoo’s mental state broke down a bit.

The novel started with the protagonist entering the high school division of the academy.
He carried that tragic past with him.
It was part of what made him so unique.
But I had no intention of building up his tragic backstory.

“Let me be clear. Yoo Seo-Ah, I want you to kill Han Si-Hoo. And, of course, the meds wouldn’t just be for a year. I’ll provide you with the highest quality meds for the rest of your life.”

“For life?”

“Can you do it?”

“Hmm...”

There’s no way I could kill him.

The protagonist isn’t weak.
Does this guy know how many chapters are in the novel?
The protagonist doesn’t die.
Even if a minor villain tries to kill him, it never works.
I’d be lucky to avoid dying myself.

What good is a lifetime supply of meds if my life is cut short?
Isn’t there a way I could get the meds and not fight the protagonist?

“I’ll give you time to think. I know it’s hard to focus with all the painkillers.”

“How did you know I took painkillers?”

“A doctor knows his patients well.”

“Ah, right.”

“Think carefully about whether or not you can kill Han Si-Hoo. After all, he was your only friend... though I guess he isn’t anymore.”

That was insulting.
I should’ve made more friends while I could.
That way, I could’ve borrowed even more money.
As for killing Han Si-Hoo, I’d already made up my mind.

“...Are you really going to give me the meds?”

“A doctor doesn’t lie.”

“For life?”

“You’ll have an unlimited supply of the finest meds, more than you could ever need. I swear on my honor.”

Swearing on honor to someone like me?
He must really value his honor.
That means I can trust his word.

“Then of course I’ll...”

Of course I’ll kill him.

I almost said it but caught myself.
A wise person doesn’t speak carelessly.
On second thought, I might be misunderstanding something.

Would he still provide the meds while I was trying to kill Han Si-Hoo?
Or not?
The doctor only mentioned that I’d get the meds after I killed him.
He never said he’d support me in the meantime.

I nearly made a rash decision.

“So...”

Just as I was about to ask whether I’d get meds while I tried to kill Han Si-Hoo—

“I understand. That’s enough. The fact that you’re hesitating shows you’re not completely gone yet.”

“...”

The doctor cut me off, interpreting my silence as hesitation.

“You still have some feelings left for Han Si-Hoo, don’t you? So it’s not quite an overdose yet... You’ve been pretty restrained with the meds.”

He picked up one of the small vials from the table and examined it.
I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me or to himself.
The liquid inside sloshed as he turned it.

Restrained?

[8 hours 11 minutes]

I can see the timer, so I can always take the right amount at the right time.
I know exactly when the effects will wear off.

“Well, anyway. I’ll lie you back down so you can rest. I’ll be seeing you again soon.”

“What about the sleeping pills?”

I called after the doctor as he turned to leave.
Even if I felt good, I still wanted to sleep.

“You won’t need them.”

“Huh?”

Thud.

A sudden impact hit my head.

Weirdly enough, my eyes were closing on their own.
As expected of a doctor.