At the same time, two people sat at the dining table, fiddling with their smartphones while picking up tteokbokki with forks.
The tteokbokki they were munching on was slightly different from what you’d find in stores, as the Vienna sausage proportion was similar to that of the rice cakes and fish cakes.
There were four sentient beings at the table today, an unusual number.
“Is it good?”
“Yeah.”
We filled our previously lackluster conversations, starting with the little things. Siyeon replied while munching on fish cake, rice cakes, and sausage, poking one piece after another with her fork.
Our tteokbokki was supposed to be spicy, but it took an unexpected sweet turn.
Enjoying the chewy Vienna sausage, she then moved her fork to the chewy rice cakes piled on her plate.
“In my opinion, it could use a bit more spice.”
“You’re just eating what you’re given…”
While I was about to tell the Gomteng to eat what was served, my gaze was caught by the pile of sausages on his plate, completely devoid of any rice cakes or fish cakes.
I halted my fork mid-motion and stretched out my right arm, grabbing his head.
“Seriously, you little brat, no wonder the sausages mysteriously dwindled!”
“Graaaah! Even a lion wouldn’t munch on grass when hungry…”
“You’re a bear, damn it! You’re an omnivore, so eat whatever’s placed in front of you!”
Honestly, he wasn’t just some brat who only picked the meat out of kimchi stew either.
“Hehe!”
As I held onto the Gomteng’s head tightly, laughter erupted from across the table.
How long had it been since I’d seen Siyeon smile like that, so mischievous?
The way she covered her mouth while laughing looked quite similar to girls her age, which struck me with nostalgia.
“What’s so funny?”
As I asked while gripping the Gomteng’s head, a rather funny answer came from Siyeon.
“I didn’t realize it before, but… there’s a reason for hitting.”
“Right?”
Even a middle schooler could understand my actions.
This guy had it coming.
The Gomteng, having lost Siyeon’s support, squealed in desperate pain, flailing around.
“Graaah! Is there not a single soul who understands me!”
“Go figure it out on some parenting blog; there’s bound to be someone.”
Only a madman can understand a madman.
That was my view, so I mentioned that place where unusual people occasionally appear.
Afterward, I returned more than half of the sausages that were overflowing on his plate back to the pot.
During the process of transferring the sausages, I swiped the edge of the plate with my index finger to avoid the seasoning smearing onto the table and licked it clean.
With a clink, the bowl returned to the Gomteng.
“Oh, that….”
“Hmm? Why do you look like that?”
In the meantime, Siyeon’s mascot, the Sea Snake, was fidgeting restlessly.
Seeing him unable to say a word reminded me of Siyeon a few days ago, so I looked over and said, as though urging him to speak clearly.
At that moment, from outside the house… came a distant alarm, like a warning of a monster attack.
It was an even date today, my turn.
Normally, the mascot would alert us before the alarm sounded.
However, when I glanced at the Gomteng, he stopped chewing on the sausage; our eyes met.
After making eye contact, time seemed to freeze.
A brief silence, a subtle awkwardness.
Then, as if declaring he’d empty his plate before dying, he began shoving food into his mouth rapidly.
“Is this little guy out of his mind?”
“Grrr!”
“Going now—”
“Okay, I’ll be right back—”
This time, we headed to the downtown area.
A place commonly referred to as Rodeo Street.
No matter how much the alarm blared, it was impossible for the crowd to evacuate completely from such a bustling area.
Only quick and accurate responses could minimize the damage caused.
That being said, as I flew, I left the Gomteng with a few parting words.
“If you do that again, you’re really done for.”
“The tteokbokki is just too delicious to stop…!”
“Ugh, can’t you even speak properly?”
On a highway or a road where I was sure everyone had evacuated, I could have just slammed down without worry.
But here, in the city center?
If I carelessly caused issues with gas pipes or water lines or any other buried pipes and wires, it would be a disaster.
Of course, it wasn’t our job to deal with that, but if I did too recklessly, it would cause problems.
After stealthily descending behind the monster, I quietly approached with my staff from behind.
“Haah…!”
“If you stay still, no one will get hurt.”
The well-heated staff emitted a high-temperature beam.
Firing it at a diagonal to ensure no buildings were in the trajectory, the monster instantly turned into a charred lump, collapsing to the ground like ash.
Seeing the monster turn to charcoal without letting out a single scream, the Gomteng commented.
“Hot damn, what a scorched monster.”
Looks like he picked up some weird phrases from somewhere again.
After neatly cleaning up today’s monster, I returned home to find Siyeon tapping away on her smartphone, having put her fork down.
“What’s up? Were you waiting for me?”
“Yeah, we should eat together…”
How nice of Siyeon to say that upon my return.
Even if I got back quickly, it must have been over ten minutes.
Waiting blankly in front of her favorite food for that long.
The tteokbokki, which had originally been served, now looked like it had been reduced to just half of its previous amount.
Even if I had said we’d eat together in the morning, it still seemed there would be plenty left.
So, I suggested what to do with the leftovers.
“If there’s any leftover in the morning, let’s put some ramen in and make rabokki.”
“Yeah, I like thick noodles.”
Since we were getting more comfortable chatting, various topics flowed freely between us.
After we finished eating, we discussed what to do depending on where the monster appeared.
Especially since it’s rare for monsters to show up in busy areas like today, we discussed the unnecessary need to be overly violent in response.
“So, it’s important to handle things carefully to avoid damage to the surrounding roads or buildings.”
“Can it really be done?”
“Of course! You and I can handle it? We’re the strongest among the magical girls!”
Siyeon’s magic, unlike the flashy flames here, was ice.
Once she becomes a bit more skilled, she could freeze them instantly without anyone realizing, breaking them apart and causing immediate death to either the person or the monster.
Adding that it would be hard to find a power beyond that to handle things comfortably seemed to make her nod in understanding.
Just when I thought our conversation was wrapping up for the day, Siyeon suddenly called out to me.
“Oh, by the way, what’s this?”
“Huh?”
She presented her smartphone toward me, showing a news article related to the American magical girl, Tiara.
“Ah… this.”
Was the monkey’s paw curse still lingering?
Scratching the back of my head, I finally thought I could explain what had happened back then.
The grudge of the pork belly and chicken.
“Remember when we used to not talk much, and I had chicken at home while the house smelled like meat?”
“Ah… was that back then?”
It seemed Siyeon didn’t remember well, tilting her head.
Given that it happened while she was getting bullied, it likely seemed trivial.
Anyway, I continued the story from that time…
There was an American magical girl I met while defeating monsters during a trip to the U.S. a few years ago, and she had come to visit Korea recently and stopped by our house.
While trying to serve her Korean food, I ended up ordering chicken and grilling meat, a long-overdue explanation.
“Ah, I see… by the way, how was today’s monster?”
Showing she didn’t really care, a nonchalant question flew past after her blank expression.
I spread my thumb and index finger to form a ‘V’ towards Siyeon.
“What do you mean ‘how’? I took it out in one hit.”
Our relationship kept improving.
The application we had submitted was now approved by the principal, and Siyeon and I could finally attend the same school together, even if belatedly.
Waking up at the same time, sharing meals, and going to the same school.
I couldn’t help but wonder how convenient this would have been had it happened sooner.
Though the expense of new uniforms nearly broke my pocket, being clever with her money, Siyeon insisted on buying her own clothes.
Thus dawned the first day of our transfer to school.
Unexpectedly, an exciting piece of news arrived as well.
“Hah, how did we never end up in the same class in elementary school…?”
“Ehehe…”
A sigh of disbelief escaped as Siyeon checked which class she had been assigned to.
Fate had been ruthless back then, never allowing us to be in the same class even once.
Yet now, finally, we could share a classroom together when starting middle school!
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
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.