I Became the Drug-Addicted Childhood Friend

Translator: Elisia

Editor/Proofreader: SemiPickle

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Han Si-Hoo and Rena were having a conversation.

The memory of being stabbed slowly resurfaced.

You said it was a misunderstanding.

You said there was no intent.

It must be true.

“Shall we wait a little longer?”

There’s plenty of time anyway.

There’s also a lot of soft chairs on the first floor.

It’s a space meant for resting, after all.

[13 hours 16 minutes]

The lights were off now, but it seems like a small café usually operated here.

It’s a shame it’s the vacation.

No, actually, it’s nice and quiet because of it.

Han Si-Hoo and Rena, whom I saw through the window, looked quite comfortable.

I was worried I might have caused a problem, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

It bothered me.

Why?

It’s probably a personal issue for Yoo Seo-Ah.

If Han Si-Hoo, whom I thought was my closest friend, considered someone else his best friend.

There’s this peculiar feeling of misery.

“…Hmm.”

Han Si-Hoo isn’t really my best friend.

The drug is the closest.

Hmm.

It feels strange when I think of it that way.

[13 hours 15 minutes]

There’s no reason for me to dislike Han Si-Hoo getting close to others.

Just because I don’t have friends doesn’t mean I should drag Han Si-Hoo down to my level.

It doesn’t bother me.

Maybe it’s just because Rena once attacked me, so it bothers me a little.

She’s the heroine, after all.

It’s a problem when Yoo Seo-Ah, who should have disappeared long ago, interferes.

The story gets tangled up.

It’s strange that I’m still here at this point.

I don’t know why I still am.

Did I make the wrong choice?

I should have run away from the Academy.

“Ah…”

I lay back on the soft chair, lost in thought.

While the drug was coursing through me, I could think clearly.

Waiting is something Yoo Seo-Ah is good at.

Drifting off into daydreams when there’s nothing else to do is another.

If it were home, I would have gone outside and looked at the sky.

I would have lain on the ground with a friend, gazing at the stars.

The yard at home wasn’t a soft grassy field.

It wasn’t the kind of yard with grass spread out.

Concrete.

But even that kind of yard was fine.

There was no light pollution there, and the air wasn’t bad either.

The factories attacked by monsters no longer spewed smoke.

I could see stars that looked like they were about to pour down.

I stretched my hand toward the sky.

It was the ceiling.

But beyond the ceiling, there must be a sky.

To be honest, the sky doesn’t really matter.

Just having a friend beside me is perfect.

I recall the sparkling memories.

Still, the sky happened to be clear.

So, the thing I wanted to do was stargazing.

“Si-Hoo, do you want to go see the stars with me tonight?”

Even as I asked, it felt strange.

Back then, if you looked at her kindly, Yoo Seo-Ah was innocent, but if you didn’t, she seemed foolish.

She wasn’t the type who was good with words.

“Sorry, I left in a hurry… I already have plans with a friend from the Academy tonight.”

Rejection.

But still, the sky was clear.

Yoo Seo-Ah lay down alone and looked at the sky.

The sky was clear.

It felt like stars were falling.

Like rain.

It was actually raining.

The smell of rain pooling on the concrete didn’t seem bad either.

Yoo Seo-Ah stayed in the rain for quite a long time.

Even though it was cold, it didn’t feel that cold.

Maybe that’s why I started coughing a lot the next day.

It was my own fault, so there was nothing to complain about.

Honestly, the sky didn’t really matter, as long as I had a friend beside me.

But they weren’t there.

The empty space felt hollow.

Yoo Seo-Ah knew even back then.

The fact that she wasn’t of much use.

Even if I wanted to do something for Han Si-Hoo, there was no way to do it.

It was impossible for me to become someone recognized in this world.

Staying by Han Si-Hoo’s side was also impossible.

The daily life we used to have won’t come back.

Because I don’t have the ability to protect it.

Incompetence.

That’s the problem.

In the end, I just got angry at myself.

[13 hours 8 minutes]

Now I can’t even see the sky anymore.

I can only see the ceiling and numbers.

Anyway, I stretched my hand toward the sky like I did back then.

And I made a wish.

Even though there were no falling stars, I still made a wish.

I wished that if I disappeared, no one would care.

Though, to be honest, I didn’t really need to wish for that last part.

The first part, I could handle on my own just fine.

Maybe I should wish to escape, even now.

Thinking rationally, that seems like the right choice.

But it’s too late since I’ve already taken the drug.

I even broke the measurement device, so it’s far too late.

Still, I’m not completely useless now, am I?

At least I can do something.

Yes, I’ve gained some strength too.

So, what can I actually do?

If I use the drug, I can mimic an Awakener.

But there’s the condition that I shouldn’t get caught using it again.

Thinking it through, it’s pretty useless.

“Seo-Ah?”

It was Han Si-Hoo.

It seemed like he finished his conversation.

“Sorry, I’m late. When did you finish?”

[13 hours 4 minutes]

“About 10 minutes ago…”

What kind of conversation did they have with Rena?

I couldn’t guess.

I couldn’t help but be curious.

Did they, by any chance, talk about me?

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

“Somewhere I want to go?”

“Yeah.”

What I was thinking just a moment ago.

Going to see the stars together.

It doesn’t seem like a bad idea.

“Then, how about we…”

But Han Si-Hoo is busy.

He has lots of friends.

He’s the kind of person who doesn’t have time to hang out with someone like Seo-Ah.

“Together…”

“Hm? It’s okay, you can say whatever you want.”

“…No. I’ll tell you later.”

“Tell me anytime.”

There aren’t many places at the Academy that I know of.

I’ve seen a map of the Academy, but that’s about it.

“Oh, and Seo-Ah. If it’s okay, there’s someone who wants to apologize for what happened last time…”

Is it Rena?

“I see.”

“If you don’t want to, just say so. They said they’d like to apologize if you’re okay with it… but it might be hard for you.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Are you sure? If you don’t feel right about it, tell me. It’s really fine if you don’t want to accept the apology…”

“I’m fine.”

If an apology would make them feel better, that’s fine with me.

She’s the heroine, after all, so it’s only right that she has a good relationship with the protagonist.

It wouldn’t be good for things to go wrong because of me.

If I had died, it would have taken quite a while for their relationship to recover.

“Oh. That’s a relief. Then wait here. I’ll go call her.”

He said that and walked out of the building.

Han Si-Hoo 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, don’t I?

[13 hours 2 minutes]

If push comes to shove, I can just kill her.

If it comes down to it, I’ll stab myself too, and that’ll be the end.

Oh, drug, oh, drug.

I need a weapon.

-Pop.

A black dagger materialized in my hand.

Good.

When should I strike?

Before the other person attacks.

So I need to be ready beforehand.

“…Ready?”

For what?

A dagger was in my hand.

I was about to kill someone.

Rena?

Han Si-Hoo’s friend?

-It’s too strong a drug.

-It wasn’t made for use on people.

Lee Yu-Ram’s warning flashed through my mind.

-It’s a military-grade drug.

It was made for fighting.

It’s not strange for it to provoke strong aggression.

This is bad.

“Disappear.”

I spoke to the dagger.

It didn’t disappear.

If Han Si-Hoo comes back and sees this, there will be a problem.

Rena will be with him too, won’t she?

Am I really trying to kill her this time?

It’s possible.

But this isn’t what I want.

“Disappear, I said!”

The dagger stayed in place.

This is bad.

“Disappear, I’m telling you…”

Fear began to crush me.

It’s dangerous.

[12 hours 33 minutes]

There’s no time.

It’s because I created a weapon.

Time is running out fast.

In the end, I’m spiraling into panic.

“Why, why? Why won’t it disappear?”

Last time, it just vanished.

What’s different?

“Is it because I didn’t use it and just told it to disappear?”

If that’s the reason, I can understand.

To be honest, I wanted to stab her too.

Revenge for the pain she caused me.

It’d be good if she felt the same pain.

No, not the same.

Stronger, more gruesome, more and more.

I’ll watch her destruction to the end.

“Shut up.”

This kind of hostility was unfamiliar.

The hatred was too strong.

I didn’t know this is what they meant by “a strong drug.”

The dagger still didn’t disappear.

-Thud.

I stabbed the desk with the dagger.

Isn’t this enough for it to have served its purpose?

There’s a saying that if you’ve drawn your sword, you should at least cut something with it.

So, I tried slashing at something.

Still, it didn’t disappear.

“…Seo-Ah?”

I’ve been caught.

Han Si-Hoo had returned.

He hadn’t gone far, so of course he came back quickly.

Han Si-Hoo was standing in front of me.

Behind him, Rena was following.

Both of them stopped, staring at me.

“Ah, this is…”

The situation I dreaded was about to unfold.

I’ve become a threatening figure again.

The one they call a villain.

“This is, well…”

This time, there’s no doctor by my side.

So, there’s no one to take the hit for me.

I don’t know why the dagger won’t disappear.

“…Seo-Ah.”

Han Si-Hoo called my name.

His voice was calm, as if trying to reassure me.

But doesn’t this scene seem familiar?

It was like this last time too.

He tried to reassure me, and then the next day, he tried to kill me.

The dagger was still in my hand.

It hadn’t disappeared.

Even though I told it to disappear, there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to let it go.

Rena, the one who stabbed me, was standing there.

A surge of impulse hit me—shouldn’t I do something with this dagger now?

“Seo-Ah, calm down.”

Was Han Si-Hoo trusting me?

Or was he seeing me as a threat, wondering what to do?

He would try to handle me, wouldn’t he?

Yeah.

They said if you take the drug and do something weird, you’d be dealt with.

I didn’t expect things to blow up 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 dagger.

For some reason, this familiar dagger won’t disappear.

It feels like it belongs in my hand, like it’s supposed to stay.

I looked at Rena.

She seemed like she was about to say something, but closed her mouth.

“Disappear…”

In a small voice, a really small one, I muttered.

I wished for the dagger to vanish.

But it didn’t.

“I wasn’t really going to attack.”

I told Han Si-Hoo, who seemed like he was about to approach.

Was he trying to subdue me?

Like last time?

“Wait, really. Just give me a moment.”

[11 hours 52 minutes]

Time was slipping away.

No, this can’t be happening.

“I didn’t intend to attack-”

But isn’t this the perfect opportunity?

I could kill someone like Rena without any problem.

Oh, drug, give me a weapon.

From my left hand, a longsword appeared.

A black longsword.

This is better than a dagger.

I checked where Rena was standing.

She was moving as if to retreat.

In the midst of my distraction, she had moved behind me.

I need to be careful.

“…No, I…”

My head hurts.

Even the hand I raised to touch my forehead was holding a dagger.

Saying I had no intention to attack looked ridiculous.

My words had already lost all credibility.

I really didn’t intend to attack.

Just a moment ago, I had been reminiscing about happy memories.