episode_0052

Do Yoo-geon drew lines in his room and read the English passage. Studying is boring and sometimes makes you anxious, but if you stick with it, it gives you a lot of accomplishment. Still, the goal was far and vague, so my nervousness did not go away.

The fact that you often look at your phone while studying may not be due to cell phone addiction. It was rare for Cha Ha-neul to contact me first, but it was not unheard of.

The phone rang. It’s Laplace.

―When will the contract be implemented? This is very difficult because the crack management schedule is messed up.

“I’m sorry. I’ll do it soon. It’s hard to talk to Cha Ha-neul.”

Do Yu-geon clicked his ballpoint pen.

-You are so sincere! If it’s difficult to tell, I’ll contact you directly.

“Then it’s sure to be even more of a mess.”

-Then it would be better not that girl.

-What, who are you talking to?

Yumina’s voice intervened.

―Outsourcing company.

―It’s an outsourcing company, so it’s different from business speaking, that’s a lie. Give it to me.

-Ugh!

There was the sound of a struggle for a moment, and then Yumina’s voice came out as if the phone had been taken.

-who are you?

“It’s Do Yu-geon.”

―Why are you taking it?

“Because you said you would attack the rift?”

-what? Wait a minute, what kind of situation is this? Where are you going?

There was a lot of noise on the other end of the phone.

―It hurts! it hurts! It’s force majeure! irresistible force. I mean, we’re behind schedule.

-But you should have told me.

-I am the general manager here. And tell me about it. it hurts.

-I’m the one who takes care of the lady! Terminate the contract immediately.

-no no.

Laplace was heard complaining.

“We will attack.”

-You do it?

―My lady doesn’t know this, right?

“I don’t know.”

-Ugh… … . Then, I’ll mention it to the lady tomorrow and plan the situation, so let’s talk about it then.

-I have to make a schedule and send it to Schrödinger within today.

-Why are you saying that now? That won’t work, meet me now.

-I told you now that there is a big picture. This should be a disruption to work.

“now?”

Looking at the time, it was a little after 9 p.m.

―I’ll come pick you up, so let’s meet at a cafe near my house. Do you know where it is?

Do Yoo-gun tried to tell Cha Ha-neul that he would call her right now since it seemed urgent. Although Laplace didn’t tell me the deadline, I couldn’t be more indebted to him since he was the one in charge. If we met to discuss what to do, it would be past 10 o’clock and I would have to call Cha Ha-neul, who had just woken up.

But before saying that, Laplace spoke first.

-There’s no need to make an appointment? You can go now.

-what? for a moment!

Yumina’s panicked scream was heard and a magic circle appeared in the center of the room. Two girls in pajamas jumped out from the middle of the magic circle. It was a very embarrassing situation.

Laplace landed lightly and struck a pose.

“arrive!”

“I can’t live….”

Yumina fell to the floor, mumbling and pointing to the living room wall.

“Are your parents outside?”

“Of course you are.”

Even though we were both working, it was time for everyone to be together. Do Yu-geon became dumbfounded as he thought about how to explain the two girls in pajamas sneaking in at this time of night.

Yumina sighed.

“Yes, of course. Since we’re already here, let’s finish it right away and let’s go. Get out of the way, it’s a nuisance.”

“Who is interfering with work…?”

Laplace grumbled and curled up in the corner of the room.

“There’s nothing to talk about, you can call me now.”

Do Yoo-gun displayed the address book on the screen and held up his cell phone. The phone call itself is not difficult. The problem was how to persuade Cha Ha-neul to attack the crack together.

“You can’t just call! This requires strategy.”

“It even comes down to strategy.”

As Laplace muttered as he opened the bag of ice cream, wondering when he had brought it, Yumina glared at him. Laplace put ice cream in his mouth and made the onomatopoeia “Yum yum.” Yumina frowned at the provocative sound.

“You just go back.”

“Seriously, I can’t go because I’m at work.”

“There’s no need to go. It’s our company.”

“It’s inclusive! That’s amazing!”

I heard a compliment, but I wasn’t sure if it was sarcastic or not.

Yumina shrugged her shoulders.

“If it’s work, I want it to be done properly.”

“I tried to do it. It’s because someone cut off the phone and overstepped my authority. Now, I’m in trouble for wasting time trying to convince the Archmage. I’ll support you as a magical girl, so why not make a party and start attacking right away?”

It was a good method. There was no need to persuade Cha Ha-neul, and there was no need to invite danger by organizing a party with adults from the South and the South. The downside was that you had to give up the safety that would come from partying with Cha Ha-neul, but in a way, it was an advantage.

Yumina looked puzzled.

“Are you going? You must be busy.”

“I won’t go. If I go, outsourcing will have no meaning.”

“Then me?”

“We can’t do that because it’s dangerous. We’ll send a new recruit.”

“no way.”

“I think I gave you enough training.”

“That’s not the problem. Do you know what our lady will think?”

Laplace blinked blankly.

“What are you talking about out of the blue?”

“I know.”

When the topic of magical girl work came up, Do Yoo-geon, who had been just listening, agreed.

“Imagine carefully. If our young lady finds out about the situation, she will think that a girl she has never heard of is holding hands with her childhood friend and sharing life and death together. Wow!”

After listening to the explanation, I felt like I almost brought myself into a difficult situation.

“It’s serious.”

“It’s serious.”

“What’s the problem? The lady herself said she has no romantic feelings.”

“The important thing is how to persuade them.”

Yumina began by ignoring Laplace’s question.

“I agree.”

“If I want to persuade you, I have to start by suppressing it, right?”

“is it?”

“yes!”

It seems like that after hearing the confident answer. When I said yes, Yumina proudly declared.

“The best way to suppress the momentum is to confess! Let’s go and confess!”

I was so embarrassed that I was speechless.

“Wow! That’s a perfect alternative! Awesome!”

Laplace applauded. Yumina winked at Laplace. I felt despondent and wondered why porridge worked so well at times like this.

“It’s not an appropriate alternative at all.”

“I knew it would be like that anyway. Then I’ll just purify myself and go.”

“No, I don’t want to confess. Are you trying to ruin the relationship?”

Although we were talking in a light mood, confession was a topic we were reluctant to talk about. It is easier to save up money to buy a new ball of yarn than to untangle a ball of yarn that gets tangled when touched.

“I didn’t mean it that way. I think we should be more worried about obsession, but when I call, I don’t lie and I’m telling the truth. If I make a video call, I can talk face to face.”

“I’m not going to lie, but I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I don’t know why you think it’s so difficult. If you look at our lady’s attitude, she’s an all-round cheat.”

“I mean, it’s not that simple.”

It is difficult to simply accept Cha Ha-neul’s favor as a favor. That doesn’t work either.

I looked at the time and it was already close to 9:30. Do Yoo-gun racked his brain and picked up the phone. Fairies go to bed at 10 o’clock, so no matter what problem you have, you must call before 10 o’clock.

* * *

I lay back in the bathtub and touched the tablet. A webtoon appeared on the screen. Hehehe. I flailed around and splashed my feet. The red foam of the bath salt was overflowing.

I love this life of going to school, skipping classes, lying around, eating, and sleeping. How can I live with more waste? Should I at least measure the time to see how long I can lie in bed and zone out? Isn’t that too much of an answer?

The cell phone I left on the bathroom shelf rang. What time is it now? You have no manners. Yes? Is that really true? If I had washed up quickly and gone to sleep, I wouldn’t have woken up from the dazed state I was sleeping in due to the sound of the phone. You really have no manners.

I left the tablet and collected the bubbles. As I blew and used my magic power at the right time, the bubbles flew beautifully and filled the bathroom. Wow, this is magic.

He was giggling and bursting bubbles with magic. The bubble burst and red water droplets landed on the wall.

The phone that had hung up rang again. Ah really… … .

I lifted my cell phone using magic and looked at the phone as to what on earth I was doing. An outsider who would call at this time would naturally not have it saved in the address book, so I expected a number to pop up, but what actually popped up was a name, and that was Do Yoo-geon. uh? The joy of touching the bubbles and the annoyance of the phone sound were replaced by embarrassment and anxiety. Isn’t this the guy who’s calling at this hour? I hurriedly called to see if there had been an accident.

―Let me tell you, ugh!

The phone was disconnected. what. I blinked in embarrassment and looked at my phone again, but it turned out that the call had hung up. what?

It cut off right away, but based on the video I saw and the audio I heard, it didn’t seem like a dangerous situation, so I put down my phone and stirred the water. After thinking about it carefully, I realized why. Oh, it was a video call. Oh my, that was careless.

What do you think? As I spent some time splashing my feet, the phone rang again. I glanced at it and saw that it was a voice call. I guess so.

I received a call.

“why?”

-I have something to tell you.

I guess they’re just going to pretend it never happened. I guess so.

“How important is it to make a video call to someone who is bathing?”

Do Yu-geon couldn’t speak. A faint sound of muffled laughter could be heard over the phone. What is it, who is next to me?

Using space-time magic, I took the earphones that were lying on the bed and put them on my ears. I raised my voice. The laughter had already stopped, so I couldn’t hear anyone else’s voice.

“The bathroom is bright and good for talking on the phone.”

There was muffled laughter again. I’m not sure who it is, but it’s a girl.

I switched the call mode and sent a KakaoTalk message to Yumina. When I asked if there was a girl playing with Do Yoo-geon today, the answer came after a while. As far as he knows, there is none. He’s probably studying at home. I asked him why he was asking that, but he answered that it was just that.

So what is it? As I searched my memory and thought about the background that seemed to be a video call for a moment, I realized that it was my room.

Even then, Do Yoo-gun didn’t speak, so I sent a KakaoTalk message to Do Yoo-geon’s mother asking who was in Do Yoo-geon’s room right now. I waited for a while, but the number didn’t decrease, probably because I didn’t look at KakaoTalk. Umm. What happened? It doesn’t matter if you don’t know this. It felt uncomfortable, but I closed KakaoTalk.

“So what’s there to say?”

As I waited and waited, Do Yoo-geon stuttered a few times before starting to talk. He said he was going to attack the crack and asked me to come with him.

“I see. You secretly went there before, so why are you inviting me?”

When I asked a mocking question, I received a hesitant answer.

-It was my first time and it was dangerous. It’s fun to be with you.

“uh……?”

Do Yu-geon stuttered.

―I know it’s dangerous, but I still don’t want to give up. I know it’s useless, but no, I won’t make it useless. Actually, I’m not confident, but I still have to do something, ah, sir. … … Anyway, can I come with you?

Thoughts flowed and were overtaken by emotions. It was a perplexing and sudden feeling. A fascinating emotion that sweeps through the heart, destroying consideration, acceptance, and empathy. A squishy attack aimed at a dependent partner.

Pretense and a desire to dominate ran through his lips.

This is an excessive emotion. When I bit my lower lip, blood dripped out.

-sorry… … . I’ll hang up.

“Wait, that’s not it. Just wait. All you have to do is wait.”

I licked my lips. It’s fishy.

“Are you finally asking me to stay with you? Yes, fine. If you want, I will.”

-Uh, really?

“Of course. As much as you want. I’ve always been like that, so I can’t do it again?”

-OMG. thank god. I was nervous that they might reject me.

“You’re worried for no reason.

-When would be a good time? This weekend, uh.”

“what’s the matter?”

Do Yoo-geon’s mother’s voice was heard over the phone. It was about what this was. I could also hear a girl’s voice saying hello in a hurry. It’s Yumina. uh?

-I’ll hang up. Let’s call tomorrow. good night.

“excuse me?”

The phone was disconnected.

Yumina?

When I went into KakaoTalk and looked at the contents of KakaoTalk with Yumina, I saw the KakaoTalk messages I had sent earlier. Yumina said that, as far as she knows, there is no girl hanging out with Do Yoo-geon today.

I called Yumina, but she didn’t answer.

I sent a KakaoTalk message.

―Yumina.

I waited for a while, but the number didn’t decrease, probably because I wasn’t looking at KakaoTalk.

―Mina Yumina.

I sent a KakaoTalk message and stirred the water in the bathtub. The drops of blood disappeared as they mixed with the water, which had been turned red by the bath salts.

I checked KakaoTalk and still didn’t see it. I guess I’m busy.

I sent KakaoTalk again.

-hey.

As I watched the numbers decrease, I felt a bitter sense of betrayal. I told him several times that he could flirt with me, but I never thought he would do that without even saying anything.

The numbers on KakaoTalk disappeared. Then, right away, I received a call from Yumina. When I pressed decline, KakaoTalk messages continued to arrive.

―You must be wrong!

-Absolutely not!

―It’s because I’m tangled up in many things!

There are a lot of exclamation marks. The phone rang again. I got it this time.

―Cha Haneul!

“What Cha Haneul are you?”

Yumina said in a panic.

-I wonder how this happened! Laplace!

According to Yumina, Laplace moved through space at will, making things complicated. The reason I couldn’t answer the phone or see the KakaoTalk message was because I was cleaning up the mess.

What, I misunderstood.

“I see. What can I say? I thought everyone was having fun without me.”

―There are a lot of times we have played together, except for our girl, but I didn’t lie and say we haven’t played together until now! In the future too!

“A lot? This is really it.”

I almost misunderstood and avoided it.

I wiped the blood flowing from my lips with my finger. It was fishy and stinging. To prevent misunderstandings, it would be a good idea to install a wiretapping device in Do Yoo-geon’s room. That would be good for Yumi-na and Do Yoo-geon too.