I Became the Drug-Addicted Childhood Friend

Luckily, there was no need to wrap my head in bandages.

Thanks to the doctor, I greeted the morning feeling refreshed.

In the end, I still didn’t figure out why he had come to my house…

But there’s no need to worry about trivial things like that.

I just need to enjoy the present.

If I can, that is.

I inserted the syringe needle into my arm.

By now, there are so many needle marks on my arm that it’s starting to scare me.

I don’t think syringes were made to be used so often on a human body.

Before fear crept in any further, I administered the drug.

[8 hours 32 minutes]

Of course, after taking the drug, all my worries vanish.

I just feel a bit dazed.

“I’m hungry.”

I muttered while staring blankly into space.

It seems like it’s been a while since I ate.

This is the only downside of the drug.

It makes me forget my hunger, and I end up missing mealtimes.

That means it’s time for a slightly late meal.

I’ll just cook something with the food in the house.

Han Si-Hoo is probably eating a delicious breakfast at the academy right now.

The doctor is probably rich enough to be dining at some fancy restaurant.

And…

There’s no one left for Yoo Seo-Ah to compare to.

If I list all the characters in this novel, it’d never end.

One thing’s for sure, though—it’s rare to find anyone eating as poorly as I am.

“There’s nothing here.”

I had stacked a few snacks in the corner of the shelf, but they were all long gone.

I even ate the ones past their expiration date.

There’s no refrigerator here.

No rice cooker either.

There’s no way to cook anything.

Ironically, the protagonist’s room, despite him never staying inside to cook, is equipped with a kitchen.

He even has a fridge.

So, what about me?

I’m always holed up at home, yet I don’t have any cooking equipment.

Not even ingredients.

Is being poor my fault?

“Oh, found it.”

A tuna can was spotted in the corner of the shelf.

Guess I’ll eat this today.

I opened the can and scooped out the tuna with a spoon.

I could go out and buy something to eat with the money I got from Han Si-Hoo, but… honestly, I’m too lazy to go out.

The drug effect fades quickly too.

“I’m not some kitten living off a single can of tuna…”

I’m still hungry.

If a single tuna can were enough to fill me up, I wouldn’t have felt hungry in the first place.

Should I just go out?

Withdraw the money in my account, head to the convenience store or the market to buy groceries.

It sounds like a hassle.

I’ve never really liked going outside, anyway.

The original Yoo Seo-Ah might have enjoyed outdoor activities, but for me, staying holed up indoors is just my daily routine.

Honestly, I find staying still more satisfying.

[8 hours 1 minute]

I could go out with the drug, but even so, leaving now feels off.

I haven’t even showered since getting home.

If only Han Si-Hoo had given me some transportation money, I might’ve stopped by the store on my way back home.

This is all the protagonist’s fault.

How could he sulk just because his childhood friend pushed him away a little?

I could’ve been a tsundere heroine or something, right?

But of course, Yoo Seo-Ah’s personality is far from that.

Han Si-Hoo must’ve known too.

“I’m almost out of the drug.”

There’s only enough for about three or four doses.

But I’m not worried.

The doctor said he’d be coming soon, so I can get more then.

After getting ready to head out, I decided to go buy some food.

I can’t just starve to death.

***

It doesn’t feel like I’ll starve to death, but just die in general.

I’m curled up, collapsed on the street.

Peeking at the academy students was my mistake.

I never thought I’d see them near the slums.

There’s no one around either.

A boy and a girl, both wearing academy uniforms, were walking toward me from the opposite direction.

They seemed to be heading somewhere to complete an academy assignment.

Seeing the weapons they carried, they were likely going to hunt monsters.

Come to think of it, I heard a dungeon appeared nearby—maybe it’s because of that?

I slowed my steps and kept staring at them, but then the large male student changed his direction and headed toward me.

Startled, I tried to move away, but it was too late.

“Hey.”

“Huh? Me?”

He spoke to me.

“Yeah, you. Did you really think we wouldn’t notice you staring at us?”

His tone was harsh.

“W-What?”

“That white-haired bastard sure has a lot of spies.”

“S-Spy?”

“Don’t play dumb.”

-Thud.

“Ugh?”

A dull sound followed by pain in my abdomen.

What the hell, did he just punch me?

I felt like I was going to throw up the tuna can I had for breakfast.

Even with the drug dulling the pain, it still hurts like hell.

My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the ground.

“Haa… Haa…”

I barely managed to catch my breath.

I almost died just now.

What kind of person throws a punch out of nowhere?

It’s hard to believe this is a law-abiding country.

“What? Was it really just a person?”

The audacity of someone who just punched another person.

“Ethan! What… What are you doing?”

The female student in the academy uniform approached as well.

“Didn’t they warn us to be on the lookout for spies? You said they’d be nearby!”

“That didn’t mean you could just hit anyone walking by! You should’ve at least checked first!”

“Well, I didn’t hit too hard, so it should be fine.”

The girl’s scolding voice and the boy’s uncertain response could be heard.

“A civilian…!”

“Who said to watch out for human-like spies?”

While they bickered, I tried to pull myself up from the ground.

The pain wasn’t subsiding.

“Are you okay?”

“…Ahaha.”

[4 hours 32 minutes]

The shock from earlier had drastically cut down my time.

[4 hours 27 minutes]

And it kept decreasing rapidly.

There’s no way I’m okay.

Do I look okay?

“Hey, I asked if you’re okay…”

“Ethan, shut up for a second.”

Something felt off.

I wasn’t feeling good anymore.

I wasn’t happy either.

Still, I had prepared for situations like this.

I carried emergency medication.

If I reached into my pocket like this—

“Oh, I forgot to bring the pills…”

“What?”

I fumbled in my pocket, still lying on the ground, but found nothing.

I hadn’t even been out of the house for long, yet I was already on the verge of death.

This is why I hate going outside.

“Ahaha…”

I laughed at the ridiculousness of it all.

How did I end up in such a pathetic state?

I really don’t know why I got hit.

This is why I hate going outside.

“Celia, I think this one’s lost it.”

“This is all your fault! What are you going to do?”

“But I…”

In the end, I failed to get up.

At least I managed to learn the names of the two.

The girl was Celia, and the boy was Ethan.

Names I had seen in the novel.

But so what?

It didn’t mean anything.

I decided to just stay lying down.

It felt like being thrown into cold water after lying comfortably in bed.

I wanted to get back to my bed as soon as possible, but it was impossible.

I needed the pills.

For now, I can still think clearly thanks to the drug’s effects.

[3 hours 43 minutes]

But even that was quickly running out.

“What should we do? Should we call an ambulance?”

“Just leave her. She looks like she’s from the slums anyway.”

“What? How can you say that—”

The girl’s words were cut off by someone suddenly intervening in the conversation.

“That’s enough.”

An all-too-familiar voice.

“Who are you?”

“I’m this child’s guardian. Academy students resorting to violence… well, I’ll let it slide this time. You should be on your way. I’ll handle it from here.”

The doctor confidently declared himself my guardian.

“Oh… uh, sorry. Ethan, you should apologize too.”

“S-Sorry.”

Celia and Ethan quickly apologized before hurrying away.

They seemed glad to have dumped this troublesome situation on someone else.

Now, it was just the doctor and me lying on the ground.

“…Why are you here?”

Was he tailing me?

Usually, the protagonist shows up in crisis moments to save the day, but the doctor appeared instead.

“I was on my way to your house, Yoo Seo-Ah. Didn’t I say I’d visit soon? Though I didn’t expect to find you collapsed on the street like this.”

“Then… if you have the pills, could you give me one?”

“Here.”

The doctor pulled a pill from his bag and handed it to me.

I immediately swallowed it, somehow managing to get it down my throat.

I started to feel better.

As if the pain from earlier had never happened, my body gradually felt normal again.

“It must be because it’s graduation season at the academy. The students are desperate to get good grades.”

The doctor remarked.

“Haha…”

I guess this is around the time Han Si-Hoo would be graduating to high school.

So, they must be taking their middle school graduation exams.

“Can you stand?”

“Yes.”

I managed to get up.

Thanks to the pill, I felt somewhat better.

Though I still felt a little nauseous.

“A regular person getting hit with a punch charged with magical energy… well, if you report it to the academy, you might get some compensation money.”

“Compensation?”

“Though, I wouldn’t recommend it. A slum dweller filing a report would likely be ignored.”

“Oh…”

The gap between rich and poor, the invisible class system.

What an unfair world.

Some people, like me, are on the verge of death without their medication, while others can get away with any violence they want.

“Anyway, let’s head back to your house, Yoo Seo-Ah. I bought some food from the store on the way, so we can eat together.”

“Wow.”

It felt strange since the doctor had never been this kind before…

But if he’s offering food, I guess he’s a good person.

“And you’ll meet those academy students again soon, anyway.”

“Pardon?”

“I figured you’d want revenge.”

“Revenge?”

“Yes, doesn’t it make you angry? Getting beaten for no reason… you must be a kind person, Yoo Seo-Ah.”

Angry?

Honestly, I didn’t care at all.

And besides, the drug made me feel good.

Though, thinking back on how I got punched…

I guess I did feel a little angry.

The drug’s effect had decreased.

[3 hours 56 minutes]

Even though the doctor’s pill had helped me recover, it still annoyed me that my time had been cut in half.

Thinking about that made a bit of anger rise.

“Even if I wanted revenge… I have no power. I’m not an Awakener, I’m just…”

“If it’s power you want, I can give it to you.”

“Excuse me?”

“There are drugs that can give you the same power as an Awakener. The only downside is that they’re highly addictive, but for someone with as much self-control as you, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“There’s something like that?”

A drug that grants the power of an Awakener in exchange for a bit of addiction.

If something like that exists, I’d like to try it.

I wonder what it would feel like to be as powerful as Han Si-Hoo.

“I’ll give it to you soon. You might gain power that rivals the academy students—or perhaps even Han Si-Hoo himself. They’ll all see just how extraordinary you are, Yoo Seo-Ah.”

“Wow.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant, but it sounded exciting.