My Childhood Friend’s Stock Will Never Fail Chapter 38

“So it really is in here.”

 

“Hm?”

 

Joohoon muttered as though it were obvious.

 

“They put up warnings like this so people won’t come looking. Even if there isn’t a black divine beast here… we’ve still got plenty of time, right?”

 

Is that how it works?

 

“Yeah, then…”

 

Convinced by Joohoon’s reasoning, Yoohee followed after him.

 

Dry straw crunched beneath their feet, adding to the eerie atmosphere surrounding them.

 

Whoosh—

 

Something shot through the air with lightning speed and embedded itself into the pine tree beside Yoohee.

 

Thankfully, Joohoon reacted in an instant, raising an ice barrier.

 

Otherwise, whatever sharp object it was would never have changed course—it would’ve struck Yoohee square in the face instead of the tree.

 

A cold sweat ran down her back.

 

“W-What was that…? A… a knife?”

 

She hadn’t gotten a clear look, but it had carried the terrifying force of a blade.

 

Remaining calm, Joohoon pulled the object from the tree and examined it before shaking his head.

 

“It’s a feather. A red feather.”

 

“I think it belongs to the red divine beast.”

 

Weren’t the divine beasts we’d seen around campus just peaceful little dust balls floating through the air?

 

Why is this one so violent?

 

“That’s good.”

 

“Looks like we came to the right place.”

 

Unlike Yoohee, who was practically drenched in cold sweat, Joohoon smiled brightly.

 

Was Joohoon always this fearless?

 

“S-Should we really keep going? There doesn’t seem to be anyone else around here.”

 

“We’ve already come this far. We might as well keep going.”

 

“I-I guess so.”

 

“Are you scared, Yoohee?”

 

Joohoon asked with his clear, innocent eyes.

 

She couldn’t bring herself to immediately say no.

 

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Joohoon.

 

It was simply a survival instinct.

 

Nothing was ever one hundred percent certain.

 

What if Joohoon looked away for just a second…

 

…and I died screaming out here?

 

“…Sorry. I’m such a coward.”

 

“It’s okay.”

 

“If you’re scared, Yoohee, we’ll leave right now.”

 

Joohoon patiently waited for her answer.

 

For a brief moment, Yoohee felt painfully small compared to him.

 

Stop acting like this.

 

I have to clear the sub-scenario too.

 

And besides… Joohoon’s trying this hard.

 

I can’t disappoint him.

 

“Then… let’s go a little farther.”

 

Yoohee answered resolutely.

 

Joohoon’s eyes widened in surprise before curving into a gentle smile.

 

“Okay.”

 

“Just trust me.”

 

Sticking close behind him, Yoohee followed him deeper into the forest.

 

Caw… caw…

 

The ominous cries of crows echoed through the woods.

 

“What’s that?”

 

Walking in front, Joohoon suddenly stopped and murmured.

 

Peeking out from behind him, Yoohee looked ahead.

 

Not far away stood a bird with an oddly majestic bearing.

 

A rooster.

 

One with a brilliant crimson comb.

 

“Oh…”

 

“Why is there a chicken?”

 

“I can sense mana from it.”

 

“Could that be the red divine beast?”

 

Even Joohoon sounded uncertain.

 

And understandably so.

 

It looked nothing like the dust-ball divine beasts they’d seen on campus.

 

But neither did it resemble the foxes or vermilion birds that people usually imagined as beast-shaped divine creatures.

 

Cluck!

 

Sensing their presence, the rooster turned toward them and proudly raised its head with a sharp cry.

 

I have a bad feeling about this.

 

Cluck! Cock-a-doodle-doo!

 

A torrent of blazing red flames erupted from its open beak.

 

In an instant, the fire spread through the dry straw, sending waves of scorching heat into the air.

 

Joohoon tried suppressing the flames with his ice-element mana, but the rooster darted around in every direction, continuing to breathe fire.

 

“W-Why is it doing that?”

 

“I guess it doesn’t appreciate us showing up.”

 

“What do you mean—cough, cough!”

 

The thick smoke made Yoohee break into a coughing fit.

 

Worried, Joohoon gently patted her shoulder with one hand.

 

Even through her jacket, his hand felt incredibly cold.

 

“Yoohee.”

 

“Can you run?”

 

“The red divine beast isn’t something we should be dealing with anyway.”

 

“Let’s not provoke it any further and head somewhere else.”

 

Yoohee nodded and started moving.

 

Just as she hurried along a forest path untouched by the flames—

 

Her foot caught on a rock.

 

Crash!

 

She fell hard to the ground.

 

“Oww…”

 

Brushing off her slightly scraped knee, she planted a hand on the ground to push herself back up.

 

Squelch.

 

Something soft and unpleasant squished beneath her palm.

 

…What is that?

 

Frowning, she looked down at whatever she’d just touched.

 

“Aaaahhh!”

 

A scream escaped her before she even realized it.

 

***

 

The sound of rushing water filled the air.

 

At one of the sinks on the academy grounds, Yoohee scrubbed her hands so hard they practically squeaked. But no matter how much she washed them, the awful stench had seeped in so deeply that it refused to disappear.

 

“Yoohee. You can stop washing now. They don’t smell anymore.”

“…You’re lying.”

 

Joohoon insisted they were fine, but when she’d gone back to class, every student had been glancing at her strangely.

 

One of them had even gone as far as asking if she hadn’t washed her hands.

 

It was so unfair. This was all because of that black divine beast.

 

A little while ago, she’d tripped in the forest and accidentally grabbed a squishy black divine beast.

 

Finding the black divine beast had been great, but she hadn’t expected this.

 

The thing, which looked like a baby mole, gave off the most revolting smell she’d ever encountered in her life.

 

As a result, the moment she’d caught it, she’d reflexively let it go.

 

The scenario had naturally been cleared because of that.

 

‘Why does it feel like I’m the one who lost out?’

 

She scrubbed her hands even more irritably.

 

Seriously, when is this smell ever going to go away?

 

Forget the black divine beast. She’d just catch a blue one instead. That seemed much better for her mental health.

 

Just as she was grumbling to herself, a status window suddenly appeared before her eyes.

 

[The bond status of male lead candidate ‘Seo Hyunho’ has been dissolved.]

[From now on, male lead candidate ‘Seo Hyunho’s Affection will increase normally.]

 

Yoohee froze in place, staring blankly at the status window.

 

Seo Hyunho’s bond had been dissolved…

 

Didn’t that mean his imprint with Gayoung had been broken?

 

Why?

 

In the original story, it was still far too early for their imprint to break.

 

Summer vacation hadn’t even begun yet, so why now?

 

The fine hairs on her arms stood on end.

 

‘And if the imprint has been broken… then surely that means…’

 

Soon enough, the future she’d feared most unfolded before her eyes.

 

[Male lead candidate ‘Seo Hyunho’ has someone other than you in his heart.]

[Male lead candidate ‘Seo Hyunho’s Affection is decreasing.]

[Seo Hyunho (Affection 4% → 3%)]

[Seo Hyunho (Affection 3% → 2%)]

[Seo Hyunho (Affection 2% → 1%)]

 

Seo Hyunho’s period of regret had come earlier than it was supposed to.

 

Ah, dear God.

 

In the original story, it was only after his imprint with Gayoung was broken that Seo Hyunho finally realized he had truly loved her.

 

He began regretting the way he’d treated her so cruelly.

 

He started cutting off every relationship he had with other women.

 

Naturally, Yoohee was included among them.

 

Damn it, where is Seo Hyunho right now?

 

Yoohee hurriedly tried to run off in search of him, but Joohoon grabbed her arm.

 

“Yoohee. Where are you going?”

 

His expression was filled with concern after seeing her face suddenly pale as she tried to dash off somewhere.

 

“Well…”

 

She couldn’t exactly tell Joohoon the truth.

 

And right now, there wasn’t any time.

 

She had to find Seo Hyunho first.

 

“I’m sorry, Joohoon. I’ll explain when I get back. I just don’t have time right now.”

 

She shook off his hand and immediately ran off.

 

“The person you are trying to reach is unavailable. Please leave a voice message after the tone…”

 

Her first call to Seo Hyunho went unanswered.

 

Growing more frantic by the second, she stamped her feet in frustration.

 

Then she grabbed two passing second-year students and asked,

 

“Have either of you seen Seo Hyunho? I mean… Senior Hyunho?”

 

The two students wearing second-year name tags tilted their heads before exchanging a few words.

 

“Well… things got a little noisy earlier. I think he went to the infirmary?”

 

“I’m not completely sure, but I think he went there with Gayoung.”

 

The infirmary?

 

The moment she heard that, she sprinted toward it with everything she had.

 

Her breath was ragged, but she didn’t stop.

 

Tap, tap.

 

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the hallway as she finally reached the infirmary.

 

But what awaited her there was something she had never expected.

 

[The Thirtieth Transmigrator is nearby.]

 

“…”

 

Holding her ragged breath, Yoohee stared once more at the status window floating before her.

 

‘What on earth is going on…?’

 

Her hand hesitated for a brief moment.

 

Then she steeled herself and pushed the door open.

 

Creak.

 

The infirmary door slid open, revealing a room bathed in the late afternoon sunlight.

 

The school nurse seemed to be out for a while, leaving the room empty.

 

‘Where’s Seo Hyunho…?’

 

She stepped inside and looked around.

 

But there was no sign of Seo Hyunho—or anyone else.

 

The familiar scent of the room’s diffuser mixed faintly with the smell of medicated patches.

 

As she surveyed the otherwise peaceful, empty infirmary, she noticed one bed with its curtain drawn shut.

 

Swallowing hard, she cautiously approached it.

 

Just as she reached out to pull the curtain aside—

 

[The Thirtieth Transmigrator is extremely close.]