LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 8
Chapter 8
“…What?”
“I told you, I’m the science teacher.”
It wasn’t that he hadn’t heard; he just couldn’t believe the man’s calmness.
“I’m not a suspicious person. So please withdraw your ability.”
The sparks around Si woo crackled more intensely. He had no intention of relaxing his suspicions just because of that statement.
However, using his power in this situation wasn’t the best course of action.
This so-called science teacher wasn’t openly hostile toward him.
If he’s a teacher of a non-combat subject, he’s likely an ordinary person.
Threatening a regular person with an ability is a serious offense, more than just breaking school rules.
Glaring at him, Si woo finally restrained his power.
The sparks faded, but he still gripped the man by his collar.
“What is a science teacher doing in a girl’s dorm room?”
“I had personal business. And might I ask how a male student managed to enter the girls’ dorm?”
“I’m Hana’s friend!”
“And I’m her teacher.”
The man smiled calmly, enough to make anyone’s blood boil.
“Let go of me. If I were as suspicious as you think, why would I just sit quietly beside a sleeping Hana?”
“Don’t you think just sitting beside her is the problem?”
“Of course. But she personally asked me to stay.”
“…Don’t make me laugh. You think I’d believe that lie?”
The hostility in Si woo’s eyes only grew.
Yet the science teacher remained as composed as ever.
“It’s frustrating to be misunderstood. Hana and I are quite close. Strictly as a teacher and student.”
“I’m in the same class as Hana.”
“That’s impressive.”
“Which means she’s never mentioned attending your class! So, how did she even become close to you?”
“We became acquainted last year. Were you in the same class then?”
Si woo bit his lip.
It was true; he hadn’t been in Hana’s class during their first year.
If they met back then, it wouldn’t be strange that he didn’t know.
But… could that really be true?
After wrestling with his thoughts, Si woo finally released the man’s collar.
The man simply brushed off his clothes, showing no further reaction.
But that didn’t mean Si woo’s suspicions were gone.
“Leave. I’ll take care of Hana.”
“You must be close, then. In that case, I’m slightly disappointed.”
“…Disappointed?”
Whatever he claimed to be, this “science teacher” had a talent for getting under people’s skin.
“I assume you don’t think that rope is just decoration?”
“…”
“Yes, Hana attempted suicide. On her own.”
“No, she wouldn’t do that.”
The truth was, he already knew.
Kyunga had told him everything.
How Hana had spent the night self-harming with a box cutter.
How she had tried so hard to hide it from him.
“Si woo, denying it doesn’t change reality. Hana tried to end her life. If I hadn’t come in time…”
“It was you?”
“Hmm.”
When faced with something that defies belief, how should one react?
It’s nearly impossible to acknowledge it immediately.
Most people first respond with denial.
As the man said, denial doesn’t change reality.
And so, one must move to the next stage.
Compromise.
Or delusion.
Both share a common trait.
Unable to accept the truth as it is, one adds a convenient reason.
If it’s somewhat realistic, it’s a compromise.
If it’s wildly unrealistic, it’s a delusion.
In Si woo’s current state, was he compromising or deluding himself?
Even he wouldn’t know.
“Did you push Hana to suicide? Or did you orchestrate this whole situation…?”
Maybe…
Maybe the reason he was inventing was actually true.
But the bespectacled man merely clicked his tongue as if he were pitying Si woo.
At least, judging by his reaction, the truth seemed far off.
“Let me tell you the simplest and most straightforward answer.”
He pointed at the sleeping girl.
“Wake her up. Ask her directly.”
“…”
“Why are you afraid to face the truth?”
He was right.
All of this could end by simply asking Hana.
But Si woo couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“I think I understand what you’re afraid of.”
Afraid?
Afraid of what?
He didn’t know.
How could this man know what he feared when he himself didn’t?
Like the serpent tempting Eve, the man spoke with a honeyed voice.
“What you’re dreading is the awful realization that Hana, your childhood friend, was suffering enough to consider ending her life — and you knew nothing about it. Isn’t that right?”
“I… I… No, that’s not it.”
“Your bright, hopeful friend, suddenly trying to kill herself. You can’t understand why, can you?”
His breathing grew rapid.
His hands began to tremble.
The serpent leaned in and whispered in his ear.
“Do you want to know?”
It was an offer he could not resist.
“…Are you saying you know?”
That question was as good as agreement.
They both knew it.
“Hana has been battling an illness.”
“A heart condition. With medication, it’s manageable.”
“That’s a lie. It’s far more severe, painful, and fatal than you know.”
“No, she told me herself. There’s no way it was a lie…”
A memory flashed through Si woo’s mind.
He once saw Hana administering an injection alone.
With an awkward smile, she had mentioned that she’d recently developed a health issue.
“A white lie. She didn’t want you to worry.”
“…”
Is that really true?
No, please tell me it’s not.
Please wake up and tell me he’s the one lying.
But Hana remained silent, eyes closed.
The answer came from nowhere else but his own mind.
The small moments he’d dismissed as trivial were now combining, creating a growing sense of unease.
“How long has she been enduring, relying on cheap painkillers?”
When did she start using injections?
She’d mentioned her illness around the age of 13.
Perhaps it was even earlier.
“And how do you know something I don’t?”
“Who knows? Perhaps she needed support, someone she could share everything with.”
Support.
The word stung.
Si woo had always believed he filled that role.
“That’s not all. Being the only powerless student at the academy, she faced mockery, scorn, and exclusion. Have you ever considered that?”
Of course.
Just yesterday, he’d seen Hana with Hong Yeonhwa.
Even taking into account Yeonhwa’s harsh nature, they didn’t look like friends.
If only he’d shown a little more interest then…
Would things be different now?
Regret flooded over him, sweeping away something precious in his chest, leaving only emptiness and despair.
“I shared a lot with her. I listened, stayed by her side, and provided medication.”
He held up a bottle.
“A medicine that goes beyond mere pain relief. It takes away her pain and brings her happiness.”
“…”
“In the meantime, what were you doing?”
“I…”
He had no answer.
He couldn’t answer.
The man pointed behind him with a finger.
There hung a rope from the ceiling.
“Can you truly say you bear no responsibility for that?”
It was the most devastating blow Si woo had ever received.
Like a sharp knife piercing his lungs, he could hardly breathe.
“As a teacher who genuinely cares about her, there’s just one thing I want to tell you.”
“…What is it?”
“Let her go.”
—
Si woo left the girls’ dorm.
He looked like a ghost, his face devoid of expression.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.”
A woman spoke to him.
It was Han Si-hyun.
“…Han Si-hyun.”
“What’s with that face? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Without a mirror, he couldn’t see his own expression.
Not that he wanted to know.
“Do you know anything about Hana?”
“Hana? Yoo Hana? She follows you around every day. Don’t you know her best?”
Right. That’s all people would say.
Even if he asked others, they would answer the same.
Si woo thought so, too.
But he realized he knew nothing about her.
The person Hana relied on wasn’t him.
It was that damned science teacher.
The memory of him stroking her hair was vivid.
Just thinking about it made his anger flare up for reasons he couldn’t explain.
It was maddening.
The science teacher’s last suggestion came to mind.
“Let her go?”
“Distance myself?”
“No.”
“What? What did you say?”
“Han Si-hyun. Help me.”
In response to his sudden request, she brushed back her hair, baffled.
“Did you eat something bad?”
“Please.”
“Could you at least tell me what you need help with?”
“…Do you know anything about the first-year science teacher?”
—
“He’s gone. Talking with some girl outside the main gate.”
Watching the scene from the window, a man murmured to himself.
“I didn’t foresee this development.”
Despite his words, he smiled as if he found the situation amusing.
It was the man who had introduced himself as the science teacher.
“Why don’t you wake up now, Miss Hana?”
Then, the girl lying on the bed opened her eyes.
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