"Will you bring it for me?"

I feel a bit sorry asking him to fetch the medicine.
But since I can’t go outside, there’s nothing I can do.
I need the medicine with better effects than what I have now.
I would have preferred to go get the medicine myself without bothering anyone, but since Han Si-Hoo is stopping me, I have to ask him.

Han Si-Hoo hesitates after hearing my request.

"I don’t just use medicine carelessly. If I did, I would have died a long time ago; there wouldn’t be any left at home."

This means there's no need to place the medicine somewhere high.
Even if it’s right in front of me, I know how to use it well.

The doctor was surprised that I had medicine left.
I have decent self-control when it comes to that.
If I didn’t, I would have already been at a funeral by now.

"So please bring it. Okay?"

I keep trying to persuade him.
No matter how I think about it, the more medicine I have, the better.
If I were to run out of medicine and not be able to use any, it would be a big problem.

"I'm completely fine right now. I can just sit here by myself."

I added more words because he seemed worried.
What I’m using now is the medicine provided at the academy.
It should have passed sufficient safety tests.
I wonder where it’s sold.

"I haven’t used any dangerous drugs."

What would count as a dangerous drug?
A drug that would make me want to kill Han Si-Hoo?
A drug that would cause me to get killed by the protagonist.

Of course, even if such a drug existed, it had the advantage of letting me feel emotions vividly.
But it’s still too risky to use.
I don’t even know how it relates to my treatment.

It was indeed a strange drug.
At that time, I couldn’t control my body.
I could barely control my thoughts.
It’s clear from how I hated Han Si-Hoo for no reason.
I never expected I would attack him.

Now that I’m not using such dangerous drugs, there shouldn’t be a problem.
And I don’t plan to use them in the future.

"...Okay. I’ll go home and check."

Han Si-Hoo agreed.

"Wow."

I’m looking forward to it.
He really will bring it.

"I have to check anyway..."

Han Si-Hoo murmured.
I don’t know what the check is, but I’m sure he’ll do it well.
As long as he brings me the medicine, the rest doesn’t matter.

"But before that..."

Han Si-Hoo continued.

"Huh?"

"Aren’t you hungry?"

"A bit."

One of the advantages of using the medicine is that I don’t feel too hungry.
Still, if I skip meals too often, my body will lack strength.
I need to eat something.

Now that I think about it, I haven’t eaten anything properly since yesterday.
If I’m not hungry, that’s even stranger.

"I’ll make you breakfast."

Han Si-Hoo said confidently.
It seems like he wants to lighten the atmosphere.
He clears the paper bag from the table and takes out some dishes.

"Breakfast?"

"Yeah."

Does Han Si-Hoo cook well?
There hasn’t been any mention of his cooking skills in the story.
I thought he always just went out to eat.

"...It’s good."

To sum it up, it was better than I expected.
I enjoyed the fried rice Han Si-Hoo prepared.
Is it because he’s the protagonist? He cooks well too.
It’s definitely better than the canned tuna I had at home.

[5 hours 8 minutes]

I have confidence that anything will taste good while the medicine is still effective.
Well, it was delicious.
He didn’t just add the medicine like the doctor would.

"Are you okay?"

Han Si-Hoo asks from the side.

"Yeah."

I’m smiling, aren’t I?
Of course, I’m fine.
Does my pensive look seem strange to him?
I think this peaceful everyday life is nice.
If only Han Si-Hoo would bring me the medicine, it would be perfect.

"Here you go."

I accepted what Han Si-Hoo handed me.

"A phone?"

"It’s something similar. Just call the stored numbers if something happens, or press this button."

I know what this is.
If you’re an academy student, you have to have one.
When I went to find Han Si-Hoo at the academy, I could have contacted him through this device.

"Uh-huh."

I fiddled with the device I received.
It doesn’t seem very different from a basic smartphone, but I know it has various added functions.

Han Si-Hoo had his phone separately from this device.
It’s amazing that he can give me one of these.

"Don’t go outside until I get back."

He said firmly.

"The academy is probably safe, but you never know. For safety's sake."

"Okay."

I wasn’t planning to go out anyway.
If I do, the effects of the medicine will probably wear off even more.

"I’ll leave one syringe behind. Use it if you need it, and contact me in case of an emergency."

I don’t know how many syringes are supposed to be used in a day.
Having an extra won’t hurt.

"Okay. Come back safely."

I saw him off.

Han Si-Hoo stepped out of the dormitory, having seen Seo-A off.
It seemed that Seo-A’s condition had improved.
He hadn’t expected Yeon-Hwa to come by.
Thanks to her visit, he realized Seo-A was capable of interacting with people to some extent.

She had said she received a gift, that she had received it on his behalf.
It’s not a special relationship or anything.
He couldn’t fathom what Seo-A was thinking.
A strange sense of guilt pricked at his heart.
He recalled Seo-A saying he had many close friends.

Leaving Seo-A behind weighed on his mind, but he needed to confirm something.
If he could bring the medicine Seo-A used to Lee Yoo-Ram, he might find out what kind of medication it was.
Perhaps he could also gain useful information for her treatment.

As Han Si-Hoo walked, various thoughts crossed his mind.
The air was still cold.
He could see people working to repair the academy due to yesterday’s attack.

"Is that barrier still under repair?"
"Yeah. It’s taking time to clean up the monster corpses."
"An academy attack? What in the world..."

He overheard the conversations of the people around him.

Due to the massive outburst of monsters, the academy buildings were heavily damaged.
According to the whispers, there was a traitor from within.

Han Si-Hoo recalled the figure of the doctor dressed in black.
He also remembered Seo-A standing with the doctor.
A strange anger bubbled up within him, causing him to bite his lip.

Han Si-Hoo contemplated the reasons why the doctor had made Seo-A fight against him.
He had barely slept last night due to worry.
In the end, no conclusion came to him.
There was too little information.

Would there be any clues if he went to Seo-A’s house?
Perhaps he could find out what had happened with the doctor.
It had been quite some time since he had last visited.

"I found it."

Seo-A’s neighborhood was quiet.
It was cleaner than one would expect from a slum.
Even if it was clean, it was still shabby.

It was so rundown that he questioned if it really was her house.

For some reason, it looked worse than before.
Seo-A usually took good care of her living space.
She was a kid who liked to clean whenever she had the chance.

Creak.

The door was ajar.
It seemed they hadn’t locked it from the start.

"Ah..."

The inside of the house was quite messy.

Broken glass shards scattered about.
Something was smeared across the walls and floors.

Han Si-Hoo carefully pushed the shards aside with his shoe.
The state of the house was more serious than he had anticipated.

If Seo-A were the person he remembered, she would never leave the house in this state.
Everything was different from the last time he visited.

He pressed the switch to turn on the lights, but all he heard was a spark.

"The lights are broken too."

A few hypotheses came to mind.
Perhaps a thief had broken in while Seo-A was away.
Or maybe she hadn’t maintained the house for an extended period.

Han Si-Hoo scanned the table.

"There’s a bottle with medicine in it... here."

It was a bottle with blue medicine inside.
At least it seemed that no one had come into the house and taken the medicine.

If he were to simply grab what Seo-A needed and leave, he could easily do that, but the house was too messy for that.
He needed to find out what had happened.

A number of terrible scenes came to mind just thinking about it.
What had happened to Seo-A?

Thud.

He righted a fallen chair.
The more he looked around the house, the more anxious he became.
The only thing that looked organized was the medicine.

"Is that a box?"

Han Si-Hoo discovered a white box under the desk.
It was a plastic box meant for medical supplies.
Inside were multiple syringes and disinfectants.

A piece of paper at the bottom of the box contained instructions on how to use the syringes.
Aside from that, there was nothing of importance.

Han Si-Hoo closed the box.
Now it was time to search the next room.

Creek.

The creaking of the hinges sounded particularly loud.
The doorknob of the room was broken.

"Ugh."

Inside the room, there were piles of scrap metal that looked like they were picked up nearby.
A few rebar pieces, a heap of rusty chains, and some rope.

"Why are these in the house?"

He couldn’t grasp what Seo-A had used these for.
Perhaps it wasn’t Seo-A who had used them.
Let’s assume it wasn’t her.
What had they been used for?

He remembered Seo-A saying the doctor had come to her house.
If that were the case, did the doctor leave these things behind?

Han Si-Hoo felt a headache coming on.
Something was terribly wrong.

"...A mirror?"

It reflected light from the stained floor.
Following the trace, he reached a cracked mirror in the bathroom.
Next to the broken mirror were faint bloodstains.

"Why?"

Han Si-Hoo muttered while looking at the blood smeared on the wall.
What had happened?

The cracked mirror had a piece of the edge missing.

Han Si-Hoo took a long time to process what he was seeing.
Even after seeing it with his eyes, he didn’t understand what had happened.

What had Seo-A done?
Or what had been done to her?

It was cut.
Why?
Just scratched on the corner. It’s nothing to worry about.

The conversation he had shared with Seo-A came back to him.
It had been cut, scratched on the corner.
Because of the mirror?

Why?
Because of the medicine?

It’s hard to imagine Seo-A, who always smiled, shattering a mirror by her own choice.

Was it the doctor’s doing?
Or was it a side effect of the medicine?
There were dozens of possibilities.

The most certain thing would be to go ask Seo-A herself.

"...Hah."

This is more serious than I thought.
Something has gone terribly wrong.
What was Han Si-Hoo doing all this time?
He had been enjoying life at the academy.
Enjoying.

Seo-A had been without protection.
Why hadn’t he properly taken care of her?

He couldn’t understand why he thought everything would be fine.
Of course, it was true that Seo-A had pushed him away with hatred.
Regardless of whether Seo-A refused him, he should have confirmed her situation somehow.

Han Si-Hoo looked at his reflection in the broken mirror.
He looked troubled.

He should have thought more about it.
He shouldn’t have let it slide, thinking Seo-A would be fine with minimal support.

"Damn it."

He looked around the house a few more times, but no matter how he looked, it was not a place someone could live.
In particular, the scrap metal piled up in the room made no sense at all.

The Seo-A he remembered always kept her house tidy.
It had given off a cozy and clean impression.
The contrast between the cold present and the cozy past was immense.

"Why..."

Seo-A hadn’t mentioned the state of her house.
She had asked him to bring her medicine as if there was no problem at all.
As if she were completely unaware of the condition of her home.

From any angle, this place looks like a mess.
It’s hard to believe it’s where a person lives.

Han Si-Hoo examined the medicine bottle on the table.
About half of the blue medicine remained in it.
The other half was the amount Seo-A had used.

He had never intended to take this medicine back to Seo-A as is.
First, he needed to hand it over to Lee Yoo-Ram or someone else who could help analyze it.

His eyes fell on a drawer under the table.

Click.

He opened the drawer.
Inside were a broken hair tie and a black ribbon.

This was definitely the ribbon Han Si-Hoo had given Seo-A when she was about ten years old.
As he recalled that fact, he took the ribbon with him.

A gift.
Is it a gift?

Seo-A had folded a paper crane for him in return for the ribbon.
There had been a torn origami book found in the trash.
Unfortunately, an important page was ripped out, resulting in a paper crane that didn’t look like one.
But it had been a decent gift.

Click.

He opened the adjacent drawer as well.
This time, there was a small notebook inside.

Han Si-Hoo opened the notebook.
It was filled with Seo-A's notes.