After confirming the faint toy monopolization left in Siyeon’s hands, I looked outside from home.
The snowflakes that had gracefully fallen while returning from the park had transformed into a raging snowstorm, blanketing the world in white.
As Uncle would say, it felt like the perfect atmosphere to make a large snowman.
Staring blankly outside, I heard the clattering sound of plastic colliding from inside the room.
Turning my head toward the sound, I saw Gomteng nudging the sanitary bag containing the devices we had confiscated from the monsters with his foot.
“This has piled up quite a bit now.”
“Yeah, is it really that important?”
After realizing we were used to play a disappearing game by the monsters, I began to take back the small devices one by one.
What started as one device increased with each passing day, and before I knew it, the number had exceeded double digits.
If it were something crucial, it wouldn’t be strange for them to initiate communication from over there…
But for some reason, there was no word from the monsters.
‘Did I miscalculate?’
Losing a shell casing would have turned the army upside down, but was it a different story here?
Scratching the back of my head, I fell into a slight dilemma over how to dispose of the now useless devices.
Should I just throw them away as plastic, or should I smash them first to prevent someone from accidentally pressing them?
While I was thinking of a question that no one could clearly answer, a buzzing sound came from my smartphone.
I wondered if it was another game notification or an advertisement.
Without much thought, I squeezed the smartphone in one hand.
‘Huh?’
A message came from an unknown number.
With no particular content, it simply read, “5 PM, video conference access.” along with some link, leaving me puzzled.
As I carefully examined the attached link, it turned out to be a harmless video conference link.
At a glance, it looked like a spam message from overseas.
However, the link attached to the message looked somewhat familiar.
Something about the secretive message and video conference gave off a vibe.
The recent person that vaguely came to mind concerning video conferences?
‘Is it that money-grabbing Minister?’
The one who struck it big with the merchandise business this time.
At 5 PM for a video conference, I had no idea what it was about…
But if they want, I guess I have to go.
Through the heavy snowfall, the clock struck 5 PM right in front of me.
Gathered in front of the room’s computer, I pulled a dining chair over to match the insufficient seats.
As soon as it turned 5:00 PM, the Minister started speaking.
“Ah, yes, Magical Girls… Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules.”
With a formally polite greeting, the conversation progressed smoothly.
“The reason I’ve called you all today is to ask for your participation in the upcoming grand holiday event during Seollal.”
The reason for gathering everyone was to confirm attendance for the annual event that never failed to occur during the holidays.
It was a precious event that allowed us, who had nowhere to go for the holidays, to feel the festive atmosphere every year.
Since we didn’t have any microphones or cameras connected to the computer, we left a brief response in the chat saying, ‘I will attend.’ and observed the mood.
Others also indicated their attendance or absence in the chat window.
The only one with a working microphone was the new Minister’s camera.
“Yes, we’ve compiled the opinions. Thank you for your hard work.”
The meeting ended in just under ten minutes as the Minister scribbled something on paper.
It seemed the days of having to make phone calls with caller ID restrictions were long gone.
By the way, if that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to just create a group chat on a messenger app?
Why is a messenger app’s group chat not allowed, but a video conference program is?
‘It makes no sense, seriously.’
I sighed internally at the usual military-style security regulations.
How do I even explain this…?
They insist on using separate networks for security, but the password is unified as ‘Security12!’, right?
The specifics feeling a bit different in the explanation, but it felt similar that this nonsense was practically useless for maintaining confidentiality or security.
In any case, after the meeting ended, I lifted my rear off the computer chair I had been sitting in out of courtesy and returned the dining chair I had dragged into Siyeon’s room to its place.
“Ughhh-!”
Siyeon stretched widely after sitting for a moment, following me out of the room.
She drank cold water from a cup that had been left next to the water dispenser.
“Since there were 7 people who said they’d attend, maybe not so many will gather this time.”
“How many do you think will gather?”
I thought of the number of those who indicated their attendance in the meeting chat and anticipated our modest holiday gathering.
This time, there would be only about 7 Magical Girls, slightly fewer than usual.
Considering Siyeon’s question, I pondered briefly and began to speculate in my head.
If we included those who couldn’t join the meeting due to personal matters, it would be around 10 at most, right?
“Maybe a maximum of ten?”
As per usual, attendance for the holiday event was a bit lower for Seollal compared to Chuseok.
That was due to many of the Magical Girls being at an age where they could still receive New Year’s money.
Since attending the event would also mean excluding that day’s pay from their salary…
Assuming a large family of adults, including relatives, totaled over ten people, the New Year’s money would also grow in proportion.
Of course, it’s no surprise that attendance for Seollal events couldn’t be higher than that for Chuseok, right?
Setting aside the upcoming holiday thoughts for now, I aimlessly approached the refrigerator and opened the freezer.
“What should we make for dinner…”
I said loudly, almost as if to fish for suggestions, while examining the food items laid out in the freezer.
There was a glass container filled with canned ham chopped into tiny pieces like shavings of eraser torn with a nail.
And, of course, there were eggs and rice that never seemed to run out in the fridge.
‘Guess we’re doing fried rice.’
It was just the right evening for making fried rice.
After laying two raw eggs on a rubber noodle holder so they wouldn’t roll off, I set the glass container down on the sink with a clatter.
Just then, an interloper arrived to disrupt the peaceful snowy afternoon.
“Uh…”
The voice of Gomteng, who seemed to be crawling along the floor.
I could guess what he was going to say and preemptively asked back.
“What’s up, isn’t today an odd-numbered day?”
Usually, monster appearances were on even-numbered days.
It was obvious his next words would be ‘It seems a monster will appear.’ just by his tone.
“That’s… right, it seems.”
As Gomteng pointed out that it was an odd day, he scratched the back of his head in agreement but also looked puzzled and tilted his head.
What can I do? He says he’s coming.
“Sigh.”
With a sigh that reflexively escaped, I tossed the eggs and glass container back into the fridge.
No matter how annoying it was, I still had to do what needed to be done.
‘By the way…’
Those monsters, who have always avoided odd days… what sudden whim do they have today?
Tilting my head at the unexpected visitor on an odd day, I took the clothes I had worn out earlier and tucked my face in.
Though a slight cold sweat remained, and the chilly top felt a bit annoying, I didn’t worry much.
Noticing how suspicious it was that I was gathering my clothes while not in the kitchen, Siyeon peeked her head out of the room and looked over at me.
“Where are you going?”
“The monster is out, I’ll go check and make fried rice when I get back.”
“Okay-”
As always, the appearance of a monster.
Siyeon responded cutely, twisting her voice as she acknowledged I would make fried rice when I got back.
Naturally, she seemed to think I was going out, while it doesn’t look like the sea snake even told Siyeon a monster had appeared.
I was naturally planning to head out, but not saying it at all feels a bit weird, huh?
Pushing aside my slightly complicated feelings, I left the house as is.
‘Wow, it’s piled up a lot.’
As I stepped outside the shared entrance on the first floor, the view before me was captivating.
It had only been a few hours since it started snowing, but the world was now completely covered in white.
With each step I took, the sound of crunching snow filled the air, and the snow piled high made me almost forget I was on a hunt for monsters.
In a moment of childlike innocence, I decided to mold a snowball with my bare hands.
But soon, reality hit, and I tossed the well-formed snowball onto the grassy area and sought out an empty alley.
The alley I was visiting this time was the one that had appeared in the car’s black box before.
It seemed humans who had claimed they would search for Magical Girls had given up, as it had returned to a deserted alley.
Unlawfully parked cars still stood there, as if they owned the place.
On those vehicles, a generous layer of snow had accumulated atop their windows.
“Sun.”
Thinking that there wouldn’t be any issues transforming now, I calmly recited the transformation incantation and took to the sky.
White, white, totally white.
‘Where am I going?’
Every building around me, which was covered entirely in white, looked similar, so I simply followed Gomteng as a compass toward the monster’s location.
Even though I could somewhat gauge directions due to my residence in a central metropolitan area, this was how it looked.
If I had lived in a rural village in the countryside of the U.S. or Gangwon Province, I certainly wouldn’t have been able to determine the cardinal directions at all.
So I proceeded like a mindless compass, following the direction Gomteng pointed toward, flying for several minutes.
I arrived at a snow-covered building, on the rooftop of which stood an unidentified snow-covered statue.
“Is this…?”
As I landed and placed my feet down, I noticed a strangely familiar place.
The positioning and structure of the rooftop, its size, all significant details.
Surely, this must be the rooftop of that apartment where I had blasted through the wall to capture the monster.
However, I didn’t remember seeing such a snow-covered statue…
“Oh, have you arrived?!”
‘What?!!’
Suddenly,
as the snow-covered statue shook off the snow and screamed, a shriek erupted from within.
Before I could even react, a fist shot out, and my body let out a scream of its own.
“Ughhhh!”
“Ahhhhhh!”
The startled punch split the air along with the scream…
The monster, taken aback by my punch, couldn’t even leave a scream and burst apart into pieces of meat with a sound akin to air exploding.
Thud, unfamiliar liquid and chunks of flesh scattered across the air.
Within my heightened senses, words on a metallic plate flashed by in slow motion.
[I want 대화 원해요]
The metallic plate, producing a sharp noise, merely lay uselessly in the snowy rooftop.
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