Get on the Same Boat (5)
Get on the Same Boat (5)
A few hours before the New Year’s countdown, Jo Ah-yoon and I stood at a bus stop, quietly exhaling visible breaths.
Before the year’s last sun had set, our snow-white breaths bloomed and vanished like the time we had left.
Ah-yoon clung to my arm and grumbled for several minutes at the stop.
“Oppa... do I really have to go?”
“It’s part of being an adult. You have to.”
Jo Ah-yoon had a New Year’s interview today. Her name had appeared on the Magical Girl Awards list that the Magical Girl Association announces every year.
To be precise, she had been named this year’s Most Honorable Magical Girl.
“It should’ve been Magical Girl of the Year. MOTY.”
“What nonsense is that? That award belongs to someone like A-hee or Seol-hwa. They’ve both shown the Sign of Divinity, haven’t they? Next to them, someone like me who just kamikaze-rushed in and barely evacuated civilians... Ugh, I don’t want to go.”
She leaned her head against my arm and whined listlessly.
“They’re giving it to you anyway, so take it. It’s a good thing. No one’s cursing you out.”
“What good is giving it to someone who isn’t even a magical girl anymore? Oppa, can’t we just watch the sunset and split?”
“Too late for that.”
I pulled my arm free and gave a bitter smile. Regrettably, quite a bit of time had already passed. If she took public transit, she’d be cutting it close.
Right on cue, a bus’s distinctive headlights pierced the cold from a distance.
“Ah-yoon, the bus is here. Time to go.”
“Ugh, I really don’t wanna...”
“Ah-yoon.”
“Aaargh~! Why the hell do I have to... on the last day of the year... oh, Oppa, I’m so cold... so lonely....”
“The heater’s blasting—it’ll be warm. And you’ve got plenty of friends, so it won’t be lonely. Go do your interview nicely inside and come back.”
“Ugh, you could at least humor me this once.”
“Why would I humor my little sister who’s trying to ditch work?”
The bus pulled up in front of us, and Jo Ah-yoon got on. Just before the doors shut, I smiled and waved at her.
“Thanks for everything this year. I’ll be counting on you next year, too.”
No reply came. Jo Ah-yoon just smiled meaningfully and waved back.
The doors closed, and she left my side for a while to speak of past glories. She wasn’t a child who needed someone holding her hand. What I felt toward her was only pride and satisfaction.
“She didn’t even say ‘Happy New Year’... She seriously ticked off?”
Maybe I should have humored her a little, just as a gesture. I exhaled again with a deflated laugh.
“...I should get going too.”
So I’d be spending the end of the year alone and lonely again. In some ways, I’d brought it on myself, so I didn’t feel particularly sad or wronged.
Now that Jo Ah-yoon had her memories back and the strength to look after herself, I didn’t need to stay at her place.
From that day on, I’d gone back to the shabby one-room I’d originally rented.
Ah-yoon had grumbled about it, of course—why would I leave my own house and go back there? But no matter what, I didn’t feel right completely mooching off someone else. So I’d returned. I felt self-conscious, and it was starting to weigh on me. She’d already done so much for me. Taking more felt burdensome.
Just as Ah-yoon is an adult who can find her own way, I’m someone who can get by just fine—all my limbs work, I can hold a conversation, even if my head has a few issues.
‘Besides, that room is my single biggest expense. I have to get my money’s worth.’
I’d already sunk too much money into it to just abandon it.
Money has to be saved. I have debt, after all. Not on paper, but in my mind, it’s clearly recorded.
Before I knew it, the sun was slipping low. I could really feel the year ending. The year might be reaching its conclusion, but my own journey wasn’t over.
It was closer to just beginning.
‘A monster Caution Zone... what’s causing it? What’s there that they’d want....’
The process had diverged significantly from the original work, but the cast populating this world was the same. If I thought of it that way, I could even predict some of what came next.
The problem was the American monsters Contradiction had brought. Along with the Aquila Monster, Puppis, Carina, and Vela were said to have appeared.
Unlike Aquila, who had been fairly active in Magical Girl Golden Age, I knew nothing about the other three. Not where they’d been, what their goals were, or even what abilities they had.
‘Those three constellations all started from Argo Navis... They might be connected to that bastard Pyxis, who used to be part of the same Argo Navis.’
I’d have to meet Jason next time and interrogate him. Having one or two monsters you could talk to as intelligence assets didn’t seem like a bad idea.
The sun sank further below the horizon. A sunset. Always the same, yet today the final sun of the year vanished from sight. Against the reddening sky, something unsettled and lonely lingered on the tip of my tongue, now the same color.
“I didn’t even do anything, and the year’s already over.”
Sunsets carry a certain emotion: longing. So does the end of the year. On the year’s final sunset, when both were present, a longing I couldn’t fully express was contained there.
Sunset. Just as the sun sank below the horizon, I sank into longing and thought of the one person whose conclusion remained the most unconcluded in the year that had just concluded.
As if possessed, I called her. I realized she was also someone at the Magical Girl Awards only after the ringtone had already started.
Yoon Seol-hwa.
The most likely candidate for Magical Girl of the Year. I hadn’t specifically checked the news or public opinion, but simply overhearing talk on the street was enough to make that judgment.
The thought that I might be disturbing her at a busy time was fleeting; the call connected before the ringtone had even sounded three times.
“Uh, Jae, Jae-jung! What’s up?”
Seol-hwa’s enormous voice came through the small receiver in my hand. She sounded so delighted that I couldn’t tell whether hanging up or staying on the line was the more considerate choice.
“Ah... is this a bad time? If you’re busy, it’s fine to hang—“
“No, I’m not busy at all! Should I come over there right now?”
“Restrain yourself. You’ve got a schedule soon.”
“Ah, well, that’s true, but... how did you know?!”
Probably most of the country knows, not just me.
“Still, it’s fine. I can come if I want. Where are you right now?”
“No, I didn’t mean we should meet....”
She was as dramatic as ever.
She’d been like this even when she’d called before to apologize for the date that had ended unfinished. She’d been on the verge of tears, apologizing over and over as if she’d committed a felony.
“I just... wanted to hear your voice. It’s been a while.”
“...I see. I’m happy. If you want to hear it, Jae-jung, I could even record it and send it to you. Jae-jung, is just my voice enough? Don’t you want to see my face? I could run over right....”
“Why are you so obsessed with running over?”
“I hate being on TV. I still haven’t gotten used to smiling at a camera. No, that’s all an excuse. I just heard your voice and now I want to see you.”
A snicker escaped me.
“Hearing you say that makes me happy too.”
I meant it. She must be exhausted from how busy work’s been lately, but she didn’t show a hint of it. I was truly grateful and glad that she put in this much energy and effort for me even when she was tired.
“Once I have a little breathing room, let’s definitely see each other. Eat that lunch we missed, and... talk about the things we need to talk about.”
“Okay! Definitely! But, wait... do we really have to wait, Jae-jung? Couldn’t we just do it today—no, right now this instant....”
“Seol-hwa, work hard.”
“Yeah~!”
Hearing her bright, energetic voice felt like it recharged me too. Keeping her on the phone any longer would be rude. I gave her my parting words.
“Happy New Year.”
“Happy, happy, happy New Year to you too, Jae-jung!”
Her consistently lively demeanor was at least reassuring. A lot of the melancholy she’d carried before had clearly lifted.
Consistent, ever since she was little...
No. When she was little, she’d felt more chilly than lively.
’...Come to think of it, how did Seol-hwa and I meet?’
Before I knew it, my place was in sight.
**
Because the room was cheap, it naturally had very little furniture. No TV, for one.
Normally, I despised that kind of media and wouldn’t have watched it, but today was a little different. People I knew would have their names called a lot, so I thought I’d at least like to see the awards.
It wasn’t like I’d become the media’s prey or something. Just watching some media.
“I can do this!”
With a gallant heart, I opened my smartphone screen to watch the awards. The moment I clicked the live broadcast, a data warning text flew in. Then the screen froze.
“Ah, right. No Wi-Fi.”
Ah, shit. Should’ve gotten it installed sooner.
“I really am broke as hell.”
Shamelessly, I pressed myself right up against the wall adjoining the next unit. An unsecured Wi-Fi network greeted me.
“I put up with a lot of noise from you, so please put up with this.”
Every day, the sound of someone fighting a keyboard war pierced the wall and tormented me. That granted me a self-issued indulgence for this bit of theft.
With my dwindling morals now a virtue alongside my dwindling funds, I watched the Magical Girl Awards. The same broadcast sound came through the wall from next door.
Well, it was the end of the year. Plenty of people probably watch this too.
So my neighbor was also a loner like me, even at year’s end. I felt a sense of kinship. No plans to go back to a hometown, I guess. Judging by their tone and the way they typed, they seemed like a foreigner.
‘Well, everyone has their own circumstances.’
Without thinking much of it, I focused my gaze on the small screen.
Aside from symptoms of nausea, dizziness, clammy skin, and labored breathing, the viewing was almost normal.
Inside that small screen were the many people I had loved, still loved, and had to protect going forward.
Magical girls.
Jo Ah-yoon, Pink Deneb, appeared as the Most Honorable Magical Girl.
Baek A-hee, Red Vega, appeared as the Magical Girl to Watch.
For Magical Girl of the Year, as I’d expected, Yoon Seol-hwa, Blue Sirius, appeared.
Three others won awards as well.
It felt strange that half the magical girls on the awards stage were deeply connected to me. To think I could have a conversation with people you’d normally only see through a screen, any time I wanted. Could other people even imagine that?
It struck me anew that the people enduring all that attention were, in the end, just ordinary people. The other magical girls I’d heard today would be the same. Even if they’re called heroes, they’re not much different—just ordinary people.
The awards ended, and the sky was now dyed pitch black. The year had truly reached its end.
As I felt a pulsing mix of letdown and anticipation, ding-dong. The doorbell rang.
“...Who is it?”
I hadn’t ordered any delivery. Wait, don’t tell me my neighbor noticed the Wi-Fi theft and came to chew me out?
“The people living here are generally not right in the head....”
What if they brought a kitchen knife? I stood up, ready to drop to my knees at any moment, when the smartphone I’d been abusing just moments ago received a call.
I looked at the screen. The four characters ‘Red Vega’ were written on it, bold as can be.
“...No way.”
Feeling a sense of déjà vu, I answered the call. A voice came from both the receiver and beyond the door.
“You’ve got the gist, right? Hurry up and open the door.”
No, the awards barely ended.
I opened the door, and as expected, Baek A-hee stood there.
“Vega.”
“I told you to call me A-hee?”
“No, I mean, what’s this all of a sudden....”
“You didn’t have anyone to hang out with on the last day of the year, right? Deneb-unnie’s probably out with Sirius-unnie by now, and she’s got lots of people to meet... I felt bad for you, so I came to see you!”
“Oh, for—... just come in. It’s cold.”
“Hmph, that hurts. A cute magical girl went out of her way to come spend time with you. Ta-da! I even brought chicken!”
“Please do come inside, milady.”
“So materialistic.”
Once I’d respectfully greeted the chicken, Baek A-hee came inside. She started to take off her coat but quickly put it back on.
“Uu, it’s freezing.”
“There’s no heating, so it’s not much different from outside. Wait, hold on... Vega, did you come straight here in your dress?!”
“Yes! It’s pretty, right? Did you see it on TV? Ah, wait, you probably couldn’t? Want me to show you?”
Baek A-hee grinned and moved to take her coat off again.
“I’m good. It’s cold, so keep it on.”
“Aww, the unnies were lukewarm about it, so I came to get your reaction, Jae-jung. It really is pretty....”
“Don’t the people online compliment you?”
“It’s not the same as hearing it from a person’s mouth!”
“Enough. Just give me the chicken.”
“Okaaay~”
I spread out a table and was setting up the chicken when the doorbell rang from the front door again.
“...What’s that?”
“I don’t know either.”
Ding-dong. Ding-dong. Ding-dong. Ding-dong. Ding-dong.
A rapid hammering on the doorbell. Whoever it was seemed urgently impatient.
Now who? Is it actually the neighbor this time? I went out to the front door again, and once again, an acquaintance was waiting for me.
“Ah-yoon... Seol-hwa?!”
“Why haven’t you been answering your phone? We’re late because we were coming over.”
“Ta, ta-da~ Jae, Jae-jung, I’m here! Hehehe....”
From inside the room came Baek A-hee’s shocked voice.
“Huh?!”
“...What the hell.”
“....?”
Outside the front door, Jo Ah-yoon yelled in disbelief, and Yoon Seol-hwa, still unable to grasp the situation, tilted her head in confusion.
“Hey, you! What are you doing here!”
“Hey, shut your trap! You think you own the whole building? Why so damn loud....”
As voices were raised, someone even came out from the next unit.
“Eeeh?!!!”
Once again, it was someone I knew.
“What the hell.”
White Dabih. The girl who’d once been my ultimate favorite character.
And so, I ended up spending the year’s end with the magical girls.