Chapter 13: I Wish You’d Recognize It

The sensation of my wrists tightening and my shoulders twisting with each movement was surprisingly novel.

But I could escape. I just needed to slip my hands out of the restraints.

A sickening crack. My hand twisted free. It didn’t hurt.

My shoulder ached, my thumb bent at an unnatural angle, blood trickling down my hand, but I didn’t feel any real pain.

The drugs were still coursing through my system.

A blessing.

My vision was blurry, my head swimming, but the pain was muted.

The night was dark. Hye-yeon… had she shot first and asked questions later?

What had she planned to do if I wasn’t the target?

Apologize and release me? That would have been awkward.

Perhaps people with white hair weren’t common.

I lifted my head, meeting her gaze. And I knew.

It was her. My childhood friend. My only friend.

“Long time no see,” I mumbled.

She didn’t recognize me.

They both stared at me with hostility, like I was a researcher, a villain to be eradicated.

 Hye-yeon handed something to Seo-jun, then drew her sword. She approached me slowly.

I felt powerless, pinned to the ground, the drugs clouding my mind.

She stood before me, the tip of her sword pressed against my throat. Her voice was low, menacing.

“Try anything, and I’ll cut you down.”

But her hand trembled. If I moved, she might drop the sword.

“You killed those students, didn’t you?”

There had been disappearances before I arrived. She pressed her foot against my head, her voice rising in anger.

“Why did you come here? Pretending to be a bullied student. Did you think you could get away with it again?”

This wasn’t the timid girl I remembered. Her voice was clear, strong, filled with…

Contempt. Hatred.

What should I say? I didn’t need to answer her questions.

“L-let me go…”

I was the victim here. Attacked, threatened, for no reason.

What had I done wrong? Was it a crime to leave the slums, to sell myself to a research facility?

They always came for me, restrained me, broke me.

I just wanted to see Seo-jun. After half a year.

But when I was trapped in the slums, abandoned, left behind… I couldn’t reach her.

I didn’t even have enough money for a drink. I could have asked her, but my pride wouldn’t let me.

So, I came here. To her school.

That’s why I went to the lab.

And now, I was here. After everything I had endured, just to see her.

But I couldn’t even look at her. My face was pressed against the ground, my body restrained.

I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t ask her to play, like we used to.

She was too busy accusing me, hurting me, while ignoring me completely.

I had thought seeing her would solve everything.

My mother used to read me fairy tales. Stories about true love recognizing its counterpart, no matter the disguise.

A prince disguised as a beggar, instantly recognized by his true love.

Perhaps there was no love between us. Not romantic love, but the love between friends.

Had my voice changed too much? Was it the white hair? My demeanor?

I had changed, but not that much.

My face, my body… they were still the same. Or was it the regenerating limbs, the blood manipulation?

Perhaps I had just been a disposable plaything, not worth remembering…

“I… I don’t like being tied up… I just…”

A wave of cold washed over me. My body trembled. The drugs were wearing off.

The pain returned, sharp and intense. My body felt brittle.

A warm sensation spread through my lower body.

Seo-jun kicked me in the head. I flew backwards, landing several feet away.

But the returning sensation allowed me to stand, albeit shakily.

I stumbled to my feet, my legs trembling. I collapsed again, my strength gone.

Seo-jun moved towards me, but  Hye-yeon grabbed her arm. They weren’t looking at me.

The drugs had worn off completely. My consciousness faded.

I just wanted to see you. I was lonely.

How pathetic.

Two days ago, Hye-yeon came to me, breathless, her eyes wide. She had found the villain hiding in the academy.

She had told me about losing her father to a criminal organization.

He had been a high-ranking official, a righteous man.

He had brought down countless criminal organizations, only to be targeted in retaliation.

Hye-yeon had been kidnapped as a child.

Her father, a powerful ability user, had rescued her, but he died in front of her, his body riddled with wounds.

Hye-yeon was usually calm, almost vacant, but she transformed whenever villains were involved.

She seemed to shut down emotionally.

The white-haired girl pinned beneath her feet, whimpering softly, didn’t look like a villain.

She looked more like a drunk. I had encountered villains before. They weren’t this… pathetic.

They didn’t beg, they didn’t faint from a few blows.

Even the low-ranking ones would launch suicidal attacks without hesitation.

Perhaps Hye-yeon was mistaken. She was traumatized, just like the girl from my hometown.

This school encouraged violence. Fights and bullying were overlooked, as long as no one died. But this was too much.

Hye-yeon insisted she had captured a villain.

I told her we needed to question her first, using it as an excuse to take the unconscious girl, who looked vaguely familiar, to the infirmary.