Chapter 12: It Hurts

The next day,

and the day after that, I attended classes as if nothing had happened.

Because nothing had happened.

But the teacher seemed to disagree. He kept me after class.

“I sent the class president to check on you. He didn’t return. We reviewed the security footage. You were seen entering the dormitory, but not leaving.”

I remained silent, resting my chin on my hand, swinging my legs.

” Hye-yeon, wasn’t she? She was seen leaving the dormitory, looking dazed. She, along with your classmates, entered your room, but only she came out.”

“Suddenly dropping names I don’t know…”

“Ha-rin, you’re close enough to visit each other’s rooms. Do you expect me to believe you don’t know her name…?”

His voice trailed off, distorted, as if muffled by static.

I pictured the pretty, blue-haired girl. The one who had stumbled and fled after seeing the floating sphere of blood.

“Just tell me what happened. This isn’t just because he’s the son of a high-ranking association member. You could have used an artifact to escape, but…”

He stopped mid-sentence, changing the subject.

“The school has a responsibility to understand your abilities.”

“…”

“Were you threatened? Were you beaten? Is that why you have bruises on your neck and cuts on your face?”

He sounded more like a researcher managing young ability users than a teacher. Or perhaps that was just how they treated F-ranks.

Seo-jun’s teachers hadn’t been like this. I couldn’t remember clearly, but they hadn’t been negative.

“We usually encourage student rivalries, but five students disappearing is… unusual. It would be in your best interest to cooperate.”

He could have asked them directly. Or followed me. Why was he questioning me?

Those low-ranking students had come to my room and vanished. That was all.

They didn’t care when they disposed of low-ranking test subjects. Why did they care now?

“No one who entered your room came out alive, Number Eleven. If it weren’t for your unique physiology, you would have been terminated long ago.”

The room twisted, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

When I opened them, Team Leader Joo sat before me, her mangled face patched together, legs crossed.

“I told you it wouldn’t end with starvation. Perhaps the durability tests weren’t thorough enough?”

[I had already killed her. This was just a memory.]

“Number Eleven, you begged us to stop, to give you drugs, to kill you. You asked how we could do this to a human being.”

I closed my eyes, then opened them slightly. The teacher sat before me, his face impassive, holding a chart, just like the researchers who observed me as I was electrocuted and burned.

My smile faltered as the drugs wore off. I forced my lips upwards, my voice trembling.

“Nothing happened. Nothing at all.”

The teacher’s expression softened. His voice was clear now, the static gone.

“Ha-rin, you need to tell us if something happens. So we can help. This is a school for ability users. Things happen…”

His voice wasn’t cold. His expression wasn’t harsh. He wasn’t looking at me with contempt.

He seemed genuinely concerned about Ye-jun. Not about me.

I nodded, maintaining my forced smile.

The sky was ablaze with color as I left the classroom. The moon, already visible, hung distorted in the crimson sky.

I knew I wasn’t okay. I tried to ignore it, to forget it with the white powder, but on days like this, it was unavoidable.

Back in my room, I checked the remaining pills. Not much left.

I chewed on a few, feeling weary.

I was supposed to visit Seo-jun. But I couldn’t be bothered.

Why did I even want to see her?

Even thinking about it was tiring.

But I shouldn’t neglect my duties.

I would go. I would talk to her. About anything.

Yoo Ha-rin wanted to see her, after all.

Then I could do whatever I wanted. Jump off a building. Strap a bomb to my chest.

The tremors stopped. I got dressed and left the room.

Students walked through the hallways, laughing and chatting, looking happy.

This school was a self-contained society.

They even received government stipends, just for being ability users.

I had received a wad of cash, but I couldn’t remember where I had put it.

I walked aimlessly, letting my thoughts wander. The fresh air helped clear my head.

Watching the happy students, I felt a bitter taste in my mouth, a craving for smoke.

I ducked into an alleyway, rolled a cigarette with the remaining powder and tobacco, and inhaled deeply. The world spun gently, my vision blurring.

I stared at the ground, then at the sky, back and forth.

A stray cat approached silently, staring at me.

I checked my pockets for something to give it.

I remembered the leftover cream puff and tossed it to the cat. It sniffed the pastry, but didn’t eat it.

I wondered why it wouldn’t eat, when suddenly, the world turned upside down.

My arms twisted at unnatural angles, my body bound by invisible restraints.

I held my breath, expecting the yellow gas, then realized I wasn’t in the lab. I looked around.

I am Hye-yeon, the blue-haired girl, stood before me, relief washing over her face as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

And next to her…

I couldn’t remember her face, but I knew.

This was it.

The scene where the hero and heroine captured the suspicious character lurking in the academy.

They would solve the problem, their bond strengthening, their relationship deepening.

But I had been closer to her. Since childhood, when our vocabulary was limited. When we gazed at the city lights, dreaming of a better life.

“It… hurts.”

My twisted arms? The restraints? Being pinned to the ground? Or was it because she, standing before me, didn’t recognize me?

They looked so grown-up. Their bodies fully developed, at least.

Unlike me, malnourished and stunted.

I struggled against the restraints, but they only tightened, contorting my limbs.

“It’s useless. That’s a specialized restraint device for high-ranking ability users.”

A familiar voice. Confident, reassuring. The voice that had comforted me, that had stood up to bullies.

I started laughing. A choked, hysterical laugh.

I wasn’t crying. I was laughing. Because it was funny.