The Magical Girl Prodigy from the Next Class Boldly Came to Befriend Me (8)
"I don't really get it. I can't understand it at all."
In the empty training room, a girl began speaking into thin air.
"She sleeps eighteen hours a day, right? So what exactly is that skill level about? I've been cutting my sleep this whole time, pushing eighteen hours or more every single day, yet how can she be that strong? Is this what they call talent?"
The girl seemed resentful. Her words came pouring out, heavy with emotion. Each syllable carried tremendous weight. The one listening knew that weight all too well, because she had shared every moment with the girl.
They had been together for just a year. A little over a year, yet the time had been denser than anyone else's. Except for when she was sleeping, they were always side by side. They talked, agonized, and moved together through every waking hour. As they kept clashing, emotions sometimes flared and they fought.
Most of the fights began with Yun Yuri, who was still mentally unstable. Salbyeol, with his years of experience as a mascot, usually let things slide. Having figured out the patterns, he was now confident he could tell exactly what made her mood sour. He had perfectly grasped the critical point where her emotions began to boil over, having seen the girl turn emotional countless times whenever things didn't go her way or her growth stalled.
But today was a little different. Despite her quickened speech from excitement and the wide range in her tone, the girl's face remained strangely calm. With his round black eyes, Salbyeol realized she was accepting it more quietly than expected. Whether those words were true or not came second.
What should I do yoyo… Should I tell her about how Lady Cosmo used to train just as hard as Lady Yuri in the past yoyo?
Salbyeol fell into thought. Bringing up Kim Jihye's past would mean revealing her identity. And that was not his place to do. It was a matter for Kim Jihye herself to disclose.
In the end, Salbyeol chose to hold his tongue. Though usually talkative, he became tight-lipped when it came to important matters or secrets. Instead, he decided to offer comfort. Even if it meant deceiving her by hiding certain facts, he chose to do so.
"Lady Yuri has a way that suits Lady Yuri yoyo."
"…I thought I had talent, but there's someone even more talented than me. It's a shock."
"Lady Yuri does have talent yoyo!"
"Really? When someone who only sleeps all the time is stronger than me?"
At Yuri's question, Salbyeol lost his words and closed his beak.
"Honestly, when you first told me to get close to Jihye unnie, I thought it was a good suggestion. I was curious. What kind of person could have that level of skill? I couldn't forget that spar at night and kept tossing and turning. That's why I worked up the courage to approach her."
Yuri recalled what had happened earlier that day.
"Even though I got scolded at first for having bad manners, I was happy when Jihye unnie accepted me. I ended up winning the spar, but it's obvious Jihye unnie is stronger than me. It felt good that someone like her would acknowledge me as a proper magical girl and become my friend."
She had been thirsty for recognition. More precisely, she needed someone to tell her that the path she walked was right.
Salbyeol wouldn't do. He was already her companion on that path. Someone walking alongside her couldn't view things objectively. She wanted someone who was both a fellow student and outstanding in skill.
"Through that image that came to mind every night, I realized it. This person has lived more fiercely than me. Worked harder. That's how she reached this place."
Yuri had wanted a rival.
"But what I heard today was a little… no. It was very shocking. To think Jihye unnie wasn't someone who worked hard like me, but a lazy genius."
After Kim Jihye had fallen asleep, the explanation she heard from Shin Seyeol and Baek Miju had been simple.
Originally, Kim Jihye is a child who sleeps a lot. If she doesn't sleep more than eighteen hours a day, she collapses just like she did today.
That single sentence had been the trigger. All the pleasant emotions from moments before crumbled like a sandcastle.
It was hard to understand. It couldn't be true. It clashed with the image she had held. Faced with these contradictory sides of her, Yun Yuri fell into deep confusion.
Kim Jihye overflowing with charisma and skill in the training hall. And Kim Jihye who found everything bothersome and was always half-asleep no matter the time or place.
She had to choose one. Yuri chose the latter. Then a sense of betrayal washed over her completely. Recognition twisted into mockery.
If Yuri had been able to view the situation more calmly, she might have noticed something strange. She might have assumed there was some unspoken past like with Shin Seyeol, mistaken her for a secret agent from the Magical Girl Association like Baek Miju had, or guessed at some accident like with Kim Jiah.
People cannot understand what lies outside their interests. The narrower their thinking, the more true this becomes. Trapped in constant anxiety, Yuri could not think broadly or in varied ways. In the end, with her limited knowledge, she judged the person outright.
Salbyeol felt sorry for her. For the way she pinned all of Kim Jihye's achievements down with the two letters of the word "talent."
Objectively, Kim Jihye was indeed a genius. Otherwise she could never have become a top-class magical girl in Magica. But looking at the path she had walked, it was difficult to dismiss it as mere talent. Her achievements had been forged through countless life-or-death battles. Because of her desperate efforts to survive, Kim Jihye had been able to reach the summit.
"It feels like I've been betrayed somehow."
Yuri's words felt especially suffocating. Salbyeol usually behaved with maturity. He had endured and yielded as much as possible for Yuri's sake. But even he had days when he exploded. Days when the things he had suppressed inside overflowed just a little. Today was exactly that day.
In a chillingly cold voice, Salbyeol spoke.
"Lady Yuri doesn't know about Lady Cosmo's past yoyo."
"Yeah. I don't."
"What kind of person Lady Cosmo was, what she did yoyo. So isn't it too much to judge so hastily yoyo?"
The two stared into each other's eyes. Not to read the other's feelings, but to pour out their own.
"Then… will you tell me so I can understand properly? About Jihye unnie."
"…I can't do that yoyo."
"Why?"
"…I can't say it yoyo."
Salbyeol merely opened and closed his beak without speaking. Looking fed up, Yuri turned away.
"Seyeol unnie was the same. Miju unnie too. They said there was something important but wouldn't actually tell me. Yet they kept hesitating about whether to say it or not. What is this exactly? If you've decided not to tell me, then be confident about it to the end. Don't keep watching my reaction like that."
She felt as if everyone was conspiring to deceive her. Though the reality was nothing of the sort. When emotions run this high, no reason can get through. Yuri was exactly in that state now, swallowed up by her own thoughts.
"Did you know it would turn out like this from the first time you told me to meet Jihye unnie?"
"That's not true yoyo!"
At the unexpected negative remark, Salbyeol shouted quickly.
"Although I can't say it… please understand at least this much yoyo. Lady Cosmo was able to build her current knowledge and skill because she put in a lot of effort yoyo. There will be many days ahead to get to know Lady Cosmo, so you will surely realize it someday yoyo."
"Yeah. It's only been one day since I started getting to know her. Since I'm friends with Jihye unnie now, I can take my time and learn slowly from here on. No need to rush."
Then, as if making sure someone could hear clearly, she spoke each word with deliberate emphasis.
"Even if you won't tell me, I can just find out myself. Right, Salbyeol?"
Salbyeol let out a sigh and steadied his heart.
"…Huu. I'm sorry yoyo."
"No. What do you have to apologize for? It was something I should have handled from the start."
It hadn't even been a full day since they became friends. In that short time, Yuri had arbitrarily misunderstood Kim Jihye, arbitrarily judged her, and arbitrarily felt disappointed. Her thoughts had bounced around like a rubber ball. Somehow they had landed on a conclusion, but it was terribly unstable.
Yuri's last words were far closer to Just wait and see than Okay, I'll look into it again. It was as if her heart had already turned away.
Still, since there was still a chance, perhaps it was fortunate. But even those thoughts brought Salbyeol no comfort at all.
In the very beginning, when he had suggested it to Yuri, he had not even hoped they would become friends. He had thought it would be enough for them to simply get acquainted. He had thought it would be sufficient if Yuri could learn something through Kim Jihye.
But today Salbyeol had seen hope. A future where they could all grow close together. Just like his previous magical girl had done.
That was why Yuri suddenly going off track left him bewildered. He had known she was pent up, but not to this degree. The road to becoming true friends seemed endlessly long. No, could they even become friends in the first place? It was a difficult dilemma.