Seo Ah… is she still alive?  
Is there any chance of returning to a normal life with her?  

Shihu is not bad at studying.  
He clearly understood what was taught at school, and what he learned is that possibilities always exist.  

Throwing a coin ten times and getting heads every time.  
It’s possible.  
Even if you increase the number of tosses to a hundred, it’s still possible.  

What if you throw it a thousand times?  
Possible.  
What about ten thousand?  
Still possible.  
The probability of getting heads every single time—even after tens of millions, hundreds of millions of tosses—is always present.  

Even if it's close to zero, it's still not zero.  
In some ways, miracles are not miracles.  
It’s just that the probability is incredibly low.  

So, theoretically,  
Theoretically, Seo Ah is still alive.  
Or, she could be alive.  

If the probability is low, one could somehow increase it using abilities.  
The very existence of Awakened individuals is already miraculous.  

So hope always exists.  

*Bang.*  

Did the doctor shoot a real gun?  
Did Seo Ah get shot?  
Was there a possibility that everything was a hologram?  
Neither the doctor nor Seo Ah was found in the collapsed building.  

Then, could she really be alive?  
It was only after the purification penalty disappeared that such a thought crossed my mind.  

It’s just a theory.  
The problem is, I can’t be sure whether her survival would actually be a good thing.  
I wonder if something like what was shown in the picture really happened.  

Is the photo real or fake?  
If it’s real, when and who took it?  
And why did someone decide to show it to me?  

But still, it’s better that Seo Ah is alive than dead.  
A million times better.  
So, I hope the photo is fake, but at the same time, I wish it were real.  
But even if the photo is real…  
I still don’t know if Seo Ah is alive.  

“I think I get it.”  

Who could be the one messing around?  
The Saintess.  
I have no idea why she would do such a thing.  

“Hmm?”  

The Saintess looks at me, seemingly confused.  
She’s acting.  
But it’s too clumsy.  
Is she surprised because my reaction isn’t what she expected?  

Shihu thinks of the best course of action.  
He wonders how far he should let the Saintess fool him.  

“Shihu, what’s the photo about?”  

I calm my desire to ask if she really doesn’t know.  
What’s the best way to approach this?  
Where should I go to extract information from the Saintess?  

“Yeah, what is this about?”  

My voice trembles slightly, but it’s inevitable.  
I’m angry.  
My childhood friend is being trampled and laughing, but I want to interrogate the Saintess right away.  
The Saintess still stands there, acting like she knows nothing.  

Shihu keeps thinking.  
He arrives at a conclusion.  

“What’s going on?”  

“…It’s not really the place to talk about this.”  

The alley is too exposed.  
And it’s awkward to talk here.  
So where should we go?  

The academy is no good since the Saintess isn’t a student.  
A bookstore might have people watching.  

“Hmm, then?”  
Let’s go to the Saintess’s house.  

“To your place?”  

“My place?”  
To the place full of information.  
In fact, even if she refuses, I plan to enter eventually.  

“Uh… Um, well, it’s a bit messy. But, yeah, okay. We’re going now? It’s a bit far.”  

“Yeah.”  

Where does the Saintess live, anyway?  

---

### **At the outskirts of the city, a house has been secured.**  
It’s an area that failed during a past new city development.  
It’s almost uninhabited.  
If we go about ten blocks further, it won’t even be considered part of the city anymore.  

I never thought I’d end up at the house with Shihu.  
Especially today.  

Before I knew it, we were in front of the house.  

“Uh, wait a minute. I’ll clean up first.”  

The house needs some cleaning.  

“Okay.”  

Wow.  
Shihu’s at the house.  
Shihu’s here.  

I unlock the door and go inside.  
It’s clean.  
But there are things that are hard to show.  
Like syringes, for example.  

*Click.*  

The door doesn’t close.  
I turn around and see Shihu holding the doorknob.  

“Shihu?”  

“……”  

It seems like he has something to say.  

“Sh-Shihu, what’s wrong?”  

“It’s nothing, I just wanted to say something.”  

“Hmm?”  

I’m feeling uneasy.  
Something feels wrong.  

*Bang.*  

The door slams against the wall.  
Shihu opened it all the way.  

“So, where did you get this photo from?”  

Huh?  
The photo I found earlier?  
Is he asking me?  
Where did I get it from?  

“Huh?”  

What did Shihu just say?  
My mind freezes.  

“I know you’re behind this.”  

He knows?  
How?  
Shihu’s angry, and maybe it’s because of me.  
He’s sure of it.  
Would he believe me if I denied it?  

“Why…?”  

“The reason is what I want to ask.”  

“…It’s just that there’s some misunderstanding.”  

“Yeah. If you’re going to act like that, then…”  

Shihu steps a little closer.  

“Ah, uh.”  

I’ve been caught.  
But I don’t know where I’ve been caught.  

I suddenly remember what Seol Haejin said.  
Shihu isn’t normal.  

I try to understand why he said that.  
This isn’t the usual Shihu I know.  
He’s intimidating.  

*Bang.*  

Shihu grabs my shoulder.  

“Please, just tell me everything now.”  

“Ah…”  

“Please.”  

It’s my fault.  
Maybe I should have just told him everything from the start.  
I’ll say it all.  
Why didn’t I speak honestly earlier?  

Because I could have been misunderstood as the one who put Seo Ah in the lab.  
Even if it wasn’t me, she would’ve been dragged somewhere anyway.  

“……”  

How should I explain this?  
My head feels fuzzy.  

“If you don’t say anything, I’ll find out on my own.”  

“W-What, I mean…”  

I just wanted to get closer to you.  
I thought maybe you wouldn’t open up.  

Thinking about it, that was a really underhanded move.  
It seems like it was.  
But it’s strange to confess like this after getting this far.  

“Answer me.”  

I can’t speak.  
I really don’t know how I got caught.  

I have to say something.  
Anything.  

“So, uh, yeah. She’s already dead. She’s already dead, so…”  

I said she was dead.  
My head is a mess, and I just blurted something out.  

“……”  

She’s probably dead.  
If she’s not, that’s even more of a problem.  

“Explain the photo. Who took it, where, why? How did you get it?”  

I don’t really know either.  

“It was from the government files when I raided them. I thought it was your friend, so I was too scared to just show it... I was curious about what kind of relationship you had…”  

“What are you saying?”  

“…Ah, I mean, it said your friend’s name in the file, but there’s no way your friend would be in a photo like that, so…”  

“What…”  

Shihu doesn’t seem to understand either.  
The lie is covering up the lie.  

There’s a brief silence.  
Shihu, who was about to enter the house, is standing still.  
It’s not good if he comes in.  
I didn’t clean up the drugs last time.  

Actually, it’s not just the drugs I didn’t clean up…  
I’m just naturally messy.  
The house is just dirty.  
Ah, why did I invite him?  

No, Shihu must have come here with this in mind.  
He’s suspicious of me.  
That’s probably it.  

“Seo Ah is dead? What are you talking about?”  

Shihu speaks again.  

“…The file said she was already dead.”  

It’s a plausible excuse.  

“Where’s this file?”  

I can’t read Shihu’s expression.  

“I threw it away…”  

“Stop lying.”  

“……”  

It’s a lie.  
I didn’t mean for it to go like this.  

“I’m going in.”  

“No, you can’t.”  

I try my best to block him.  
I don’t want it to go this far.  

“Then tell me properly. What happened?”  

“Sorry… I…”  

I just have a headache.  
Why did it turn out like this?  
Why?  
I’m the one

 who let these useless thoughts get to me.  

Maybe I should take some drugs.  
Shihu won’t make a big fuss about it anyway.  

“Sorry, just come in. It’s messy, but…”  

Anyway, if Shihu really wants to come in, I can’t stop him.  
I have no excuse.  

I’m still in a panic.  
I did weird things.  
This is why I hated when people brought up the past.  

The first aid kit with the drugs is right in plain sight when he walks in.  
I tried to hide it, but I couldn’t.  
I wonder if Shihu believes me.  
Trust has already been broken.  

“Sorry for doing weird things. I’ll tell you everything, so just wait a little.”  

I’ll just live like usual.  
Shihu and I are probably going to break our relationship.  
It’s all ruined.  

Well, to be honest, Seo Ah and I are pretty similar.  
She just ended up going down the worse path.  
For now, I need to calm down with some drugs.  

“What are you doing?”  

Shihu grabs my arm.  

“If I take the drug, I think I can talk.”  

“You have healing skills too, don’t you? What kind of drug is it?”  

“It’s because I heal. I just get rid of side effects with healing.”  

“What?”  

“I’m fine with anything. As long as healing gets rid of the side effects, I’m good.”  

That’s right.  
Maximizing convenience.  
I can do anything.  

“Do you want to use it too? I can help you use it safely.”  

Shihu looks speechless.  
He lets go of my arm.  
I guess he’s telling me to use it.  

I grab the pen-shaped syringe and inject.  

*Stab.*  

The effect kicks in immediately.  
I feel a little better.  
Anyway, it’s all messed up now, so I’ll just show the worst of it.  

“Where did you get the drug from?”  

“…The lab.”  

It’s a problem that I’m starting to feel drowsy.  

“The lab?”  

“Yeah.”  

“What happened?”  

I’ve never told Shihu about my past.  
Not to Shihu, and not to anyone.  

“Seo Ah probably got the drugs from there too. Or not.”  

“What are you saying?”  

“Anyway… the photo, the photo…”  

It was a mistake to try to gauge his reaction with the photo.  
I feel bad.  
Why did I do such a useless thing?  

When I used the drug last time, I didn’t use self-healing skills.  
That’s why the effect kept going, and I think I made a weird decision.  
It’s still a bit strange.  
But it feels like I’m going back to the past.  

Looking at it now.  

“Ah, Seo Ah probably wasn’t suffering that much. If she took the drugs properly, it wouldn’t have been painful.”  

The basic drugs are meant to reduce pain.  

“……”  

“So, Seo Ah must have been happy too. She’s even smiling in the photo…”  

My vision spins.  

*Thud.*  

My head hurts.  
I fall to the ground.  
The ceiling is in view.  
Shihu doesn’t seem to like what I said.  

“Was everything fine as long as Seo Ah was okay? She probably never thought she was unhappy.”  

I don’t know what part made Shihu angry.  

*Crunch.*  

“Ugh.”  

My stomach is stepped on.  
It seems like he’s really angry.  
Shihu opens his mouth.  

“This is just like the photo.”  

Indeed.  
Was Seo Ah feeling like this too?  

“Ugh…”  

I can’t breathe properly.  
It feels like the air is being cut off.  

Shihu keeps talking.  

“So now, what do you think? Are you happy?”  

A voice full of anger.  
He wants me to experience Seo Ah’s situation.  
This is an interesting experience,  
If Shihu’s curious.  

My honest thoughts.  
What am I thinking?  

“Yeah… I’m happy. So… Seo Ah probably liked it too.”  

She was smiling while getting trampled, wasn’t she?  
Just like me.