As I mentioned earlier, there were no choices.
Of course, if we were to investigate around Siyeon, there was a genuine concern that her real name or pre-transformation appearance might be revealed.
But what does that really matter?
If I were to get discovered as a Magical Girl, there’s no crazy clause that says I have to quit my job.
The people around don’t need to make uncomfortable considerations, and the Magical Girl doesn’t have to undergo any shame-play with transformation lines or spells.
The path that Magical Girls chose to keep their identities hidden was just your standard ‘let’s keep it comfortable for each other’ deal.
There’s no need to reveal identities, yet there’s also no need to wrap everything up tight.
Especially when it’s related to family, it was something that had to be clear regarding whether identities would be revealed or not.
“And you five, come sit here.”
I pointed to a torn-up desk and motioned towards the sofa across from it.
The kids, stepping cautiously as if under the pressure of their parents’ urging, carefully settled on the armrests.
“Take off your outer clothes, let’s see those name tags.”
As soon as the last kid sat down, I had them remove their bulky coats to check each name written on them.
“Pen, paper.”
I extended my right hand behind my shoulder, palm up, and after a few hurried sounds of clattering, an A4 sheet and a pen landed in my hand.
In the hastily scrawled name tags of the kids, three-letter names emerged.
Memorizing those unforgettable names with my eyes and mind, I folded the sheet twice and tucked it away.
I wanted nothing more than to pound the monsters like I was smashing them on a rainy day…
But seeing the swollen faces, bruised to the point of distortion, and their sheepish expressions made me tone down my initial rage as I stood up, placing a foot on the remains of the broken desk and opened my mouth.
“Don’t reveal your faces or names.”
Without a word, several of the previously glued-down gazes hesitantly lifted.
These newly-minted middle schoolers were obviously burning their parents’ nerves with not just study but also by smoking like there was no tomorrow.
But those kids, funny enough, have dreams too.
From their actions, it’s clear they belong to the arts and physical education categories, completely unrelated to studying.
At least outside of studying, they want to chase after their dreams, even if they’re just empty hopes.
And why are those hopes empty, you ask?
“Singers, models, entertainers, YouTubers… whatever, the moment your names stand out, you’ll throw everything away and just get sent into the abyss. Remember that.”
Well, that’s because right now, I’m planning to squash it all.
After the situation wraps up, I’ll line up the swollen-faced perpetrators and have them bow their heads, hiding their faces, and take a picture.
This is an infringement on portrait rights; getting sued would be a hassle.
With this silhouette, even Siyeon would certainly recognize them.
As I was about to hurl myself out the window of the Vice Principal’s office, I retracted my half-outstretched foot and opened my mouth again.
“Oh, right.”
I almost forgot the most important thing.
The sensation that victims of school violence would feel.
A sentence to pass that on to those kids.
“If because of today’s incident, you ever come near Siyeon with thoughts of vengeance or other weird ideas, it won’t end with just you.”
All eyes turned to the parents of the perpetrators.
This is a threat.
A blatant threat a public figure shouldn’t make.
But my own family is on the line here.
“You should know what your daughters are up to.”
I gave the parents a look of disdain and took to the skies through the window.
Today, I might have shattered five families.
Any family, at the very least, won’t just let it slip quietly.
But as usual, my family comes first before others’.
I’d choose a lavish meal for my family worth 50,000 won over a 50,000 won donation to save 50 refugees whose faces I don’t even know.
‘They should be awake by now.’
Checking the time through my smartphone in the sky, it was 11:38 AM.
To make it easier for Siyeon, who went to bed early and woke up early, I released my transformation on the roof of the empty apartment and headed towards our apartment building.
Taking the elevator down to the first floor, I walked a bit to Building 202.
From that 202, I took the elevator down to our house on the fourth floor.
I carefully opened the front door without even the sound of a click.
As soon as I walked in, the kitchen wasn’t immediately in view.
From there, with careful steps, Siyeon appeared out towards the entrance.
As she walked into the living room, the first thing I heard was a voice tinged with surprise.
“Mari, your hair….”
Shortened hair; this was the first time Siyeon had seen it.
Perhaps until it grows back long, this is how it’ll feel.
“Just changed my style a bit.”
I casually tossed my bobbed hair proudly for Siyeon to see as if it were nothing.
A light exchange of words followed by a long silence.
Since yesterday, our conversations have opened, but somehow, I didn’t know what to say.
Am I sorry for not noticing until now?
Should I have said it earlier? Relax, everything’s fine now?
Words that wanted to escape my lips stayed stuck in my throat.
I took Siyeon’s uniform, with her name on it, and tossed it into the laundry basket, and placed Siyeon’s smartphone on the desk.
Normally, neither Siyeon nor I would be home at this hour.
It felt strange that we were both at home during school hours.
“Aren’t you hungry? Is there something you want to eat?”
“…Spaghetti.”
Siyeon, a bit shy, averted her gaze and murmured what she wanted.
Spaghetti — it’s a dish any kid could make as long as they know how to boil some noodles.
Thinking back, I’ve always like noodle dishes.
“Alright, let’s have it together after a long time.”
I casually said as I headed towards the induction stove in the kitchen like I did a few years ago.
Since it’s for two people, I grabbed a generous portion of noodles.
As the water heated vigorously in the wide pan, I tossed the straight noodles in from the bottom.
It would be boring with just spaghetti, so I sautéed a handful of meat given by Taehyun’s aunty in a small frying pan for fried eggs.
Spaghetti with stir-fried pork — what a weird combination, right?
But, when you keep mixing and matching foods at home, that’s how it works out.
Once the noodles were cooked just right, I drained the noodles and poured the water away.
If I had bacon, the quality of the spaghetti would have been elevated, but most of it was already in the product sauce.
With the drained pan steaming hot.
I generously poured in a tomato-based meat sauce and mixed in the drained noodles like I was tossing the noodles in the hot pan.
And there, spaghetti is done. I also pulled the chopsticks from the pan and stirred the sizzling meat from the small pan.
One dish means no need for two or more cooking utensils.
A timid rebellion against having to do the dishes.
After stirring and tossing the food a few times, the cooking was done.
For the first time, rather than the usual one serving, there were two servings at the table that only saw solo battles.
“It’s ready-”
Two bowls, two forks.
To make it easy to pick up the noodles, I chose tongs with sharp, crocodile-like edges.
With a squelching sound, I filled the noodles and headed towards each of our plates.
Twisting the fork, I twirled a bite of noodle into my mouth.
The clumps of minced meat rolled around my tongue, while the slippery noodles dodged my teeth only to finally get chewed and torn apart.
Slurp, slurp.
The sound of slurping noodles echoed with no conversation, and after a few grabs with the tongs…
The sea of red noodles inside the pan quickly revealed the bottom.
After eating, the dishes awaited a wash, and while I fluttered my hands around in the sink, unable to resist, my mouth opened.
Without thought, the words my heart wanted to say spilled out.
“Don’t go to school starting tomorrow.”
“…Huh?”
“I think we should transfer. Once the paperwork comes back, you’re coming to our school.”
I shook off the water from my hands into the sink and wiped them with a towel.
On my way back home, I’d completed the online application.
Even if it’s tough to be in the same class, if I visit during breaks and hang out, eventually friends will come along, even if in different grades.
Honestly, Siyeon just doesn’t fit my taste, but among girls my age, her hobbies aren’t that strange.
It’s just that I got tangled up with a bunch of odd girls.
Just thinking about it again made me want to lash out.
As I turned my body to head to the living room, I found Siyeon hugging me, bigger now, not just similar but slightly taller.
The words that had been stuck in my throat finally flowed out vaguely.
“Sigh, you should have told me earlier….”
I let out a sigh mixed with regret.
I gently stroked Siyeon’s head with a somewhat awkward but as soft a touch as I could manage.
To ensure that she could truly relax, I began recounting everything that happened at Mihwa Middle School, how I dealt with it one by one.
Sitting on the sofa, one by one.
Pretending to be Siyeon, lying down at school.
The first time I punched the perpetrator in the face.
The saga of being dragged all the way to the Vice Principal’s office.
Transformed perfectly when that girl’s parents arrived.
And how I lined up the parents and explained the realities of the perpetrators, beating them to the point where their cheeks swelled up.
“Now, and this is the photo I took.”
Showing her the evidence from inside the Vice Principal’s office, Siyeon looked relieved, appearing satisfied, but with a face where it was hard to tell if she was crying or laughing as she wiped her tears.
It was a mysterious expression, but it definitely showed she was happy.
Finally reassured, I gently removed the middle finger from my clenched fist and lightly rubbed Siyeon’s temples with my knuckles.
“Geez, if you laugh while crying, you’ll end up with a horn on your butt.”
“Pfft!”
I pulled an inappropriate proverb for the situation and cracked a joke, causing Siyeon to break into a grin.
The distance in our relationship that seemed to grow further away was gradually being bridged by this somewhat uneasy trigger of school violence.
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