Chapter 3
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 3
It happened when I was ten.
The day rain poured down in torrents from a hole in the sky. My mom, who said she'd be right back, never came home.
It was a hard time.
If that kid hadn't spoken to me, I probably would never have trusted people again.
"Are you new here?"
"......"
"You look like you're having a rough time. Want me to help? If you do what I say, you'll feel better in no time....... Hate her."
"What?"
"Hate your mom. If you want to survive here, that's what you have to do."
"......What the— If you're messing with me, get lost! I'm not in the mood."
I buried my face in my knees, and Yoo So-young, pouting with her lips stuck out, handed me something and bolted away.
"If you're bored, at least read this. Time will fly~"
It was some old notebook.
With a really embarrassing title written on it.
The Story of the Princess and the Hero Who Defeated the Demon King.
The author is Leah (Yoo So-young)♡
"Who's going to read crap like this."
At first, I shoved it aside and ignored it.
"So childish. What did she even write."
But before long, I picked it up.
It was because I was worn out by the endless waiting, by something vague I couldn't let go of.
That was how I read Yoo So-young's story.
What was so fun about a good-triumphs-over-evil story made up by a ten-year-old brat?
Sitting on the hill with a clear view of the orphanage entrance, reading books became my daily routine, and when even that got boring, I drew.
"Whoa! You drew my story? You're really good. You're like a genius, a genius!"
"......."
"Want to work together? I'll write the story, and you draw the pictures. How about it?"
Someone else's traces had filled the space another person left behind.
"My name is Yoo So-young. My baptismal name is Leah. Let's be friends!"
"......I'm Lee Do-hyeon."
"Do-yeon?"
"No, hyeon. Lee Do-hyeon."
I started living again.
Following that kid's advice, I hated my mom and lived boldly, as if to show everyone.
We started sharing the same dream: someday we'd create something amazing together—she as a writer, me as an artist.
And so eighteen years passed.
We became each other's closest, most dependable person.
......But then.
That girl disappeared.
That day, after we'd shared pork belly and soju, she vanished, leaving behind only a message saying she was entering the novel.
At first, I thought it was just a small act of rebellion.
But a day passed, then two, and even after a full week, Yoo So-young didn't come back.
As if she had evaporated, I couldn't find a single trace of her.
It was around then that even the police gave up the investigation.
Bzzzzz.
A suspicious message arrived.
[010-1234-4885]
Your friend has failed to achieve the final objective ■■.
Now it is your turn.
Will you enter the novel to save your friend? [Y/N]
......4885?
I didn't agonize for long.
Without asking questions or weighing options, I accepted right away.
Because if I had been the one to disappear, Yoo So-young would have done the same without hesitation.
The novel begins anew.
Survival and a satisfying development. Remember only those two things.
If you do, what you desire will be waiting at the end of the long journey.
And that was how I ended up inside [Epic of Salvation] as Park Ha-yul.
* * *
As soon as I arrived, I slept for six hours straight.
Instead of feeling happy about the rare deep sleep, I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth.
[Remaining Time: 5 days 2 hours 39 minutes]
My precious time. I should have at least set an alarm.......
Resolving to sleep only four hours from now on, I got out of the soft bed.
After showering and roughly filling my stomach, I sat at the desk out of habit and organized yesterday's events.
First of all, discovering a new method of extending time was a big gain.
Even if I failed a quest, as long as I could hunt down a calamity to prolong my life, I'd have a fallback option, so the pressure eased.
"And Baek Sa-young."
I had met him by chance and deceived him, but I still thought it had been the best choice.
Because I intended to follow the original story's flow as much as possible.
If the information I knew was to retain its value, I would have to keep doing so.
Fortunately, before awakening Manifestation, Park Ha-yul was basically an extra right up until his fourth-year graduation.
It was an opportunity for me.
I planned to quietly focus on quests and work toward my ultimate purpose for entering this world: finding Yoo So-young.
"Well, if I follow the original story's development, I'll get my bearings."
I wasn't impatient.
The mysterious number 4885.
Just as that bastard's text said, the novel had begun anew, and it seemed it would be a long journey with no end in sight.
"So there are three days left now?"
I picked up a single sheet of paper lying on the desk.
<Taehak Opening Ceremony Guide>
Date: March 2, Monday
Time / Location: 9:00 AM, Sosurim Hall
You have been assigned to Class A, Year 2, for the 2022 academic year.
The life-risking warm-up was over, so for the next quest, I had to go to the main stage.
"It's going to be tight."
I walked over to the bookshelf and picked out the books I needed.
1-Star Fire-Style Sorcery Compendium
1-Star Water-Style Sorcery Compendium
.
.
Sorcery.
The foundation of Park Ha-yul's Manifestation and the essence of Eastern supernatural arts that earned the sorcerer family the title of "Geunwon."
At Taehak, there would be too many watchful eyes to use Armament Manifestation, so I needed to learn it in advance.
"Now I'm really about to shoot fire from my hands."
Well, the more weapons, the better, right?
I'd already savored the feeling of King Arthur once, so for the remaining four days, I planned to cram with Appraisal and become Merlin too.
* * *
The human brain is an organ of infinite potential.
The past four days had been a process of experimenting with and proving that.
I suffered from headaches as if my overheated synapses were burning, but I crammed information in to the limit, then crammed in more, absorbing new knowledge.
As a result, I raised my comprehension of the fire, water, wood, and wind attributes into the 80% range, and earth and metal into the 20% range.
It wasn't perfect, but I'd obtained fairly satisfying results, and before I knew it, the morning of my departure for Taehak had arrived.
[Remaining Time: 1 day 3 hours 19 minutes]
As I entered the underground parking garage, a man in a neat suit bowed his head in greeting.
"Young master. I am Choi Jin-cheol."
He was the first person from the sorcerer family I had met, but I wasn't flustered.
I'd received a text last night saying he would be waiting, and I was confident I could act like Park Ha-yul.
So when Secretary Choi opened the rear door of the black luxury sedan, I climbed in as if it were only natural and shot off a remark.
"Drive properly. If it's bumpy like last time, I'll get out midway."
"Pardon?"
"Why, not confident?"
"No, it's not that. It's just that today is the first time I've attended you, young master......."
......Ah, really?
"That's strange. Your face looks familiar. Did we run into each other at the main house, then?"
"That wouldn't be it either. I was assigned as your direct secretary only a week ago."
"......Let's depart."
"......Yes."
Trying not to show my awkwardness, I crossed my legs nonchalantly.
Vroooom.
The car set off for Taehak with an awkward silence hanging over us.
Whether it was his natural personality or he'd been tipped off not to talk to Park Ha-yul if possible, Secretary Choi drove in silence, and since I had nothing to lose either, I went along with it.
After about thirty minutes of racing along in silence, a rather interesting landscape unfolded outside the window.
"Ah."
I stared, entranced enough to forget even the remaining time for a moment.
A grand avenue stretching straight like a runway, and statues of great figures lining both sides as if guarding it.
Behind them, elegant yet traditional-looking buildings rose high, creating a peculiar impression.
Feeling the tension that had been sagging swell up again, I spoke to Secretary Choi.
"I'll walk from here."
* * *
As for the Taehak I'd imagined......
It was a training institute with a rigid, austere atmosphere.
True to its reputation as a dragon's den and tiger's lair where the finest faculty and brightest talents gathered, it was a space of constant struggle with no peaceful days, full of competition and secret feuds.
That should have been the case.......
But the feeling of it realized in reality was quite different from my expectations.
"Hey, did you hear Lee Taek-jin is the homeroom professor for Class B this year?"
"Really? Class B is X-ed. How are they supposed to survive a year under that psycho?"
Students chatted casually, no differently from those at any other college—
"You're dating Kim Si-young, right?"
"Are you crazy? Who said that?"
"I did, you bastard. You two were holding hands in Myeongdong, making a whole scene. You still going to deny it?"
The youthful gossip of people in their twenties drifted in on the spring breeze as well.
The faces of students meeting again after the long winter break were blooming with smiles.
Smiles were everywhere—except on me, walking alone across the wide campus.
"The real thing is better than the design."
Well, I didn't feel desolate or lonely.
I was busy looking around at this and that, and there was a considerable gap in perspective between them and me—between real college students and a terminally ill Outsider nearing thirty.
After walking past the octagonal-roofed buildings for about twenty minutes, I arrived in front of a towering seven-story building.
Sosurim Hall.
This place, with its plaque that looked hastily scrawled yet emitted a soft glow, was where today's opening ceremony would be held.
After checking the information board, I went up to the third floor. Turning right and walking straight, I came face to face with it.
Class A, Year 2.
The main class of [Epic of Salvation], and the class I'd been assigned to.
It was already noisy from the entrance, as if everyone had gathered.
I couldn't go right in and paused for a moment.
Either way, I was about to face characters I'd drawn myself, so I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little shaken.
But just as with Baek Sa-young, I had no intention of approaching more than necessary.
"Let's quietly observe the atmosphere."
With firm resolve, I opened the door.
Slide.
Fortunately, few eyes looked this way.
There were some who glanced over, but they quickly lost interest.
Either they didn't recognize me or they didn't care.
As expected.
I smiled with satisfaction and moved to the back, which was good for observing.
I took a corner seat, figuring I'd slipped in without standing out.
"Excuse me. You there—the one who just came up?"
That is, until I heard a voice referring to me.
What?
I flinched at the sudden development, but soon pretended to be calm and looked around.
"Please come back down this way."
A soft, melodious voice came from near the front of the lecture hall.
It was from a woman writing something with her gaze lowered.
For a split second I thought she was a professor, but she was a student—just far too glamorous-looking for one.
Long black straight hair, and a form-fitting uniform that suited her very well.......
"Excuse me?"
Realizing I'd been standing there blankly, I walked over to her.
Thinking, what could possibly happen.......
Step, step.
The female student's face grew clearer as the distance shrank.
Her refined features and fair skin harmonized well, and her slightly upturned eyes resembled those of a celebrity famous for her catlike looks.
It was our first meeting, but her appearance was definitely familiar.
Very much so.
"Joo A-rin?"
I'd drawn her hundreds, thousands of times, so it would be stranger not to recognize her.
I was almost certain.
One of the three main heroines of [Epic of Salvation], from the Guardian Joo Family, a prestigious house that held sway over the Republic of Korea.
A heroine whose charm lay in being noble, haughty, and therefore prickly.
......But why would someone like her call Park Ha-yul?
We had no real point of contact, so I stood before her feeling a little tense.
"Take one of these."
Joo A-rin pointed to one side of the desk, her gaze fixed on a stack of papers.
There was a white basket there, and inside it were round objects like 500-won coins.
The engraved pattern was a three-legged crow, the Samjoko. The symbol of Taehak, the world's foremost educational institution.
I immediately recognized what it was.
"A phone grip."
It was a kind of connector device.
When attached to the back of a phone, it linked the phone to Taehak's system and assisted various functions—cutting-edge magic engineering equipment.
Right, that made sense. She must have called me over to hand these out.
I chuckled and picked one up. Then Joo A-rin asked.
"What's your name?"
"Park Ha-yul."
"One moment. Park...... Ha......."
She flipped through the documents in front of her to mark receipt.
But was handing out phone grips really Joo A-rin's job?
She wasn't the type to step forward unless it was important, so I was puzzled for a moment.
"Yul? Park Ha-yul?!"
She suddenly raised her head and stared straight at me.
"......."
"......."
After hearing my name, her expression hardened compared to before.
Her crimson eyes trembled faintly.
...What is this?
I tried to grasp the meaning, but I couldn't. This was the first time I'd actually seen her.
"Huff, huff, A-rin, sorry! I'm late, right?"
The strange standoff ended quickly.
A female student came running over, looking for Joo A-rin.
"Yeah, you're late. Very late."
"Hehe, thanks for covering for me. Go on in, I'll take over now."
"It's fine. I already started, so I'll finish."
"No. Hurry, go! Go!"
Joo A-rin gave in to the female student's pestering and stepped back, and I naturally drifted away from the flow of conversation too.
Since the ending felt unsettling, I looked at Joo A-rin.
She was gazing out the window as if nothing had happened.
Well.......
It was our first meeting, so I must have gotten worked up over nothing. Surely it meant nothing significant.
After shaking off my thoughts, I returned to the quiet back seat.
I'd ended up exchanging words with one of them, so it was time to check on the rest of the main cast.
[Using trait, Heightened Senses.]