27. Please Understand, Partner (2)
And so, after a long stretch of dealing with the aftermath, the small hours of the morning arrived.
Slumped in front of the running washing machine, I pulled my legs up and hugged them together.
I want to hide.
I want to crawl into somewhere and hide.
I'd even settle for hiding just my head like an ostrich.
What I'd done was too big to smooth over with just the alcohol. So, someone please....
"Sobered up a bit?"
"Whoa—!"
In that instant, I grabbed the cotton T-shirt I was wearing with one hand and snatched up the slipper beside me and hurled it.
The slipper hit Park Won square in the face.
After a smack, the slipper slowly slid off Park Won's face.
Watching the slipper tumble limply to the floor, my voice rose before I knew it.
It wasn't exactly because I felt awkward or embarrassed, but....
"Y-you startled me, coming out of nowhere...!"
"Seeing as you're talking, you have sobered up."
"I sobered up ages ago...."
"Do you remember what you did?"
"...."
"I asked if you remember."
"No...? I don't remember a thing...?!"
Why does he have to go out of his way to ask something so mortifying.
With a calm reaction, Park Won, wearing a tank top, settled down beside me.
For someone sitting right next to me, the cigarette smell seemed a bit faint, though....
Well, I had no way of knowing if I'd just gotten used to it from smelling it too much.
"Well, thanks to that, I've definitely learned your drinking habits."
"I really don't know what you mean...."
"It's not a joke."
"Ugh."
"Sit up straight."
Park Won's voice was firmer than usual.
I turned my body and glanced sideways at Park Won, who was sitting upright, then reluctantly knelt.
Yeah, this time there was no room for excuses.
Whatever else, drinking and causing trouble wasn't something that could just be brushed off.
"Crying and calling out 'Partner,' then wetting yourself—that's your drinking habit."
"D-don't say any more. I feel like I'm going to remember...."
"No, I need to be clear. From now on, strictly limit your drinking. For your health, too."
This is mortifying.... It feels like my embarrassing mistakes are being dissected one by one right in front of me.
There's no need to dig them all up and make me relive them....
"Answer me."
"Y-yeah...."
"Your voice is too quiet."
"I-I said I get it...! Fine. I'll stay away from alcohol."
"Drink only small amounts where I can see you. There have even been rare Magical Girls who graduated while drinking alone."
I'd only known that they were treated as Tactical Weapons, but apparently there were Magical Girls who drank more than I'd thought.
What is this.... For being treated like children, they sure do everything.
The name "Magical Girl" felt bleak all over again.
While being scolded by Park Won, I deliberately changed the subject.
I'd keep reflecting steadily from now on. So, stop feeding me shame. I'm already full.
Peregrine, I'm sorry to you too. I mean it.
I know you're watching me pathetically from somewhere, but anyway, I'm really sorry...!
"Are you going to sleep over...?"
"It's too late to go back anyway. You're not trying to kick me out, are you."
"No, who said anything? I was going to tell you to sleep over since I feel bad too."
"...."
"Ugh, I mean it...! I have that much decency. I have to go to work tomorrow too."
"Glad you think so."
"I-I'll at least make breakfast.... You can eat before you go."
It was late, so the last train would have stopped running, and if I sent him home to sleep, he had work tomorrow.
If I called a designated driver, that wouldn't be cheap either.
So what choice was there. He had to sleep over.
And whose fault was it that he came all the way here....
I just had to think of it as my boss crashing for the night..., that was all.
"Well, anyway. You should head to bed soon."
"Just let me watch this. I have to run the dryer too."
"I'll watch it."
"No matter how much it's part of a Partner's job, you're... too kind. And I don't mean that as a compliment."
"Does it make you uncomfortable?"
"I don't know. Sometimes I think I hate it, but, hmm.... Anyway, you go to bed...!"
For no real reason, I pressed my leg against Park Won's waist and pushed him away.
It was meant to say I wanted to be alone, so go away.
But even after being pushed two or three times, Park Won came back like a roly-poly toy.
It wasn't like he was holding his ground as some childish contest to see who would win.
"Ngh...."
Seriously, he was damn stubborn.
Giving up on pushing Park Won away, I curled up against the wall again.
Pushing Park Won away was too much, and getting up myself felt pathetic.
So this was how it ended up.
In front of the running washing machine, Park Won and I ended up huddled together, half-dressed.
Probably, within the Association, there was no Magical Girl and Partner pair as shabby as us.
In a bad way..., truly one of a kind.
Clunk.
Clunk..., clunk.
In the quiet dawn, watching the washing machine spin, I rested my cheek on my knees.
I hadn't meant to sink into trivial thoughts.
There was nothing to say, and the atmosphere was awkward for no reason.
Wondering when the time would be up, I stared intently at the timer.
The one who broke the lingering silence first was Park Won.
"On the day of your presentation, there will probably be other Magical Girls there."
Huh?
"Why are you only telling me something that important now...?!"
"I was afraid you'd be surprised if you heard in advance."
"No..., then you should've just not said anything from the start!"
"Then you would've been even more surprised on-site."
What is this four-eyed guy even talking about?
Dumbfounded, I was about to lift my head when Park Won cut in.
"There's one Magical Girl you need to watch out for."
"That was pretty important information...."
"A Magical Girl named Gannet. She never got along with you to begin with."
"Gannet...? Is there a bird like that?"
"There is. A seabird in the cormorant order. Her Partner is Ju Woo-hyeon, the guy we met today."
Ah....
That bastard.
That name I couldn't stand, the one who'd insulted Peregrine and her Partner out of nowhere.
Just as I was about to click my tongue, one question flashed through my mind.
"Wait. You, earlier today, acted like you didn't remember him...."
"I knew."
"You did that on purpose?"
"I didn't want to get tangled up with him for nothing."
If that was the case, he could've just pretended to vaguely know him and sent him on his way....
"Why don't they get along. Peregrine isn't exactly a prickly personality."
"Well, it's not always because someone made a mistake that people end up on bad terms."
"That makes it even harder to understand...."
"Listen and think about it. Why Gannet might dislike you."
After that, Park Won gave me a brief explanation.
Hearing it, there was a reason of her own. Enough that I could understand it to some degree.
Gannets hunt by diving vertically into the sea. Their speed at that moment is said to reach up to 100 km/h.
However, such hunts don't always succeed, and gannets sometimes die during the hunt from broken necks caused by whales or accidents.
In other words, the gannet is a bird that stakes its life to compete for survival at top speed.
And compared to a gannet like that, what about the peregrine falcon?
"The peregrine falcon's theoretical maximum speed reaches 400 km/h."
"Hmm...."
"It doesn't stake its life like the gannet does. That's what the peregrine falcon is within the ecosystem."
"Becoming a Magical Girl isn't just inheriting traits...."
"Right. You also inherit the limits of the species. Now do you see why Gannet dislikes Peregrine?"
The peregrine falcon can casually surpass even the speed Gannet reaches with everything she has.
The gap in talent can be put into numbers, but the inferiority Gannet must have felt is a different story.
From her perspective, a Magical Girl with talent that made her look ridiculous wasn't even on-site—she was lazing around using recovery as an excuse....
To Gannet, who had surely been working hard enough, it must have been infuriating.
Probably, even before I became Peregrine, these feelings had been piling up all along.
"I think I get what that feels like, somehow."
"Now you're getting the picture."
Somehow, thinking about her position made me feel conflicted.
These kinds of problems are the trickiest. Emotional issues stemming from unintentional rudeness are like that.
The previous Peregrine, at the very least, wouldn't have been a Magical Girl who slacked off.
Conversely, it meant that Gannet had long felt those deep emotions the more Peregrine gave her best.
And on top of that, her Partner had to be Ju Woo-hyeon....
Hm.
I could understand Ju Woo-hyeon's position as her Partner a little too. He must have resented it.
In the end, it only led to the conclusion that I couldn't keep lazing around like this.
Yu Seong-woo, what are you doing.
This wasn't the time to be sitting here when I couldn't even take care of my own business.
"Haaa.... I want to hide again...."
"Being a Magical Girl isn't as bright a story as people think."
"Honestly, I'm... a little scared I'll get off on the wrong foot."
"Don't be scared."
"You think that's as easy as saying it?"
"It'll work out somehow."
Park Won, staring only at the timer, spoke once more.
"Even I, an ex-convict, ended up reinstated as the Partner in charge of you."
"...."
"As long as you do your best, even if problems blow up, it'll work out somehow in the end."
Just as he finished speaking, the washing machine stopped with perfect timing.
We stood up at the same time and moved the laundry from the beeping washing machine into the dryer.
"Starting tomorrow, do your best."
"Th..., thanks. For helping even after I caused trouble."
"It's fine. Just...."
My eyes met Park Won's.
"Still, try to control your bladder at least."
I picked up a piece of wet laundry and threw it at Park Won's face.