Step step
As he walks, he comes to his senses. Seo-Ah is not beside him.
Ugh Maybe he should have just stayed together with her.
If the medicine really couldn’t solve the problem, it would have been better to at least have her with him. Of course, he wanted that.
Han Si-Hoo was also reluctant to enter the Academy.
Here’s how it all started:
First of all, he had no money. Money was always tight.
But Seo-Ah was sick.
It was burdensome to be in a position where he couldn’t even afford a few thousand won worth of medicine.
So, he had to earn money.
If he had grown stronger, he could earn more money.
For example, by hunting the monsters that appeared around him.
If he retrieved useful parts from the corpses and non-evaporating items to sell, he could earn enough money.
He realized later that it was something like smuggling.
Because he was selling unverified items.
In some cities, no one cared.
But this place was different.
Monster hunting only occurred in similar regions.
It seemed like the city was paying attention.
When he arrived in an area where monster sightings had been detected or reported, all the monsters were dead.
And this happened repeatedly.
So, a conclusion was drawn.
There was a fairly strong Awakener operating secretly.
– Not a group, but an individual. You’re pretty impressive for such a young age.
Two professors from the Academy and one Awakener from outside found Han Si-Hoo.
There might have been more lurking in unseen places.
– Are you living in the slums? You must have some place nearby. We can’t let talent like you go to waste here.
– Ah, we may look like professors, but would you consider coming to the Academy?
An immediate admission offer followed.
– Wasn’t that meant to be an arrest?
– It’s not like you’ve been confirmed as a villain. Even if there have been a few troubling incidents lately.
– That’s true.
– Anyway, student. Well, you’re not a student yet, but do you think you’d like to join the Academy? It’s a great opportunity to grow as an Awakener in the service of humanity.
Han Si-Hoo felt uneasy the moment they mentioned arrest.
It was clear this wasn’t something he could easily refuse.
– Ah, do you have a family? If you do, we have protective facilities.
Protective?
He couldn’t possibly trust that.
He hadn’t seen a properly functioning place labeled as a protective facility.
Seo-Ah would actually be safer outside.
These were suspicious people.
Awakeners even stronger than Han Si-Hoo.
He had to be more cautious.
– Did you live alone? You weren’t hunting collectively or anything like that, right?
He had no choice but to answer that way.
– Long-term unregistered Awakeners face punishment, but you’re still young so you might…
And so, Han Si-Hoo’s visit to the Academy became mandatory.
If he had said no, he would probably have been arrested or dealt with.
He avoided being mistaken for a villain seen near the city.
The price was admission to the Academy.
It was practically forced.
– You lived alone anywhere outside? The Academy provides dormitories, so don’t worry.
He followed his instinctive warning.
He couldn’t let them find out about Seo-Ah.
These were monsters.
Evil lurked behind their kindness.
If Han Si-Hoo had shown even a hint of discontent, it might have been tough for him to return to Seo-Ah.
His Academy tour somehow came to an end.
He returned home.
It took him a full two days.
He finished registering as a new Awakener and even went through the temporary admission process.
Only then could he finally leave the Academy.
Two days felt like an eternity.
He had disappeared without telling Seo-Ah.
But in any case, he managed to come back.
“Where have you been?”
Seo-Ah was waiting at the door to Si-Hoo’s house.
They were almost neighbors, but Seo-Ah lived in a different house.
Having one house per person was already quite well off, right?
It was almost like a game of house.
“…I had some business.”
“Business? Where did you go?”
The problem was that he had vanished without a word for two days.
What should he say? That he was dragged off against his will?
Han Si-Hoo struggled to find a suitable response.
“Academy.”
“Academy…?”
“Yeah. I think I’ll be attending the Academy.”
It was partially against his will.
But he didn’t want to worry Seo-Ah.
He acted as if it were his own choice.
“Why?”
“It’ll be better that way. I can make a lot of money.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Sorry. It was a sudden decision.”
“What do you mean…?”
Seo-Ah spoke as if she didn’t quite understand.
Well, of course, she wouldn’t.
But if he didn’t attend the Academy… escaping was his only option.
Taking Seo-Ah and moving to another region was quite unfeasible, and the Academy had already set up barriers to make Han Si-Hoo’s escape difficult.
The fact he had stamped his admission contract was already problematic.
There was minor surveillance on him now.
If he got caught while trying to escape, an unprotected child from the slums would end up in a facility.
And if Han Si-Hoo was mistaken for a villain, the situation would be even more serious.
“Don’t go.”
“We don’t have much money anyway.”
“Ah, I’ll earn it.”
“It’s better if I go. I’ll often come back here even if I attend the Academy, so don’t worry.”
He had no choice but to go.
Though he didn’t have much faith in the Academy, there might be some use for him there.
From what he learned during the tour, the amount of money given to students was astounding.
So it was indeed true that money was tight.
“…”
At this point, Seo-Ah was already addicted to the medicine.
The price of the medicine was rising.
“Sorry for being late without saying anything. The Academy sent someone to meet me.”
What would Seo-Ah think if he told her he kinda forcefully got admitted?
He believed it would be better to handle things alone.
He thought he could make use of the Academy without hassle.
Considering it, he suddenly realized Seo-Ah was wearing long sleeves around that time.
The way she kept her arms behind her back was probably to hide the scars.
“When… will you start attending the Academy?”
“Next week.”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah.”
His head was spinning with thoughts about how to handle things at the Academy.
Somehow. It’d work out somehow.
That’s what he thought.
“Well, I can’t stop you from going. Have a good time.”
She said with an air of resignation, as if it didn’t matter anymore.
She didn’t seem anxious at all.
“If the Academy is sending someone, you must be a big deal.”
She spoke with a smile.
“I’ll come by here often. I might not stay at the Academy all the time, so I could quit and come back soon.”
Up until that moment, that’s how he felt.
Until he realized the rewards from the Academy were greater than he had expected.
“Is that so?”
For Seo-Ah, there were no problems at all.
And the Academy would give generous rewards.
Then there was no real reason to quit.
“Sorry.”
But if Seo-Ah didn’t like him being in the Academy, he’d have to find a way.
That was just a thought.
And one week after his transfer to the Academy.
Han Si-Hoo received a fortune he had never held before.
Under the title of Academy activity funds.
With this money, there wouldn’t be any need for worries about living costs or medicine.
If he saved up, he could even move somewhere better.
On that evening as the sun set.
He made time to visit Seo-Ah’s house.
He handed over all the money he had received.
Seo-Ah didn’t show much interest in the money as he expected.
Seo-Ah hesitated before opening her mouth.
“Si-Hoo, do you want to go out and watch the stars tonight?”
That question was unexpected.
It had nothing to do with money or the Academy.
It was simply an invitation to stargaze.
“Is that not possible?”
He had a promise to keep.
A promise with the Academy.
To avoid attracting their attention, he had to return quickly.
“…Sorry. I have a promise tonight.”
“With whom?”
It was a promise with the Academy.
He had to go back.
“Ah, well, I have a friend.”
A pointless excuse.
It felt odd to just speak the truth.
“Ah, I see. You have plans at night with a friend…”
She didn’t try to show her disappointment.
It seemed like it didn’t matter to her.
“I just thought I’d ask, so don’t worry about it.”
At that moment, he thought Seo-Ah would be okay.
There was still plenty of time, so even if she seemed a bit disappointed, he would make it up to her later.
After all, he had earned a lot of money, so he thought it was good news.
“I’m glad to see you’re doing well at the Academy.”
But that was the last opportunity to maintain his relationship with Seo-Ah.
He regretted returning to the Academy.
What if he had gone stargazing with her then?
Maybe Seo-Ah wanted to talk about the medicine.
To say that the medicine she was taking seemed off.
She might have asked for help.
Even if Seo-Ah didn’t say anything, Han Si-Hoo might have found something strange.
But he didn’t take notice.
Did he want to believe there were no problems?
He told Seo-Ah he would come back again later.
He thought opportunities would present themselves again.
“Take care…”
And so, Han Si-Hoo left.
Now, he had no one to talk to.
If one were to argue, this was the point where their relationship ended.
He had crossed a river of irreparable damage.
“Sorry.”
He apologized, but no one was listening.
Even starting from the slums, he believed he could reach a higher place.
There were many people hard to believe, yet heroes worthy of respect existed.
There were too many garbage people.
Still, Han Si-Hoo believed he was different from those trash.
But now he wasn’t sure what made him different.
What was he trying to do?
Kidnap Lee Yoo-Ram’s younger sister?
Holding her hostage and threatening?
“Sorry.”
He was just the same as everyone else.
Lee Yoo-Ram only acted for his family’s sake.
Seo-Ah had her own desires too.
As a teacher, it was a failure, but at least it’s hard to say Lee Yoo-Ram’s younger sister was at fault.
What’s different from what a doctor does?
Yet, he still wanted to kill that doctor.
He wanted to hear why he did what he did.
He wanted to kill him in the most painful way possible.
But he didn’t need to spread that pain to others.
That was not right.
No, even if it was, he still wanted to kill the doctor.
He wanted to deal with it.
Just the fact that such a presence existed in his memory made him sick.
He wished it would never resurface in his life again.
In fact, more than that.
He just wanted to go home.
He should have gone stargazing.
Han Si-Hoo stood on the street.
A road where no one passed by.
No cars, no people.
The streetlight shone lonely.
In truth, Han Si-Hoo had no friends either.
The time spent with the kids he met at the Academy was nothing compared to the time he spent with Seo-Ah.
It was a sudden realization.
Han Si-Hoo also had no friends to reminisce with.
He was left alone.
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