My First Fan
“Why are you so late?”
After finishing my lesson with the chicks and stepping out of the training hall, I spotted a car parked right by the roadside. It was a plain, ugly domestic compact—far too rugged for a woman in her twenties. Weathered and shabby from years of use, it looked like the kind of car that might draw a few snickers. Yet its owner showed not a hint of embarrassment, radiating nothing but confidence.
What more was there to say? The only person willing to wait for me in that old clunker was my little sister.
“Yeah… it just happened.”
“Oppa, is that really what you’re going with? Sending a text the second class ends saying ‘I’ll be about an hour late’ and leaving it at that? That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”
“There really was a reason… little sister.”
The only reason I could commute to the Academy instead of staying in the dorms like the class president or Miju was thanks to my sister. The distance between the Academy and home was awkwardly far; in the past it wouldn’t have mattered, but with this body, staying in the dorms would’ve been the sensible choice. Still, commuting was the one line I refused to cross. In the end, we’d reached an agreement: my sister would drive me to and from school every day.
“Still, I’m sorry. I’ll explain what happened on the way.”
“No need. I already know everything.”
“Eh? How?”
How on earth had she found out? Was she stalking me or something?
My sister just shrugged like it was nothing. “I already talked to your homeroom instructor. She said you were teaching your classmates and would be out late.”
So the story had already reached that far. It made sense once I heard it. No—wait. Why was the teacher’s mouth so loose? She looked more tight-lipped than anyone.
A sudden wave of betrayal washed over me.
“Teaching the kids… Our oppa. I’m impressed.”
Completely oblivious to my inner turmoil, my sister patted my head while praising me. With every touch, my cherry-blossom-pink hair swayed gently. It felt strangely unpleasant.
I looked up at her. “Hey, Kim Jiah. Hands off. What do you think you’re doing to your oppa right now?”
“Huh? I was just praising you. Don’t you like it, Jihye-yang?”
A shiver ran down my spine.
“Ugh! I just got goosebumps! Kim Jiah, have you lost it?”
The moment she called me “Jihye-yang,” an inexplicable chill crawled over my skin. Was this little punk getting revenge? I used to ruffle her hair a lot when we were kids… Was this karma finally catching up to me?
She burst into laughter, completely unfazed by my anger. “Puhaha! Oppa, you’re seriously adorable.”
“…You little— Try that one more time and I won’t let it slide.”
“Oh? And what exactly are you going to do if you don’t let it slide?”
She fired back with shameless ease. I was speechless. I’d been ready to teach her a lesson, but… uh… what could I actually do now?
No matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t come up with a single way to get back at her. Back in the day, I’d held the purse strings, so I could’ve threatened to skip buying snacks after school or serve nothing but grass for dinner. But now? My body was frail, and she controlled the finances. She was even my legal guardian.
“There’s… nothing I can do.”
It sounded trivial, but honestly, the realization hit me hard. I’d practically raised her, yet the present—where everything was reversed—refused to sink in. It was too difficult to accept.
It felt like my authority, pride, and identity as the head of the household were all crumbling away.
“Oppa can’t do anything without me now.”
“…”
She didn’t stop there—she drove the final nail in. The fact that I couldn’t even retort to such cheeky words made me feel pitiful. Had my sister grown that much, or had I shrunk that far? If it was the former, I could let it go. But if it was the latter… Haah. I needed a drink.
“…Oppa? It was just a joke… You’re not actually crying, are you?”
Crying? Nonsense. I’d just yawned to shake off the gloom, and my eyes had watered a bit.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to tease you that much, but your reaction was way too perfect… I don’t actually think that way normally. So forgive me, okay?”
She tried coaxing the sulking me, but hmph! Did she really think I’d fall for such an obvious ploy? I was over thirty, after all—even if I currently looked like a short girl. I was a man with pride. I wouldn’t bend!
“…We’re having braised short ribs for dinner tonight.”
“Ooh, I love that! Sounds delicious.”
My grand resolution crumbled instantly before the promise of braised short ribs. I used to cook for her, but now she made them better than I ever could—closer to Mom’s recipe. When it came to braised short ribs, I had to admit defeat. Honestly, how was I supposed to resist when she was offering something this good?
“Let’s go home already, Jiah. I’m hungry… I wanna eat and sleep. Hwaaaam.”
“…Our oppa’s really turned into a baby. Alright, shall we head home?”
I’d been holding it together, but I was reaching my limit—both physically and mentally. I quickly opened the car door and slid into the seat. The upholstery felt uncomfortable yet familiar… Yeah, this was it. Even if my body was uneasy, my heart felt at ease, and drowsiness crept in.
While waiting for my sister, I noticed she showed no sign of getting in. I rolled down the window.
“Jiah! Aren’t you getting in?”
“…Cherry blossoms.”
“Huh?”
“The cherry blossoms are about to bloom.”
Jiah was gazing at the cherry trees planted around the Academy. The long row of trees lining the path was already a sight to behold, but once those buds burst into full bloom, it would be breathtaking. Anyone could imagine it.
Watching her stare blankly at the trees, the words that had been circling my mind since morning slipped out on their own.
“Yeah, Jiah. There’s something I wanted to do.”
“…What is it, oppa?”
“Let’s go see the cherry blossoms this weekend.”
It had been over ten years. The last time Jiah and I had gone flower-viewing together.
When I returned to Earth, I’d written a bucket list of things I wanted to do. At the very top was “Go cherry blossom viewing with my sister.” During those nine years, staring down death’s shadow again and again, that single promise had been the biggest reason I kept going. I’d gritted my teeth and endured, swearing I’d make it back to Earth and see the cherry blossoms with Jiah, no matter what.
At my suggestion, Jiah stared at the cherry trees for a moment before turning her gaze to me. Had I ever seen her smile so radiantly in the past ten years?
“Okay, oppa. I’d love that. Let’s definitely go. We have to.”
Her smile made me feel like an idiot for worrying she might refuse, even though I’d known she wouldn’t.
“You know, I was actually nervous you’d say no?”
“Ehh… There’s no way I’d refuse. If anything, I’m more worried. I’m wondering if we’ll actually get to enjoy the blossoms properly with a sleepyhead like you tagging along…”
“True. That’s a worry for me too.”
Her words snapped me back to reality. I’d only been thinking about having fun; I hadn’t considered how my stamina might leave me exhausted and groaning. That was a miscalculation. I’d have to make sure I got at least eighteen hours of sleep the night before.
“…I’ll do my best to power through.”
“I can count on that, right?”
But you know what?
“…Pfft. Honestly, I don’t even trust myself.”
We laughed together for a long time after that.
“Today was really productive, wasn’t it, Miju?”
“I… I’m so glad I got to learn from Jihye. It feels like a dream…”
After Kim Jihye left, Seyeol and Miju, who had stayed behind in the training hall, stepped outside as well. They’d come out to organize everything they’d learned and take a short break. The wind was gradually warming; spring was truly on its way.
Seyeol thought back. Between regular classes and Jihye’s special lessons, her throat had gone completely dry. She and Baek Miju bought ion drinks from the vending machine near the training hall entrance and began sharing their thoughts on the tutoring session.
“I never expected we’d learn such professional-level knowledge.”
Shin Seyeol, who had joined the tutoring on a whim, and Baek Miju, who had specifically requested to learn, both felt the same. Seyeol was starting to think Miju’s guess—that Jihye might not actually be a new Academy student—could be true. After all, the knowledge Jihye possessed was incredibly specialized, and her teaching style flowed so naturally that it didn’t seem like something she’d done only a few times. It felt like being taught by a true master of magical girls.
Both of them felt incredibly fortunate and blessed to have received instruction from Jihye. Opportunities like this didn’t come easily.
Seyeol slowly reflected on and digested what she’d just heard. The more she reviewed it, the more awe she felt toward Jihye.
“Where did she learn all that? No matter how I think about it, she doesn’t seem like a regular new student like us.”
“Maybe she really is a secret agent sent by the Association to monitor the Academy in secret.”
“Honestly, I thought that was ridiculous at first, but now it sounds pretty convincing.”
“R-right?”
“Even if she isn’t… she must’ve put in a lot of effort to gain that kind of knowledge.”
Just thinking about Jihye’s usual lazy, sluggish personality made it impossible to imagine her putting in effort. Yet Seyeol knew another side of her—the cool, sharp Jihye she’d faced as a sparring partner. Even if she seemed perpetually sleepy and laid-back now, she must have once trained, fought, and mastered her skills far more intensely than either of them. Seyeol couldn’t even begin to imagine the effort that had required.
She was only seventeen, the same age as them. How and where had she trained to reach this level? People awakened as magical girls at different ages, so Jihye probably hadn’t awakened at the same age as Seyeol. Still, according to statistics, the youngest recorded awakening was at twelve. Seyeol had awakened at fifteen, and Miju had said she awakened at fourteen. The average age was just under fourteen. Even if Seyeol had awakened later than average, the gap with Jihye shouldn’t be that large. That would mean Jihye had accumulated knowledge comparable to a teacher’s in a short period of time…
Seyeol crushed her empty ion drink can and tossed it into the trash. Miju, having finished hers as well, carefully threw her can away too.
Any further prying would be meddling. Whatever Jihye’s past was, she was their friend now. Unless Jihye herself brought it up, excessive speculation and misunderstandings were off-limits.
Just as Seyeol shook off her complicated thoughts and prepared to head back to the training hall, her eyes caught sight of a girl with pink hair and an adult woman with short black hair. One of them was definitely Kim Jihye, someone she knew well, but she didn’t recognize the other.
“Huh…? Who’s that?”
The face and outfit looked familiar, though. As she searched her memory, Baek Miju suddenly cried out the answer.
“Seyeol… Th-that’s Magical Girl Blossom!”
“Ah! Right. I was wondering who it was—it’s Blossom, ranked ninth in Korea. No wonder she looked familiar.”
Magical Girl Blossom. A genius magical girl ranked ninth in the Korean magical girl rankings. She appeared in newspaper articles, variety shows, news programs, and commercials alike. Skilled, famous, and possessing an excellent personality—she was even nicknamed the “Hexagonal Magical Girl.”
Both Seyeol and Miju were stunned.
“Jihye and Blossom know each other?”
“And they look really, really close…”
Miju was right. The two chatting weren’t just acquaintances—they looked as comfortable with each other as family. At that moment, one of the questions that had been bothering Seyeol was answered.
“If Jihye is close with Magical Girl Blossom, then her skills make sense.”
She must have learned magic from Blossom.
“M-maybe they’re master and disciple…”
“Let’s ask Jihye tomorrow.”
In the distance, laughter from Jihye and Blossom reached their ears. Even from afar, it was clear their laughter was relaxed and joyful. Continuing to eavesdrop would be rude. They’d finished organizing their thoughts, and quite a bit of time had passed. It was time to return to training.
“Miju, we’ve rested enough. Let’s head back to the training hall.”
“The possibility that Jihye and Blossom’s relationship isn’t just master and disciple is probably eighty percent… no, ninety-nine percent. If my intuition is right, they’re definitely sisters. In that case, they might even be blood-related. But in Blossom’s past interview, she said she only has one older brother, so maybe not. Then Jihye is probably…”
Seyeol shouted loudly to stop Miju from spiraling further.
“Miju!”
“Ah… Ah! Got it. Let’s go train now…”
Fortunately, Miju snapped out of it quickly. Though her eyes still looked reluctant, Seyeol dragged the severely Kim-Jihye-obsessed Baek Miju back into the training hall.
“Hey, oppa.”
“Yeah?”
What was she suddenly bringing up? My stomach was full, and sleep was creeping in—I’d been about to go to bed.
“You said you made friends at the Academy. How about bringing them along to the cherry blossom viewing?”
…Suddenly?