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We ended up spending the entire day in our swimsuits.

At first, it felt a bit awkward, but at some point, I just thought it was whatever. Anyway, it made more sense to be like this than keep changing clothes if we wanted to be comfortable going in and out of the water.

…Hmm.

No, wait. This swimsuit situation is just a bit much.

It’s because there are kids who keep sticking to me.

Ha-yoon was always clinging to me, even on ordinary days. Honestly, I must admit I have a part in it too. I pampered her way too much.

Whenever we hid in the shed, Ha-yoon had this habit of sticking to me, and after watching that, Jua would come over and cling to me as well.

Later, Ji-hye did the same.

But at least back then, I had clothes on. I had spare outfits, did laundry regularly, and all that, which meant I had some protection for my skin from the invasion of other skin.

But now, I don’t have that.

“…”

No matter how confidently I claim that everything is fine, deep down, I’m still a bit naive. No one knows how things will unfold, but honestly, I don’t know what to do when they both press against me.

Just moving makes our skin touch, and I feel it too well.

This isn’t just a problem with Ha-yoon or Jua, Ji-hye or Pang-pang. It’s a problem with my own body, which has some protruding parts, leading to constant contact. In fact, there are noticeable spots all over, but as long as it’s not a particular area, the sensations are generally dull. The heightened feelings are just my imagination.

Still, I tried to be aware and avoid them as much as I could. I created reasons to move around, carrying things here and there, going out to grill meat.

At least after washing at night and changing clothes, it felt a bit less uncomfortable.

“Phew.”

Even though it’s summer, the night air is a little cool. Actually, we intentionally avoided the really hot part of the day and came out a bit late. Personally, I think that was a good choice.

Ha-yoon was washing up, Ji-hye was drying her hair, and Jua was in another shower. Pang-pang had already cracked open a can of coffee and was feeling a bit loopy.

It’s a weird feeling. It’s not that bad having the kids cling to me, but strangely, I felt a little suffocated.

Will it be okay if I get used to this?

In my previous life, I used to toss and turn in my sleep, envy the screenshots of chat conversations from popular guys who got all the attention from girls just for being there. Now I’m the one in that position.

“Hey, junior, have you run away?”

As I stepped out onto the balcony railing and stared at the night sea, Seo-hee spoke to me from behind.

“…Calling it a run away is a bit off, don’t you think? If someone tries to find me, they could easily do so. What I showed before was a real runaway.”

“Well, going by your standards, I guess that makes sense.”

Seo-hee chuckled and stood beside me.

The sea breeze was cool, but oddly, it carried a humid smell. I didn’t dislike it. I’m not sure what it would feel like living here every day, but being here occasionally, that smell felt refreshing.

“So, junior, are you enjoying your youth?”

“You’re youthful too, you know.”

I chuckled incredulously as I replied.

Youth. I’m not so sure about that.

Most people probably refer to the high school years as youth. Starting from their twenties, they generally consider themselves adults.

I spent most of that time consumed by jealousy. The reason for my donations to the orphanage was honestly not that important. It was just an excuse.

During that time, while spending time beside Ha-yoon as a friend, I wasted my time being jealous.

I should have just gone out to play together. I should have talked to Ji-hye a little more during work hours. I’ve thought about it several times lately.

Every time I spent a worry-free and peaceful time, I had those thoughts.

“…”

Did Seo-hee read my mind or something? She stared at me silently for a moment.

“There’s still a lot of time left for both of us.”

“Is that so?”

“Hey, being in your early twenties isn’t the end of the world, you know?”

Seo-hee said it in a slightly irritated tone, and the suddenness of it made me chuckle briefly.

“Even though it may look like it, I’m diligently preparing for exams. It’s just that I sneak in some playtime every now and then. I’m thinking about methods as a Magical Girl and other things too.”

“Well, I’ll believe you.”

“No, I’m serious.”

The two of us shared a brief laugh again.

“…Hah.”

Then I took a deep breath.

“…Hey, junior.”

After a moment of listening to the sound of the waves in silence, Seo-hee spoke to me again.

“Let’s have a sparring match.”

“A spar?”

I turned to her with a confused look, and Seo-hee was looking at me with a genuinely serious expression.

“Yeah. A spar.”

“…Out of nowhere?”

“Out of nowhere, yes.”

Seo-hee paused to think for a moment before speaking again.

“We’ve never really fought each other directly.”

“Many times, though.”

“No, not in that sense. I mean we’ve never fought while being aware of each other, with real intention. Of course, you weren’t a Magical Girl back then.”

Right, that did happen. There was that time I was fighting and overflowing with circuits.

And once, although it was just for a moment, I felt like I dominated the fight. Though to be fair, it wasn’t that I won; I just successfully escaped.

James was really scary back then. It was only about half a year ago, but why does it feel like ages ago?

“So you want to settle the score from that time?”

“More like…,”

Seo-hee said,

“I just wanted to see how things go since we attend the same school now. Even if it looks like this, honestly speaking, I enjoy sparring.”

She smiled while saying that.

She smiles like a beautiful girl but says such fierce words.

“There’s a sparring room down in the basement. Wanna give it a shot?”

“I didn’t know you were that impatient.”

“You’ve known I’m impatient for a while now.”

At her words, I shrugged my shoulders.

It was suggesting we go for it.

*

Magical Girl vs. Magical Girl.

It would have been nice if we could have fought while casting magic. But both Seo-hee and I preferred hand-to-hand combat.

Seo-hee wore gauntlets on both hands, while I wielded a hammer.

To put it plainly, I wasn’t genuinely fighting. I didn’t want to ruin this nice place.

I think Seo-hee was on the same page. It was just sparring, after all. Right?

Nevertheless—

Boom!

—That didn’t mean we didn’t go all-out.

When our gauntlets and hammer met, sparks flew. Seo-hee punched at me multiple times with a competitive grin on her face, and I swung my hammer at her in return.

We ached all over. Some of our attacks were dodged or blocked, but others hit the mark. Seo-hee was no exception.

It goes without saying that we both ended up bruised.

But why is that?

Somehow, it felt a little refreshing.

“Are you enjoying this? You do look like you’re having fun being a Magical Girl, you know?”

“…Do you think I’m some kind of battle maniac?”

But yes.

It was enjoyable.

What has happened to my head?

No, that’s not it. More like—yeah. It’s probably because of what Seo-hee said. The fact she wanted to settle the score made this fight feel enjoyable.

I want to fight a Magical Girl and win at least once.

That wish of mine has never been properly fulfilled until now. I’ve never had a fair fight. I’ve always been cowardly, and my opponent has always been overwhelmingly strong.

Even after becoming a Magical Girl, I had no reason to fight for various reasons.

Did the loud noises reach up there? The kids rushed down and froze in shock at our fight.

We were probably both smiling despite the wounds we shared.

Did Seo-hee say that because she knew my thoughts?

Before graduating, did she want to have a clear match to relieve my pent-up feelings?

Honestly, I was frustrated. I felt like I was caught up in that thought. In a way, I might consider this losing in a psychological battle.

“—Hahaha!”

As Seo-hee swung her fist, the air whooshed by. I managed to turn my head just in time to dodge it. The wind pressure made my hair sway slightly.

No one seemed inclined to stop us. Everyone was watching us nervously, but they just clenched their fists.

For whatever reason, at least they must have sensed we were enjoying ourselves.

Boom!

The final hit ended with both of us hitting each other in the face simultaneously.

It was a blow worthy of a Magical Girl, and thanks to being a Magical Girl, I was able to block it. Otherwise, our faces would’ve probably been caved in.

We could have fought more, but strangely, I just felt like this was enough, so I lay flat on the floor.

Coincidentally, it seemed Seo-hee had the same thought.

As the children surrounded us, we lay side by side, staring up at the ceiling.

“Do you feel a bit cooler now, junior?”

“Well, a little.”

I smiled in response to Seo-hee’s words.

 

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