Chapter 14

Chapter 14

“So, if I understand you correctly, you suddenly gained something like the ability to see the future, right?”

“Well... I guess so.”

To be exact, it was closer to forgotten memories suddenly resurfacing.

“Are you sure about what you just said? You’re not lying, are you?”

“...Oppa, what exactly do you think of me? Do you seriously think I’d be lying in a situation like this?”

“Yeah. That’s why I’m asking.”

They said you should never take in a black-haired beast.

And yet I had raised something like this as my own brother.

Instead of answering, I pressed a hand against my forehead.

“You survived because of that, and you’re still saying this? I’m telling you, a message really did appear in my head.”

“Hyung, I don’t think she’s lying either. It’s way too perfect to be a coincidence, isn’t it? And it’s true that it saved your life.”

At Han Siwoo’s words, Oppa tilted his head.

“Is that so...?”

Why the hell do you believe some other guy but not your own little sister, you bastard?

Too tired to argue anymore, I simply glared at Oppa.

“What are you going to do, staring at me like that?”

Forget it.

Why would I expect anything from you?

I didn’t want to deal with him anymore, so I turned away and asked Han Siwoo instead.

“I told you what I know, so it’s only fair that I get to hear your side too, right? So what exactly is this ‘Awakening’?”

Han Siwoo let out a short hum at my question.

“It’s hard to explain... Maybe I should say it feels like I’ve become a game character. Ah, right. Can you give me that for a second?”

He was pointing at the elixir.

I handed it to him, and Han Siwoo stared closely at the bottle in his hand.

“Whenever I hold an item, a window appears showing information about it. Just like in a game.”

“...”

“Its official name is ‘Low-Grade Elixir.’ It says it restores your health up to 60%. But it can’t be used on someone whose health has fallen below 10%.”

“Wow. My health was at thirteen percent earlier. I almost fucking died.”

Oppa said it jokingly, and Han Siwoo gave him a strange smile.

It really sounded as though they were talking about a game.

In other words, it sounded completely ridiculous.

“...What the hell are you talking about?”

When I asked in disbelief, Han Siwoo gave me an understanding look.

“There’s nothing more for you to ask and nothing more for us to explain. It’s all true. Just like those prophetic messages suddenly appeared in your head.”

What even was this...?

There were still too many things I couldn’t understand.

But when I thought of it as something similar to the messages I had experienced, I could at least accept it somewhat.

Just as I was confused, they had to be confused too.

Yeah, well. I guess the world can turn into a game. Monsters appeared, and now there are potions that heal wounds instantly too...

I was already halfway to enlightenment.

“Then how do you Awaken?”

“I’m not sure about that. But judging by what’s happened so far, maybe people gain abilities when they desperately wish for something in a life-or-death situation?”

“Desperately?”

“Wow, you might be right. I wished my body was tougher right before I almost died, and then this happened to me.”

After hearing Oppa’s words, I suddenly felt a little wronged.

I had been incredibly desperate earlier.

So why hadn’t anything happened to me?

Could it be that it only works if you personally fight?

If that was the case, I had nothing to complain about.

I hadn’t fought directly.

“And since this looks usable, we should keep it for an emergency.”

I absentmindedly accepted the elixir.

Then I suddenly remembered the pouch the monster had been carrying.

“Come to think of it, there were all sorts of things inside the pouch that had the elixir...”

“Where’s the pouch?”

“Over there.”

I raised my index finger and pointed at the pouch lying near the monster’s corpse.

Oppa nearly jumped.

“Hey! What if someone takes it?!”

“Well...”

I had been too overwhelmed earlier to think that far ahead.

Only now did I start wondering what else had been inside it.

“Let’s go check it out.”

Oppa looked excited.

Even Han Siwoo couldn’t completely hide his anticipation.

I followed them toward the pouch.

But at that moment—

“Ugh...”

“Ah... it hurts...”

“Mommy...”

Voices that had been buried beneath the urgency of the situation finally reached my ears.

My feet stopped.

“Please... save me...”

“I don’t want to die.”

I turned my head.

The horrible scene inside the classroom was suddenly burned into my vision.

The monster was dead.

And we had won.

How nice would it have been if this were a game that ended that simply?

Some people had died merely because they happened to be in the same place as the monster.

Others had survived, yet could hardly be called alive anymore.

I liked horror movies.

The thrilling, heart-pounding kind.

Sometimes brutally violent movies that sent chills down my spine.

Disaster movies that left sadness and lingering emotions behind.

I was familiar with all of those things.

But—

I couldn’t look at what was happening in front of me as though I were simply watching another movie.

The sensations I felt were completely different from anything I experienced while watching a film.

No.

They couldn’t even be compared.

What I felt right now wasn’t fear.

It wasn’t joy.

It wasn’t sadness.

It wasn’t terror.

It was closer to guilt.

A disgusting kind of guilt that almost made me want to vomit.

Because—

I intended to turn my back on them.

My hand tightened instinctively around the elixir.

The liquid inside gently sloshed.

Several pairs of eyes followed my hand.

They had all seen what the elixir could do.

Just as this elixir had saved Oppa’s life, it could probably save someone else’s life too.

But I wanted the person saved by this elixir to be someone precious to me.

Not a stranger who had merely attended a few classes with me.

Maybe they were placing their hopes in something meaningless.

The baseless hope that someone powerful would always help someone weak.

Yeah.

Maybe people like that existed in novels.

Self-sacrificing heroes who would freely risk their own lives for strangers.

But reality wasn’t a novel.

I could only hope that they wouldn’t mistake their wishful thinking for certainty.

Because I wasn’t the righteous person they wanted me to be.

After standing there for a moment, I slowly turned my head.

At the end of my gaze were the people who were precious to me.

“Kim Jia, hurry up!”

Oppa waved at me.

His voice was excited, like an explorer who had just discovered treasure.

For some reason, it felt strangely out of place.

But—

I took one step toward the strange scene Oppa had created.

Maybe someone would criticize me for acting like this.

But so what?

Everyone lives with contradictions like this, don’t they?

When I took my second step, I realized that I was already smiling brightly, just like Oppa.

The corners of my raised lips trembled slightly.

Trying to forget that feeling, I shouted,

“Let me see too!”

It was nothing more than the cowardly struggle of someone trying to survive in a changed world.

“What is all this?”

I had taken a quick look earlier, but there really were all kinds of things inside the pouch.

There was a dagger that looked like something straight out of a game.

There was also a huge fang.

Why was there a fang in there?

Was it a spare in case one of the monster’s own fangs broke?

Thinking something stupid like that, I examined the other items.

There was a strange black stone.

And there was also an old book.

Oppa and Han Siwoo picked up the items one at a time and kindly explained what they were.

“This dagger increases attack power by five when you use it. Apparently, you can freely change its length.”

“Its length changes? That’s interesting. Is there anything here I can use?”

Oppa seemed to be hoping for a shield.

Of course, there was nothing like a shield that he could use.

While listening to them explain the other items, I picked up the old book that had been lying alone on the floor.

“What’s this?”

“Dunno.”

“For some reason, no information appears for that one.”

Seriously, this brother of mine was incapable of giving a proper answer in one go.

I nodded at Han Siwoo’s added explanation and tried opening the book.

But the book wouldn’t open.

It was as if all its pages had been glued together.

I tried to at least read the title, but it was written in strange letters I had never seen before.

My interest immediately disappeared.

I had always been terrible with foreign languages.

Ding.

As I was putting the book back down, I heard a sound from somewhere.

My eyes widened.

Han Siwoo noticed my reaction.

“Why? What happened?”

“I think I heard a notification sound from somewhere.”

“A notification?”

Oppa’s eyes widened.

“Ah! Don’t tell me you Awakened?”

He pointed at me in surprise.

I pushed his finger away and tilted my head.

“I don’t know. I only heard a sound.”

Oppa, who had looked slightly excited, immediately pressed his lips together and nodded with a disappointed expression.

“Figures. As if you’d Awaken. Someone probably forgot to turn off their phone notifications.”

This bastard...?

I hadn’t been expecting much either, but hearing him openly dismiss me like that made my fist tighten.

I swear, I’m going to Awaken.

“Wait.”

Han Siwoo’s expression suddenly hardened as he stared toward the doorway.

“One... No. Is it two?”

Following his gaze, Oppa looked toward the hallway.

His expression quickly became serious as well.

“Seems like it...”

Naturally, I couldn’t see anything.

I had no idea what they were sensing.

But instinctively, I followed their lead and held my breath.

A suffocating silence continued.

Only after some time passed did Han Siwoo finally speak.

“You said the police told you to go to the rooftop, right?”

“They did. But...”

[It would have been better if we had never gone to the rooftop.]

Like a thorn lodged in my throat, the sentence that had appeared in my mind earlier held me back.

“I don’t think we should go.”

“Why?”

“I told you, didn’t I? Things that seem like prophecies keep appearing in my head. One of them said we shouldn’t go to the rooftop.”

Oppa and Han Siwoo both looked troubled after hearing me.

Of course, I understood why.

Staying inside the university under these circumstances would only put us in even greater danger.

But...

Han Siwoo studied my heavy expression before adding, as though trying to comfort me.

“I know what you’re worried about.”