Ch.264IF Side Story: From the Beginning (32)

“A signature?”

Having been treated to orange juice before leaving, I arrived home a bit later than expected.

…Being served orange juice was a bit strange. Well, this was the first time I’d been to a stranger’s house and received hospitality.

Anyway, when I explained the situation to Jihye, who seemed quite upset about my late return—for some reason, she also reacted to the mention of a signature.

Why?

Wouldn’t stories about aliens getting drunk on coffee, or someone who drank coffee (which is legal on Earth but prohibited for minors in their country) until they passed out on the street be much more interesting?

“So… you gave her your signature?”

“…Yes, why?”

When I answered with a slightly suspicious expression, Jihye looked momentarily stunned.

“Signature… I see.”

Jihye thought for a moment, then quickly ran to her desk.

And she pulled something out.

…It was a sketchbook.

“No, no. This is too old.”

As I was about to take it with a blank expression, Jihye quickly snatched it back and clutched her head.

“Ah, right, of course. You have a signature now. I didn’t think about it because you suddenly became so famous… in here, you were just Jieun.”

“No, I’m always just Jeong Jieun.”

“No, you’re not.”

Jihye suddenly looked up and stared straight at me.

“Outside, you’re Happy Lily.”

“…”

I’d rather not hear that name spoken out loud.

Of course, when I signed for Pang Pang, I did write “Happy Lily.” I didn’t draw any flower pictures like Hayun does, though.

But that was because I thought that’s what she would prefer. The same goes for Hayun who asked for my signature. People who ask for my signature obviously want it because I’m a Magical Girl.

Come to think of it, I’m glad I didn’t sign with my real name. What if someone tried to forge it?

“Magical Girl Happy Lily.”

“I told you not to call me that.”

I replied with an incredulous look as I put my bag down next to the desk.

“Fine, let’s say you’re Happy Lily outside, as you claim. But in here, you’re Jeong Jieun. My sister.”

“…”

At my words, Jihye went blank again.

“What’s wrong?”

Everyone around me is acting really strange today. Hayun, Jihye, and even Pang Pang whom I just met wasn’t exactly normal. Well, she’s an alien, so she’s not exactly a common existence on Earth. Even if there are several of her kind here, they probably don’t make up even 1% of our country’s population.

“No, don’t suddenly say things like that…”

Why is she blushing?

She gets like this even when I say something obvious?

I sighed deeply and took off my clothes. Then I changed into comfortable clothes.

“Is it okay if I go take a shower?”

When I asked, Jihye nodded. At least for now, she seems to have forgotten about the signature.

Maybe she’s happier that I called her my sister than about getting my signature.

Not because she’s the sister of a Magical Girl, but because she’s Jeong Jieun’s sister.

Hmm, that made me feel good too.

With that thought, I happily went into the shower room, had a nice shower, and came out.

Then, Jihye suddenly thrust something in front of me.

It was a signature pad like the one I’d seen at Pang Pang’s house.

“…Where did you get this?”

“They were selling them at the stationery store downstairs.”

Jihye said, slightly out of breath.

Did she run there and back?

“Come on, sign it! This will be your third one, right?”

“Uh, yeah.”

I dried my hands on the towel once more, then signed my name on the signature pad Jihye held out.

Even though I’d created my signature for the first time today, after doing it three times, it was already starting to feel natural.

“Wonderful! So this is what it looks like, Happy Lily!”

I sighed deeply and laid out my bedding on the floor while watching Jihye jumping around with the signature pad.

Well, I should be understanding.

They’re all still middle schoolers, right? It’s the age when you want to brag about having a celebrity friend.

*

“…So, I was thinking maybe we could exchange signatures.”

After the few days of rest I’d promised myself ended, I returned to headquarters and gathered the Magical Girls to talk.

And they all stared at me intently, which made me a bit nervous.

“So you’re saying this happened and you didn’t contact us even once?”

For some reason, Seo-hee spoke in a very agitated voice.

What contact?

Am I supposed to brag about giving someone my signature?

I tried to remember.

Do Magical Girls hold signing events?

I think they do. I’ve never gone to get one myself, but I was interested in Magical Girls, so I looked it up a few times.

It’s the group Hayun would join later. A kind of device that clearly showed the difference in status between Hayun and me.

I don’t know what kind of being sent me here, but it was probably to mock me for not being able to be by Hayun’s side.

Now that I’m proudly by Hayun’s side, it doesn’t matter anymore.

“So,” Yeonwoo opened her mouth.

“You’re saying you created a signature?”

“Yes?”

“And you gave your first signature to someone else without us knowing.”

“So what?”

“So whaaaat?”

Yeonwoo mimicked my tone.

“Is that really important?”

“Of course it’s impor—”

But Yeonwoo stopped mid-sentence.

She frowned and looked up at the ceiling for a moment, as if reconsidering her words.

“It’s not like I hung up a signature somewhere or had to register it anywhere, so what’s the big deal?”

At my words, everyone went quiet. They didn’t seem to have a response.

Did they want my first signature?

That’s a bit strange.

If I ever become truly famous—like, the most famous among Magical Girls, or a hero who saved the world—then that first signature would become a very valuable item.

Pang Pang’s appearance was so distinctive that I remembered her, and if she ever came forward with that signature, I could confirm that I gave it to her.

But right now, it’s just the signature of a newly debuted Magical Girl. It has no special value.

Besides, there’s no reason for the other Magical Girls to get upset over a mere signature, since they all come from fairly wealthy families, except for me.

How much would selling an expensive signature really help them anyway?

“…Fine.”

Seo-hee suddenly spoke as if to settle the situation.

“So, since you’ve created a signature and we’ve formed a Magical Girl team, you want to exchange signatures, right?”

I nodded at Seo-hee’s words.

“Alright, let’s do it. There’s no reason for anyone to refuse anyway. Right?”

As Seo-hee looked around, everyone nodded.

If I’m not mistaken, there’s a competitive glint in their eyes.

And I have no reason to mistake their fighting spirit. I’m always fighting alongside them.

Plus, I’ve faced that spirit head-on and still do frequently.

No, seriously, why?

I couldn’t help feeling a strange sense of guilt even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.

Meanwhile, Hayun alone looked quite triumphant, which made it even more absurd.

*

I signed a total of four signatures.

I didn’t make a new one for Hayun since I’d already given her one. Hayun felt the same way. I’d already received Hayun’s second signature. And there was no reason for me to sign one for myself. So, four signatures.

No, this is ridiculous.

Fine, I gave my first signature to someone else, but the others have already done signing events. They must have signed hundreds by now.

Why are they so upset that I didn’t give them my first signature?

“Now then,” Seo-hee said.

“You remember the order of the signatures you made, right?”

“…”

But strangely, Seo-hee was still fixated on the order.

“I saw it,” said Ju-a.

Wait, Ju-a too?

“From here, in this order.”

Ju-a arranged the four signatures in sequence as she spoke.

“Good,” Yeonwoo said this time.

“Then we just need to decide who gets which signature in order.”

…

What is this, like people lining up to get newly printed bills?

Are they overestimating me? Do they think I’ll really become someone important someday?

What’s even stranger is that nobody cared about Hayun’s or Ju-a’s signatures. And those two didn’t seem to care that no one cared about their first signatures.

That’s what makes this situation even more absurd to me.

Both of them are incredibly talented Magical Girls.

“…Let’s decide with a contest.”

Chaeyeon, who had been silently observing until then, finally spoke.

“A duel would be fine too.”

And with those words that followed, I was left speechless.