SWNOVELXO Chapter 37
I had a long dream.
I don’t remember it, but it was incredibly beautiful and brilliant.
A dream I never wanted to wake up from.
So when I opened my eyes, I realized that the world I had believed to be reality was just a handful of dreams, and that this terrible world was the true reality.
I despaired.
“······.”
It was an unfamiliar ceiling.
My body wouldn’t move.
All I could do was blink.
There was someone next to me.
I barely turned my head to check their face.
It wasn’t the face I expected.
It wasn’t the person I had hoped for.
“···Hana.”
Kim Shinwoo’s voice trembled pitifully.
I opened my mouth.
Even my voice struggled to come out.
After several trial and errors, I finally managed to say something.
“Where’s Sophie?”
“···Sophie?”
“I saw Sophie.”
*
Rachel explained in a calm tone.
“God helped you.”
“······.”
“There was just one tree where you fell. If you hadn’t hit it, it wouldn’t have been a broken branch but a broken neck.”
I thought of Hana alone in the hospital.
A girl wrapped in bandages, unable to leave her bed.
“Still, the injuries are serious. You’ll need to lie down for at least two weeks.”
“When Hana woke up, she… said she kept seeing Sophie.”
“It’s probably because she just regained consciousness. She can’t distinguish between dreams and reality.”
Shin Woo shook his head in denial.
“I don’t think that was the case. She clearly saw before she fell from the rooftop. Their eyes met exactly.”
“What do you think? Do you believe that?”
“······.”
After a long hesitation, the boy finally answered.
“…I don’t know.”
“Do you know what this is?”
Rachel pulled something out and showed it to Shinwoo.
It was a syringe.
“Isn’t that a syringe?”
“It’s the painkiller Hana was using. It’s incredibly potent, something you can’t find in regular stores.”
“… So did the teacher prescribe it?”
“No. She bought it herself at the pharmacy.”
Shinwoo frowned.
“But you said it can’t be found in stores.”
“Exactly. That’s the weird part. How did Hana get this medicine? The very pharmacy she mentioned denies ever selling it.”
“······.”
What does that even mean?
Where did Hana get this painkiller from?
“This drug has a powerful potential for addiction and side effects. It’s teetering on the line between medicine and narcotics.”
Rachel explained as she transferred the substance from the syringe to a test tube.
“It calms you immediately and puts you in a daze. Sensations dull, and pain is forgotten. As time goes by, your mind becomes hazy, and in cases of overdose, you can even experience hallucinations and auditory disturbances.”
“······.”
“Do you still think Hana’s vision of ‘Sophie’ is real?”
Hana’s words might not be a lie.
She could simply be deceived herself.
Shin Woo clenched his teeth and asked.
“Was Hana really suffering that much?”
“No one knows how hard it was. Her illness hasn’t been identified at all. Unless she speaks up or relies on someone, no one would know.”
Rachel looked at the boy with a troubled expression.
“I hoped you could be that support for her.”
“······.”
A heavy silence lingered for a moment.
Then, she sighed and said.
“I’m not trying to blame you. I thought she’d get better once she found someone to rely on. Even if she has left now.”
Shin Woo’s expression twisted.
Could it be that he couldn’t fill Sophie’s absence after all?
“I don’t know how you’ll take this, but don’t see Hana as a burden.”
“A burden…? That’s impossible.”
“She’s going to struggle more and more. Trying to save her by force could make you lose your happiness too.”
For a brief moment, Shin Woo forgot to even breathe.
After a long time, he finally breathed out a soft question.
“Are you saying… to give up on Hana?”
“In the end, the most important thing is yourself. You might not understand. It’s okay to hate me.”
“······.”
Shin Woo couldn’t bring himself to answer.
“Just go now. If anything happens, contact me anytime.”
As Shin Woo left the consultation room, he hesitated for a moment before walking away.
He had to hurry.
Hana would be waiting.
*
While walking down the hallway, he suddenly stopped.
He called out the name of the person coming from the opposite direction.
“···Hong Yeonhwa.”
Her expression was stiff.
As soon as she faced Shin Woo, her slightly twitching eyebrows hinted at her feelings.
She approached resolutely.
And then.
Bang!
Suddenly, she grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against the wall.
Shin Woo didn’t resist.
“Explain.”
“…What do you mean?”
“I won’t ask twice. Explain everything.”
“Hana got hurt. She fell from the rooftop, but by luck, she survived. She just regained consciousness…”
Thud.
A fist struck his abdomen.
With no hesitation in the attack, Shin Woo gasped for air.
“You bastard. Don’t make excuses and explain. What was your precious childhood friend doing at the moment Hana fell from the rooftop?!”
“…I didn’t know! I had no idea Hana was hurting that much… You’re just like me.”
Thump.
As she released him, Shin Woo helplessly slumped against the wall.
“Kim Shin Woo. I never thought you would be this much trash.”
Her words were chillingly cold.
There was no hint of kindness in them.
Only disgust and hostility.
“Do you think I wouldn’t know? What you and that pink-haired girl did to Hana? And then what? You had no idea she was hurting this much?”
“······.”
“Even after that… are you her best friend?”
Yeonhwa’s emotions started to escalate.
“Damn! Sure! Everyone should be happy, reconcile, and sing along! How nice, right? Damn it! At the very least, you should support her no matter what. Isn’t that how it should be? At the very least, you should… right?”
“······.”
Shin Woo firmly shut his mouth.
“What a pathetic bastard.”
After glaring at him for a while, Yeonhwa turned to leave.
Only then did Shin Woo speak up.
“…Aren’t you going to visit Hana?”
She stopped abruptly and replied in a choked voice.
“Just like you said, you and I are the same. What kind of face should I show? Damn…”
With that final word, Yeonhwa ran off into the distance.
Shin Woo took a moment before slowly rising from his spot.
“…·····.”
They were all right.
The nurse’s words, Yeonhwa’s words, they were all correct.
He couldn’t fill the void left by Sophie.
Hana might have already crossed an irrevocable river.
Worrying for no reason was merely obsession; it wouldn’t help Hana at all.
Instead, it would only drag him down into a deep swamp along with her.
But.
Even so.
He still couldn’t abandon Hana.
Taking responsibility for how things had turned out isn’t wrong either.
However, there was something far more important than that.
Because it was Hana.
Because she was my best friend.
The very existence of Yu Hana was the reason.
It might be like what the teacher warned, falling together.
Still, he couldn’t give up.
As Hong Yeonhwa said, maybe a happy ending for everyone was impossible.
Then, at least he had to protect the most precious person.
At least for now.
Hana was the most important.
Shin Woo made a firm resolve and moved toward the room where Hana was.
As he approached the closed hospital room, the door automatically opened.
Someone from inside had opened it.
The moment the door opened, he came face to face with Juhyun.
“······.”
“······.”
The gazes of the two boys collided directly.
After a brief silence, Juhyun was the first to speak.
“Hey? You came to visit too?”
“…Yeah. I see you’re coming out.”
“Yeah.”
He wanted to see Hana inside, but she was blocked from view by Juhyun.
Stay calm.
This kid isn’t a competitor or an enemy.
Rather, he’s a strong ally who can be a friend and support for Hana.
Yeah. A lover would be better than just a childhood friend.
“······.”
Bitterness lingered.
What kind of feeling is this?
He shouldn’t have thought of Hana in any romantic way.
“Uh… Could you move aside so I can go out?”
“Sure.”
After observing Juhyun’s back for a moment, Shin Woo shook his head and entered the hospital room.
Just like when he left, Hana was quietly lying on the bed.
He forced a smile and approached her.
“I’m here. How are you feeling?”
“Oh, Shin Woo.”
Surprisingly, Hana didn’t seem to be feeling bad.
A slight smile was definitely drawn on her lips.
Seeing that as a green light, Shin Woo made a vow.
Yeah. It’s not too late yet.
Let’s slowly rebuild again.
One step at a time.
“Shin Woo.”
“Yeah?”
“Where’s Sophie? Did you find her?”
“······.”
This topic isn’t good.
Hana must have originally believed that Sophie was dead.
But since regaining consciousness, she was convinced Sophie was alive.
“Um? When will Sophie come? The classes are already over, right? Is she coming soon?”
By the way, I hadn’t told Hana yet.
About the investigation results I heard from the student council president.
Although the body wasn’t found, all the circumstances indicated that Sophie was dead.
Even if she wasn’t dead, the blue eyes Hana saw from the rooftop couldn’t possibly belong to the real Sophie.
Shin Woo hesitated for a moment and decided to tell the truth.
“…Hana. What you saw was probably not Sophie but someone else.”
“Eh? What do you mean? That can’t be true.”
Hana laughed as if she had heard some silly joke.
That reaction only made it more heartbreaking.
Shin Woo bit his lip and spoke again.
“No, it’s not a joke. Sophie is gone.”
“…Stop. I’m getting angry?”
“Sophie is dead.”
“Liar.”
Hana continued to deny, and finally, Shin Woo shouted out.
“She’s dead! Sophie is dead! She’s not here anymore!”
“Why do you keep saying that?”