Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Borrowing Money for Medicine
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[7 hours 43 minutes]
There was plenty of time, and just in case, I packed painkillers along with the pills.
If I had my way, I’d bring the syringe and the solution, too.
If only I had a decent bag, I would have packed it.
In any case, I was ready to go out.
All I had to do was leave.
It bothered me that my clothes were a bit worn and my arm was wrapped in a bandage, but oh well.
I’d rummaged through the closet, but there were only a few things I could wear.
Aside from the ragged clothes, there were just a few simple shirts.
Is it a crime to be poor?
It couldn't be helped.
If I thought of it as dressing very casually, it seemed fine.
"Alright, time to go meet the protagonist."
We were supposed to be childhood friends, yet the protagonist hadn't come to see me at all.
At this rate, it was clear we would only meet again at my funeral.
I had to be the one to go to him first.
In the novel, the protagonist had actually encountered Yoo Seo-ah again only when she was half-dead.
All because they hadn't contacted each other for a long time.
Anyway, I was in a pretty good mood right now.
Was it because I was excited to meet the protagonist?
With that thought, I placed my hand on the doorknob.
[Warning - External stimuli can reduce the time.]
A warning window appeared.
"......"
External stimuli reduce the time.
The time I can remain sane grows shorter.
The medicine wears off faster.
So... it means my mood will sour sooner.
[Warning - External stimuli can reduce the time.]
Even though I had pills and painkillers in my pocket, the warning window made me hesitate to leave.
"Still, I have to go."
I had to meet the protagonist.
This time, there was nothing else I could do.
I couldn't afford my medicine because I was short on cash, so I had to hit him up for some.
Mr. Protagonist had a lot of money.
The kind-hearted protagonist would gladly give me the money.
Probably.
Contacting him by phone wasn't an option.
Yoo Seo-ah was so poor she didn't own luxuries like a cell phone.
Even if she had one, she probably would have sold it somewhere.
The medicine was ridiculously expensive, after all.
She didn't have any parents either.
There were no adults to ask for help.
The world in this novel was different from the one I used to live in.
Life was incredibly harsh.
So, where was the protagonist?
At the academy.
The Awakener Academy.
This was why I could find the protagonist somehow, even without any means of contact.
A protagonist, by definition, is bound to have special abilities.
Here, people with such abilities are called Awakeners.
Monsters started crawling out, and Awakeners were the ones who dealt with them.
Gates opened, dungeons formed...
The protagonist fought monsters and bad guys.
It was that kind of common, cliché novel world.
For the record, Yoo Seo-ah's parents died in an Awakener-related incident.
The protagonist also lost his parents to monsters when he was young.
It wasn't that there were no adults to look after him, but there was no one who would do so with any real care.
It was because of that tragic common ground that he and I had played together as kids and become childhood friends.
Though after he was revealed to be an Awakener, he went off to the academy alone.
Or maybe I should say he was half-dragged there.
That's just how the law was.
An Awakener?
Straight to the training grounds (the academy).
Originally, the protagonist had lived in an environment similar to Yoo Seo-ah's...
But not anymore.
The academy ran dormitories, and the protagonist lived there.
He used to make time to visit Yoo Seo-ah once a week, but he hadn't come in a long while.
He's the protagonist, so he must be busy.
The protagonist didn't know that Yoo Seo-ah's condition was gradually worsening.
Because the Yoo Seo-ah until now had hidden that fact.
The Yoo Seo-ah in the novel had already died due to the protagonist's indifference.
It was only because it was me that I was somehow still alive.
This is how scary indifference can be.
Who leaves their childhood friend all alone to go have fun at an academy?
[7 hours 23 minutes]
Because I could see this screen, I could take my medicine on time, but the Yoo Seo-ah in the novel couldn't.
That's why she died so quickly.
Too much medicine becomes poison.
Though taking more does make you happier.
And now?
I was taking a moderate amount, so it was fine.
Seeing a smile come so naturally, I must be in a healthy and good state.
"Ah... I want to attend the academy, too."
I want to turn my life around.
But forget the academy, I didn't even attend a regular school.
It was possible in a society where the concept of public education had been shattered.
The gap between the rich and poor was also considerable.
That's why slums like this formed in a corner of the city.
There were a lot of empty houses here and there, too.
Well, that's how I had a place to live, I guess.
I kept walking, lost in thought.
Towards the academy building, far in the distance.
The academy was enormous, so it would soon come into view.
It was a relief that it was within walking distance.
***
"Hmm. Unauthorized outsiders are not permitted to enter."
I was stopped at the entrance.
A man who looked like a security guard blocked my path.
"I'm here to see a friend."
"Did you arrange this with them personally?"
"No."
"Hmm, then I can't let you in."
"Ah."
There were more hurdles to overcome than I'd expected.
It would have been great if I knew the protagonist's phone number.
[3 hours 40 minutes]
It was a long walk.
Felt like I'd been walking for three or four hours.
I didn't have much money, so I couldn't even use public transportation.
Walking all the way back home from here was not an option.
I probably wouldn't make it back even if I tried.
If I could just borrow money from the protagonist, I could have at least taken a taxi back.
Seeing my dejected state, the guard spoke up.
"If there's someone you want to meet, can you tell me their name? I can't make any promises, but I can put in a call that someone is looking for them."
Thankfully, it wasn't over yet.
The guard was kinder than I thought.
It seemed I'd be able to meet him, even if it took some time.
"Oh, thank you. His name is Si-hoo. Han Si-hoo. Please tell him Yoo Seo-ah is looking for him."
I gave him the protagonist's name.
"Huh? Han Si-hoo? Isn't he that famous kid these days? I heard he's in the Middle School Division but beat the second-best in the High School Division."
"Is that so."
The story hadn't even started in earnest yet, but he was already making a name for himself.
If I were the protagonist, I could have done at least that much.
"If you were a reporter or something, I wouldn't even be making this call. I'm making a special exception just this once."
He was a kind guard.
His gaze was on my arm; he seemed to be concerned about the bandage wrapped around my hand.
I moved my arm behind my back to hide it naturally.
Did I look pitiful because of my ragged clothes?
Even though the person inside was this happy.
This is why you shouldn't judge a person by their appearance.
"Thank you."
"Alright, leave your contact information here. It'll take some time."
"Um, I don't have a contact number... Can I just wait here?"
"......"
The guard kindly allowed me to sit in the waiting area.
Inside, I watched with interest as academy students passed by.
I couldn't see many since it was near the entrance.
The campus was truly vast.
Maybe because they were Awakeners, but some kids seemed to be using strange teleportation magic, and there was someone carrying a spear on their back.
A woman who looked like a professor walked by with a sparkling orb floating beside her.
It was just like a world from a novel.
It was lamentable that I was talentless, but what could I do.
Surely, out of all those people, there wasn't a single one who could cure Yoo Seo-ah's illness?
There wasn't.
What healing-type Awakeners could fix was limited.
It was a strange mechanism where they could reattach a severed arm but couldn't even properly cure a common cold.
"If only I had an ability, I would be attending the academy."
"Yeah, yeah. It's an unequal society, isn't it?"
The guard chimed in from the side.
"Ahaha..."
The protagonist, of course, had been using his powers to defeat bad guys since he was a child, but Yoo Seo-ah, unfortunately, had never had a moment to shine.
No, on second thought, she did have a moment right around when she died.
It was just that she wasn't on the protagonist's side then.
Huh?
Suddenly, I wanted to die.
Why did I have to become this kind of character in this crappy novel and go through all this hell?
Honestly, it would be better to live without taking any medicine.
After I meet the protagonist, borrow money, and buy medicine, what then?
Take more medicine, wait, borrow more money, buy more medicine...
Does the medicine even cure the illness?
Why couldn't I be the protagonist?
If you were going to make me an extra, there are so many better ones, right?
Someone like Yoo Seo-ah.
My mind is going strange.
Something's wrong with my head.
[2 hours 11 minutes]
I fumbled inside my pocket and took out a pill.
I immediately put it in my mouth and swallowed.
It was a bit hard to swallow without water.
[2 hours 30 minutes]
Huh?
I felt good again.
Sometimes the medicine's effects wore off like this, even when there was time left.
I had to stay sane.
This was another reminder of the importance of health.
When things get dangerous, I need to quickly take more of the medicine I brought.
Then I'll feel good again.
It was always like that.
"—We got in touch a few minutes ago. That kid, Han Si-hoo, said he'll come here himself. For now, you can just wait here."
As I sat there quietly, I heard some good news.
"Is that so?"
"There's a separate visiting area, so he'll probably take you there. Probably."
"Aha."
"You seem to be in a good mood, huh? You looked so down just a moment ago."
"Yes. It's been a long time since we've met."
I didn't realize I wanted to see the protagonist so badly that it was written all over my face.
"Here, this is a temporary pass. Show it if anyone asks."
"Ooh."
It was a lanyard, the kind an office worker might wear.
Anyway, I wanted to hurry up, meet him, and get the money for my medicine.
[1 hour 56 minutes]
And taxi fare, while I was at it.
Even if I brought some emergency pills, it would take too long to walk home.
It was a distance that would make my legs ache from walking.
They didn't hurt, but... maybe that's why the medicine wore off a bit faster.
The academy provided a significant amount of financial support.
You could also earn money by catching monsters.
As an academy student, you could get paid for completing special state-led missions.
You could also obtain rare items during practical training.
Besides, he was the protagonist.
Who knew how much money the protagonist had.
Yoo Seo-ah and Han Si-hoo had been friends since they were little.
So he should be willing to lend me as much money as I needed.
He'd lend it to me if I said I needed to buy some medicine for my health, right?
Even if the medicine was a bit expensive.
"Ahaha..."
A laugh escaped me.
Laughing feels good.
And thinking about getting the money for my medicine from the protagonist felt even better.