8. Reason for Living, Why Aren't You Answering the Phone?
8. Reason for Living, Why Aren't You Answering the Phone?
8. Reason for Living, Why Aren't You Answering the Phone?
What is the joy of life?
Some people say it's the little joys of earning money at an ordinary company.
Others say it's spending your life doing what you love.
The joy of life feels different for everyone.
The reason for living.
My reason for living is amusement—boring things have no reason at all.
For someone like me who can do whatever she wants whenever she wants, life itself is pure caprice.
'...Boring.'
The Back Alley I came down to for a little entertainment was rotting the same as always.
The one decent point was that killing someone here was effectively legal?
The Back Alley had no class, but it was the only place that humored my whims.
'I'm bored. Someone want to start something with me...'
An action meant to create an excuse for murder.
The moment I stepped onto the street with those tedious thoughts, Han Yu-wol's ears caught the sound of angry men shouting.
"You, stop right...!!"
"Would you stop if you were him...!"
Two big Overseers chasing a young boy.
If that boy got caught by them, he'd meet a very unpleasant end.
With that delicate body, he looked destined to be sold to a brothel in the red-light district.
A foregone conclusion.
A sudden curiosity flickered through Han Yu-wol's mind.
'Why is that boy being chased, I wonder.'
What reason could have brought him into a rotting place like this?
Her curiosity about the boy was reason enough to act.
So Han Yu-wol secretly followed the fleeing boy.
'...He's running desperately.'
He clearly knew what would be done to him if they caught him.
But he didn't seem to know the layout of this area very well.
"Shit..."
The boy was trapped in a dead end.
The two big men were closing in on him, leaving him no room to move.
"What the hell is this bitch?"
"..."
"Hey, you gonna move or what?"
A momentary whim.
A situation where she had no need to step in.
But Han Yu-wol blocked their path.
"I've changed my mind."
"What are you tal—"
The man couldn't even finish his incredulous shout.
"Shh, quiet. What if that little kid hears you?"
"Hi...hiiik...!"
The instant her hand touched him, the large man's body began to shrivel like a mummy.
[Blood Flow Manipulation]
All flowing blood rested in the palm of her hand, so she could make a person vanish without even leaving a trace.
"W-Wait, I'm... I'm sorry...!"
"Too late. Your filthy hand already touched me, didn't it?"
It was Han Yu-wol who had reached out first, but as long as she had an excuse, it didn't matter to her at all.
That is how the two men lost their forms without a sound, becoming one with the Back Alley floor and leaving only their clothes behind.
'Now then, shall we move on to the main dish? Heh heh.'
With the obstacles removed, it was time merely to satisfy her interest.
That first meeting with the boy surpassed her expectations.
"Wh-Who are you?"
The boy was even younger than Han Yu-wol had expected, and he settled her mind completely.
'Pure, and fresh.'
The scent of blood she had never encountered before.
Calm composure and a bold way of speaking.
A delicate face perfectly to her taste.
'I had planned to kill him if I didn't like him, but what a shame.'
And that is how Han Si-jun's life was saved without him even knowing it.
"I'll grant you one request, at least."
This, too, was a whim.
People always got greedy for more than they deserved, never knowing their place.
What would this boy be like, she wondered.
Amid that curiosity, the boy's answer was one Han Yu-wol hadn't expected.
"Jenny's Pharmacy. Please show me the way there."
A boy who only asked for simple directions.
To make such an easy request of me... Am I not charming enough?
Her pride was a little wounded, but he passed the test, so she decided to let him live.
And so, after guiding the boy to Jenny's Pharmacy, Han Yu-wol was treated to a bizarre sight there.
'A genius who only appears once in a hundred years like Jenny... and he knows a reagent she doesn't?'
She had never even heard about Jenny's younger sibling being afflicted with Magic Stone transformation.
There was more to this boy than met the eye.
It was a moment that made her reevaluate him—and a moment that made her mouth water.
"Would you grant me a request as well?"
It would be a shame to say goodbye here.
She wanted to taste the boy's blood.
If he refused, she would not forgive him.
She could only feel satisfied when she did everything she wanted.
And so Han Yu-wol sank her sharp fangs into Han Si-jun's nape.
Her first experience of drinking blood from a living person.
Han Si-jun's blood was the most delicious she had ever tasted.
That is the reason for living, the joy of life.
As long as it was amusing, anything was fine with her.
'Should I just devour him all right here?'
No, that would be boring later.
Exercising a rare bit of patience, she withdrew her fangs.
"A little one who gives me something to look forward to. Heh heh."
The most delicious meal is always saved for last.
"Because we will meet again for certain."
For the sake of that future feast, Han Yu-wol let the nameless boy go.
***
Late at night, inside a certain dormitory.
As soon as I arrived, I threw myself onto the bed.
"Ugh, my whole body aches."
I really almost died today.
Let's see me ever go to the Back Alley again.
My whole body felt like it had absorbed the stench of that place.
To shake off that horrible memory along with the smell, I decided to shower.
"The dorm facilities really are nice."
It was so nice I almost wished I could live here forever.
Bed, desk, fridge, air conditioner, bathroom.
It had everything you could want.
The moment the water started running, a phone ring began echoing through my dorm room.
Rrrring!
Oh, what the heck.
I was right in the middle of washing up.
I'd turned my phone volume on as soon as I got home.
I was covered in soap, so picking up was out of the question.
'Ah, I can't right now...'
I'll just call back later.
The only person who ever called me was Yu Ha-yeon.
It couldn't be that important.
So I ended up spending quite a long time scrubbing off the smell.
Rrrring.
Without ever hearing the phone that kept on ringing...
After a long, long shower, stepping out of the bathroom made me feel alive again.
"Finally, I smell like a person."
To the person sitting next to me on the train: I'm sorry.
I couldn't help it.
After mentally begging forgiveness from those who suffered because of me, I dried my hair right away.
"Mmm~"
A hum escaped me on its own.
A shower after a rough day brings a pleasure words cannot describe.
"Oh, right."
Now that I think about it, there was a call.
The caller is definitely Yu Ha-yeon.
I checked the phone on my desk.
"What the... why won't it turn on?"
Is it broken?
Even when I pressed the power button, the screen showed no sign of lighting up.
Why won't it turn on?
I just heard the ringtone a second ago.
There were two possibilities.
Either I bumped the phone somewhere while running and broke it.
Or the battery died and it shut off automatically.
Seeing as the phone's exterior looked clean, it was probably the latter.
"Yep, that's it."
As soon as I connected the charger, the screen lit up and showed the battery percentage.
The number 1%.
I hadn't charged it all day, so that was only natural.
"The caller is definitely Yu Ha-yeon."
It's probably nothing important, so I left the phone alone and lay down on my bed.
I'll check it tomorrow.
Today I was just too exhausted.
My first day since falling into this game world.
Memories all jumbled, a dizzying and chaotic situation.
In the midst of all that, I attended the entrance ceremony, obtained the cheat-level pills from Jenny, met Han Yu-wol, and survived.
All things considered, didn't I pack a whole lot into today?
I deserve some rest.
I opened Jenny's pill bottle to get ready for sleep.
[Strength Nutritional Supplement]
[Agility Nutritional Supplement]
[Magic Power Nutritional Supplement]
Nutritional supplements that inject nutrients into the human body and cause dramatic growth.
Unfortunately, there was no stamina version.
But if I took them for many years, I'd eventually end up with a final stat of Strength 8 and Agility 8.
"The problem is this one..."
The Magic Power Nutritional Supplement.
For someone like me who lacks a mana core, this supplement was a double-edged sword.
I'll leave it alone for now.
If I recklessly pump mana into my body, I feel like I'd just pop like a balloon.
I tossed the pills into my mouth and swallowed them down with water.
Gulp.
"Ugh... bitter..."
"Nutritional supplement" my ass, this tastes like herbal medicine.
Wincing, I dove under the covers.
"How... am I supposed to live..."
Episodes where large numbers of people die.
Knowing about them, could I really stop all of them?
My life.
The lives of so many others.
With those thoughts swirling, I closed my eyes as sleep washed over me.
***
The number you have dialed is powered off...
Beep. Beep. Beep.
A girl's room glowed with light even at this late hour.
She was calling someone over and over.
"Why... why isn't he picking up...? It was just on a second ago..."
Yu Ha-yeon bit her nails, wrapped up in anxiety.
Could his illness have flared up again and he collapsed somewhere?
Or maybe someone was bullying him?
She was always worried about Han Si-jun.
"He's a guy, but he's nothing but skin and bones. Looks like he couldn't fight back if someone jumped him. He makes me worry, you know that?"
So annoying.
Why do I even have to worry about him?
Han Si-jun had spent his entire elementary school years in the hospital.
With that memory rising up, the worry was only natural.
"He's not the type to turn off his phone... seriously..."
The Hero Academy dormitories were divided between men and women.
So no matter how much her heart reached out, she couldn't just run to him.
Is this how Gyeonu and Jiknyeo felt? Romeo and Juliet?
"No, no way. As if he and I are dating... We're childhood friends, not a couple who love each other."
Even if Han Si-jun didn't look especially manly, he did have some appeal.
If a guy and a girl were compatible, dating was certainly possible.
If Han Si-jun ever started dating someone...
'That would leave a bad taste in my mouth...'
Most of Yu Ha-yeon's memories had Han Si-jun in them.
If he suddenly disappeared from her life, that would be...
"Aaugh...!! I don't know, I don't know!! Han Si-jun, just go get sick and die for all I care!! But don't actually die!!"
Thump, thump.
Yu Ha-yeon screamed into her pillow in the deep night.
She earned herself a dormitory penalty point on her very first day.