Get on the Same Boat (6)
Get on the Same Boat (6)
The Magical Girl Association’s live broadcasts air with a fixed delay. The practice took hold after an incident in the past where a monster attacked during a broadcast and a staff member’s death was shown in real time—so that sudden emergencies could be handled.
The delay grows longer with every passing year, and some people joke that they ought to stop calling it a live broadcast and just call it a broadcast.
Because of that time gap, even though counting down to the new year together is standard for an end-of-year awards show, the ceremony starts early in the evening and wraps up by the time the night is well underway.
Around the time when ordinary households were still receiving the magical girls’ thank-you messages through their screens, the magical girls offscreen had already finished getting ready to go out.
“Ah-yoon, you know what? Jae-jung called me today! He said he wanted to hear my voice!”
“Yeah... I know....”
The moment the awards ended, Yoon Seol-hwa scampered over to Jo Ah-yoon and launched into a boast she had already repeated who-knows-how-many times.
“You already told me earlier, Unnie....”
Jo Ah-yoon had arrived at the association building for the first time in a while, and Yoon Seol-hwa was the first person she ran into. From that moment on, every time they ran into each other afterward, Jo Ah-yoon had been forced to listen to that same bragging. Her feelings were more than a little complicated.
Truthfully, it probably was not even bragging. Something closer to the psychology of an affectionate puppy: “Something wonderful happened to me, so I’ll share it with you too.”
‘She really is innocent in so many ways.’
The morning after Jo Ah-yoon’s first transformation, she had woken up to find an enormous backlog of missed calls from Yoon Seol-hwa. Startled, Jo Ah-yoon called her back and asked what was wrong—and the answer that came back was “Thank goodness.”
She quickly got the full story: Yoon Seol-hwa had seen the Cassiopeia Monster and sensed Deneb’s starlight, and she had been worried that some calamity might have befallen Jo Ah-yoon.
A person who can be purely happy and purely worried. Jo Ah-yoon felt that a person like that was the one who ought to be a magical girl, and her skills were steadily maturing, too. Retirement was still a long way off.
Encouraging her dream, though, also brought guilt, because lately, Jo Ah-yoon had been practically monopolizing the Han Jae-jung whom Yoon Seol-hwa was so hopelessly fond of.
And on top of that, Yoon Seol-hwa probably had no idea that she and Han Jae-jung were living together....
“Come to think of it, how’s Jae-jung these days? Is he doing all right?”
“...Well, you know, about that. Huh? What?”
No, she did not know.
“H-how did you know that, senpai....”
“Huh? Oh!”
Yoon Seol-hwa clapped a hand over her mouth, looking startled.
“Uh... sorry, was that supposed to be a secret?”
“No, it’s not exactly that, but... how?”
“Back when we were dating, he was wearing clothes you bought him, so I figured you must have met up... was I wrong?”
How in the world did she remember every little thing like that? Clothes she bought years ago and never even unpacked. Jo Ah-yoon nodded.
“I’m glad~ I felt a little awkward asking you out of the blue. I was afraid I’d turn into the nuisance ex-girlfriend who can’t read the room and tries to control everything.”
Yoon Seol-hwa giggled without a trace of suspicion. Her attitude only made Jo Ah-yoon feel even guiltier.
‘If I let my mouth run the wrong way, I become the bitch of the century.’
Before she got branded an adulteress sleeping with her close friend’s ex and felt the Hammer of Justice come down from Yoon Seol-hwa’s hand, she had to launch her defense, and fast.
“Jae-jung... he’s doing okay, isn’t he? He looked like he was having a really hard time, so I wish you’d look after him a little, Ah-yoon... Ah, I-I mean, that’s just my opinion, and you can certainly do whatever you want, Ah-yoon....”
“No, no, I should look after Jae-jung oppa. You’re right. I’m seeing him today too. You come too, senpai.”
And so Jo Ah-yoon let the words spill out, completely unfiltered.
“Really? I can come?”
“O-of course! Just barge in! Have you ever seen that oppa walk on eggshells around us? We don’t need to either!”
Yoon Seol-hwa, utterly devoid of any suspicious or fault-finding attitude, brightened up in surprise, and Jo Ah-yoon laughed awkwardly.
‘Jae-jung, brace yourself for a hard time tonight.’
She would have to ask Jae-jung to provide her with every kind of service. The time had come to break the seal on the expensive liquor and snacks she kept stashed inside the association building.
‘And at the same time, break Seol-hwa’s ban on drinking, too.’
She would let all the pent-up sorrow she had been carrying wash away with the alcohol.
That was exactly what she had been thinking.
Until she laid eyes on the two magical girls, Red Vega and White Dabih—she had been certain it was going to be a delightful end of the year.
**
“Ehhhhhhhhhhhh~~~!!!”
“Noisy.”
“Itai (that hurts)!”
After catching a kick to the shin from Jo Ah-yoon, White Dabih stopped making exclamations that sounded exactly like a reaction from a typical Japanese variety show.
“What, what is this? Why are the senpai here? Nande (why)? Doushite (how come)?”
White Dabih looked back and forth between Jo Ah-yoon and Yoon Seol-hwa in turn, then soon locked eyes with Han Jae-jung.
“You are...? I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere....”
After mulling it over for a moment, White Dabih looked at Yoon Seol-hwa again. At once, all the color drained from her face, and she pressed both hands to her cheeks.
“Maji yabai (this is seriously dangerous)....”
Her voice sounded like a sick person whose soul had completely left her body. Alarmed by the commotion, Baek A-hee poked her head out of the room.
“I hear Dabih’s voice, why is... huh? Dabih?”
When she witnessed Baek A-hee emerging from the room, White Dabih’s expression grew even more haunted as she looked at Han Jae-jung.
“Even my Weaver Girl....”
Forced to endure not only White Dabih’s presence but also Jo Ah-yoon’s fierce glare and Yoon Seol-hwa’s puzzled gaze, Han Jae-jung gave serious thought to where he should even begin his explanations.
‘Hm... I am utterly fucked.’
But no matter how long he racked his brain, no good solution came to mind.
“Jae-jung... is this why you didn’t answer your phone? Because you called A-hee over so you could play in secret?”
“Would I do that... that aside, what do you mean you called? What call?”
Only then did Han Jae-jung confirm that the smartphone he had been holding all along had run out of battery. It was a freebie phone with lousy performance to begin with. Streaming live video for over an hour had been enough to drain the battery flat.
“Look, my phone battery’s dead. And Vega only just got here, too.”
“So you did call her over, though?”
“No, that isn’t....”
“I-it’s true!”
“It is?”
“No, I mean—it’s not that Jae-jung called me, it’s that I came to Jae-jung’s apartment on my own!”
Yoon Seol-hwa, still unable to grasp the situation, tilted her head to one side.
“Why would Vega be at Jae-jung’s place... and how does Jae-jung even know Vega? What kind of relationship do you have?”
“Ah, w-well, about, about that, you see? This is tangled up in a highly complicated story, and... Deneb!”
“Hey, why are you making me explain it! Ugh, seriously. Seol-hwa, here’s what happened. Vega and Jae-jung are, I mean... ha, how am I supposed to explain this.”
A suicide consultation would inevitably come up, which would shatter Yoon Seol-hwa’s mental state. No, it would not merely shake her—it would deliver a blow that felt like the world turning upside down.
Because it would mean that the person who had wanted her to leave and be happy had been going through utter hell all along.
It was poison for the emotionally unstable Blue Sirius. Ignorance was truly the greatest kindness. While everyone else was walking on eggshells, White Dabih raised her hand high.
“I know!”
White Dabih pointed a finger at Han Jae-jung.
“That gaslighting piece of trash was counseling my Weaver Girl in order to exploit....”
“Gaslighting piece of trash?”
Yoon Seol-hwa’s voice dropped to a depth on an entirely different plane from before.
“That... did you say that to Jae-jung’s face?”
“I did! I will protect you, Seol-hwa! Hide behind me! I will give that lecher a thorough thrashing!”
“Hmm... I’m sorry. My head’s a little slow. I don’t understand. Let me say it one more time. Did you say that to Jae-jung’s face?”
Silence fell.
Nobody dared to answer.
“White Dabih.”
Yoon Seol-hwa strode squarely toward her.
Step. Step. The chilly sound of footfalls struck the eardrums. The footsteps were more piercing to the ear than the biting winter air. Although she had clearly not transformed, snow-blossoms bloomed around her.
Right in front of her, at a distance so close their faces would touch before their exhaled breath could scatter, she asked again.
“Did you say that to Jae-jung’s face?”
White Dabih instantly averted her eyes and forcibly raised the corners of her mouth.
“N-No... probably not?”
“Right? I guess I must have imagined it.”
“Ha, haha... senpai, honestly. Kawaii~”
Having watched enough of this spectacle, Han Jae-jung let out a sigh.
“Let’s all go inside first and talk. We’ll clear up some misunderstandings, too—it’s the end of the year, and what’s all this ruckus in the cold outside?”
As he spoke, he looked at White Dabih as though worried. She was wearing nothing but a thin, stretched-out white T-shirt and dolphin shorts. It was not an outfit for being outside for long in this weather.
White Dabih immediately raised her arm.
“I-I’m in favor~! Ii desu ne (that sounds good)! I’ll go grab myself something to eat!”
With that, she spun around and tried to slip into the room, only for Yoon Seol-hwa to catch her by the nape of the neck.
“Hey, how about we talk about us first?”
“No, just leave the kid....”
My place has no heat and it’s freezing.
**
“Now, Dabih, who is the person in front of you?”
“A true young person of this age who lives brightly and steadfastly despite an unfortunate past—Han Jae-jung!!!!”
A shrill voice, flushed with excitement from the mellow atmosphere of alcohol, meat, and deep conversation, shot upward.
Having heard the truth about the past dating scandal from Yoon Seol-hwa, she’d become more emotionally invested than anyone else here and spoke with vehemence.
“Ugh, Seol-hwa, did you get her drunk? What’s wrong with her.”
“Whyyy~ she looks fine to me. And I didn’t get her drunk.”
“That is correct! Blue-senpai did not force alcohol upon me! However! I drank on my own accord~ Ahh, ii sake da (Ahh, what fine sake this is)!!!”
Holding a cola cup she’d secretly spiked with soju, White Dabih giggled. She’d drunk it so stealthily the adults hadn’t managed to stop her.
“What’s there to be proud of about a minor drinking.”
“Where do you find gaki (kids) these days who don’t drink?!”
“R-right here!”
Baek A-hee clutched a beer can, her face all flustered.
“Just a few more minutes and I’m an adult...! I won’t commit any illegal acts—I’ll drink openly and with dignity!”
“Our Weaver Girl, so sweet~ yasashii (gentle)~ kawaii (cute)~ suki (I like you)!!!”
Han Jae-jung laughed in disbelief.
“You’re fine watching adult-restricted videos and buying soju and beer, but drinking itself is where you draw the line?”
The black bag Baek A-hee had brought along with the chicken was full of soju and beer.
“That wasn’t porn, okay?! And I didn’t buy it! I took it from the Association!”
“They say magical girls live on dew alone—guess it’s true.”
White Dabih, now properly tipsy, got up and sat beside Han Jae-jung, draping an arm over his shoulder.
Han Jae-jung, put off by her thin clothes, her underage drinking, and the smell of alcohol, frowned and tried to bolt, but she hooked a leg over him too and held him firmly in place.
“Oniisan (big bro)! Ugh... I was severely... mistaken!”
“Uh, yeah....”
“I just can’t understand people! To become someone who dies over one relationship! And to spread those kinds of vile rumors just to get it under control! What is this! Why does oniisan, who did nothing wrong, have to be bullied!!!”
“Hey, my ears are gonna fall off.”
Jo Ah-yoon stood up to separate White Dabih and Han Jae-jung, but the girl only clung to him more tightly.
“Boku no misu deshita (It was my fault)...! Please forgive the pathetic foolishness of someone who believed only the media and public opinion...! They say there’s no one in this world to trust, yet even MeTube lied to me...!!”
White Dabih’s book of truth: the internet.
The moment she’d discovered that one scandal-rag video was a lie, her world had crumbled.
“That place is always full of lies.”
“Eh, sonna uso (What a lie)! Is it also a lie that you’re currently working as a host?!”
“Why the hell would I do that kind of work, shit. Ah, sorry for cursing.”
Spreading a rumor like that in front of a serial killer who targets predators—Han Jae-jung gave a hollow chuckle.
“I, Haru Otonashi! I am truly ashamed of myself!”
White Dabih, Haru Otonashi.
She’s no different from the original.
White Dabih innately lacks social skills. More precisely, she lacks the ability to empathize with others. She has considerable inborn difficulties with taking the perspective of others or showing consideration.
On top of that, she’s gullible and speaks with a frankness that makes her words exceptionally extreme.
Fortunately, she’s managed to become socialized to some extent through learning, but those traits still remain and she sometimes runs wild.
That’s why she came from Japan to Korea.
It’s said that the Japanese Magical Girl Association, unable to handle her any longer, eventually prompted her to leave. Why not go abroad, meet a variety of people, gain a variety of experiences, and mature as a person?
White Dabih, having no particular reason to refuse, came straight to Korea.
“This is... a drink of apology from boku...! Cheers!”
“Don’t hand me something you’ve already drunk from.”
“Dabih, it’s about time you let—“
Yoon Seol-hwa, unable to watch any longer, stood up, but White Dabih only tightened her stranglehold on Han Jae-jung with even greater ferocity. His throat was starting to feel constricted, so he tapped repeatedly at her arm.
“Are you ignoring the sincerity of this Haru Otonashi? You would do well to accept it willingly, oniisan!”
“No, what’s with your speech pattern.”
Had she been watching yakuza flicks or thug dramas recently? Jo Ah-yoon, unable to stomach White Dabih offering a drink with a coarse, middle-aged-man voice any longer, finally took action.
“Hey, jerk, that’s enough out of you—Thwack!”
“Kkyaang!”
She launched a kick straight at the girl’s face, and White Dabih toppled backward.
“O-opposed to violence!”
“Hey, you realize I just saved your life, right? If Seol-hwa had gotten to you, you’d be dead!”
Yoon Seol-hwa, who’d been looking on with deep satisfaction, spoke to Baek A-hee.
“So, A-hee, you met Jae-jung when he saved you from danger?”
“Y-yes! That’s right! That was our first meeting. And after that, we met a few times by coincidence. He listened to me when I was going through a really hard time... he was incredibly kind... and that’s how we got close!”
Baek A-hee latched tightly onto Han Jae-jung’s arm and smiled bashfully. To Yoon Seol-hwa, it just looked like a cute junior being playful, and she smiled contentedly. It was the feeling of an otaku whose favorite niche film had finally been recognized by others.
She really sees Jae-jung’s worth properly. As I’d expect from a junior I’ve kept my eye on. She knows how to judge a person.
But Han Jae-jung, who knew what was really going on in Baek A-hee’s mind, couldn’t laugh so easily.
This sly fox... pulling that coy act to slide out of it again. She’s ruthless.
She’d smoothly spun their first meeting—which had originally been a suicide counseling session—into a nuance that made it sound like he’d saved her from a monster attack. To a magical girl, the phrase “helped me in a dangerous moment” would only ever be interpreted as monster-related.
Afterward too, by deliberately dodging the specifics and giving a vague explanation of how they’d gotten close, she’d managed to avoid revealing anything about the suicide counseling or Watcher.
When he subtly pulled his arm free, Baek A-hee averted her eyes awkwardly and looked at the clock on her phone.
“Ah, it’s almost New Year’s!”
The time showed 11:59. Baek A-hee even pulled up a stopwatch and started the countdown.
“10!”
“Jae-jung, try some of this. It’s expensive cheese....”
“Uh, uh-huh, thanks....”
“Count down together with me! This is the precious year I become an adult!”
Jo Ah-yoon, having finished stomping Dabih, lifted her beer can again and took a swig.
“A-hee, turning into an adult isn’t all that great. Your responsibilities just multiply.”
“Even so, it’s good for me! 9!”
“Fine, fine. 8.”
Baek A-hee picked up her beer can as if she were all tense.
“7!”
“Nana (seven)!”
“Oh, you revived?”
“Don’t underestimate my life force!”
White Dabih had also revived and joined the countdown.
“6!”
“5!”
Han Jae-jung raised his hand as the 5 started. A boisterous year-end celebration. It was the first in a long while. At the bustling commotion that left no room for loneliness, he smiled contentedly.
“4!”
Time passes. Time that can never be turned back.
“3!”
He steeled his resolve to welcome the coming year with as much heart as the time that had gone by.
“2!”
A lot of unresolved matters still remained. Would it be possible to resolve them all within the next year?
“1!”
He’d have to do his best to make it so. Carrying hope, Han Jae-jung, along with everyone else carrying their own hopes for the future, shouted out.
“Happy New Year!”
Tssss!
Baek A-hee boldly cracked open a beer can.
KA-BOOOOOM!!
An explosion echoed from the street.
“Happy new year, you wretched little bastards!”
The vibration of the blast shook the house, and before the tremor had even faded, a booming voice rattled their heads.
“Greetings! Unfortunate citizens and trash-monster rabble! I am September, boss of the Argo Gang!”
A distinctively eerie and mysterious voice laced with a slight distortion. A voice anyone who possessed starlight would instantly recognize.
It was the voice of a monster.
“I am here to recruit those who will come aboard my ship!”
Looking out the window, somewhere a fire must have broken out—the sun had set, but the street glowed red like a sunset.
“To mark this symbolic day of beginnings, I have come. As you face a new year, I shall grant you the chance to live a new life! Choose! Die! Or join us!”
At the smell of greasy fumes wafting in at the very start of the new year, Han Jae-jung’s face crumpled.