episode_0286

***

She didn’t attach much importance to the food she ate every day, but today’s meal was particularly tasteless.

The seasoning was strong enough to make me cringe, and the freshness of the vegetables was acceptable.

The main meat dish was the worst, and the subtle pork smell did not go away and bothered her nose.

‘I want to eat the food my uncle cooked.’

Stirring the rice with her spoon, she hoped that this meal would end quickly.

I wonder if the person cooking today made a lot of mistakes, or if there was a problem with the refrigerator where the ingredients were stored…

Anyway, I have no taste. Even though it wasn’t a food I particularly disliked.

“Oh, that’s right, I saw my homeroom teacher on the weekend.”

One of the students who was eating together said.

“Where?”

“Where the department store is. downtown. It looked like she was with a man, but I couldn’t see her face.”

“Is this your boyfriend?”

Hyeji, who was across from Seongah, asked her friend.

“But you don’t have a homeroom boyfriend. He says he’s lonely all the time. Oh right. I overheard you talking on the phone in the hallway the other day…”

The female student giggled, as if it was a funny memory to think about again.

“Why? What was it about?”

“It seems like my parents were wondering when I was going to get married. [It has to be there!] When I say this, it’s so funny.”

“Then I guess what we went on over the weekend was a blind date.”

Hyeji received the word.

“Maybe? It was a Japanese restaurant.”

“What time was it?”

Seongah came in mid-conversation.

The three students looked at her, probably surprised that she, who had been eating quietly, opened her mouth.

“Yes? Ah… it was lunch.”

When the student answered with a blank expression, Seong-ah turned her gaze back to the plate and continued eating in silence.

The food still didn’t taste good.

***

The uncomfortable time extended beyond lunch time and into afternoon classes.

Perhaps because of the food she ate, Kim Seong-ah felt uncomfortable.

I got more questions wrong than usual, and I couldn’t really listen to the class.

During break time, I wanted to lay down and rest, but several students, including Hyeji, approached me and spoke to me subtly.

They talked about topics that only they knew about, or subtly asked about Inho.

Kim Seong-ah was uncomfortable with the excessive attention.

Even though I am grateful for the kind heart that speaks to me, my mood sinks when I sense an inexplicable purpose hidden in his actions.

It was recess again, and when she saw the students coming to their seats, she got up first and went out of the classroom.

As if they didn’t know what was coming to them.

Out into the hallway, she walked aimlessly.

There is no destination. Because there are not many places you can go in a short break of 10 minutes.

Climb up the stairs and arrive at the rooftop. To be exact, it is in front of the locked rooftop door.

I lean against the cold metal door as a backrest.

“Phew… Why are you like this?”

My chest feels tight and I can’t seem to get rid of the tight feeling.

These emotional changes have been frequent lately.

It was like that this weekend, and it’s like that today too.

“I want to go home quickly.”

Then there will be a man at home.

She folded her fingers and counted down the remaining classes. Now it’s 2nd period. All you have to do is be patient.

I instinctively knew that if I met him, this anxious feeling would subside.

She took out her cell phone from her pocket.

Then, by moving your finger, you send a message.

[Come pick me up today.]

[why? Is there somewhere to go?]

Do you have to have a reason to go together? Seongah Kim pouted.

[Please just come.]

Snorting, she texted again.

[OK got it. Should we eat out?]

I felt like I could hear his calm voice.

A calm smile appeared on Kim Seong-ah’s lips.

[Looking at the situation.]

[Yes, I got it.]

As soon as the text was sent, the bell rang signaling class.

“…2nd period left.”

Kim Seong-ah’s footsteps going down the stairs made a pleasant sound.

***

After class, Seong-ah, who was looking for In-ho at the school gate, found In-ho hiding in a distant place.

“It’s in front of the school gate. Why are you here? Hard to find.”

“I’m not brave enough to stand in front of a girls’ high school.”

At his words, Kim Seong-ah imagined him standing in front of the school gate.

In-ho is surrounded by women. Even just imagining it made my eyes crinkle.

“Hmm… Now that I think about it, I guess so. See you here in the future.”

As if praising her subordinate, she lifted her tiptoe and tapped his shoulder.

The two, who were facing each other, now started walking side by side along the road.

“How was school?”

It wasn’t good. Seongah Kim swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

“It was just like that. It was the same as usual.”

“Isn’t it difficult to follow the class?

The question was whether it would be difficult to keep up with the progress since I missed it often.

“Hmm… it’s a little difficult. Still, I somehow manage to keep up.”

“Still, it looks like you have the brains to study. If you look at how much you study while working as a magical girl.”

“My aunt said that, and my mom was good at studying when she was young. Maybe she looks like her mom?”

“If you find it difficult to follow the progress, I thought it would be a good idea to take an online lecture. After looking into it, these days it’s more of an online lecture than an academy.”

As he spoke indifferently, Seongah Kim’s eyes lit up.

“Oh, did you look for it? For me?”

The corners of her mouth rose.

“Well, for now. What was the entrance exam like these days?”

“Hi… You are playing the role of a guardian properly.”

Knowing that there was someone who gave for me filled my heart with satisfaction.

I feel like I’m losing my mind.

Her steps became lighter.

“Aren’t you hungry? What about lunch?”

“It was just like that. Neither delicious nor not delicious.”

She told a lie that she didn’t have to.

They headed home along the road they took last time.

The roads during rush hour were extremely congested, and people were moving around busily, each with their own destination.

“The days are getting shorter.”

Inho said as he watched today’s sun setting.

“Because summer has passed.”

“The sense of the seasons is gradually disappearing.”

“Why?”

“Hmm… there is something like that.”

He smiled secretly.

Seongah Kim tilted her head, but didn’t ask any further questions.

***

She partially followed him, two steps behind him.

The subtle distance difference makes it look like we are walking side by side in some ways.

Seongah Kim liked seeing his back.

The back seemed to resemble that of his father. It’s big, spacious, and seems to accept you.

Suddenly she felt the urge to cling to its back.

If Dodo ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, would he accept it?

Such thoughts continue to proliferate.

‘Should I just hang on?’

Just when a strange thought popped into his head, he stopped walking.

She turned her head to where his gaze was directed.

There was a roadside street vendor selling various snacks, including tteokbokki.

“It’s a snack bar. Do you want to eat it?”

“Looks like bungeoppang and hotteok are still available.”

“Shouldn’t it come out only when it gets colder?”

“The CSAT should be over.”

“Right… right? That’s right, sir, which do you like better, bungeobbang or hotteok?”

“I like hotteok. What about you?”

“Um… I don’t know. Am I the tteokbokki over there?”

“Okay, let’s eat that for dinner tonight.”

He laughed when he realized her intention, and she laughed along with him.

“But you pay the money anyway.”

“That’s true too.”

The two of them bought tteokbokki and fried food for two people and walked home.

Every time she walked, the black plastic bag containing the food she was holding swayed rhythmically.

***

In a dark space, purple flames were softly lighting up the place.

The door opens and someone comes in.

A woman with a plain appearance, with her bangs covering her eyes.

The fact that she is wearing a school uniform gives us an idea of her age.

The woman looked around and snapped her fingers.

With a clicking sound, purple flames flickered across her body.

The flames began to sweep around the woman’s body, burning her exterior like a flame setting a twig on fire.

My clothes and skin fell apart like a snowman in spring.

In the place where the flames had died down, a woman with a completely different look from before was standing in the same posture.

Curly gray hair. Clothes that stick to the body.

“I can’t even do this.”

She stretched.

“Sister… Please send me back home.”

A voice comes from somewhere. Lilith, the Four Heavenly Kings, looked in the direction of the sound.

A woman with the same face as her from earlier was sobbing in prison.

A woman with a plain appearance, with her bangs covering her eyes.

The fact that she is wearing a school uniform gives us an idea of her age.

[Lee Hye-ji]

It was the name written on the crying woman’s nametag.