Chapter 18
Chapter 18
After that day when I managed to calm Yereum down, she started what you could almost call her first real period of idle life.
Most of that idle time, of course, was spent watching magical girl shows.
“Mister, watch this one too!”
“This is one I haven’t seen before…”
“It’s a different magical girl series from what I was watching. You’ll watch it with me, right?”
To be honest, it’s not like I hated magical girl shows. If I had to classify it, I’d still fall on the side of liking them.
But thinking about Yereum makes it complicated.
She is destined to become a magical girl one day. And that destiny will be brought to her by that damn mascot.
Whenever I remember that, it gets hard to enjoy it. And sometimes the cringe-worthy parts are a bit much too.
Still, since Yereum enjoys it so much, I just end up watching along with her.
“By the way, Yereum.”
“Yes, mister. What is it?”
“…Why are you sitting on my lap again?”
“What do you mean again? I always sit here when we watch things together.”
Ever since that big argument we had in middle school, whenever we watch something together, Yereum always ends up sitting on my lap in front of the TV.
If you ask whether it’s uncomfortable, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t at least a little, but the feeling of happiness is stronger.
There’s no way I could dislike it when our cute and pretty Yereum sits on my lap and acts spoiled.
And that’s not even the end of it.
“Mister, hug me. Hurry.”
It might be a leftover from her rebellious phase in middle school, but Yereum always asks me to hug her.
When she was younger, it was fine. She was so cute and lovable that things like body shape didn’t matter.
But now?
I don’t know her exact cup size, but she’s definitely big. The kind of figure you would naturally call voluptuous.
Her body has developed in all the right places, to the point where it’s honestly dangerous for a man’s mind.
And I’m technically one of those monsters in this world who feel desire toward women, so I can’t say I’m completely unaffected.
Still, Yereum is more important to me than anything, so I suppress those impulses.
“Yereum, I mean…”
“Mister, hurry and hug me. Now.”
“…Alright.”
Once she starts insisting like that, I don’t stand a chance.
I give in and hug her, and Yereum immediately lets out a happy laugh.
Yeah, if she’s happy, I might as well hold her.
It’s not like I hate it.
She’s soft, warm, and smells nice. There’s no reason I wouldn’t want to hold her.
So I kept holding her and watched TV with her.
On the screen, the magical girls once again found themselves in danger, but they overcame it and defeated the villain.
Yereum laughed brightly watching it, and I gently fixed her hair.
She has kept her twin-tails since she was young, even though in the game her hair was long and loose.
“Hey, Yereum.”
“Yes, mister.”
“Are you going to keep the twin-tails? Isn’t it uncomfortable?”
“But you said it was cute.”
“…Yeah, I did say that.”
It must have been when she was younger. Maybe in middle school, after our big fight had just ended.
Back then she kept tying and untying her hair and asked me if it looked good.
I told her it looked pretty. I also told her it was cute.
And it really was. She was genuinely adorable and pretty. I wasn’t wrong.
I just didn’t expect that one comment would lock her hairstyle in place like this.
“Don’t you want to try a different hairstyle?”
“No. You said it was pretty, mister.”
“I see. Then do whatever you like.”
“I will. Oh, but mister, is there any hairstyle you want to see on me?”
A hairstyle I want to see?
Hmm…
As I stroked her soft hair, I thought about it.
Something I want to see…
“Honestly, Yereum, I think everything looks good on you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Twin-tails are good, ponytail would be nice, long straight hair too, half-up styles too. Everything suits you.”
“You weren’t just saying that because you couldn’t think of anything, right?”
I was a bit caught off guard, but I answered as calmly as I could.
“Of course not. I mean it.”
“Really? Then should I just shave it all off?”
“Ah, let’s not go that far.”
“Puhuhu, so you were lying after all.”
Even so, a girl about to turn twenty shaving her head completely is a bit much. Maybe for a boy it would be different.
While I continued stroking her hair, I asked her another question.
“Yereum, is there anything you want for Christmas this year?”
“What I want?”
“Yeah. I’ll buy you anything.”
Every year, I asked her this and got her a Christmas present.
Most of the time, actually almost always, she asked for magical girl merchandise.
So I assumed it would be the same this year, but…
“Mister, is a magical girl wand okay?”
“A wand?”
That was completely unexpected.
She had never asked for something like that before, so I was a bit surprised.
As I blinked in confusion, Yereum burst into laughter.
“Mister, don’t take it seriously. Even if I like magical girls, I don’t actually want a wand toy.”
“Haha, right?”
“Yeah. So instead… how about a magical girl dress?”
“…Huh?”
I stared at her, even more confused than before.
Yereum laughed even louder at my reaction.
“I kind of want to try cosplay at least once. So, what do you think?”
“…I’ll try to find one.”
At my answer, she laughed even more.
“Puhuhahaha… I’m joking, I’m joking. Mister, I’ve noticed this since I was a kid, but why don’t you understand jokes at all?”
“…Sorry.”
“It’s fine. That part of you is cute too. My Hyun-min oppa.”
“Yereum, still, oppa is…”
“I told you. There’s a ten-year age gap, so oppa fits better than mister.”
She really never backs down, does she?
I just kept patting her head, and she leaned fully against me, giggling.
“Then what about a magical girl figure?”
“A figure?”
“Yeah, a figure.”
A figure… hmm.
“The magical girl you watched today would be fine?”
“Yes, Magical Girl Cellina.”
“I’ll try to get it for you.”
Luckily, I found it available for overseas shipping. It would arrive in time for Christmas.
I ordered it right away, then asked her another question.
“So, Yereum.”
“Yes, mister.”
“Do you want to try drinking alcohol sometime?”
“Alcohol?”
“Yeah. You’re an adult now. You should know your limit in case you ever drink in front of others.”
At my words, she immediately shook her head.
“I won’t drink with anyone except you, mister.”
“You might have to for work or social life someday.”
“These days, a lot of people just don’t drink at gatherings. I’ll be one of them.”
“Then should I just not teach you alcohol at all?”
“No. I’ll drink with you, mister.”
She smiled brightly, and I couldn’t refuse her.
“Alright, Yereum. Beer or soju?”
“I like beer! Oh, I like soju too!”
“Beer means chicken. Soju means pork belly.”
“Ah… uuu…”
After thinking hard, she finally chose.
“Then beer!”
“Alright. Then this Christmas, we’ll have chicken and beer together.”
“I’ll buy the cake! I have allowance!”
I give Yereum 200,000 won a month, including transportation money.
But she barely spends anything at all.
Aside from snacks here and there, she only uses about 30,000 to 40,000 won when she goes out with friends once a month.
So I know she’s been saving money, but…
“No, I’ll buy it. You don’t need to spend anything, Yereum.”
I refused firmly.
Yereum puffed her cheeks and started squirming on my lap to bother me.
“Hey, Yereum?”
“Hmph.”
After a few more playful movements, she got up and ran into her room.
I looked at her and ordered the cake online myself.
Soon after, Yereum came back out and started discussing cakes.
“Mister, this one! Cake C!”
“Alright, alright.”
I nodded and placed the order.
Next week, I would spend Christmas with Yereum.
A happy, peaceful Christmas.
And after that…
It was time to start preparing to find that damn hamster mascot.
When I find it, I’ll kill it quietly so no one notices.
I’ll erase magical girls from this world entirely.
And then, I’ll personally bring an end to the monsters in Yereum’s place.
That’s how it will be.