Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Seol Ha-jin
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Seol Ha-jin
There's something I need to do before leaving the training ground.
Put on the blindfold, wrap the bandages properly.
This is the only way I can feel at ease.
I don't want to run into the kids who beat me up before at the academy.
It's best if they can't recognize me even if we do cross paths.
This is one of the largest buildings in the academy.
It's where all the training grounds are gathered.
I doubt I'll run into them, but you never know what life will throw at you.
"Can I come and use the training ground anytime?"
"Usually, yes, but Seo-ah, you need the medicine. It would be better if you reported to me before you go."
So she said.
"I'm only temporarily in charge of the Special Class, so I don't know if the teacher will change, but until then, just tell me."
"Okay."
"And don't get too involved with the other students. Got it?"
I nodded.
I don't particularly want to get involved with them anyway.
Just talking to people is exhausting.
[11 hours, 13 minutes]
There can't be any wasted time.
"Anyway, morning class is over. You can come back here after lunch."
"To the training ground?"
"Yes."
Class was over.
The test, to be precise.
"If you're out and about and think you might run into trouble, you know what to do, right? Contact me immediately."
As if I'd run into any trouble.
I said goodbye to Lee Yoo-ram and left the training ground.
Walking around alone for the first time in a while felt good.
Or maybe it was just because the medicine's effects were still strong.
[11 hours, 5 minutes]
I'm not that hungry.
A single can of tuna is enough to satisfy me.
Where should I go to buy food?
The food court I went to with Han Si-hoo last time seems like a good choice.
There are restaurants inside the building, but I want to eat outside.
The air is definitely better outside.
Even though it's class time, I can see a few students outside.
They look like upperclassmen.
One person stands out.
A boy with white hair.
"...Who's that?"
I immediately changed direction and hid behind a nearby pillar.
Who is that?
He's definitely someone from my memories.
White hair.
-That white-haired bastard...
When is this memory from?
Who said that?
I definitely remember someone saying it.
It was the first time I'd seen someone with white hair.
-Why did that white-haired bastard send out so many watchers?
I remember now.
That.
My stomach aches.
The root cause of the beating I took for no reason.
How hard did they have to hit me to leave bruises like that?
I'm much better now, but it hurt a lot back then.
They hit me while rambling on about humanoid watchers or something.
It was a good thing the Doctor saved me.
But the white-haired guy wasn't the one who hit me.
So there's no reason to hide.
I know that logically.
But I still find myself being wary.
Still, just standing motionless behind a pillar is strange.
Shouldn't I do something?
I take out my device.
[Han Si-hoo: Let's have lunch together.]
We're eating together?
Right, it's much better to go together than to eat alone.
Have I been acting too much like a loner?
I don't really have any friends.
My wish to make friends at the academy probably won't come true.
Not now that I've been isolated in the Special Class.
[Okay.]
Eating together is good.
[I'll be at the food court.]
I need to eat something, so let's go.
Nothing will happen, right?
"You."
Something happened.
The white-haired guy is talking to me.
If I answer with "Yes?", it'll break character.
"...What is it?"
I quickly corrected my tone.
"Are you a new student?"
The white-haired boy stands up from his seat.
Judging by the way he asks if I'm a new student, he must be at least a second-year.
"That I am."
"You seemed to know me."
"What are you talking about?"
He's a strange one.
Maybe just avoiding him would have been the right choice.
I never thought he'd talk to me.
The warning that there are many strange people at the academy echoes in my ears.
"Over there. See that pigeon?"
He approaches, pointing to the top of a streetlight.
A pigeon is perched there.
"It said it saw you hiding."
So that's what a watcher is.
This is why Awakeners are a pain.
They can do all sorts of unimaginable things.
I never would have thought of using a pigeon to watch someone.
-...Didn't they say to be careful of watchers?...
-Still, we only hit her moderately, so it should be fine.
-Who was it that said to be careful of humanoid watchers?
The conversation from that time comes back to me vividly.
I don't feel good.
"...I have no idea what you're talking about."
"It's also strange for a new student to be wandering around at this hour."
It's only because I'm in the Special Class that I finished early.
"Hey, with the blindfold, the bandages, and that way of talking..."
He seemed lost in thought for a moment.
"You're a pitiful one too, huh."
*Pat.*
He places a hand on my head.
His expression is full of pity.
I tried to push it away, but my arm wouldn't move.
Could it be?
-[You cannot attack a target not designated by a superior.]
Is this what that meant?
"Hang in there."
*Pat, pat.*
He pats my head as if to say 'good job'.
Does he think it's okay just because I'm standing still?
"I heard girls don't like being petted. You're not mad, are you?"
That's not the problem.
I can't attack.
If I try to so much as swing my arm, it feels like it's weighed down by heavy iron.
Is this better than going on a rampage and destroying everything?
Still, this seems problematic.
How long was this supposed to last?
I'm sure I heard something about it.
-[You cannot attack a target not designated by a superior.]
Before this message played, there was another one that served as an explanation.
-This effect is maintained only while the medicine is active.
Only while the medicine is active.
So it'll end when the medicine wears off.
[10 hours, 53 minutes]
But the medicine needs to stay active, right?
This isn't good.
I need to find a way around this.
At this rate, I'll have to just take it without being able to resist.
"...What do you think you're doing?"
I really don't know what he thinks he's doing.
Acting like this to someone you've just met is rude, no matter who it is.
"What's your name? I'm Seol Ha-jin."
He seems to have gotten friendlier.
"You have no need to know."
"The problem with the academy is that it drags in even the sick kids."
He seems to have become more lenient, thinking I'm a sick kid.
He's right, in a way.
But I'm not mentally ill.
"You came for lunch, right? I'll treat you."
"A pointless gesture."
"No need to refuse. It's a senior treating you."
He's even stranger than I thought.
I refused, but my refusal isn't getting through.
"I have someone to dine with. This is unnecessary."
"For someone who says that, you're awfully alone. You're a new student, right? You probably don't know anyone. I'm not sure why you're out so early. What, did you leave early? Already?"
Seol Ha-jin skillfully keeps the conversation going.
"Ah, it's fine, it's fine. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I knew a kid like you once. He had a really hard time at the academy..."
It seems like it would be hard.
I'm just wearing a mask to avoid people.
"The academy isn't a place that caters to the weak."
His expression turns serious.
At this point, it seems like he doesn't care what my reaction is.
He's just saying whatever he wants to say.
He definitely sees me as weak.
"Here."
He takes my hand and leads me toward the shops.
"Ah, uh..."
"No, it's fine. I'll pay for everything. Eat something delicious. What do you want?"
"......"
I don't even know what to say anymore.
Playing a character is manageable in short bursts, but doing it for this long is giving me a headache.
It was just meant to drive people away.
But Seol Ha-jin is actually feeling a sense of familiarity.
Since it's come to this, should I just try to be friends?
No, that's not right.
"It's okay not to refuse, no, rather, don't refuse. Here, sit."
I sat down.
At a table and chair set up in the open area of the food court.
I'm the only one sitting here.
Because there's no one else around yet.
I don't know if this is right, doing this with a stranger.
What am I supposed to do when I can't even fight back?
And his grip on my hand was so strong it was hard to pull away.
"I really don't need this. I have someone to eat with..."
I said with a sigh.
"You don't have to avoid me like that."
Something is seriously wrong.
Seol Ha-jin sits next to me and holds up a menu.
"Here, pick something."
[10 hours, 17 minutes]
A lot of time has gone by.
Just talking to people is a burden.
Seol Ha-jin, on the other hand, is relaxed.
"I'll be going—"
I tried to get up, but failed.
He grabbed my shoulder.
"Choose. Anything."
A bad memory is trying to resurface.
I was misunderstood in the first place because of this guy.
Though he wasn't the one who hit me, it was someone else.
"I don't want to."
"You have a lovely way of speaking."
"Ugh."
The mask is cracking.
[10 hours, 5 minutes]
I was doing this because I wanted to stop people from approaching me.
The moment I failed to prevent him from talking to me, it was over.
"Don't be so stiff."
"Eek."
He casually drapes his arm over my shoulder.
He's a punk.
There's nothing else to call him but a punk.
Lee Yoo-ram's advice not to get too involved with other people comes to mind.
She must have been worried something like this would happen.
"I was just trying to help a pitiful junior—"
*Thwack.*
A dull thud.
Seol Ha-jin gets punched and goes flying.
"What do you think you're doing to my friend? Seol Ha-jin."
It's Han Si-hoo.
Did they know each other?
Seeing how he went straight for a punch, they don't seem to be on good terms.
"Han Si-hoo? What do you think *you're* doing..."
He gets up from the ground, his face contorted in pain.
Han Si-hoo is angrier than I expected.
He wasn't the type to throw a punch first.
"I happen to be her lunch partner."
"...Ah, I see."
Seol Ha-jin looks at Han Si-hoo and speaks as if he finds it fascinating.
"Is that so."
It sounded like he was talking to himself.
"Are you from the slums, too?"
He said it while looking past Han Si-hoo at me.
With an amused smile.
I don't know how he knew.
As an Awakener, he might have some kind of skill.
Or did he just deduce it from the way Han Si-hoo was protecting me?
"Yeah, so stop your bullshit and get lost."
Before I kill you.
I can hear Han Si-hoo grinding his teeth.
He seems really, really angry.