Ch.305IF Side Story: From the Beginning (73)

“Chaeyeon? Chaeyeon?”

I wasn’t sure what this feeling was, but sensing something dangerous, I quickly shook Chaeyeon’s shoulder to wake her up.

“Mmm…”

But Chaeyeon just burrowed deeper into my arms, like she was hugging a comfortable cushion. If she hadn’t been Chaeyeon, I might have thought her behavior was a bit too forward.

At least she was a year older than me, and we were the same gender.

With the air conditioner on, Chaeyeon with her slim build might have felt a bit chilly.

…Well, that’s not really important right now.

“Senior Chaeyeon.”

Hayun had somehow approached my side and spoke softly. Ah, right. Hayun still called the senior magical girls either “senior” or “older sister.”

“Senior Chaeyeon. Would you like to wake up?”

“…”

Chaeyeon’s body twitched slightly.

So she was listening after all.

“Mmm…”

There’s no point pretending to be asleep when you’ve already flinched like that.

“Cold…”

She did look a bit pitiful, shivering like that. Though she was my senior, she was shorter than me and quite thin, so honestly, among the seniors, she was the only one who sometimes felt younger than me. At least Seo-hee occasionally showed leadership qualities, and Yeonwoo could be quite mature at times.

“Um…”

This time Jihye spoke up.

While Hayun had lowered her voice in apparent anger, Jihye’s voice sounded more frightened.

When I turned to look, Seo-hee, Yeonwoo, and Ju-a had gathered around us.

All three were staring at me intently.

Wait, why?

I hadn’t done anything wrong.

Well, I did forget the instruction not to draw attention and slipped out to the first floor where I got surrounded by reporters, and I even shouted something like a declaration of war at them.

But that’s not something they would be angry about now. It seemed more like they were upset about Chaeyeon clinging to me.

…Why?

I really don’t understand the reason.

“Mmm, so warm…”

No, Chaeyeon. Don’t say things like that.

Could you please let go of me?

*

Whatever that morning commotion was about, we had woken up relatively early. The sun was fully up outside, but considering I often fall asleep late on Fridays and sleep until almost lunchtime on Saturdays, nine o’clock was quite early for me.

Well, even if Chaeyeon’s weight hadn’t woken me up, Hayun or the others would have eventually gotten me up early anyway.

It wouldn’t be right for me to skip helping with breakfast preparations.

“Oh, by the way.”

While preparing a simple breakfast in the pantry adjacent to our lounge, something suddenly occurred to me.

“Couldn’t we just eat in the cafeteria?”

Since staff are always present here, there’s naturally a dining area available. Anyone working here can use it for free, and we’ve used it a few times too. It was simply more convenient than going out for dinner when we were staying here.

“But that wouldn’t be romantic, you know, romantic.”

Yeonwoo poked my arm with her elbow while smiling, standing so close our shoulders were almost touching.

Compared to the others, Yeonwoo has thinner boundaries. When we first met, she seemed to put up walls, but now she initiates physical contact more than anyone else.

“Since we’re all gathered, we should make something together. You know what? Seo-hee already brought a grill up to the rooftop.”

“…Is that okay?”

Pop.

The toast popped up, nicely browned, and I placed it on a large plate.

“It’s fine. This place was made for us. …The Federation built it unnecessarily large just to show off. Actually, they say our separate rooms were created because they made too many rooms and had too much unused space.”

It’s definitely too large for just six people.

I wonder if they expected the group to be bigger when they built it? But seeing that no additional members have joined us yet, even if such plans existed, things haven’t gone as expected.

“Are you done with the toast? Then— Ah!?”

As Yeonwoo turned around, she slipped on something and suddenly fell toward me.

Fortunately, she wasn’t holding anything, and I was right in front of her.

If I had been just an ordinary high school girl, I wouldn’t have been able to support her weight and would have fallen too. But I’m a trained magical girl after all.

And Yeonwoo is the same; she managed to maintain some balance even while falling.

That’s not to say she didn’t fall though.

Thump.

Her face buried into my chest.

“…Are you okay?”

She looked fine at a glance, but I asked anyway. She might have hurt her nose against my sternum.

“Haaah.”

Yeonwoo took a deep breath as if sighing.

Wait, taking a deep breath in that position makes the scene look a bit strange.

“If you’re okay, could you get up?”

I put my hand on Yeonwoo’s shoulder, but,

“Aah. I was so startled that my legs seem to have given out.”

Speaking in what sounded like an exaggerated tone, Yeonwoo wrapped both arms around my waist and leaned in more.

…

Well, it’s not unpleasant. The magical girls are, how should I put it… they’re magical girls. Whether by coincidence or because the Federation deliberately selected them this way, they’re all pretty. Yeonwoo has a nice figure too.

Come to think of it, maybe it’s because this world resembles an anime, but even random passersby all seem to have attractive faces. Actually, it’s not about being magical girls—everyone around me happens to be beautiful. Including Pang Pang and Jihye.

I decided to just accept that’s how this world is.

“Ah, this is nice and warm.”

“Don’t refer to someone’s chest as ‘this.'”

I tried to look serious as her moving face against me was making me feel strange, but Yeonwoo wasn’t even looking at my face. So she didn’t seem intimidated at all.

Hmph.

Is this level of physical contact normal for friendship?

…Is it because this is a magical girl story? I’m not sure.

Scratching my head, I turned around—

“Hey, Yeonwoo.”

“…”

“Come on, answer me.”

I spoke somewhat urgently, but Yeonwoo remained silent, still nestled against me. Well, to be precise, she was leaning against me and hugging me one-sidedly.

I looked behind me.

Four people were standing at the pantry entrance with their arms crossed, glaring at us: Hayun, Seo-hee, Chaeyeon, and Ju-a.

And Jihye, looking at us with a somewhat anxious expression.

Seriously, I don’t understand why you all keep doing this since earlier.

Do they dislike me hugging someone else? I wasn’t even the one who initiated it.

I felt a bit annoyed, but since saying anything wouldn’t make much difference, I decided to just stay quiet for now.

*

“You must have nine tails or something. Are you planning to add four more?”

“Four more what?”

“Since there are five magical girls.”

“Aren’t there six?”

“Not counting you.”

“…What exactly do you mean by that?”

“Hmm, you don’t know?”

Seo-hee, who was preparing charcoal with me, stared at my face.

Outside it was still a bit muggy, but as the sun was setting, it felt slightly cooler. By midnight, it would probably be bearable.

I was a bit concerned about mosquitoes, but so far I hadn’t seen any, which was reassuring.

Seo-hee had indeed prepared a grill on the rooftop. A large barbecue grill. Two of them, in fact.

“Being on the rooftop like this means we can immediately see if anyone tries to break in,” was Seo-hee’s argument. It seemed more like she just wanted to grill meat, but I felt like challenging her would only make me look foolish, so I decided against it.

“Anyway, what I’m saying is, stop flirting with just anyone.”

“Flirting? What?”

“…Never mind if you don’t get it.”

Hey, shouldn’t I be the one saying that? Why don’t you just explain instead of keeping it to yourselves?

…

Well, it’s not like I was completely upset about it. Maybe they’re approaching me this way because they feel close to me.

At least the senior magical girls don’t mind me calling them by their names.

“Jieun.”

“Yes?”

“Do you like us?”

Seo-hee asked a somewhat perplexing question.

“You? You mean, the magical girls?”

“Well, yes. Especially the four sisters and friends who are here right now.”

“…”

At this unexpected question, I stared at Seo-hee.

Beside me, Seo-hee was using tongs to arrange the charcoal. Just like I was.

As if hiding her expression illuminated by the sunset, Seo-hee kept her eyes fixed on the charcoal.

“Well, of course I do. If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t have continued being a magical girl.”

“Really?”

Seo-hee smiled broadly.

It wasn’t her usual wild smile, but one that seemed somewhat childlike.

“That’s a relief.”

Indeed.

I thought that was a relief too.

If I hadn’t been able to belong here, I would probably still be burning with feelings of inferiority toward the magical girls.