Ch.206IF Side Story: Somehow, Everyone Seems to Like Me (7)

Even if there’s one thing I’m certain of, it’s that I surprisingly get along quite well with people.

Oh, I’m not under any illusions though. I don’t mean I’m popular. It’s more like when there’s someone popular nearby, I can somehow adapt to the atmosphere.

Or is even that a misconception? Are Seo-hee, Yeonwoo, and Chaeyeon just being nice and accommodating me, making me think that way?

Well, whatever. In the end, the best thing is just to have fun.

“No, really, it’s fine.”

“…No, pick one.”

After dinner, Chaeyeon eventually dragged me to a clothing store.

She must have genuinely been bothered after seeing the hole in my short-sleeved t-shirt.

“Hmm…”

After thinking for a moment, I said:

“No, since I can’t throw this shirt away anyway, I can just patch it up or wear something over it.”

“…Why?”

Chaeyeon asked.

Usually her expressionless face barely reveals any emotion, but when I look at her face up close like this, I can somewhat see what she’s thinking.

Chaeyeon was worried right now.

Does she think I keep refusing because of her, because I don’t like that my shirt has a hole in it?

Especially since I’ve been wearing that shirt with the hole in it. Chaeyeon comes from a good family too. It wouldn’t be strange if she didn’t understand these feelings.

But I was aware enough to know that saying something like “I won’t throw it away because Hayun gave it to me” would be problematic here.

It would obviously make Chaeyeon feel even more guilty. If she only knew the shirt was slightly torn, buying me a new one might ease her guilt, but once it becomes a precious gift from a friend, money can’t replace that.

“Hey, hey, she’s going to cry.”

Seo-hee said in a slightly teasing tone.

“Are you trying to make your senior cry? I didn’t realize you were this fierce.”

As Yeonwoo teased from the side, I closed my eyes briefly to think.

“…Fine.”

I nodded.

“I just need to pick one, right?”

At my question, Chaeyeon nodded.

I just picked a random t-shirt. For some reason, I only found out it cost over 100,000 won when I got home—

Remembering how relieved Chaeyeon looked when she bought me the shirt, I couldn’t bring myself to ask for a refund.

*

Ah, Hayun didn’t get angry about the hole in the clothes. Rather, it’s Hayun’s personality to worry more about what happened to me.

The fact that I wasn’t hurt, and that the seniors with me weren’t hurt. Hayun was only relieved about that.

Besides, this wasn’t the only piece of clothing Hayun had given me. So I was fine—

“…”

Hmm.

For some reason, Chaeyeon keeps looking at me from a distance.

We often visited the Magical Girl Center. Cherry worked there, and more importantly, the facilities were quite good, and no one would bother us there.

The orphanage teachers were respectable people, and I didn’t dislike the orphanage children, but sometimes you want to spend time alone in a cool place.

Plus, being here meant I could hang out with the magical girls without worrying about the orphanage people.

Hayun and Jihye were inside, as well as Ju-a, and for some reason Pang Pang had slipped in too, but everyone was keeping some distance from each other. Since we were in a spacious place, everyone was leisurely claiming the wide personal space they couldn’t usually have.

And at the edge of that implicit personal space, I could see Chaeyeon lingering.

“…”

Tap.

I closed the book I was reading and looked toward Chaeyeon. When our eyes met, she quickly lowered her gaze and pretended to read a book, but honestly, it was too obvious.

Why? She’s usually so good at maintaining her expressionless face.

Unable to concentrate because of her staring, I briefly considered what to do, then just made up my mind and approached Chaeyeon.

Chaeyeon seemed a bit flustered.

As I slowly approached, thinking about what to say, I stopped right in front of her and slowly opened my mouth.

“Chaeyeon.”

I called just her name briefly, like how Ju-a calls me.

Chaeyeon flinched, then slowly looked up at me.

When you think about it, how many beings in the world can “save” a magical girl? Other magical girls can watch each other’s backs, but the chance to truly save a magical girl in danger rarely comes.

Doesn’t it often appear in manga? Scenes where a male protagonist with no abilities somehow magnificently saves a magical girl fighting against mysterious beings with supernatural powers.

Not that Chaeyeon was feeling that way.

“Want to exercise together?”

“…”

At my question, Chaeyeon’s mouth opened slightly.

“Pfft. Kuk.”

Seo-hee, who must have been quietly listening, burst out as soon as she heard me.

“Ha, hahaha!”

Eventually, as Seo-hee’s laughter erupted loudly, Yeonwoo approached and slapped her shoulder. But once laughter has burst out, it doesn’t stop so easily. Seo-hee was trying to stop laughing to avoid embarrassing us too much, but that was about it.

Chaeyeon’s face gradually turned redder.

“Come on.”

I grabbed Chaeyeon’s arm.

“…Ah.”

Chaeyeon made a slightly surprised sound but got up, pulled along by my hand. She couldn’t even properly resist.

This is what happens when you don’t exercise.

“I’m not asking you to enter some competition. We’ll have to fight often in the future, so it would be good to have at least minimal skills.”

And, pulling Chaeyeon along, I headed toward the gym inside the facility.

Seo-hee, having finally stopped laughing, got up from her seat and followed us, with the other magical girls following behind.

Hey, I didn’t call for all of you.

Well, I probably would have followed too if I’d seen such a scene.

*

“You’re amazing,” said Seo-hee, who had approached us at some point.

“Huh? Amazing how?”

“You’re the first person to get her to exercise properly.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t have trainer-level skills. Actually, Seo-hee knew much more about this kind of exercise, and eventually she stood beside me and Chaeyeon, teaching us various things and training both of us.

I could follow along reasonably well. Perhaps considering the beginner, Seo-hee’s exercise intensity wasn’t that high.

But Chaeyeon was a bit different.

Contrary to appearances, she has basic stamina. But she didn’t have the skills of someone who fights physically like us.

As Seo-hee said, she was floundering like someone who had never voluntarily exercised before.

“It’s amazing that she’s even come this far. Usually when we go to exercise, she absolutely refuses to come down and just reads books.”

Chaeyeon’s face was completely flushed red as she heard those words.

I couldn’t tell if it was because of the exercise or if she was embarrassed by Seo-hee’s words. For now, I’ll assume it’s because of the exercise.

“So she came to exercise following me?”

“Well, that incident from before probably had a big influence… No, more than that, come to think of it, I don’t think we’ve ever dragged Chaeyeon down here like this before.”

“Really?”

I blinked.

“That’s right,” Yeonwoo chimed in.

Yeonwoo’s skin was glistening too. Judging by her tight leggings and workout clothes that revealed her navel, she seems to have a bit of an exhibitionist streak. Well, thinking about it again, Dalia’s transformation outfit did reveal a bit of cleavage.

Though definitely not as much as mine.

“We weren’t actually that close before.”

“…Ah.”

That’s right.

It was definitely like that in the webtoon.

They would growl at each other if their positions overlapped even slightly, oppose each other, and hold grudges. While they didn’t go as far as betrayal, there were scenes in the webtoon where they were subtly uncooperative.

Hayun was at the center of those magical girls. With her easygoing personality, she became the focal point for the other girls, ultimately enabling them to unite when fighting.

“We’re honestly a bit surprised too. Thinking about it again, the atmosphere seems to have changed a lot since we stayed at that abandoned house. And after learning your identity too.”

I turned my head toward Hayun.

Hayun’s face was red too. This also didn’t seem to be just because of the exercise.

Hayun, who was supposed to be the focal point, had a mental breakdown. The magical girls learned that the being they had been fighting was actually someone who fought to earn money for the orphanage’s operating expenses.

Everyone’s mental state collapsed, and then they were even chased, resulting in them living holed up in the mountains.

…

Maybe their relationships had to change.

And somehow I ended up at the center of it all.

I felt like I should take some responsibility for that.