So, after quite some time, I had removed Gomteng’s neck.
With the thought that the remaining Saturday would pass peacefully without any cause for anger, my mind eased like a submarine sinking to the ocean floor.
A quiet lunch, just because one doll went missing.
After emptying the disposable containers, a stillness of the holiday settled in.
Just when I thought half of this precious holiday was slipping away—
“By the way, don’t Siyeon and Mari normally use their powers?”
Ji-eun, who had escaped from the food delivery, returned downstairs, posing a quick question.
Wasn’t she asking if the magical girls used their powers regularly?
“Normally?”
“Yeah, Siyeon’s power is cold, and Mari’s power is hot, right? Wouldn’t it be nice to use them for winter or summer?”
I scratched the back of my head, cocking it at that absurd question.
Was she suggesting we use these powers instead of the air conditioner or heater at home?
Immediately after hearing the question, I thought…
‘Why would someone like her say something like that?’
It seemed that there was a slight discrepancy in their perceptions, possibly due to each of their powers being a bit different.
The powers of a magical girl are like a stream of water gushing from a hose.
It’s distinctly different from just randomly turning on a faucet and splashing about, versus carefully watering plants with precise measurements.
When it comes to monster-slaying, not worrying about power control means destruction is of no concern to begin with.
However, to use them ‘practically’ at home?
That’s a whole other story.
What if I messed up my power control and accidentally set the house on fire, or if I made the house freeze by overcooling it for Siyeon?
Then it wouldn’t be a laughing matter anymore.
“This is like telling someone to hold in their pee and only go when it’s absolutely necessary…”
“Oh… is that so?”
As I illustrated that sense by relating it to reality, Ji-eun seemed to grasp it a bit better.
Seeing her scratching her head and the still uncertain expression on her face, I continued.
“What you’re suggesting is… it’s like telling someone to use the monster-slaying beam weakly enough that it doesn’t injure anyone.”
I supported my example with the communal powers of the magical girls, conveying certainty to her ambiguous look.
Only then did she seem to truly understand.
It was a reference I could offer only because Ji-eun had experience as a magical girl.
“Oh… then that wouldn’t work, would it?”
“Exactly.”
I nodded affirmatively to Ji-eun’s exclamation of understanding.
Sometimes, you see threads like that in communities.
Simply asking if the cold power would be good in the summer.
Sun’s power being hot, thus beneficial in winter.
It’s laughable; magical girls also turn on air conditioners and heaters.
Do they just set their houses on fire when it’s cold, and douse themselves with liquid nitrogen when it’s hot?
Could there really be extreme measures for heat and cold like that?
Turning just the tips of their fingers hot without transforming requires tremendous fine-tuning…
To suggest using their powers like a heater or air conditioner for daily life is genuinely a recipe for disaster.
Even if it were possible, they’d need to hold their wands all day long.
Wouldn’t it be simpler to just buy an air conditioner or a heater and turn it on?
The holiday passed in the blink of an eye, and before I knew it, we were back to the weekdays.
The first period on Monday, right after the weekend, was undoubtedly the worst of the worst.
Moreover, it was the first period of a freezing January day, and we had gym class.
“Outdoor gym class!”
“Shit.”
I would’ve preferred an indoor class, but our class representative dashed our last hopes.
Mumbling curses in my heart, I shrugged on a winter gym outfit over my loosely worn coat.
Then I picked my coat back up and trudged outside.
Squatting on the bleachers of the playground, I stuffed my hands into my pockets and pulled my hat low over my eyes.
Korean weather is a curse—it’s freezing cold one moment and scorching hot the next.
As the familiar melody of the school bell rang, one by one, the kids trickled into the playground.
It wasn’t just our grade that had gym class; there were others out on the field too.
The younger students followed their teacher out, while the older grades knew to gather outside unless told otherwise.
“I just want to sit and relax.”
I felt the annoyance covering my entire body.
With my hands still in my pockets, I scowled.
During gym class, boys typically played soccer while girls played dodgeball.
I wished they’d just let us play around however we liked, and I curled up inside my coat.
Anyway, I was already sick of dodgeball since I’d played it near my house so often…
“We’re playing dodgeball!”
“Damn it.”
From afar, the class representative who was ahead of the teacher announced today’s gym class agenda.
Cursing internally, I grumbled as I put on my winter gym pants in a hurry.
“Even numbers over here, odd numbers over there—”
Our homeroom was split into two sides with even and odd numbers for the scheduled dodgeball game.
With a clattering sound, a green cart burst out from the gym shed.
White powder was sprinkled on the ground to create a proper dodgeball court, and it formed a decently neat playing area.
For reference, in dodgeball, the final student left typically receives attention for both good and bad reasons.
I had no intention of giving it my all.
Preferring to stick close to our opponent’s boundary, I aimed to quickly exit the game.
“Don’t hit anyone in the face!”
With the teacher’s casual control, the dodgeball game began.
Determined in rock-paper-scissors for first throw privileges, our team lucked out with a victory, meaning I wouldn’t be the first to get eliminated.
All I had to do was either dodge or catch the ball flying towards me.
Moreover, if you catch the ball, one person from your team gets back in; it was an odd rule added to the game.
Anyway, the game started and amid the chaos of dodging, I naturally ended up hit and exited the game.
The fun part of dodgeball is when around one to three players are left.
It’s that moment when the many clustered students have dropped out, leaving only those genuinely passionate about the game.
“Whoa!”
From here on, even if there’s no reward, if you’re on the same team, cheers arise whether or not you’re the one dodging.
If you caught the ball flying your way by luck, cheers erupted from your teammates.
“Who do you want to bring back?”
“Hey Kim Mari, come out!”
“Why me?”
After having been eliminated early, a boy who caught the ball revived me from the sidelines.
I couldn’t say no, and somehow ended back inside due to their applause.
With so few left, I couldn’t just get hit to leave either.
“You throw.”
“……”
The boy, shameless, returned me to the court and passed me the ball.
I had no idea why this unnamed boy had revived me, but I threw a dodgeball, less solid than a soccer ball, toward the opposing court.
Taking out the only remaining member of the other team like that, cheers erupted.
Win or lose, it didn’t matter; why were they so fixated on the outcome?
Wait, is it because there are kids like them that I get to play less in games like this?
Even from the sidelines, my unexpected performance didn’t stop.
In the next two or three games, I’d die, only aiming to throw the ball towards the clustered students on the outside, and yet two or three would drop out.
Simple, naive elementary school kids also easily eliminated by just pretending to throw it and then throwing it the other way.
“Really good!”
The praise from nearby girls.
Dodgeball, among physical activities, is popular with girls, so I got a lot of compliments like that.
Even receiving compliments, I felt a twinge of discomfort.
‘This isn’t because I’m good at it…’
I couldn’t tell them they were just naive and simple-minded.
In the end, the thoughts that came to mind remained unspoken as I tilted my head, preparing to throw the next ball.
I was probably the one who least wanted to move among all the students there.
However, on the sidelines, the kids kept pushing the ball to me whenever they had the chance….
“Who do you want to bring back?”
“Kim Mari!”
As soon as someone on our team caught the ball, I was pulled into the game from the outside.
Enough already, you little monsters filled with pure malice.
You should save the ace treatment for a little while longer.
Ultimately, gym class, where I usually got to play three games and spend the rest of the time relaxing, turned into five stretches of playing ace.
I ended up facing the first-period recess more drained than anyone else.
“Maria, you really excel at dodgeball!”
“Uh, yeah…”
‘This is messed up… am I not being bullied?’
Back in the classroom, the kids from my team kept praising me until their mouths ran dry…
…but right now, all I wanted was for them all to shut up.
At this moment, I felt like I could spit on any smiling face.
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