A Late Morning Apology
It was a late morning for apologies. The moment Sihyun woke up, he instinctively realized he now possessed the power to do anything. It was as if he had gained a magic wand he could wield at will.
"Water." The moment the word left his lips, a glass of water appeared in his hand. Ice cubes floated on the surface, and after drinking it, his mind cleared instantly.
"Breakfast." Butter and jam generously spread on toasted bread. Grilled ham and scrambled eggs. Fresh fruit and salad. A glass of cold milk, finished with a perfectly brewed cup of black tea.
"Clothes." The T-shirt and jeans he usually wore for going out were now on his body. Even though he hadn't showered, his skin felt fresh and clean despite sweating through the night.
"Feet."
"Would you like a piggyback ride? Or shall I carry you princess-style? Or perhaps on my shoulders?"
"Princess carry."
"Neb."
Strictly speaking, it wasn't a magic wand but a magical girl. Still, the effect was the same.
"Where would you like to go, Sihyun-nim?"
"The hospital."
"Which hospital?"
"The obstetrics and gynecology department."
"....Neb."
Sihyun had put on his shoes, but he never once set foot on the ground as they headed outside. People passing by on the street stared in shock at the sight of someone being carried princess-style in broad daylight, but once they recognized Spica and Sihyun, they quickly understood.
The nurse was startled the moment she saw the two people enter through the door. She had never imagined witnessing someone being carried princess-style outside of some special event. At least if it were the emergency room she might have tried to understand, but this was the obstetrics and gynecology department.
"Um... are you in a lot of pain? Would you like me to direct you to the emergency room?"
"No, I'm fine. I came for a consultation."
"I see...."
She had thought they must be some kind of eccentrics, but then she recognized the face of the woman being carried. After a moment of stunned silence, she realized it was the magical girl Spica. She also understood that the person being carried was Sihyun. Still, procedure was procedure, so she asked for their names and briefly inquired about their business.
"What brings you here today?"
"A prescription for emergency contraception."
"Pardon?"
"Yes."
"For yourself?"
"Yes."
"Understood...."
She had no idea what was going on, but she wrote it down anyway. What in the world was happening here? The nurse couldn't begin to guess.
After a short wait, it was Sihyun's turn.
"Sihyun-nim, please come in."
"Spica."
"Neb."
When the nurse called Sihyun's name, Spica stood up. Sihyun was still being carried princess-style in her arms. The nurse watched their retreating figures disappear and spent a moment contemplating the meaning of life.
The obstetrician-gynecologist was just as startled upon seeing the two people enter. She had never imagined witnessing someone being carried princess-style outside of some special event. At least if it were the emergency room she might have tried to understand, but this was the obstetrics and gynecology department.
"Um... would you like to sit down?"
"Yes."
Fortunately, she had already heard who was coming, so the doctor managed to respond calmly. Lately she had heard so many surprising stories about Spica that she was somewhat less shocked than she might have been. Once Spica set Sihyun down in front of the chair, he finally set foot on the ground outside his home for the first time that day.
"So, Sihyun-ssi? Could you tell me once more what brings you here today?"
"I came to get a prescription for emergency contraception."
"Ah... may I ask why?"
Sihyun shot Spica a glare. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't bring himself to tell the truth. He couldn't possibly say that while trying to enjoy a sweet night together, the magical girl had gone completely wild and kept filling him until he passed out. There was no need to explain anyway. Seeing Spica avert her eyes guiltily, he felt satisfied and gave a vague answer.
".....The condom broke yesterday while we were doing it."
"With Spica-ssi?"
"Yes."
The doctor finally understood what had happened. Fortunately, the worst-case scenario hadn't occurred.
"Have you not heard that a magical girl's semen is fundamentally incapable of causing pregnancy?"
"What!?"
"When they create the male organ, they also apply contraceptive magic, so it's impossible to get pregnant from a magical girl's semen."
Sihyun looked at Spica in surprise. So yesterday's pregnancy talk hadn't been an irresponsible attempt to conceive without consent, but merely a playful surprise meant to heighten the tension of sex? Of course, that was still unforgivable, but it was at least slightly less infuriating than being forced into irresponsible pregnancy sex. Sihyun had turned back to Spica with a faint hope, but as expected, there was none. From her shocked expression, it was clear Spica hadn't known either. If she had known, they wouldn't have come here in the first place. Even if they had, she would have said something by the time they registered.
Sihyun placed a hand on Spica's shoulder and spoke.
"That's great, Spica."
"Yes?"
"I'll allow you to do it without a condom from now on, just like you wanted."
"Sihyun-ssi...."
Spica spoke with tears in her eyes.
"Could you please take it back within a day?"
"Do you think that's possible?"
Even if the sky fell and the earth crumbled, even if Sihyun was angry, Spica still had to go to work. Of course, she could skip standby duty if she just said the word, and waiting at home wouldn't cause any major problems either. But if she neglected saving people because of him, Sihyun would definitely get truly angry. He was already angry now, but he could still get even angrier. Fortunately, things had never reached that point before, but it would definitely be disastrous if they did.
Spica carried Sihyun back home princess-style once more, hurriedly bought some sweet offerings to present to him, then rushed to the standby room. When she arrived, someone was already waiting.
"Hello, Spica. You're a bit late today."
"Hello, unni."
She was a magical girl older than Spica. Though she had become a magical girl later than Spica, she had met her lover first and undergone a special awakening. She was a veteran magical girl whose relationship with her lover was good and who had even postponed her retirement once before. Since they were in the same branch as Spica, they often chatted together in the standby room.
"Something happened with Sihyun-ssi."
"With your lover? What happened?"
"Well, you see...."
Spica briefly explained what had happened. How she had tried to get Sihyun pregnant without knowing it was impossible, and how Sihyun was angry because she hadn't gotten his consent in the process.
"Hahahahahahahaha."
"Unni, you don't have to laugh that hard."
"But it's like a sitcom."
"It's a documentary to me! Aaaah... why did I do something like that..."
After hearing the whole story, her senior burst into laughter. She had heard that such things occasionally happened, but this was the first time she had heard it directly from someone involved.
"Didn't you receive an explanation before meeting your lover? They told you all sorts of things."
"I don't really remember. Honestly, the moment I met him he was so beautiful that my mind went blank. I don't remember much."
"Aha~ Now that I think about it, you did say you pounced on him the moment you met, right?"
"Uwaaah!! I swore I would never do that!"
She remembered being determined, but the moment she saw Sihyun, her mind had gone blank. It still didn't make sense to her that when she came to her senses, an entire day had passed. Strictly speaking, Spica didn't regret the current situation where she had made a mess of things on the very first day and was now stuck under him. What she truly regretted was that she could barely remember their first night together, when they had been so passionate that Sihyun had passed out.
"I'm sure they gave you an incredibly thorough education before you went in, right?"
"They did. The staff in charge gave me extensive training."
"Then you should have learned that a magical girl's semen can't cause pregnancy."
"I think the shock of the first day wiped everything from my mind. Until I heard about it at the hospital this morning, I had even forgotten that I received any training at all."
"Oh... that's pretty severe."
After hearing that, her senior finally understood.
"Do you remember being told that a magical girl's sexual desire increases dramatically when she meets her lover?"
"Really? I think I might have heard that..."
"They said it continues until your life and mental state stabilize. I think they also mentioned that the greater your magical power, the higher the chance of losing reason and going berserk..."
"Uwaah... I don't remember any of it."
"They definitely would have told you to consult someone if something like this happened. Maybe you forgot that part too?"
"Probably? That sounds about right."
Her senior added that since the explanation had been given a long time ago, her memory was hazy and there might be updated information as well.
"Haa... I think I need to schedule another training session later."
"Yeah. That would be good."
"Thank you, unni."
"Don't mention it."
If only she had remembered that she had forgotten, none of this would have happened. Spica sighed.
"So, unni. There's something I want to ask you, as a veteran lover expert."
"What is it, newbie?"
"How can I make Sihyun-ssi forgive me?"
"Hmm~"
Her senior thought carefully about Spica's words.
"The only thing you can do is grovel and beg, isn't it?"
"Of course I'll do that."
"Of course you will..."
As expected, someone who had caused trouble from the very beginning had a different level, her senior thought. While few magical girls felt resistant to apologizing to their lovers, not as many thought it was natural to grovel and beg from the start. This was especially true for magical girls who had only recently found their lovers.
"Is there no other way besides that?"
"Beg with sincerity!"
".....I understand."
"There's one tip here."
"Ooh... as expected, there's a tip!"
"Instead of begging with the mindset of asking for forgiveness, beg with the mindset that you've done something wrong!"
Spica gave her a look that clearly said 'This person is really no help at all,' but her senior remained completely confident.
"So just grovel and beg, that's what I'm saying?"
"I need... I need an offering."
"Calling it an offering instead of a gift, huh..."
Leaving her unhelpful senior's advice behind, Spica decided to borrow the power of the internet.
"Lover... gift... search!"
The vast sea of information that was the internet spat out a list of gifts. Spica examined each one carefully.
Basic cosmetics. Lip balm.
"He won't use this."
A bouquet of flowers.
"He probably won't be particularly moved."
Accessories like earrings, rings, and necklaces.
"He'll have trouble dealing with them even if he accepts."
A handbag.
"He'll probably hit me with it."
Everything else.
".....There's nothing here that Sihyun-ssi would like."
She scrolled all the way to the end of the list, but nothing seemed like something Sihyun would enjoy. Even if she bought something he wouldn't like, he would still be grateful, but it would only end up taking up space in a corner of the storage room.
"Looking for a gift?"
"Yes. But nothing really seems appropriate."
"Of course not. You should search for men's gifts instead of women's gifts."
"...Aha!"
Though she was now a woman, Sihyun had lived as a man for dozens of times longer than he had lived as a woman. His tastes were the same, so of course searching for men's gifts was more appropriate.
"Alright. Shall we take another look?"
"Sounds good!"
Perfume.
"He probably won't use it."
A razor.
"He doesn't need it right now."
Shoes.
"He doesn't go out much at home. I don't think he'd like them very much."
A coat.
"It's summer!"
Golf equipment.
"He doesn't play golf!"
A graphics card.
"........"
"What? This one seems good?"
"No. He probably upgraded to the latest specs not too long ago."
"That's a shame."
But Spica found a hint there. The item she needed to buy was something related to games!
"I've decided!"
"Oh. You've decided."
"I'm sorry, Sihyun-ssi! Please forgive me!"
Sihyun, who had been lying on the sofa spacing out while leveling up, froze when Spica returned home and suddenly prostrated herself. It took him a moment to understand why she was suddenly doing this.
Spica had spent the entire day worrying about how to appease Sihyun's anger, but Sihyun had already stopped caring. While lazing around eating sweets in the morning, his anger had completely dissipated and he had nearly forgotten about it. He had been angry about the pregnancy issue, but in the end he had been told there was nothing to worry about. Still, he wasn't so tactless that he would say 'Hmm... you don't really have to' when someone was apologizing right in front of him, so he decided to accept the apology.
"Mm."
"Here is my offering of apology. Hehe."
It was a prepaid card from the app store. She had bought it to use for in-game purchases. It wasn't much, but Sihyun's mood improved instantly.
"You're never going to do that again, right?"
"Yes. I won't."
"Good. Let's work hard."
Fortunately, the gacha results turned out decent. It was a tremendous relief for Spica.