My Friend Milla
"Because... I want to be your friend."
"..."
A fleeting silence filled the space between us.
Milla's large eyes wavered visibly, unable to hide her fluster.
Her cheeks flushed rosy pink, and her lips trembled slightly.
Why have I suddenly become so forward, you ask?
I had a gut feeling. I knew I could become friends with her.
A quiet, gentle personality and a calm aura.
A polite, well-mannered way of speaking.
A slightly unusual... appearance? Well, that didn't really matter.
Anyway, the more I thought about it, the more she seemed like the exact definition of the friend I had been looking for.
Countless faces I had crossed paths with in my past life flashed through my mind.
She wasn't exhaustingly energetic...
Nor did she have a rotten personality.
Plus, she sat right next to me.
With conditions like these, I was sure we could become a pretty great pair of best friends.
And so, I decided to summon some courage.
Pitter-patter...
I trailed behind her, keeping a steady distance.
Every time my footsteps sounded, I could see her shoulders flinch.
She stopped and turned around, her eyes darting about as if looking for an escape.
"U-Um... why do you keep following me...?"
That look on her face, trailing off in distress as she looked down at me.
Now's the time.
"Because... I want to be your friend."
"..."
Her eyes widened into perfect circles.
She gasped in sheer shock. A mix of panic, embarrassment, and some indefinable emotion instantly dyed her face crimson.
And in a split second—
Whoosh!
"...Ah."
Instead of an answer, all I got was the sight of her back rapidly vanishing into the distance.
Watching her sprint away at full speed, I could only stand there blankly, my outstretched hand frozen in midair.
This... isn't a positive sign, is it...?
"Hiya."
"!"
Whoosh!
"Hiya?"
"!!!"
Whoosh!
"Excuse me, hiya?"
"!!!!!!"
The moment I tried to strike up a conversation, she bolted as if her tail were on fire.
After a game of chase that repeated several times, I rounded a hallway corner only to find her presence completely vanished, as if wiped clean.
"Where did she go...?"
The hallway was dead silent.
It seemed she had hidden herself away.
Smacking my lips in disappointment, I trudged back to the classroom and slumped into my chair.
I crossed my arms and fell into deep thought.
Does she... really hate me?
If her panicked look was a sign of rejection, then pushing any further might just be rude.
Just as the thought of giving up crossed my mind—
"Hey."
"?"
A high-pitched, overbearing voice pierced my eardrums.
Turning my head, I saw an unfamiliar boy standing there.
The way he looked down at me over the glasses perched on the bridge of his nose was oddly unpleasant.
To put it simply, he had a thoroughly punchable face.
"The transfer student? Kim Shin-ah, right?"
"Yeah. That's me. Why...?"
The moment I answered, a group of three or four kids slinked up behind him, forming a wall.
The boy smirked, his lips curling in mock pity.
"You really have terrible luck, don't you?"
"...?"
As I tilted my head at the nonsensical statement, he delivered his punchline as if he'd been dying to say it.
"Because you ended up sitting next to her!"
"By 'her'... do you mean Milla?"
"Yeah, exactly."
"What about it?"
"What do you mean, 'what about it'? You're sitting next to a freak who looks like that! Why do you think that seat was empty until now? Everyone avoided it because they didn't want to get involved with her."
The bespectacled boy's voice was thick with malicious certainty.
His lackeys nodded in agreement, chiming in.
"Even when you sat down earlier, none of the kids in class could talk to you. They were probably frozen stiff, walking on eggshells around her."
"..."
"Besides, her reputation is trash. Word is, when she transferred here last year, it was a forced transfer because she beat someone half to death at her old school."
The boy leaned in excitedly, lowering his voice.
He acted as if he were doing me a massive favor by sharing some grand secret.
"...She doesn't seem like that to me."
At my nonchalant response, the boy's eyebrows twitched.
"Anyway, I saw you trying to talk to her earlier. If you don't want your school life to go down the drain, I suggest you stay away from her."
I stood up from my chair and stared straight into his eyes.
Then, I gave him my thoughts.
"But... I want to be friends with her."
"What...?"
The boy's face instantly contorted in sheer disbelief.
"Milla doesn't seem like that kind of person. And discriminating against someone based on their looks isn't a very good habit. If there really are scary rumors like that... wouldn't it only be fair to hear her side of the story directly? Rumors are just rumors, after all."
"Ha! Wow, you really are a weirdo. Don't come crying to me if you get eaten alive by her."
Snorting in disbelief, he led his gang out of the classroom.
I sat back down, watching their retreating figures.
And... a moment later.
Slam!
"!"
The back door flew open with a violent crash.
My head turned reflexively, and the sight that met my eyes was Milla—looking completely different from before.
Her face was deeply contorted.
A deep scowl creased her brow, and her eyes glared with a sharp, fierce intensity.
"..."
As I stared blankly in surprise, she didn't say a word. Instead, she began marching straight toward me.
With every step she took, a heavy, suffocating pressure weighed down on the air.
It was a terrifying aura—one that made me understand, just a little, why that bespectacled kid had described her the way he did.
Before I knew it, she stopped right in front of my desk, casting a long shadow over me.
Then, she spoke in a tense, strained voice.
"Follow me."
Leaving only those two words, she turned on her heel without a second thought.
She strode back toward the rear door with fierce, unhesitating steps.
I could feel the eyes of the entire classroom locking onto us, but she didn't seem to care in the slightest.
"..."
I stared at her back as she swept away, silent for a moment.
I should follow her... right?
I got up and followed after her.
"Sigh..."
Milla let out a heavy sigh as she stood before the classroom door.
Once she opened this door, that girl would surely approach her again.
Just as she reached for the doorknob, voices leaked through the gaps of the firmly shut door.
"Besides, her reputation is trash. Word is, when she transferred here last year, it was a forced transfer because she beat someone half to death at her old school."
"!!!"
Milla's hand froze in midair.
The raw, unfiltered judgments of herself echoing from beyond the door.
Scary. Monster. A freak with a bad reputation.
Though their words gouged her heart like a brand, Milla forced a self-deprecating smile.
Actually... this is for the best. Now she'll stay away on her own.
But the voice that followed completely shattered Milla's expectations.
"But... I want to be friends with her."
"!!!"
Her heart plummeted.
Milla stared blankly at the closed door.
She wants to be friends? Even after hearing all that?
Her mind went completely blank.
"..."
She was a good person.
But because of that, even more so...
Slam!
"Follow me."
She shouldn't get involved with someone like her.
Where... were we?
It was a secluded spot under the shade of a tree behind the school.
Milla stopped, her voice cold.
When she turned to look at me, her eyes were filled with sharp wariness.
"Don't... try to be friendly with me."
"?"
I tilted my head slightly and looked straight into her eyes.
"Why...?"
"Didn't you hear those kids earlier? I'm dangerous. There's absolutely nothing good about getting close to me."
"..."
I remained silent for a moment before opening my mouth.
"Is that rumor... true?"
At my question, Milla's eyebrows trembled. She turned her head away, avoiding my gaze.
"...Yeah. It's true. So don't talk to me anymore. Now, if you'll excuse me..."
Spitting out those cold words, she tried to brush past me.
But—
Grab.
"!!!"
I instinctively reached out and grabbed her wrist.
Startled, she froze, her shoulders visibly shaking.
"That's a lie."
"What...?"
"It just seems that way."
"What are you... That makes no sense...!"
Milla stammered in panic, her eyes darting around.
"You're flustered. Just like when you ran away earlier. Even now, your tail won't stay still."
"T-That's...!"
The tail poking out from behind her was thrashing wildly from side to side, as if speaking on behalf of its owner's true feelings.
"Why do you keep doing this..."
Without letting go of her hand, I took another step closer.
"Because... I want to be your friend."
"..."
Her tail thrashed more violently than ever before.
But instead of answering, Milla hung her head low.
Her shoulders heaved as if she were holding something back, and then she exploded into motion.
BOOM!
"!!!"
Her other fist slammed violently into the tree right next to us.
With a deafening roar, the tree trunk splintered, and a shower of leaves rained down.
It was a monstrous strength that no ordinary elementary schooler—no, no human—could ever possess.
"If you stay close to me, you'll get hurt! I can't control it! So just leave me alone, please!"
She screamed, her face looking as if she were on the verge of bursting into tears.
To any normal person, this would have been a terrifying sight that sent them running for their lives.
But—
"Is that all?"
"What?"
I didn't even blink amidst the swirling dust. I simply looked at her and smiled.
"You said you were dangerous... but this is nothing."
To someone like me, who had crossed countless brutal battlefields of S-rank gates, this display of strength was nothing more than cute child's play.
Still holding her hand, I took another step forward to close the distance between us.
Then, I gently wrapped my hands around hers, which had turned red from smashing the tree.
"I don't care what kind of power you have. I can handle all of it."
I whispered, staring intently into her eyes, which were frozen in bewilderment.
"So... will you be my friend?"
"..."
She looked down, falling silent for a moment.
And then...
"...You won't regret it? If you hang out with me, the other kids might look at you weirdly too."
Her words of acceptance.
This was the answer I had been waiting for.
I smiled and replied.
"I want to be close to you. I don't care about any of that."
"!"
I could see the wariness in her eyes melting away.
I slowly let go of her hand.
Milla fidgeted, rubbing the back of her hand as if overcome with shyness.
Her tail, which had been thrashing wildly just moments ago, was now wagging gently.
She took a tentative step forward and stood right beside me.
"Please... take care of me, Shin-ah."
"Likewise, Milla."
And just like that... I made a friend.
"..."
Milla stared blankly at Shin-ah's back as she walked lightly ahead toward the classroom.
With every step Shin-ah took, Milla's heart beat faster and faster.
The words Shin-ah had just spoken echoed clearly in her ears.
'Because I can handle all of it.'
"..."
The moment she chewed over those words, a sudden wave of heat rushed to Milla's cheeks.
She instinctively cupped her burning face with the back of her hands, but her flushed cheeks showed no signs of cooling down.
"..."
There was no longer any reason, nor any need, to push her away.
'Then... I guess there's no need to stay like this anymore.'
Milla took a deep breath, as if making up her mind.
In an instant, golden flames flickered up from her toes, wrapping around her body.
Within the flames, her silhouette slowly began to shift.
As the fire gradually dissipated, the figure revealed within was nothing short of wondrous.
The girl who, until moments ago, had possessed a reptilian appearance now took the form of a human girl.
Her hair gleamed a dark grey, and a pair of grey horns protruded from her head.
Wings of the same color as her hair unfurled from her back, and her tail, covered in hard scales, swept against the ground, asserting its presence once more.
Then, she slowly opened her closed eyes.
Her flashing, amber vertical-slit eyes locked onto Shin-ah's back.
Indeed.
The true identity of the girl they called a monster.
Her race was...
The Dragon Race.
I had made a friend.
Even though she possessed a monstrous strength that could pulverize a tree in a single blow, and had a slightly unusual appearance...
I still thought she was a kind and decent friend.
With a warm smile, I turned my head back toward her, expecting her to be trailing behind.
"...?"
But the intimidating silhouette that should have been standing there was nowhere to be found.
Instead, a girl with a mysterious aura stood in her place.
"...?"
I narrowed my eyes instinctively, casting a questioning look.
There was no way a person could evaporate and be replaced by someone else in a matter of seconds, yet the being standing before me was completely unfamiliar.
"Who... are you?"
At my bewildered question, the mysterious girl tilted her head.
Her amber vertical-slit eyes blinked at me.
"Huh...? It's me, Milla."
An familiar voice, but a completely unfamiliar visual.
"..."
Excuse me?
