9
Chapter 9
Inside the Awakening Association President's Office.
Park Hyunsik, president of the South Korean Awakening Association and widely famed as an S-rank Awakener, stared holes into his monitor.
In the office, sealed off by blackout curtains, only the monitor's glow blinked and flickered.
Dark circles hung low beneath his eyes.
His hair was greasy, like it hadn't seen a comb in days.
One look at him made it obvious he'd spent the entire night in here, doing nothing but watch the screen.
Beside him sat a disposable plastic cup, overflowing with cigarette butts.
Proof of how he'd fought off sleep, desperately trying to keep a grip on his focus.
"Hoo... Finally, the last episode of season one."
Hyunsik said it with a long stretch, working the stiffness out of his body.
He hit play again.
A cigarette between his lips, Hyunsik locked onto the video on-screen.
He was so focused his brows pinched tight.
To anyone else, he might've looked like a man working hard.
But.
He wasn't.
For something that was supposed to be work, the colors on-screen were far too bright and cheery, and the sound leaking from the speakers was nowhere near businesslike.
"No! I can't just leave you behind!"
"Go! Go and seal that thing with your own power! You know you're the only one who can do it!"
"But!"
"You're not a Magical Girl just for me. You have to protect everyone, right? Don't worry and go. I'll catch up soon."
"Louis!"
Rumble-!
Along with the girl's shrill scream came the sound of a building collapsing.
On Hyunsik's monitor, a tragedy played out in full.
"Khk... ngh...!"
Khhhhh-!
Hyunsik yanked a tissue from the box on the table and blew his nose.
Sniffle-!
"How can something be this sad?"
That's right.
Hyunsik wasn't doing his job.
What was playing on his monitor was none other than an animated series.
And not just any series, but a Magical Girl show that had once been a huge hit in South Korea.
Yesterday, before he left for the day.
He'd been pushing his stiff body up, ready to head home, when he heard staff voices drifting in from outside.
"Hey, did you watch the Magical Girl Purirence movie that came out last time? I took my daughter, and I ended up crying right next to her."
"You saw it too?! Man. I went in expecting nothing because it was a kids' cartoon, and it instantly became my all-time favorite."
"Since that day, I've been using my allowance in secret and collecting merch behind my wife's back."
"Same. I tell everyone I'm going fishing on weekends, then I go to cosplay events instead."
"If there were real Magical Girls, they'd be way cooler than the ones in the show."
"Yeah. It'd be on a whole different level from cosplay......."
Listening to the two employees, Hyunsik let out a scornful snort and muttered under his breath.
"......Hah. Magical Girls. You're old enough to want to watch that stuff? Tsk."
Hyunsik thought back to when he was a kid.
If you watched Magical Girl shows instead of robot mecha series, you'd get teased in class, no question.
So he'd never once watched a Magical Girl show on TV when he was younger.
"Hyunsoo definitely liked Magical Girl shows too."
Hyunsoo, the kid who lived next door.
"Hyunsik, wanna watch a Magical Girl show with me? It's seriously so good."
"Hey! Who watches that? That's for girls!"
A few days after that.
Hyunsoo got caught watching a Magical Girl show and became the class punching bag.
Not long after, Hyunsoo transferred schools, but.
Still.
Hyunsik remembered what he'd seen back then.
Those sparkling eyes, brighter than anyone's, as Hyunsoo tried to sell him on Magical Girl shows.
Hyunsoo was always timid, but the moment the topic came up, his eyes would light up and he'd talk like he could go on forever.
"Was it really that fun? Or was I the weird one?"
After hearing his employees, the curiosity he'd forgotten started creeping back in.
"Maybe I should try it just once. If I'm going to bring in a Magical Girl, it helps to know what kind of person a Magical Girl is......."
Talking himself into it, he sat back down and powered on the computer.
Honestly, even before playing it, he was half in doubt.
What was so fun about a Magical Girl show that only little girls watched?
With that in mind, Hyunsik had looked up several reviews about the anime.
'......Is it really that good?'
His thoughts were slowly starting to change.
Just like what the employees said earlier, there were tons of reactions from people saying they took their kids to see it and ended up crying themselves.
"Alright. Let's just watch episode one. Just episode one."
Making that promise to himself, Hyunsik played the video.
Time passed.
Before he knew it, a whole day had gone by.
Outside, he could hear birds chirping.
Up until that hour, Hyunsik couldn't stop and ended up binge-watching the Magical Girl show.
Which led to the situation he was in right now.
"Louis-! Louis-! I'm here! I defeated the villain Kyupibe and came for you! Where are you!"
The Magical Girl frantically dug through the rubble, searching for the male lead.
But only a cold wind blew through the debris.
Not a single voice could be heard.
As she spent a long time digging through the ruins.
The Magical Girl fell into despair and began to wail.
While she sat on top of the rock pile and cried for quite some time.
"Purin, I'm...... right...... here."
A dying voice echoed from between the rubble.
"Louis-! Don't worry. I'm here now, and I'm a Magical Girl-!"
The anime came to a dramatic end as she saved the male lead and the two embraced.
"Gasp-! Sob-!"
At some point, Hyunsik had forgotten to wipe his tears with a tissue and was outright sobbing.
Gripping the monitor with both hands and shoving his face close, he looked ready to dive right into the screen.
'This is the most touching scene I have ever seen in my life!'
It felt like he finally understood why Hyunsoo loved Magical Girl shows so much.
He understood the employees' words, too.
Because anyone who watched this wouldn't be able to help but cry.
While he was clutching the monitor and crying for a long time.
"Association President-! I'm here to report the results-!"
The Secretary, Chanhyuk, suddenly threw the door open and barged in.
Startled, Hyunsik hurriedly dropped the hands that had been gripping the monitor.
"Huh? Association President....... Why are you wearing the same clothes as yesterday? Did you not go home? And your complexion....... Are you feeling unwell?"
At Chanhyuk's reaction, Hyunsik fixed his posture and cleared his throat.
Trying his best to act as if nothing had happened.
'I absolutely cannot let him find out that I was crying over a Magical Girl show! Never!'
If Chanhyuk found out, it was certain the story would make its way to his wife's ears.
'Honey, I heard you stayed up all night crying while watching a Magical Girl show? How could you cry over something like that? Aren't you embarrassed at your age?'
'Dad, I heard you cried watching a Magical Girl show....... It's okay! A lot of my friends cried watching that too.'
The disdainful glares of his wife and daughter.
He wouldn't be able to handle it.
"Ahem-! Well, we don't know when the Magical Girl might show up, so I stayed up all night waiting right here. Guess that's why I'm yawning."
Hyunsik let out an exaggerated yawn and stretched.
Watching him with a puzzled expression, Chanhyuk said.
"As expected-! Association President! Say what you will, but the man I respect is truly on another level-!"
He gazed at Hyunsik with eyes full of reverence.
Feeling burdened by that look, Hyunsik gave a fake cough and tried hard to ignore it.
"So? What happened with the Magical Girl case?"
"Ah, yes!"
Chanhyuk dropped the reverent look and began his briefing.
"First off, as of this morning, no one suspected of being a Magical Girl has shown up."
"Is that so......."
"Yes. Oh, it's not the Magical Girl, but they say an Awakener with a new rank has appeared."
At those words, Hyunsik adjusted his posture and looked at Chanhyuk.
"Oho? A new rank? Are you saying a rank surpassing Choi Seoyeon has appeared?"
Even if it wasn't the Magical Girl, if it was an Awakener who surpassed Choi Seoyeon, the nation had to secure them at all costs.
South Korea was still known as a weak nation when it came to Awakeners.
Compared to other countries, their tower clear speed was slow, and they hardly had any high-ranked Awakeners.
As a nation in such a state, they had to hold onto Awakeners so they wouldn't leave for other countries.
Meeting Hyunsik's expectant gaze, Chanhyuk let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
Hyunsik stared at him in confusion.
"No. Unfortunately, no higher-rank Awakener has appeared."
"Huh? Then what did you mean by a new rank earlier?"
"Yes. A new rank appeared. A very low one."
With a sigh, Chanhyuk held out a file to Hyunsik.
Inside it was.
"Triple-F? You are telling me an FFF rank showed up? Until now, F was the lowest rank in the world."
"Yes, it was. Until just a moment ago."
"Hah......."
Hyunsik could only let out a hollow laugh.
'FFF rank. We are going to be a global joke.'
The moment word got out that South Korea, already considered weak in Awakeners, had produced the one and only FFF-rank Awakener, every media outlet would swarm the story.
'Let us see... Her name is Lee Yuna. Hmm. Nothing special noted?'
"Oh. But she is FFF rank, and she is signed to a Management company."
"Yes. I was shocked too. I thought no one would take her."
"Hmm....... Gather Around Management? Did they not sell their office recently because they were out of money?"
"Uh...... I think so."
"Hah......."
Hyunsik pictured the CEO of Gather Around Management.
He remembered a face handsome enough to pass for a celebrity.
And on top of that, he had an easy, friendly manner, almost too polite.
A rare kind of young man these days.
'His name was Joohyun, right.'
When Hyunsik heard the company had completely gone under, he had felt a bit sorry for him.
But there was nothing to be done.
Management companies collapsed and popped up again every other day.
If you fell behind, you went under. Simple as that.
'Still, he must have been desperate, signing an FFF-rank Awakener.'
Joohyun, despite his soft exterior, was cold-blooded.
Hyunsik remembered the sharp, calculating eyes of a businessman who never took a loss.
For someone like that to sign an FFF-rank Awakener.
'He has really hit rock bottom.'
Hyunsik was clicking his tongue in pity when.
"For some reason, Hailt tried to scout this Awakener, Lee Yuna."
"What?!"
The name Hailt snapped Hyunsik fully awake.
'That Hailt tried to take an FFF-rank girl?'
Her Awakener Ability was in the magic category.
But no matter what kind of magic it was, at FFF rank it would be useless in practice.
'It is Hailt. They never do anything that loses money.'
Another Management company might have made a mistake, but not Hailt.
Hailt, the top Management company in the United States.
'So she is not just a simple FFF rank.'
'But they did not push hard to take her. Even Hailt is not sure yet.'
Whatever it was, Lee Yuna clearly had something no one else knew about.
"Just in case, dig deeper into this Awakener. Something reeks."
"Yes! Understood!"
Chanhyuk bowed and started to leave the Association President's Office.
"Ah, wait!"
Hyunsik stopped him.
"Why, sir?"
Chanhyuk looked at him, puzzled.
"If Hailt is moving, other countries will start moving too. Keep a close watch and report immediately."
"Yes, understood!"
Finding the Magical Girl mattered, but he also had to watch for pressure from outside.
'We have to be careful. One wrong step and it will turn into a bloodbath.'
Hyunsik rose from his seat and looked at the tower outside the window.
He pulled out a cigarette, then crushed it in his fist and tossed it to the floor.
Crunch-!
'If only we had the strength.'
As a weak Awakener nation, every time a high-rank Awakener appeared, they usually got taken away.
Not just Choi Seoyeon, but the others too.
To build up the nation's power, the existence of a Magical Girl was essential.
"For national security, we cannot let the Magical Girl be taken from us."
With that vow, Hyunsik stared up at the tower rising into the sky.