A Long-Awaited Cherry Blossom Picnic! (With a Side of Chaos) (7)
After completing the hospital admission procedures, several tests were conducted to check their condition. Fortunately, the healing magic Cure had worked properly, and the doctor informed us that there were no abnormalities beyond some light bruises. Of course, it would take more time for the full test results to come in, so we'd have to wait and see, but the attending physician said they were essentially as good as normal.
“There are still a few items whose results haven't come back yet, but there shouldn't be any problems. These are just routine procedural tests. The chances of anything going wrong are extremely low. If there had been an issue, they wouldn't be resting so comfortably right now. They'd be on the brink of death. So you can relax. If anything does come up, we'll contact you immediately.”
Though I'd handled plenty of incidents as a magical girl, I was completely out of my depth when it came to medical matters, so I had no choice but to trust the doctor's judgment. Besides, just looking at the two little chicks lying in bed was enough to ease my worries.
“…Koooul.”
“Th-there… no…”
“Even talking in their sleep… At this point, I can probably stop worrying.”
Watching the two of them sleep with such carefree expressions made me feel at ease. While I took care of the kids' admission and care, Jia had apparently been making calls all over the place. She walked into the room, slipping her phone back into her pocket.
“Done with the calls?”
“Yeah. The parents are on their way, and the Academy said they'll provide full support until the kids are discharged. The Association will probably cover the costs, but the Academy is preparing scholarships on top of that. They deserve some kind of reward for what they went through.”
“The Academy's handling things well.”
“Right?”
While we stayed in the room a little longer, the children's parents arrived, opening the door and stepping inside. Even though we'd already explained over the phone that everything was fine, their faces were still pale with worry.
“Our kids are really okay, right?”
“Yes. Aside from a few light scratches and bruises, they're perfectly fine. They're just resting because they're exhausted. They'll wake up soon.”
“Thank you… Thank you so much…”
This kind of situation suited Jia far better than me. There was no way I could reassure adults with this tiny body of mine.
“We went ahead with detailed tests just in case, but the results should be out by evening. They weren't badly hurt, but you never know. Ah, the Association will be covering the examination and hospitalization costs, so you don't need to worry about that. If you have any other questions, the attending physician can—”
Jia spent a long time explaining the situation to the parents. By the time she finished, she looked completely drained.
“Good work.”
“You too, oppa. …By the way, how long are you planning to stay transformed?”
Just as Jia said, I was still in my transformed state. Even though we'd dealt with all the monsters and there was no threat left in this hospital room, I had remained in my magical girl form. I checked the current time. My phone screen displayed 1:26 PM.
“A little under an hour left…”
“Huh? What did you say, oppa?”
“Nothing. Now that the parents are here, we're pretty much done, right?”
“There's nothing left for us to do. Even if we wanted to.”
Jia said it with a playful tone. All that remained was watching the kids wake up and checking the test results, and that was the parents' role now, not ours.
“Then let's go somewhere.”
“Where?”
The guy was suddenly pretending not to know. It was written all over his face, dummy.
“You said you wanted to go somewhere once you were done.”
“Ah… I did say that, didn't I? Haha. Oppa, your memory's really good.”
That was annoying. I stared at him blankly without saying a word, and he seemed to feel the pressure. He looked a little deflated.
“Okay, okay. It's not anywhere special, though…”
“Just tell me. Where is it?”
Jia hesitated, mumbling.
“…Home.”
“Huh?”
“Near home… that place.”
What could possibly be near home… Ah. As I'd mentioned before, I was pretty quick on the uptake. Even if my brain had been melting from lack of sleep lately, this time it was different. Besides, he was surprisingly thoughtful. The place I'd wanted to go from the very beginning wasn't one of Seoul's famous cherry blossom spots—it was there. He must have already known.
“Honestly… Aren't you the one with the better memory?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Never mind. Here, hold my hand for a second.”
Jia lightly took my hand. Because I'd shrunk, her hand felt quite large.
“Magic…? What kind of magic is this?”
I was preparing the spell. Since Jia had already canceled her transformation, she couldn't properly sense the magic I was casting. I'd planned to keep it a secret until activation, but in the end I told her anyway.
“Teleportation. What people usually call a warp.”
“…Eh? Suddenly? You already figured out where we're going?”
“So hold on tight. …Activate.”
“H-huh? Oppa, wait a second!”
Jia hurriedly pulled me into a hug. And just like that, as if we'd never been at the hospital at all, we vanished without a trace. Like the wind.
“You can open your eyes now.”
Startled by the sudden activation of magic, Jia had her eyes squeezed shut. Closing her eyes because she was surprised by magic… I was starting to doubt whether she was really an active magical girl, but after seeing her fight earlier, I decided to let it slide.
“Mm… Oh, you're right.”
“Right about what?”
Jia opened her eyes and looked around in surprise, like a child experiencing real magic for the first time.
“I just didn't think teleportation would actually work.”
Her reaction was exactly like someone experiencing magic for the first time, so I asked,
“First time riding a teleport?”
“Yeah.”
“……Really?”
Why? I couldn't easily understand. Didn't every magical girl try teleportation at least once? My confusion must have shown on my face, because Jia started explaining.
“Because not many people can use such high-level magic. It consumes a ton of mana, and the basic logic is incredibly complex… Seeing that you can actually use this kind of magic makes me think it's true that you were a top-tier magical girl in another world.”
“…So you didn't believe everything I've said until now?”
“Honestly, about half? It all sounded way too ridiculous. The Association president and all that—it's hard to believe just from words, you know?”
I wondered if I'd raised my little sister wrong.
“But I still thought that if it was you, oppa, then it could be possible. Because… it's you.”
“Then why only believe half? What's with that logic?”
“Good question. Hehe.”
We bantered back and forth for a while, carried by the spring breeze. It felt peaceful. There were many reasons, but one of them was that this place was incredibly familiar. It went without saying—this was a walking path tucked behind the apartment complex. A place full of memories where our whole family used to go cherry blossom viewing together. In fact, we'd only ever seen cherry blossoms in simple places like this, so going to Seoul with the kids had been a novel experience. We'd always done our cherry blossom outings near home. We'd never been to such crowded, famous spots before. We always played at these hidden gems that only our family knew about. Back then, we didn't have the luxury to afford anything else, so this was the only way we could enjoy spring.
“I was the one who suggested going to see the cherry blossoms, but even while we were in the car heading to Seoul, I kept thinking—there's this place, so why go all the way to Seoul?”
“I figured you'd like it here more than Seoul, oppa.”
“Because this place holds more memories. Like someone's car.”
“Hehe.”
It seemed Jia had wanted to show me the cherry blossoms here more than the ones in Seoul.
“We used to come here every spring to play among the cherry blossoms. It became our family's annual tradition. I don't know exactly when it started. Even my own memories are getting hazy.”
It was probably right after we moved into this apartment. I remembered it being shortly before Jia was born. I was still young and innocent back then. I used to run around happily between the cherry blossoms. One year passed, then three. Five years. Ten years. Gradually, fewer and fewer people came to welcome spring together each year. That fact saddened me, but there was nothing I could do. The dead stay dead, but the living must keep living. Still, sometimes those days when our whole family was together come back to me.
“…So that's why Dad especially liked the color of cherry blossoms.”
I began unraveling the stories buried in my memories, one by one.
“On a day when the cherry blossoms were falling, he met Mom for the first time. And he said that whenever he was happy, cherry blossoms were always there. Surrounded by that soft pink color, he could find the strength to overcome any hardship. It made happy memories come flooding back, or something like that.”
“So… that's why there were so many pink things when we were cleaning out the house.”
“Exactly. Sometimes it felt almost obsessive.”
When I lowered my head, strands of soft pink hair came into view. Even if I'd changed into this form, they would have liked it. No—maybe this form existed because it was what I had wished for. Was that too much of an interpretation?
“……”
“……”
A breeze blew. Cherry blossoms scattered and fell to the ground. In less than a week, all the cherry blossoms would be gone. But we knew—even if the cherry blossoms fell, new buds would soon sprout, and the branches would fill with fresh green leaves. Instead of flowers, they'd dress themselves in lush greenery, and when autumn came, they'd turn crimson and fall to the ground. Eventually, only bare branches would remain through winter, and when spring returned, they'd bloom once more in that soft pink hue, as if nothing had changed. Even if our parents weren't here, my little sister Jia was with me. Even after nine years apart, we could be together again, even if it was late. That alone was something to be grateful for. You held on well all this time, Kim Jihoon.
“Jia. Thank you… Haaaaam.”
“What do you mean all of a sudden… Oppa. …Oppa?”
My eyes were closing on their own. I'd been holding on until now, but finally, my limit had arrived. This time, it was too big to just brush off. The exhaustion and powerlessness I'd felt right after returning to Earth settled over my entire body.
“Sorry. I'm… going to sleep for a while.”
Before I knew it, my transformation had worn off, returning me to the form of an ordinary girl. I lost my balance and collapsed. At least I fell into my sister's arms, so I wouldn't get hurt. Just like that, I lost consciousness—unsure how long I'd remain asleep this time.