NoveLight ™
I need to use my medicine.
The medicine the doctor gave me was more effective.
I don't wish for much.
Just to spend time at home and rest comfortably.
Even lying down and staring at the ceiling would be nice.
"...Why?"
Han Si-Hoo asks back.
"Why do you want to go back?"
His expression feels a bit dark.
He speaks in a subdued voice.
"Because it's home...?"
I can't stay here any longer.
That's just common sense.
It's a burden on Han Si-Hoo too.
As friends, it’s good to care for each other.
[2 hours 17 minutes]
Time is still passing at a considerable speed.
Just being in front of the protagonist feels like a strain on my body.
[2 hours 15 minutes]
Everything is moving too quickly.
If my sense of time isn't distorted, then it really is.
Is the medicine I was given less effective than what the doctor prescribed?
I’m not feeling great.
"I need to take my medicine. I have some at home..."
"It's okay."
Okay?
It’s only okay when the medication is still effective.
The effect of a 100-hour medicine flickers in front of me.
I was genuinely happy back then.
At least I thought so.
"Is it alright for me to go home?"
But how do I get home?
I don't have enough medicine to walk.
"You can be treated."
"Treated?"
That means using the medicine to treat myself.
If I keep using it, my condition should improve.
Every time I use the medicine, I can tell I feel better.
I want to feel good quickly.
[2 hours 12 minutes]
For some reason, even though the medicine is still effective, I don’t feel good right now.
I can’t keep living like this, can I?
It’s a gray area.
I feel somewhat lucid yet also detached.
I really should take the medicine the doctor gave me.
"Yeah, you can be treated."
"Then what about the medicine?"
I need the medicine, so why aren’t they giving it to me?
Even if this is a narcotic, the basic purpose is treatment, so there shouldn't be a problem.
Narcotic medication is prescribed for seriously ill patients, right?
I can tell that my condition deteriorates every time the medicine wears off.
Thinking back, it’s chilling that I almost attacked Han Si-Hoo after taking some medicine.
The problem was the abuse of the drug, not the drug itself.
Right?
But it was the medicine the doctor prescribed?
I’m confused.
"I'm sorry."
Is he apologizing for not being able to give me the medicine?
"If you just get home..."
That's the only solution I know.
Han Si-Hoo might not have any medicine at all.
I should have just stayed holed up at home.
[2 hours 1 minute]
Time is running out.
I habitually rummage through my pockets, but I’m in patient clothes.
There are no pills.
Han Si-Hoo seems to be hesitating.
He looks like he's searching for words.
What do I do now?
I need to think.
But I can’t think straight.
Maybe it’s because I haven’t taken any medicine.
"If I go home, the doctor will come and give me medicine..."
I stopped mid-sentence.
Han Si-Hoo's expression looked strange.
His mood seems to darken at the mention of a doctor.
"...A doctor?"
Right, the doctor said that.
"What did the doctor do?"
Han Si-Hoo has come too close.
He grabbed my hand.
"Ah, ugh. That’s..."
Why is my body still trembling?
Honestly, even if it weren't Han Si-Hoo, I would feel this way with anyone approaching.
I didn't know I had social anxiety.
Is this something that happened because I didn’t take enough medicine?
"Did the doctor visit you at home?"
"Ah, yeah."
I nodded.
"How often did they visit?"
"Occasionally."
Of course, letting a stranger into my house isn’t a good idea.
But nothing serious happened, so it should have been okay, right?
I had nothing valuable in my house, so there shouldn’t have been any theft or anything similar.
The doctor didn’t stay long at my house.
He just dropped off the medicine and left.
Recently, he even brought me food.
There was some medicine in it, though.
"I'm sorry."
Han Si-Hoo let go of my hand.
[1 hour 28 minutes]
Again, time is slipping away quickly.
"The medicine must be outside. You can use it, so you don’t need to go home. Not yet."
"There's medicine?"
The medicine is outside?
That's right.
This is a medical room, after all.
Now that I think about it, Lee Yoo-Ram had given me medicine several times already.
I feel some energy returning.
It’s time to get up.
"I want to go out."
I was hiding in the corner because I didn’t have any medicine; it didn’t mean anything else.
I just preferred the darkness.
Han Si-Hoo no longer feels scary.
There’s nothing to be scared of when he’s giving me medicine, right?
Moreover, I don’t even have social anxiety.
I’m fine.
There was never really any problem from the beginning.
Creek.
The door opened.
Lee Yoo-Ram approached as he saw Han Si-Hoo come out.
"Ah? You came out together?"
He looks surprised as he sees Yu Seo-A following behind.
"Yes."
Han Si-Hoo looks somewhat worn out.
"Looks like friends are indeed friends."
He observes Yu Seo-A.
Her condition has definitely improved.
I can see her slightly unfocused gaze.
It feels a bit eerie.
"Did you have a good conversation?"
"To some extent."
Was the conversation really good?
"Really?"
"She said she wants to go home, and I think she wants to take her medicine."
Han Si-Hoo said that and sat Yu Seo-A down in a chair.
She sat down in the chair without much resistance.
Yu Seo-A didn’t reject Han Si-Hoo strongly.
"What about the medicine?"
Yu Seo-A asks Han Si-Hoo as if urging him.
"...Ah, I see. Just a moment."
Lee Yoo-Ram grabs a vial of medicine from the tray.
He fills a syringe with the medicine from the vial.
Yu Seo-A’s gaze is fixed on the vial.
"Alright, I’m going to roll up your sleeve."
"Okay."
Yu Seo-A rolls up her sleeve.
The wounds on her arm are revealed.
There are too many traces of being cut by a knife.
There are many marks where needles have entered and where she’s been stabbed.
Han Si-Hoo understands now why Seo-A had bandages wrapped around her.
Thud.
Another needle mark was added to her arm.
"This should help a bit."
"Thank you."
With those words, Yu Seo-A regained her smile.
It wasn’t the bright smile Han Si-Hoo hoped for.
Something fundamental seems twisted.
"Understand that it's hard to quit this kind of addiction cold turkey."
"What kind of injection is this?"
"A tranquilizer. It has some narcotic components. You should be fine for a while."
Lee Yoo-Ram said as he organized the medications.
"But about the wounds on your arm..."
"Yeah?"
Yu Seo-A lifted her arm for Han Si-Hoo to see.
There were wounds from hitting glass, cuts from knives, and self-inflicted wounds.
She had a lot of scars.
"This?"
The image of a broken mirror flashed back in his mind.
An arm soaked in blood.
"Ah, this?"
Where did the bandages go?
The bandages he had wrapped carefully are gone.
"I didn’t want to show you this..."
She said that as she lowered her sleeves.
She tried hard to cover her arm again, but it was too late.
There wasn’t really anything to call a wound or scar.
About six months ago, certainly, before Han Si-Hoo entered the academy.
He can picture Yu Seo-A wearing short sleeves in the summer heat.
Back then, they had fun playing together.
They enjoyed splashing in the puddles formed by the rain.
Now?
If he had to say, it feels broken.
Han Si-Hoo couldn’t shake that thought.
It was a fact.
"...For now, I think you need to take good care of Seo-A. She's your friend, right?"
Lee Yoo-Ram said that as he patted Seo-A’s head.
Yu Seo-A enjoyed the gentle touch with her half-closed eyes.
"Yes."
This time, I’ll keep her safe without mistakes.
I’ll go back to how it was before.
He answered, thinking that way.
"Well, it's break time now, right? There were many incidents during the graduation ceremony, and it didn’t end well... but it’s all over now. You’ll be moving up to high school too."
Lee Yoo-Ram said as if he was thinking about something.
It seemed almost like he was talking to himself.
"So, this is the academy’s medical room. You know it’s not a hospital, right?"
"Yes."
"This is only available to academy students. Especially during break."
Lee Yoo-Ram said while touching the inspection machines and medicine vials next to him.
The price of each supply easily surpasses hundreds of thousands.
It can’t be given to just anyone.
The cost of the medicine alone is significant.
"But Seo-A isn’t... a close family member, so she’s not eligible for academy benefits..."
Yu Seo-A isn’t an academy student.
Realizing that, Han Si-Hoo felt a sense of despair.
It wouldn’t be easy to take care of Seo-A within the academy.
"That’s true."
"She should be hospitalized in a regular hospital, but that seems complicated, right? It’s hard to get continuous protection at a regular hospital. It’s difficult to prevent anything that happens."
"Then, if I stay by her side during the break..."
"That’s a good idea, but what happens when the break is over? The treatment won’t be completed during the break."
It’s not a condition that will heal easily.
He knows how much medicine has been administered.
The scars on her arm come back to mind.
Han Si-Hoo grinds his teeth.
"Then..."
"I have a solution."
"A solution?"
"Make Seo-A an academy student. Then she’ll be able to stay at the academy as a student, right?"
"Huh?"
He asks back, surprised at the thought of making Seo-A an academy student.
"Is that possible?"
"Yeah. In fact, whether you like it or not, it’s going to happen."
Whether he likes it or not?
That sounds strange.
"To enter the academy, she has to be an Awakened..."
An Awakened?
With black mana and a black sword.
It seems strange to not be an Awakened.
"The academy has already decided to enroll her. A report has been filed stating that Seo-A was an Awakened who was captured by villains. It has been made known that you are friends."
Lee Yoo-Ram said with a sigh.
That’s how the law is set.
"You know? Once someone is confirmed to be an Awakened, they must be enrolled in the academy. So Seo-A will also become an academy student."
"But Seo-A was able to handle mana because of the drugs..."
That’s just a guess.
A drug that can turn anyone into an Awakened.
Is that even possible?
"As far as I know, there’s no drug that can artificially create an Awakened. The higher-ups would think the same. In fact, it’s more problematic if she’s not an Awakened."
Lee Yoo-Ram said that as he looked at Seo-A sitting next to him.
Is she listening to the conversation?
Yu Seo-A seems to be enjoying the drug effect with her half-closed eyes.
She looks like she’s about to fall asleep.
"Even if she is an Awakened, sending a sick girl to the academy..."
He spoke while looking at Yu Seo-A.
"The academy knows that too. Even if she enrolls, she will be assigned to a special class. Maybe they’ll give her personal tutoring."
"Special class?"
That’s something I’ve never heard of before.
"So, it’s because you were such an outstanding talent. Or should I say, a benefit? The higher-ups want to keep you from leaving the academy. As a condition to keep Seo-A at the academy. They hope you’ll be more compliant."
Lee Yoo-Ram reveals the academy's position.
The academy isn’t a place that’s that kind.
They've just discovered a means to keep Han Si-Hoo, the talent.
"Is that so?"
Han Si-Hoo nods as if he understands.
The academy has found a way to exploit him.
One of the reasons they hadn’t announced Yu Seo-A’s existence around him.
But since the situation has turned out this way, there’s nothing he can do.
"What the academy wants from Seo-A isn’t much. Even if the semester starts, there won’t be any classes. If there are, she’ll be separated from the other students and will receive classes alone. You can think of it as recuperation."
Still, the specifics won’t be known until they face it.
Lee Yoo-Ram swallowed the rest of his words.
He hadn’t heard of a special class either; that was the same for him.
It’s a class hastily assembled.
That means Han Si-Hoo is one of the academy’s key students.
As long as Han Si-Hoo doesn’t lose his usefulness, Yu Seo-A will be safe.
"What’s a little worrisome is... you mentioned living in the slums, right? You haven’t been attending school."
"Yes."
Lee Yoo-Ram slightly frowned.
He didn’t like the thought that there were kids who hadn’t received proper education.
"But Seo-A knows the basics, right? No matter how safe the academy is..."
If her level is too low, it could be dangerous.
Han Si-Hoo had at least some experience in the middle school division.
There were no problems with adapting.
"I think she’ll be okay."
Seo-A should be fine living at the academy.
Even if she’s innocent, she’s not completely foolish.
That’s how Han Si-Hoo felt.
As long as she doesn’t use drugs.
"Well, if you say so, then that’s probably true. If she receives treatment at the academy, Seo-A will be okay."
"Yes."
Everything seems to be resolving well.
I’m glad a solution has come up.
Han Si-Hoo no longer needs to resort to any extreme options he had in mind.
"Alright, then let’s take Seo-A with us."
"Wait, what?"
"Are you planning to stay here? It’s way past the time to close the medical room. Even though it’s break time now."
Lee Yoo-Ram speaks as if he’s tired.
He doesn’t know how many hours of overtime he has put in.
Teachers also need to rest during break.
"Now, the medicine is organized over there. You should take Seo-A to your dormitory. If anything happens, contact me immediately. I have some things to do outside, so I need to go."
"Yes..."
Under normal circumstances, Yu Seo-A wouldn’t have been able to receive treatment at the academy.
A civilian harmed by the activities of the academy?
Ignored, dealt with, or worse.
From the beginning, Han Si-Hoo was the only guardian Yu Seo-A had.
Yu Seo-A had been looking at the floor the entire time during their conversation.
More precisely, at the empty box that had fallen under the desk.
The box from which Lee Yoo-Ram took out the medicine.