Ch.277IF Side Story: From the Beginning (45)

My head was too chaotic to organize my thoughts properly.

Circuits… Yes. Just because I could move circuits before doesn’t mean I can’t move them anymore.

Moving circuits doesn’t require any specific body part like hands, feet, or eyes. It’s not like any of those parts were cut off either.

What matters is thought—just thought.

And ironically, I temporarily lost hope because my “mother” appeared.

I’m… not exactly a positive person. Beyond simply having a positive or negative mindset, I mean I’m not a positive person as a human being. I often have unpleasant thoughts, and I’ve felt intense jealousy toward the magical girls.

When I was first born into this world, and before aliens appeared on Earth, it didn’t matter much since I didn’t even know why I was reborn here—

But after learning that Hayun, whom I’d been taking care of so diligently, was actually the protagonist, I was overwhelmed with jealousy and stress.

And now, the very existence of that “mother” was stressful.

What was her intention in appearing? If it was for money, that would make me despair. As long as she’s alive, she’ll keep approaching me.

If it was because of my position as a magical girl, that would be just as bad. She’d be someone trying to exploit my name somehow.

If that person was really a fake—whether intentionally, by mistake, or as part of some Noir Corporation plot—I couldn’t help but feel negative emotions again.

But… what if, just what if.

What if she truly loved me? What if she genuinely appeared to reclaim her daughter?

And now, if she wants to become my mother through that love.

For me, it’s literally a stranger suddenly approaching—and above all, it would interfere with my activities as a magical girl.

…At that moment, when I got hurt, that woman screamed. And just that fact alone made me so flustered that my transformation was undone.

Yes.

What if I get a family? And what if that family… feels heartbroken watching me fight?

What should I do then?

“Jieun!”

Someone rushed into the hospital room. It was Jihye, who had been my family until now.

Right. If that person becomes my mother, I can no longer be family with Jihye. No matter how much I consider us sisters, we would be separated and live in different households.

And there’s no way to know if that person would adopt Jihye too.

“Jieun, are you okay?”

Hayun quickly got up and moved aside. Jihye barely had time to thank her before grabbing my hand and asking.

“I’m fine now.”

“Really? Truly?”

“Really. Truly.”

As I said that, I showed her my arm that had probably appeared on the news.

Would they have shown the wound too? Well, that part was probably blurred out. Though someone might have uploaded unedited photos online.

“Ah, thank goodness…!”

Jihye said that and pulled me into a tight hug.

Yes. This is how Jihye is.

A girl who always supports me no matter what I do. Even when the path is difficult, no matter what others say, she’s always there supporting me from behind.

That’s why I could fight enemies head-on even with Jihye as my family.

Being in Jihye’s embrace, I felt my heart ease a little.

That “mother” wasn’t visible yet.

“Oh, you look pretty decent now.”

Seo-hee casually remarked as she entered, only to get a slap on the arm from Yeonwoo who was coming in with her.

Following them was Chaeyeon. And beside her, Ju-a with her head bowed silently. But when Ju-a’s eyes met mine, she gave me a slight smile.

Chaeyeon entered without saying anything, sat down casually on the corner of my bed, and started reading a book with a completely nonchalant expression.

Looking at Chaeyeon like that, I somehow felt like it didn’t matter anymore.

…

No, that’s not true.

I couldn’t completely escape those thoughts. It was an unresolved issue after all.

“…”

Even the girls who had entered with bright expressions soon became gloomy again.

Everyone was just looking at each other awkwardly.

Someone needed to ask what happened yesterday, but no one knew how to bring it up.

“It wasn’t intentional.”

In the end, I was the one who spoke first.

“…The circuit runs on hope, right?”

Everyone looked at each other and nodded at my words.

When I first activated the circuit, what was the reason it worked?

Of course, it was because of the “hope” that I might rise to the same position as Hayun.

In a life where I thought I would just end up as a supporting character or a faceless extra, the possibility that I could become a protagonist emerged.

And when I actually went out and worked hard, it really paid off. I had talent.

Well, I couldn’t make the staff by myself so I carried one designed by Ju-a, and honestly, the outfit was too revealing for my taste, but that was fine.

I became friends with the magical girls and could fight alongside them with all my might.

I had somehow become one of the protagonists.

“…”

Is this also controlled by the writer above? Just like how they created me in this world, did they add this “ordinariness” to my life? To pull me down.

Well, I don’t know. Maybe such things simply don’t exist. Maybe I’m just feeling victimized.

Yes, I wasn’t a very positive person in that way either.

“I was overthinking.”

“…Could it be?”

Hayun asked, representing everyone. She didn’t dare mention that sensitive word.

Although the DNA test results had come out, I hadn’t submitted them anywhere yet. Both I and the girls… acted as if it didn’t matter.

Looking at the test results, I was clearly that person’s daughter, but somehow all of us, including me, were insisting in our hearts that “it’s not confirmed.”

Why? It should be something to celebrate.

Yes, everyone probably knows.

That we can’t purely celebrate it. That adults are trying to intrude into our group.

Whether it’s “mother” or someone using “mother.”

“That’s right.”

I let out a long sigh.

“…No matter how I think about it, I just can’t find an answer.”

I looked up at the ceiling of the hospital room.

Yes. Really.

At my lament, no one could say anything.

Knock knock.

As we sat in silence, we heard someone knocking on the door.

All of us immediately knew whose knock it was.

*

Hayun was perplexed.

Recently, everything had been moving too quickly.

The fact that Jieun came from an orphanage didn’t matter at all. No matter where Jieun lived, to Hayun, Jieun was just Jieun.

But there were clearly people who thought that this irrelevant fact was “somehow relevant.”

Whether they were blood-related or not. It was… too convenient for exploitation.

If there were no enemies around them. If there were no one opposing the magical girls, it might not have been such a concern. Hayun could have sincerely congratulated Jieun.

But—

Still, having an adult who wanted to speak with Jieun alone like this was somewhat displeasing to Hayun.

“…”

Everyone was standing in the hallway with complicated expressions.

They all liked Jieun. After all, it was Jieun who had reconnected the fragmented magical girls.

Not simply because she made them all friendly with each other, but because thanks to Jieun, they were all able to cast off the burdens they had been carrying.

That’s why everyone must have been thinking about it.

Ding.

A text message arrived. Looking at the screen, it was from her parents.

[Is that girl Jieun doing okay?]

Hayun didn’t think for a second that this message was out of concern for Jieun.

Her parents were that kind of parents.

The kind who resented Jieun being at the center of the magical girls.

The kind who wanted their daughter, Hayun, to be at the center.

…In reality, being at the center of the magical girls wasn’t like that. It wasn’t about being higher up or being the leader—it was simply that everyone genuinely liked Jieun as a friend.

‘Is she doing okay?’

If she’s not okay.

If she’s no longer a magical girl.

Then Hayun could take that position—Hayun knew her parents well enough to read that atmosphere.

“…Let’s investigate.”

At Hayun’s sudden statement, all the other girls widened their eyes and looked at her.

“…Ju-a, you mentioned it, right? Jieun’s DNA test. That it could possibly be fake.”

“Ah, I was just saying what came to mind—”

“Still, there’s a possibility. We have enemies, after all.”

At the word ‘enemies,’ everyone held their breath.

It was the first time Hayun had spoken so directly.

But this time, even Hayun couldn’t hold back because the other side had crossed the line.

“First, let’s find out if… they’re really related.”

No one said anything. Not even Ju-a who had been flustered just moments ago.

But everyone seemed interested in Hayun’s suggestion.