Their Secret...
"...What on earth are you talking about."
Lee Harin, her fierce conviction clear in the homeroom teacher's words, turned her gaze away and stepped back sharply.
For a split second she must have thought her cover had been blown — her face twisted into something ugly, almost feral. But maybe that was just as well. Or maybe, deep down, she was terrified that the homeroom teacher's misunderstanding was about to spiral out of control, turning everything into a catastrophe.
Either way, the faces of both the teacher and Kim Min-ah were hardening by the second, watching Lee Harin with dawning dread.
"You're lying!"
-QUAAAANG!
One of the countless magical orbs hovering in the air rocketed forward like a thrown knife, slamming straight into Lee Harin's side. Pink flames erupted, and sand from the track and field exploded into the sky in a choking cloud.
"Kh...!"
Lee Harin staggered, eyes narrowing with pure, venomous hatred at the homeroom teacher.
Yet the teacher never lowered his guard. He kept a forest of mana spheres spinning around him, magic wand pointed straight at her chest like a loaded gun.
One twitch from her, one suspicious movement, and he'd kill her without blinking.
He'd completely forgotten the question he'd asked earlier — about that Executive.
It was one of those moments where everything hung by a thread.
"Whoa, whoa! Everyone, calm down...!"
Kim Min-ah, face twisted in helpless panic, tried to step between them.
"Wait, you there! What's your name?!"
"None of your business. What're you gonna do?"
Lee Harin glared at Kim Min-ah, voice low and dripping with irritation. Her body trembled for a moment at the strange mana currents rolling off the girl.
"I don't feel like fighting. Just... stay out of it."
"You can't!"
The homeroom teacher shouted, voice cracking.
"If you don't want to fight, then tell us right now! The owner of that cloak! How did you get it?!"
"..."
Lee Harin glanced between them, then answered in a cold, ugly tone.
"I... took it."
"Took it?! You killed someone?!"
The teacher's and Kim Min-ah's eyes widened in alarm.
"I stole it."
"..."
"From the classroom. On a chair. I was just... draping it over."
Her half-truth hit like a slap. The air in the field went ice-cold in an instant.
Or at least, it would have been a lie if it was...
I mean, yeah, she'd thrown it on without permission, but still...
Not now! Not when we're about to blow up!
"You're still lying!"
-QUANG!
The orb curved again, crashing into the ground in a fresh burst of pink fire.
But a tentacle had deflected it mid-flight. The explosion detonated far away, in an empty patch of dirt.
"Urk...!"
The severed tentacle twitched once, then dissolved into dust.
"Damn...!"
Lee Harin clutched her head, body jerking. The tips of her hair flared bright, and more tentacles erupted, swarming toward the magical girls.
"Hah... ugh, hhhhh..."
Mana surged from every direction. The magical girls dropped instantly into combat stance.
"Purifier Blue!"
"Got it!"
At the teacher's call, Kim Min-ah launched first, wind-whip cracking through the air with a savage *SCHLACK*.
The tentacles split and scattered in the wind.
Lee Harin spun, eyes blazing with hatred, and thrust her hand backward.
- PABABABAK!
Tentacles exploded from behind her, hurtling straight at Kim Min-ah.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
Kim Min-ah banked mid-leap, wind-whip slamming into the ground, then flipped back into the air and turned on Lee Harin.
- QUAAAANG!
"Cough...!?"
The teacher didn't waste a second. His magic blasted toward Lee Harin.
The bolt struck her back, arching her body like a bowstring.
"Urk... hah...!"
"Yield! Demon King's Army Executive!"
"H-Hart...! I said capture her and question her!"
"I don't care! Even if there's something to ask, I won't forgive anyone who hurt my friend!"
The teacher was more worried about her safety than the questions.
How the hell do we even end this?
We can't out her as an Executive.
We're about to attack her right now...
What the hell do we do?
"...I know."
There was a way to stop the fight.
"Huuu..."
I let out every last breath in my lungs, then sucked in the deepest, most dramatic gasp imaginable.
And then.
"AAAAAHHHHH!!!!"
"What?!"
"Si... Siwoo?!"
"A-A monster! It's a monster!!"
I collapsed to the ground, pointing straight at Lee Harin with a trembling finger, voice exaggerated and theatrical.
Every magical girl whipped her head toward me at once. The battle froze mid-swing.
That should buy Lee Harin enough time to teleport away...
"...What?"
Then she did something even worse.
She teleported straight in front of me and grabbed me by the collar, pinning me down with a look that said she was ready to kill.
"A-ah... you idiot!"
"Idiot?"
"I said run while you're under aggro! Why are you teleporting right in front of me?!"
"Ah..."
The purple eyes that had been blazing with malice flickered once, like she'd just realized how ridiculous she looked.
No matter what, we had to end this fight and run away fast...
"Executive!!"
Lee Harin flinched at the voice behind her and slammed herself against my back.
But she was on one knee, crouching right behind me. It looked for all the world like she was using me as a human shield.
The teacher and Kim Min-ah froze the moment they saw her.
"T-this coward...! Taking a hostage?!"
"Y-yes! That's not honorable! Release her right now!"
"..."
A chill crawled down my spine.
No way.
Even if it was Lee Harin, she wouldn't actually hurt me.
She was just using me as a shield while she teleported away...
- *Thud.*
"Move..."
Her cold suit pressed against my neck, and the warmth of her body radiated from behind.
She gripped the back of my neck with both hands, only her face visible as she peeked around me at the magical girls.
Goosebumps rose every time she whispered.
"I'll snap your neck."
"A-ah...!"
"Like I said, I don't want to fight. Just... let me go. I really want to kill you because you're annoying..."
- *Kwaaaak...*
Her grip tightened around my throat.
The magical girls' weapons trembled in their hands, edges sharpening toward Lee Harin and me.
"Shut up. I won't say it twice."
"Urk...!"
"W-what now? Hart...!?"
"..."
The teacher hesitated, magic wand still trained on Kim Min-ah, then spoke.
"...Last time you said you didn't want to fight, then attacked and ran away. So... it probably isn't a lie. But..."
He lowered the wand a fraction, curious now.
"Why did you turn on the magical girls? You were trying to kill Siwoo, and now you're protecting him?"
"..."
"I don't think it's just some whim. Even now, I'm only holding you hostage. I haven't killed any civilians when I massacred the Demon King's Army..."
Kim Min-ah's eyes widened in genuine confusion, and she lowered her wind-whip slightly.
"Exactly... if it was just wanton killing, you didn't have to target only the Demon King's Army."
"Please answer. What is your real goal? Why..."
The magical girls pressed in, trying to dig deeper into the mystery.
- *Swoosh.*
The ground beneath us warped. Shadows bloomed outward, and Lee Harin dropped straight down like something was pulling her into an endless abyss.
"Ah...!"
"Siwoo...!"
The moment it happened, the magical girls charged forward.
*****
"Huu..."
My head was pounding.
Ignoring the teacher and Kim Min-ah's constant worried questions, I walked home.
I opened the front door, took one look around, and froze.
Lee Harin was sitting on the couch, staring into empty space.
"...Why did you do that?"
"Eh?"
She was crouched, eyes glassy, not even looking at me properly.
"Why... why did you help me? Why did you call me a monster? No, more importantly, why..."
Lee Harin rambled, then finally dropped her head.
A moment later she lifted it again and met my eyes.
A single tear slid down her cheek — transparent and pure, the kind that didn't belong on a face like hers.
"...Thank you. For helping me. I shouldn't have taken you hostage. I didn't mean to..."
"Ah, no... well... there was no other way."
"...Still. I shouldn't have done that."
She looked genuinely worried that the transformation incident at school would hurt me.
"No. It was the only way. From now on... stop transforming at school. That cloak too... I'll buy you a new one later. Just don't let anyone notice."
"...Yeah. Thank you. Really."
"It's fine. And... if this happens again, I'll be your hostage again."
Those words froze Lee Harin's face.
Honestly, I was only joking. It wasn't like I was hurt. And Lee Harin had already apologized to herself.
I didn't take it seriously, so I figured she wouldn't either.
But she did.
"Of course... I'm kidding..."
"Got it."
She flashed her blood-red eyes for a moment longer.
It had been a long time since I'd seen her accept a sincere apology.