Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Medical Bay
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Medical Bay
Depleted.
The red number [0] appears in my vision.
Another one next to it.
And another.
The numbers multiply faster and faster until my vision is filled with [0].
Not zeros, but red blood cells.
Why was I so afraid of time running out?
The thumping of my heart grows louder.
I'm just falling asleep.
A ringing fills my ears.
[-1 minute]
The calm before the storm is the most silent.
Was I mistaken? Was I overreacting to the numbers floating before my eyes?
I've had similar thoughts before.
[-1 minute]
Rain falls from the sky.
Time isn't passing.
[-1 minute]
The zeros are actually raindrops, and they well up, drop by drop, to touch my lips.
A sweetness so intense it makes me want to vomit.
The doctor gave Seo-ah, who said she couldn't take her medicine, a syrup mixed with heaps of sugar.
It's so sweet I feel like I'm going to be sick.
[-1 minute]
If you don't want to drown in that sticky liquid, you have to hold your breath.
How long have you tried holding your breath?
What was the world record, 20 minutes?
No, that's wrong.
It's 36 hours.
There's a way to break the record.
[-1 minute]
Tie someone up so they can't get out of the water.
What did I use?
Chains?
Rope?
It was both.
I tried so hard.
It was exactly [-36 hours and 7 minutes], I think.
Back then, I really, really wanted to breathe.
The only thought was to breathe, no matter what it took.
Less a thought, more an instinct.
For now, it's just like being dehydrated from too much exercise.
I'm desperately thirsty.
[-1 minute]
I drank water, but it was dirt.
I took a breath, but it was water.
Time won't pass.
1. 1. 1. 1. 1.
So, each one is a thorn.
It feels like thorns are digging into me.
The tingling sensation in my nervous system won't stop.
[-2 minutes]
And what happened was, and and.
And and.
And.
A scene that replays endlessly.
There was a time Han Si-hoo got hurt protecting Yoo Seo-ah.
Seo-ah made a mistake.
She fell while running an errand and lost something.
Han Si-hoo got beaten badly because of it.
He barely managed to apologize after finding the item.
And when Seo-ah got lost while playing and ended up in danger.
And when Seo-ah ran into bad people.
Somehow, Han Si-hoo was always there.
A hero.
There were quite a few who had targeted Seo-ah.
Han Si-hoo trained in swordsmanship for Seo-ah.
And, like a protagonist, he awakened something.
A brilliant light shines.
Because he's the protagonist.
He protects even a useless child with no abilities.
Just for the reason that she's his friend.
And and and.
The way he says he'll protect her forever.
His childhood friend.
[-15 minutes]
Seo-ah stands before a shattered mirror.
Blood has spattered on every single shard.
A small pile of empty tuna cans sits in the corner of the bathroom.
Tuna cans are actually expensive.
She only took them out because there was nothing else to eat.
She had to use the money Si-hoo gave her to buy medicine.
She stands there in shabby clothes.
Someone behind the mirror is trying to stab me.
We're friends, right?
And the face, trying to smile, is reflected in each of the shattered mirror pieces.
[-30 minutes]
And, according to the plot, this is where Seo-ah dies.
She should have died a long time ago.
Yoo Seo-ah, having overdosed on the drug, was already near the end of her life by the time she met Han Si-hoo.
So all that was left was the funeral.
I should have written a will.
Not that I have anything to leave behind.
*Stab.*
[1 minute]
*Stab.*
[1 hour 19 minutes]
*Stab.*
[2 hours 43 minutes]
*Stab.*
"Ah."
I opened my eyes.
I feel awful.
I try to figure out why I feel so bad.
My head is splitting.
There are tears welling up in the corners of my eyes.
"Ah?"
I was stabbed.
I had a nightmare that the drug's effect reached zero.
I sit up and check if my stomach is okay.
My clothes aren't torn, and my stomach is only a little bruised.
These are gray clothes I've never seen before.
The blanket and the bed beneath it are also unfamiliar.
This is a place I've never seen.
"You're awake?"
It's a woman I've never seen before.
She's wearing a white coat.
I squeeze my eyes shut against the sudden waft of medicinal smells.
The air is unfamiliar.
"Ah, stay down. Stay down. This is the infirmary."
"Ugh."
I tried to speak, but failed.
Something is caught in my throat.
I cough and spit into my hand, and something black comes out.
"Here, wipe it."
She holds out a white handkerchief.
Is she a healer?
The name tag on her coat reads Lee Yoo-ram.
"It's a miracle you survived."
"Ugh..."
"39 degrees. Still high. It's gone down a bit, though."
she says, holding a thermometer to my forehead.
39 degrees is pretty high.
It is high.
"Urk, keuk."
I spit out something more.
It's hard to talk.
"Here, water."
"Ugh..."
The words won't come out.
I down the cup of water Lee Yoo-ram gave me.
It's hard to swallow.
Didn't a knife stab right through my stomach?
I'd forgotten because of the new clothes.
I put down the cup and check my stomach to see if it's okay.
It's fine, aside from the bruise.
I feel like I already checked this.
"Don't worry, the treatment was clean. Couldn't do anything about the old scars, though."
Old wounds are hard to heal.
I know.
Is the fever because of the old wounds?
Why does my head feel like it's going to split open?
"Are you okay?"
I shook my head.
I'm not okay.
"We have more medicine, so don't worry."
That's a relief.
Medicine.
Well, a doctor will sell you medicine anytime.
It seems there's plenty of it in a place like this, too.
Though I've never heard the name of the medicine.
"This is the Academy's infirmary."
Inside the Academy.
Inside?
"Hic."
I was stabbed, so why am I at the Academy?
I lift my shirt to check the wound.
There's a bruise, but no sign of a stab wound.
"We treated it... so it's fine."
I already checked.
My hands are shaking.
Or was I never stabbed in the first place?
I have no idea.
"The medicine."
[2 hours 40 minutes]
Who cares about the reason?
My head feels sticky; I can't think.
She's a healer, so she must have medicine.
"The medicine..."
"You're not asking for a fever reducer, are you?"
"The medicine..."
My condition is much worse than usual.
It's like before I went to see the doctor.
The cough medicine didn't work.
It kept getting worse, and, um.
My memory is foggy.
Anyway, after I went to the doctor, the fever and headache went away.
Because he gave me the medicine.
"The medicine. I, *cough*, have money."
In the end, it's always about money.
No one just gives away medicine for free.
As long as I can buy it.
"Huh?"
"How much... is it."
I have the money Han Si-hoo gave me.
I can think about paying him back later.
He just gave it to me, so maybe I don't have to.
"Is that what you've been buying? How much did the doctor charge?"
"Five million won..."
"Ah, so that's the price... I didn't know since the school provided it... But you have that kind of money? You?"
"Si-hoo gave it to me."
He really is my only friend.
Are we friends?
We broke things off.
I think something worse than that happened.
Didn't we fight?
"...Si-hoo gave you money to buy the medicine?"
"Yes..."
He gave it to me because I said I needed it.
Even though he told me never to come back.
Still, at least he gave me the money.
"Han Si-hoo gave it to you?"
"Yeees."
"To buy medicine?"
I nod.
My head feels heavy.
I don't know why she keeps asking.
"What in the world."
Lee Yoo-ram clutches her head.
Then she squeezes her eyes shut and seems to think about something.
She looks like she can't understand something.
She seems very confused.
"Did, did Si-hoo really tell you to use the medicine?"
"I asked... for money for the medicine, so he gave it to me."
The coughing won't stop.
It hurts.
"O-okay. Don't push yourself to answer."
Tears well up every time I cough.
My condition is really strange.
Did I catch a bad cold?
"Well, it is the slums... but, huh? Why would Si-hoo..."
she mutters to herself.
Something about the slums.
Is she looking down on me because I live in the slums?
I can't follow the conversation.
"S-so. What exactly is your relationship with Si-hoo?"
We were friends.
I try to recall.
What happened before time ran out?
"Friends...?"
Before coming to the Academy.
Before coming to the infirmary.
But why am I here?
Because it's the Academy?
-*I have to go congratulate him on his graduation.*
The doctor was with me.
-*Please lift your head a little.*
And then, *stab*.
103 hours and 2 minutes.
Huh.
Happiness overflows.
Where are my 103 hours and 2 minutes of happiness?
What did I do?
I went to congratulate Si-hoo on his graduation.
I was angry at Si-hoo, probably because he didn't invite me.
-*Are you really going to get me the medicine?*
-*Can you give me a place to live and food to eat?*
-*Really?*
Questions I asked in the past swirl in my head.
I don't know what questions I was even asking.
He tells me to trust him.
Si-hoo stands there as if telling me to leave everything to him.
I was consumed by the feeling that it was okay to rely on him.
-*We're friends, right?*
So, what was his answer?
He was filled with the confidence befitting a protagonist.
Han Si-hoo never lies.
Especially not to Yoo Seo-ah.
-*No.*
And then I'm stabbed.
Um, and then I'm stabbed and stabbed.
100 hours evaporate.
I have to stop my time from disappearing.
It's right for me to stab myself.
Yoo Seo-ah should have died long ago.
Where did my 100 hours go?
It's not fair.
I want to cry.
If things had gone as they should, I'd probably still have 90 hours left.
I wouldn't be in this much pain.
[1 hour 45 minutes]
There's not much time left.
I can feel my heart pounding.
My head is hot, but I'm cold.
My vision is going dark.
Fever reducer.
The doctor gave Seo-ah the syrup.
It had too much sugar.
This time, she didn't want to take it because it was too sweet.
But the pills were too hard to swallow.
Back then, the doctor was still kind.
-*Seo-ah...*
Someone is calling me.
It's Si-hoo.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry for attacking you.
It was my fault.
Why did I attack the protagonist?
Right, it's because of the medicine the doctor gave me.
It was so sweet it messed with my head.
*Stab.*
This is the sound of a needle, or just the sound of being stabbed.
[5 hours 8 minutes]
And I'll just be stabbed again.
Again.
"Seo-ah?"
I hadn't even noticed, but the door was open.
Someone has come inside.
"Are you okay?"
Si-hoo spoke to me.