The Documentary
Fortunately, nothing happened on the way home.
In the first place, the probability of being attacked by a monster is incredibly slim. So slim that even worrying about it felt ridiculous.
By the time we arrived safely back home.
"The sun is already setting."
The sun was already dipping below the horizon.
When Yuna grumbled about why the sun was setting so early, I told her that was just how winter was.
"Really?"
"Yep."
I had been so tense taking Yuna to the wedding hall, and after running around downtown with her, my entire body was aching.
"Go wash up first, Yuna. You can wash by yourself, right?"
"Uh-huh."
After sending Yuna into the bathroom, I collapsed onto the sofa.
I had definitely made a mental list of things to do once we got home, but...
"Ugh..."
The moment I lay down, all those plans vanished into thin air.
Shhhhh.
Listening to the sound of the running shower, I stared blankly up at the ceiling.
Why was I so exhausted today?
Click.
A little while later, the bathroom door opened, and Yuna emerged, roughly towel-drying her hair.
She wore her pajamas, her face fresh and clean.
"..."
Yuna trotted over and stood in front of me as I lay stretched out like a corpse on the sofa.
A faint scent of soap drifted from her.
"What are you doing, Daddy?"
"Just lying down."
Yuna pouted and let out a thoughtful hum.
What was she thinking about?
"Let's watch TV together."
"TV?"
"Uh-huh."
I'd heard that kids these days were so obsessed with tablets and smartphones that TVs were completely ignored.
What was up with her?
Since I didn't even have the energy to sit up and could only blink, Yuna scrambled up onto the sofa.
Then, she grabbed the remote control with determination.
Beep.
She flipped through the channels with practiced ease.
Soon, she stopped on a channel showing glittering magical girls.
"Let's watch this together."
"What's this? ...A magical girl documentary?"
"Yeah. It's fun."
When we met Pink Rose, Yuna hadn't seemed interested at all, so I thought she'd completely lost interest in magical girls.
I guess it was just a child's typical whim.
I didn't bother changing the channel and let Yuna watch what she wanted.
"In Seoul, there's Pink Rose, Blackberry, and, uh... Star Luminous, and also Glory Cowslip..."
As we watched the documentary, Yuna rambled on, explaining all about the magical girls to me.
To be honest, I only asked questions to show I was paying attention, worried she might feel awkward if I stayed completely silent.
It was just my way of showing her I was engaged.
"They're all named after flowers, aren't they?"
"Oh! Th-that's because..."
Even though I hadn't graduated, I had majored in botany, so pointing out the connection between magical girls' names and flowers seemed to spark something in her.
"All magical girls get their strength from p-pure things, like flowers and plants..."
Yuna turned away from the TV completely, facing me as she began her explanation.
Her face was quite serious.
I wondered where she had picked that up, or if she had just seen it in the documentary.
"Then all magical girls must be nice."
"Yeah! M-magical girls are all nice."
Of course, I didn't particularly care for magical girls myself.
While I sincerely respected and appreciated the fact that they willingly sacrificed their time and youth to protect citizens from monsters...
I still hadn't forgotten the fact that the corpse of a monster, thrown by some nameless magical girl, had crushed my fried chicken restaurant.
"They're reeeeally nice."
I was joking, of course. That incident was practically a natural disaster.
Meanwhile, the documentary on the screen was showing a different magical girl.
Along with the narration, a magical girl shrouded in pure white light appeared on the screen.
She was pretty.
But hadn't Star Luminous died?
Looking at the top right corner of the screen, I noticed a small caption: In Memory of the One Who Left Us.
Was it a special rebroadcast or something?
Yuna turned back around and resumed watching the documentary.
"Daddy, do you know Star Luminous?"
"Of course I do."
"She's super strong! And she does the most work out of all the magical girls..."
Yuna kept her eyes glued to the screen, continuing her non-stop explanations.
She seemed quite excited, clearly thrilled by whatever it was she liked about her.
The screen slowly faded to black.
"...Huh?"
They just blurted it out like that?
Then again, magical girl documentaries weren't exactly made for young children.
"...Daddy."
Yuna slowly turned to look at me.
"Is that true?"
"Well... yeah."
I figured lying wouldn't change anything, so I told her the truth.
Yuna's expression slowly began to freeze.
On the screen, a procession of people mourning Star Luminous's death was shown. Among them were other magical girls.
The death of South Korea's greatest hero.
Yuna asked again, as if she had heard something impossible.
"...Magical girls die?"
"Well... yeah. Magical girls are human, too."
Was that too much of a shock for a kid?
Come to think of it, I used to get pretty shocked when movie heroes died when I was little.
And until now, a magical girl's death had never been publicly reported...
"...N-no, it's not."
After wearing a terrified expression for a long moment, Yuna finally spoke.
"Magical girls don't die."
She wanted to deny it.
"They don't die, right? Right?"
"They're super strong, and, and they're strong... right?"
Yuna added, demanding an answer from me.
Tears were already welling up in her eyes.
I realized once again just how much Yuna loved magical girls.
"Well, uh..."
Only then did I try to come up with a warm answer to protect her childhood innocence.
But with my poor conversational skills, I couldn't say a thing.
"..."
I felt like I had seriously screwed up.
Yuna looked at me and suddenly shrieked.
"They don't die!"
"M-Mis... Daddy, you don't know anything!"
Yuna added sorrowfully.
I suppose it made sense.
Magical girls were her favorite thing in the world, maybe even the objects of her deepest admiration.
Now that she knew such beings could die...
How terrifying must it be for her young mind?
"Okay, okay. I get it."
Tears were already streaming down Yuna's face.
Why was this kid so prone to crying?
"They don't die. Magical girls don't die, okay?"
"*Sniff, hic...*"
"Star Luminous just went to take a break. Yeah..."
I shifted my posture and patted Yuna's back, offering whatever flimsy comfort I could manage.
Yuna sobbed in my arms, clinging to me tightly.
And just like that, Yuna fell asleep again.
"Whew."
I carried Yuna to her bed, a routine I was now familiar with.
I quietly looked down at her sleeping face.
"..."
Her eyes were swollen, and wet tear tracks still stained her cheeks.
Even in her sleep, she let out occasional hiccups, the remnants of her heavy sobbing. She must have been truly heartbroken.
She was crying as hard as she did when she almost got killed by that monster.
"Geez."
Did the thought of a magical girl dying really upset her that much?
I pulled the blanket up to her chin and quietly slipped out of the room.
"..."
For some reason, a corner of my heart felt heavy.
I wanted to make Yuna as happy as possible, yet I kept making her cry.
Letting out a deep sigh, I buried myself back into the sofa.
Exhausted in both body and mind, I closed my eyes for a moment.
"...Ugh."
When I finally opened my eyes, it was the dead of night.
I checked my phone; it was just past two in the morning.
I tried to fall back asleep, but my slumber had already fled, refusing to return.
"..."
As I sat blankly on the sofa...
...Yuna's face from before she fell asleep suddenly came to mind.
Her tear-streaked face as she desperately denied the death of magical girls.
If only I had handled it a bit better, she wouldn't have cried so hard.
"..."
From the master bedroom, the soft sound of her breathing drifted out.
"...I should do something for her."
Sitting around doing nothing only made my chest feel tighter.
When I was a kid and cried in my room after getting scolded by my mom, who was the one who comforted me with some pocket money?
It was my dad.
Since I was acting as Yuna's father right now, even if only temporarily, I wanted to do something for her.
Maybe a magical girl doll.
If she woke up to find something like that by her bedside, wouldn't she forget all about her tears and smile?
I searched the area on my phone. Fortunately, there was a large, 24-hour supermarket nearby.
I stood up.
A place that big was bound to have a toy section.
And magical girl dolls ought to be common enough.
"..."
Leaving Yuna alone in the house again weighed on my conscience, but...
She was fast asleep, exhausted from crying.
A round trip to the store would take less than twenty minutes, so it should be fine.
If she woke up in the meantime...
"Well."
I decided not to let worst-case scenarios fill my head.
I quickly left the apartment.
Whoosh.
The early winter night air cut through my clothes like a blade.
It was freezing.
The way to the supermarket was simple. I just had to walk a bit and cut straight through the park.
Walking alone down the dimly lit, slightly eerie streets under the streetlights...
"...Ahem."
...I started to feel a bit creeped out.
If a monster attacked me out here, I'd probably die without a sound.
There wouldn't be any magical girls awake at this hour, either.
...
Suddenly, looking at a bench ahead, I spotted someone lying down.
I kept walking, half-joking to myself that if a monster ambushed me, I'd run toward the bench and sacrifice that person instead.
"...?"
But as I drew closer to the bench...
...the figure lying there began to look strangely familiar.
A flashy pink outfit, pink hair spilling over the edge of the bench...
Intrigued, I stepped closer.
"...Oh."
At two in the morning, I locked eyes with a magical girl lying on a park bench.
The familiar pink magical girl gave me an awkward, sheepish look.