The Academy's Terminally Ill Side Character
Chapter 122: I’m Hospitalized Again [2]

Chapter 122: I’m Hospitalized Again [2]

After that, the room fell quiet for a moment. The air felt thick—like everyone was waiting for someone else to speak first.

Nora, who’d been uncharacteristically silent so far, stepped forward, arms folded.

"...I don’t get it," she said, her voice flat but low. "Why hide something like that? If it’s that dangerous, you should’ve told a professor. Or someone."

"I didn’t want anyone to worry," I replied, trying to sound casual. "I mean, it’s my power. I figured I could handle it."

"That’s stupid," Nora muttered under her breath.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

She crossed her arms, looking away. "I didn’t say you were weak. I said that was stupid. There’s a difference."

Ryen spoke up again, softer now. "You could’ve died."

"I didn’t."

"But you could’ve," he insisted. "That thing—Ethan—he would’ve killed all of us if you hadn’t done what you did. And we didn’t even know you were there. You did that alone."

"Yeah, well... it wasn’t exactly a team effort opportunity," I muttered.

There was a pause.

Then, surprisingly, Leona sat down on the edge of the bed.

She looked straight at me, eyes narrowed but oddly soft. "You ever pull something like that again without telling anyone, I will punch you."

"...Got it."

"Good." She looked down at her lap. "Because I thought you were dead."

The tension cracked a little. Just a little.

A moment later, Professor Lena clapped her hands once. "Alright, visiting time’s up. He needs rest, and none of you are helping his recovery."

Groans and protests followed, but she pointed to the door like a queen dismissing her court.

One by one, they filed out—Ryen lingering the longest before finally stepping away.

Just before he left, he looked back at me.

His eyes held something that made my chest tighten.

"...Get better, Rin."

Then the door clicked shut.

---

The door clicked shut behind them.

The hallway was quiet, save for the low hum of the overhead lights and the distant footsteps of medics moving through the ward. Ryen leaned against the wall, arms crossed, deep in thought. Leona was pacing—annoyed and restless—while Nora stood still, arms folded tightly, her lips pressed in a line.

Professor Lena rubbed her temple.

"Okay," Leona burst out. "So? Are we seriously just going to pretend that explanation was enough? He’s dying one minute, walking the next. That’s not normal! Even if his talent does drain energy, people don’t bleed out from exhaustion!"

"Agreed," Nora said flatly. "I’ve seen casters pass out from magic loss. That wasn’t it. Something’s off."

"Professor," Ryen said calmly, his gaze on Lena. "You’ve been dodging the question. What really is Rin’s talent?"

Lena hesitated.

"...I can’t tell you."

Leona stared. "Excuse me?"

"I can’t," Lena repeated, her voice low and firm. "There are rules in place—rules I can’t break as professor of the Velcrest Academy. I’ve already said too much."

"Then what can you tell us?" Ryen pressed.

Lena let out a long breath. "Only this: if Rin says he’s fine, it doesn’t mean he is. And if he says his talent is Enhancement, it’s... partially true. But the cost of using his power isn’t just physical exhaustion. It’s worse. Much worse."

"...He’s hurting himself," Leona said quietly.

Everyone turned to look at her.

She shrugged slightly. "I’m not dumb. I noticed the signs. His energy doesn’t fluctuate like ours. It spikes—then drops, like something’s being ripped out of him."

Lena nodded, confirming it without saying a word.

Ryen’s fists clenched at his sides.

"So you’re saying if he keeps doing this... it’ll kill him."

Lena didn’t answer.

She didn’t need to.

The silence said everything.

There was a heavy silence in the hallway, the kind that settled into your bones after a long, chaotic day.

Finally, Professor Lena exhaled and spoke, her voice quieter than usual.

"...It’s late. You should all head back."

"We understand, Professor."

Ryen gave her a respectful nod before turning to leave. One by one, the others followed—Leona, Nora, Keira.

No one felt like talking.

Their footsteps echoed faintly as they disappeared down the corridor. Lena stood there for a moment, watching them go, her arms loosely folded across her chest.

She let out another sigh before turning around and quietly re-entering the hospital room.

There was still something she needed to say.

---

"Is everyone gone?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes."

That was all she said.

Short and clipped. Not like her.

I blinked, watching her carefully. Her face was calm, but there was something in her eyes—something she was holding back. She stood at the foot of my bed for a second, then slowly walked to the chair beside me and sat down.

Something was coming.

"Rin."

She used my name.

Not "Cadet Rin." Not "Evans."

Just Rin.

That alone made me sit up a little straighter.

"Yes, Professor?"

She looked at me for a while. Not with anger or worry—but with something softer. Fonder. Sadder.

"...Rin. You remind me of my younger brother."

I blinked.

"...You have a younger brother?"

Of course I knew.

But Rin Evans wouldn’t know that. So I kept my voice steady, pretending this was the first I’d heard of it.

Lena gave a small, hollow laugh.

"Had."

I said nothing. The weight in her voice said more than enough.

"He was... like you," she continued, her voice distant, caught in memory. "Same age. Same recklessness. Always jumping in to save people even when he didn’t have the strength to do it. Always telling me not to worry while bleeding out in front of me."

I didn’t move. Just listened.

There wasn’t anything I could say that would make this easier. Anything I offered would sound hollow. Wrong.

"He died during an expedition two years ago," she said quietly. "Trying to protect someone else. Just like you did today."

Her eyes were distant now, as if she wasn’t seeing me at all—but someone else, from another time.

"I told myself I’d never get attached to another student like that again. That I’d stay distant. Professional. It was easier that way."

She looked back at me.

"But then you showed up. Looking like him. Acting like him. Throwing yourself into danger like you don’t care what happens to you."

Her voice cracked just a little.

"I can’t lose you too."

That broke something in me.

I looked away, not because I wanted to, but because I didn’t know how to face that kind of raw grief. Not when it was tied to something I couldn’t fix. Not when I was the one causing it again.

"...I’m sorry," I whispered.

"You should be."

That wasn’t angry, though.

It was... tired. Hurt.

She leaned back in the chair, arms crossed loosely, then looked up at the ceiling.

"I know you’re hiding something, Rin. I won’t press—not now. But you can’t keep burning yourself out like this."

I swallowed hard, keeping my eyes on the blanket over my legs.

"I just... couldn’t let anyone die."

"I know," she said. "That’s exactly what he said too."

Another pause stretched between us.

Then Lena stood up slowly.

"I’ll be here a while longer. You get some sleep."

As she turned to leave, she stopped at the doorway, her back to me.

"...You may not be my brother, Rin. But I’m not going to let you throw your life away, either. Not on my watch."

Then she walked out.

And for a long time, I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, wondering how I’d become someone worth crying over.