The After-Party

“What should we eat…”

I pondered as I drove the car.

My tired body made it difficult to think clearly.

The magical girls in the car seemed to be in the same condition, all of them completely exhausted.

There weren’t any visible major injuries, but fatigue was unavoidable.

Tsss.

I opened an energy drink I had bought before departure. The carbonation escaping released a refreshing fruity aroma.

But the contents would surely taste harsh.

‘I need to drink this to drive.’

The fizzy carbonation went down my throat, and the caffeine awakened my brain. This should help me drive safely to the nearby accommodation.

“Are you very tired, mister?”

It was Noah’s voice.

“You look more tired than me.”

“Hehe… I’m fine.”

Noah, sitting in the passenger seat, smiled weakly.

If Noah, who was in relatively good condition, was this exhausted, the others must be worse.

We need to get to the accommodation quickly.

Whether to rest or eat.

I continued driving the car. As carefully as possible, so no one would get hurt.

But driving safely yourself doesn’t guarantee accident prevention. Unexpected things always happen on the road.

Trouble occurred just as we were about to pass through an intersection.

As we were crossing, a motorcycle from the side ignored the traffic signal and sped through.

“Oh sh—”

I cursed while calmly hitting the brakes.

Of course, just because I was calm didn’t mean the car would be. The vehicle jerked quite violently.

I pressed my arm against Noah’s collarbone to prevent them from lurching forward. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and the bastard just disappeared.

“You okay?”

“Yes…”

Everyone else was fine too. While I was relieved, I couldn’t help feeling annoyed.

“Ah, that son of a—”

I was about to say something harsh but stopped myself.

There are kids here. One who just entered middle school. If I were in my Kraken state, I’d chase after him and beat him half to death.

I tried to remove my arm that was holding Noah. But Noah didn’t let go of my arm. I looked at Noah.

They seemed quite startled.

Or maybe their heart was suddenly racing.

‘…Oh my.’

Come to think of it, isn’t this a kind of romantic situation? Being saved from danger and all that…

‘…Girls’ hearts are complicated.’

I just helped, but that seems to have made their heart flutter.

I pulled over to the side of the road and waited until Noah let go of my arm.

A teasing voice came from the back.

“Mister.”

“Yeah?”

“You just looked like a total bad boy.”

“Why?”

“Cursing with your mouth while protecting your woman—”

“What do you mean ‘your woman’? You’re really asking for it.”

“Hehe.”

Taehwa laughed and hid behind the seat.

Noah had a dazed expression for a long time, and we were only able to start driving again after 10 minutes.

+++++

After unpacking in our respective rooms, we gathered outside again.

The five of us headed to a samgyeopsal (pork belly) restaurant.

As we entered, the smell of grilling pork belly wafted over, making everyone’s mouths water.

We couldn’t help but be hungry.

After all, everyone had been through so much.

We sat in a room and stared blankly at the grill.

“Here’s your samgyeopsal.”

I received the pork belly and decided to grill it as the representative. I was tired from fighting too, but I couldn’t mention that.

Sizzle.

The pork belly went onto the grill.

As the meat sizzled and cooked, everyone’s eyes burned with anticipation.

Anyone watching would think we hadn’t eaten for days.

“Kids.”

“…”

“Just a reminder, you need to wait until it’s fully cooked. Understand?”

“…Yes.”

While everyone was silent, only Noah answered.

Hmph, I’ll give Noah a big piece.

I cut the fully cooked meat with scissors and gave everyone a piece.

“Everyone, eat.”

“What about you, mister?”

“I’ll eat while grilling, so don’t worry.”

And so our meal began.

“Delicious…”

Starting with Taehwa’s exclamation, followed by Seo Jin-ah and Yu Bom’s sounds of appreciation.

Seeing everyone enjoying the samgyeopsal made me feel content.

‘How is Noah eating?’

The only one without a reaction was Noah.

Looking over, I saw they were preparing a ssam (lettuce wrap).

Lettuce topped with pa-jeolgi (scallion salad), ssamjang (dipping sauce), garlic, pork belly.

And then another piece of pork.

A very frugally—no, generously prepared wrap.

Noah held the wrap with their small hands.

“Eat this, mister.”

They offered the wrap to me.

“Huh? Noah, you eat it. I can see you put a lot of effort into it.”

“I made it for you, that’s why I put in effort. Please eat it.”

“Noah…”

How does this kid say such sweet things?

I reluctantly accepted the wrap and ate it. My mouth was filled with flavor.

I made a wrap too.

Pa-jeolgi and kimchi, garlic and ssamjang. Secretly adding three pieces of meat.

“Noah, say ‘ah.'”

The kid made an embarrassed face before opening their mouth wide. The wrap went into their mouth.

Since they have a small mouth, their cheeks puffed up adorably.

“Doo muh!”

“Okay, okay.”

As I was smiling at Noah, I felt both a cold gaze and a warm gaze simultaneously.

The cold gaze came from Lee Taehwa.

“…Showing affection is nice, but please use one piece of meat each time.”

The warm gaze came from Seo Jin-ah.

“I’m so jealous… I wish I had a boyfriend soon…”

Yul just kept eating her portion diligently with an expression that seemed to say “What are they doing?”

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I called over the owner passing by.

“Sir, could we have two bottles of cola and two bottles of cider please?”

I took the cola and cider the owner brought and distributed them to the kids.

Feeling something was missing, I mixed cola and cider and drank it.

Noah asked about my action.

“Mister, why are you drinking it that way?”

“Because I want to mix it. I can’t mix soju and beer in front of you kids.”

“You did it just fine last time.”

“That was then, this is now.”

“Go ahead, I don’t mind.”

Noah also asked Taehwa and Yul.

“You guys don’t mind either, right?”

“I’m cool~”

“I don’t mind either… I often see my dad drinking…”

These kids…

I definitely was craving alcohol. Something refreshing to cut through all this greasiness.

But it felt wrong to drink alone, and I needed an accomplice.

“Would you like a drink too, Jin-ah?”

“Me? Really?”

“We’re both adults, so having a drink should be fine, right?”

Hearing my words, Seo Jin-ah thought for a moment before nodding.

“Then I’ll have just a little—”

“…Actually, thinking about it, drinking alcohol in front of middle schoolers doesn’t seem right.”

Noah suddenly changed their mind.

At those words, Yul showed a puzzled expression but averted her gaze after seeing Noah’s serious face.

I looked into Noah’s eyes.

After knowing each other for so long, I could read Noah’s expressions to some extent.

That expression is…

‘Probably jealousy and worry.’

I’m guessing they’re jealous that only Jin-ah and I would be drinking together happily. Since Noah is still a minor who can’t drink.

Perhaps they’re worried that Jin-ah and I might get closer while drinking?

Such unnecessary worries.

Seo Jin-ah must have also noticed Noah’s expression, and while not understanding the details, she probably thought it wasn’t right to drink.

“Hmm… Noah has a point. It might be one thing if it was just high schoolers, but with Yul here, it doesn’t seem appropriate.”

Seeing her decline alcohol like that.

In the end, I gave up on drinking and decided to just enjoy the soft drinks.

Money? Whatever, the association will pay for it.

No matter how chaotic the country is, they should at least feed the kids who risk their lives fighting.

“Noah, eat more.”

“Yes, thank you—”

“No, eat all of it.”

I offered Noah a wrap twice the size of the previous one.

“Something that big is too much… It won’t fit…!”

Noah shook their head in refusal, but I forced the wrap into their mouth.

“It’s too big…”

“You’re eating it just fine.”

“…Taehwa, what are those people doing?”

“Don’t pay attention and just eat. That’s the best thing to do.”

“Sigh… I’m jealous of Noah…”

The meal continued after that.

We enjoyed not only samgyeopsal but also other cuts of meat, and at the same time ate doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) and naengmyeon (cold noodles), having a very satisfying time.

Noah, who had eaten their fill, rubbed their stomach.

“Did you eat a lot, Noah?”

“Yes. I ate plenty.”

Their belly was visibly bulging out.

Taehwa, who had been watching this, stroked Noah’s stomach and looked at me.

A mischievous smile appeared on their face.

“Congratulations.”

“For what?”

“It’s twins.”

Smack! There was a sound.

It was Noah hitting the back of Taehwa’s head.

“Will you stop it! Doesn’t it hurt when you get hit like that?!”

“But it’s fun, isn’t it?”

“Eek… seriously!”

Taehwa giggling and Noah trembling with anger.

I guess this is their way of playing. It was surprising. They were growling at each other until recently.

‘That’s what being true friends means, I guess.’

After leaving the restaurant, we stopped by an ice cream shop for dessert before finally returning to our accommodation.

As expected of growing kids.

They finished their palate cleansing with double king-sized portions.

‘I can’t keep up anymore…’

Feeling a bit melancholic, I threw myself onto the bed.

“Oh my, I’m dying…”

My whole body ached.

I’m always like this after transforming into Kraken.

Stretched out, not wanting to move at all.

How nice would it be to fall asleep like this?

But I can’t sleep yet. I haven’t showered or changed clothes.

Moreover, I made a promise, so I can’t just lie here doing nothing.

Tap, tap.

There was a knocking sound at the window.

“It’s open, come in.”

At that, the owner of the knocking sound opened the window.

“Excuse me.”

Kyukyu entered.

“Now, let’s have a proper talk, Mr. Kraken.”

To interrogate me.

“…Sigh.”

Looks like this long day isn’t over yet.