Han Si-hu and Lena are having a conversation. Memories of being stabbed begin to resurface slowly.
He said it was a misunderstanding.
He said there was no intent behind it.
That must be true.

“Should I wait a little longer?”

After all, there is plenty of time.
There are many soft chairs on the first floor.
It’s a space meant for resting.

[13 hours 16 minutes]

The lights are off now, but it seems a small café operates during regular hours.
It’s unfortunate that it's vacation time.
No, it’s probably quiet because it’s vacation time, so that’s fine.

The sight of Han Si-hu and Lena looking out the window seemed quite comfortable.
I was worried that I might have caused them trouble, but it seems that wasn't the case.

It bothered me.

Why?
Maybe it’s a personal issue of Yoo Seo-ah.
If the person she thought was her best friend, Han Si-hu, considers someone else to be his closest friend instead.
There’s this unique feeling of misery that accompanies that thought.

“…Hmm.”

Han Si-hu isn’t my best friend.
It’s the medicine that truly is.
The best friend.
Hmm.
Thinking like that feels strange.

[13 hours 15 minutes]

There’s no reason for Han Si-hu to dislike being close with the other kids.
I wouldn’t drag Han Si-hu down to my level just because I don’t have friends.
It doesn’t bother me.
Lena attacked me once, so that’s a bit on my mind.

She’s the heroine.
Even if Yoo Seo-ah, who should have disappeared long ago, is a nuisance, it’s still a problem.
The story gets tangled.
It’s strange that I’m still here at this point.

I don’t know why I’m here.
Did I make the wrong choice?
I should have escaped from the academy.

“Ah…”

I slump into a soft chair and start to think.
While the effects of the medicine are in play, my thoughts flow easily.

Waiting is one of the things Yoo Seo-ah is good at.
Getting lost in daydreams when there’s nothing to do is also something she does well.
If I were at home, I would have gone outside to look at the sky.

I lie on the floor with a friend, looking at the stars floating in the sky.
The yard at home is not a soft grassy field.
It’s not that kind of yard.
Concrete.
But even a yard like that was nice.

There’s no light pollution there.
The air wasn’t bad either.
The factory attacked by monsters couldn’t spew out smoke.
I see stars that look like they might spill down.

I reach my hand toward the sky.
It’s the ceiling.
But there must be a sky beyond the ceiling.

Honestly, I don’t care much about the sky.
Having a friend next to me is perfect in itself.
I recall sparkling memories.

Still, the sky happened to be clear.
So, the thing I wanted to do.
Stargazing.

—“Si-hu, do you want to go stargazing together today?”

It felt strange to throw out that question.
At that time, Yoo Seo-ah was pure in a good way and foolish in a bad way.
She wasn’t particularly good with words.

—“Sorry, I rushed out… I have plans with a friend from the academy tonight.”

A refusal.

Still, the sky was clear.
Yoo Seo-ah lies alone, looking at the sky.
The sky is clear.
Stars seem to be falling.
Like rain.

It was really rain.
I think the smell of rain pooling on concrete isn’t bad either.
Yoo Seo-ah got wet in the rain for quite a long time.
Even if it was cold, it didn’t feel that cold.

Maybe that’s why she started coughing a bit more the next day.
It’s a consequence of her own actions, so there’s nothing to say.

Honestly, I didn’t care much about the sky.
Because I had a friend next to me.
But she wasn’t there.
The empty space felt hollow.

Yoo Seo-ah knew it back then too.
She knew she was of no use.
Even if she wanted to do something for Han Si-hu, she had no way to.
It was impossible to become someone recognized in this world.

Being with Han Si-hu was also impossible.
Everyday life like before wouldn’t return.
Because she didn’t have the ability to maintain her daily life.

Incompetence.
That’s the problem.
In the end, she gets angry at herself.

[13 hours 8 minutes]

Now I can’t see the sky.
I only see the ceiling and the numbers.

Anyway, just like before, I reach my hand toward the sky.
I make a wish.
Even if there’s no falling star, I still make a wish.

I wish that no one would care if I disappeared.
Actually, I didn’t need to wish for the latter part.
The first part was something I could do by myself just fine.

Should I ask to escape even now?
Thinking rationally, that seems right.
But it’s too late since I’ve already taken the medicine.
I even broke the measuring device, so it’s far too late.

But even now, I’m not completely powerless, am I?
I can do something.
Yeah, I’ve gained some strength.

So, what can I do?
If I use the medicine, I can mimic an awakened person.
But there’s a condition attached to that: not getting caught using the medicine.
Thinking it through, it’s useless.

“Seo-ah?”

It’s Han Si-hu.
It seems he has finished his conversation.

“Sorry, I’m late. When did it end?”

[13 hours 4 minutes]

“About ten minutes ago…”

What could he have talked about with Lena?
I can’t guess.
There’s nothing I can do about my curiosity.
What if he talked about me?

“I see. So, shall we head back now? Or is there somewhere you want to go?”

“Somewhere I want to go?”

“Yeah.”

The thought I had just a moment ago.
Going to see the stars together, that thing.
It doesn’t seem bad.

“Then let’s go together…”

But Han Si-hu is busy.
He has a lot of friends.
He’s the type of person who doesn’t have time to play with Seo-ah.

“Together…”

“Hmm? You can say anything.”

“…No. I’ll tell you later.”

“Tell me anytime.”

I don’t know many places in the academy.
I’ve seen a rough map of the academy, but that’s about it.

“Oh, and Seo-ah. If it’s okay, there’s someone who wants to apologize about the last time…”

Is it Lena?

“I see.”

“If you don’t want to, just tell me. If you’re fine with it, she wants to come to apologize… since it might be hard for you.”

“No.”

“Are you sure it’s okay? If you think it’s not, just let me know. It’s really fine. If you don’t want to receive an apology…”

“I’m fine.”

If apologizing eases her mind.
She’s the heroine, after all; it makes sense for her to get along well with the protagonist.
It wouldn’t be good if things got twisted because of me.
If I had died, it would have taken a significant amount of time to mend the relationship.

“Oh, that’s a relief. Then stay here. I’ll call her over.”

Saying that, he heads outside the building.
Han Si-hu believes he’s doing the right thing.
He always does.
That’s why he’s the protagonist.

The person who tried to kill me is coming back.
But now I have strength.

[13 hours 2 minutes]

If things go south, I can kill her.
If necessary, I could stab her too.

Oh, medicine, oh, medicine.
I need a weapon.

—Pop.

A black dagger forms in my hand.
Nice.
When should I stab her?
I’ll stab her before she attacks.
So I have to prepare in advance.

“…Prepare?”

Prepare what?
A dagger is held in my hand.
Was I going to kill her?
Lena?
Han Si-hu’s friend?

—It’s too strong a medicine.
—It wasn’t made to be used on people.

The warning that Lee Yu-ram gave flashes through my mind.

—It’s military-grade medication.

It’s a drug made for fighting.
It’s not surprising that it shows strong aggression.
This is troublesome.

“Disperse.”

I said toward the dagger.
It doesn’t disappear.

If Han Si-hu comes back and sees this, there will be a problem.
Lena will be with him, right?
This time, it might not just be an attempt to kill.

It’s a plausible situation.
This isn’t what I want.

“Disperse, disappear.”

The dagger remains right where it is.
This isn’t good.

“I said to disappear…”

I began to feel overwhelmed with fear.
This is dangerous.

[12 hours 33 minutes]

There’s no time left.
It’s because I created a weapon.
The speed at which time disappears is fast.

In the end, it leads to panic.

“Why, why? Why isn’t it disappearing?”

Last time, it simply vanished.
What’s different now?

“Is it because I’m not using it and telling it to disappear?”

If that’s the reason, I can understand.
Honestly, I wanted to stab her.
A revenge for the pain she caused.

She should experience the same.
Not just the same.
Stronger, more miserably, more, more, more.
I will watch her fall into ruin.

“Shut up.”

This kind of malice is unfamiliar to me.
The hatred is too strong.
I didn’t expect strong medicine to mean this.

The dagger still hasn’t disappeared.

—Thunk.

I stabbed the desk with the dagger.
Isn’t this enough to have served its purpose?
They say if you draw a sword, you should at least cut something.
So I try to cut something.
It still doesn’t disappear.

“…Seo-ah?”

I’ve been found out.
Han Si-hu has returned.
It’s not like he went far; he should come back quickly.
Han Si-hu stands in front of me.
Behind him, Lena follows.
Both of them freeze at the sight of me.

“Oh. This is…”

The situation I dreaded is about to unfold.
I’ve become a threatening figure again.
That villain they call it.

“This is, uh…”

This time, there’s no doctor beside me.
So no one can take the arrows for me.
I don’t understand why the dagger won’t disappear.

“…Seo-ah.”

Han Si-hu calls my name.
His voice is calm, as if trying to reassure me.
But doesn’t this scene feel familiar?
It was like this last time too.
He tried to calm me down and then intended to kill me the next day.

The dagger is still gripped in my hand.
It hasn’t disappeared.
Even as I wish for it to vanish, there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to let it go.
Lena, who stabbed me, is standing right there.
I feel an impulse that I should do something with this knife.

“Seo-ah, calm down.”

Does Han Si-hu trust me?
Or what thoughts cross his mind seeing me like this?
He’ll probably try to deal with me.

Right.
They said if you act strange after taking the medicine, you’ll be dealt with.
I never thought things would spiral out of control this quickly.

I’m going to die.

“Why, why are you looking at me like that?”

I know the reason.
It’s because of the knife.
For some reason, this familiar dagger won’t disappear.
It feels natural that it wouldn’t fall from my hand now.

I looked at Lena.
Lena seemed to want to say something but then closed her mouth.

“Disperse…”

I mutter in a tiny voice.
I hope the dagger disappears.
But it doesn’t.

“I’m not really trying to attack.”

I say to Han Si-hu, who is approaching.
Is he trying to subdue me?
Just like last time?

“Wait, really. So, just give me a moment.”

[11 hours 52 minutes]

Time is disappearing.
I can’t let this happen.

“I’m not planning to attack—”

But isn’t this a good opportunity?
I think it’s okay to kill someone like Lena.

Oh, medicine, I need a weapon.

A longsword appears in my left hand.
A black longsword.
This is better than a dagger.

I check where Lena is positioned.
She seems to be retreating.
She managed to come behind me while I was distracted.
I need to be careful.

“…No, I…”

My head hurts.
The hand that naturally reached to my head is still holding the dagger.
It looks strange to say I’m not planning to attack.
My words have already lost their persuasion.

I truly wasn’t planning to attack.
Just a moment ago, I was reminiscing about happy memories.