READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 233
Four days after the thorough education of the mascot… no, the mascot.
Children’s Day has arrived, a day when even students can legally play, surpassing Labor Day.
On that day, waking up much later than usual is allowed.
But on such a peaceful day, for some reason, I had to wake up at the crack of dawn.
With squinted eyes, I put on a thin jacket suitable for the early morning, stuffed Gomteng into my pocket, and headed out the front door.
Leaving the sleeping Siyeon behind, I walked like a turtle, hands deep in my pockets, shivering in the chilly morning air, towards the apartment complex parking lot.
As if it had been waiting, a black van roared its engine and shone its lights ahead.
Without a hint of awkwardness, I pulled the door handle and slid it open.
The familiar sound of the van’s sliding door brushed past my ears.
Inside the van, the heater was running, matching the cold morning air.
Two sturdy uncles filled the driver and passenger seats.
I plopped down on the empty back seat, greeted the uncles with sleepy eyes.
“Thank you for your hard work…”
“Are you Kim Mari, the student?”
“Yes, that’s me… Let’s hurry.”
After a brief exchange of words to confirm each other, the engine roared to life.
The vibrating heart of the van carried the black van out of the apartment complex and onto the road.
Now, time to reflect on how I ended up in this black van at the crack of dawn.
No need to think deeply, it was just yesterday afternoon.
A peaceful afternoon, soaked in the relief of being able to sleep in the next day.
On that peaceful afternoon, an unwelcome phone call came.
“Yes? A traffic accident?”
“Yes, it happened in Bucheon…”
I answered the phone, holding it close to my ear with one shoulder.
Wondering if it was a prank, I searched for news of the Bucheon traffic accident while typing on the computer with both hands.
Apparently, a drunk old man had caused an accident on the sidewalk, injuring about seven people.
Amazingly, one of the victims was Bucheon’s Magical Girl. Fortunately, she wasn’t seriously injured but was being monitored in the hospital, according to the Minister.
“The two of you are the closest, so we contacted you.”
“So, on the 5th, we’ll take care of the Bucheon area, right?”
Even Magical Girls are just ordinary people before transforming.
Since she was in an accident, her pre-transformation body needed treatment, and she’s currently in the hospital.
When Magical Girls from other regions are away due to travel or personal reasons, the system allows for expanded coverage.
I thought this would proceed without any major issues.
“There’s a bit more to explain about that part…”
“Yes?”
But the voice on the other end of the phone suggested there was a major issue.
It confirmed my ominous premonition.
The Bucheon Magical Girl happened to have a dog.
Due to the sudden hospitalization, she had to part with her dog, and there was no one to take care of it.
With no one to rely on, she informed the Minister while reporting her hospitalization…
She asked the Magical Girl covering Bucheon to take care of her dog for just one day.
Of course, I had no reason to leave my own home to take care of someone else’s dog.
I asked if she had no parents or friends to take care of it, but she said she had cut ties with her parents after becoming an adult and had no friends, which left me solemn.
“Please, I beg you! I don’t trust anyone else to take care of it…”
Finally, after a humiliating call with the number provided by the Minister…
I ended up paying out of pocket for a dog-sitting service and taking over monster extermination duties on May 5th.
That’s why I found myself in this black van at the crack of dawn.
‘I’m sleepy.’
Even though the van was warm, my body was still cold.
I huddled in a corner, hands deep in my pockets, blinking my barely open eyes.
I took the job out of pity, but no matter how I thought about it, waking up at dawn on a holiday to take care of someone else’s dog…
If only I could transform and fly, I wouldn’t have had to wake up so early.
But due to the rule against transforming and flying during normal times, I had to suffer this early morning ordeal.
Putting aside my complaints, I opened my phone to check the messages.
[The front door code is 8321.]
[I sent you a picture.]
[His name is Joraengi.]
[Please take him for a walk around 5 PMㅠㅠ]
[Okay]
Last night’s conversation with the Bucheon Magical Girl.
I’ve seen many dogs but never taken care of one, so I’m not sure if I can do it well.
Leaving the familiar roads, we arrived at a villa in Bucheon.
“I’ll come back to pick you up when it’s time.”
“Yes, thank you.”
The black van, having completed its task.
With the uncles’ farewell and the roaring engine, it turned and headed somewhere else.
Thud, thud, the echo of footsteps on the villa’s stairs.
A narrow space where you might bump into someone coming down, and not even an elevator in this poor residential area.
At best, it’s a place where one or two people can live comfortably, but it’s a bit ambiguous to call it a decent studio apartment.
What’s this? Is money tight? No, it’s not that bad of a job, is it?
Feeling a disconnect between the Magical Girl’s earnings and the shabby living conditions.
“Woof! Woof!”
A faint, fierce dog bark responded to the sound of the code being entered.
The pleasant beep sound confirmed the correct input of 8, 3, 2, 1, and the door opened.
As the door opened and it was time to check each other out…
“…?”
‘Who’s this?’ seemed to be the expression.
Beyond the low fence separating the entrance shoe rack from the house.
A dog, tongue hanging out, seemed to have a mental breakdown, staring at me.
Since she said there was no one else to take care of the dog or any friends, probably only the owner comes and goes.
The dog, panicking and blinking, seemed to remember its duty and started barking at me, the intruder.
“Yap! Yap!”
Regardless, I nonchalantly took off my shoes, stepped over the fence, and entered the house.
It barks at strangers, but keeps a distance while yapping.
It doesn’t seem to be a terribly bad-tempered dog, not the kind to bite immediately when someone enters its territory.
Naturally, I started exploring someone else’s house.
What seasonings are in the kitchen, what’s in the fridge…
Looking around, like a suspicious thief, I roamed every corner of the house.
Eventually, the noisy dog barking stopped.
Either it got tired of my indifferent attitude or just got tired of barking.
After a while, it just panted with its tongue out, only looking at me when our eyes met.
‘It’s already 7 AM.’
Time passed, and it was 7 AM.
Coming to Bucheon early in the morning seemed pointless as Children’s Day remained quiet until 7 AM.
Still, I thought something might happen at dawn.
‘Whatever, it’s good if nothing happens.’
At feeding time, Joraengi was waiting.
Before 7 AM, I found out that Joraengi is a Pomeranian.
The dog, which barked fiercely at first, started wagging its tongue at the sound of food and the opening of a can.
A complete turnaround from the initial cold reception.
‘Well, well.’
It seemed to have already forgotten its owner, with that pure expression.
Is the one who feeds you the owner?
I filled the opposite bowl with water, and it buried its face in the food bowl, making chewing sounds.
Even animals eat, so people should eat too.
A heavy breakfast would be too much, so I opened a delivery app to look around.
Not many stores are open at 7 AM.
Reliable lunchbox places don’t open until 10 AM.
Reluctantly, I took out an instant rice pack from what seemed to be the house’s food supplies, slightly opened the lid, and microwaved it.
And, as in any household, there were eggs.
Today’s breakfast is soy sauce egg rice.
Passing by Joraengi, who didn’t care what the stranger was doing, I took out a small frying pan from the kitchen.
After a fulfilling breakfast in someone else’s house, I chatted with Gomteng, who had crawled out of my pocket.
“But how much do you get paid for this?”
“Well, I get paid for the Bucheon Magical Girl’s duties, and I also get paid for dog-sitting, so it should be a decent amount.”
“But isn’t it still a loss? If it were me, I would have refused and just woken up around lunchtime.”
The topic of conversation was money.
Since taking over someone else’s work inevitably involves money, Gomteng was very interested.
From a monetary perspective, Gomteng wasn’t wrong…
“But if someone is hospitalized, I don’t want to be seen as stingy for not helping out…”
In human relationships, refusing can easily make enemies.
Especially in a group of women, if someone you don’t like is away, they become easy targets for gossip.
If I’m not planning to quit being a Magical Girl next year, it’s better to maintain good relationships by helping out colleagues.
“Indeed, the end of the world is the answer… Gah!?”
Midway through Gomteng’s misanthropic joke, it let out a distorted scream and disappeared from view.
Joraengi, fascinated by the talking doll, started treating Gomteng like a toy.
Gomteng, unable to recover from the Pomeranian’s headbanging.
“Let go, let go! Don’t bite! You carnivorous trash!”
Gomteng screamed and struggled, but it couldn’t escape the sharp teeth.
Just in time for some entertainment.
“Hey, good job… Play with Joraengi for a bit.”
I decided to enjoy the energetic performance from the front row.
“Gyaaah-!”