Prologue Story

Eventually, that day, all of us second-years ended up having shortened classes.

After being gathered in the auditorium and receiving a stern warning from the teacher, classes were immediately dismissed.

If this had been my previous life, such a massive commotion would have been unimaginable.

We gathered at the playground on the hill near the elementary school after finishing class early.

Even though classes ended earlier than usual, I didn’t feel like going anywhere to play.

I glanced at Min-hee, trying to read her mood.

Unlike usual, Min-hee was talking to her friends with a serious expression.

I was worried.

What we heard today was somewhat related to Min-hee’s parents, after all.

Though, if you think about it, how many magicians wouldn’t be at least somewhat affected by this…

“So that’s why we were told to keep it hidden. I only understood why after hearing it today.”

“If they had explained it earlier, the others wouldn’t have gone around talking about it.”

“Exactly.”

Hyun-ho wholeheartedly agreed with Min-hee’s words.

“Hah,” Han-soo snorted.

“It’s because there are too many idiots who don’t understand.”

“I’m not one of them!”

“Hah.”

Han-soo snorted again.

Watching that, I felt somewhat relieved.

It seemed she wasn’t dwelling on thoughts about her parents.

I let out a faint sigh inwardly.

“By the way, is Jin-seong okay? Where and how badly did he get hurt to end up hospitalized and even needing medication?”

“What are you talking about?”

I frowned in confusion at those words.

What?

Min-hee, as well as the other kids, turned to look at me with puzzled expressions.

Only then did I realize that they were misunderstanding something.

“He’s not hospitalized because he got hurt.

Well, maybe he did get injured, but that’s not the point…

They’re hospitalized because of the medication.”

“What? Why would they be hospitalized for taking medication?

Medication is supposed to cure you, isn’t it?”

Their innocent eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Ah, I hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“No, that’s not it. You see, medication isn’t always a good thing.

There are many kinds of medication, you know.”

“Huh? Oh, okay.”

“Cold medicine, painkillers, headache medicine—there’s a lot.

Some you take, some you apply, some come as pills, powders, or liquids.”

“Yeah.”

“But not all medication is good.

There are medicines to cure, but there are also those used to kill animals, suppress something, or even harm your body.

Even alcohol is sometimes called a drug.”

“What? Why?”

“I told you, there are many kinds of drugs.

Alcohol can also be considered a type of drug.”

I paused after saying this and looked at my friends.

Though it was mainly Min-hee and Hyun-ho responding, everyone was listening intently with serious eyes.

“So…

Sometimes medication is injected directly into the body with a needle, right?

But what if alcohol, considered a drug, were injected?”

“What?”

Han-soo frowned.

Min-hee gasped audibly.

“A-Alcohol, if you take too much, isn’t it bad for your body?”

“It is.

If harmful substances from alcohol enter the body all at once, it could even kill you.”

“And if something like that goes in through a needle…”

I fell silent for a moment.

Min-hee shifted nervously, her eyes fixed on me.

With a frown, I continued speaking.

“So, there are drugs like that.

Drugs that harm the body, paralyze it, put someone to sleep, or make them so dependent on the drug they can’t survive without it.”

I couldn’t bring myself to mention poisons.

My friends swallowed hard as they listened.

Min-hee’s eyes began to well up with tears.

“T-Then… Jin-seong… and Yoona… and Minhyuk…”

“Yes.

If it’s for kidnapping, it’s probably a drug that puts them to sleep.

Maybe even worse…

That’s why they’re in the hospital.

Drugs leave aftereffects… so they’re probably getting treatment for that.”

“What… what do we do…”

Min-hee and Shia began to cry openly, tears streaming down their faces.

Watching this, I calmed my expression.

Was it because they were children?

They seemed to empathize with others’ pain more deeply than I expected.

Even Hyun-ho looked like he was on the verge of tears.

However, I felt a different sense of unease.

Their worry and sorrow weren’t just from a child’s pure emotions…

“Are you guys in the same class as Jin-seong?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

The crying kids nodded.

Han-soo pointed at the three tearful ones and said, “Those three are all pretty close to them.”

“Oh… I see…”

I closed my mouth with a sympathetic expression.

Maybe I had been too pessimistic in what I said.

I had exaggerated the negative aspects to emphasize the seriousness of the situation.

Clicking my tongue inwardly, I tried to comfort my friends.

“It’s okay.

Don’t worry too much.

Drugs are dangerous when overused.

They’re kids, so they wouldn’t have been given anything too severe.

They’re already in the hospital after being rescued, right?

They were saved quickly, so they probably only received one dose.

If the hospital treats them properly, there shouldn’t be any aftereffects.

They might feel anxious because of the kidnapping, but if they’re supported well, they’ll be fine.

When they return, don’t show excessive concern, give them a little consideration, and don’t ask questions.

If you do that, they’ll recover quickly. Got it?”

The three of them seemed to calm down a bit at my words.

But Min-hee still looked uneasy, her face crumpled in worry.

“H-How do you know that?”

“Well…”

“I mean, I know you’re rarely wrong, Eun-ha, but you’ve never been through something like this.

It must have been terrifying…

My brother says trauma is dangerous.

If you can’t overcome it, it can turn into an illness…”

I avoided Min-hee’s gaze and fell silent.

That… is true.

Moreover, childhood trauma tends to leave deeper scars.

But I really think they’ll be okay.

After all, they weren’t alone in this.

Someone came to save them right away.

So…

“…Trauma arises when there’s no one nearby to heal the mind.

When you’re kidnapped, but you’re not alone, and someone comes to rescue you right away.

And when you have friends like you all to comfort and protect them, they’ll be fine.

They’ll recover quickly.”

However, my friends still kept their downcast expressions and remained silent.

Seeing them, I sighed and swung the swing lightly.

“It’s true.

As long as the heart is healed, everything gets better over time.

Even I’ve been caught up in a terror incident before.”

I smiled faintly as I recalled something from long ago.

I was terrified at the time.

The ground shook, blades rose up, and it felt like my whole body would be pierced at any moment.

I was so scared that even keeping my thoughts straight was difficult.

But in the end, once it was over, it was nothing.

Maybe I’m more optimistic than I realize.

Once it passed, I just thought it was bad luck and moved on.

Nothing else happened after that.

Now it’s become an old memory that I can hardly recall clearly.

Yes, with time, you come to think of it like this: “Ah, something like that happened.”

That’s why I laughed when I mentioned it.

But to my friends, it seemed they didn’t see it that way.

“What?!”

“What do you mean?!”

My friends raised their voices in shock.

Hearing their panicked tones, I stopped swinging, which had been moving rather forcefully.

‘Oh… come to think of it, I never told them about this, did I?’

The only one who wasn’t surprised was In-ha.

In-ha had heard this story from me a few times before.

Scratching my head, I thought about it.

I really hadn’t told them.

“Well, it happened a few years ago.

When I was five, maybe?

We went on a kindergarten field trip to the botanical garden, and a terrorist incident broke out there.

I ended up locked alone in a deadly room.

It was a room running wild due to the terrorist’s magic.

It was dangerous, but nothing really happened to me.

I wasn’t hurt, and I escaped just fine.

As for how I escaped…

That’s a story I’ll explain in detail later.”

I swung my legs as I sat on the swing.

“That’s how it was.

At the time, it was incredibly scary.

The room I was trapped in was called the Iron Room.

The floor would shoot up iron bars as the room went wild, and it was terrifying.

Really, truly terrifying.

But I was five then.

Nothing that dangerous happened afterward.

Now, when I think about it, it’s just something that happened and passed.

An unforgettable incident?

That’s nonsense.

Most of it has faded from my memory now.”

Only fragmented impressions remain.

I remember the orb I held, which triggered the rampage.

The sharp iron rising, the shaking ground, and creating Metal Shaping Magic to break the walls.

“So, I’m sure that kid will be fine too.

If their parents or friends comfort them when they’re scared, they’ll get through it.”

“…”

When I finished my story, my friends looked at me with worry or discontent in their eyes.

Their gaze seemed to ask, ‘Are you really okay?

Why didn’t you tell us about this before?’

Shia cautiously asked, “Are you really… okay?”

“Yes.

It’s already in the past.”

But my friends’ expressions didn’t ease for quite a while.

Even In-ha, who knew the truth, didn’t come to my defense.

As a result, I had to repeatedly reassure them that I was fine.

We talked for a little longer before deciding to head home.

It seemed none of us were in the mood to play today.

The incidents from yesterday and today lingered in our minds.

The confidentiality policy, kidnapping, drugs…

The idea that such movie-like events could happen so close to us.

‘Ugh, it’s unsettling.’

Of course, I know we can’t let ourselves be tied down by such things.

But hearing about a fellow student being nearly kidnapped yesterday, and then learning the principal’s backstory today, it was hard to act like nothing happened.

‘So that’s why the principal built this school….’

The principal has a very cold impression on the outside.

His appearance isn’t stunning, but he has a subtle grandeur about him.

Golden hair that seems to shine, golden eyes, and a lean figure.

Not that he looks feminine—just one glance, and you can tell he’s a man.

His gaze is so cold it feels devoid of any emotion.

There’s an indescribable charisma surrounding him.

But despite those cold eyes, the principal always speaks kindly.

It’s no wonder he’s so well-respected.

“…”

Feeling stifled, I looked up at the sky for a moment.

Then someone tapped me lightly on the shoulder.

“Huh?”

“Hey there, kids.

I heard something big happened in your grade today?”

Eun-hee unnie, dressed in her black guard uniform, was smiling at us.

I blinked in surprise.

Min-hee turned to Eun-hee unnie and reacted eagerly.

“Yeah, that’s right!

Some kid broke the rules, and it caused a huge commotion!

It happened to a friend from our class.

Not super close, but we’re friendly…”

Min-hee’s expression darkened as she spoke.

“They said they were hospitalized because of drugs…”

“Oh… so it was your friend.

I see, since they’re in the same grade…

Don’t worry too much.

The drug only made them weak.

It wasn’t serious, so they’ll be fine after resting for a few days.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Eun-hee unnie nodded confidently.

I tilted my head in curiosity and asked, “How do you know that?”

“Well…

I was the one who went to rescue them.

That’s part of a guard’s job too.”

“Oh, I see…!”

Min-hee finally looked relieved.

Since the words came from the rescuer herself, it felt much more reassuring.

I too let out a sigh of relief.

“Whew, whether sooner or later, every grade experiences something like this once.

Kids don’t understand the meaning of the rules at first, and they don’t follow them well either.

I didn’t have that problem because I joined this school in middle school for the confidentiality policy.”

Eun-hee unnie continued, her expression turning serious.

“But this one’s big.

The kid who caused the commotion is definitely getting expelled.

The parents of the victims won’t stay quiet once they know why.”

She sighed deeply.

“But the hardest part will be for the kids whose abilities were exposed.

They’ll probably feel scared whenever they go outside for a while.

It might be better for them to live in the dorms for now.

There will be people gossiping, whether they’re students or adults.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Min-hee nodded, her face full of worry.

I agreed with Eun-hee unnie’s words, but my thoughts wandered elsewhere.

Maybe it’s because of the principal’s influence, but this school seems to have a lot of kind people.

But really, how many people, after experiencing hardship, can selflessly wish that others don’t go through the same pain?

Most people would just resent their situation, wondering why they had to suffer.

Some might even hope others experience the same pain.

Or worse, actively try to make it happen.

Eun-hee unnie had experienced something similar to that boy before.

Maybe even worse.

Yet here she was, saying, “That’s why,” as she rescued and comforted people who went through the same thing.

It’s truly something unimaginable for most people.

But then, what she said next shocked me.

Eun-hee unnie looked at Min-hee with a curious expression and said, “Huh? Didn’t you know?

That was Ji-hyun’s case too.”

At her words, I swallowed hard, my eyes widening in surprise.