Ch.137Chapter 22. Hope (7)

Hope is a concept that’s difficult to define in a single way.

Aliens described human hope as a single ’emotion,’ but in reality, it can’t be defined so simply.

The concept of hope evokes different feelings in everyone.

Some might think of it as a fleeting dream.

I did too.

Standing beside Hayun seemed like something that wouldn’t be easy. No, perhaps it was simply impossible. Just looking at where we lived made that clear.

I live in one of the orphanage rooms, not even alone but with a friend who’s like a sister to me.

When I become an adult, I’ll have to leave that place, and since I won’t be able to buy a house right away, I’ll probably end up in a monthly rental, struggling to make ends meet. The room might be so small that Jihye and I would have to share it to split the cost.

But Hayun lives here. Just the wall surrounding this house probably costs as much as a decent apartment. A place where people don’t feel inconvenienced even without a convenience store nearby. A place where people not only own cars but don’t even have to drive them themselves.

Could I ever afford to live here even if I saved every penny I earned for my entire life? Probably impossible.

So, being by Hayun’s side was, in a way, a fleeting dream for me. The only reason I could harbor such hope was because I was lucky enough to meet Hayun when we were young.

…But even if it was fleeting.

How could I give it up?

I could feel Hayun’s heart beating. We were standing that close.

To be more explicit, I was forcibly pulling Hayun toward me.

My right hand gripping Hayun’s wrist, my left arm around her waist.

Our lips meeting with no space between them.

Yes. That hope was fleeting. Without incredible luck, it was something I could never grasp.

But, ridiculously enough, I was fortunate.

I could always stand where that thin ray of hope was visible. I stood where I could touch that bright light with my fingertips if I reached out.

So, I could move forward.

I called it despair. Because something kept tripping me up as I moved forward. Walking through black tar that swallowed me up to my knees wasn’t exactly pleasant.

But what if I didn’t even have that?

If I couldn’t even see hope before my eyes, wouldn’t I have sunk into that tar long ago? Into that despair.

“…”

Hmm.

Now that my heart feels lighter, I’m not so sure about that.

While Hayun became a guidepost in my heart, it’s not like there weren’t other lights around me.

If there were beings illuminating me from afar, there was also a light right behind me, always helping me find my way.

So I was truly fortunate.

Only now can I think that way.

And that thought probably won’t change in the future.

“You, you two…!”

A voice that sounded like it was about to choke hit my ears. Judging by the male voice, it must be Hayun’s father.

It’s not such a bad voice, actually. A pleasant baritone that I might have appreciated if we weren’t the target of his shouting.

In comics like this, adults consumed by greed are always portrayed as pot-bellied villains, but perhaps they couldn’t design the protagonist’s parents that way, because the two people here looked quite attractive for their age.

Hayun’s mother seemed to be making a fuss beside him too, but I ignored her.

Hayun’s hand on my waist gripped my clothes tightly. I responded by embracing her a bit more firmly before relaxing my arms.

As I stepped back slightly, a slightly moist sound came from between our lips. To be honest, it was a sound that was a bit inappropriate to let others hear.

Looking toward Hayun’s parents, especially her father, his face was turning bright red. He seemed to be shouting something, but it didn’t matter to me—

Just then, my body was spun around.

The person who grabbed and turned me was Jihye. With a very angry expression, she roughly cupped my face and then pressed her lips against mine—the same lips that had just touched someone else’s.

And looking straight at me, she said clearly, one word at a time,

“…Let’s talk when we get home.”

……

Jihye is scarier than Hayun’s parents. Come to think of it, we had talked about various things in our room before coming out today.

Fortunately, Jihye released my cheeks easily. Her words about “when we get home” seemed quite serious.

I quickly composed my expression and turned to face Hayun’s parents.

“Wh-what is this.”

They seemed genuinely unable to comprehend the situation.

I thought about what might be incomprehensible to them.

That Hayun had someone to kiss? Or that the person was a girl? Or perhaps that this girl also kisses other girls?

……

Well, all of it would be shocking, I suppose. If I were a father.

“So, well, that’s how things turned out. Sorry for showing you this side of me during our first meeting.”

Come to think of it, my attire is also quite inappropriate for meeting a friend’s parents.

And especially considering what I’m planning to do next.

If I could have gotten away without being caught, I would have just opened the safe, stolen Hayun’s circuit, and fled. But since we’ve been caught, and I’ve decided to go all out—

“I’ll be taking your daughter as well.”

“What!?”

Why am I hearing shouts from both sides?

…Wait, weren’t both of them expecting this? I had been seriously considering it by the Han River.

They were even dissing each other with cat analogies.

I spread my hand out.

And pulled my weapon from subspace.

By this point, Hayun’s parents were so shocked they forgot how to respond, their mouths hanging open.

“And I’ll be taking the circuit too. I need it to fight the forces of evil.”

After saying that, I gripped the hammer tightly with both hands.

Then I turned around and smashed the safe door. The metal door, almost half the size of my upper body, tore like paper. Some alarm went off, and all sorts of shiny things spilled out, but none of that interested me.

Rather, the circuit.

Hayun’s circuit was placed in the most visible spot.

Probably because it had just been put there today.

I took the circuit, placed it in Hayun’s hand, and said,

“So, yes, well, that’s how it is. For the cost of damages, you can bill the government or the Federation or whoever. Those people owe me a lot.”

I tossed the hammer back into subspace, placed my hands on Hayun and Jihye’s waists, pulled them close to me, and said,

“And there’s no need to be shocked every time you see your daughter kissing someone, right? You’ve probably seen it in the newspapers several times already.”

After saying that, I looked at Hayun.

“Any last words for your parents?”

“Huh? Uh?”

Hayun was momentarily flustered by my question.

She probably didn’t expect me to go this far.

“Um, I-I-I’ll be back!?”

I shrugged.

Well, that counts as a farewell too, I suppose.

“Then we’ll be going. I’ll send her back for holidays. But if you lock her up again, this will happen again.”

As I put one foot on the desk and spoke, Hayun’s father stretched out both hands and shouted,

“W-wait! Where is there such a law?! You break into our home, destroy the safe, steal what’s inside, and say you’re kidnapping our daughter!?”

“I apologize for breaking the safe, but I’m not stealing—I’m reclaiming what was taken, and it’s not kidnapping—”

I turned my head sharply toward Hayun.

With her face already flushed bright red, Hayun nodded vigorously.

“—it’s a rescue. To be honest, it doesn’t seem like you two genuinely care about Hayun.”

Well, okay. I’m sure they loved her. They must have loved her as their daughter.

But the way they expressed that love was completely wrong. That’s why Hayun grew up to be such a gloomy kid.

With pink hair and a ponytail, shouldn’t she basically be a bouncy, quirky character? Someone with a sense of justice but also likes to run around everywhere, an insider with lots of friends.

But the Hayun I knew was practically an outsider in her private life.

Before we became close, her approach was very calculated, and she was probably taught by her parents to make friends in such a calculated way.

It must have been an extremely stressful environment.

“If you’re going to call the police, go ahead. But if you do, there might be news articles about this house’s only daughter running away—would that be okay?”

Hayun’s father’s face turned bright red, looking like it might explode. At least his expression faithfully follows the “adult consumed by greed” cliché.

Hayun’s mother was already being supported by someone who had come in, perhaps a security guard.

“If you want to have an honest conversation, please come to the orphanage anytime. You probably already know where we’re staying anyway. If you can truly convince Hayun, and if she herself wants to, I’ll gladly send her back.”

I meant this sincerely.

No matter what, I can’t support a friend running away from home. If the trouble is resolved, it’s better to go back home.

That’s what I thought today, but this is how we were treated from day one.

I pulled Hayun and Jihye closer, holding them tightly. They both leaned into me, their faces flushing.

“Shall we go then?”

We could go straight home, or play a bit more before going back. The teacher might scold us a bit, but hey, we’re magical girls. She might overlook it a little.

Besides, I was already used to staying out late and coming back.

I put strength into the foot I had placed on the desk and jumped up powerfully.

The ceiling in this house was unnecessarily high. Thanks to that, I could fly over Hayun’s parents’ heads without much effort.

Their hands rose as if trying to catch us, but there’s no way they could reach people who are actually flying.

As we left the room, I saw some security guards. I heard someone shouting to catch us.

But again, I didn’t really care.

Skillfully passing between people, I headed back up toward Hayun’s room.

I flew into the already open door and headed toward the window, opening it again.

Since my hands were occupied, Hayun and Jihye opened the window together.

And this time, like Peter Pan and his friends, we flew out the window.

The once-large house instantly becomes small. Twinkling points of light fill our vision. The stuffy air suddenly becomes refreshingly cool, filling our lungs.

What we feel is liberation.

Floating in the sky with my eyes closed, breathing in that cold air, I slowly opened my eyes to look at Hayun and Jihye.

Both of them were clinging tightly to me, staring intently at my face.

It seemed like they were protesting something, or maybe…

“…”

Hmm.

After pondering what to say, I decided to just go on our way and quickly flew in another direction.

Seriously, these kids are so scary to deal with.

*

Was it because of the cold wind? Even knowing that the wind was blocked by Jieun’s magic, Hayun thought Jieun’s embrace was exceptionally warm.

And in that warm embrace, Hayun was thinking of just one thing.

“I’ll be taking your daughter as well.”

Clearly, Jieun had said that.

Hayun knows Jieun well. Hadn’t she been following her around diligently all these years?

Of course she knows that those words didn’t necessarily mean “I’m going to marry her.”

Jieun, who lacks awareness and is indecisive in strange ways, would surely be confused if multiple people confessed to her, unable to make an immediate decision.

She could easily decide to risk her life in battle or take social risks to save a friend, but when it came to matters like this, she would hesitate and waver.

But even knowing that.

At the same time, knowing that those words were infinitely sincere.

Knowing all too well that no matter how Hayun might lose her strength, no matter if she wasn’t part of that household anymore, to Jieun, she would always fall within the category of “someone I will protect.”

She couldn’t stop her heart from racing.

Looking up at Jieun’s face and then glancing at Jihye, Hayun saw Jihye glaring at her quite intensely.

……

She felt a little sorry.

But that didn’t mean she wanted to give up.

Because Jieun was someone who looked at Hayun without any conditions, more than anyone else in the world.

Hayun tightened her arm around Jieun’s waist, pressing her body closer, and rested her cheek on Jieun’s shoulder.

And she stuck her tongue out slightly at Jihye.

Jihye glared at Hayun with wide eyes, then also burrowed deeper into Jieun’s embrace.

“Whoa.”

Jieun made that sound, probably because both of them suddenly clung to her so tightly, but neither of them took their eyes off each other.

She didn’t want to lose.

Hayun was feeling, perhaps for the first time in her life, an intense sense of competition.

In the end, Jieun might not choose either of them, or strangely enough, the opposite might happen. Like a player.

But it didn’t matter. If someone got tired of such a Jieun and left, that wouldn’t be bad for Hayun. That’s how much she wanted her.

Hayun thought Jihye probably felt the same way.

Earlier, Jihye had compared Hayun to a cat, but Hayun thought the same about Jihye. After all, in Hayun’s eyes, Jihye was also a cat clinging tightly to Jieun’s side.

How that territory would be defined would probably depend on the outcome of their fight.

*

“Hmph.”

I frowned deeply at Rose, who was sitting in front of me, openly snickering.

Thanks to Rose, other girls didn’t approach us. Even during the semester, there were girls who tried to flirt with Hayun once or twice a week, but they seemed uncomfortable with Rose, a senior by one year, being around.

But my gratitude ends there.

Seeing that smug smile on her face diminishes even that sense of gratitude a bit.

“What are you looking at?”

Although she was a year older, we had become fairly close, and moreover, we had been speaking informally to each other during our last fight, so I felt awkward using formal speech with Rose.

Fortunately, Rose had never pointed that out. Even if she did, I had no intention of listening.

“No, I was just thinking Jihye must be feeling really bitter. Is she not eating lunch properly?”

“…”

I pondered how to refute that statement.

And in the end, unable to find a rebuttal, I snorted instead of answering verbally, just as Rose had done.

Even without Jihye, there were strangely enough girls attached to both my sides.

Hayun on one side, and Ju-a on the other. Though Ju-a wasn’t as close as Hayun.

For reference, Dalia and Delphinium, seeing me with Ju-a and Hayun, chose to sit a bit apart from us. A wise choice. Rose’s choice wasn’t unwise either, as she secured a position facing us where she could consistently tease us.

From what I confirmed today, except for Hayun and me, the rest of the magical girls attending this school all had their circuits taken away.

They didn’t seem to have been treated as badly as Hayun, but they had inevitably lost their circuits.

The reason Rose sat in front of us was not only to tease us but also to ask how Hayun was able to have her circuit back.

…Unlike me, who was too embarrassed to say anything, Hayun recounted yesterday’s events with a very happy face—

And this was the result.

“So anyway.”

Having apparently teased us enough, Rose leaned slightly toward us and said,

“Want to try to get the other circuits back somehow? Despite how I look, I considered being a magical girl my calling.”

“…”

At those words, I sighed deeply.

Actually, I was going to say the same thing, but… well.

No matter what, troublesome and awkward things are still troublesome and awkward.

Looking at Dalia and Delphinium, who were sitting a bit apart from us but watching us, probably because they heard our conversation, I scratched my head.

Well, I also…

It’s not like I’m completely uninterested in magical girl work.

Where in the world is there a magical girl who operates without teammates?