25. This Is Why I Hate Hospitals (End)
Park Won. I still don't know whether you really committed assault or not.
But if it turns out to be true..., you'll clearly have to pay for it.
No, I'll make sure you pay for it.
Because Yu Seong-woo, who treasured Magical Girls more than anyone, is holding a grudge.
Until I can make a judgment, I'll keep watching as Peregrine.
So that this name isn't disgraced, as a Magical Girl who protects the dreams and hopes of the citizens.
As Peregrine, brighter than anyone──.
"Ee, eeeeeek...."
"It's okay. There you go, you're holding up well. Just a little sting. Sting──."
"Auuugh..."
Being scared of needles can't be helped. I was scared of needles even before becoming a Magical Girl.
The sight of some unknown thin, sharp needle piercing my skin.
And once the needle was lodged inside, there was the alien sensation of it being there.
Being scared of this kind of thing is only natural. No, the ones who aren't scared are the strange ones.
People who can watch an injection calmly might be perverts. That thought occurred to me again.
"The medicine's going in. Sloooowly──."
"Guhk...."
Along with a ridiculous groan, I turned my head away from the needle.
It's scary. I want to grab onto something. But I have to endure it.
[She's past her prime now, isn't she.]
The words Ju Woo-hyeon had said kept circling in my head.
The more shortcomings I showed, the more Peregrine and my Partner would be criticized.
Even if it hurts, even if it's hard, I have to endure it.
Peregrine surely endured it too. No—she must have endured it precisely because she was Peregrine.
The name I resolved to carry on, Peregrine.
I can't let that name be disgraced. So I have to squeeze my eyes shut and force myself to endure.
"Heh."
"Huh...? Partner, did you just laugh...?"
"No."
"I heard it all.... Don't laugh. I haven't completely gotten over it yet, you know."
Saying it like that makes it sound like I got sulky over nothing.
But it's true that I don't like your attitude.
"Well, I said I'd tell you later."
"That attitude is what I don't like...."
"There we go, well done. The injection's over."
"Ah, what a relief.... Ah, no. Inspector, it's a problem if you treat me like a little kid too...."
Park Won and the inspector looked at me.
What. Why are you looking at me like that.
"Heh heh."
Don't laugh, you people....
───
This inspector was a bit different from the last one.
Unlike the inspector who had mechanically felt around while taking measurements, she was sincere and attentive throughout.
I was grateful for her consideration. Still, listening to her keep saying "there you go"....
'I feel like an animal that got brought to the vet....'
I felt embarrassed for no reason.
I shouldn't get used to this feeling.
"Anyway, the examination is over."
"What do the results look like?"
"The wings are growing well. Probably, in a few days, they'll be visible to the naked eye."
"The Egg-Laying Season?"
"That's coming up soon too. Since this is apparently your second time.... The timing is a bit early, though."
"It'll hurt a lot. Partner, please stay by her side at all times."
The inspector added those words and went over several precautions.
Stress could throw the egg-laying cycle out of whack, so I needed to be careful.
I should take up a hobby or set aside regular rest time so I could relax.
Park Won was listening to the precautions and writing them down one by one in a small notepad.
"You've improved a lot compared to the old days."
I quietly glanced at him.
Park Won, diligently taking notes, looked every bit the old-timer.
I couldn't know what he was thinking when he came back to the Association, but even so, he was now fighting against being left behind by the times in his own way.
"Hmph...."
The documents about the previous Albatross had also been packed with notes and signs of handling.
Ju Woo-hyeon had called Park Won washed-up, but well.
At the very least, Park Won didn't seem like the type to choose complacency.
While he was taking notes like that, my focus was broken by something Park Won said.
"Well, handling is going to be difficult."
"Handling...?"
"Oh my. But you'll have to get used to it. It's the easiest way to get close to a Magical Girl, after all."
"Does it have to be the Partner specifically?"
"It doesn't have to be, but everyone ends up doing it eventually."
Handling was that thing, right? Letting an animal sit on your hand, petting it—basically getting it used to being handled.
Magical Girls need that kind of thing too...?
"Well, I'll make an effort."
"Partner, you should be brave too. Of course, you mustn't do it rudely."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"It's common for people to misunderstand handling and end up growing apart, or for accidents to happen. Please do it carefully and considerately, from the Magical Girl's perspective."
The inspector's gaze wandered between us.
Then, she neatly folded her hands together and spoke.
"Let's start by practicing interlocking fingers. You two, raise your hands. Raise your hands, and clasp them together...."
"W-wait a moment...!"
I know it's all just a process for getting closer.
But interlocking fingers in front of other people....
How could I do that. Even between guys, you don't interlock fingers.
Of course, I've already been in his debt once, but.... This is a bit different from that.
"I-I'll try it later.... It's still a bit much right now."
"There's no need to rush it right this moment. Rather, with this kind of thing, time is what matters."
"I'll take it slowly. Thank you, Inspector."
"Anytime. Please come by often from now on."
After the examination ended, Park Won and I got up, medical certificate in hand.
Then, he paused for a moment and spoke quietly with the inspector.
I couldn't hear the details of what they were saying as the distance grew, but....
"Seaweed soup is the old-fashioned way?"
Park Won, opening his mouth to say that.
He's still an unpleasant person I can't figure out, but honestly, that sight was a little funny.
He makes it well, so why bring it up now.
When we came out of the examination room, the color outside the window had changed.
Getting a CT scan, checking the skeletal structure.... And basic blood work while we were at it.
Because the waiting periods between all the miscellaneous tests ate up time, it was already 6 o'clock.
I hadn't expected the schedule to take this long.
"It's past 6. I need to take care of my body too..., so I'll be heading in now, Partner."
"Is that so? Yun Ha-ram said she'd buy us a meal."
"Dinner?"
"She said she'd buy, then ran off before, so she said let's just eat today. If you're not feeling well, it's fine to go first."
"...."
"She said Albatross is coming too. Apparently there's a decent meat restaurant nearby."
Twitch.
The tail feathers above my head moved.
Meat....
The inspector said to take care of my health too.
And, a peregrine falcon's staple diet is meat.
This isn't being swayed by instinct. It's purely for the sake of nourishing my body....
"Hey, what are you agonizing over so much."
"I'm giving it some serious thought, Partner."
"Just think of it as a chance to get close to your coworkers. Talk a bit with the other Magical Girls too."
I guess Park Won hadn't gotten older for nothing.
For someone who tosses out offhand remarks, his batting average is pretty decent.
"You know, Partner."
"Mm."
While getting examined, I looked back on things.
I think I should apologize before moving on.
"I'd like to apologize for showing you an embarrassing side of myself today."
"You mean your complaining?"
"That too, but you also got called washed-up because of me."
"Being a Magical Girl's Partner is a difficult job by nature."
Park Won spoke to me flatly as he walked over.
When he rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt, the scars on his forearms came into view one by one.
The scars were still reddish. Which meant they were recent scars.
That's a bit much..., what the hell scratched him?
"You're the one who made these. You know that?"
"What...?! I did? No, when...?!"
"The day you first laid an egg."
Ah, ugh. Fuck.
I caused that much of a scene back then?
I remember grabbing Park Won's arm and clawing at it for a while. No, was it this bad?
"Ugh...."
"The scars on my back are no joke either."
"W-wait a moment. Don't say any more. I'm sorry...."
"When I say it's difficult, this is the kind of thing I mean."
I couldn't lift my head.
Only now did I learn what I had done that day in the chaos.
If his arm ended up like this, it must have hurt. And didn't it happen in the bathroom?
If water touched it, it would have stung quite a bit, but Park Won didn't complain at all.
Really, he didn't complain at all.
"Did it hurt a lot?"
"Nearly wrecked me."
"I'll apologize once more. I'm sorry, Partner."
"Save the apology. You're going to have it just as hard as I do from here on."
"...."
"If you officially announce that you're a Magical Girl, do you think only good things will come of it?"
No.
Rather, it's the opposite.
There will be far more bad things.
Just today alone, I'd already run up against the weight of the name Peregrine several times.
And if that gets officially announced....
I'll face even more problems than today. I can tell that instinctively.
The expectations, the weight, the jealousy and hatred attached to the name Peregrine.
And the dreams and hopes.
Becoming the fastest Magical Girl means carrying all of that on your shoulders.
"What kind of Magical Girl was the real Peregrine before?"
"Peregrine, huh. That's classified information."
"It's just the two of us. I'll keep it secret."
"Hm."
She never cried or frowned.
She always smiled at the end.
That was the Peregrine Park Won remembered.
I won't be able to become the real Peregrine.
I'll try to hold back the tears, but I'll probably frown often.
No matter what I do, it'll ultimately just be imitating the real Peregrine.
But the one thing I can't do is run away.
Because this was Yu Seong-woo's resolve before it was Peregrine's.
"I'll do it."
"...."
"I'll still do it. Peregrine would have done it too."
"You think so too?"
"Yes. I think so myself."
"Then, do your best. So you're saying you'll join us for dinner?"
"No, that's not what I was.... Haaah. Fine. Let's go with that."
Park Won calmly called Yun Ha-ram.
I, too, gave up on trying to explain myself any further to Park Won.
Whenever things seem like they're about to get heavy, you slip away like a sly old snake. That's your method.
Well.
That method doesn't seem entirely bad, either.
[What the, what's this, you're not running off and you're buying food right away?!]
"The inspector told me to get you some nourishment. Let's go to that meat restaurant you mentioned."
Leaving me behind, Park Won called Yun Ha-ram.
Still, thinking about meat does make me feel a bit better.
Meat. Meat, huh.
Seeing as pork belly and beer come to mind, it seems Yu Seong-woo is still doing fine.