I Became the Drug-Addicted Childhood Friend Chapter 82

Ti passed.

A day, two days, three, four.

And then even more.

Waiting alone at ho beca a routine.

Enough ti had passed that it wouldn’t have been strange for Shihu to have finished what he was working on.

"...It wasn’t there."

Shihu returned in the early morning after another sleepless night.

This ti, he didn’t look well.

His expression seed unusually gloomy.

"Hmm?"

"It wasn’t there. The cure."

There was no cure.

Did that an he’d have to keep taking the drugs?

"...Then?"

"It’s a failure."

A failure.

Shihu rarely used that word.

What exactly had failed for him to say sothing like this?

Should I try to comfort him, tell him he’d done well?

"Failure..."

"The cure didn’t work. Sorry."

Hearing Shihu speak so lifelessly was heartbreaking.

I had told him it was okay to give up, but now that it seed like he really might, it hurt even more.

"So, no more going out?"

"Yeah. Not for a while. I’ve tried almost everything I wanted to do."

"Does that an you’ll be staying with ?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Wow..."

Was that sothing to celebrate?

At least he wouldn’t be sneaking out to do sothing behind my back anymore.

eting other people would stop, too.

The wait had been worth it.

I hadn’t realized it, but there were monts when I found myself holding a kitchen knife.

Still, I managed to hold myself together sohow.

And there wouldn’t be any more etings with that woman they called the Saintess.

Thank goodness.

Shihu had overco it.

He’d escaped from that terrible person.

"But, we have plenty of dicine, don’t we? I don’t understand what you an by not finding the cure."

If the dicine wasn’t the cure, then what was it?

"Yeah, we’ve got plenty of drugs. I have access to a production facility, after all..."

He was saying things that didn’t make sense.

"Isn’t that a good thing?"

"......"

The atmosphere turned strange.

What should I do?

How could I ease the tension?

Maybe breakfast would help.

"Hey, want to eat? I’ll make sothing."

I tried to smile as naturally as possible.

"Sure. Thanks."

Shihu answered flatly.

He sat at the table, staring blankly at his fingers.

Then, with a clatter, he placed sothing on the table.

"Shihu...?"

I asked cautiously.

"What is that?"

"Drugs."

"Oh..."

So Shihu was sick after all.

"It’s a syringe. You just inject it. You can only use them two or three tis before they’re disposable."

"What kind of drug is it...?"

"To find a cure, I need to do my own research. Continuously."

He was speaking in riddles.

A sense of unease rose within .

Instead of food, syringes were now on the table.

"Are you okay...? Maybe you should just get so rest..."

He must’ve been exhausted after staying up all night doing whatever he’d been doing outside.

Maybe sleep would be better.

"I’m fine. I’ll handle it. Don’t worry."

"O-okay."

Then he began taking out syringes.

One, two, three, four...

Five of them.

"Are you going to use all of those?"

"Yeah."

"That’s... several days’ worth, isn’t it?"

"Today’s morning dose."

That seed excessive.

Even to soone who didn’t know much, injecting five syringes in one sitting didn’t feel normal.

"...Why?"

"To find a cure. I’m just doing it at ho instead of outside."

"I... see."

Was it better than him doing things secretly outside?

It had to be, right?

Watching him prepare the syringes left feeling uneasy.

He jabbed the needle in, injecting the drug.

Then Shihu staggered as he stood up.

"Are you okay?"

"......"

He didn’t answer.

"Shihu?"

"...[Purify]."

Shihu glanced at with an irritated expression.

"S-sorry. Did I interrupt you?"

It felt like I shouldn’t push him.

He jabbed himself again.

No matter how I thought about it, this didn’t seem like normal dication.

The needle marks on his arm must have been from this.

But he said “Purify” just now.

Was it poison that needed to be purified?

Or was there sothing harmful in the drug itself?

If so, couldn’t he purify it right away?

Why was he dragging it out? I didn’t understand.

About five minutes later, Shihu finally spoke again.

"...[Purify]."

Then he injected himself.

And again.

And again.

By the ti he used the last syringe, almost an hour had passed without him using the Purify skill.

***

Shihu fell asleep.

It seed like he used so kind of skill to force himself into slumber.

He barely touched the food I had prepared.

I was worried about a lot of things, but at least he was here.

Whatever he had failed at outside didn’t matter now—he was ho, and that was enough.

I covered him with a blanket.

I decided to sleep beside him.

Swallowing the pill Shihu had given , I made a spot next to him.

I lay down carefully, keeping a little distance so I wouldn’t wake or disturb him.

"Hehe..."

A faint warmth reached .

It reminded of old tis.

I could finally relax enough to fall asleep.

And for the first ti in a long while, I dread.

In the dream, everyone was happy.

Shihu was smiling.

Beside him, a silver-haired girl sat in a chair, chatting away.

There was another girl with strange braided hair, and yet another with blue hair.

Shihu was popular.

Seeing him so happy made feel good.

But where was this place?

An academy?

It felt like an academy.

The sunlight was warm.

Delicate flowers swayed in the breeze.

Shihu was smiling.

Small birds fluttered by.

It was spring.

I wanted to play with Shihu, too.

Even if it was just a dream, so what?

I tried to take a step toward him.

But I couldn’t move.

—You’re supposed to co here.

Where?

I turned around to see.

Dozens of needles and blades were pointed at .

It was a laboratory.

That monstrous space was chasing after .

I had hated needles since I was young.

An alarm blared in my head, warning to run.

My breath caught in my throat.

Run.

But my feet felt stuck, as if they were bound.

It’s fine.

It’s just a dream.

If I wait a little longer, it’ll end.

All I had to do was wake up.

I tried to wait for the dream to pass.

But even a second felt unbearable.

The pain was overwhelming.

I couldn’t breathe.

The needles seed to close in, just inches from my face.

My breathing grew erratic, but no air ca in.

Everything was dark.

A mont ago, everything was happy. Why had it turned into this?

I couldn’t breathe.

I couldn’t inhale.

"Khak—!"

I woke up.

The nightmare was over, but I still couldn’t breathe.

Soone was choking .

"Kuh, urgh..."

The grip wasn’t particularly strong, but it was enough.

Shihu was strangling .

Why?

His eyes were half-closed.

I gasped, pounding on Shihu’s arm.

Tears welled up and blurred my vision.

The darkness began to creep in again.

Had I done sothing wrong?

Was Shihu trying to kill ?

I was reaching my limit.

I thrashed, desperate not to die like this.

Shihu, Shihu, Shihu!

Please!

"...Seo Ah?"

The pressure on my neck loosened.

"Kaah, pah, haaah, huuu, cough, cough..."

I gulped in air, gasping and coughing uncontrollably.

My head spun.

My body felt weak, drained of all strength.

"...Huh?"

Shihu stared at his own hands, as if he didn’t understand what had just happened.

It didn’t seem intentional.

That was enough for .

"I-I think, cough, it’s because I lay next to you without saying anything, c-cough..."

It must’ve been a reflex.

"I-I choked you...?"

"I’ll, cough, sleep sowhere else. Sleep well."

"Wait, Seo Ah. Are you okay?"

"Yeah! I’m fine."

I wasn’t hurt.

This was nothing.

"I... what did I... I’m sorry..."

Shihu’s expression was a mix of confusion and guilt.

He tried to get up, still not fully awake.

"I’m fine! Just stay lying down."

"No, I’m sorry. I knew it was dangerous for to stay here."

Shihu got up and started preparing to leave.

"No, no, no! Don’t go outside. Just rest here!"

"You saw it. I’m not okay."

"I don’t care, I don’t care! I like being choked, okay? So don’t leave!"

I couldn’t let him go.

"...What?"

If he left, it felt like he would never co back.

I couldn’t let that happen.

"What are you saying..."

Of course I didn’t like being choked.

But a little suffocation was better than losing Shihu entirely.

"Anyway, don’t leave. I’m fine, really."

Forcing Shihu back under the blanket, I held him there.

"Let’s just stay together, okay? Please."

"Ugh..."

Shihu shook his head as if his thoughts were giving him a headache.

"Co on, lie down. Rest, and you’ll feel better."

Whether it was the drugs or so skill, Shihu soon fell asleep again.

I sat at a slight distance from him.

Being too close wasn’t a good idea.

I couldn’t understand it.

Why was I so terrified of Shihu leaving?

The emotions were there, but I couldn’t rationalize them.

It felt like I had been abandoned in the past.

But I had no such mories.

They didn’t exist.

I had no intention of trying to recall the past.

mories like that would only bring back nightmares, dredged up from hell itself.

"Don’t go..."

Even so, the feeling wouldn’t go away.

I wanted to scream at him not to leave.

Self-reflection. I needed to think carefully about what had just happened.

Shihu wanted to leave because he felt guilty.

So all I had to do was make sure he didn’t feel guilty.

As long as I didn’t complain, everything would be fine.

Even if he strangled , there was no reason for him to feel bad.

And the drugs.

It seed like they made him more compliant to what I said.

So Shihu needed to keep using them.

I wouldn’t criticize him for it.

Whatever the drug was, it had to be sothing good if it was ant to help him find a cure.

I told myself that.

As long as Shihu stayed ho, everything would be okay.

"Heh... hehe..."

It was fine.

It really was.

Shihu was sleeping soundly.

There was nothing wrong.

I couldn’t lie down and sleep beside him, but still.

Nothing was wrong.

Everything was fine.