episode_0008

Someone had entered the house.

The moment that thought crossed my mind, I turned my gaze toward the window.

The tightly shut windows.

‘So they didn’t come in through the window.’

Since the locks were the type that could only be engaged from the inside, if someone had entered from outside, there would have been signs of forced entry—broken glass or marks where the window had been pried open.

That left only one conclusion.

They must have come in through the front door.

But how?

Even if they knew the passcode for the front door, there was a fingerprint authentication step. How did they get past that?

One question led to another, and the unease kept growing.

‘Was I just imagining things?’

It was just a simple task of wedging paper into the door, so maybe I had misremembered.

Still, my gut kept screaming that something was off.

I had to check.

Human intuition was often wrong, but when certainty settled in, it was almost always right.

Slowly, I began searching the house.

When I was younger, I used to play games like shouting, “I know you’re there, so come out!” whenever I was home alone.

But now that it might actually be real, those words stuck in my throat.

If I said that and some knife-wielding maniac suddenly jumped out, my heart would probably stop.

—Creak.

—Creeeak.

—Thud.

I opened every door in the house, tense as a coiled spring, but there was nothing.

Just the ordinary interior of a home, as if nothing had ever happened.

—Squeak.

“Huh?”

I turned at the strange noise.

But there was nothing there either.

Was this house haunted?

Or was I just drunk and imagining things, letting paranoia get the better of me?

It was driving me crazy.

Despite my suspicions, the house remained silent and empty except for me.

Yeah… maybe it was just stress. The stalking incident, the kid’s strange behavior—it was all piling up.

“Whatever, I’m just gonna sleep.”

I wanted to wash up and go to bed, but my throbbing head couldn’t take it anymore.

Maybe a quick nap would make me feel better.

The moment I confirmed there was no intruder, exhaustion hit me like a wave, and I trudged toward the bedroom.

—Creak.

My cozy bed.

‘Guess I forgot to make it this morning.’

I always started my day by straightening the sheets, but today, I must’ve slipped up.

I unfolded the tangled comforter and burrowed inside.

“Mmm…”

Sleep, which had been creeping up on me, now crashed down like a tidal wave, scrambling my thoughts.

My heavy eyelids grew weaker.

‘Smells nice.’

The last thing my fading consciousness registered was the scent of the bed.

It smelled like peaches—my favorite.

Unconsciously, my body relaxed even more, sinking deeper into comfort.

I burned that pleasant fragrance into my memory before closing my eyes.

—Good night.

……

And then, everything went black.

Another identical day.

Another identical routine.

Just like always, I sipped on cheap instant coffee.

Just like always, I’d spend the day talking to the magical girl under my care, keeping her spirits up.

“Hmm, hehe…”

But today, that routine was slowly crumbling.

The girl—my girl—was toying with my pinky finger, giggling to herself.

Her attention was entirely fixed on my hand.

Was this how an artist looked at their masterpiece?

She tapped the edge of the bandage wrapped around my finger, then placed her own hand next to mine.

Her pinky bore the same marks as mine.

“Ai? We’ve got our morning session. Anything you wanna talk about?”

I tried steering the conversation back on track.

But she didn’t even pretend to listen, just kept staring at my pinky.

Where had those bright, violet eyes of hers gone?

Now, they were dull, lifeless—terrifying in their emptiness.

Her odd behavior was getting worse.

It wasn’t just anxiety from a mental fracture. It was something far more grotesque.

I had no idea how to handle this side of her.

—Tick.

“Ugh…”

“It’s okay. It’s okay… just stay still, Oppa.”

As the bandage peeled off, my pinky throbbed.

The wound beneath, freshly scabbed over, traced a perfect circle around my finger.

Ai smiled dreamily at the sight.

Then, she pressed her own scarred finger against mine.

“Now it really looks like matching couple rings, doesn’t it, Oppa?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Aww… But just knowing I’ve left my mark on you like this makes me so happy.”

“……”

She had changed.

When had it started? After meeting her new handler? During the stalking incident?

Or—

Had she been hiding this all along?

The Ai I knew had always been cheerful. That was all I’d ever seen.

And that scared me.

But.

I couldn’t back down now.

For her sake. For the sake of Ai, the magical girl, I had to keep these sessions going. I had to bring her back to normal.

“By the way, where’s Ruby, your mascot? She used to come with you, but I haven’t seen her in a while.”

“Ru… Ruby? Haha. Ruby’s… sleeping. She said she didn’t want to interrupt our time together, so she’s taking a nap.”

Ai’s answer carried a hint of awkwardness.

She stepped aside to give us privacy?

That tactless spirit?

I wasn’t sure if I believed her, but I nodded anyway.

—Tap.

“Ah.”

Her fingers slipped away from mine.

A sigh of disappointment escaped her, but I pressed on with the session like usual.

“Anything troubling you this week, Ai? Any worries?”

“Hmm, worries… I guess I’ve been so busy lately that I’m just tired and sleep-deprived?”

Busy?

I mentally reviewed her recent schedule.

A few ad shoots, an interview or two.

Nothing out of the ordinary compared to last month.

Nothing that should’ve worn her out this much.

“Did something happen?”

“Something…? Hah, well, there’s always something. Lately, I keep getting alerts—”

—Beep beep beep beep!

Mid-sentence, her phone buzzed.

The notification cut her off, and a flicker of irritation crossed her face.

She clicked her tongue but checked the message anyway.

“Ugh… See? Another demon beast outbreak.”

“A Grade 2? That’s a high-level one.”

“Yeah. Regular magical girls can’t handle high-level threats, so they keep calling me.”

“Well, there aren’t many A-rank magical girls besides you, Ai.”

They say the rank of a demon beast correlates with the rank of the magical girl needed to defeat it.

Generally, Grade 1 and 2 threats—classified as high-level—required an A-rank magical girl to intervene.

Grade 2 magical girls were either sent to hold the line until an A-rank arrived or to deal with lower-tier beasts and villains.

Naturally, as an A-rank, Ai bore the brunt of high-level outbreaks.

“Well then, Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

“Hurry. Mmm!”

Despite the urgent summons, she just stared up at me.

Arms spread, chest puffed out—like she was waiting for a hug.

“Uh… what do you want?”

“Hug me.”

“Why all of a sudden—”

“Hug me, Oppa. You did it last time.”

“Even so—”

“You said I was special, right? Was that a lie? We even pinky-swore on it.”

This was exactly why I tried to keep my distance.

Carrot and stick—except happiness had a threshold.

Once raised, that threshold rarely lowered. Instead, it dulled your sensitivity to joy.

Physical affection worked the same way.

We hugged before, so why not now?

Like she said, once a boundary was crossed, it became the new baseline.

I stifled a sigh and opened my arms.

At this point, refusing would only make things worse.

Fine. Hugging was the absolute limit.

“Hehe, mmm~ You’re so warm, Oppa.”

The softness pressed against my chest, the addicting warmth of a girl’s body.

And that peach scent, tickling my nose, seeping into my brain.

‘This smell… why does it feel familiar?’

I focused on the fragrance, trying to place it.

Sweet, intoxicating—like a drug I couldn’t stop inhaling.

If this went on any longer, she’d notice. I quickly pushed her away.

“Ah… But now I think I can work hard today.”

Disappointed but satisfied, Ai smiled.

She didn’t say anything else.

I had to forget about that scent lingering in my mind.

“See you later, Oppa!”

With that, Ai left the counseling room.

“Later? Not next time?”

I watched a girl quietly reading in the library.

Black hair, glasses too big for her face.

Her bangs covered half her eyes, making it hard to see her clearly, but she gave off a plain, unassuming vibe.

A literary girl.

That was probably the best way to describe her.

She loved books so much she seemed to forget to breathe, completely absorbed in the pages.

About ten minutes passed.

Her neck and shoulders must’ve stiffened because she finally set the book down to stretch.

And then, she noticed me.

“Eeek?!”

Startled, she let out a noise that wasn’t quite a word.

Fidgeting nervously, she trembled before burying her face back in the book.

The reason for her reaction was simple.

‘The sharp-tongued Frappe was this much of a bookworm?’

Magical girls had two states: transformed and untransformed.

This was her true form.

And the girl in front of me—the quiet, bookish one—was the same Frappe who’d been as sharp as a blade.

After our eyes met, Frappe kept sneaking glances at me. I waved back.

Slowly, I approached and spoke.

“Mind letting me know when you’re done with that book?”

“Huh…?”

“I’m a fan of the author. Been meaning to read it.”

I wanted to reassure her—to let her know I wasn’t here as her counselor.

I was just a regular person, a fellow reader named Lee Yeon-woo.

And I was here to learn.

What kind of person was Frappe, the magical girl—no, the girl behind the mask?

Frappe seemed to relax, nodding slightly.

‘Good.’

She must’ve believed me. I smiled.

This wasn’t a counseling session.

It was just two people sharing a book.

And slowly, I’d uncover the truth.

What kind of person was she, really?