I Became the Drug-Addicted Childhood Friend

Soon, the heat in my head began to cool.
This didn’t make sense.
I had to question it.

The chances were high that this was just my imagination.
Shihu couldn’t actually be here.

Getting too happy wasn’t good.
Experience had taught me that.
The moment I tried to enjoy something, everything would reset—
Right back to the beginning of my suffering.

I’d probably find out soon.
Maybe I wasn’t hugging Shihu at all.
Maybe this was just another hallucination.

"I'm sorry I’m late."

Where had he been?
Why was he only coming back now?
I had so many questions.

But there was no point in asking.
There was no guarantee that this was the real Shihu.

And if it was?
If this was really him—
Then he must have had his reasons.

"......"

What was I supposed to say?
I was afraid that if I spoke, I’d ruin everything.

It felt like a dream.
And not just as a figure of speech.
If you asked too much in a dream, you woke up.

"...Seo Ah?"

Fear crept in, swallowing me whole.
I didn’t want to go back to reality.
This was just setting me up for disappointment.

"......"

I had no idea what to say.
Should I tell him not to go?
The last time I said that, he disappeared.@@novelbin@@

What should I say?
What should I say—

I held him tightly.
I had to make sure he was real.
I wanted to beg him not to disappear.

"It’s okay."

But the moment I said it, it wasn’t okay.
I had figured out this world’s rules.
Every time I said something hopeful, the universe spat in my face.