READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 262
As the midterms loomed just around the corner, exactly as expected, it was just one week away.
“I’m back from my trip!”
Returning home after school, there was Gomteng, looking all ragged like a young man in his early 20s who had just returned from a grueling radio expedition.
“You’re back?!”
“…Yeah.”
Compared to Siyeon, who was all cheerful about Gomteng’s return, I responded with a blank expression, indifferent.
Even if you’re going out, you should at least give a heads-up, you brat.
You’re supposed to stick by the Magical Girl’s side, what are you doing going on a self-discovery trip…
I was about to give him a piece of my mind, but seeing him all torn up and looking pitiful, I swallowed my words.
Gomteng, who reeked of hardship, even looked somewhat pitiful.
After carelessly tossing my bag by the room, I decided to hear what had happened during his absence.
“That was the first day of my great week-long self-discovery journey…”
Sitting solemnly at the center of the dining table, Gomteng began his tale like an old grandfather unraveling a story.
“Bullshit.”
I cursed at him for setting up an atmosphere like he was recounting a war hero’s tale, but he stubbornly continued.
So, the story goes back exactly a week.
He said he left the house at dawn, even earlier than when we woke up.
Of course, he didn’t take the visible land route but moved through the sky.
“You didn’t go out through the front door, did you?”
“Of course not, I went out through the window to avoid the CCTV.”
To my “no way” question, he explained matter-of-factly that he went out through the window.
Well, after years of living on Earth, he should know where the CCTV is by now.
And so began Gomteng’s adventure.
Flying around buildings during the day, and walking on land at night when there was less light.
Though it was called a self-discovery journey, it was just wandering around with an empty head.
‘Freedom!’
“Self-discovery my ass, it’s just running away.”
I naturally interjected my thoughts into Gomteng’s explanation of the situation.
Self-discovery? You just wanted to play alone and ran off.
Should I tear off this ungrateful beast’s head or pull out his legs?
As my clenched fist was about to touch his head…
“Ah, ah! Please, hear me out till the end!”
The solemnly composed Gomteng screamed a sharp, one-word scream, flailing to keep my hand from his head.
Begging me to hear him out till the end, I slowly withdrew my hand.
Let’s hear what excuse he has.
“At that moment, a flock of giant wings made of white and black fur descended upon me…”
Gomteng dramatically described it as if he had encountered some great disaster.
Giant wings made of white and black fur?
A certain creature immediately came to mind, but I cut him short.
“Just say it, you brat.”
“Magpies.”
Unlucky bastard, running into a flock of magpies on the first day of his runaway.
I learned from watching bird videos that those guys have the worst temper.
Familiar to Korean kids through the ‘Magpie Magpie New Year’ nursery rhyme.
But in reality, they’re the bullies of the bird world, ganging up to beat even formidable raptors.
Running into them while flying around in the sky, the outcome was obvious.
“Wow, those guys were so persistent… here, here, and here, all pecked by magpies.”
Of course, he got bitten and pecked all over, with cotton sticking out everywhere.
Like showing off medals, he pointed out his wounds one by one.
There were many other wounds, but he skipped mentioning them, probably too lazy to point them out.
Captivated by Gomteng’s vivid storytelling, I listened to his runaway aftermath.
“There’s a saying, what’s spoken during the day is heard by birds, and what’s spoken at night is heard by mice…”
“Right.”
“At night, instead of mice, there are cats.”
Pecked by magpies during the day, and bitten by stray cats when trying to step on the ground at night.
With sparrowhawks swooping down from apartment windows at night…
Self-discovery? More like struggling at the bottom of the food chain for a week.
With his lively storytelling, all I heard was how he got beaten day and night.
“So, you suffered, but… the conclusion is you just played around for a week, right?”
“No! Instead of finding myself, I gained a very important lesson…”
“What.”
“Leaving home means suffering, waaah.”
An iron claw to Gomteng’s face for stating the obvious.
Despite passionately recounting his week-long experience, he failed to provide a compelling reason to stop the iron claw.
“I knew this would happen…”
Sea Snake sighed briefly, looking at Gomteng with a crumpled expression.
Perhaps sharing the situation, Sea Snake shook his head, saying he knew this would happen.
“Damn it.”
“Ah!”
Like kicking a soccer ball, Gomteng was tossed into the air and kicked.
With a single scream, Gomteng flew across the living room, rolled on the floor, and Junie quickly ran over and bit him firmly.
Probably mistaking it for a hunting game.
“Kyaaaah…”
Still at the bottom of the household hierarchy, Gomteng.
Approaching him, I indifferently stated the price for his week-long escapade.
“For a week, you were the sole radar, so take it as that.”
“Whyyyy…”
A voice on the verge of death.
Junie must have bitten him hard, as his voice was impressively stretched.
Amidst this, I pointed to Sea Snake behind me and explained the obvious reason to Gomteng, who was expressing his doubts.
“Why? What do you mean why? He did all the work alone for a week while you were gone.”
With that one-sided notice, as I was about to wrap up Gomteng’s runaway incident.
“Uh, Mari?”
“Yeah?”
Turning halfway at Siyeon’s call, I looked back.
With a somewhat anxious expression, Siyeon continued.
“Can I take Baemi with me…?”
Knowing she was saying something strange, Siyeon shyly voiced her opinion.
What’s this about carrying a radio like a police officer on duty?
Wondering why she would do that, I scratched the back of my head and asked.
“Why? Let her rest when it’s not her shift.”
“It’s just… it feels a bit awkward without Baemi.”
Awkward without the mascot.
The discomfort felt when Sea Snake was in the pocket instead of Gomteng.
Hearing it from Siyeon made me realize I felt the same.
The occupational hazard of a Magical Girl, feeling uneasy without a mascot within reach.
Is there a monster? Or is it just something I don’t know about?
When the alarm sounds, is Siyeon doing okay?
During Gomteng’s absence, Siyeon’s monster extermination duty day.
I think I kept thinking about it while sitting in school.
‘Hmm…’
The relationship between a mascot and a Magical Girl, sticking together for over a decade.
Suddenly losing one side can cause such symptoms.
Forcing them apart isn’t right either, I thought, shrugging my shoulders before speaking again.
“Well, if Sea Snake is okay with it…”
“I’m okay!”
Sea Snake’s immediate answer without hesitation.
Thanks to that, our lives returned to normal, with not even a slight change.
During the midterm exam period, which is fun except for studying, I suddenly remembered that day and called Ji-eun.
Rolling around on the bed, using a cushion as a pillow, I pressed my ear to the smartphone and mentioned the mascot’s runaway, asking a question.
“Unnie, have you ever experienced that? Like, after the mascot disappeared…”
“Ah-”
Ji-eun immediately seemed to recall something, letting out a sigh-like exclamation before continuing.
As if she remembered a lot about that part, the story flowed out like a broken dam.
“Of course! Every time the alarm went off, I’d frantically check both pockets, look around the alleys…”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it feels so empty when it’s gone… You should get a husband or a boyfriend before quitting this job.”
As if such symptoms were normal, she casually talked about life after retirement.
Then she advised getting a boyfriend before quitting the Magical Girl job.
A husband or a boyfriend, I haven’t even thought about that.
While briefly lost in thought, the voice continued from the other side of the smartphone.
“Thinking about it, you two might be okay since you’re together.”
“Huh, maybe.”
Certainly, I can’t imagine Siyeon bringing a boyfriend yet.
We’ll think about that when the time comes.
For now, it’s about living the present faithfully.
“Don’t just brush it off, you’ll be twenty in three years, so think ahead.”
“Yes, got it, I’ll hang up-”
“Eh, good luck on your midterms-”
“Yes-”
Taking the smartphone away from my ear, I tapped the dark screen, and the red phone button appeared on the brightened screen, ending the call.
One way or another, having someone serious to talk to around is a blessing.