READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 238
Yeah, living with a beast means you get all kinds of experiences, this and that.
Spending the day feeling the struggles of other cat owners firsthand.
Right after the mock exams, it’s the real exam season, and then the first semester finals.
Thanks to Wang-unnie’s suggestion to meet up sometime, we managed to squeeze in a gathering right after finals.
Lately, to accommodate students who didn’t have much to talk about, the magical girl meetups have been heading straight to the cafeteria.
This time, unusually, it was decided to meet at a cafe first for a bit of chat.
“How do you guys get prettier every time the year changes?”
“Isn’t that just something people say?”
As it got a bit warmer, the air conditioning kicked in at Byulnim Cafe. Sipping on a strawberry latte, I faced the unnie’s “just something people say” head-on.
A twisted answer that quickly cooled the warm atmosphere.
“This girl, seriously.”
One of the unnie, who knows me well, slapped my shoulder with her palm and said.
“When that happens, just say thank you.”
“Hehe, I know.”
With a sly smile, I sipped on the strawberry latte through the straw.
I know well that these kinds of jokes actually help lighten the mood.
“Knowing that makes you even worse, you brat.”
With a scolding voice, playful palms slapped my shoulders repeatedly.
Seeing the unnie’s expression of mock annoyance, everyone around laughed.
For a group to function smoothly, someone has to play the clown.
After a while of this warm atmosphere, I sneakily slipped in a question during a lull in the conversation.
“But why didn’t we head straight to the cafeteria and came to the cafe instead?”
“Well, there are things you can’t talk about in the cafeteria. We have things to discuss at this meetup.”
“Oh, what kind of things?”
The conversation flowed among the other unnie, who took over the topic.
Just throwing out a suitable topic, and the conversation carries itself.
After taking a sip of her ample Americano, one unnie opened her mouth as if she had decided something.
“I’m thinking of quitting field work after this meetup.”
“Huh? Why?”
A slightly panicked voice from another unnie echoed at our table.
Quitting field work means giving up the magical girl life and settling into a prepared civil servant position.
Of course, the pay is better for monster hunting.
“I could handle it in my teens and early twenties, but these days, even one or two early morning missions are killing me. You guys should find replacements before you hit thirty and prepare to move to desk jobs.”
In response to why she’s quitting field work, practical advice flowed.
The way she patted her shoulders reminded me of older mothers.
“Unnie, have you found a replacement? You haven’t reached out to other regions, have you?”
Worried, the other unnie asked Wang-unnie.
Seeing Ji-eun unnie’s precedent, it’s clear that you can’t just quit and move to a desk job in a day.
Even if you quit, someone has to fill your position in this neighborhood.
“I’ve got it all sorted out, don’t worry.”
Wang-unnie responded with a reassuring answer, as if she had already anticipated this.
Adults who quit their jobs always have a plan, huh.
By the way, Wang-unnie, who said she’d keep doing field work even in her thirties, is quitting the magical girl field work.
It feels like people who I thought would never leave are leaving one by one.
…It feels oddly familiar, what is it? Where have I experienced this before?
‘Ah, I remember.’
It feels like watching a senior who’s been there since I was a private, getting discharged.
That’s it, it’s exactly the same feeling.
The awkward feeling of someone who you thought would never disappear, suddenly disappearing.
Thinking, “They’re finally leaving,” but also, “They’re really leaving,” as I recall those memories…
Wang-unnie, who had been slouching, straightened her back and leaned against the chair.
“Alright, enough about people who are leaving!”
Trying to salvage the sinking atmosphere, unnie changed the topic to another subject.
“Did everyone get contacted by the Minister about the plans for July?”
“Yes, but I don’t really want to do it…”
“Come on, it’s a good opportunity, right? You don’t have to worry about your identity since you’ll be transformed.”
“It’s a bit far, though, Gangwon-do? How far is that from home…”
“Right.”
Wang-unnie’s topic was something everyone already knew, nodding along.
As the mysterious conversation went on, Siyeon and I were filled with questions.
July? Plans? What is all this about?
Contact from the Minister? Transforming to do what? Why Gangwon-do?
As the conversation flowed among those who seemed to know what was going on, the attention turned to us who hadn’t said a word.
“Mari and Siyeon, what do you think?”
“Uh, I don’t really understand what everyone’s talking about…”
“Me neither…”
Far from having an opinion, we didn’t even understand what the unnie were discussing.
Honestly admitting we didn’t get it, Siyeon also nodded along, trailing off.
The unnie also looked puzzled, starting to look at each other.
“Ah, was it exam season for the kids?”
“Right around this time, isn’t it?”
Then the topic shifted to exam season being around this time, and the conversation continued with things only they knew.
What plans are there for July related to magical girls, and what does it have to do with us not knowing about it and it being exam season for students?
The more they talked, the deeper the confusion sank.
Regardless, Wang-unnie continued questioning us.
“This is the week after exams, right?”
“Yes…”
“Then you’ll be contacted soon.”
“But what’s going on?”
“Just work stuff, work stuff.”
After several persistent questions, we finally figured out the mysterious July plan.
The unnie explained it as some kind of plan involving running and various exercises at a military base.
Since it’s exercising while transformed, it shouldn’t be too hard, they seemed to take it lightly.
Running and various exercises, is it a physical fitness test for officers or special forces selection?
Wait, but why are magical girls going there?
The harsh words that had been crawling up my throat finally burst out.
“Why are we doing that?”
“I don’t know? The Ministry of Defense requested it, um… what was it again?”
“What did they say? Ah, here it is.”
As if she couldn’t quite remember, Wang-unnie tilted her head and looked around.
Then another unnie fiddling with her smartphone started reciting.
“As part of a program to promote the importance of physical fitness and health maintenance among officers and soldiers, exemplary activities will be conducted by magical girls who are physically excellent but lack in external appearance, to set an example for soldiers…”
“That’s it.”
A grand invitation from the military base, wrapped in lofty language.
Wang-unnie, too lazy to explain in detail, summed it up with a simple “That’s it.”
The result of the girls interpreting it was that they thought it was just going to the military base to exercise.
To put it crudely…
[You guys are so great and physically fit and good at sports, right?]
[The military is a mess these days, officers and soldiers’ physical condition is a disaster.]
[So come and be a good stimulus, since you’ll be transformed and look like kids, it won’t be embarrassing for the officers or soldiers if they can’t even match that.]
…That’s how it could be seen.
It’s obvious what the higher-ups in the military are thinking.
They ride in cars during marches because they’re old.
Even after living as a woman for over ten years, the trashy memories are still vividly stuck in my head.
The stingy image of the Military Manpower Administration and the Ministry of Defense.
How much are they going to pay for that? Of course, I planned to refuse, snorting and fiddling with my smartphone.
“But how much are they going to pay for that?”
“Well, they said they’d give five hundred for the day.”
“What!?”
The surprisingly generous offer made my voice rise in surprise.
That Ministry of Defense that sends bills to families of soldiers who died in accidents?
That crazy group still using canteens from the Korean War?
That place that keeps combat rations in storage for three years and then puts them in regular meals when they’re about to expire?
That place that says “our son” when taking them, “your son” when injured, and “who are you?” when dead?
“Huh…”
A sigh of disbelief escaped my lips.
From a magical girl’s perspective, it’s a completely free job, even if it’s all the way to Gangwon-do.
But deep down, the soldier in me was quietly shedding tears of blood.