Fake Guardian – 2

As 6 o’clock approached, Kang In-ho left the cafe and headed back to Sungin Girls’ High School.

As soon as he arrived at the school gate, he made an ‘Ah!’ face, because a different scene from lunchtime awaited him.

“Should I just run away?”

Looking at the swarming female high school students, his face turned pale.

Before he could even put that thought into action, he, who had been standing blankly in front of the school gate, found himself in the middle of a wave of the opposite sex pouring out.

He couldn’t do anything as he felt the gazes of children much younger than him, subtly looking at his face as they passed him, and he just wished for his companion to come out quickly.

“He’s kind of handsome?”

At the sound he overheard as they passed, he reflexively touched his face.

‘Am I handsome?’

He recalled the face he saw in the bathroom when he washed up, the face of this dimension.

Certainly, it was true that it wasn’t an ugly face.

But if asked if he was handsome, it was difficult to readily agree.

‘Rather, the handsome one is….’

He recalled the faces he had had so far.

The first face that came to mind was Saint’s face.

Blue eyes like the sea, curly hair, a soft, curved face.

It was probably the face closest to the word ‘pretty boy’.

‘Next is….’

Next, he thought of his face in the martial arts world.

His face there was a different kind of handsome from Saint.

Tall, with a sturdy body, and an overall face with thick lines.

He self-evaluated that he was a kind of cool guy.

Thinking of those two faces, his current face was just ordinary to him.

Is this the squid relativity theory? he thought.

“What are you thinking about that you don’t answer when I call you?”

Startled by the voice suddenly heard from below his chin, he pulled his body back.

“Ah, it’s over.”

“Yeah, let’s go home now. I’m hungry.”

Kang In-ho nodded and made eye contact with some students who were keeping a suitable distance behind her.

“Hey, hey, he’s looking this way.”

They whispered among themselves, but unfortunately, he heard everything.

“Are they your friends?”

When Inho gestured behind her, Kim Sung-ah hesitated for a moment before correcting her answer.

“They’re in the same class.”

Kim Sung-ah strode past him and took the lead.

Kang In-ho silently watched her getting further away, gave a slight nod to her ‘classmates’, and followed after her.

“Was it a little uncomfortable?”

She asked abruptly as she walked along the wide road.

“Huh?”

“The kids, I mean.”

At his question, Kim Sung-ah said.

“Ahjussi understands. There aren’t any co-ed schools nearby, let alone boys’ high schools, and there aren’t any male teachers at school, so the kids go crazy when they see a man.”

She grumbled with a fed-up face.

“I knew boys’ high schools were like that… I didn’t know girls’ high schools would be like this either….”

Kang In-ho recalled his school days when they would rush to the windows when they heard the sound of [A girl!!].

“What kind of fantasy do you have about girls?”

Kim Sung-ah chuckled.

“Everyone has fantasies about the opposite sex.”

When Inho retorted as if making an excuse, Kim Sung-ah smiled and nudged his shoulder.

“How was school?”

Thinking of his conversation with the homeroom teacher, he asked.

“It was okay. I listened to classes and studied during breaks.”

Kim Sung-ah looked ahead and fiddled with her hair with her fingers.

“Is there a department you want to go to?”

“Well… I haven’t thought about it.”

A nonchalant answer came back. Kang In-ho glanced at her face.

It was a face without a hint of regret or worry.

‘Then, why do you go to school?’

He swallowed the question that had risen to his throat. He thought it was too deep of a question.

“What about you, Ahjussi?”

While he was swallowing his words, she asked.

“Huh?”

“Didn’t the homeroom teacher ask you anything weird?”

“Not really?”

He shrugged, remembering that she had asked about not only Kim Sung-ah but also him.

It wasn’t a particularly important question.

“Really? She called me separately after the fifth period and subtly talked about Ahjussi.”

Narrowing her eyes, she recalled what had happened earlier.

“Isn’t it because I came as a guardian?”

“Is that so… hmm….”

They chatted like that as they walked. And when they arrived at a crosswalk,

Kim Sung-ah’s feet stopped abruptly.

“Earlier, you asked if there was a department I wanted to go to, right?”

“Yeah, I did.”

With a crooked smile, Kim Sung-ah pointed to the road on the other side.

It looked like the space was distorted, like awkward CG.

“These things happen every other day, so how can I afford to think about the future?”

-Thump!

With a huge vibration, the space twisted and something huge jumped out.

Cars started to swerve and skid due to the strange creature that suddenly appeared on the road.

“Kroooooooo!!!”

The monster with the lower body of a horse and the upper body of a human began to stir up the road.

Windows and traffic lights were cut off, and cars were flying from kicks.

The road quickly became a scene of chaos due to the monster that appeared during rush hour and after school.

The screams of people and the horns of cars were intertwined in a dizzying way.

“Did I use too much power last time? This time it’s just one.”

Kim Sung-ah, Lyrical Star, who had already finished transforming, rushed forward before he could even stop her.

She grabbed her staff and jumped up, stabbing the horse’s back with the sharp end of the staff.

“Kuaaaaa!!”

The monster writhed in pain, and Lyrical Star, hanging on its back, fluttered like a flag.

The sight was precarious, and Kang In-ho was about to run to her without realizing it, but he was soon stopped.

“I’m okay! It’ll be over soon!!”

Lyrical Star shouted when she saw Kang In-ho trying to come this way.

Lyrical Star regained her balance and stood on the horse’s back. It shook its body back and forth to drop her off.

Even as her body swayed greatly, Lyrical Star did not fall to the ground. She had the staff stuck in the horse’s back.

People who had fled far away from the dangerous rodeo taking place on the road were watching the scene as if possessed. Some even took out their cell phones and started filming.

“Target confirmed.”

Whether anyone watched or not, Lyrical Star did not forget what she had to do.

“Magic power charging.”

“Magic power control released.”

The staff began to shake violently. In particular, blue light began to soar from the part stuck in the body.

The monster began to thrash even more. Cars flew, and broken iron bars flew through the sky.

“Adjustment lever single shot.”

Lyrical Star pulled out the staff stuck in the horse’s back like lightning.

Blue light lingered at the end of the staff, which had already been prepared for attack.

With an unwavering posture, she pointed the end of the staff at the monster’s head.

“It’s magic, so no dodging, okay?”

With a huge explosion, a beam of light was fired from the end of the staff, and Lyrical Star flew into the sky from the recoil.

The monster’s end after being hit by her attack was miserable. The entire upper body, including the head, disappeared without a trace.

Immediately after dealing with the monster, Lyrical Star was surrounded by people who had gathered.

“P, please take a picture with me too!!”

A student in the same uniform as her stuck close to her side.

Click.

The female high school student, after confirming that her face and Lyrical Star’s face were well captured on her cell phone, left the group as it was.

“What are you, Noona?”

A child who had barely managed to get out of an overturned car asked her.

“Noona is a Magical Girl!”

Lyrical Star said proudly, putting her hands on her hips.

“Noona!”

“Hey, Miss!”

“Unnie!”

Lyrical Star greeted the people who were flocking to her kindly.

“I’m Kim Cham-gi, a reporter for Cho Jung Daily. Is an interview possible?”

“No.”

Of course, there were exceptions.

It took quite a while to get rid of the people who were persistently following her, and as a result, she was able to come home long after dinner time.

Kang In-ho took out the leftover curry again and warmed it up.

“I’m a little sorry that it’s curry again. Tell me anytime if there’s anything you want to eat.”

“I don’t really want anything… Curry is delicious too.”

Kim Sung-ah scooped a little more rice than the day before and put it in her bowl.

“That’s unexpected.”

Kang In-ho said, mixing the curry.

“What is?”

She mixed the curry as well.

“You said your memories disappear anyway, so didn’t you not have to deal with them?”

He put a spoonful in his mouth.

Kim Sung-ah was still mixing curry with rice, and remained silent.

It seemed like she was choosing something she wanted to say.

“Have you ever seen old Magical Girl cartoons, Ahjussi?”

“Me? I’ve seen them a few times. Why?”

“The Magical Girls in cartoons always symbolize dreams and hope, right?”

“Is that so…?”

Kim Sung-ah scooped up rice with a spoon and put it in her mouth.

After taking a few more spoonfuls like that, she mumbled and said in a calm tone.

“Even if people forget in one night, I want to be remembered well until then.”

Even for a very short time.

Kim Sung-ah swallowed the last words.

“…….”

Kang In-ho stared silently at her as she lowered her head and ate her rice.