Chapter 23 Part 11: Adaptation.

When I woke up, my head felt considerably clearer.

After getting up, I slowly checked the time.

8 PM.

It was an ambiguous time to wake up, neither too late nor too early.

Thinking it wouldn’t matter much, I got up completely and went outside.

A delicious smell wafted from the kitchen.

Sweet, but not quite.

While smelling that ambiguous scent, I noticed the unpleasantness that underlay it.

“Aunt, are you still brewing coffee?”

I said, sitting down at the table.

Aunt Ailey didn’t give a particular answer.

Or maybe she didn’t have the chance to.

Drinking coffee with one hand, cooking with the other.

And tilting her head to the side, talking on her phone.

So I waited for a moment for my aunt to finish her call.

More than anything, it wasn’t her usual gentle voice, but something else.

It was a cold voice, like reading a report, so it didn’t seem like a light matter.

So, waiting was the polite thing to do.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before my aunt ended the call.

And taking another sip of the coffee in her left hand, she turned around.

I briefly examined my aunt’s expression.

She looked like she was searching for a solution to a difficult problem.

It also looked like she was saying, ‘Wouldn’t this be a breakthrough?’.

Whatever it was, it was clear that it wasn’t good news.

I thought I would never see that expression on her face again after that time.

So I waited for a moment and then asked my aunt.

“What were you talking about on the phone? Are we behind on rent?”

“How could that be? I was just talking to some friends about your problem.”

“Uncle Ceylon, or Aunt Camila?”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because I didn’t think you were talking to multiple people.”

I said that and laughed.

Because those two were the only ones who could rally the other aunts and uncles.

Aunt seemed to have been hit right on the mark, she looked at me and then slowly said with a laugh.

“We need to figure out how to solve your problem, you know.”

“Really, so you were discussing that?”

“We have to discuss it.”

That statement held a lot of meaning.

This time it passed as a simple incident…

But no one knew how long it could continue like this.

So, it seemed like they were trying to take action before something bad happened.

And that statement implied a distrust towards me.

More than anything, they didn’t know when I might turn the blade.

So I laughed quietly for a moment, then tried to change the subject.

If we talked about this topic any longer, it seemed like we would only hurt each other’s feelings.

Luckily, there were plenty of suitable topics.

So I slowly looked at my aunt and said.

“Come to think of it, Aunt. The vice-principal made a suggestion.”

“That friend?”

“Yeah. He asked if I was interested in receiving special education.”

“Oh my. What do you think?”

“I’d like to if I could. I was also planning on doing night self-study and things like that soon.”

Aunt looked very intrigued.

Probably because she didn’t expect me to give that answer.

But I was planning on doing everything I could at the academy.

Because to become a great hero or hunter, I would need that much practice.

For the life I wanted. For the death I desired, it was unavoidable.

My aunt must have felt my determination to some extent, she nodded and gave her permission.

“If that’s what you think, then there’s nothing we can do.”

“Thank you, Aunt.”

“But because of that, there might be problems… and other things, you know?”

“Yeah.”

“It takes time to solve those things, so if anything happens, contact me immediately.”

I nodded.

My aunt wasn’t wrong.

If my body felt even slightly off, I was planning on leaving school early.

I didn’t want to experience something that horrific ever again.

So I was smiling quietly, and my aunt said with an awkward laugh.

“And… Yeji.”

“Yeah?”

“This weekend… would you like to go on a date with me?”

“…Aha.”

“You can do it, right?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s a relief. I didn’t have anyone else to go with if you weren’t there.”

Aunt said that and started preparing dinner.

I looked at the omelet my aunt made, and then slowly took a deep breath.

Asking for a date on the weekend wasn’t a strange thing.

We often went to buy clothes or groceries together on weekends.

…But the date she was suggesting this time probably wasn’t that kind.

No, I was sure it wasn’t.

If it were a normal purpose, my aunt wouldn’t have specifically called me out.

She would have gone out alone and taken care of things herself.

So I took a spoonful of the omelet, and then said with a laugh.

“It’s been years since I’ve had contact with those people, right?”

“Well, it must have been at least three years. At that time, you were probably…”

“In sixth grade, right? When I escaped.”

“Hmm, then it’s been about four years?”

Aunt put her hand on her chin for a moment and thought with her eyes closed.

Before long, after taking a few more sips of coffee, my aunt spoke.

“First of all, it doesn’t matter what happens to me. It’s for you.”

“…Really?”

“I’ve been meticulous with my contacts, so there won’t be any connections.”

“…It means there won’t be any trouble for the other uncles or aunts.”

“So, if there’s a problem, I’m the only one who has to deal with it.”

I didn’t say anything else and ate the omelet.

My head became so complicated in an instant that I couldn’t even tell if I was eating properly.

Still, it wasn’t completely incomprehensible.

I put down my spoon for a moment, propped my chin on my hand, and organized my thoughts.

My aunt didn’t intend for me to see hallucinations and feel auditory hallucinations.

Rather, she seemed to be doing everything she could to solve these side effects.

The first step was to contact the underworld.

Most of the drugs administered to me during my time as a test subject were illegal.

And to get those drugs, the only thing my aunt could do was to contact the underworld.

But it was dangerous for my aunt to contact them alone, so she was asking me to go with her.

…I could understand up to this point.

But I couldn’t understand the other things.

She could have asked for help through legal methods.

It might be slow, but she could have asked for help from other uncles and aunts.

No, there were many options.

There were many safe methods, and many legal methods.

There was no reason to suddenly contact the underworld.

No matter how much I thought about it, it might have been better to just tell everything.

So I slowly looked into my aunt’s eyes.

Aunt looked at me as if puzzled, then laughed, telling me not to worry.

But I couldn’t laugh.

An unknown madness dwelled in my aunt’s eyes.

The madness of looking at a masterpiece created by investing one’s life.

Because of that, I couldn’t laugh.

Aunt now wanted to keep me within her reach.

She must have considerable affection for me, having managed me since 10 years ago until now.

More than anything, she must be curious about how far her masterpiece could go.

It was suspicious from the start that she readily offered to live with me even though she could have lived her own life.

It would have been much better for her to start anew than to get involved with someone like me.

Then, I felt like the pieces of the puzzle were slowly falling into place.

For me, who had nothing, she rolled up her sleeves for years.

She provided everything, to the point where I thought it was a bit excessive.

Everything was based on this thought.

Only I can take responsibility for my masterpiece.

That very disgusting thought made it hard to control my emotions.

But I took a deep breath, ignoring the glass walls that began to appear around me.

And I started eating the omelet again.

Because a meal is an important thing in many ways.

The person who cooks warm food like this and smiles, asking if I’m back, was also important.

Therefore, I couldn’t do anything to my aunt.

I needed a mother. I needed a father.

No matter what, I needed people who would reach out their hands until I could get on my feet.

That’s why I risked my life to protect my uncles and aunts.

If they died recklessly. If I gave up, saying the mission was over, it was unavoidable.

In the end, how was I supposed to live?

So, this might be my choice.

I could have asked for help from more wholesome people.

I could have survived somehow and gone to the police station to ask for help.

I didn’t have to live with the people who tormented me as my parents.

So I sighed and grumbled.

“…Aunt, you’re stupid.”

“Hmm? Why are you suddenly saying that?”

“I’m stupid too. Because of that, don’t ask.”

“…Okay.”

“And if you have any sleeping pills, give me one more. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep for a few hours.”

I said that and laughed.

It was good that I took sleeping pills and went to sleep because my head was complicated.

But because of that, my lifestyle was ruined.

It might be bad for my body, but I thought it would be better to take sleeping pills and force myself to sleep.

And my thoughts were not wrong.