I Became the Childhood Friend Who Commits Sui**de

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Sunday morning.

Shin Woo made his way to the hospital room early in the morning.

To meet his childhood friend, Yu Hana.

Yu Hana.

They had grown up together in the orphanage, practically family by now.

But perhaps he had become too accustomed to her presence.

In doing so, he hadn’t paid her the attention she deserved.

The fact that she entered the academy was essentially on his insistence.

He vaguely recalled Hana, with her innocent smile, saying she would accompany him wherever she went.

Having realized this belatedly, he felt a wave of guilt wash over him.

He never imagined she would be struggling that much.

Still, through their conversation yesterday, Shin Woo regained a sliver of hope.

The relief that it was not too late.

He acknowledged all the wrongs he had done until now.

From this moment on, he was determined to genuinely make an effort.

One step at a time.

Let’s revert everything back to how it was.

Lost in thought, he found himself at the hospital room before he knew it.

Shin Woo lightly knocked on the door.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

Shin Woo flinched for a moment.

How long had it been since he heard such a bright voice?

With a fluttering heart, he carefully opened the door.

Inside the hospital room, as expected, was Hana.

Leaning against the window, she was enjoying the morning sunlight.

“······.”

It was a beautiful scene, as if it were a painting.

He couldn’t help but stare in awe, unable to utter a word.

“Welcome. Shin Woo.”

The girl smiled widely at him.

His heart raced.

What’s this?

Was Hana always this pretty?

He quickly pushed the random thoughts out of his mind and asked.

“Are you okay?”

“Hmm? What’s up?”

“Is it really okay for you to stand like that?”

He examined Hana’s appearance.

She was still wrapped in bandages, just like yesterday.

Moreover, she was connected to an IV drip surrounded by all sorts of medical paraphernalia.

Only then did she seem aware of her state and replied with an awkward laugh.

“Yeah, I think I feel a bit better after sleeping for a night.”

“…Really? That’s a relief.”

It certainly looked quite serious when he saw her yesterday.

But still, good is good.

Shin Woo nodded and let it go like that.

*

“Her healing ability is incredible.”

“Right? I was shocked when I first saw it.”

Shin Woo replied lightly, but Rachel’s expression was quite serious.

“No matter how you look at it, her injury should have kept her bedridden for at least two weeks.”

“Hmm. I believe I heard that yesterday.”

“It means literally. She should have been unable to get out of bed and lying down for a full 24 hours for a minimum of two weeks. To return to daily life after leaving the hospital, it looks like a month is the standard.”

“······.”

That was…

It was definitely strange.

Hana had already gotten out of bed and was standing just one day after her injury.

“Could she be a healing type of ability user?”

“She hasn’t received any healing-type treatments yet. Every visitor yesterday has already been confirmed.”

“She usually has quick recovery capabilities. This level can’t simply be explained by that, right?”

Rachel, who had been momentarily lost in thought while looking at the records, spoke up.

“Well, explanations can be crafted however. For instance… what if Hana happened to be a healing-type ability user?”

“If that were the case, her abilities should have been revealed long ago, right?”

Of course, one couldn’t completely deny such possibilities.

After all, Hana had never suffered injuries of this magnitude before.

However, there were already quite a few healing-type users in the academy.

They had all been assessed for their abilities and levels long before entering school.

Why was it only Hana?

“The world isn’t perfect. There are bound to be errors in anything.”

“A simple error… could that be all there is to it?”

“Well, I don’t know. But thinking that way seems the most rational, doesn’t it? If not, Hana must have something special that differentiates her from us.”

Something special.

Some unique quality that only Hana possesses, unlike anyone else.

Nothing came immediately to mind.

There was certainly something.

A gut feeling told him it wasn’t just a simple error.

But there was no way to prove it.

“Try not to think too much about it. After all, what matters is that the outcome is good, right?”

“…Yeah. That’s right. Thank you.”

Right.

Good is good.

Was there really a need to force negative thoughts into a positive situation?

“Well then, I’ll head back to Hana.”

“Sure. But I ask you a favor.”

“Yeah. Take care.”

After Shin Woo left, Rachel was left alone again and quickly fell into deep thought.

Eventually, her small murmur echoed.

“…What on earth is about to happen?”

It was puzzling.

*

Upon returning to the hospital room, Shin Woo paused in the hallway.

The sound of chatter drifted from inside.

Bright laughter mixed in from time to time.

Who could it be?

There didn’t seem to be any men around.

Only the high-pitched voices of girls reached his ears.

“Hana, I’m coming in.”

The person inside was a familiar face to Shin Woo.

“It’s the class president.”

“Oh, you’re here too. Visiting hours?”

“Yeah. I stepped out for a bit and came back.”

“Well, I can imagine. You’re quite the devoted one.”

Shin Woo laughed casually, feeling much lighter knowing Hana was okay.

As if nothing had ever happened.

It felt like a regular day.

“What were you talking about?”

“About you.”

“…Why does that concern me so much?”

As Shin Woo scratched his cheek awkwardly, Hana covered her mouth and snickered.

He got distracted by her smile and stared blankly for a while.

“Sweet as honey, huh? Right?”

“Cough! Wh-whatever do you mean? Someone might misunderstand.”

“Misunderstand? Pfft, no way. Just too bugging to watch.”

The class president sighed dramatically while still snickering at Hana.

“Well, I’ll get going now.”

“Are you leaving already?”

“Since an unexpected guest arrived, I should step aside.”

And with that, the class president naturally began her lecturing.

“And listen, don’t skip studying just because you’re hospitalized! Keep up with your studies whenever you can! Got it?”

“Ew, studying is boring.”

“You can’t just give it up completely! The midterms are right around the corner!”

At her words, Hana’s eyes widened slightly, and she murmured softly to herself.

“…Oh right. How has time passed so quickly?”

“Yeah, it’s already flown by… So, you need to study hard to catch up! Of course, it might be a bit hard right now, but Shin Woo will help you with that.”

“Me?”

Shin Woo tilted his head at the sudden mention of his name.

Then the class president shot him a sharp look.

“Well, you’re the top student in the class. Who else should help? Right?”

“…Of course, I should help. Yeah. I was planning on it anyway.”

“Hmph. You seemed like you weren’t thinking at all. I’ll let you off this time.”

Shin Woo found himself agreeing without much thought.

Well, the class president wasn’t wrong either.

Hana had missed too many classes for various reasons.

Even once she returned, catching up wouldn’t be easy.

Hana smiled sweetly and said.

“Thank you. You’re really kind, class president.”

At those words, Kyung Ah’s face turned bright red.

She fidgeted with her glasses, mumbling in a small voice.

“W-well I’m the class president… It’s my responsibility to manage and guide the class members…”

Shin Woo couldn’t help but smile at the blushing girl.

Instantly, Kyung Ah shot him a glare and turned away.

“I’m leaving now! Get well soon and come back, okay!?”

“Yeah. I got it.”

With stiff movements, the class president left the hospital room.

The two chuckled at the class president’s retreating figure.

“The class president is adorable.”

“Right? I never knew she had that side to her.”

After sharing a laugh, silence enveloped them.

It wasn’t a dreadful or awkward silence.

It was a peaceful stillness that held no worries.

Suddenly, this moment felt incredibly precious.

Do you feel the same way?

I hope you do.

I wish for your happiness.

Before long, the silence broke, and the two began to chatter.

Aimless small talk with no purpose or meaning.

It was precisely because of that, that it felt so valuable.

Back to simpler days.

Before entering the academy.

So that’s what happened.

At some point, things had grown distant between them.

Probably since they were separated into different classes in their first year at the academy.

Now in the second year and in the same class again, yet both had changed so much.

Still, they were still childhood friends.

Their conversations bloomed beautifully, refusing to wilt.

The two stayed together until the sun set and night fell.

“Wow, has time flown by this fast?”

“Right? I even forgot to have dinner.”

“I should head out before the dorm curfew.”

“Yeah. Be careful.”

Just as Hana was bidding her farewell, he realized something.

“Oh, right.”

Shin Woo remembered something he had forgotten.

He took out a lollipop from his pocket and handed it to her.

“Hmm?”

“I brought it for you in the morning but forgot. You like this, right?”

Hana stared blankly at the lollipop Shin Woo offered.

A grape-flavored candy wrapped in purple.

“…Yeah. Thanks.”

Hana said in a small voice.

“I’ll enjoy it.”

“Sure. Now I really have to go! I’ll come back tomorrow right away!”

“Okay. Sleep well.”

“You too.”

After Shin Woo left, Hana was left alone in the hospital room.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, she stared blankly at the lollipop.

Eventually, she smiled wryly and murmured.

“…Grape flavor isn’t really my thing.”