The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 65



64 – Do Not Spare Yourself

On the summer sea.

Hania and I.

And Isabel, Mina, and Sharin were facing each other.

Isabel was staring at me with blank eyes for some reason.

Sharin was gazing at me with slightly narrower eyes than usual.

“Oh my, hello everyone.”

Hania laughed as if she had just recognized everyone.

Then she pulled my hand a little more.

Don’t do this.

It feels like something else will touch.

Then Mina made a surprised sound.

“Hania, when did you become like that?”

Even though my girlfriend was in front of me, Mina spoke to me warmly.

My eyes met Hania’s.

“Ah, during the Magong, right?”

“Yes, I confessed then.”

Every time I spoke, Isabel’s eyes shook violently.

I, too, began to feel something strange.

“Hanoun.”

Then, Sharin called out.

She was staring straight at me.

“Sharin, why did you call me?”

“Don’t you know?”

What don’t I know.

Even so, Sharin just kept staring at me.

“Ah, ha, ha.”

Mina also sensed the strange atmosphere and laughed awkwardly.

Then Hania, who was holding my hand, subtly pressured me to leave.

For some reason, I couldn’t stand this uncomfortable atmosphere any longer.

“Well then, let’s go.”

“Have fun, everyone!”

Hania and I left the place.

After the three people’s gazes faded away,

Hania naturally let go of my hand.

“We’ve taken care of all our luggage, what were you doing?”

“I just had a brief conversation with someone I knew.”

“It looked to me like you were smiling. Should I have left you to enjoy being surrounded by girls?”

I don’t think I was smiling.

As I subtly touched my lips, Hania looked at me with an unpleasant face.

“Are you jealous?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

How fierce.

“I just don’t like having to pretend to be jealous when you’re all over other girls.”

“Isn’t it okay if you don’t act like that?”

“If I’m going to do it, I should do it properly. I’ll use this opportunity to get rid of all the annoying guys.”

To do that, she intended to act like a girl who was truly in love.

A terrifying determination.

If it’s Hania’s determination, I think she can achieve anything.

“More than that, Hanon, those two people earlier.”

Just as Hania was about to speak, Iris waved from the other side.

“Hania, Hanon.”

At that moment, Iris, who was sitting under the parasol, called us over.

“Yes, Iris!”

Hania threw away the expression she had just shown me and ran to Iris with a bright smile.

“Since we’re here to have fun, let’s go to the sea.”

“Yes, of course!”

I put down my luggage.

Earlier, Isabel’s expression, like an abandoned puppy, lingered in my mind as I followed the two of them.

* * *

On the surface of the sea.

I was leisurely floating on a tube.

In the distance, I could see Iris and Hania playing and splashing water.

They had been close friends since childhood.

So they played well even without me joining in.

Thanks to that, I enjoyed a rare moment of peace.

‘What are the others doing during the break?’

First of all, Seron said he was going home.

“Lightning sweet potato, don’t be sad because I’m not there. Got it?”

I hope he doesn’t come back.

Card also decided to go home.

His home is quite far away.

Knowing the circumstances of Card’s home, I thought he would have a hard time.

“Wangnon, you’re a traitor for getting a girlfriend. But as your senior, I’ll specially buy you a bed for you and your girlfriend this time.”

I hope this guy doesn’t come back either.

Why do I get annoyed just thinking about those two?

I hoped something would happen to them at home.

At that moment.

I felt something tickling my foot.

There was a foot touching mine.

When I lowered my head to see what it was, I saw a pale face.

“Hanun, hello.”

There was Sharin, floating in the water, just raising her hand slightly.

When did she get here?

“Let’s talk.”

With that, Sharin disappeared back into the water.

“Uh.”

At that moment, Sharin’s hand suddenly popped out from under the tube.

In my moment of confusion, her hand pulled me in with a swift motion.

Splash!

Without a chance to react, I fell off the tube and into the water, floundering.

As I hurried to get back to the surface, I realized my hand was blocked by something.

At the same time, I was breathing.

I was inside an air barrier.

This air barrier in the water was Sharin’s magic.

Her hair, shining in the water’s reflection, was quite beautiful.

“Sharin?”

“Let’s talk.”

Talk, suddenly?

If she went through all this trouble to find me, it must be something important.

“What is it? If you’re asking me to buy bread, I won’t do it.”

“Do you think I’m some kind of bread ghost?”

Wasn’t she?

“Let me ask you one thing first. Are you really dating Hania?”

Is this something she needs to know in advance?

I had shared many secrets with Sharin.

Since she had been helping me, it felt wrong to hide this from her too.

“No, it’s not like that. There’s just a bit of trouble on Hania’s side, so I’m helping out.”

When I informed her of my cooperation, Sharin’s eyes slightly unfocused.

It was an action she herself wasn’t aware of.

“Then, let’s get to the main topic, Belle.”

My expression changed immediately.

Sharin is Isabel’s close friend.

So she was the most sensitive to her changes.

Recently, things had gotten quite better.

Isabel had once attempted to take her own life after losing Lucas.

She still hadn’t completely escaped the trauma of Lucas.

Her heart could tilt back in that direction at any time.

“Tell me.”

When I showed a listening attitude, Sharin glanced at the surface of the water.

It seemed she was looking at Isabel over there.

“Recently, Isabel’s behavior has been a bit strange.”

“Strange how?”

“Should I say she’s been dazed? She can’t concentrate well.”

“Not even you?”

The air bubbles slightly decreased.

If I teased her more, she might drown.

“Since when?”

When I changed the subject, Sharin wrapped her arm with the hand holding the cane.

“Well, um.”

Sharin stuttered for a moment.

For some reason, she hesitated a lot.

“What is it?”

When I urged her a bit out of frustration, Sharin glanced at me.

“It seems to be since Hannon and Hania started dating.”

My eyes blinked.

And my head tilted.

Why?

Why would Isabel be dazed after I started dating Hania?

I couldn’t think of a reason.

“…I have a little guess?”

Then, Sharin brought her own answer.

She’s smart.

She might know the answer.

“Could it be that Belle likes Hanon?”

I heard a dog barking.

I stared at Sharin.

But Sharin’s eyes were sincere.

“…Is that even possible?”

“But that’s the kind of reaction you’d expect when a guy you like gets a girlfriend.”

“Think logically. I’ve been rude to Isabel several times, and she likes such a guy? Is she that much of a serious pervert?”

“That’s not true.”

I was momentarily speechless.

Why are there only perceptive people around me?

It’s a problem even if the people around you are very smart.

“Belle isn’t a fool. She might vaguely feel the reason why Hanon is acting like that.”

Was my scratching insufficient?

As I was feeling discouraged, Sharin gave another answer.

“But there has to be at least a trigger. Above all.”

In my view, Isabel’s expression was far from love.

What should I call it?

It was imbued with various complex emotions that couldn’t be easily defined.

“So let’s take this opportunity to find out.”

“How?”

Is there a magic spell to look into people’s hearts?

“Just ask her.”

I blinked.

When I pointed at Sharin, she shook her head.

This time, when I pointed at myself, Sharin nodded.

“…Wouldn’t it be better if you asked about love stories?”

“Do you think Belle would talk about love stories with me?”

Probably not.

If it were Sharin, she might accidentally spill the story somewhere while being absent-minded.

“And if the person involved isn’t aware, it’s better to ask directly. That way, you can see their reaction and confirm.”

I let out a sigh.

No matter how much I thought about it, it didn’t seem like that was the case.

But even so, there was no other way.

If Isabel had any abnormal symptoms, I had to check as well.

‘There aren’t many episodes left until Isabel’s awakening.’

Until then, I had to take care of Isabel’s mind as much as possible.

“Alright.”

No matter what, there would be an opportunity to ask about the abnormal symptoms.

“So how are you going to ask?”

“I’ll create a setting.”

Sharin’s eyes sparkled suspiciously.

“It’s a nighttime event where any story flows easily.”

A sense of unease began to creep in.

* * *

Summer nights make people emotional.

The sound of waves crashing from afar.

The chirping of insects between the bushes.

The beads of sweat trickling down the collar.

Summer definitely has the power to stir people’s hearts.

On such a magical summer night,

I was in a room with two of the most beautiful girls in school.

Iris, who had played all day, was lying leisurely on the dormitory bed.

Since it was summer, her light clothing kept revealing her skin.

Hania fanned Iris, cooling her down.

Despite the cooling magic cast in the room, she was devoted.

“Iris, even though I’m a man, wouldn’t it be better if I got another room?”

I said to Iris, who was lying in very light clothing, and she glanced at me.

“When Hanon is next to me, I sleep well.”

“Hanon, listen to Iris quietly.”

Could it be that she plans to sleep hugging me again today?

I wish she would consider the person who has to sleep while being hugged.

The scent of Iris’s roses was making me dizzy.

‘I need to resolve this quickly.’

At this rate, Iris might come to the dormitory saying she can’t sleep.

But thanks to this situation, I realized one thing.

‘I can be sure of what the veil’s bandage excluded from my emotions.’

Iris is one of the most beautiful women in the empire.

Even though she hugged me several times.

My heart was very calm.

Just as when a man hugs me, I don’t feel anything special even if it feels bad.

Even when a woman hugs me, I don’t feel anything special even if it feels good.

To be precise, my s*xual feelings were completely excluded.

‘As I thought, the emotion I lost with the veil’s bandage was love, just like Lucas.’

Maybe the reason Iris hugs me freely.

Is because I don’t show any s*xual feelings towards her.

Iris is very sensitive.

If I had harbored such feelings even a little, she would have noticed.

‘Maybe it’s because I didn’t know the feeling from the beginning.’

I didn’t feel any regret about losing one emotion.

Rather, it helped me see things objectively in any situation.

‘So this is.’

In fact, it was no different from being in a constant state of sage time.

‘No, maybe it’s more dangerous than I thought.’

At this moment, I don’t feel like there’s much of a problem.

The erosion of emotions must be affecting something somewhere.

‘Maybe this is also the influence of the shroud’s bandage.’

From noble mtl dot com

I feel like the fading of emotions is nothing special, just natural.

Thinking that way, it was indeed dangerous.

‘Love.’

It doesn’t necessarily have to be with others or people.

Love includes things like animals, my favorite activities, and hobbies.

And further beyond.

‘Myself.’

I looked down at my hands.

Recently, as the feeling of love has been eroding, the frequency of not caring for myself has increased.

Of course, I acted using anything because it would be dangerous otherwise.

But there was definitely a tendency to use myself recklessly.

…Realizing this, it might be more dangerous than I thought.

When my love completely erodes and I can’t even love myself.

What choice will I make?

“Hanun?”

Iris called out to me, leaning her head next to mine.

Seeing me deep in thought, she showed her curiosity.

“Are you okay? Are you tired?”

“I’m fine.”

“How could I be tired when Iris-sama is holding me so warmly? My energy is rather replenished.”

Hania grumbled with jealous eyes.

She was someone who didn’t hide her jealousy when it came to Iris.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

Anyway, thanks to being in the same room with Iris and Hania.

Nothing was going to happen.

‘More than that, right now.’

I’m worried about the midnight event that Sharin mentioned.

He was such an unpredictable guy.

I was worried because I had no idea what he might do.

Looking outside, the sky had already turned pitch black.

The summer night breeze knocked on the window.

Knock knock-

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

“I’ll get it.”

Instead of Hania, who was about to put down her fan, I got up from my seat.

When I opened the door, as expected, it was Sharin.

The problem was, an unexpected smell wafted from Sharin.

I instinctively covered my nose.

“Sharin, you…”

It was the smell of alcohol.

I closed the door and walked outside.

“So this is what you meant by a late-night event?”

“When you drink, anything comes out.”

Unlike reality, in the world of Firefly Butterfly, it’s not a problem for anyone over 15 to drink.

So it wasn’t strange for Sharin to be drinking.

“I don’t think Isabel would drink.”

“Mina coaxed her.”

For some reason, Mina seems to be a bad influence.

“And Belle has been constantly pushed to her limits.”

Since she finally got a break, it seemed she also relied on the power of alcohol.

“She seemed quite okay recently, though.”

“Yeah, thanks to Hanon.”

It was worth the effort.

“Belle still hasn’t escaped Lucas’s shadow.”

Sharin had a complicated look in her eyes.

Lucas was also a friend to Sharin.

Not as close as he was to Isabel, though.

Her death of Lucas was also shocking.

“Belle admired Lucas. Lucas seemed like someone who could do anything.”

When the person you admired returned as a cold corpse.

The shock would be indescribable.

“Maybe Belle is seeing Lucas in Hannon.”

“I don’t think I have any resemblance to Lucas.”

“The point that he seemed like he could do anything.”

Sharin’s lips curled up.

“In that aspect, you are similar, aren’t you?”

That smile was a reminder of the crazy things I had done so far.

“I’ve never seen anyone who does unexpected things as much as Hannon.”

I was also desperate, so I didn’t choose the means and methods.

“So it’s not strange that Isabel sees Hannon overlapping with Lucas.”

Today, Sharin is unusually talkative.

Soon, I noticed Sharin’s ears turning red.

‘This guy.’

You’re drunk.

No wonder you’re talking so much.

Your face looked fine, so I didn’t notice.

‘Well, to make Isabel drink.’

Sharin would have to drink beside her.

‘Seeing this, I can tell how much Sharin cares for Isabel.’

Sharin wanted Isabel to live a life without pain, a life true to herself more than anyone else.

So she asked me, whom she had just met, to draw out Isabel’s anger.

Today, she even drank with Isabel to bring out her true feelings.

“Sharin.”

Sharin’s eyes faintly met mine.

“Isabel is blessed just to have a friend like you.”

Sharin couldn’t be a support for Isabel, who lost Lucas.

Maybe she felt guilty about that.

Sharin laughed at my words.

It was the clearest laugh I had ever seen from her.

“Hanun, I…”

Sharin covered her mouth.

“I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

It was just her last desperate struggle before vomiting.