He walks again.
Walking clears his mind. Seo-Ah is not beside him.

He should have just stayed with her.

Drugs or not, if it was an unsolvable problem, being together would have been better.
Of course, he had wanted that.
Han Si-Hoo wasn’t keen on entering the academy either.

This is how the story began.
First of all, they didn’t have any money.
Money was always scarce.
But then Seo-Ah got sick.
Even a few thousand or tens of thousands of won for medicine was a huge burden in their situation.

So, he had to make money.
The more he grew, the more money he could make.
For example, by hunting monsters that appeared nearby.
He could sell usable parts or non-evaporating items from the monster corpses and make some money.

He realized later that it was a form of smuggling.
Selling unverified items.
In some cities, no one cared.
But here, things were different.

Monster hunts only happened in specific areas.
It seemed even the city had taken an interest.
When he arrived at areas where monster appearances had been detected or reported, the monsters were already dead.
And this kept happening for a while.

So, the conclusion was clear.
A rather strong Awakened was secretly active in the area.

"It’s not a group but an individual. Impressive for someone so young."

Two professors from the academy and one Awakened from the outside.
In total, three people had tracked down Han Si-Hoo.
There may have been more watching from the shadows.

"So you live in the slums? You must have a residence nearby. We can’t let talent like this go to waste."

"Oh, by the way, we’re professors. How about joining the academy?"

The offer for admission came immediately.

"...Weren’t you planning to arrest me?"

"You’re not confirmed to be a villain. There have been some troubling incidents nearby, sure."

"That’s true."

"Anyway, student. Well, you’re not a student yet, but how about joining the academy? It’s a great opportunity to grow as an Awakened under the purpose of protecting humanity."

Han Si-Hoo felt uneasy the moment they mentioned arrest.
It was clear this wasn’t something he could refuse easily.

"Ah, do you have family? If so, we have protective facilities."

Protection?
There was no way he could trust that.
He had never seen any decent place among those called protective facilities.
Seo-Ah was safer outside.

These people were suspicious.
They were stronger Awakened than Han Si-Hoo.
He had to be extra careful.

"So, you’ve been living alone? You’re not part of any hunting group, right?"

He had no choice but to answer that way.

"Long-term unregistered Awakened are subject to penalties, but since you’re young, you... should be fine."

Thus, his academy tour was forced.
If he had said no, he would have been arrested or dealt with.
He narrowly avoided being mistaken for a villain operating near the city.
The cost was entering the academy.
It was practically forced.

"So you were living outside? Don’t worry, the academy provides dorms."

He followed his instincts.
Seo-Ah’s existence must not be discovered.

These people were monsters.
Behind their kindness, there was malice.

Had Han Si-Hoo shown even a hint of reluctance, he might have never been able to return to Seo-Ah.

The academy tour was completed somehow.
He returned home.
It had taken two full days.
He had completed registration as an official Awakened and went through the temporary admission process.
Only then was he able to leave the academy.

Two days was a long time.
He hadn’t been able to tell Seo-Ah anything before disappearing.
But somehow, he made it back.

"Where have you been?"

Seo-Ah was waiting in front of Han Si-Hoo’s house.
They lived near each other, but Seo-Ah’s house and Si-Hoo’s house were separate.
Having one house per person felt like living quite well.
It was close to a game of house.

"...Something came up."

"Where did you go?"

Disappearing without a word for two days was the problem.
What should he say?
I was dragged away?
Han Si-Hoo couldn’t find the right words.

"The academy."

"The academy...?"

"Yeah. It looks like I’ll be attending the academy."

It was almost forced.
But he didn’t want Seo-Ah to worry.
He pretended it was his decision.

"Why?"

"It’ll be better. I can make a lot of money."

"Why didn’t you tell me?"

"Sorry. It was decided suddenly."

"What are you talking about..."

Seo-Ah spoke in confusion.
Of course, she wouldn’t understand.

But if he didn’t attend the academy... running away was the only option.
Even taking Seo-Ah with him to another region seemed impossible, and the academy had already set up measures to prevent Han Si-Hoo from fleeing.
The moment he signed the admission contract was the problem.
There was now minimal surveillance on him.

If he tried to escape and got caught, a child without guardians in the slums would be sent to a facility.
And if he was mistaken for a villain, it would be even worse.

"Don’t go."

"We don’t have much money."

"I-I’ll make money!"

"It’s better if I go. I’ll still come here often, so don’t worry."

He had no choice but to go.
Even if the academy couldn’t be trusted, there might be ways to take advantage of it.
From what he had learned during the tour, the amount of money given to students was enormous.
They were in need of money, after all.

"......"

By this point, Seo-Ah was already addicted to the drugs.
The cost of the drugs was rising.

"I’m sorry. I came back late without saying anything. The academy sent someone, and I went to meet them."

What would Seo-Ah’s reaction be if he told her he was practically forced into the academy?
Han Si-Hoo believed it was better to handle it on his own.
He thought he could use the academy to his advantage.

In hindsight, it was around this time that Seo-Ah started wearing long sleeves.
She often held her arms behind her back, probably to hide the scars.

"S-So, when do you leave for the academy?"

"Next week."

"I see."

"Yeah."

His head was spinning, thinking about how to handle the academy.
He thought, somehow. Somehow, it would work out.
That was his mindset.

"Well, if you’ve decided to go, I can’t stop you. Good luck."

Seo-Ah spoke as if she had resigned herself to the situation, as if it didn’t matter.
There was no sign of anxiety.

"If someone from the academy came to get you, you must be really special."

She said with a smile.

"I’ll still come here often. I might not stay at the academy for long. I could quit soon."

That’s what he thought.
At least until he realized how big the rewards were from the academy.

"I see."

There was no problem for Seo-Ah.
And the academy provided huge rewards.
So there was no reason to quit.

"I’m sorry."

But if Seo-Ah hated him being at the academy, he would have to find a solution.
That’s what he thought.

One week after transferring to the academy.

Han Si-Hoo received more money than he had ever held in his life.
It was given under the name of activity funds.
With this, there would be no more issues with living expenses or paying for the drugs.
If he saved up, they could even move to a better place.

At sunset, he took some time to visit Seo-Ah’s house.
He gave her all the money he had received.
Seo-Ah didn’t seem as interested in the money as he expected.

After hesitating for a moment, Seo-Ah spoke.

"Si-Hoo, do you want to go look at the stars tonight?"

It wasn’t the question he had expected.
It wasn’t about money or the academy.
It was just a simple suggestion to go stargazing.

"Can’t you?"

He had a promise.
A promise with the academy.
If he didn’t want to attract attention, he had to return quickly.

"...Sorry. I have plans tonight."

"With who?"

It was a promise with the academy.
He had to go back.

"Oh, a friend."

It was a meaningless excuse.
He just didn’t want to tell her the truth, though it seemed strange not to.

"Ah, so you had plans tonight, with a friend..."

She tried not to show her disappointment, acting like it didn’t matter.

"I was just saying. Don’t worry about it."

At the time, Han Si-Hoo thought Seo-Ah would be fine.
There was still plenty of time, and even if she seemed a little disappointed, he could make it up to her later.
After all, he had earned a lot of money, so it wasn’t all bad.

"I’m glad to hear you’re doing well at the academy."

But this was the last chance to maintain his relationship with Seo-Ah.
He shouldn’t have gone back to the academy.
What if he had gone to look at the stars with her that night?

Maybe Seo-Ah had wanted to talk about the drugs.
Maybe she would have asked for help, saying something felt wrong.

Even if Seo-Ah hadn’t said anything, maybe Han Si-Hoo would have noticed something was off.

But he didn’t realize.
Perhaps he was trying to convince himself there was no problem.
He told Seo-Ah he would come back again later.
There would be another chance, after all.

"Goodbye..."

And with that, Han Si-Hoo left.
Now there was no one left to talk to.

If you think about it, this was the point of no return.
They had crossed the river of no recovery.

"Sorry."

He apologized, but no one could hear him.

Even starting from the slums, he believed they could climb higher.
Though there were many people not to be trusted, there were still heroes worth respecting.

But there were too many pieces of trash.
Even so, Han Si-Hoo believed he was different from that trash.

But now, he wasn’t sure what made him different.
What was he trying to do?
Kidnap Lee Yoo-Ram’s younger sister?
Take her hostage and threaten her?

"Sorry."

He was just like the others.
Lee Yoo-Ram was just trying to protect her own family.
Seo-Ah had her own desires.
Though she failed as a teacher, it was hard to say her younger sister was guilty too.
How was this any different from what the doctor had done?

Even so, he wanted to kill the doctor.
At least hear the reason why.
And then kill him in the most painful way possible.

But there was no need to extend that suffering to others.
That wouldn’t be right.
No, he would still be willing to bear that if it meant he could kill the doctor.
He wanted to deal with him.
He hated the idea of that person existing in his memories.
He wanted him gone from his life for good.

More than that, though...
He just wanted to go home.

He should have gone stargazing with her.

Han Si-Hoo stood there, on the street.
A street with no one walking by.
No cars, no people.
The streetlights shone lonely in the night.

In truth, Han Si-Hoo had no friends.
The time he spent with the kids at the academy was nothing compared to the time he spent with Seo-Ah.
It was a sudden realization.
Han Si-Hoo had no friends to share old memories with.

He was alone.