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Blending into everyday life turned out to be a lot harder than I thought.

Some might ask why I was talking like a retired soldier, as if I were in a war zone, but isn’t that how it feels?

Just because you’re a magical girl doesn’t mean there’s no risk when you fight. If an enemy hits you hard, you can get hurt, and even my friends who aren’t magical girls could get seriously injured or even killed by such attacks.

My friends had already faced serious dangers once, and they were still in the aftermath.

Fortunately, Ji-hye ended up only needing a close call.

But just because it ended up that way doesn’t mean I can relax. Human memories aren’t easily erased, and the more negative they are, the clearer and longer they stay, always dragging that person down.

For Ji-hye, that memory must have been nothing short of a nightmare, so the fact that she doesn’t have a fit when she sees me is almost a miracle.

And there’s Pang-pang, who saved me.

Of course, Pang-pang’s connection to me is more due to her ties with the chairman, but…

Well, it’s hard not to think that these things keep happening to me just because I’m involved.

It was just yesterday that I saved Pang-pang, and she’s still lying in the hospital.

Not even in a bed, but sealed inside a device that puts someone into a deep sleep. What’s worse, that device can’t be broken or dismantled carelessly yet.

“……”

Still, Ha-yoon was by my side. Once I got home, I could see Ji-eun again, plus the kids from the orphanage I used to get along with.

But as I mentioned earlier, people naturally recall negative memories a bit more vividly than positive ones.

It was my first school lunch in a while. It wasn’t horrible enough to complain about. In fact, it wasn’t too different from what I’d eaten at the orphanage. Did the private school scrimp on meal costs? Or maybe the orphanage just provided decent meals? After I started working, the quality of my meals had definitely improved a lot.

Even though I remembered my past life, my current body was still that of a teenage girl, so lunchtime always made me extremely hungry.

But as I put food in my mouth now, I wasn’t feeling it.

Along with the negative thoughts came another: the stares I felt since this morning.

Typically, when we had meals, it wasn’t that there weren’t any other people around. Usually, we sat a bit spaced out, like when you’re eating close to someone you aren’t that close with. But right now, there wasn’t a single person nearby.

It’s funny. We probably looked like we were in a relationship, so everyone kept their distance. Even if they were same-sex friends, kissing is not something you normally do.

And strangely enough, they seem to think there’s a chance of them getting caught up in that kind of thing.

I mean, if I look at my preferences, I’d probably prefer dating girls over guys, but that doesn’t mean I’d just date anyone. There are so many people in the world with differing views on relationships, some very open-minded and others quite conservative, but surprisingly, I’m more towards the second.

To be exact, I was just very timid and unpopular, but let’s set that aside.

Ha-yoon’s expression was notably different from when we usually had lunch at school.

Sitting across from me, Ha-yoon had a relaxed expression, almost as if she felt lucky to even be having a meal together.

Doesn’t a kiss mean nothing to her?

If, hypothetically, that person who could transform wasn’t me, would Ha-yoon still be willing to kiss someone to solve a situation and win?

…No, what am I thinking? Why am I having thoughts that belong in some adult game story about a friend?

As I exhaled lightly and tried to eat again, I heard footsteps approaching us.

It was Jua.

As soon as we made eye contact, Jua feigned innocence and sat casually next to me.

Ha-yoon looked a bit surprised, but Jua seemed completely oblivious and casually grabbed her chopsticks.

As I glanced at Jua, I found myself debating whether or not to bring up the article.

Though she pretends not to be, Jua is quite self-conscious. She might have been really competitive before, but I wondered if her dislike of losing makes her care about her popularity as a magical girl.

So she must have read the article already, too. I bet she felt the stares directed at her as well.

Although it didn’t seem too obvious from the outside.

“What are you staring at so intently?” Jua asked, with a hint of sass.

“Uh, no. I’m not staring,” I replied.

She’s something else.

She kisses me, then gets mad and now acts like I’m the weird one for looking at her.

But then again, every magical girl has some quirks.

“Oh, there you are,” a voice interrupted.

It was Rose, and the three third-years came over with their trays beside us. Although the kids not too familiar with Ha-yoon usually tried to chat with her cautiously, they now had plenty of space to sit comfortably.

The three of them casually took their seats.

“Is it okay if we sit here?”

Since they were already sitting, it felt wrong to refuse, but I figured I wouldn’t have a valid reason to say no either.

Thinking back, I don’t think any of them had ever approached us when Ha-yoon and I were eating together. Even Jua, who’s in the same grade.

Surely they wouldn’t have been eating alone; wouldn’t they have friends in class to eat with?

As I nodded, Rose cheerfully began eating.

“Oh, right,” she said, pausing mid-bite.

Rose suddenly had a thought and opened her mouth.

“You three looked great in the photos.”

“Pff!”

Jua nearly spat her food out at Rose’s words. The sound definitely resembled laughter, but thanks to the magical girl powers, she managed to keep herself from making a complete mess.

“It looked like a photoshoot! The reporter must be using a pretty nice camera. Well, since the camera technology involves some alien tech, it makes sense they’d get such fantastic results,” she added.

Glancing back, I noticed Ha-yoon’s face had also turned red.

It felt like the other kids’ ears were pointed in our direction. Although they weren’t actually doing so, their voices were definitely quieter.

“Why, why, why are you talking about that here?”

Right?

As Jua voiced a similar question, I felt the same way.

Didn’t we just not mention it at all yesterday?

She had such an awkward look earlier while sitting in the same room together. Looking back, it might have been the first time I’ve seen Rose’s face flush.

Yeah. I should’ve suspected something when she didn’t tease me back then.

“Well, I was a bit flustered yesterday,” Rose said as she held up some rice with her chopsticks.

“You know, embarrassingly enough, I’ve never had a boyfriend at my age.”

I didn’t think that was something to be embarrassed about, but still, considering that many kids do start dating at a young age, I understand why she’d feel that way.

Given Rose’s personality, it seems like she’d have quite a few friends around her too.

“When I suddenly saw two friends kissing, I just didn’t know what to say. It’s understandable, right? It’s not the same if it’s someone I don’t know; it’s uncomfortable since you two did it,” she explained.

“……”

Imagining a boy and girl from my group kissing was honestly a bit hard to picture.

In my past life, I had only been around guys, so I’d never seen romance play out within a group. Conversely, here, there are no guys around.

Not that I particularly wanted to imagine Ha-yoon kissing someone else either.

“I was wondering how to act moving forward, but seeing the three of you gathered reassured me. At least it means you’re not fighting about that, right?”

Mentioning things like “fighting” is probably just to tease me. Well, it doesn’t change the fact that Ha-yoon and Jua wouldn’t fight over it.

“So what is it you wanted to say?”

I asked curtly, to which Rose responded with a smile.

“You don’t have to worry too much. It’s common for all sorts of articles to come out targeting magical girls. Not just us, but other heroes from different countries too. These days, it feels like the atmosphere is even more hostile. We’re boldly facing off against evil yet supposedly doing stuff behind the scenes.”

“Isn’t that unfair?”

“Not everyone makes mistakes, you know. There are always some people who twist their experiences into ridiculous stories, you know. Well, for us, we just need to focus on what we do. If we go to another country, we might have to cooperate with them, but…”

“We need to finish things up beforehand.”

“That’s a good mindset to have,” Rose agreed, popping a mouthful of rice at the end.

“Anyway, so…”

After almost swallowing without chewing, she picked up the thread of conversation once more, suggesting she has a rather carefree personality. This often leads her into headbutts with other kids, but at least here, it seems like that’s not happening for the moment.

“What’s going on with you two? Are you really dating?”

“Dating?”

“Haven’t you read the article? I hear you’ve gotten together with two girls.”

Ha-yoon and Jua both turned to look at me.

I shot a glare at Rose.

The other kids had also been glancing over at us at some point. They might not openly stare, but they couldn’t help but return their gazes towards me.

Dalia and Delphinium looked particularly embarrassed, keeping their heads down as they fervently shoveled food into their mouths.

“Isn’t it earlier than that? You’ve been much closer to them than any reporter.”

Rose glanced between Ha-yoon and Jua.

Her expression seemed to say, “Looks like they think this way about you two.”

Honestly, I feel wronged in this situation.

I didn’t even kiss anyone.

It’s not like the article clearly states, “Blossom stole Lily’s first kiss.” The reporter wouldn’t even know I was the one who got that first kiss.

But at least the picture made it pretty obvious when Ha-yoon was holding my cheeks and pushing her lips against mine.

It didn’t seem forced, which was a relief.

Although my expression looked surprised, Ha-yoon’s wore an expression of determination, seemingly ready.

That didn’t mean I disliked it. Honestly, I felt good about it. Despite my efforts to hide that emotion, it was evident because my “hope circuit” was working quite hard at that moment.

Those magical girls using their “hope circuits” probably felt it even more intensely.

“Hmm, well…”

But Rose smiled, squinting her eyes like a crescent moon. How can she pull off such a smug expression? If you just looked at the images, she seems rugged, boyish, and dull, but her actual persona is the youngest among the magical girls.

“But it’s true that you two kissed, right?”

“I haven’t yet!”

Jua shouted, flinging her voice across the table.

This time, my face whipped towards her.

A moment of silence passed, and Jua’s face began to slowly flush.

Even Rose, who kept teasing her, was flushed just a little.

“Not yet?”

Rose asked back.

“Uh, uh, no. It was more the side of the lips, not the lips, really.”

What can I say?

It sounds even more embarrassing to describe it just like that.

Honestly speaking, it does sound embarrassing. I mean, she outright said it herself.

There’s a huge difference between just getting out there and admitting it in front of everyone. Why do celebrities endure the headaches of controversies before apologizing only after everything gets unearthed? There’s a reason for that, naturally.

“No, I mean, saying you haven’t means you’re planning to in the future?”

Jua’s face turned even redder at Rose’s question.

As I gently tugged at the sleeve of her shirt, Jua sank back into her seat. Jua buried her head in her hands. Her well-tied ponytail revealed a soft neck that was equally flushed. Sure, the only people I’d seen turn red from embarrassment like that were my friends after they’d had too much to drink.

“…… More than that.”

Watching Jua react like this made me feel colder, so I glared at Rose, “Why would you bring something like that up here? We could’ve talked about it after school.”

“Well, about that…”

Rose was caught off guard by Jua’s reaction, and she furrowed her brows nervously.

“You’re one of us, you know.”

“…… So?”

“So I just wanted to show that it’s a given we mix all together. It’s better to acknowledge something boldly than to end up with strange rumors, don’t you think?”

“……”

I stared at Rose, gaping in disbelief.

I get the intent behind her words.

Given that I’m so new to this group, reporters might come up with crazy articles.

What if rumors of discord among magical girls start circulating? That would complicate things in so many ways. Thankfully, it’s not like some real-life celebrities come charging toward us with microphones, but…

It can’t just be brushed off. There are way too many people believing articles out there. Humans are animals that crave interest, even while harboring negative thoughts, so curiosity could lead them to search up our names on the internet.

“I figured it’s better for them to say we’re too close instead of anything else,” she added.

If we shut down any possibility for them to pry into strange rumors, that could be a solution too, but it’s already gotten out of hand now.

“Next time, if you’re going to say something like that, just tell me beforehand. It’s awkward.”

“Sorry, sorry.”

I said that while glaring at Rose, who waved her hands defensively.

“…… I see.”

Then, for some reason, Ha-yoon, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, suddenly chimed in.

I looked over to Ha-yoon, and she was nodding her head seriously.

“Right, Ji-eun. Until now, I’ve been so vague that strange people kept sticking around.”

“Uh?”

“I heard after you went missing that there were some kids bothering you.”

“……”

Oh.

I had thought it was possible they knew, but I was surprised.

“And I’m sorry. It’s probably because I was being ambiguous. If I had shown everyone that I was really close with you, those kids wouldn’t have dared act like that.”

I glanced around.

The other kids quickly turned their heads away, seeming panicked. This time, they looked a bit scared.

No wonder.

Up until now, I’d been seen as a presence that just kept troubling kids who approached Ha-yoon. Now that had completely flipped on its head.

If what they suspected is true, those kids that bothered me made a huge mistake.

Well… to put it bluntly, right now the magical girls might be dangerous targets to approach closely. The kids who had been approaching us had initially believed that we would join the Federation, and thus, any reactions they gave would’ve been minor in scale.

But magical girls had distanced themselves from the Federation.

From one perspective, it might seem their value had diminished, but right now we’re in a complicated cooperative relationship with the government.

Besides, for the moment, Korea has too many concerns over actually joining the Federation. Politically speaking, there could be some explosions of negativity towards outsiders.

Thus, they can’t completely cut ties with us either.

…Ha-yoon seems to have understood the situation in a much simpler manner than all that, though.

“If they knew we’ve known each other since we were very little, they wouldn’t have dared act like that.”

“Um…”

“If you ever have a concern, you should’ve just told me right away. If I saw you looking upset, I would have comforted you so they wouldn’t even think of copying that.”

“Hey, Ha-yoon?”

I quickly looked around.

The other kids weren’t looking at us, so I couldn’t gauge their expressions. To be honest, I wasn’t particularly interested in that.

But I could see the looks on the faces of the magical girls.

The more Ha-yoon spoke, the more flushed their faces became.

I mean, I get that friends can have this kind of conversation, but isn’t this way too embarrassing?

Why is she suddenly going off like this?

If there’s a problem, it’s that my circuits are working exceptionally hard right now.

“So from now on, let’s be more honest with each other,” Ha-yoon announced with a bright smile.

“There are so many stories that can be resolved just by saying that.”

“Uh, uh…”

In the end, I responded like that—

But I don’t know, I still have some things I want to hide, you know.

Sorry, but becoming completely honest seems to be pretty difficult, Ha-yoon.

 

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