I Became the Childhood Friend of a D*ug Dealer

“Are we going out? Are we really going out right now?”

It’s promising, but totally unexpected.

Good thing I don’t have much to pack.

So we’re just heading out then.

How?

“You can be out for about five hours. They won’t look for you for a while once you do.”

“Got it.”

“So let’s go.”

“Don’t you want to say goodbye to the others?”

Han Si-Hoo built up so much here at the Academy.

It wouldn’t be easy to just give that up.

There must be others who feel responsible too, besides me.

“It can wait.”

“…You have a lot of friends, huh?”

“They’ll understand, I guess.”

But that’s not the only issue.

“You have to be at the Academy to grow, right? You can’t meet people outside, there are no good facilities, and no easily obtainable items.”

“I know.”

“But we’re still going out together, right?”

It would be nice to go back to how things were before.

Back then, there was romance, after all.

We didn’t have to deal with annoying things like this.

“Let’s go.”

The door is open.

Freedom awaits.

The only thing I need to grab is medicine.

Holding it in my hand gives me peace of mind.

[32 hours 57 minutes]

Han Si-Hoo pulls me by the arm.

As if to hurry me along.

There’s plenty of time for now.

Perfect.

My body feels fine.

My legs feel a bit heavy, but I can run.

Okay, let’s get out of here.

Clank.

Crash.

I tripped over something.

It feels like my head is cooling down.

Is the floor actually cold?

It doesn’t hurt.

I just need to get back up and keep going.

I’m fine.

So let’s get outside and follow Han Si-Hoo home.

Clank.

There’s still something snagging my legs.

Clank, clank.

It’s really stuck.

What is this?

“…A rope?”

There’s a rope wrapped tight around my left ankle.

The rope is attached to the leg of my desk.

Who did this?

Who came into my house and tied me up?

There was no one here but me.

Right.

Thinking it over, there was no one else.

If it were Han Si-Hoo, he could just untie me.

“Si-Hoo?”

But I see no one.

The door is closed.

Did he just leave me behind?

“Si-Hoo?”

Where did he go?

I can’t see anyone.

I don’t even know when the door closed.

This whole situation makes no sense.

[32 hours 55 minutes]

The clock is ticking at a normal speed.

So it’s not me that’s the problem.

Right?

“You said we were going home.”

I liked the plan of legally going out and then escaping.

Or is it really an outing?

Thinking back, it seems like I was banned from going out as well, even if Han Si-Hoo wasn’t.

Was this doomed from the start?

Maybe.

It’s only now that my brain is starting to process things.

It must be the lack of medicine.

Thud.

[34 hours 50 minutes]

“…Is he waiting outside?”

That must be it.

Han Si-Hoo is outside.

I toss the used syringe away.

I grab a kitchen knife.

I cut the rope binding my ankle.

I’m free.

When, and why I was tied up escapes my mind.

“Is it okay to wear this?”

I ask Si-Hoo, but there’s no reply.

It’s free time anyway.

I’m in a t-shirt and shorts but I think that’s fine.

The bandage is still wrapped around me.

I open the door.

But it won’t budge.

“The door’s locked.”

It’s locked from the inside.

If it was locked, then there’s no one else inside but me.

Was I really that keen on not going out?

No, anyone coming from the inside can’t be blocked like this.

Outside.

How did Han Si-Hoo get in from the outside?

For now, I don’t even know the door code.

Even if I had a master key, what about the lock?

That’s something a dose of medicine would fix.

[34 hours 46 minutes]

Where is the medicine?

I should have at least one more.

If I don’t keep using it, what’s left will be a drop.

I need to find some medicine.

I stagger into the bathroom.

Washing my face with cold water might change something.

Maybe I can clear my head.

My mental strength is lacking.

No matter how I think about it, this is a hallucination.

Visual and auditory hallucinations.

It’s a complete mess.

I count eight empty syringes, and fragments of memories about the doses are missing in between.

I get why I was tied up.

Who knows what I might do.

Once I lose my self-control, I’m in trouble.

Cold water.

The cold water touches my palms.

It feels like ice water.

Maybe I’m starting to come to.

I need more medicine.

This ain’t enough.

I know I could feel better.

This just isn’t enough.

I’m already doomed.

Since I’m doomed, I might as well go all the way.

As far as I can.

Zing.

The device buzzes.

Zing.

I think I got a call.

But it’s probably just hallucinations.

Where did Han Si-Hoo go?

He was just here a moment ago.

I don’t even know how many doses I’ve taken today.

If there’s anything I could use, I’d take it.

There’s one thing for sure.

Someone’s gotta have the medicine.

Han Si-Hoo must have it.

He probably has an extra dose he hasn’t given me.

Zing.

It’s a call from Han Si-Hoo.

The more I keep thinking about him, the more the hallucinations manifest.

I don’t need to pick up.

I can’t pick up anyway.

After waiting, the call disconnects.

[Missed Calls – 11]

What’s with all these calls?

Most of them are from Han Si-Hoo.

There’s one from Lena too.

Before the effects run out, it’s tough to tell what’s real.

It was the same before.

It’s odd to find pleasure in not losing self-control.

If I crack even for a moment, it’s game over.

Crack?

Me?

By all rights, Yoo Seo-Ah should already be dead.

It’s only because I’m me that I’m holding on.

Zing.

“Shut up.”

Bang.

I stab the device with a kitchen knife.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up.”

I keep stabbing until it breaks.

Just a moment ago, I thought I’d be able to go outside.

I was looking to leave the Academy.

But if I go out, what can I even do?

Something has gone wrong, but if I’m to blame, then it’s all on me.

If it were someone else, I could at least seek revenge, but it’s not that either.

Everyone tried to be nice to me.

They didn’t all treat me badly, did they?

Sure, there were some weirdos.

But none of them were worth exacting revenge on.

“Or were they?”

They did stab me.

They broke my arm.

Kicked me, hit me in the stomach.

Aren’t they all bad?

I might be mistaking it all due to the medicine.

Always being on meds dulls my sense of reality.

But without the meds, I’d die.

I’d do anything to get them, remember?

For now, the Academy is providing me with drugs, so I’m fine.

I think Han Si-Hoo would do something for me too, but there must be limits to that.

I need to feel better.

If others are thinking the same way, wouldn’t they survive?

Pain is evil, pleasure is good.

– “I’ll provide you with better medicine for a lifetime.”

Who would have made such a great offer?

A doctor.

What did they ask in return for that offer?

– “Kill Han Si-Hoo.”

That can’t be true.

And I wonder if that promise even holds.

– “For a lifetime.”

Better medicine.

I keep trying to return to the past.

[34 hours 29 minutes]

Time is on my side.

I have plenty of it.

If I were home, I could just lie on the floor and wait.

I’m waiting.

Waiting for the time to use the next dose.

But if I run out of doses, I’ll be in trouble.

I need to find some medicine.

Before heading out, I turn off the lights.

It’s a little better not being able to see.

I can’t stand the messy room.

Thinking it over, there are some meds in the house.

I’ve only finished the syringes.

“…Oh, I had this.”

As I rummaged through the drawer, I found it.

Swallowable pills.

Did Han Si-Hoo get them from Lee Yoo-Ram and give them to me?

I don’t remember, but I’ll take them for now.

[34 hours 57 minutes]

I dumped all the pills I had into my mouth, but that distinct feel isn’t coming back.

The peak pleasure isn’t returning quickly enough.

At this rate, it’ll be a downhill slide for 34 hours.

Right now I feel fine.

Not bad, but I’m scared of the downward drift soon to come.

I just need some medicine.

Taking the pills feels a bit better.

Doesn’t it?

My vision flickers.

It’s like the power to my monitor is fluctuating.

Flicker and off.

Crackling sounds.

Then it turns back on.

I’ve definitely overused the medicine.

That just means I’ll recover quicker, so that’s a good thing.

Then I should use even more.

Zap.

Feels like electricity is sparking inside me.

The monitor has malfunctioned for sure.

My vision is warping.

It’s overheating.

I need to stick my head in some coolant to cool down.

Splash.

The sink overflows with water.

Cooling down.

If I cool my head, I can think straight.

Feels cold.

It’s hard to keep my eyes open.

“Phew.”

I lift my head.

I’m afraid of holding my breath.

But it seems my head temperature has lowered.

Still, everything in front of me looks strange.

What if I can’t see the screen?

No matter how bad a game is, the screen should be visible.

In situations like this, you hit the computer or the monitor to make it work again.

Machines respond to a good whack.

Dust falling off the circuits brings everything back to normal.

Flicker.

Twinkle twinkle little star.

The objects in my field of vision don’t move.

Even the flowing water seems frozen.

I’m moving, but it doesn’t seem like it.

Everything is flickering.

Banging sounds and the door rattles.

What now?

I grab a kitchen knife.

Thinking about it, do I really need to use drugs for something as simple as a kitchen knife?

I could just use a proper weapon.

I close my eyes and open them. The door is wide open.

The latch doesn’t seem to matter.

It’s not so much opened as it is torn off.

Someone stands in front of the torn door.

“Ah, hey. Si-Hoo.”

It’s Han Si-Hoo who opened the door.

He’s breathing heavily.

Looks like he sprinted from far away.

His expression is just as puzzled as it was earlier.

Is this another illusion?

I can’t even hear what Han Si-Hoo is saying.

“Ha-ha.”

The problem is that I swallowed too much medicine.

There’s only one solution.

I can’t find another way than to use more medicine.

“Ha, do you—uh, by chance, have any medicine?”

Just give me something, okay?

You came to help me, right?

I remember.

When I used the syringe for the fourth time, I pressed the emergency button on the device.

If Han Si-Hoo came, I’d be able to get more medicine.

“None?”

I see.

But the doctor said he’d give me a ton of medicine for a lifetime.

If only I kill you.

Still, I’ve held up pretty well until now.

I’ve endured pretty well without using much medicine.

You’re trying to be my friend and aren’t actually going to kill me.

You did kill me, but that was because you were a monster.

That wasn’t my will.

But anyway, you can kill me, but since you’re not killing me…

[34 hours 5 minutes]

Damn.

Feels like my mouth is moving on its own.

It’s spewing out things I don’t want to say.

Si-Hoo?

Would it be okay if I only killed you once?

You want to help me, right?

You’re still promising me drugs.

Right?

That’s good, isn’t it?

Because of the medicine, I’m in the Academy.

With that, I can get out of the Academy.

We’re friends, right?

Since I’m the protagonist, I should be able to pull something off, right?

Please, just help me this once.

Just die for me this once.

I’m sorry.

---