The Butterfly Effect of Idle Words (2)
“Hey, mister. Look for me later.”
This blunt, choppy way of speaking. But even acting tough like that didn't make her unlikable—the reason being she was an excellent source of negative emotions. Raban mustered a faint smile and turned toward Nai Hyun.
Her silvery hair shimmered in the sunlight filtering through the blinds.
“What's up? Something going on?”
Of course something's going on. Raban was certain. Lately, Nai Hyun had been radiating a strong “I have worries” vibe. Truth be told, not many people would pick up on it. The kid wasn't great at lying and couldn't hide her own feelings, but how many could truly see through to her inner world? A typical delinquent wandering the school with brass knuckles in her pocket—Raban paused, wondering if folks still used that old term these days—most people would avert their eyes rather than ask why she was showing her discomfort so openly.
He'd already blocked any intervention from Schne Haidel, the one person at school somewhat close to the outsider Nai Hyun. That mascot's lackey class president was probably cheering from behind right now.
“...Not right now.”
Nai Hyun glanced around. Lunchtime was nearly over, and everyone else on counseling duty had already returned to class. No one around to hear, but classes would start soon anyway. She nodded a few times before speaking.
“After school. Once all the kids coming for counseling are done.”
Raban nodded. In just a few hours, he could move to the next stage of extracting negative emotions. Anticipation mixed with the wait. Raban looked forward to a fruitful counseling session.
How can I make her more acutely aware of her own resentment and loneliness?
And Raban's expectations were betrayed.
“So, you think your friend is hiding something from you?”
“Yeah.... No, it's about my friend and her friend's story!”
Nai Hyun was talking about her friends' secrets instead of her own loneliness...?
What the hell is this? He couldn't make sense of it. Her issues should have stemmed from teenage identity struggles born of resentment at being ostracized for a crime she didn't commit, plus grief over her lost family. Or more than that—
“You had friends...?”
“Mister. Wanna die?”
“Look at her! Brass knuckles on, glaring like that! How vicious!”
“Ugh, seriously.”
Nai Hyun pretended to hurl her smartphone. The knuckle-keychain Raban still wasn't used to jingled. He'd prepared lines ranked 13th on his curated list for drawing out inner loneliness, but suddenly all momentum drained away.
Let's think this through... Stripping away the ridiculous smokescreen of “my friend and her friend,” Nai Hyun's worry boiled down to this: She had a close friend hiding some unspeakable secret. But the friend wouldn't explain why or what it was.
“Alright then, I-hyun-ah.”
Deflated, Raban decided to spout generic, sensible advice. No prying into personal history—that could subtly stimulate—but openly probing friendships would shatter the rapport he'd carefully built.
“First, let's clarify this: You—”
“Ugh, it's my friend, okay?”
“Fine, fine. So, what feelings does that friend have toward her friend's friend?”
“Feelings?”
Nai Hyun blinked. It was a question she hadn't seen coming at all. Rumors said the old guy was surprisingly good at counseling, so she'd come to sort out her fuzzy feelings, but this was totally off-topic, wasn't it? As she tilted her head, wondering if she'd picked the wrong counselor, Raban added,
“After learning the secret. Once the initial shock fades, the lingering resentment. Like, now that the fun's over, time to cut ties and keep distance for self-preservation?”
“No!”
Nai Hyun shouted reflexively, then caught Raban's I knew it look and turned away with a fake cough.
“Got it. Too annoying repeating 'friend' and 'friend's friend,' so let's call the friend hiding the secret S, and the one who learned S's truth Nai Hyun.”
“Feels super intentional!”
“When Nai Hyun first learned S was hiding something, she'd feel a mix of emotions. Shock at the secret itself, betrayal by S, or whatever else. But that's not the real feeling.”
“Not real?”
“Wrong word. Let's say the essence. Back then, sure, a jumble of feelings—I trusted my friend, but she didn't trust me as much. You know.”
Raban elaborated. Those vague, muddled initial emotions settle with time. What remains is the core of how you truly feel about that person. Like getting caught stealing from your parents' wallet. The immediate feelings include regret—
“Hold up, mister. What?”
“Regret like, If I hadn't gotten caught, I wouldn't be in trouble.”
Seeing Nai Hyun's face, Raban grumbled, “Don't glare like that.”
“Anyway. Regret or anger like Why punish me for this? might hit in the moment. But after calming down and reflecting...”
“Should've swiped one more?”
“What do you take me for? One, I don't remember. Two, even if I did, you think I'd admit it in front of a student?”
“Mister, our first meeting was you munching grass in front of students. Your 'model adult' expiration date's kinda passed...”
“Infuriating. Can't even argue. Anyway, listen. After reflecting, what's left is guilt: Why did I lie?”
Raban tossed in some half-remembered biology fact. In high-stress moments, people can't accurately gauge their emotions—adrenaline and dopamine cloud introspection.
“So, start by clearly identifying the emotion. That's how you figure out what you want and what to do.”
Feelings toward Papirun? Nai Hyun closed her eyes, murmuring “Hmm...” and pondering. Watching her, Raban continued casually.
“If you're unsure now, think about how you usually feel seeing S. Armband-wearing class prez acting all high and mighty—annoying?”
“No way. Super kind and fluffy.”
Huh? Thought it was mascot flunky Schne Haidel. Another friend? He'd used S for Schne, but someone else? Hiding his confusion, Raban improvised.
“So, would a friend that nice hide a secret to deceive you?”
“...Probably not.”
They'd fought together a long time. Papirun's face was stiff, radiating unmistakable distress beyond it. No way she'd deceived the Magister all that time.
“Then maybe Nai Hyun's worried about S.”
“Worried?”
“The secret doesn't seem like something S wants to hide. Like if a friend got tangled in a dice game unknowingly and faced drug charges—shocking, but ultimately worry, right?”
“Then what should I do?”
Raban stroked his chin—a meaningless gesture to convey I'm listening carefully.
“Why not ask straight-up in a safe spot?”
“Huh?”
“Understand wanting distance if the secret creeps you out, but to know what it is, you gotta open up. And think: If Nai Hyun worries about S, doesn't S worry about stressing Nai Hyun out?”
Saying that, Raban cracked his stiff neck.
“This was the wrong consult for mister anyway. Just talk it out with your friend.”
“Yeah. ...No, I mean, I'll pass it on to my friend.”
“Sure. Get back safe—.”
Watching Nai Hyun leave the counseling room, Raban tilted his head again.
Wait, really another friend besides the prez?
In my school days, I'd have avoided eye contact with a rich kid sporting silver hair and brass knuckles.
Who else would befriend a top predator like that savanna elephant?
A world with magical girls sure had different mindsets. Feeling the disconnect from his original world, Raban prepared to clock out.
Midnight, in a corner of the park, Nai Hyun tapped her smartphone lightly alongside Schne. Mana gathered at her fingertips stimulated the hidden magic circuit in a specific pattern—a signal calling Papirun.
A faint sparkle, and the cotton candy-like fairy appeared.
"What's up, mo-hu?"
Same tone as always, but with a subtle hesitation underneath. Nai Hyun recalled Raban's advice.
“Hey, about those Ochan. Are you hiding it because you want to?”
"No, mo-hu."
Instant reply. Urgent voice, no trace of deceit. That was enough.
"It's...."
As Papirun struggled to explain the inexplicable, Nai Hyun's voice enveloped her.
“Then that's fine. The fairy kingdom has its reasons, whatever.”
"Mo-hu?"
“You're our friend, our battle comrade all this time! That's enough. Why believe everything the Four Heavenly Kings say anyway?”
Nai Hyun ruffled Papirun's bald, round head and turned to Schne.
“Patrol time's coming up—let's move, prez!”
“...Yes.”
As Nai Hyun prepared to transform, she tilted her head slowly. The pause before the reply felt long.
“Still awkward? Then talk it out, you two. Open up, and it'll probably be nothing. I'll head out first!”
Transformed, Nai Hyun headed to her patrol route. Schne was way smarter and more thoughtful anyway—maybe she hadn't suspected at all.
...At some point.
At some point, the voice had started echoing in her head.
She couldn't pinpoint when. It felt like vague imaginings in her mind had taken form. Schne had chalked it up to that horrific shadow mage's magic and tried dispelling it.
The best counter to mental magic like this was ignoring it. Act from the start like it wasn't there, maintain composure. Fear-stoking spells faded without reaction. So Schne had ignored the whispering voice for days.
But...
I-hyun.
That lively, innocent friend. Just today at school, she'd agonized over Papirun's secret together—now suddenly changed.
Schne tilted her ear ever so slightly toward the voice in her mind.