NOVEL WEB Chapter 242
I decided to be a bit cautious about talking to Delphinium.
In both past and present lives, I wasn’t completely friendless, but despite that, I was much closer to being an introvert than an extrovert.
And because of that, I understood that ecosystem well. I knew very well how it felt when someone who wasn’t really a friend suddenly tried to strike up a conversation.
“……”
Thinking like this made me feel like an extrovert awkwardly trying to talk to an introvert.
But that doesn’t mean I’m a delinquent. If I picked a fight with Delphinium, wouldn’t I end up getting beaten in a different way by Seo-hee or Yeon-woo?
Still, I felt strangely reluctant to just leave it.
Looking at it this way, it reminded me of that guy in university who would constantly talk to me. Of course, he wasn’t a girl, and even though he would drag me along to study group meetings if I was sitting in a corner, we never really kept in touch during breaks. It made me wonder if he truly hated being left out.
Well, if he wasn’t a really weird person, I suppose anyone would feel that way. I wasn’t in my teens, I was in my twenties, so it was that age where relationships mattered.
“Ji-eun.”
I was bothered by my gaze wandering toward Delphinium, and Ha-yoon called me.
I looked over at Ha-yoon, and for some reason, it felt like gazing into a blazing sun.
Well, Ha-yoon’s smile was always as bright as the sun. Sometimes it faded a bit, and occasionally it would dim, but the smile she showed me had always been like that.
Right now it was sun-like, but…
How should I put this? It felt more like the scorching sun of late summer. Or maybe like the sun that rose right after the rainy season, feeling exceptionally sticky.
Anyway, it was a bit different from usual.
And if I tried to analyze the situation, that smile seemed to be a response to my lingering gaze on Delphinium.
“Uh, yeah?”
It took me a little while to process the situation, so my response came out a bit late.
“Today, do you want to hang out?”
“Hang out?”
It was rare for Ha-yoon to bring up such a topic first. Usually, I was the one leading her around.
That said, she wasn’t someone who just followed my lead without question. She just had a slightly weaker desire to go out, and there were portions she had to be careful about due to her parents.
Of course, I overlooked the talk about her parents and just took her out. Why did Ha-yoon have to live under so much pressure?
It seemed like things had improved a bit now. Since she became a Magical Girl, I thought that in itself would allow her to have some freedom.
“……”
But somehow, it didn’t seem like Ha-yoon was bringing this up just because she felt comfortable.
“Sure.”
I answered.
Honestly, I’d been working too hard lately. I usually put in a decent amount of effort, but I hadn’t rolled around with this much enthusiasm before.
Seeing my expression as I responded, Ha-yoon’s smile seemed to drop slightly. Oh, it wasn’t that she became cold. It was more like her immensely hot and humid smile became more like a normal sunny demeanor.
“Well, anyway, there’s no intense training today.”
After I had beaten Seo-hee and Yeon-woo once each, it became easier to get along with them, and I no longer felt the need to pick fights every day. We just connected our fists when the mood struck.
I didn’t attack mercilessly. Having gotten used to it, I felt it was better to fight a bit more relaxed and observe the situation rather than just charging in headfirst.
So today was a rest day. I was just here because being out and about was quite fun.
I felt like Ji-hye might be a bit annoyed, so I should probably extend my stay at the orphanage.
As I got up from my seat, Ha-yoon also got up with a bright smile.
Then she sidled up to me, linking her arm with mine.
“Where shall we go?”
Hmm.
There wasn’t much to see around here. If there were at least a lot of corporate office buildings, it might be different, but it felt like it was forcibly built on a hillside, with not much to do around.
“Shall we go out for some tea, since it’s been a while?”
“Yeah, and let’s hit up a karaoke place.”
Karaoke, huh.
A coin karaoke spot would let us enjoy without dragging it out too much.
As I nodded, Ha-yoon also smiled brightly.
*
First off, going to the bookstore was fun.
Even if I didn’t particularly intend to buy anything, it was nice to check out new books and get curious about their contents, or laugh at photos of Magical Girls in magazines, or browse records as I usually did.
After taking out a couple of pens at the stationery section, lacking enthusiasm, we headed outside and went to a nearby café for a light drink.
Then we went to the karaoke—
“Oh!?”
For some reason, we ran into Seo-hee.
……Huh?
What’s more, Seo-hee was even alone. Well, since it was a coin karaoke, I guess that could happen. I had a friend who would go every day to practice singing by herself.
“What, you guys came to sing too?”
As Seo-hee approached with a smile, Ha-yoon stood very close to me for some reason.
Have I been seeing Seo-hee getting on my case too often?
“Well, it is a karaoke place.”
“That’s great!”
Seo-hee beamed as she said that. It seemed like she also wandered around with the sun on her face. Though, it wasn’t the terrifying smile that Ha-yoon had shown earlier.
“Since we met like this, how about we sing together? What do you think?”
“Uh……”
I looked at Ha-yoon, who had somehow put a smile on her face.
At least it wasn’t that hugely hot and humid smile from before.
“……Well, it’s not a bad idea.”
However, I still couldn’t fully trust Ha-yoon’s smile. It was a bit different from the smiles I had come to know from her throughout the years.
Still, during singing, Ha-yoon seemed to have fun. It was a bit cramped for the three of us inside.
Eventually, we even sang a fast-paced dance track, shaking our heads wildly.
……
Uh, what’s this?
I hadn’t usually acted like this in front of others. Of course, Ha-yoon didn’t step into that territory of others.
……I wondered if I had gotten too close to Seo-hee.
*
“Well, since it’s dinner time, how about we eat before heading back?”
We followed Seo-hee’s suggestion and walked over.
For three students eating together, there aren’t exactly a huge variety of meal options. I mean, it’s not that a middle school girl can’t eat stew, but honestly, I don’t think I ever had stew even when I was a guy in middle school.
Seo-hee suggested pasta. That didn’t seem like a bad choice, so both Ha-yoon and I nodded.
Still, after visiting karaoke, Ha-yoon seemed to have loosened up a lot and readily agreed to Seo-hee’s words.
I had no idea what had made her so angry and then so relaxed, but anyway…
And, surprisingly, we ran into Yeon-woo on the way there.
“Huh, what? Are you guys going for dinner too?”
Yeon-woo said with a smile.
Her demeanor was far softer compared to when we first met.
I nodded, and Yeon-woo shrugged her shoulders and said, “Want to eat together? I just finished some work nearby and was feeling a bit awkward.”
I looked over at Ha-yoon, but this time she seemed to have an expression of resignation.
“Sure, why not.”
But it felt a bit wrong to refuse here too.
……It’d be awkward if I asked what we were going to do after meeting a friend, but then turned them down.
So, we ended up dining together.
*
“……Hey, Ji-eun.”
While we were having dinner, Ha-yoon called out to me.
“Yeah?”
“That thing inside your sleeve, is it a circuit by any chance?”
“Uh? Oh, it is.”
I said that casually.
Even if we weren’t sparring, we always train lightly. Of course, as a Magical Girl, I needed a circuit too.
I probably just wore it out like this.
There shouldn’t be an issue with that either. After all, I had to keep carrying the circuit around. It’s even recommended to wear it on your wrist.
Once the fact was out, Seo-hee and Yeon-woo strangely avoided my gaze.
“Ji-eun, have you read the circuit manual at all?”
“Uh… once?”
“Then you must know it has a location-sharing function, right?”
“Right? But isn’t it a problem? After all, only Cherry and us can see it anyway.”
At my words, for some reason, Seo-hee and Yeon-woo flinched a bit.
Ha-yoon let out a light sigh.
The somewhat stiff expression she had earlier was now replaced by a bitter smile.
“Still, it’s better to just keep it in your bag. Location info is also personal data. Once you take it off your wrist, the function locks anyway.”
Is that so?
Well, that’s true… but, smartphones these days usually have their location tracking functions just on all the time. Isn’t that also personal information, and wouldn’t companies be able to look at it if they wanted to?
However, for some reason, Ha-yoon seemed like she wouldn’t take a counter-argument, so I chose to just keep eating.