Ch.7Chapter 2. Private Life (1)

“Hey, look over there, did you see her, did you see her?”

Someone who had somehow recognized Hayun nudged the person walking beside them with their elbow.

“Yeah, she’s not as pretty as I thought she’d be.”

“Who are you to talk?”

Their voices were loud enough to be clearly heard.

They had lowered their voices as if whispering, but not enough to prevent us from hearing them.

The most annoying part was that I could hear them, but what really bothered me was not knowing whether they were deliberately speaking loud enough for us to hear or just talking among themselves.

If I confronted them, they’d probably respond with “Why are you eavesdropping?” or “We weren’t talking about you.” I couldn’t know if those responses would be truthful. Even the Galactic Federation hasn’t developed mind-reading technology.

I might be thinking negatively, but honestly, I believe they were most likely speaking loudly on purpose… but I know well enough that responding to such comments only makes things harder for me.

If I grabbed them by the collar, I’d just be labeled as “a girl with no home training.”

“…”

Blossom’s—no, Hayun’s face darkened a bit.

Even people who think they’re attractive rarely go around saying it out loud.

But regardless of whether someone is pretty or not, and whether they talk about it openly, no one feels good about hearing “they’re not as good as I expected” as an evaluation of their appearance.

If Hayun were just pretty and nothing else, it might not have been an issue. Like me, if she were just another unremarkable student who barely gets noticed, she wouldn’t have to hear such comments in the first place.

But Hayun is a Magical Girl.

“Want to go to the convenience store?”

In situations like this, saying “don’t worry about it” wouldn’t mean much. It would only make her more conscious of it.

Better to distract her with food.

“Huh?”

“Let’s go. I suddenly want something to eat.”

“Eh?”

Without giving Hayun time to respond, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her along.

Hayun followed without much resistance.

Even though it had been snowing heavily just yesterday evening, somehow the temperature had risen above freezing during the day, and the cleared areas were fairly dry. Thanks to that, running to the nearest convenience store wasn’t too difficult.

As we entered the small convenience store, my neck felt a bit ticklish. The scarf Hayun had bought me two years ago was probably reacting to the sudden temperature change.

But there was something much more urgent than that—cheering Hayun up—so I easily ignored the sensation.

Let’s see…

“Hey, Jieun.”

“Hmm…”

“Jieun?”

“Yeah?”

“Um… your hand.”

“Huh? Oh, sorry.”

I meant to grab her wrist, but it seems I’d taken her hand instead.

It wasn’t as surprising as when Hayun suddenly grabbed my hand when we were younger, but I quickly let go, feeling like I’d made a mistake.

Plus, I think I might have held it too tightly.

“No… there’s nothing to be sorry about.”

Hayun said, wrapping her hand with her other one, looking a bit embarrassed. Her face was slightly flushed as she said it.

Ah, I see.

Hayun is already a celebrity. Though not many people in our neighborhood approach her directly, and at school those who get too excited about her tend to be ostracized, things are different when we’re neither in our neighborhood nor at school.

In fact, Hayun was currently wearing a mask and a hat. She had large, frameless glasses on her face.

Her pink hair wasn’t in its usual ponytail but hung loose.

If not for the mask, pulling up her scarf to cover her face would have been enough. Surprisingly, with just these precautions, most people didn’t recognize Hayun.

Or rather, even if they did recognize her, they’d think “it couldn’t be her” and move on.

Though some people, like those earlier, would still recognize her.

“So, what would you like to drink? Peach?”

I turned my gaze toward the refrigerator to hide my embarrassment.

Hayun has liked peach-flavored drinks since she was young. It doesn’t seem to be because it matches her hair color. She’s not really one for that kind of “concept” anyway.

“Yeah…”

Hearing her faint response and judging this an emergency situation, I unhesitatingly opened the refrigerator and took out two peach-flavored drinks.

They were beverages with jelly inside that you could chew on.

Before Hayun could stop me, I quickly went to the counter and paid.

The convenience store worker, who looked like a college student, was staring intently at Hayun’s face, so I quickly grabbed Hayun’s wrist and pulled her outside. This time I made sure to properly grab her wrist.

Since we were already out, we decided to go all the way to the nearby park. With the temperature at about 3 degrees Celsius, we could manage for a few minutes.

The park was almost empty. Everyone had probably gone into nearby cafes or shopping malls.

The benches had obvious traces of accumulated snow, so I just stood and opened a drink bottle, handing it to Hayun.

“…Thank you.”

Taking it with both hands, Hayun stared at me.

Feeling her gaze, I quickly opened my own bottle.

I tapped my bottle against the one Hayun was holding with both hands, making an impromptu toast, and took a drink first.

I tasted the sweet and fragrant, though somewhat artificial, peach flavor, followed by small pieces of jelly that could fit through the regular bottle opening.

With my mouth full of jelly, I chewed, and Hayun smiled slightly before filling her own mouth with the drink.

For a while, we just looked at each other, chewing without saying anything.

“…It’s delicious.”

“Really? That’s good. I was wondering if I should have bought something warmer.”

To be honest, it felt good while drinking, but after swallowing, a cold sensation rose from inside my body. Hayun didn’t show any sign of discomfort, though.

Is she just enduring it?

If I had to pick the person around me whose thoughts are hardest to read, it would definitely be Hayun. Others might think she’s just a perfect, cheerful girl, but having known her since childhood—

—no, knowing the content of the “original work,” I understand how sensitive she really is.

She takes internet comments to heart and swallows her negative thoughts because she’s afraid of being disliked.

I try to be careful too, but honestly, she probably has things she wants to say to me as well.

…All things considered, I think Hayun is a good person. And there aren’t many good people like her in the world. Including myself, there are far more ill-mannered and poorly behaved people.

If someone has to become an adult, shouldn’t it be someone like her?

“So, what do you want for dinner?”

When I asked, Hayun smiled brightly.

“Since you bought this, I’ll buy dinner.”

“…These two together don’t even cost 3,000 won.”

“You buy me things like this often.”

Despite my comment, Hayun spoke as if she had no intention of backing down.

But if we’re counting what we receive, I’ve definitely received much more…

Well, she was well-off to begin with, so maybe her sense of money is different from mine. Maybe she counts by the number of times rather than the amount. Though gifts don’t seem to count in that calculation.

“Really? Then… let’s go wherever you want. Since I’m getting treated, let’s have what you want.”

“Okay!”

And Hayun took me to a sushi restaurant, of all places.

It was right in the middle of Jung-gu, Seoul, so even though it was in a somewhat secluded location, it must have been extremely expensive.

…I just gratefully ate. The sushi I had after so long was tearfully delicious.

Let’s keep this a secret from Jihye.

*

About two days later.

Since it was still early in the new year, I naturally had nothing particular to do.

The same was true for Jihye. There’s not much that penniless teenagers can do except take a bus somewhere far, look around, and come back, but the weather was too cold to do that every day, and bus fares had risen too much.

For reference, there’s no subway that comes to our neighborhood. I sometimes wonder how there can be a “wealthy area” in a neighborhood like this, but then I remember those people just move around in cars driven by chauffeurs, which makes me feel quite bad.

Come to think of it, a few years ago, I went there without thinking and walked around for a while.

It was just ridiculously tall buildings, with absolutely no convenience stores or restaurants nearby, just “houses.” Surprisingly, it had a similar layout to the shantytown directly across from it, except the difference was that the walls around these “houses” could probably build about five houses in that shantytown.

People who have to live in places with nothing because they have no money, and people who can afford to live in places with nothing because they have too much money.

As I was contemplating the tragedy of the wealth gap that suddenly occurred to me, Jihye, who was rolling around on the floor as usual, spoke up.

“Wow, look at this.”

On the phone Jihye held out was Hayun.

With pink straight hair, wearing a scarf, thick frameless glasses, and a mask.

…

Oh, this.

I snatched Jihye’s phone and scrolled through the screen.

[Blossom in a Relationship?]

The title was extremely simple.

[▲Did she want to hide from people around her? A disguised Blossom is being led by someone’s hand into a building.]

The content was also very simple, really just a single line describing the photo rather than an actual article.

I suppose no further explanation was necessary. This kind of thing is common in entertainment news.

The problem was that this photo was probably of us entering the convenience store.

Someone’s hand is firmly holding Hayun’s hand. The entrance to the convenience store was slightly elevated from the street, requiring a few steps to climb, and the photo was taken at the perfect moment when I was climbing up, making the hand’s owner appear a few centimeters taller than Hayun.

Moreover, both Hayun and I were wearing gloves, so our genders weren’t apparent, and my image was cut off around the wrist, making it a photo that could easily be misunderstood by someone who didn’t know the situation.

Hayun’s cheeks were slightly red. And with her eyes wide open in surprise, she was probably looking up at where I was.

“So? Is she really dating someone?”

“…”

When I glared at the tactless Jihye with narrowed eyes, she flinched.

“As if she would.”

Hayun dating… well, I suppose she could if she wanted to.

She had received confessions before. She rejected them all, though. Probably not because there was no one she liked, but because the very idea of dating was burdensome.

Being such a celebrity and all.

Some people would approach her just for her fame.

…Occasionally, there are crazy guys who have their first relationship with a celebrity and then go around saying things like “I was her first.” In a world like that, Hayun probably felt fear rather than joy after receiving confessions.

“This is me.”

“Oh, was it from that time?”

Jihye said with wide eyes. Yes, on January 1st, I went out saying I had plans with a friend. Jihye did the same.

“Ah~ I see. Then this is practically fabricated.”

They could publish an article saying she’s dating a girl, I suppose.

But in South Korea, where physical contact between women is relatively common, an article claiming she’s dating someone just because she held hands with a girl her age would probably just be laughed at.

I quickly handed the phone back to Jihye, who had instantly lost interest in the article, and picked up my own phone.

But once I opened the chat app, I wasn’t sure what to say.

If the article had been from a major news outlet, I might have sent a message of comfort first, but—well.

Would it be good to inform someone who might not even know about such an article?

Zing.

While I was thinking about this, my phone suddenly vibrated, nearly making my heart drop.

Fortunately, or perhaps not, the message wasn’t from Hayun.

[Miss Jeong Jieun. I have something to discuss with you. Could you come to headquarters?]

“…”

It was quite a polite message, but.

I looked at the clock.

It was five in the afternoon. It would probably be six by the time I got there.

And that company’s official working hours end at six on weekdays. “Executives” rarely work beyond that unless it’s a very special case.

So, I need to get there within 30 minutes if possible.

Which was physically impossible.

“Oh, are you going somewhere?”

“Yeah. Just nearby, a friend called.”

“Oh really? Bring back some cola.”

“Sure.”

Fortunately, at the orphanage, there’s a rule that children must wash up properly when they wake up, so I didn’t need to prepare anything other than changing clothes.

As soon as I left the room, I sighed deeply.

Surely they didn’t call me because of that article?

The thought briefly crossed my mind, but I quickly shook my head to dismiss it and ran to the bus stop.

*

“This photo, it is you, Miss Jeong Jieun, correct?”

The photo that Executive James placed in front of me was indeed the same photo from the article I had seen.

However, unlike the cropped version that only showed Hayun, this was the original. My face was quite visible.

My expression was stiff as I held Hayun’s hand and entered the convenience store. I was looking straight ahead, not turning toward Hayun.

At a glance, it might look like I was forcibly pulling Hayun in, but Hayun’s expression suggested the complete opposite, making the overall photo rather peculiar.

“…Yes, that’s me.”

Since it was obvious the company already knew, I answered affirmatively.

I waited quietly to hear what he had to say.

“My, my.”

James said in a very exaggerated tone as he stood up and walked toward the window.

Being an executive’s office in a large corporation, the window was quite large. It offered a clear view of Seoul’s brightly lit landscape. Right in front was City Hall, and the square in front of it had been frozen into an ice skating rink. People were skating there, forming large circles.

“If you were in such a precious position, you should have said so earlier. We would have treated you much better from the beginning.”

“…Was this photo taken by Noir Corporation?”

“Of course. We’re also in the entertainment business. It’s our duty to provide innocent citizens with pleasant visual entertainment.”

It’s fake news.

Those words rose to my throat, but I held them back for now.

“So, what did you want to say…?”

“We will increase your donation.”

“…”

I stared at James.

James, who had been looking out the window with his hands behind his back, turned toward me.

“You know what power drives their circuits, don’t you?”

“…Hope.”

The Galactic Federation promotes it extensively.

And so does this company.

“Of course. Hope. Hope is good. But how long can such a fleeting energy source last?”

Still speaking in an exaggerated, theatrical manner, James spread his arms wide.

“Isn’t it rather the courage to throw oneself directly at obstacles that is the source of human progress?”

While not wrong in principle, the reasoning itself is highly suspicious.

“But, very well. We also know how beneficial the emotion of hope is to Earth people. That’s why they are out here on the ‘front lines.'”

“…”

I remained silent as I looked at the photo James pointed to.

So this person is saying that “being photographed like this is part of a Magical Girl’s duty.”

“So, what do you want me to do?”

I asked.

Both his statement about increasing donations and his current rambling in front of me seemed to have very impure intentions.

“Make you do something? Not at all!”

James said, coming around to the desk and reaching to put his hand on my shoulder, but seeing my fiery glare, he slowly withdrew his hand.

“Rather, I wanted to advise you to stay close to her.”

So that’s why you’re telling someone who’s off duty to come at five in the afternoon?

“Really. Instead, could you meet with her a bit more frequently than usual? We will protect your identity. Just frequently appear with her in public. We’ll take care of the rest.”

“…”

“Don’t worry too much. There’s no problem with you being friendly with a Magical Girl. Business is business, friendship is friendship. Isn’t it good to keep work and personal life separate? The donation will be…”

James told me about a donation amount that was nearly 1.5 times what I usually receive.

And because of that, I couldn’t completely refuse his directive to do something not so good to my friend.

…Yes, I know I’m garbage. Even if I was afraid of the disadvantages that would come with refusing.

But there are almost no other jobs where I could work this little while continuing my studies and secure this much money.

After finishing the conversation and leaving, I wandered outside for a long time without even eating dinner.

Usually, when I had a lot on my mind, I would walk around to organize my thoughts, but even after walking for about an hour and returning to the orphanage, my thoughts remained completely unorganized.