How Have You Been?
“Ehehe… hehehe…”
…Why is she like this again?
On the way to school, I heard giggling from my smartphone, so I picked it up wondering what was up, and there was Sofia covering her mouth, grinning ear to ear.
“…”
I thought about asking what was going on, but she'd probably just say something useless, so I gave up.
Anyway, about two weeks had passed since I parted ways with English Lavender.
The biggest change in that time was…
“…Hot.”
It had gotten insanely hot.
Just two weeks ago, the weather had been nice and cool, but suddenly it started heating up like crazy.
Not even rainy season yet, but the periodic rains had jacked up the discomfort index even more.
“I wanna warp…”
I was already tempted to abuse my unique magic.
“Then just do it.”
Sofia, now snapped out of it, jumped in with her usual snark.
“What if someone finds out I'm a magical girl?”
If another student overheard, it'd be a disaster.
“Top-class magical girls always have to hide their identities.”
Sofia gave me a look like I was full of shit.
“…Says who? What's the criteria for being a 'top-class magical girl' anyway?”
Obviously.
“You can't let anyone, including people around you, find out who you are; you have to show bright smiles to people anytime, anywhere; you must never yield to evil; even in hopeless situations, you have to stand up upholding your own ideals; sometimes you gotta borrow allies' power; you need a solid signature move; and above all, the most important—you have to be unconditionally cute and lovable in appearance.”
Something like that.
“I don't think there's any magical girl who checks all those boxes.”
For a mascot, she sure doesn't know shit about magical girls.
“There is.”
“Who?”
“Me.”
Sofia's face on the screen soured right up.
She can make that face too, huh.
“…Fine, let's hear it. 'Showing bright smiles to people'?”
“I don't meet people, so no need.”
Just don't fight in front of crowds and you're good.
“…Your own signature?”
“Asking for reviews is signature enough.”
Hard to find another magical girl as true to her gimmick as me.
These days everyone's just yelling “Arriving on scene!” or whatever. Who's as dedicated to their signature as me?
“…At least the cute, lovable appearance?”
“Basic for any magical girl.”
Of course all magical girls are cuties by default.
They each have their charm, appearances change with age, but fundamentally, all hotties.
And most importantly.
“I'm cute and lovable enough, right?”
“Haa…”
Sofia let out a deep sigh from the depths of her core.
“Makes me wonder if a delicately raised girl like me should even hear that crap.”
Oof.
“Anyway, I'm top-class magical girl material.”
“Sure… go off, top-class magical girl…”
Then she huddled in the corner of the screen, mumbling something about regrets.
“I regret all the times I purged trolls in the gallery for a girl like this…”
Huh.
Whatever it was, seemed like unnecessary crap she did on her own.
She'd be fine in like 5 minutes anyway.
And so I kept chatting enjoyably with Sofia on the way to school.
“…Hot.”
Though the weather was still brutally hot.
Drag.
Cool AC air welcomed me as I entered the classroom.
Ha. This school doesn't skimp on AC, that's for sure.
Like always, six people—
Hm?
One more than usual.
Just as I was starting to feel that inner camaraderie with the early birds, I scanned for the newbie.
And before that.
“Long time no see!”
Ah.
A welcome face greeted me.
“How've you been?”
“That's what I should be asking you.”
“Ahaha… sorry sorry. But we texted, right?”
Like she said, we'd had fun chats over texts these two weeks.
“Still, it's been a while. See the seat change?”
“Huh!? For real!?”
Seats shuffle every month, so I showed her to hers.
She moved her bag from the old spot and sat in the new one I pointed out.
I sat right next to her, hung my bag, and she reacted instantly.
“O! Right next to each other?”
Luckily I scored the adjacent seat too—pretty happy about that.
We sat facing each other, and about 5 seconds of silence passed.
“…”
“…”
The desks were farther apart than I thought.
Too far to call close, but one step would bridge it—awkward distance.
In that space, Seoyeon hesitated like she had something to say, then gave up.
The two-week gap felt longer than expected.
So I took a step closer to her.
A lovely lavender scent wafted as I got right beside her.
Now it felt close enough.
In that intimate distance, I opened my mouth.
“How have you been?”