My Bugged System Made Me Too OP!-Chapter 25: Why didn’t he just die?
Rad’s eyes widened instantly.
The words Noah had whispered seemed to strike him physically.
He jerked his head back slightly, staring at Noah as if seeing him for the first time.
For a moment, his breathing stopped.
His gaze searched Noah’s face frantically, as though trying to confirm what he had just heard.
But all he found was a blank, indifferent expression.
Rad blinked in confusion.
It was almost like he had imagined the whisper.
Almost like those cold words had never been spoken at all.
The more he stared, the more doubt began creeping into his thoughts.
’Did he really just say that...?’ he thought, feeling stupid.
His jaw tightened.
A faint grinding sound escaped as he gnashed his teeth.
’Is he... threatening me?’
The thought made his stomach twist.
Noah had never spoken to him like that before.
Noah had never looked at him like that before.
There was something wrong, which made him feel uneasy.
Rad swallowed hard.
"L-Leave me alone..." he stuttered suddenly, his voice louder than he intended.
He tugged his wrist again, more urgently this time.
But Noah’s grip did not loosen.
Rad strained harder, muscles in his arm flexing visibly beneath his sleeve. His shoulders tensed as he leaned back slightly, trying to pry himself free.
But he still wasn’t able to free himself.
Rad’s breathing grew uneven.
He applied more strength, veins beginning to show faintly along his forearm.
He was staring to get frustrated, gnashing his teeth.
He eventually decided to use more force to pull away from Noah.
He yanked his arm back with everything he had.
And in that exact moment—
Noah suddenly released him.
Rad’s body, already committed to the backward motion, lost its balance.
His feet slipped against the smooth academy flooring.
His eyes widened again as his center of gravity tipped too far back to recover.
He stumbled.
Then fell.
"Ugh—!"
A sharp grunt escaped him as his butt hit the floor with a dull thud.
The impact sent a brief jolt up his spine.
His palms slapped against the ground instinctively as he tried to steady himself.
For a split second, there was silence.
Then—
Soft laughter.
A pair of girls who had been walking past slowed their steps.
Their eyes shifted toward the commotion.
They took in the sight—Rad sitting awkwardly on the ground, uniform slightly disheveled, expression caught between shock and humiliation.
One of them covered her mouth.
The other didn’t bother.
Then they laughed and whispered something to themselves before walking away.
Rad’s face flushed instantly.
Red crept up his neck, spreading across his cheeks, pooling beneath his eyes.
His hands curled into fists against the floor.
His teeth ground together again, sharper this time.
Across from him, Noah looked down at him with scorn.
Then he scoffed.
Without another word, Noah stepped forward, moving past him.
As he did, he casually slid one hand into his pocket, not sparing Rad another glance.
Rad remained seated on the ground, watching him go.
His face reddened even further.
The heat in his chest shifted from embarrassment to anger.
His fingers dug into the fabric of his uniform.
His jaw clenched painfully tight.
’How dare you...’
His eyes burned as they followed Noah’s retreating figure.
’How dare you... ignore me...’
Rad remained seated for several seconds after Noah disappeared into the crowd.
His brows drew together sharply as he stared at the ground where he had fallen.
’But then...’ he mumbled inwardly, his throat feeling dry. ’How is he alive...?’
The question surfaced again, heavier this time.
His lips parted slightly as his mind replayed that night with brutal clarity.
He was sure.
Absolutely sure.
Noah had died.
He and Drey had been the ones who handled the body after Lloyd finished.
He remembered the weight of his dead body as they moved it, as well as the coldness of his flesh against his palm.
There had been no pulse.
Slowly, Rad pushed himself up from the ground.
His legs felt weak, and he felt a little dizzy from how much thoughts was passing through his mind.
’Could that mean...’ His breathing shallowed again.
’He was simply pretending...?’
The idea made his stomach twist violently.
’Pretending to be dead... just so we could leave him alone...?’
But that didn’t make sense.
Was it even possible to fake death to that extent?
His hands trembled more visibly now.
Without realizing it, he brought his fingers to his mouth.
He began chewing at them absentmindedly, teeth pressing against skin in a nervous habit he hadn’t had since childhood.
Ever since that night, he hadn’t been able to sleep properly.
Every time he closed his eyes, the memory returned.
The way Noah’s body had gone slack.
The silence that followed.
But what haunted him most—
Was the feeling of Noah’s cold body beneath his hands.
He could still feel it sometimes when he lay in bed.
It was the first time he had touched a dead body, and it creeped him out to the core.
Unlike Lloyd, who was the son of a count, Rad had no powerful family backing him.
If something went wrong, Lloyd would be protected.
His name would never be stained.
Rad, on the other hand, was from a middle-class family.
They were comfortable and even stable enough to provide him all he ever needed.
But they didn’t have that much influence when it came to things like this.
If the truth ever surfaced—
If what happened that night came to light—
Lloyd might walk away untouched.
As for him, he probably wouldn’t.
If Noah was alive, that either meant someone had found him at the place they buried him and pulled him out.
Or—
He had indeed been pretending and simply crawled out himself when they left.
Rad’s breathing hitched.
Between the two possibilities—
He was more afraid of the former.
If someone had saved Noah...
Then that meant someone else knew.
Another person aware of what they had done that night.
His pulse quickened dangerously.
’Why didn’t he just die... that stupid bitch...’ he thought, clenching his jaw.
