I Became the Childhood Friend of a D*ug Dealer

– Can I go home?

I need to use the medicine. The doctor’s medicine worked better.

What I wish for isn’t much. Just spending time at home and resting comfortably. Even just lying down and staring at the ceiling would be nice.

“…Why?”

Han Si-Hoo asks back, “Why do you want to go back?”

His expression feels a bit darker. He speaks with a sunk voice, “Because it’s home…?”

I can’t stay here forever. It’s only natural. It’s a burden for Han Si-Hoo too. Since we’re friends, it’s better to show some consideration for each other.

[2 hours 17 minutes]

Time is still dwindling at a considerable speed. Just standing in front of the protagonist seems to overload my body.

[2 hours 15 minutes]

It’s too fast. Unless my sense of time is twisted, it really is too fast. Is the medicine the doctor gave me not as effective?

I’m not feeling good.

“I need to take medicine. There’s medicine at home…”

“It’s okay.”

Okay? It’s only okay when the medicine is still effective. The 100-hour effect of the medicine is dancing right in front of my eyes. I was really happy once. I think I was.

“Can I go home?”

But how should I get home? I don’t have enough to walk.

“We’ll be able to treat you.”

“Treat?”

That means we’ll use the medicine for treatment. If I keep using it, my condition should improve. Every time I use the medicine, I can see that I feel better. I just want to feel good soon.

[2 hours 12 minutes]

Right now, for some reason, I still don’t feel good even though the medicine is effective. I can’t live like this forever, can I? It’s ambiguous. My mind feels clear yet fuzzy at the same time. I really should take the doctor’s medicine.

“Yeah, we’ll be able to treat you.”

“Then what about the medicine?”

I need the medicine. Why won’t they give it to me? Even if this is some kind of drug, its main purpose is still treatment, so there shouldn’t be a problem. They even prescribe narcotic medicine to seriously ill patients.

It’s clear that I start losing it every time the effect of the medicine wears off.

It’s chilling to think about how I almost attacked Han Si-Hoo over a bit of medicine. It’s not the medicine itself that was the problem, but rather the abuse of it. Isn’t it? It was given to me by the doctor, right? I’m confused.

“I’m sorry.”

He’s apologizing. Does that mean he can’t give me the medicine?

“If you just go home, it’ll all be fine…”

That’s the only solution I know. It’s possible that Han Si-Hoo has no medicine at all. I should have just stayed inside my house.

[2 hours 1 minute]

Time is slipping away. I habitually rummage through my pockets, but I’m in a patient gown. There aren’t any pills.

Han Si-Hoo seems to be hesitating, looking for the right words to say.

What should we do now? I need to think, but I can’t seem to. I think it’s because I haven’t taken the medicine.

“If I go home, the doctor will come and give me medicine…”

I stopped speaking mid-sentence. Han Si-Hoo’s expression suddenly looks strange. As soon as the word “doctor” came up, his mood soured.

“…Doctor?”

Right, the doctor said that.

“What did the doctor do?”

Han Si-Hoo leaned in too close and grabbed my hand.

“Ah, ugh. Well…”

Why is my body still trembling? Honestly, I think it would happen no matter who came close, not just Han Si-Hoo. I didn’t know I had social anxiety. Is this something that happened because I took less medicine?

“Did the doctor come to visit you at home?”

“Ah, yeah.”

I nodded. “How many times did he come?”

“Sometimes.”

Of course, it’s not good to let strangers into your home. But since nothing happened, it should be fine, right? I didn’t have anything valuable at home, so there’s no way someone would steal anything. The doctor didn’t stay long either. He would just give me the medicine and leave. Recently, he even fed me. Though, there was some medicine mixed in.

“Sorry.”

Han Si-Hoo released my hand.

[1 hour 28 minutes]

Once again, time has drastically decreased.

“There’s gotta be medicine outside. I can use it, so I don’t need to go home. Not yet.”

“Is there medicine?”

Medicine is outside? Right. This is the medical room. Thinking about it, Lee Yoo-Ram already gave me medicine a few times.

I feel a bit more lively. It’s time to get up and move.

“I’m going out.”

Since there was no medicine, I was just cramped up in a corner with other meanings. It was just darkness that felt good. Han Si-Hoo no longer seems scary either. Nothing scary about getting medicine, right?

Plus, I never really had social anxiety in the first place. I’m fine. I never had any problems at all.

*

Creek.

The door opened. Lee Yoo-Ram, who was waiting outside, approached as Han Si-Hoo came out.

“Oh? You came out together?”

Seeing Yoo-Seo-A follow behind, Lee Yoo-Ram was surprised.

“Yes.”

Han Si-Hoo looked a bit tired.

“Seems like friends are indeed friends.”

He inspected Yoo-Seo-A. Her condition had definitely improved. There was a slightly unfocused look in her eyes. It felt a bit eerie.

“Did you have a good conversation?”

“I talked to her to some degree.”

Did the conversation really go well?

“Really?”

“She wants to go home, but it seems like she wants to use medicine,” Han Si-Hoo said as he sat Yoo-Seo-A down on a chair.

She complied and sat in the chair. Yoo-Seo-A didn’t refuse Han Si-Hoo much.

“What about the medicine?”

Yoo-Seo-A prodded Han Si-Hoo for the medicine.

“…Ah, I see what happened. Just a moment.”

Lee Yoo-Ram grabbed a vial of medicine from a tray. He then filled a syringe with the medicine from the vial. Yoo-Seo-A’s gaze was fixed intently on the vial.

“Okay, I’ll roll up your sleeve.”

“Sure.”

Yoo-Seo-A rolled up her sleeve. The scars on her arms became visible. There were too many marks, as if cut by a knife. There were also many signs of needle pricks and punctures.

Han Si-Hoo understood why Seo-A had bandages wrapped around her.

Thud.

A needle mark was added to her arm.

“This should help a bit.”

“Thank you.”

Yoo-Seo-A said that, reclaiming her smile. It wasn’t the bright smile Han Si-Hoo had hoped for. Something felt fundamentally twisted.

“Please understand. It’s tough to just cut off this type of addiction.”

“What type of injection is this?”

“A sedative. It has some narcotic ingredients. You should be fine for a while.”

Lee Yoo-Ram replied while organizing the medications.

“But the wounds on your arms…”

“Hmm?”

Yoo-Seo-A raised her arm to show it to Si-Hoo.

Cuts from hitting a glass, cuts from knives, and self-inflicted wounds. She had a lot of scars.

“What’s this?”

The image of a shattered mirror appeared in mind again. Her blood-soaked arm.

“Ah, this?”

Where did the bandages go? The bandages I had carefully wrapped are gone.

“I didn’t want to show you this…”

She spoke as if recalling something, pulling down her sleeve. She tried to cover her arm again but it was too late.

There wasn’t really anything called a wound or scar. Roughly, it had only been about six months since the definitive moment. Before Han Si-Hoo entered the Academy.

I can picture Yoo-Seo-A, wearing short sleeves because it was summer, playing happily. Even during the monsoon season, we enjoyed splashing in the water collected on asphalt.

But now? To put it bluntly, she seems broken. Han Si-Hoo couldn’t shake off that thought. Because it was the truth.

“…For now, it seems like you need to take better care of Seo-A. She’s your friend, right?”

Lee Yoo-Ram said as he patted Seo-A’s head.

With her unfocused eyes, Yoo-Seo-A savored his touch.

“Yes.”

This time, I will protect her without mistakes. I’ll go back just like before. Thinking that, I answered.

“Well, it’s vacation right now, right? There were a lot of incidents during graduation, and while things ended poorly, everything is over. You’ll also be advancing to high school, Si-Hoo.”

Lee Yoo-Ram said, appearing to be in deep thought. It sounded almost like a monologue.

“So, this is the Academy’s medical room. It’s not a hospital, you know?”

“Yes.”

“This is provided only for Academy students, especially during vacation.”

As Lee Yoo-Ram fiddled with the inspection machines and the medicine vials nearby, it was easy to see that each piece of equipment costs several hundred thousand won.

This can’t just be handed to anyone.

Just the costs of the medication alone…

“But Seo-A isn’t… technically, she’s not a family member, so she wouldn’t qualify for Academy benefits…”

Yoo-Seo-A isn’t a student at the Academy. As Han Si-Hoo thought about this, he felt despair. It would be difficult to look after Seo-A within the Academy as well.

“Right.”

“She’d have to be admitted to a regular hospital, but that’s a concern, right? It’s not like a regular hospital can provide continuous protection. It’s hard to prevent any incidents.”

“Well, if I stay by her side for the break…”

“That’s a good idea, but what about after the break? The treatment won’t be finished during the vacation.”

It’s not a condition that can be easily fixed.

One can only imagine how many doses of medicine have been administered.

The scars on her arms come back to mind. Han Si-Hoo gritted his teeth.

“Then…”

“I have a solution.”

“A solution?”

“It’s to make Seo-A a student of the Academy. Then she can stay at the Academy as a student, right?”

“Huh?”

Making Seo-A a student at the Academy. Han Si-Hoo asked back, wondering what on earth he was talking about.

“Is that possible?”

“Yes. Truthfully, whether she likes it or not, it will happen.”

What does that mean, whether she likes it or not? It sounds weird.

“To enroll in the Academy, you must be an Awakener…”

An Awakener? Black magical power and a black sword. No matter what skill it is, it’s strange that she’s not an Awakener.

“The Academy has already made plans to enroll her. Reports have come in that Seo-A is an Awakener who was captured by villains. They’re aware of your friendship as well.”

Lee Yoo-Ram sighed as he said this.

The law was changed that way.

“You know? Once someone is identified as an Awakener, it’s mandatory to enroll in the Academy. So Seo-A will become an Academy student as well.”

“But, Seo-A was only able to handle magical power due to the medicine…”

That’s just a guess. How can they create an Awakener with any drug?

I don’t know if that’s even possible.

“As far as I know, there are no drugs that can artificially make an Awakener. The higher-ups likely think so too. In fact, if she isn’t an Awakener, that’s even more of a problem.”

Lee Yoo-Ram said while looking at Seo-A sitting next to him.

Is she listening? With her eyes half-closed, Yoo-Seo-A seems to be enjoying the effects of the medicine as if she were about to fall asleep.

“Even if she really is an Awakener, enrolling a sick child into the Academy…”

He said while gazing at Yoo-Seo-A.

“The Academy knows about this. Even if she enrolls, she will be placed in a special class. Perhaps personal teaching.”

“Special class?”

I’ve never heard of that before.

“So, you were such an outstanding talent. Or maybe, it’s a blessing. The higher-ups want to keep you from leaving the Academy. They’re likely hoping to control Seo-A by keeping her at the Academy.”

Lee Yoo-Ram revealed the Academy’s intentions.

The Academy isn’t such a friendly place. They’ve simply found a way to restrain an asset like Han Si-Hoo.

“Is that so?”

Han Si-Hoo nodded as if he understood.

The Academy has found a way to exploit him. One of the reasons he had kept Seo-A’s existence hidden.

But now that things have come to this, there’s no other choice.

“Seo-A doesn’t need to meet the Academy’s expectations. Even if the semester starts, there won’t be any classes. If there are, they’ll be separate from the other students. Think of it as therapy.”

Still, the truth can only be known when faced.

Lee Yoo-Ram swallowed the words he wanted to say. He also hadn’t heard of any special class before.

It’s a hastily assembled class.

The fact that Han Si-Hoo is one of the Academy’s main students means that Yoo-Seo-A will be safe as long as Han Si-Hoo remains useful.

“What worries me a little is… you mentioned living in the slums, right? You weren’t going to school either.”

“Yes.”

Lee Yoo-Ram’s expression wrinkled slightly. He was not pleased about the fact that there are kids who don’t receive proper education.

“But Seo-A can at least do the basic things, right? No matter how safe you think the Academy is…”

If the standard is too low, it becomes dangerous.

Han Si-Hoo has had a bit of experience in middle school. Adapting shouldn’t be a problem.

“I think it should be okay.”

Seo-A should be fine with Academy life. Though she may be innocent, she isn’t naive.

That’s how Han Si-Hoo feels.

As long as she doesn’t use the medicine.

“Well, if you say so, it must be true. As she gets treatment at the Academy, Seo-A will be fine.”

“Yes.”

Everything seems to be resolving well.

I’m relieved that a solution has emerged. There’s no need for Han Si-Hoo to pursue the few radical choices he had envisioned.

“Alright, so now let’s take Seo-A with us.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you planning to stay here? It’s way past the time the medical room should be closed. It’s vacation after all.”

Lee Yoo-Ram said wearily.

He had no idea how many hours he’d stayed over time. Even the teachers need a break during vacation.

“Okay, the medicine has been organized over there. You can take Seo-A to your dorm. If anything happens, just let me know. I still have things to do out there, so I’ll be heading out now.”

“Yes…”

Under normal circumstances, Yoo-Seo-A wouldn’t even be able to receive treatment at the Academy.

A civilian affected by Academy activities?

Ignored or dealt with.

From the start, Han Si-Hoo had been the only guardian Yoo-Seo-A had.

Yoo-Seo-A had been looking at the ground since the conversation started, staring at an empty box that had fallen under the desk.

The box Lee Yoo-Ram had used to take out the medicine.

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