Episode 126 – The Essence of Magical Girls (6)
“Hey, she’s watching you.”
[…I know.]
From the moment I got in the car to go to school, until I got out and walked into the classroom, Kim Soo-jung was blatantly checking me out to the point where even Ren noticed. She tried not to show it, but her constant glances made it more obvious than if she had shouted it out loud.
[What’s the problem? There was nothing wrong this morning.]
I recalled the time when Kim Soo-jung crawled into my bed and stuck to me. I definitely didn’t feel this way back then.
She had changed right after that.
Her mind had been somewhere else the moment I stepped out to take a shower.
“Are you bothered by it?”
[Well, it would be more odd if I wasn’t.]
I scoffed at Ren’s reaction and thought for a moment.
Should I just ask her about it first? But then again, it could turn into a hassle, so maybe leaving her alone is the better option.
Above all, getting too deeply involved in someone else’s business often turns out to be a huge headache.
“Did you go to meet Hong Soo-young?”
“Yeah. I saw you two talking on the way back. Right in front of the girls’ bathroom.”
Then, during lunch, Park Tae-jun told me about Kim Soo-jung after returning from outside. I instinctively sensed that something was up.
Furthermore, I suspected it might be related to me.
She had talked about me to Hong Soo-young and Kang Jin-soo when she was possessed by Mamute’s demon and was losing her sanity.
“…Well, do you have something to say?”
As expected, just before lunch ended, Kim Soo-jung approached me with a perplexed expression.
“Go on, say it clearly. Was it because of this that you’ve been watching me?”
I moved to a less crowded staircase, trying to talk lightly as if it were no big deal.
“Last night, I went out while you were sleeping.”
But what she said was sharp enough to freeze my expression instantly. Once I failed at managing my expression, it was practically impossible to brush it off casually; this was my lapse in judgment.
“No.”
“…I’m just curious. So, don’t lie.”
I denied it for now, but Kim Soo-jung already had a strong conviction. I couldn’t figure out how she was so sure, how she sensed my absence while I was deeply asleep.
“Even if I went out, it wasn’t a big deal, right?”
“On what basis are you saying that?!”
Kim Soo-jung couldn’t hide her anxiousness and forced me to answer. Seeing her mental state getting more unstable, I bit my lip.
“The smell changed! The smell before and after sleeping is different!”
Finally, Kim Soo-jung, overcoming her anxiety, grabbed my shoulders tightly.
More than that, hearing her see through Plesea’s disguise caught me off guard, and I sighed inwardly.
Should I praise her for being impressive, or be horrified that it’s a dangerous ability? I was at a loss.
“Let’s say I did go out at night. Was that really something to go this far about? My shoulders hurt.”
“What if you just left me behind at night? Anywhere!”
I tried to gently push her away, but she began shaking her head vigorously instead. She pushed closer to me, showing that this rampage wasn’t just a simple emotional bout but rather something stemming from her past experiences, bordering on a sort of obsession or dependency. I knew better than to resist physically.
These unstable facets of hers had been hidden well before, but they kept popping up whenever it involved me.
“I’m not going anywhere. Where would I go?”
“I don’t believe you! I can’t believe you!”
Kim Soo-jung shook her head violently.
“I want to believe you too, but I just can’t…”
She gasped for breath. Honestly, this was troublesome for me too. There was nothing I could do to fix this with any of the powers or knowledge I possessed.
I didn’t have the expertise to address the psychological ailments stemming from the demon realm. So, while they needed local psychiatrists for treatment, the facilities were not well-supported for ongoing care.
“What more do you want me to do?”
Since I knew she would just spiral down further, I didn’t get angry or try to confront reality.
I intended to just carry on with the current situation and revisit it later.
“…I don’t know either.”
But Kim Soo-jung, right in front of me, slowly shook her head.
She had grown a bit taller since I last saw her. Unlike me, who hadn’t changed at all, she had indeed grown just a little. As our bodies came within a breath’s distance, her face inched closer to mine.
“Go prepare for class or something.”
I forced a grin, red-faced, and pushed her approaching lips away with my finger.
I didn’t want to make a decision that I would regret for eternity.
“Maybe you should just tell that girl you’re a Magical Girl.”
[That’s something I’m considering. Who would have thought she’d notice me going out at night?]
During class, Ren sighed while pointing to Kim Soo-jung, who was sprawled over my desk.
It was a valid point. It would be a way to eliminate unnecessary suspicion with the least amount of risk.
[I wanted her to overcome this and grow on her own, but that was quite a stretch for a kid.]
To me right now, Kim Soo-jung was an incredibly ambiguous existence. I couldn’t treat her harshly like other humans, yet she didn’t quite align with my thoughts and beliefs—a perfectly ordinary person, really.
But she was my connection and my first friend made in this form. No matter her state, I wanted to help her.
[It’s tough. The problem is one that can’t be solved with brute force.]
“Huh? No way.”
[But as a Magical Girl, I must help her in her time of crisis.]
I wracked my brain. If I ignored this, she would eventually suffer because she couldn’t shake off her obsession and dependency on me. But if I indulged her desires, it meant I was merely handing her a twisted scar to carry.
“See me tonight.”
I finally made my decision and lightly informed Kim Soo-jung during school dismissal. That would be when I sought resolution.
*
“See me.”
With an expression no different from usual, Lee Jin-ah came and declared that.
‘It’s over.’
However, Kim Soo-jung, not grasping the deeper meaning behind those words, instead felt a wave of despair.
She acted like nothing was wrong, but she was already terrified that Lee Jin-ah would hate her for her impulsively revealed actions during lunch.
‘Idiot. Fool.’
Completely dazed, she cursed herself.
She knew what she was doing wasn’t generally considered right. Even though she was possessed by a demon, she recognized that Lee Jin-ah, who showed no care for her horrible and dangerous actions, was rather unique.
That’s why she had been grateful and cautious until today but had momentarily let down her guard. She felt a flicker of hope, however slight.
When Lee Jin-ah pushed her lips away, she thought the sky had collapsed. She believed she had crossed the line.
‘I’ll get dumped. God, I might even get reported.’
The extreme stress made her stomach churn, yet she could only groan silently without saying anything.
Time flowed, and after dinner—where it became hard to tell if the food was going in through her mouth or nose…
“I was wrong.”
When the time came, Kim Soo-jung suddenly collapsed to her knees on the floor.
“Suddenly?”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t in my right mind… I’m sorry…”
Lee Jin-ah chuckled lightly, but in the end, she couldn’t hold back her tears. Clicking her tongue, Lee Jin-ah helped her sit up from the floor while she herself sat on the bed.
“I’m not worried.”
“Uh…?”
“As long as you realize it’s wrong, that’s sufficient. The feelings you have for me that go beyond friendship are not normal. It’s an obsession created from your trauma and conflict. It’s better to break free from it. You shouldn’t stick by my side for your whole life.”
Lee Jin-ah, with her legs crossed, remained cold, composed, and calm even in that moment. That steadiness provided some comfort. Her unwavering demeanor brought a sense of stability to me.
“The reason I asked you to see me is for something else.”
“Something else?”
“It’s about why I was away.”
In fact, shifting the topic, Lee Jin-ah brought up something Kim Soo-jung had momentarily forgotten.
It was an unexpected reply, but as Kim Soo-jung’s eyes widened, she sat down demurely, waiting for Lee Jin-ah’s story.
“I’m actually a Magical Girl.”
With that, Lee Jin-ah’s appearance made Kim Soo-jung smile slightly as she raised her own hand to show it. Soon, a red connector appeared on her delicate white fingers.
Upon hearing this, Kim Soo-jung momentarily froze, her mind blank as she struggled to process whether what she heard was real or not.
“Going out at night is obviously for my mission… Is this the answer?”
Lee Jin-ah chuckled again, hiding the connector away. Yet, even at that moment, Kim Soo-jung could only stare vacantly, utterly awestruck.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
