Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: How Many Wrists?
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How many wrists do you have?
South Korea's administrative system is airtight.
It wasn't enough for that beast to just forge the family registry. To prove that a person named Seol Ha-rin actually existed, there needed to be all sorts of records.
The most urgent one was the medical records. Health checkups and vaccinations were mandatory for going to school.
The moment I stepped into the hospital, all eyes were on me.
Was it thanks to the glasses Frost gave me? It wasn't the same reaction as last time, like, "Huh? Prima's granddaughter?"
But kids aren't oblivious to cuteness, and adults know it even better.
Even as a glasses girl, my shining Prima-based looks still commanded attention.
"What is she...? Mixed race? Why's she so pretty?"
"Was there a girl like that around here?"
"Should we ask which school she goes to? A girl like that would've made waves already..."
I underwent the physical exam under dozens of staring eyes.
During the checkup, a fact even I hadn't known came to light.
"Hey, kid, take off your glasses for the exam real quick?"
"......Okay."
Of course, I didn't take them off.
I just pretended to fiddle with the frames, but somehow, the other person thought I had removed them.
This must be magic's convenience at work.
"That's weird... No cavities, vision's 2.0 in both eyes, muscle mass and bone density... on par with an adult male?"
The new revelation was that my body hadn't actually "younger-ified."
More like Prima's physical data had been overlaid onto my body?
So my muscle mass and strength were on par with an adult man's. It just didn't look that way on the surface.
"Now time for the shots~ It'll sting a bit~"
I got all the required vaccinations one after another.
"Ugh, ugh..."
"Oh my, our Ha-rin's not even crying? So tough!"
It had been ages since my last shot. My eyes watered, but I bit my lip hard at the nurse's praise and held it in.
After finishing the medical records, the next task was erasing traces of Seol Ha-yoon.
The studio apartment I lived in was still under Seol Ha-yoon's name.
Things had somehow slid by for the past three days, but it was only a matter of time before acquaintances who knew the place showed up.
My laissez-faire parents weren't an issue, but the friends who dropped by every day and my little sister Seol Yu-na, whose specialty was surprise visits, were problems.
That's where that beast's identity-forging powers shone. He'd skipped the basic tutorial entirely, but he was a pro at paperwork fakery.
Thanks to him, Seol Ha-yoon suddenly suffered burnout, went radio silent, and became a wandering youth off on an indefinite Canada working holiday.
I was positioned as the little sister crashing at her missing brother's place for a while.
But I had no clue how to handle Seol Yu-na specifically.
"Worst case, just tell the family? Might be easier that way."
"......I can't do that."
That's when I got extra details on the Magical Identity Secrecy Rule from that beast.
The rule didn't slap you with punishment the instant you spilled it. It kicked in only if it caused a social ripple.
For example, jokingly telling some random kid passing by was handled more leniently than you'd think.
By the same logic, revealing your identity to family counted too, but plenty of magical girls operated with family support.
The problem was I absolutely could not tell that bitch Seol Yu-na my situation.
She was the type with zero tact to begin with, and her three favorite things were cute girls, Seol Ha-yoon, and tormenting them.
If she found out I was in this state, just imagining what she'd do made my legs shake.
At least she was pure brawn with no brains, which was a small mercy.
For now, if I erased all my traces here and claimed I'd moved, maybe it'd work out.
She might suspect when checking the family registry, but there aren't that many situations where you need one listing every family member.
Anyway, with that in mind, I dove into scrubbing the studio apartment clean of traces.
The most convenient thing about becoming a magical girl was gaining access to sub-dimensional inventory.
Sub-dimensional inventory was basically like a DX to the Mong bag—toss stuff in haphazardly, and you could pull it out anytime as needed.
I shoved every last trace of a dingy male college student's life cluttering the room into my inventory.
I flung the doors and windows wide open, aired out the ingrained guy stench, bought a diffuser, and even did a full deep clean despite never planning to.
The neighbors gave suspicious looks as I scurried to toss trash, but claiming I was Seol Ha-yoon's sister made them shrug it off.
Once cleaning was done, the barren studio looked almost livable.
The only downside was it had nothing that should be there.
An 8-year-old girl living alone like this might raise eyebrows, but... I'd worry about that later.
Finally, I nailed down Seol Ha-rin's concept.
Not as a magical girl—as a civilian for school life, I needed a character setup.
A normal 8-year-old could live fine without any concept BS.
But a 20-something college guy unconsciously leaks that night-flower cheap-soap vibe if not deliberate.
So I searched "current elementary school trends"...
"What the hell is this..."
I expected stuff like "what the TV" or "whatever the TV," but those memes were long dead.
Everyone had migrated to TikTok or Wills, dancing to mystery moves or doing bizarre challenges.
Back in my day, we played house, tag, escape games, and sandcastles at the playground...
"......"
After 15 minutes of Shorts, my brain felt like it was melting, so I stopped.
'How do I keep up with this.'
Trends like "tralala-re tralala-la" from months ago were already boomer bait. My 20s brain couldn't match that pace.
'Glasses girl concept it is.'
A character clueless about internet culture. A model student who only knows books and studying, naive to the world.
Luckily, my brain was intact despite the shrunken body, so I was confident.
It'd blow up eventually, but by then I'd be back as Seol Ha-yoon, no doubt.
Preparations done, time flew by.
The day had arrived.
South Korean society is ruthlessly pedigree-obsessed.
This applies not just to universities but high schools, middle schools, elementary schools—even English kindergarten pedigrees get scrutinized.
In that sense, Hanwol Elementary—the school that beast forcibly drafted me into—was one of Seoul's top ten private elementaries.
Naturally, the kids there weren't your average snot-nosed brats.
Their moms were academic monsters outdoing even the infamous "helicopter parents," and raised on smartphones from infancy, they were scarily mature.
Back in my day, we built immunity rolling in playground dirt. These kids probably think dirt only exists in MaXcraft or RoXlux.
'At least they're not childish.'
Anyway.
The problem was the hilariously awkward timing of my enrollment.
May. Mid-May, to be precise—super awkward.
Normally, enrolling mid-semester in elementary, especially a private one like this? Unheard of.
Plus low birth rates meant fewer kids, so my pretty new face alone became instant news.
Hence the prickly stares all the way to school.
To dodge them, I popped in earbuds and recited my goal, mulled over for days.
'Gotta meet every magical girl.'
To return to my original body, I needed to raise my magical girl experience level.
Fastest way? Complete the magical girl compendium.
My unique magic, Dress Code, unlocks outfits only after meeting specific magical girls.
So if I met them all and could use their powers, maybe I'd revert?
I'd chatted with seniors in the group chat about this over the past few days.
Issue was, not every magical girl wanted to meet me like Bella or Frost.
Like in games—happy to hand out gear to noobs online, but bail IRL because real life.
Ignis, Pluto, and about a dozen others okayed meetings, but far more refused.
Everyone had their own lives. Some just wanted to lurk and noodle around.
'Gotta lure them out somehow...'
Lost in those thoughts, I'd arrived at Class 3-1's door.
The teacher's chirpy voice rang from beyond.
"Okay, everyone. Eyes up! We have a new friend in class today!"
'Whew.'
I recited my self-intro—practiced all yesterday—and strode confidently into the classroom.
The rowdy room went dead silent, like someone dumped ice water on it.
Nineteen kids.
Nineteen pairs of eyes locked on me.
'Ugh...'
I was wrong.
I thought constant exposure these past days had built tolerance to stares.
Turned out my tolerance was only for jaded adult gazes.
I hadn't accounted for pure, innocent kids' eyes—my heart started pounding like mad.
"Go on, introduce yourself to your new friends?"
The teacher smiled kindly, paving the way, but my legs wobbled and throat locked up.
Sharp model student my ass.
The first words I choked out were a mess.
"Hi... I-I'm... Seol... Ha-rin..."
Silence.
'I'm screwed...'
Luckily, it didn't last three seconds.
"She's so pale!"
The classroom erupted in murmurs right after.
"Teacher! Why's Ha-rin so pale?"
"But she's pretty! Like a celebrity!"
"Where'd you transfer from? Good at studying? Where do you live?"
Phew. Reactions weren't bad.
The pretty-face rule held true even in kid society—an eternal truth.
Cool aloof concept flopped, but I secured the "new transfer student tugging heartstrings" position.
"Shh, quiet down. You'll scare her."
The teacher smiled, satisfied, and calmed the class.
"Ha-rin, see that empty seat by the window? Right next to Jun."
Following her finger, I spotted the back-row window seat.
And the boy in the adjacent desk.
'Oh.'
Honestly, kinda shocked.
Kids these days develop fast—what genes did he hit the jackpot on? Bright prospects written all over his face.
Sharp features, gentle eyes. Prominent nose bridge already—prime "promising stock" face.
Average kids ape their parents, but his made me curious about theirs.
The boy called Jun met my eyes and flashed a bright, toothy grin.
That smile alone screamed "ladies' man in ten seconds flat"—instant inferiority complex.
Pfft. Jealous of a kid? Get real.
'Please don't grow tall and hung.'
I shuffled over with that curse, set my bag on the seat beside him, and sat.
He immediately twisted toward me like he'd been waiting.
"Hi? I'm Seo Jun."
He casually reached across my desk.
"Deskmates from now on, so let's get along, Ha-rin."
Grab.
And without hesitation, clasped both my hands.
'?'
The warm, sweaty feel of the boy's palm made my lips twitch instinctively.
"J-Jun... Jun..."
"Yeah? What's up?"
"Jun... how many wrists do you have?"
This kid's done for.