Ch.317IF Side Story: From the Beginning (85)

The feelings I’ve developed about the students studying around me as I’ve grown into a high school student are complicated.

I know it can’t be helped. Hayun and I are Magical Girls, and whether we like it or not, we’re figures who attract attention in various ways.

The public perceives us somewhat like idols, so naturally there are kids who want to become friends with us because of that.

But sometimes I find that a bit unpleasant.

It’s not like my attitude didn’t change at all after learning Hayun would become a Magical Girl, but when we first met, I certainly wasn’t approaching her because of her background.

I know this kind of comparison is unfair and narrow-minded in many ways, but honestly, I can’t help seeing those kids in a negative light. Especially those who keep pushing themselves onto Hayun even when she’s uncomfortable.

However, even those students who are either genuinely oblivious or pretending to be oblivious when approaching us didn’t bother us when we came to school on Tuesday.

The news had already broken. We had been running around at that scene where quite a few people were injured and killed, trying to save as many as possible.

Occasionally, there are “experts” who appear on the news questioning the existence of Magical Girls.

Experts who argue that our existence is merely propaganda from the Galactic Federation, and that we don’t actually provide any real help.

People who claim that the military or police can handle Kaijin, and that Noir Corporation can be controlled with appropriate sanctions.

But even those people couldn’t bring up such arguments, at least not on that day.

Because we were the first to rush out and help when a dangerous situation arose. This time, witnesses at the scene unanimously testified that we “were helpful.”

For me, who was troubled for other reasons, this wasn’t such a bad thing.

“We did everything we could, you know.”

During lunch break, as we were eating bread on the rooftop to avoid the other students as usual, Hayun spoke up beside me.

We did everything we could.

I think so too.

The problem was that due to my unnecessarily worrisome personality, I kept blaming myself for the explosion itself.

The original work was a comedy manga that didn’t particularly care about the flow of time. After it became an official serialization, the “comedy” aspect became hard to believe except according to the author’s claims, but it was still a work without a proper timeline.

Because of that, I don’t know whether such an episode existed in the original work or not. I hadn’t properly read the later parts.

However, just because I was connected to that story…

I kept thinking that maybe something that didn’t need to happen occurred because of me.

“Jieun!”

Could she have read my thoughts?

Hayun suddenly shouted so loudly that I almost dropped my bread in surprise.

She grabbed my cheeks firmly with both hands and turned me toward her. Before I knew it, I was facing Hayun.

And once again, I was a little surprised.

I mean… we had been friends for quite a long time. Close enough that we didn’t really mind casual skinship with each other.

Hugging, naturally linking arms when we were next to each other. Of course, I wasn’t the one initiating it—it was Hayun who approached me so familiarly.

But had we ever been this close face-to-face?

Hayun’s grip is stronger than you might think. I could probably break free if I used all my strength, but if I’m just relaxed without thinking, I’m completely at her mercy.

That’s how firmly Hayun was pressing both my cheeks.

“…”

I could feel my face heating up a bit.

I know this position isn’t really anything special. Hayun didn’t do it with any particular intention; she probably just did it to cheer me up since I was feeling down.

Just like when I comforted Hayun after she was scolded by her parents for getting a slightly lower test score when we were young.

…Though even then, it was Hayun who hugged me.

“Now, look straight into my eyes.”

Hayun said.

Her cherry blossom-colored eyes seemed to burn with intensity.

As if she hadn’t expected me to make such an expression. As if she was somehow upset about it.

“Repeat after me.”

“Repeat what?”

“Say, ‘I did nothing wrong.'”

“…”

Hayun looked completely serious. It seemed like she truly wouldn’t let go unless I repeated it.

Her handprints would definitely be left on my cheeks.

“…I did nothing wrong.”

“Louder.”

“Hey, Hayun, do we really have to keep doing this?”

I asked, unable to accurately gauge Hayun’s emotions, but she shook her head firmly.

“Say it quickly—you did absolutely nothing wrong about that incident.”

“But—”

“Ah-ah, nope.”

As if scolding a child or a puppy, Hayun’s expression became even more stern.

Why is she suddenly acting like this?

…

Well, maybe it’s not so sudden.

Though not quite like this with me, Hayun had once tried to beat up an executive before. Even then, the reason was because of me.

Because I was depressed and down.

“That incident was the company’s fault, no matter how you look at it. Even if you had done something, the one who harms people like that is definitely in the wrong. If someone threatens another person’s life, the one making the threats is wrong, not the one who refuses to give in to those threats.”

“…”

“Jieun. You knew what the purpose of that generator was.”

That’s true.

In this world, it wasn’t so much that “I already knew” but rather “I came to realize it as I thought about it.”

They intended to use humans to generate massive amounts of energy and sell that energy throughout the universe. For now, it’s limited to our galaxy, but in the distant future, it could become an energy source that reaches beyond galaxies.

And when that time comes, humans might be bred like livestock and sold across the galaxy as batteries.

…Doomed to repeat nothing but despair until the moment of death, without ever being able to give up.

That’s what makes them villains, isn’t it?

“If that’s the case, then stopping it is only natural. Laws or their self-established justice aren’t the issue. If rules are created to exploit someone, there’s no reason to follow them.”

I suppose that’s right.

But it’s worth considering whether the Federation’s logic is free from such reasoning.

“So, Jieun. It’s not your fault. Absolutely not. I guarantee it.”

“…”

Looking at Hayun’s expression… somehow, it feels like everything will truly work out well in the future. It wasn’t a rational thought at all.

The story I always used to tell Hayun was now being told to me by her.

That feeling was so hopeful…

If I had been wearing a circuit on my wrist, I might have transformed without even realizing it.

“Whee~ew.”

But before I could respond to Hayun, someone let out a loud whistle.

Seo-hee was standing at the rooftop entrance, whistling loudly with her hand to her lips.

“What a lovely picture you two make.”

Clapping her hands, Seo-hee approached us, and naturally, the other senior Magical Girls and Ju-a were with her. The only reason Jihye wasn’t there was simply because she attended a different school.

If Jihye had gone to the same school as us, she would have naturally been among them.

…Now that Jihye is also a Magical Girl, should I suggest she transfer to our school next year?

Anyway, Seo-hee approaching us seemed somewhat teasing, but her eyes were strangely cold.

Did we do something to make her angry?

Is it because we slipped away by ourselves during lunch?

Seo-hee approached us as we were suspiciously close to each other’s faces, looked back and forth between Hayun and me—

“Can I do it too?”

She asked Hayun with a surprisingly serious expression for some reason.

“No.”

“Huh? Wait, Hayun.”

But before I could react, Hayun pulled me into a tight hug.

And with her face buried in my chest, she said:

“I’m going to stay like this.”

“That’s not fair.”

Seo-hee frowned and said that, then strode over and hugged me tightly.

“Ah!? That’s cheating! That’s different from what we agreed on!”

Yeon-woo said that as she ran toward me.

No, it wasn’t just Yeon-woo. For some reason, Chae-yeon and Ju-a who were standing nearby also rushed over with openly indignant expressions.

Wait.

This feels familiar somehow. Haven’t I experienced something similar before?

Looking at the girls surrounding me in layers and clinging to me, I fell into serious contemplation.

Somehow, though I don’t quite understand it myself, I feel like the story has gone off track somewhere.

In both positive and negative ways, in various aspects.

The problem is that I don’t know exactly where or how it got twisted, so there’s no way to untangle it.

Just like how I can’t move at all right now.

…

Still, the fact that I find it pleasant suggests I must be quite the affection-seeking personality.