Light and Shadow #005
It was after the storm had passed. Only silence remained in the lonely hospital room. The boredom was crushing, so I grabbed the remote and switched on the TV. A children’s educational program began to play, featuring a teacher in absurd clothes and kids wearing adorable monster costumes.
“……How many types of gates are there, and what are they? Can everyone take a guess?”
“Two! Dungeon Gates and World Gates!”
“That’s right. Dungeon Gates are rare and appear randomly. They connect to monster lairs or labyrinths! On the other hand, World Gates—”
“““Are the permanent, massive gates located all over the world, including Sariwon Gwangyeoksi in our country!”””
“Correct! You’re all remembering so well! Now here’s another question! Does anyone know where the World Gates lead?”
“Me! They connect to the planet Shareltea in another dimension! My mom is a Far North person and she came from there!”
“Wow, you kids are all so smart! Far North people and Far North Elves are actually the same thing, right? They all came from Shareltea!”
Click. Click. Click.
“And as you can see on the screen! Hunters don’t just clear Dungeon Gates on Earth—they also carry out all sorts of activities in Shareltea!”
“Hmm, hmm, teacher. Do you know what activities hunters do in Shareltea?”
“Friend Dongseok! Of course I do! This teacher knows everything! Hunters in Shareltea hunt monsters to collect magic stones, clear the Dungeon Gates that sometimes appear there, and stop the bad people from the First World who oppose us from crossing over to Earth!”
“Wow!”
“The biggest reason we can live like this is because hunters work so hard… Places without them are already… So, children, you must always remember how this peace is maintained……”
Even though it never showed up properly in the game, this was standard school material. It was so boring it could put you to sleep. With my eyes half-closed, I changed the channel. Soon the movie channel—the ultimate time-killer—filled the screen.
“An American film, huh.”
It opened with a gratuitous sex scene, so the tone was obvious from the start. I clicked my tongue and kept watching until the plot finally clicked. The setting was Palaestra Academy, the world-famous international hunter academy from the game. The story followed a graduate-student protagonist caught in a brutal tale of love, war, monsters, and ripping apart professors. For a PG-12 rating, though, the gore and blood were excessive. I had no idea how it passed review, but it felt less like a commercial movie and more like an early-education textbook for aspiring young hunters.
‘Come to think of it, did the game protagonist actually graduate from there?’
The thought surfaced while I watched. My memories were fuzzy, but according to the setting, the academy the protagonist came from was exactly this place. Despite the protagonist struggling there because his grades were good but his talent was lacking—and never portraying the school positively in the game.
‘Still, I’m jealous.’
A place someone like me—an awakened with zero talent—could never dream of attending. Only the truly gifted hunter hopefuls gathered there. I stared at the TV with open envy.
Just as the movie was nearing its end, the door creaked open. A familiar, welcome face appeared.
“Si… Sian……”
She was crying. Lim Hana approached slowly, sniffling and trembling.
“Where on earth did you go… Waaah!”
Tears and snot streamed down her face. When she saw the cast on my arm she cried even harder.
“Hic… You said you’d come right back if you went to the playground……”
Come to think of it, after I was rushed to the hospital I hadn’t contacted her. Guilt hit me when I realized she must have waited alone until late. I scanned her for injuries and spotted her dirt-caked knees. At least she hadn’t been completely by herself.
“Ah, well……”
“And someone said… someone beat you up and that’s why you’re here……”
“Huh?”
“Your aunt told me. A strange friend beat you badly and that’s why you ended up here… Hic.”
She must have heard the whole story. Since it was all true, I simply nodded. Lim Hana’s face twisted with a mix of tears and anger—the exact expression a child makes when showing hostility.
“Is your arm okay…?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. That kid’s grandfather came and fixed it.”
“That kid…? You mean the villain?”
“Villain? Ah, Cheon Mari? Yeah, that’s her.”
“She’s a bad kid! Hitting people for no reason is what villains do!”
Pure, childlike justice. It was the complete opposite of that regressor who had been so trashy it was almost surreal. After a full day of suffering, this felt like healing.
“She is a villain. She used magic power to attack a friend.”
“Magic power! Villain! Witch!”
“Exactly. A witch. Because she uses magic power for bad things.”
I stroked Lim Hana’s hair. I told her she must never become like that, that such a friend would eventually face serious consequences. Of course, to avoid being too negative for her education, I added that the friend might still turn good one day.
‘Though the odds are zero.’
Still, who could say for sure? In this harsh world, people and relationships could change in a single day. With luck, a good bump on the head might wake her up.
“But right now she’s a bad kid! I’m going to learn tons of magic! And I’ll definitely protect you, Sian!”
“Yeah. Definitely protect me.”
More than hoping Cheon Mari would change, I hoped Lim Hana would never lose that heart. She had been my close friend since we were little. Even if it was impossible for me, I prayed silently that she would become a truly wonderful hunter.
“Oh, right! Sian! Today the teacher said—”
Having shaken off her gloomy mood, Lim Hana sat on the bed and launched into cheerful stories.
Just one month. That was how long it took to receive magical treatment and be discharged. Considering my bones had been shattered, it was a remarkably short time. For a human, however, even a precarious shift in seasons felt long—especially when you were alone and your sense of time was completely broken. It was practically torture.
“Sian—!”
The one saving grace was that Lim Hana visited every single day. Even though I wasn’t her only friend, her constant, kind concern felt angelic. So every time she came, I greeted her warmly. A ray of light cutting through the gloom.
But it wasn’t only light that visited.
“Ha, I really don’t get why I have to apologize again……”
Tragically, an unexpected shadow kept appearing in my hospital room. Most of the time it was so dark and infuriating that I wanted to explode, and occasionally it even led to physical clashes. The only blessing was that the bodyguards always stopped Cheon Mari.
“Sigh… This is my life.”
“……I’m sorry. Tomorrow I’ll give her a strict lecture so she’ll apologize—”
I don’t need lectures or apologies. Just stop letting her in.
Even when I said that, nothing changed. The reason was simple: a sincere apology from Cheon Mari was a condition both guardians had agreed on. A solution perfectly tailored to children’s level. Naturally the regressor never once apologized to me… or so I thought, but surprisingly she had apologized several times under duress. The problem was that the apologies were forced, so they never looked sincere, yet her family kept sending her anyway.
Hospital life where light and shadow coexisted. But my ordeal didn’t end there.
School started shortly after I was discharged. No one had transferred; everyone still attended the same school.
“Ah.”
“Ah.”
And the reality that we all went to the same school meant I would keep running into that horribly horrible person again—whether by choice, force, or pure coincidence.
Naturally, fights broke out almost every day.
“You fucking bastard. Seriously. If it weren’t for my grandfather, you’d be dead by my hand, punk.”
“What? Dead? This guy’s lost it. Looking like a steamed bun but running your mouth.”
“Steamed bun?! Fuck off, you bastard! You’re the one running your mouth!”
“Fuck off my ass, you bitch! Did you get zero home training?!”
“Fucking retard, you scared? Well, after the beating I gave you last year, I guess you would be.”
“Oh please. Who beat who? You can use magic power but you still got your ass handed to you by someone without any. Aren’t you ashamed, trash?”
“Nope, not ashamed~ Honor doesn’t put food on the table anyway.”
“Ah, so that’s why your family begged and pleaded with me to drop the charges?”
“Wh-what? You son of a bitch!”
“Aren’t you sick of starting shit every time we see each other at school?”
“I’ve been doing it for over a year and I’m not tired yet. You scared, Kang Sian?”
“Your mom.”
“Your mom.”
Cheon Mari: Idiot
Kang Sian: Idiot
Cheon Mari: Fucking retard
Kang Sian: You fucking bastard, stop sending DMs~ You wrote three thousand fucking “mouth” DMs this month alone, you piece of shit~
Cheon Mari: ??? Got dementia? You started it first
Kang Sian: Fuck youuuuuuuuuuuuu
Cheon Mari: Fuck youuuuuuuuuuuuu
Cheon Mari: (roughly raising middle finger gif.gif)
Kang Sian: (roughly raising double middle fingers gif.gif)
Kang Sian: Is there seriously a hole in your head? You really don’t know who started it?
Cheon Mari: Are you stupid? Why are you blaming me when you threw the tantrum first?
Kang Sian: Look at this guy who started the game bullshit a month ago during computer class and doesn’t even remember lolololol A narrow-minded diamond-spoon bitch who can’t even play games properly lololololololol
Cheon Mari: A low-tier bronze-spoon suddenly clinging to family wealth lolololol Do you even have five billion in your account, you fuck?
Kang Sian: Nope. But my family is better than yours, bye. No-roots, no-pedigree potion-shop family can fuck off
Cheon Mari: You quarter-elf bastard, when you come to school prepare to die^^
Kang Sian: Nope, you die~
Cheon Mari: Nope, you die~
“Hey, you fucking retarded pathetic loser.”
“What, you pathetic fucking retarded loser.”
“What’s for lunch today?”
“Don’t know, you bastard. Why are you asking me?”
“Why do you keep following me? I only came out because my aunt told me to run an errand.”
“Nooo—my shitty relatives made it so I have nowhere to go once I leave the house~”
“Then go to a karaoke room or a PC bang.”
“I left my phone and card at home.”
“So what, you want me to give you money?”
“Wait, did it sound like that?”
“Sigh, you idiot… If you bark like a dog I’ll give you change for one hour at the PC bang.”
“Fuck fuck fuck! Woof woof! Bark bark! Pant pant!”
“Wow, this crazy bastard actually did it.”
“Same group as Cheon Mari? I’d rather kill myself.”
“Sure~ I’ll kill myself first~”
It had already been several years since I met that idiotic regressor. Faced with the same cursed relationship today, I dragged a hand down my face.