I Became the Childhood Friend of a D*ug Dealer

Consumed.

A red number [0] appears in my vision.

One more beside it.

One more.

The speed of the increasing numbers gets faster and faster until my sight is filled with [0].

Not zero, but red blood cells.

Why was I so scared of time running out?

My heart’s thump thump gets louder.

I’m just falling asleep.

I hear a ringing in my ears.

[-1 minute]

The calmest moment is right before a storm.

Was it all just a delusion? Did I overreact to the numbers appearing in front of me?

I had similar thoughts before.

[-1 minute]

It’s raining from the sky.

Time isn’t passing.

[-1 minute]

Turns out, zero is just raindrops, and the drops are gathering and touching my lips.

So sweet I could vomit.

The doctor gave Seo-A syrup loaded with sugar since she can’t take medicine.

It’s so sweet I feel like I might throw up.

[-1 minute]

If I don’t want to drown in this sticky liquid, I have to hold my breath.

How many minutes have I managed to hold my breath?

What’s the world record, about 20 minutes?

No, that’s wrong.

It’s 36 hours.

If I want to break the record, there’s a way.

[-1 minute]

To tie someone up so they can’t come up for air.

What did I write?

Iron chains?

Ropes?

Both.

I worked hard.

Exactly [-36 hours 7 minutes], or something like that.

Back then, I really really wanted to breathe.

Just the thought of needing to breathe, no matter what I had to do.

More than a thought, it was instinct.

For now, I’m just dehydrated from too much exercise.

I really want to drink.

[-1 minute]

I drank water, but it was mud.

I breathed, but it was water.

Time isn’t passing.

1. 1. 1. 1. 1.

So each one feels like a thorn.

It feels like thorns are piercing me.

My nervous system won’t stop tingling.

[-2 minutes]

And then what happened, and then and then.

And then and then.

Endlessly and then.

Han Si-Hoo once got hurt while protecting Yoo Seo-A.

Seo-A made a mistake.

Did she fall while running an errand and lose something?

Because of that, Han Si-Hoo got beaten up a lot.

He barely apologized after finding the item.

Even when Seo-A went the wrong way while playing and was in danger.

Even when Seo-A met bad people.

Somehow, Han Si-Hoo was always there.

A hero.

There were quite a few hands that wanted to harm Seo-A.

Han Si-Hoo trained in swordsmanship for Seo-A.

Awakened something like a protagonist.

There’s a flicker of light.

Because he’s the protagonist.

Even if they look like a useless little kid with no abilities, he protects them.

Just because they are friends.

And then and then.

Promising to protect her for a lifetime.

A childhood friend.

[-15 minutes]

Seo-A stands in front of a broken mirror.

Blood splattered on each shard.

Empty tuna cans piled up a bit inside the bathroom.

Actually, tuna cans are expensive food.

I just pulled out what I stored since there was nothing to eat.

I had to buy medicine with the money Si-Hoo gave me.

Standing there in shabby clothes.

Someone is about to stab me from behind the mirror.

We’re friends, right?

As a face trying to smile is reflected in each broken mirror.

[-30 minutes]

And at this point in the plot, Seo-A dies.

She must have died a long time ago.

Overdosed on medicine, and by the time Yoo Seo-A met Han Si-Hoo, she was nearing the end of her lifespan.

So all that’s left is to hold a funeral.

I should have written a will.

Though there’s nothing really to leave behind.

Phew.

[1 minute]

Phew.

[1 hour 19 minutes]

Phew.

[2 hours 43 minutes]

Phew.

“Ah.”

I opened my eyes.

I feel bad.

Why do I feel bad? I try to think.

My head is pounding like it’s about to split.

A few tears are gathering at the corners of my eyes.

“Ah?”

I was stabbed by a knife.

I had a nightmare where the medicine’s effects reached zero.

I sit up to check if my stomach is okay.

My clothes aren’t torn, just a bruise on my stomach.

I’m wearing gray clothing I’ve never seen before.

The bed and the blanket are new as well.

This is a space I’ve never encountered before.

“You’re awake?”

It’s a woman I’ve never seen before.

She’s wearing a white gown.

The smell of medicine wafts as I squint my eyes shut.

The air feels unfamiliar.

“Ah, lie down. Lie down. You’re in the infirmary.”

“Ugh.”

I try to speak but fail.

There’s something stuck in my throat.

Hacking it out, something black comes out into my hands.

“Here, wipe it.”

She hands me a white handkerchief.

Is she the doctor?

On the name tag attached to her gown, it says Lee Yoo-Ram.

“It’s a miracle you survived.”

“Ugh…”

“39 degrees. Still high. It’s gone down a bit.”

She places a thermometer against my head and speaks.

39 degrees is quite high.

It is high.

“Ugh, cough.”

I cough something else out.

It’s hard to talk.

“Here, water.”

“Uck…”

I can’t speak.

I down a cup of water offered by Lee Yoo-Ram.

Swallowing is difficult.

Phew Couldn’t that knife have pierced my stomach?

I forgot my clothes are new.

I put the cup down and check if my stomach is okay.

Aside from the bruise, I’m fine.

I think I checked that earlier.

“Don’t worry, the treatment was thorough. Some old wounds couldn’t be helped.”

Old wounds are hard to heal, I know that.

Could the fever be from the old wounds?

Why does my head feel like it’s about to explode?

“Are you okay?”

I shake my head.

I’m not okay.

“I have more medicine, so don’t worry.”

That makes me feel a bit calmer.

Medicine.

After all, it seems doctors can sell medicine anytime.

Looks like there are plenty around here.

I’ve never heard the names of these medicines.

“This is the Academy’s infirmary.”

Inside the Academy.

Inside?

“Yikes.”

I was stabbed, but why am I in the Academy?

I lift my clothes to check my wound.

I do have bruises, but there’s no sign of a stab.

“Since you’ve been treated… you’re okay.”

I checked just now.

My hands are shaking.

Or maybe I was never stabbed to begin with?

I don’t know at all.

“Medicine.”

[2 hours 40 minutes]

What do I care about the reason.

My mind feels sluggish, and I can’t think.

The person treating me must have medicine, right?

“Can I have some medicine…”

“You don’t want fever-reducing medicine, do you?”

“Medicine…”

I’m in worse condition than usual.

It’s like before I went to the doctor.

Even the cough medicine didn’t work.

It seems to have worsened, um.

Everything feels foggy in my memory.

But anyway, when I went to the doctor, my fever had gone down and my head didn’t hurt.

Because they gave me medicine.

“Hey, medicine! I have, cough, money.”

In the end, money is the problem.

No one gives out medicine to just anyone.

If I can buy it, it’s fine.

“Hmm?”

“How much?”

I have the money Han Si-Hoo gave me.

I can think about paying it back later.

Since he just gave it to me, do I even need to pay him back?

“How much did the doctor ask for?”

“Five hundred thousand won…”

“Ah, that much? I didn’t know since it was provided by the school… But you have that much money? You?”

“He gave it to me, Si-Hoo.”

He truly is my only friend.

Are we friends?

But we cut off ties.

It feels like I went through something worse than just cutting ties.

Didn’t we fight?

“…So Si-Hoo gave you money for medicine?”

“Yes…”

He just gave it because I needed it.

He told me never to come back, but still.

“It’s something that he gave you?”

“Yes.”

“He told you to buy medicine?”

I nod my head.

My head feels heavy.

I don’t understand why he keeps asking.

“What the heck.”

Lee Yoo-Ram holds his head with his hands.

He then squints his eyes and seems to be thinking hard.

He looks like he doesn’t get it.

Seems like he’s really flabbergasted.

“Did Si-Hoo really tell you to get medicine?”

“He… gave it to me for the medicine cost…”

I keep coughing.

It hurts.

“Okay, don’t force yourself to answer.”

Tears gather in my eyes with every cough.

My condition really feels bizarre.

Have I caught a bad cold?

“Though, since it’s the slums… But why…”

He mutters to himself softly.

What’s with the slums?

Does living in the slums mean he looks down on me?

I can’t follow the thread of the conversation.

“Right. What exactly is your relationship with Si-Hoo?”

What relationship? We were friends once.

I try to recall.

What was happening before time hit zero?

“Friend…?”

Before I came to the Academy.

Before I came to the infirmary.

But why am I here?

Because it’s the Academy?

-You should go congratulate him at the graduation ceremony.

The doctor was there.

-Just lift your neck a bit.

And then phew.

103 hours and 2 minutes.

Uh.

Joy floods in.

Where did the joy of 103 hours and 2 minutes go?

What did I do back then?

I went to congratulate Si-Hoo on his graduation.

I was angry with Si-Hoo for probably not inviting me.

-You really are going to get the medicine?

-Can you give me a place to live and food to eat?

-Really?

Questions I threw into the past swirl in my head.

I can’t remember what I asked.

He tells me to believe him.

Si-Hoo is standing there as if he’s saying to leave everything to him.

Sucked into the atmosphere of being able to rely on him.

-Are we friends, right?

So what was my response?

The protagonist was filled with conviction.

Han Si-Hoo would never lie.

He would never lie to Yoo Seo-A.

-Not.

And then I get stabbed.

Hmm, and then I was stabbed again and again.

100 hours evaporated.

The time that disappears must be stopped.

It’s correct that I stab myself.

Yoo Seo-A should have died long ago.

Where did those 100 hours go?

It’s frustrating.

I want to cry.

If things had gone normally, I would probably still have about 90 hours left.

I wouldn’t be hurting like this.

[1 hour 45 minutes]

There isn’t much time left.

I can feel my heart racing.

My head is hot, but I feel cold.

My vision is darkening.

Fever reducer.

The doctor gave Seo-A syrup.

There was too much sugar.

This time it was too sweet to want to drink.

But swallowing a pill was too hard.

Back then, the doctor was kind.

-Seo-A…

Someone called my name.

It’s Si-Hoo.

Sorry. I’m sorry for attacking you.

I was wrong.

Why did I attack the protagonist?

Right, it’s because of the medicine the doctor gave me.

It was so sweet it messed up my head.

Phew.

That’s either the sound of an injection or just stabbing again.

[5 hours 8 minutes]

And then I’d probably get stabbed again.

Again.

“Seo-A?”

I didn’t even notice, but the door was open.

Someone stepped inside.

“Are you okay?”

Si-Hoo spoke to me.

---