Time flowed without waiting for us, regardless of our increasingly distant relationship.
The next day at school, my legs trembled anxiously up and down.
The reason my legs were so shaky from the morning was the news from yesterday.
It was the photo of me and Ann that she proudly uploaded on social media.
Fortunately, it seemed the aunty hadn’t seen it herself, so I somehow managed to prevent the rumors from spreading all over the place…
Yet, the anxiety remained.
‘Ugh… No way…’
What kind of aimless brat would proactively search for a photo that a returning American magical girl had posted on social media, just to check if there was a girl resembling their friend, and come all the way to my seat?
I don’t know what kind of god answered my prayers, but it seems that I was rewarded for my faith at Taehyun’s house yesterday.
There probably wouldn’t be anything major happening at school, right?
‘Please let today be another uneventful day without any monsters.’
Just as I thought that, only three seconds passed.
“Hey, wasn’t that you in the news yesterday… Mari?”
“Huh?”
The calamity that came to sit beside me was that Dongha fellow.
This guy, upon reflection, was a true magical girl fanboy.
As expected, he shoved the whole page of the news with the photo of that day straight at me.
In that instant, I realized. It wasn’t a god who was listening to my prayers, it was the hand of a monkey.
At some point, he had brought some empty notebook and quietly left a request.
“You’re not a magical girl, are you?”
My heart sank.
I calmed my pounding heart and deflected the situation with a ridiculous excuse.
“If I were a magical girl, I would have taken out Sunhyuk first.”
“Real talk, can you still get Tiara’s autograph?”
“Ugh, shut up, how could I possibly get an autograph from someone who’s already gone back to America?”
Sometimes, friends might know some celebrities.
I managed to make them accept it roughly in that way.
To be honest, how many people would believe me if I just declared, ‘I’m a magical girl!’ without showing a transformation?
Naturally, there was no way to get a signed autograph from someone already back in America, so I pushed the notebook away with an irritated demeanor.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s later, just stop bugging me!”
But that Dongha wasn’t going to back down easily.
Like it was a golden opportunity to get an autograph from a favorite celebrity, even with one rejection, he knelt on the classroom floor, clasped his hands on the desk, and pleaded.
“Ha, damn… I get it, so just shut up.”
The conversation was attracting unnecessary attention.
If we got any more attention, rumors could spread to other classes.
I decided to just say I understood after pinching that protruding snout with my left thumb and index finger like a stapler.
So, I thought I had successfully silenced one fool…
But still, that photo was news that anyone with a little bit of interest in magical girls could encounter.
And this damn world shows quite a lot of interest in the existence of magical girls.
Compared to the somewhat closed-off culture of Korean magical girls, the American and Japanese magical girls have a lot of information out there.
There were quite a few students in class who were fans of American or Japanese magical girls, and naturally, during breaks, their curiosity turned towards me.
Why, it’s not uncommon to hear news about school life where it turns out that a student is the sibling of a famous idol—it’s rather burdensome, I must say.
“Does your body really stretch and shrink and stuff?”
“So, do you have to chant transformation spells when you transform?”
“I want an autograph too!”
That was precisely my situation at this moment.
‘What the hell… What are all these idiots?’
These were just faces I recognized from having exchanged a few words now and then.
On the other hand, even those I didn’t recognize at all were coming in droves from other classes asking all sorts of questions; it was utterly maddening.
Honestly, it would’ve been better if the rumors just spread around the neighborhood.
Regardless of whether I was tired and slumped over, during break time, strangers kept coming over to ask questions without stopping…
“How’s it like in real life? Is she pretty even to girls?”
“Can you share Tiara’s contact? What’s up with magical girls anyway?”
Are they pretty? Do they really stretch and shrink?
They were asking silly questions that most could answer, as if they were desperately hoping to catch some crumbs that might fall off my table.
At this rate, my break routine had turned into sitting in a bathroom stall staring at the square tiles that made up the ceiling.
At least the boys were less persistent since this wasn’t about a male celebrity.
But then again, there weren’t many magical girl enthusiasts either.
“Damn, this is ridiculous.”
With a sigh, I lamented the excessive and unsolicited attention as I headed home.
As the boys who’d been pestering me during break gradually fell away on the way home, the only one left beside me was Taehyun, whose path coincided with mine.
Sunhyuk and Dongha had suggested going to an internet café, but if that happened, the guys would definitely end up being drawn into a game and wouldn’t even be able to play properly, so I declined.
To have such a degree of attention that I couldn’t play comfortably in an internet café—it would probably have been better if I were in an all-girls school.
“But how did you get to know Tiara?”
“I just ran into her at the mart while shopping.”
I lied automatically without batting an eye at Taehyun’s question.
While making excuses about what kind of relationship we had at school, I ended up concocting a rather detailed scenario.
I helped her out when she was struggling at the mart, and that’s how we met.
That really was the end of it; it’s not like we were some extraordinary friends.
I had no clue when she’d return to Korea again, and we hadn’t even contacted each other in a while.
No matter how curious the students might be about Tiara, they wouldn’t confiscate our smartphones after school and eavesdrop on our conversations.
Anyway, that seemed to be working, reducing their curiosity every break now.
“Today, I’m going straight home.”
“Okay, bye.”
I pressed the button for the fourth floor in the elevator and first stepped out, leaving those words to Taehyun.
As soon as I entered the empty house, I took off my coat and hung it on the coat rack, then headed into the living room, turning on the TV to the cartoon channel that was perfect for passing time.
Then I picked up my smartphone to play a game.
Since Siyeon wouldn’t be home until around 7 or 8 anyway…
In the floating time, that was about all I could do.
There were computer games too, but…
Once I started those, I’d lose track of hours as if my time had been completely sliced off, so I preferred to do that on holidays.
The reason being that it was easier to deal with those playing on weekends than those playing on weekdays.
Around the time I was switching my gaze between my smartphone and the TV for quite a while…
“M-Mari, have you and Siyeon fought or something?”
“Huh? No, why?”
Gomteng, who was watching TV just fine, suddenly threw that question at me.
I was about to answer in a totally offhand manner, still staring at my smartphone and continuing my game without turning my head.
“Well… you haven’t spoken directly to each other lately, and you’re only conveying messages through us, right? I’m just worried about how it looks…”
Gomteng earnestly responded, seemingly analyzing the situation objectively.
Ending with some vague words rather than a clear answer, he seemed to be looking for something from me.
From an outsider’s perspective, that’s how it seems, I thought while still answering nonchalantly.
“Well, it’s probably just puberty… not my area to intervene.”
“Still…”
“Ah, it’s fine, right? She’ll figure it out on her own; she’s not a middle schooler or a kindergartener.”
With all the money we had, what could there be to worry about for a middle schooler?
Still, there probably wasn’t any need to get annoyed over it.
‘I feel like I’ve been getting mad over small things lately…’
I absentmindedly brushed my long bangs aside, questioning my recent behavior.
Getting easily tired of things, just trying to avoid bothersome stuff, feeling like I couldn’t keep my emotions in check? Or was I always like this?
I’m not so sure.
I wonder how long puberty lasts when it begins; high school?
I’ve heard that some go through a late onset of puberty in high school and struggle; well, Siyeon seems to have hit it early enough.
I don’t know how long it will last, but maybe giving her about two years of my own space would help her get through it?
With such thoughts in mind, I started on my laundry, cleaning, and cooking around 6.
As I was headed to the mart around 7 to pick up some pasta that Siyeon used to love back in elementary school…
‘Huh?’
As it got darker, I noticed Siyeon near the parking lot of the apartment complex.
She was sitting in the pavilion of the playground, where older folks usually sat, basking her face in the light from her smartphone.
“Si…”
I was about to call out to Siyeon, wondering why she wasn’t going inside, but I suddenly lost my words.
She turned off the light of her smartphone and bent over, huddling down.
Hands rubbing her arm as if to soothe some pain, her trembling back was alarming.
I suddenly felt like I had a lot on my plate.
The time I returned home was 7:46.
Siyeon still hadn’t come back.
Her claim of wanting to go to a private academy was a lie.
She had probably killed time somewhere until 8 o’clock, pretending she had gone to her academy.
What reason could she give for needing money to attend a private academy she wasn’t actually going to?
Isn’t that an incredibly obvious story for middle and high school students?
“Ha…”
I slumped back into the sofa, reclined my head, and let out a deep sigh.
My palms, which had grown cold from being outside for a little while, felt hot against my forehead and around my eyes.
As this deep, heavy anger washed over me, Gomteng slyly began to speak beside me.
“Mari…”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Gomteng probably understood my deep thoughts as well.
I preemptively reassured that I was okay, as if to say there was no need to go further.
Worries about Siyeon and, probably, concerns about the other party.
It was evident what Gomteng might be worried about: school violence, his precious Siyeon, and the overwhelming strength I possessed.
As long as I didn’t end up killing someone, it should be fine, right?
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