Chapter 10: Results and cause…..?
“Ha Neul!”
Oh. It’s Seo Rin.
“Why are you lying down again? You didn’t come, so I came to look for you!”
“…Sorry.”
“If you’re sick, you should just keep lying down.”
You’re right.
Why did I do that?
“…Are you really okay?”
“Why?”
“Because your eyes seem unfocused…”
Seo Rin trailed off.
“If you say you’re okay, then you must be. But if you get sick, you have to go back to the infirmary, okay?”
“Infirmary?”
“Yes. Promise me!”
I looked at the pinky finger Seo Rin held out, then extended my own.
“Huh? What’s this bite mark here?”
Seo Rin, who had been nodding as if satisfied, asked.
I looked at what she was staring at.
It was my finger.
My pinky finger, with a bite mark at the tip of the joint.
Ah, ‘bitten’ doesn’t mean by an insect.
It means a human tooth mark.
“Indeed.”
After contemplating, I realized.
“I must have accidentally bitten it when I fell.”
“That makes no sense…”
Seo Rin’s expression hardened as if she found it absurd, but since the person involved said so, she didn’t argue further.
“Hurry up and treat it! What if it gets inflamed?”
Unable to resist Seo Rin’s urging, I tried to use my ability.
‘Hmm.’
But I felt something unsettling.
It felt like I was touching something I shouldn’t.
“Ha Neul?”
“Uh-huh. I treated it.”
It felt too strange, so I didn’t touch it.
If it gets inflamed, I can just treat it then.
“Are you sure you don’t need to go back to the infirmary?”
Infirmary?
“Uh-huh…”
Did I come out of the infirmary?
Why was I here?
“Were you in the infirmary continuously from first period until now?”
Uh…
“Was I?”
“What do you mean, ‘was I’?”
Seo Rin chuckled and patted my back.
‘Something is strange.’
The unsettling feeling wouldn’t go away.
Let me think carefully.
“Seo Rin, just a moment.”
I took out my notebook and opened the first page.
Things I must never do.
Hmm. Not this.
Rustle
Things to do when I feel strange.
This is it.
I had written things like this down.
When memories are hazy, check if the causality is clear.
Causality means cause and effect.
A result occurs only if there’s a cause.
Conversely, if a result occurred, there must be a cause.
My head is spinning, so it’s hard to think clearly. Let’s start by organizing the obvious results.
I woke up in this hallway.
It seems I was lying down until just now, and Seo Rin found me.
According to Seo Rin, I seem to have been in the infirmary all day.
Then what’s the cause of these results?
‘Because I was sick?’
Did I go to the infirmary because I was sick?
But I shouldn’t be caught by the nurse.
Uh…
‘Right. That’s why I snuck into the infirmary.’
Idiot. To remember such an important memory so late.
I lightly tapped my head, feeling like I was punishing myself.
‘But what kind of medicine did I steal?’
That’s the only reason I’d go to the infirmary.
Was it headache medicine?
Yes. I think so.
My head hurt, so I was looking for headache medicine.
But if I took the medicine, where are the wrappers?
I rummaged through my pockets, but nothing came out.
“Hmm…”
Ah! I remember now.
It wasn’t individually packaged medicine.
It was pills in a large bottle.
This explains most of the events.
‘But why was I in the infirmary for so long?’
Strange.
My head is throbbing.
“Ha Neul?”
As I groaned and clutched my head, Seo Rin patted my shoulder worriedly.
“Just a moment. I need to think.”
What is it? What is it?
No matter how much I think, I can’t remember why I was lying on the infirmary bed…
Oh, I do.
I remember now.
I stole and took the medicine, and the effects kicked in too quickly.
At that moment, I heard the nurse coming in.
There wasn’t really anywhere to hide, so I lay on the bed.
Since the curtains were drawn, it was perfect for hiding.
There was nowhere else to hide anyway.
I was going to wait until the nurse went to the bathroom or something.
But I just drifted off to sleep.
The bed was too soft and the blanket too smooth, so I couldn’t help it.
After a deep sleep, when I woke up… Yu Seong’s face was visible.
Fortunately, the teacher wasn’t in the infirmary, so I quickly escaped.
This is the full story of what just happened.
My lying collapsed in the hallway was because I suddenly got dizzy.
It seems the medicine’s effects are still lingering.
Mm-hmm. Perfect.
I nodded and was about to close my notebook.
If I wake up in the infirmary, I must leave a mark.
What is this?
A mark?
I woke up in the infirmary, so should I do it?
But why did I intend to do this?
I frowned, unable to remember clearly, when Seo Rin spoke.
“You haven’t had lunch yet, have you?”
“No.”
“Then let’s go to the convenience store together!”
As she said that, Seo Rin pulled my arm, so my thoughts didn’t continue.
Right. Let’s think after eating.
It seems my thoughts aren’t flowing well, probably due to lack of nutrition.
After eating something, I should at least be able to come to a better conclusion than now.
“…Why won’t it open?”
I turned the bread packaging around and around, but nothing changed.
“Isn’t there anything sharp, like scissors?”
I mumbled and was about to glance around, but Yu Seong extended his hand.
“I’ll do it for you.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Rip
The flimsy plastic was torn open in an instant.
‘He’s strong.’
Every time I see it, envy wells up.
“Here.”
Chomp.
I bit into the bread Yu Seong offered.
“Huh, huh?”
Munch, munch.
He was flustered, but I focused only on moving my small mouth.
Gulp.
After swallowing the piece of bread, I took another chomp.
“They’re really just like a couple…”
I snapped my head around.
Who was that? Who said that?
“You two should just date.”
“Lee Ju Won!”
My mouth was full of bread, so the words didn’t come out well.
Gasp!
“Cough, cough!”
It’s stuck in my throat.
I failed to swallow all the bread pieces at once.
A straw was put into my mouth as I was pounding my chest.
Sip.
Drinking the smooth milk seemed to relieve some of the stuffiness.
“…Hehe. Thank you.”
I smiled at Yu Seong.
Perhaps because he’s the protagonist, his character and thoughtfulness are top-notch.
“Phew. They’re having fun.”
Lee Ju Won shook his head and went upstairs first.
“Ahahaha. I’ll get going too, okay?”
Seo Rin also vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving only Yu Seong and me.
I stared blankly at them, then sipped my milk.
Slurp.
‘It’s delicious.’
“Ha Neul, I need to open mine too, can you hold this for me?”
“Ah, sorry.”
I thought he was going to feed me because I was sick.
It seems that wasn’t the case.
No wonder he seemed overly kind.
I took the bread and milk that Yu Seong had been holding for me.
Munch, munch.
I finished off the half-eaten food, then stared intently at Yu Seong.
“Ahem, why?”
Yu Seong cleared his throat and asked.
“Just because.”
Hearing my answer, he began to hastily eat his bread and milk.
“You can eat slowly, you know.”
Why is he in such a hurry?
But his eating speed didn’t particularly slow down.
‘He’s going to get indigestion.’
He’s going to choke like that.
I tapped his shoulder and said.
“Hey. Eat slowly.”
“Huh? Oh.”
Only after I acted did he listen to me.
“Yes. Make sure to chew thoroughly.”
I pulled out a tissue from nearby and wiped his mouth.
“And don’t eat so messily, getting stuff all over yourself.”
Perhaps because he only thinks about being considerate to others, he lacks a bit in taking care of himself.
“Uh, uh-huh.”
It didn’t take long for Yu Seong to swallow all the bread.
That’s because he has a bigger mouth than me.
It’s always amazing to see the bread disappear so quickly with each bite.
“Shall we go now?”
“Oh, right.”
I was about to signal to go up to the classroom, but Yu Seong let out a gasp.
“Ha Neul, the teacher was looking for you earlier.”
“Teacher?”
Which teacher is he talking about?
“It was during fourth period… the Combat Theory teacher.”
Combat Theory?
“…Why suddenly?”
I suddenly feel uneasy.
“It’s probably because he had something to tell you. He said the class placement exam date has been moved up to tomorrow.”
“What?”
Hearing Yu Seong’s words, I froze.
“The class placement exam is tomorrow? They clearly said during morning assembly that it would be in a few days!”
“Ha Neul, calm down…”
Ah.
Perhaps because I was too agitated, all the surrounding students were staring.
“Ahem.”
After clearing my throat, I explained in a much softer voice.
“Oh, sorry. The news about the exam being moved up so suddenly just made me angry. I haven’t even finished preparing yet.”
“That can happen. Our classmates were all flustered at first too.”
Fortunately, my reaction seemed perfectly normal.
Yu Seong also didn’t show any surprise about me getting angry.
“Hmm… the teacher will explain it in detail when you go up.”
“Can’t you just tell me?”
“It looked like he had something else to say, not just about the exam being moved up.”
Haa.
“Alright. Then I’ll go up first.”
I waved to Yu Seong and quickly went up the stairs.
‘What a bolt from the blue this is.’
I had set my condition to be ready for the exam in a few days.
How can they notify us so suddenly like this?
If there isn’t a justifiable reason, I’m going to be very angry.