LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 41
It was confusing.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
No, I should say I didn’t want to believe it.
Why did I naively feel relieved?
I thought everything was okay, that we could just stack it all back up from the beginning.
But thinking back, not a single thing had been properly resolved.
One of my chronic issues was still an ongoing problem.
Sophie’s death hadn’t been properly addressed either.
Let alone my relationship with that man—there wasn’t a thing I truly understood.
As if I had been possessed by something.
I only saw Hana’s bright smile and believed there were no problems.
But it shouldn’t have been like that.
Shinwoo bit down hard.
Here, the inside was not visible.
A tiny window couldn’t reveal what was happening inside.
What to do?
Should I go in?
But what should I say?
No.
Right now, I shouldn’t be worrying about that.
I could think of excuses somehow.
I could even just say I came because I was worried about Hana—nothing wrong with that.
I absolutely had to check what was going on in that science lab.
With determination, Shinwoo grabbed the doorknob.
Clank.
“Ugh…!”
The door wouldn’t budge.
It was locked tight.
No matter how many times I tried, it was the same.
Why is the door locked?
What on earth are they doing inside?
The anxiety only grew stronger.
I tried to stay calm, but it was getting harder to maintain my composure.
Should I break down the door?
Opening it and forcibly smashing it down are two entirely different things.
If I tried, I might reach a point of no return.
“…”
A brief moment of contemplation.
In the end, Shinwoo made a decision.
Just as he was about to exert strength to break the door—
“Student? Is there a problem?”
He immediately pulled back his hand and stepped back at the voice that came from the side.
It was a middle-aged man with an eye patch and a beard.
It was the familiar face of the Vice Principal.
“Ah…”
“What’s wrong? Hmmm. I see your name tag says you’re a sophomore. You were standing by the science lab door for quite a while. What were you doing?”
“…Nothing. I’ll be leaving now.”
Flustered, Shinwoo quickly fled the scene.
“Hmmm.”
The Vice Principal, not bothering to detain the boy, glanced at the lit science lab.
After lingering there for a moment, he quietly walked away from the lab.
The lights in the science lab remained on for quite a while.
*
That night.
A night where it was impossible to distinguish between fantasy and reality, where the real and the fake were mixed.
I ultimately succumbed to the serpent’s temptation and ate the forbidden fruit.
I surrendered to the sweet pleasure.
The reward was indescribably thrilling and dizzying.
It felt like an electric shock coursing through my entire body.
Like plunging into the water of pleasure.
“Ugh. Ah…!”
“You look happy. That’s a good sight.”
“Enough. This is… Okay now.”
But I know.
This drug is not simply a good thing.
Once addicted, it’s impossible to forget.
A powerful drug.
I was incredibly happy, yet at the same time terrified.
What if I became addicted to this strawberry?
My entire existence would come to an end.
It was not just a suspicion, but a certainty.
Once the effects wore off, I forced myself to repeat dozens of times in my mind.
This is the end. No more.
If I take one more step, I might never be able to return.
“Hmmm. Don’t you want to eat more? There are no side effects to this drug.”
“…Get lost.”
Do you think I’d believe such words?
Even if there are genuinely no side effects, that’s the bigger problem.
If it’s a drug that gives only perfect pleasure, of course, it would lead to addiction.
To my firm rejection, the serpent surprisingly retreated.
With an unpleasant smile.
“I won’t pressure you. The choice is yours.”
“…”
“I’ll take my leave now. Please rest comfortably.”
Once he departed, I was left alone in the hospital room.
No, there was one more person.
That night.
A night where everything was mixed, stained with both pain and happiness.
Sophie, clearer than before, perched on the windowsill and asked.
‘Is that happiness real?’
No. This is fake.
It’s not true happiness.
But.
Right now, I had no choice but to lean on this.
It was too hard. I was completely exhausted.
For the next few hours, my brain was soaked in the drug, feeling pleasure.
Every time sadness surged up, a maddening happiness engulfed me.
Despair was replaced by baseless hope.
Finally, when the effects of the drug wore off entirely.
Only endless despair wrapped around me.
*
The next morning, the serpent secretly visited the girl’s hospital room.
The sight that unfolded was perfectly as expected.
The girl, completely crumbled under unbearable negative emotions, was slumped in the corner of the room, leaning against the wall.
Tears streamed down endlessly.
The serpent approached her and spoke.
“You seem to be having a hard time.”
“…I’m sorry. Sophie. I’m sorry. Sophie. I’m sorry.”
“You might mistake the drug I gave you for a narcotic. But the reality is quite different.”
The girl seemed to be completely lost in her meaningless mumbling.
Ignoring her, the serpent continued to explain.
“It tricks your brain. It allows you to feel all negative emotions and pain positively. It reverses everything. That’s its only effect.”
“…Sophie. I’m sorry.”
“Literally, it has no other effect. Therefore, this drug is completely useless for happy people. It’s just a simple vitamin.”
But for those who are broken, unhappy, or in despair, it brings happiness.
Without any cost. Without side effects.
So it’s different from narcotics.
A drug that brings happiness.
“Not a narcotic, but a remedy. A remedy for happiness.”
There seemed to be little point in explaining further.
Seeing it once is better than hearing a hundred times. There’s no better way than experiencing it yourself.
The serpent pulled out a vial from his pocket.
“Yesterday and today are different. A new sun rises.”
“…”
“What will you do? The choice is yours.”
For the first time, the girl’s previously hazy gaze sharpened.
In her sights was the vial.
The girl didn’t respond.
She slowly reached out her hand.
Just as her fingers were about to touch the vial—
The vial darted back.
The serpent whispered.
“But this time, there’s one condition.”
“…What is it?”
A voice cracked from too much crying.
There was intense desire in that answer.
The girl craved the drug.
“It’s not difficult. Just be devoted.”
“…Devoted to what?”
“Be devoted to your life. To your studies, social relationships, daily life, connections, and life itself. You must live devotedly.”
The serpent’s sharp gaze enveloped the girl.
“What will you do?”
The girl stared blankly.
She looked at the serpent.
She looked at Sophie, leaning against the wall opposite the serpent.
Hana asked.
What should I do?
Sophie answered.
“…I understand. I’ll do that.”
“Good choice. You will definitely not regret it.”
He handed her a pill of the remedy.
The girl instantly swallowed the strawberry.
All negative emotions and pain.
Switched over.
“Ahh! Ah…!”
“May you be as happy as you were troubled. Please stick to your promise. I’ll be checking regularly.”
Leaving the girl, who was engulfed in pleasure and couldn’t even respond, the serpent departed.
A short while later, a boy lay on the bed facing the girl, who was writhing in pleasure.
*
Class ended.
Kim Shinwoo suggested going to a café.
Honestly, I wanted to go.
I hate to admit it, but talking with that guy wasn’t bad.
Sitting in a café, drinking warm milk while chatting.
I honestly thought it would be nice.
But I refused.
I had somewhere to be.
Today was a happy day.
Because I took the drug he gave me in the morning.
No matter what I did, I would’ve been happy.
Even if I locked myself in my dorm and just cut my wrists all day, I would’ve been ridiculously happy.
The only reason I rushed to be discharged and enthusiastically participated in class was simply because he told me to.
He said I had to do that to get the drug.
I tried to make an effort to be devoted to life.
It wasn’t bad.
I even felt a delusion of happiness.
But it was just an illusion.
In the end, this happiness was all ‘fake’ created by the drug.
Real happiness shattered the moment Sophie died.
“Really?”
Sophie, who was walking beside me, asked.
Honestly, I don’t know.
Maybe I can find true happiness.
But it’s too hard for that.
I can’t endure it.
I hurried toward the science lab.
In fact, I had been gradually reaching a dangerous state since earlier.
The effects of the drug were slowly wearing off.
As soon as I arrived at the science lab, I swung the door open.
The guy with that leisurely face that I didn’t want to see welcomed me.
“Welcome.”
“Drug.”
“How was the academy today?”
“I did as you said. So give me the drug.”
“Hmmm. Please tell me more in detail.”
I bit my lip.
Is he doing this on purpose?
Is he trying to tease me?
It’s annoying.
I’m feeling down.
I’m anxious.
All kinds of emotions began to swirl.
“I’ll tell you! Just give me the drug first. Okay?”
I clung to him closely.
He narrowed his eyes and pushed me away.
His gaze briefly turned toward the door.
“Well, it can’t be helped. You need this, right?”
He pulled out the drug from his pocket.
Strawberry. A delicious strawberry. A sweet strawberry.
I need that.
“But there’s a condition.”
“…What? Again?”
“It’s fine. It’s an extremely simple request.”
A strange smile bloomed at the corners of his mouth.