Ending #1. So, how was it?

The starlight girl had the massive moon at her back.

Her dress subtly showed off its beauty, like morning sunlight reflecting on the dawn mist.

“Really…”

“I really thought there was no hope.”

Kim Sung-ah scratched her head, seemingly embarrassed, her hand trembling slightly.

“Seong-a.”

“When did your memories come back?”

Kang In-ho couldn’t answer the Magical Girl’s question.

His memories hadn’t returned all at once, like a light bulb switching on; he had gradually become aware of reality within the world he had created, so he kept his mouth shut.

“It doesn’t matter…”

Her voice was full of tears.

Clack, her high heels, prominent along with her dress, pressed against the floor, making a sound.

Kim Sung-ah began to approach him.

As she got closer, the moonlight began to diminish.

As the light that had been bothering his eyes was blocked by Kim Sung-ah approaching, Kang In-ho was finally able to see the girl’s face clearly.

Kim Sung-ah spread her arms wide.

The star decorations on her clothes rustled, making a sound.

“Hug me.”

She was acting spoiled.

“What?”

“We finally met after so long, but we had to fight some weird giant. Let’s have a little mood… let’s have that kind of atmosphere. Us.”

Their reunion, which had been glossed over in the urgent situation. Kim Sung-ah proposed to invalidate it.

Kang In-ho looked dazed for a moment, then chuckled.

As Kang In-ho spread his arms wide, Kim Sung-ah jumped into his embrace.

“Oof.”

A moderate weight burdened his body.

“Are you exaggerating… I weigh less than the standard, you know?”

The Magical Girl, her face close enough to touch his nose, pouted and grumbled.

“Yeah, heavy is heavy, right?”

As Kang In-ho teased, Kim Sung-ah didn’t get angry; instead, she smiled.

“I missed this. Being like this with you, Ahjussi.”

Kim Sung-ah buried her nose in Kang In-ho’s chest and took a deep breath.

She inhaled deeply several times, and Kang In-ho felt his ears getting hotter and hotter.

“Seems like it.”

“……..”

Kang In-ho felt his chest getting wet.

Kang In-ho’s wandering hand began to pat Kim Sung-ah’s back.

Pat, pat.

Casually, concisely.

Moderately, sincerely.

He patted her back, filled with some indescribable emotion, that poignant feeling that couldn’t be expressed in words.

Pat, pat.

“It was a little hard. No, it was really hard.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Like you said… I fell a lot. I made a lot of mistakes too…”

The arms that embraced his body tightened.

“I was terribly lonely. Your absence was so big.”

The kitchen without you was too big.

Eventually, Kim Sung-ah began to sob.

Her face, slightly away from him, was a mess of tear tracks.

Kim Sung-ah tapped his chest a few times, then hugged him tightly again, as if embracing a doll.

“I, I really worked hard. I fell and rolled around a lot… so I got hurt a lot too… but I was still able to stand before you.”

“Yeah, you’re amazing.”

Kang In-ho stroked her hair.

Admiration filled his heart.

“I’m not an adult yet, but…”

“Did you see me at the office? I’m not an adult either.”

Kim Sung-ah, who had been crying, laughed.

“That’s true. I thought you were a complete adult, but when I see you at the company, you’re surprisingly clumsy.”

Damn senior. Kang In-ho thought.

Kim Sung-ah whined in his arms for a long time.

As much as she had been lonely, as much as she had frowned at the stinging wounds, she rubbed her face against him, smelling his scent.

As time passed and the girl’s intense emotions calmed down, Kim Sung-ah moved away from him and met his eyes.

“I remember.”

“Remember what?”

“What you said before you left.”

“Uh… what was it?”

“Ugh, are you pretending not to know on purpose? You said, ‘If I had stayed a few more years, I think I could have accepted your feelings!'”

Kim Sung-ah frowned and shouted.

Her sharp voice rode the rooftop railing and went down below.

“Did I say that…?”

I’m sure I added more words after that. Kang In-ho scratched his head.

Honestly, he couldn’t remember very well.

“I definitely heard it. I don’t lie about things like this, you know?”

“Is that what someone who secretly acts lecherous at night says…”

As Kang In-ho’s eyes narrowed, Kim Sung-ah’s face turned bright red.

“Really… are you okay with this?”

After the late-night squabble, Kim Sung-ah asked him with a cautious face.

“Yeah. I decided to do it.”

“I’m happy, but honestly… I still don’t really understand why you came here.”

“You don’t have confidence in yourself.”

“Isn’t that obvious? I was already so worried because I felt like I was the most lacking.”

Kang In-ho stroked Kim Sung-ah’s head once more.

At the warm touch, Kim Sung-ah purred like a cat.

“Because I had the most fun when I was with you.”

“…Really?”

Eyes full of anticipation. Kang In-ho smiled and nodded.

“Yeah. Really. I had the most fun when I was with you.”

Well… you do require a little too much attention.

“Ahjussi.”

Kim Sung-ah held out her hand.

“If you take this hand, there’s no turning back.”

He looked down at the outstretched hand.

“……..”

Naturally, he couldn’t bring himself to speak easily.

“I wanted to see my parents.”

A complicated feeling was evident in his voice.

“……..”

Knowing that feeling, Kim Sung-ah comforted him with silence.

“Seong-a.”

Kang In-ho strode closer.

“Yes?”

Kim Sung-ah looked up at him.

“Please take care of me.”

He smiled brightly and took her hand.

Purple starlight filled the rooftop, and when the light disappeared, the two people were nowhere to be seen.