Ch.340IF Side Story: From the Beginning (108)

When dividing magical girls into seniors and juniors, with seniors, it’s easier to accommodate their personalities because their “likes” are so obviously apparent. If you match their tastes, that alone makes for an excellent date.

However, I don’t really know exactly what my “junior line” peers of the same age actually like.

Having spent so much time together, well, I know what foods they enjoy, what drinks they prefer, how they fight, what movie genres they like, and what activities they enjoy. But approaching it from the concept of being obsessed with just one thing, the junior line doesn’t have that—including myself.

So when I went out alone with Ju-a, I tried my best to figure it out.

Movies? Ju-a doesn’t particularly like very ordinary movies. By “ordinary movies,” I mean the typical blockbusters that Hollywood produces several of each year, or the stereotypical “average films” that pour out of Korea as well.

The movies Ju-a likes are generally atypical but well-made ones, which don’t often get widely screened. They’re not completely unavailable, but they might have odd showtimes or only play in specific theaters.

Besides, I’m not the type to keep up with all the latest releases, so I don’t have comprehensive knowledge of everything currently showing. It would be embarrassing to randomly pick something that turns out to be a terrible movie.

Karaoke isn’t a terrible choice, but starting a date at a karaoke place feels a bit off. Above all, we didn’t exactly come out with “dating” as our purpose. It just turned out this way because Ju-a kept dragging out our time together while we wandered around.

Ju-a looks happy as she walks around with her arm linked through mine. The weather is also very nice. A clear autumn sky with almost no dust. Summer has just ended, and we’ve been enjoying a relatively “cool” weather streak, though it’s brief.

While trying to assess Ju-a’s situation, my gaze suddenly fixed on her pretty face. Her purple hair tied back flutters in the wind. Her face is literally glowing.

Some people around us recognized us, but they didn’t stop us for autographs or anything. Are we not as famous as we think?

Or maybe we’re perceived more like civil servants or soldiers. I understand the confusion—we have an idol image overlapping with something more complex, so people might not know how to approach us.

That was fortunate for us. We could spend time leisurely like this.

“Ah, have we been walking too long?”

“I don’t mind walking more.”

I answered Ju-a’s question.

“It’s not like we get tired just from walking a bit.”

While she doesn’t train in actual combat like Seo-hee and I do, that doesn’t mean the others don’t train at all. They do sparring-like exercises and research tactics on their own to share with us.

Even without magical power, their physical strength must be above average.

“No, walking around like this isn’t simply a matter of physical strength…”

Maybe she means it’s not good to just do one thing on a date.

I understand. That’s why I was briefly checking movie schedules on my phone earlier.

Somehow, Ju-a seemed as anxious as I was. Maybe even more so.

“Then, should we go to a café for a bit?”

“I’d like that.”

As if she’d been hoping I would suggest that, Ju-a entered a nearby café with me.

Fortunately, since it was a weekday afternoon, it wasn’t too crowded. We easily found empty seats in a corner on the second floor and spent some time drinking coffee.

“…”

The conversation paused briefly.

Hmm.

Watching Ju-a elegantly lift her coffee cup and then turn her gaze away when our eyes met wasn’t boring at all, but I couldn’t just keep enjoying the view selfishly.

“Ju-a.”

“Y-yes?”

Why is she so nervous? Her tension is making me tense too.

“Do you have any hobbies?”

“H-hobbies…”

Ju-a fell silent for a moment.

“I, I like tinkering with various equipment.”

Well, that’s true, but…

“As a hobby?”

“Hmm… it might be closer to work. I guess that’s right—I want to be a magical girl, not a weapons dealer. It might just be a means to an end.”

Still, as we talked, she seemed to slowly regain her composure and return to her usual pace.

“Then, what about you, Jieun?”

“Me?”

“Yes. Do you have any hobby that you’re really passionate about?”

I don’t.

I don’t have a single hobby that I’m obsessed with. I just listen to music sometimes.

Thinking about it again, maybe there’s no need to have such a hobby.

“Hmm…”

It’s a bit sad. Still, the feeling of passionately loving something makes a person happy in itself. Like the anticipation of waiting for a new comic or movie…

“…”

Something briefly seems to be within reach in my mind, but I can’t quite grasp it. Huh, maybe I actually did have a hobby.

But before I could properly catch that thought, Ju-a spoke first.

“I-I-I do have another hobby.”

“Oh, really?”

I was a bit surprised.

I’ve known Ju-a throughout high school, so we’ve known each other for quite a long time. But I wasn’t particularly heartbroken about not knowing one of her hobbies. Even friends don’t share absolutely everything with each other. It’s common to occasionally discover serious or new aspects of friends you’ve known for years.

With that in mind, I asked with interest, and somehow Ju-a’s face turned red.

Ju-a quickly looked around, confirmed there was no one near us, and moved to the seat next to me.

She raised one hand to the side of her lips, and I smiled. It was like a child trying to tell a secret to a teacher, covering her mouth with her hand.

Thinking I should play along, I leaned a bit toward Ju-a.

Ju-a seemed to put her hand beside my ear—

Smooch.

She pressed her lips directly against my cheek.

A kiss on the cheek feels nice too, not just lips meeting lips. It’s enough to feel the affection. I was learning through the magical girls that conveying emotions doesn’t just come from pressing bodies tightly together.

“Ju-a?”

Well, separate from that.

I was a bit surprised this time too. While Ju-a tends to be active in expressing affection, she’s so honest by nature that she doesn’t usually employ this kind of fake-out.

A sensitive girl whose emotions are always visible on her face. That was my impression of Ju-a.

“Magical girls.”

“Isn’t that what we were just talking about?”

“It’s different. Wanting to become one versus being passionate about them.”

Ju-a whispered softly.

My ear tickled, and my neck tilted slightly more to the side. But Ju-a didn’t seem to want to stop her teasing.

“And you’re a magical girl too, right? My favorite magical girl.”

“So, I’m the object of your hobby.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Ju-a giggled.

“I like seeing your face, and I like watching you transform.”

“…Come to think of it, your outfit isn’t that different from mine.”

“…Why are you bringing that up?”

Well, you know.

I’m just saying. Since she said she sees me as the object of her passion.

But coming from Ju-a, it’s not an unreasonable statement. Ju-a has… liked me and followed me around since the moment she first saw me.

When I came to my senses, Ju-a was already leaning her body completely against mine. Honestly, it wasn’t the kind of behavior appropriate for a public place like a café.

…Alright.

I leaned slightly toward Ju-a. Then I stretched my hand behind her back and pulled her waist closer to me.

“…!”

Ju-a, who had been acting confident just moments ago, stiffened.

Just as Ju-a had done earlier, I raised my hand and placed it beside her ear.

And whispered into that ear.

“I understand how you feel, but do you want to do this here?”

Ju-a shuddered as if ticklish.

“Well, I guess you did it because you wanted to.”

Ju-a turned her head and glanced at me.

That expression, ironically, somewhat resembled Ju-a’s expression I’d seen in the webtoon. Well, I don’t remember it very clearly anymore.

But the emotion in that gaze would be completely different.

Ju-a turned her head toward me.

As if refusing to back down, she raised her hand beside her lips even though my ear wasn’t facing her.

But this time, it seems she wasn’t aiming for my ear in the first place.

Smooch.

Ju-a’s lips touched mine.

Does covering with hands make any difference? Everyone would know there’s nothing between that space.

But that’s not what matters.

Caring about others’ gazes might not have suited us from the beginning.

Our lips remained together for a while before parting.

With our foreheads lightly touching, we giggled playfully.

“Good. Now I think I know how we should spend our time.”

“Me too.”

Ju-a replied to my words.

Right. What we do isn’t what matters in the first place.

It’s who we’re with that matters.

After all, hobbies are activities where you don’t necessarily need to reach a conclusion.

Isn’t it enough if the object of your affection is right beside you?