I Became the Drug-Addicted Childhood Friend-Chapter 82

Time passed.

A day, two days, three, four.

And then even more.

Waiting alone at home became a routine.

Enough time 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 time, he didn’t look well.

His expression seemed unusually gloomy.

"Hmm?"

"It wasn’t there. The cure."

There was no cure.

Did that mean 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 something 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 seemed 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 mean you’ll be staying with me?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Wow..."

Was that something to celebrate?

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

Meeting other people would stop, too.

The wait had been worth it.

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

Still, I managed to hold myself together somehow.

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

Thank goodness.

Shihu had overcome it.

He’d escaped from that terrible person.

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

If the medicine 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 something."

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 something 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 times 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 me.

Instead of food, syringes were now on the table.

"Are you okay...? Maybe you should just get some 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 seemed excessive.

Even to someone 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 home 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 me 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 me 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 medication.

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

***

Shihu fell asleep.

It seemed like he used some kind of skill to force himself into slumber.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

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 home, and that was enough.

I covered him with a blanket.

I decided to sleep beside him.

Swallowing the pill Shihu had given me, 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 me.

It reminded me of old times.

I could finally relax enough to fall asleep.

And for the first time in a long while, I dreamed.

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 me 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 come here.

Where?

I turned around to see.

Dozens of needles and blades were pointed at me.

It was a laboratory.

That monstrous space was chasing after me.

I had hated needles since I was young.

An alarm blared in my head, warning me 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 seemed to close in, just inches from my face.

My breathing grew erratic, but no air came in.

Everything was dark.

A moment 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.

Someone was choking me.

"Kuh, urgh..."

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

Shihu was strangling me.

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 something wrong?

Was Shihu trying to kill me?

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 me.

"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 somewhere 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 me 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 come 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.

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

Whether it was the drugs or some 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 memories.

They didn’t exist.

I had no intention of trying to recall the past.

Memories 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 me, there was no reason for him to feel bad.

And the drugs.

It seemed 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 something good if it was meant to help him find a cure.

I told myself that.

As long as Shihu stayed home, 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.