Ch.197IF Side Story: Galactic Love (22)

I woke up after a good sleep and found myself still in space.

There was something excessively romantic about having a hospital room in the middle of space.

As I tried to sit up—

“Ugh.”

I grimaced at the sensation of every joint in my body aching.

My fingers actually made dangerous cracking sounds whenever I moved them. I didn’t think anything was broken, but honestly, it was a bit scary to move.

Still, I couldn’t just lie there forever.

As much as I wanted to, I needed to check what had happened after I passed out.

…I didn’t even know how many hours I’d been unconscious.

I got up from the bed, and my attention was immediately drawn to the view outside the window.

The window itself wasn’t particularly large—just a normal hospital room window.

But the size of Jupiter visible through that window was enormous. Theoretically, we’d have to be quite far from Jupiter to see it like this, yet it still occupied about 75 percent of the window.

I thought I might even be able to spot some of its moons if I looked carefully.

It was awe-inspiring and a little eerie at the same time. The hospital room was completely silent. There was a light source above like a fluorescent lamp, but I wasn’t even sure if that’s what it really was.

Unlike living in the heart of Seoul, I couldn’t hear cars driving by outside or the occasional sounds of children playing.

Not even the sound of wind.

I theoretically knew that no sound travels in space, but actually experiencing the complete absence of sound from the outside was strange.

Even with those massive storms, comparable to the size of Earth, constantly raging out there.

“…Haha.”

I let out a short laugh.

I had talked with Pang Pang about going to space together, and somehow it had really happened. Pang Pang had become a magical girl, and I, on the contrary, could use a staff without a circuit.

I wasn’t sure how that had happened. I just… believed it was possible.

I didn’t know if I could do it again in the future—

I turned my gaze.

Though there was no sound, I could detect a very faint smell. Like food that had been slightly burned.

On the bedside table near where I had been lying was something like a clock. A circuit that looked like it had completely melted and then solidified again, now broken.

“…”

Had Pang Pang left it there?

I quietly picked it up. The smell of burnt plastic couldn’t be described as pleasant by any stretch of the imagination.

But that smell was the only thing in this room that felt real.

“Haah.”

I let out a long breath.

It was just starting to sink in, even if only a little.

It was over.

Finally.

Though it had only been a few months, it felt like I’d been suffering for a lifetime.

Could I be happy again?

I wasn’t sure. I’d have to try. I’d probably fall into despair again. But I wouldn’t give up. That’s life, isn’t it?

I put the circuit back on the table and turned around.

I staggered a bit, but I could move much better than when I first got up.

As I approached the door—

With a mechanical hiss, the door slid open sideways like something from an outdated sci-fi movie.

Not because I was approaching, but because someone outside was coming in.

“…Jieun.”

The person beyond the door looked somewhat different from Earth humans.

Though she appeared to be a beautiful woman, her skin color was blue, unlike Earth humans. But it didn’t feel too strange.

Her round eyes looked very innocent. In some ways, her face seemed more suited to being a magical girl than mine.

Her hair swayed just above her shoulders. The bluish tint in her hair further proclaimed her alien nature.

In her hands was a tray.

On the silver tray were an antique-looking silver teapot and a glass cup. She seemed to have brought water or something.

“Oh, sorry, there isn’t much to eat in here… well, actually, we just couldn’t find anything.”

“…Are you okay?”

“Thanks to you, of course. Oh, and it’s not just me who’s okay—everyone else is fine too.”

“I see.”

I let out a small sigh of relief and asked.

“How many hours has it been?”

“Hmm, about four hours in Earth time, I think.”

Earth time.

Even though our world had expanded all the way to space, such expressions still felt strange.

“So I’ve been asleep for four hours.”

During that time, had these kids been handling the aftermath without rest?

“Earth said they’d send a ship. James sent the coordinates, and people will be arriving soon. After that… we’ll probably follow legal procedures.”

When I showed no particular change in expression, Pang Pang startled slightly and quickly shook her head.

“Oh, that doesn’t mean you’ll be in trouble. You basically saved all of humanity, right? If they tried to punish you, the other heroes would probably rise up—”

“I get it, I get it. I’m not worried about that.”

I meant it.

After everything I’d been through, I was beyond worrying about such things.

For now, I was just grateful to have that circuit removed from my wrist.

“May I have some water?”

When I asked, Pang Pang quickly nodded and lifted the tray toward me.

I took the glass and teapot, poured water into the cup, and moistened my throat.

Water after several hours felt truly refreshing and delicious. Well, I didn’t actually “taste” anything. The water itself had even less flavor than what I usually drank.

After hydrating my throat, I felt a bit better, so I carried the teapot and glass back deeper into the room.

Then I stood by the window and took another drink of water.

With a feeling like my mind was clearing, I looked out into space again, then placed the glass and teapot on the bedside table.

“…In the end, I kept my promise to come to space.”

“Oh, yes.”

Pang Pang answered somewhat shyly as she stood beside me.

“Well, this probably wasn’t what you expected.”

“Ah, well, I, this is enough for me.”

“Really?”

I asked, looking at Pang Pang.

For some reason, she couldn’t meet my eyes directly and kept looking away. She was usually so confident.

Perhaps she was remembering when I pulled her out of that coffin. Goodness, that felt like days ago already. In reality, it hadn’t even been a full day.

I also recalled my words and actions toward Pang Pang, and my face heated up a bit.

“We’re not done yet. We made another promise too. Camping on your planet.”

“Ah… right. Yes. We did make that promise…”

I understand why she might not have remembered.

Yes. We were all fighting for our lives. Just trying to survive. To survive and reach a happy ending.

After a moment of silence:

“Ha-Hayun and Jihye came by earlier, taking turns. The others too.”

“I see.”

“They’re busy right now… we thought it would be best to keep the kaijin tied up. So we drew lots—”

Her rambling was strangely cute.

“Pang Pang.”

“Oh, yes?”

When I called her name and looked at her, Pang Pang blinked in surprise.

“…Thank you.”

“…Ah.”

At my words, Pang Pang’s face slowly reddened again.

“The reason I’ve been able to survive until now is because you helped me. If I didn’t have you as a friend, I probably would have collapsed long ago without even finding a place to escape to.”

“…”

Yes.

That’s what I wanted to say. Words I almost never got to speak.

So I plan to say them again and again from now on.

Because regrets after everything is over are meaningless.

“…Um, I’m sorry too.”

Pang Pang met my eyes and said.

“If I had told you everything from the beginning, things might have been okay.”

Would they have?

Whether I, who was so suspicious, would have fully believed Pang Pang’s words or not—that’s not really important anymore.

Whether things would have been okay or not, it’s all just hypothetical now.

Perhaps the situation would have unfolded much more seriously than it did now.

Instead, I decided to be satisfied with the present.

In the end, I was able to save Pang Pang.

In the end, we all survived. We gained the ability to dream of the future.

“When we go back, what do you want to do?”

“Go back?”

“To Earth, we have to go back.”

“…”

“Well, even if we go back, we definitely won’t be able to do the part-time job we used to do.”

Pang Pang laughed at my joke.

“Why not? Those men are probably still working there. Maybe even the men we worked with are working there a little bit.”

“…That’s true.”

Maybe we could go back and do demolition work or something.

Hmm, but the circuit is broken now.

“Pang Pang. Have you thought about going to school?”

“School?”

“I’m not sure about high school, but maybe university. I’m graduating the year after next… ah, I wonder if I’ll be able to graduate.”

I wasn’t sure.

But that was okay too.

Even if I had to delay it by a year or so.

I thought it might be fun to study at the same university as Pang Pang.

Me with a glass of beer in hand, Pang Pang with a cup of coffee.

That seemed like it would be enjoyable.

I gently took Pang Pang’s hand.

“Let’s go together.”

Pang Pang just blushed in response.