I Became A Renowned Genius At My Arts High School - Chapter 254



Only Krnovel

Episode 254. Vending Machine Effect (2)

Jaden’s plan wasn’t impulsive.

Jaden had a feeling this day would come for a very long time.

Because I’ve thought about it dozens, hundreds of times, that one day I can’t hold out any longer, that I will eventually admit defeat and end my life.

However, I was very worried about the method. I was worried about how to reduce the damage without failure. I was worried about how to make the remaining people suffer less.

That was why he didn’t get rid of his Ford, which was over 25 years old and had no one to drive it after his wife passed away, and just left it in the garage.

A rattling used car would be fine for the last leg of the journey. If you get things done in it, the cleanup won’t be too hard.

Jaden gradually changed his vague plan into something more concrete.

And once we got the final supplies, we could set the D-Day.

“Get in this way, Jaden.”

Around 10 am.

Laura, who had come to collect payment for the errand, was momentarily taken aback by Jayden’s whim of asking to be taken downtown, but then she roughly cleared away the luggage in the backseat and made room for him.

“As I said earlier, I have other things to do today. I have to go to the supermarket and then stop by the bazaar. I absolutely cannot miss the bazaar that Meggi recommended.”

“Don’t worry about me, Laura. I’ll get back to you when I’m done.”

“But it could take several hours.”

“There’s a cafe and an arcade next to Queen Mart, so it’s okay. Anyway, let’s go.”

“Hmm. Okay, then.”

Laura watched as Jayden fumbled to close the back door, then started the car.

And after running for a while, we arrived at our destination in the city.

Jayden remained quiet the entire time he was shopping. Then, after Laura left the store, he sat down on the bench in front of it and quickly called Hans.

“Queen’s Mart. How long will it take? Okay. Call me when you get there.”

Hans, whom I had not contacted in a long time, was still doing illegal work.

Jayden fumbled for his wallet in his pants pocket, thinking that he probably could have gotten the medicine if he asked for it.

and.

“… … !”

Jaden jumped up from his seat in surprise. His back pocket, where his wallet should have been, was loose.

“this.”

A confused Jaden looked around. He couldn’t see anything properly, so he groped around the bench, but he couldn’t find anything.

Jaden pressed the shortcut key 3 to call Laura.

“Laura, I was wondering if you left my wallet in your car.”

The first possibility is inside the car.

But Laura replied indifferently that there was no wallet in the car.

“No, just look for it one more time. You must have brought it with you when you left the house.”

A while later, a phone call came, but the content was the same.

Laura looked through the shelves, but Jaden’s wallet was nowhere to be found, and advised him to search the grocery store just in case.

“shit.”

Jaden went into the store. He had been loitering around the front of the store while Laura was shopping.

It was a stand that mainly sold snacks that kids liked, and I bumped into a kid there.

Did it fall then?

“By any chance, have you seen a wallet lying around here?”

Jaden grabbed one of the employees and asked him.

“Your wallet?”

“It’s a black leather wallet. Inside is cash and my ID.”

“Well, let me ask at the counter.”

The clerk went to the counter, checked something, then came back to Jayden and said.

“Did you really lose it here?”

“Isn’t there any?”

“Nothing has come in yet.”

“Here, in front of this stand, a kid ran over and bumped into me earlier. I think I might have fallen then.”

“ah.”

The clerk shook his head.

“There are guys around here these days who steal wallets like that.”

“What?”

“Maybe I was hit.”

“No, like this.”

“Contact your family. I will.”

The employee hurried back to the warehouse, and Jayden looked at him with a blank expression.

“You really think it was stolen?”

Any other time would not have made me this angry, but today I was so angry that I could hardly control myself.

It was a lot of money. Hans, as if he was looking into Jayden’s wallet, demanded the exact amount of cash, and Jayden took out all the cash he had kept in the safe at home the day before and packed it tightly into his wallet.

“How can you be this stupid?”

Jaden muttered with a blush on his face.

No matter what the circumstances, there was no way Hans would hand over the gun on credit. He would be lucky if he didn’t get beaten up.

“ha.”

Jaden called Hans first and explained the situation.

“So, I can’t buy anything today. Okay. I’ll contact you again when I find my wallet.”

After I hung up the phone, I felt empty.

Jaden blinked and looked out at the parking lot in front of the mart.

It was around lunchtime. The roads were fairly deserted, so cars were zooming along at a brisk pace.

‘I’m sorry, but.’

Jaden quickly changed his plans.

It will take a long time to get a new ID and go to the bank to withdraw money.

If I could just wait, I could have endured it somehow, but it was something I had to do again, asking someone for help and complaining about.

Jaden was sick of the whole process. And.

“Now is not the time for me to look after anyone.”

I slowly left the parking lot and walked toward the road.

Just then, the silhouette of a truck approaching at a fairly fast speed was vaguely visible.

Ugh.

Jaden took a deep breath and jumped into the driveway.

and.

Squeak-!

I heard the sound of sharp skidding wheels.

Rattling.

I heard the car door open.

“This is crazy! Where am I!”

The driver was very angry and started swearing and yelling.

Paaaaang-.

Cars passed by honking their horns in surprise at the sudden stop.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Jaden muttered with a blank expression.

I felt belatedly guilty for almost traumatizing that person.

And the disappointment, despair, and inexplicable emotions that came from this failure made Jaden feel infinitely discouraged.

“Are you okay?”

And then a man got out of the passenger seat.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

The man who had been watching Jayden, who had gotten up from his seat and was wandering around with no sense of direction, grabbed Jayden’s arm and said.

“It’s dangerous here, so please go inside.”

***

The men said they were on their way to Queensmart.

“I almost got into trouble, but I was lucky I was slowing down.”

Silent.

Jaden remained silent, having nothing to say to the men.

“You seem to have some eye problems. Did you come alone?”

The name of the man who got out of the passenger seat was Samuel.

He walked Jayden to a bench in front of the mart and handed him a drink from his car.

“I have company. I was waiting for them because they said they were coming back after taking care of some business.”

Jaden drew a line at the bottom, hoping to cut off this uncomfortable attention from himself.

but.

“Then while you wait, why don’t you take a look around? Ah, let me explain.”

Samuel didn’t stop talking to Jaden.

“We came to install a vending machine.”

At first, Jaden didn’t react much to Samuel’s words.

“I heard that many people living in this area come to Queensmart to shop.”

“But they sell plenty of drinks and such inside the mart.”

“Ah. The vending machine we’re installing isn’t a beverage vending machine.”

Samuel said with a smile.

“Gift. Should I call it an SOS vending machine that gives out free gifts?”

And Samuel added a strange word.

“I guess you could say it’s for emergency patients.”

“… … .”

When Jaden didn’t answer, Samuel turned to Jaden and said.

“Shall I tell you a secret?”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Until a month ago, I didn’t have a job.”

But Samuel started talking about himself as if it didn’t matter.

“There was no hope. There was no reason to live.”

These are quite heavy words to say to someone you are meeting for the first time.

“I tried to commit suicide several times, but I was saved every time. Eventually, I had to get counseling, and that’s when I came across that vending machine.”

Samuel didn’t reveal the details of his past, but he spoke passionately about his experience with vending machines.

“When I said I didn’t want to go to counseling, the counselor told me to press the button on the vending machine. It happened to be the day the vending machine was installed in the counseling center’s break room. But I didn’t go near it for about a week. I was worried that someone might be watching me, and I didn’t expect that kind of thing to help me.”

Samuel explained to Jaden what the vending machine was for and how to use it.

“Of course, it’s not a magic vending machine. But there’s no denying that it was a necessary gift. So if you’re having bad thoughts, pretend you’re being fooled and press the button once. I’ll make it so that you can press it as many times as you want for the next week, starting today.”

After finishing installing the vending machines, the two men climbed back into the truck.

The idea was to go to the next area and install a vending machine.

“… … .”

Jaden, left alone again, felt more depressed than before.

The man named Samuel seemed to realize that he had deliberately jumped into the road.

So, he must have disappeared after leaving a message telling us to press the vending machine button.

“That’s funny.”

Jaden muttered.

It was a strange day.

It had been about three hours since I left home, but it felt like days had passed.

So many things had happened in the meantime. I lost my wallet, my meeting with Hans fell through, my attempt to jump in front of a truck failed, and a vending machine appeared in front of me.

I lived my days boringly, wondering when the day would end when I opened my eyes, but I also felt uneasy at the appearance of unfamiliar events and the pace.

Swish.

Jaden looked up at the vending machine.

The surroundings were quiet.

A time when even the occasional customers stopping by suddenly stopped coming.

I had a long wait for Laura to arrive, and since I was going to miss Hans, I needed something to kill time.

Thump.

Jaden took a step forward.

Gropingly.

I walked towards what looked like a vending machine, leaning against the wall of the mart.

Gift.

I could vaguely see large letters written in front of the vending machine.

It seemed like it was the vending machine that Samuel had told me about earlier.

“There’s only one button. Just press it.”

As I had heard in advance, the vending machine’s exterior was simple.

Swish.

I felt around and felt a convex button.

Kuk.

Jaden pressed the button.

Rattling.

At the same time, the box fell.

“… … .”

Jaden bent down, took out the box, and slowly walked back to the bench.

A thin box made of paper.

The weight was as light as if it were empty.

however.

Click.

The contents of the box were quite heavy.

“her.”

Jaden held the postcard-shaped paper close to his eyes and stared at it for a long time, and a strange emotion came over him.

Looking closely, it was a painting.

A drawing of a crouching child and an adult warmly embracing the child.

A small room. A child was crouching under the window, his face covered and his shoulders hunched.

What did I do wrong?

Or maybe you have some concerns?

The adult in the picture seemed curious as well, as he was whispering something in the child’s ear while comforting him.

and.

“… … ?”

Jaden looked surprised when he discovered the message card attached to the back of the painting.

And then swoosh.

Jaden’s eyes snapped open as he opened the card and checked the message.

Tears fell.