I Became the Terminally Ill Character in My Friend’s Academy Novel – Chapter 89

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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At first, it was nothing.

No, she thought it was nothing.

Kang Ha-ni realized her own unusual state on the second night after making plans with Kang So-hyun.

Simply put, she hadn’t been able to sleep last night or tonight.

At first, she thought she was just feeling unwell, but after repeatedly pondering his words, she was able to accept her own condition.

-No, I was planning to go with just you.

Well, actually, she had expected it.

She just tried not to acknowledge it because it was a bit unexpected. She had undergone countless training sessions to become a first-class warrior and hero, and thanks to that, she was quite confident in checking her own condition.

The night she returned from their trip.

Ever since she realized that she could be seen as a woman by that boy, she had been constantly conscious of him.

That was why she reacted sensitively to things she would normally laugh off, and that she felt a strange sense of betrayal when he left her to face the villain.

It wasn’t difficult to deduce that the emotion underlying all of this was probably affection.

Fortunately, she realized it before it reached the level of first love.

Yes, if she had noticed this feeling after it had grown a little bigger, it would have been difficult for her. Managing emotions was never easy.

She unconsciously scratched her head roughly as she recalled the face of the boy who would be sleeping below her.

“It won’t work, right?”

She mustn’t forget the original reason she entered the academy.

Wasn’t she attending the academy, even disguising herself as a boy, to observe men up close to find a husband who had the talent to inherit her family’s secret swordsmanship, or at the very least a husband with the talent to produce a strong son?

Considering her strict family and harsh training she endured, the person she held in her heart was too fragile.

He probably wouldn’t be able to endure it.

For his sake and her own, it was only right to bury this feeling.

It might sound anachronistic, but the sword and her family were that important to her.

At least until she came here, the sword was her everything, and her father, who gave her the sword, was like a god to her.

That was why she didn’t understand what her mother said on the day she first suppressed her chest with compression bandages.

-Ha-ni, are you really sure about this?

Her mother had said she would regret it. She said that as she met more people, understood them, and experienced more of the world, as she grew and her world expanded, she would curse today’s decision.

What did she answer that day?

-That won’t happen. All men are pretty much the same. Well, wouldn’t a strong man be better than a weak one anyway?

When she said that while imitating a man’s tone, her mother caressed her cheek with a sad expression.

Ha, she was so stupid back then.

What was she so confident about? Perhaps she had a vague notion that she wouldn’t harbor such things as love or affection.

Except for her father, she had only ever interacted with the male disciples, and even they weren’t that different from the ones she had seen in texts and pictures, who were dirty and bothersome.

“I didn’t know a weak man could be so attractive.”

Perhaps that was why she was more drawn to him, who was different from them.

However, her mother’s words were half right and half wrong.

Her world had indeed expanded. She would admit that she had regrets. She had attended the academy, made friends for the first time, had countless experiences, and laughed a lot for the first time, so she wouldn’t deny that.

But she would never curse that day’s decision.

Even if she strangled this still-budding emotion and chose her future husband based solely on strength, it would be fine.

Because even in this expanded world, her pride in her sword was still the most precious thing to her.

That was why she could pull herself together.

From tomorrow onwards, she will go back to being his friend.

No, there was nothing to go back to. She just had to bury this feeling in her heart and accept his smile as a friend’s smile.

It wasn’t particularly difficult. How deep could her feelings be? They were originally just friends, so she just had to repeat yesterday.

She would forget the possibility of tomorrow and turn her gaze away from a future that might not even exist.

The pang in her chest would only last for a moment.

Thinking so, she closed her eyes with difficulty.

She hoped that this feeling would be more subdued tomorrow morning than today.

And when she opened her eyes, she sat up and resisted the pleasant drowsiness brought about by the fragrant aroma.

“Ah, you’re awake?”

“…Huh?”

Usually, she made breakfast, and he ate it.

Of course, there were times like now when he woke up first and made it while feeling apologetic. But today’s meal wasn’t his usual heavily spiced dishes.

“You looked tired yesterday, so I prepared something energizing and easy on the stomach. Don’t criticize me if it tastes bad, okay?”

Indeed, it was clear seaweed soup with clams, warm rice, and grilled pork with a subtle ginger aroma. It was definitely a menu selection that wasn’t too heavy.

Thump.

No, why is it thumping? Crazy heart.

…No, is he doing this on purpose?

While she was trying to suppress her feelings, he was teasing her.

It was nice that he noticed such small details, something not typical of her peers.

But she shouldn’t be happy about it.

“…What, why? Does it taste bad? It tastes alright to me.”

“No, it’s delicious. It’s so delicious, that’s the problem.”

He chewed on the food he made and tilted his head in question.

“…It’s not that good, is it? The food you usually make is tastier.”

“Ah~ Anyway, there’s something like that.”

He wouldn’t know that she was a girl, so he shouldn’t be doing it on purpose.

There was no need to overreact to a friend’s kindness. She just had to respond as a friend.

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Hmm, they were going to the orphanage today, and I knew she would appreciate it if I made her food since she looked tired recently…

“Hum hum~”

“…gasp”

“…Heehee.”

…She was being a bit too happy though. She seemed excessively pleased, then her expression hardened, and then she grinned again while eating.

Was she malfunctioning?

What was wrong with her today?

“Hey, you must be really popular with girls.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“You’re a good cook and you’re so considerate~ Don’t you know that this kind of guy is popular these days? Oh, now that I think about it, didn’t you also win over Ga-eul and Professor Cathy like this? You’re quite the player, huh?”

“…Why don’t you brush your teeth and wake up properly after you finish eating? You must be half asleep, talking nonsense like that. And if that’s the logic, shouldn’t you be more popular with the girls?”

“I’m already popular.”

“Ah, right.”

A flower boy who proved himself in the practical exam, following Lilac and Cheon Yoo-hak. Strictly speaking, I was closer to a girl. No, I just had a girl’s face, but well, in this novel world, I seemed to be considered an incredibly handsome boy, and Ha-ni was quite popular with girls.

“And actually, you know you’re quite popular too, right So-hyun?”

Ha-ni giggled with a strangely playful attitude.

“…Am I popular?”

“Yeah, you’re probably more popular than you think.”

“If you’re talking about the male bastards hitting on my sister, I can’t stand it.”

“I can’t say that’s not it, but there’s more to it. You being Na-hyun’s younger brother is part of it, but after you changed your style and came to school, there are some who like you now.”

Actually, we didn’t know it at this time, but that was the biggest reason why Kim Ga-eul hadn’t been able to see us often recently.

We roughly assumed that she was embarrassed because of her drunken confession, but that was only one of the reasons.

Kim Ga-eul was secretly waging a war.

Because she was the first to recognize my charm.

A secret internet site was being created.

A crazy site called “Year 1 Four Handsome Boys Fan Cafe” was secretly created by her.

Of course, there was no way for us to know about it at this moment.

“You don’t seem too happy about it.”

“…Well? Should I be happy that people I haven’t even talked to like me just because I changed my style and revealed that I’m from a rich family?”

“Wow, you’re twisted. It’s a good thing if they like you, you know.”

“No, it’s not. It’s tiring when people I don’t care about like me.”

Ha-ni flinched.

“…What? Why?”

“Ah, nothing. I was just wondering if we were leaving right after breakfast.”

“Yeah, we should go right away.”

“Okay, let’s get ready then.”

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-No, it’s not. It’s tiring when people I don’t care about like me.

Those words felt like a stab in the heart.

Then, what if…

What if I told you I liked you, would you be happy?

That question kept poking at her heart.

…He’d probably call her creepy and tell her to cut it out.

Every time she tried to suppress the feeling, it would rear its ugly head, asking her if she was really okay with that, annoying her.

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The orphanage was located deeper in the mountains than expected.

“I thought we were going to a bigger place, but this is quite small.”

“Yeah, it’s not a well-known place.”

But this place had a lot of hidden opportunities and had a lot of good things to eat. It was a gold mine just waiting to be discovered.

And it would be better to get acquainted beforehand, wouldn’t it? Things were going to get chaotic soon, after all.

That’s right. This was the place where the precious people of our little witch, Professor Park Ah-ram, were gathered, the Hansol Daycare Center.

On the surface, it was just a dilapidated orphanage with a small church attached to it, but many eyes were already focused on this place, in a rather negative sense.

“Hmm, the facilities don’t seem that good. Does your family have any connection to this place? Or do you know someone here personally?”

“No? This is my first time here.”

It wasn’t a lie. I knew about it, but it was my first time actually visiting here.

“…Then why did you choose this place?”

Typical academy story transmigrator characteristic: anticipating this kind of question and preparing a cheerful answer.

“Hey, what are we going to do at a place that already has good facilities and plenty of support? This kind of thing should be done secretly in a slightly remote place like this.”

“Oh, Kang So-hyun is kind of cool.”

“Right?”

As we approached the orphanage while chatting, we saw children playing in the playground.

“Hmm?”

“Who are they?”

“Don’t talk to strangers!”

“I’ve never seen someone with black hair before!”

Oh, this was nostalgic. Children seemed to be talking to each other, but they were really just saying what they wanted to say.

Yet, it was nostalgic to see how their conversations somehow intertwined.

To talk to children, it was best to make eye contact first. Children learned to calm down by looking into the other person’s eyes.

As I slowly knelt down, made eye contact, and smiled, the children playing ball gradually turned their gazes towards me.

Good, this always worked on kids.

“Hello?”

I didn’t forget to raise my voice higher than usual to attract attention and wave my hand a bit excessively as a sign of welcome.

It brought back memories.

“Hewwo.”

“Hey, don’t greet them!”

“Huh? The director said we should greet people when they greet us.”

“He also said not to talk to strangers!”

Oh, so you’re the smart one in this area?

Now that I had found my target, it would be simple once I convinced him.

“Huh? Strange. Did the director really say not to say anything at all to strangers?”

“Yes!”

“Hmm, did he ever tell you to call for him when you’re unsure of something?”

“Huh? Right. He told us to call him if a guest comes! Are you a guest!?”

Haha, yes. I always told the smart kids in each area these things. They were like class presidents.

“Yes, I have something to tell the director. Could you call him for me?”

“Okay! Wait a minute, guest!”

“Okay, be careful not to fall~”

“You really are a guest! Sorry for doubting you! Everyone! Let’s go wake up the director!”

“Let’s go!”

The children rushed off, so we waited since they would soon bring the person in charge.

“…Unexpected.”

“Huh?”

I turned my head to see Ha-ni with her eyes wide with genuine surprise.

“What is?”

“Well, I thought you’d hate kids. I thought you’d say, ‘Ah, I don’t hate them, but…’ with a sullen face.”

“Were you just imitating me?”

“Yeah, am I good? Anyway, this is very unexpected.”

“Your imitation is terrible. Anyway, why? Kids are cute. Is there a reason to hate them?”

“Th-That’s true.”

Ha-ni kept glancing at me while still looking somewhat surprised.

Actually, before I got used to it, I didn’t like kids very much. Being an orphan meant learning to live by bumping into people here and there until graduation.

Once you got used to them though, they were quite cute.

“Hurry up! Or the guests will get bored and leave!”

“No, you rascal! Besides Ah-ram, who else would visit us!?”

“I don’t know! The director has to see them for himself!”

“Right! They’re two pretty oppas!”

“Not handsome oppas?”

“Huh? Anyway, they’re two oppas!”

Ah, it seemed like they had finally arrived.

The door opened, and a middle-aged man appeared looking at them with a somewhat suspicious expression.

“Hello.”

“Yes, um. Excuse me, but who are you students?”

“We’re from Reilan Academy. We’re here to volunteer.”

“Ah, I see. You’re not suspicious people then.”

“Volunteering? We can’t give you any extra credit or anything. We recently lost our national certification…”

“Hey, did I say I came here for extra credit?”

“Excuse me…?”

“I said we’re here to volunteer. Just to feel good about ourselves.”

Haha, I’ll take care of the rewards myself, so don’t worry.

I smiled, Ha-ni smiled, and the children smiled.

Only the director tilted his head in question, but he would soon open up to us too.

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T/N – Oh, so it’s Ha-ni’s turn! Go, best girl! Don’t suppress it, just give in. Also, I wonder what will happen in this orphanage?

If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.