What is needed for that is Shiyeon’s silence and my confidence.
And, a certain situation and script that feels like it was made by an adult.
Considering air conditioning sickness, it’s preferable to choose a wind-free air conditioner rather than one that blows wind.
I meticulously checked the energy consumption efficiency rating, completely setting aside the nearly nonexistent first-class and compromising on a second-class air conditioner.
No matter how much of a magical girl I am, the tiered rates are still frightening.
‘Three hundred….’
In the long run, the amount saved is significant, but the upfront cost is still quite high among the displayed air conditioners.
But what can I do? It’s not an appliance to be used for just one or two years and then discarded.
Recently, the amount spent on computers, air conditioners, and appliances has started to exceed a month’s activity funds for magical girls, and it’s becoming a little worrisome.
Of course, if I add Shiyeon’s activity fund, I could spend more comfortably, but…
‘That wouldn’t be right….’
I swallowed the bitterness thinking of that money I’ve never properly held in my hands.
It’s not like I’m an adult stealing New Year’s allowance under the pretense of saving.
To touch Shiyeon’s activity fund would summon the memories of those days that cry out to my conscience.
Right now, it’s not so much about conscience, but a moment when a white lie is needed.
Steeling myself, I approached the staff at the appliance section and opened my mouth.
What I needed now was the courage to speak a white lie and acting skills.
“Excuse me.”
I tried to make my voice sound as innocent as possible while tugging at my pants at eye level.
“Hmm? What is it?”
A male employee in a neat uniform comprising a crisp white shirt and a green tie, paired with black dress pants secured by a black belt.
Standing at what seemed like 180 centimeters tall, I suddenly felt just how young I still was as I continued speaking.
“My mom told me to order an air conditioner.”
“Uh, huh?”
His voice betrayed his surprise, echoing in my ears.
From the employee’s perspective, two kids who looked like they were still in their childhood suddenly insisting on buying an air conditioner.
His first thought would likely be, what? Where are these kids’ parents?
The second, after cooling down a bit, would probably be, is this a prank?
But I was serious.
Right now, we were a bit oblivious to the world, with our clueless mom who was upstairs shopping for clothes.
We were just two kids who wanted to thoroughly complete the errand our mom had given us.
This was probably a situation that wasn’t covered in any guest service manual.
I pulled out a paper to shake up the confused mind of the employee.
“This, I need to show this when buying the air conditioner!”
What I presented was a neat A4 sheet containing my home address and air conditioner piping layout.
A clear request about installation costs and other details after the order were neatly written.
Assured by the detailed descriptions that it wasn’t two kids fooling around in the food court, the employee fell deep into thought.
“Uh… do you know what you’re supposed to buy?”
“Me!”
With my youthful answer, I quickly grabbed the hand of the air conditioner I had set my heart on and took off running.
Shiyeon, holding my other hand, remained silent, covering her mouth with her hand.
Her role was merely as a persuasive totem.
For some reason, the sight of two kids holding hands seemed far more convincing than just one.
Standing in front of that majestic air conditioner that would solve the sweltering heat, I presented my card.
“Here, my card.”
“Uh, yeah….”
The employee’s expression, slightly tilting his head, seemed somewhat uneasy.
After all, it would count as an achievement for him, but there was a look of ‘Can this really be okay?’ on his face.
It’s likely that not even any of the employees who had been working for over ten years had ever experienced a situation like this.
Today, they would be gaining a precious experience.
After finishing the payment and receiving my card back, as I got on the escalator going up.
The ding of my smartphone indicated the payment had gone through a little late.
Glancing over at Shiyeon, who was holding my hand, I noticed that despite me telling her to be quiet, her cheeks were now puffed up as if she had been holding her breath.
“You can talk now.”
“Phew-!”
As soon as I granted her permission to speak, a silly sigh escaped her lips.
I unclasped our sweaty hands, and immediately pinched her cheeks gently with my thumb and index finger, scolding her as if to say.
“Geez, why were you holding your breath?”
From an adult’s viewpoint, kids are just too cute.
I manage to survive because of Shiyeon.
If I had been alone, the neighbors upstairs and downstairs would have…
‘Ah. This is such a good thought… a good thought.’
I left behind the happy imagination of breaking through the ceiling of the downstairs and the floor of the upstairs, turned on my smartphone, and placed a hand on my stomach as it began to rumble.
It was about that time the emptiness in my belly started to become pronounced.
Just as the escalator reached the upper level.
A food court, one of those typically found in large supermarket chains that hadn’t even registered in my sight when I came to look at appliances, caught my eye.
The portions are absurdly small, and the prices are ridiculously high at that food court.
However, it’s better than returning home and ordering expensive delivery food anyway…
Since both options are expensive, I decided to choose the one I can conveniently take care of nearby.
After silently coming to that decision, I immediately asked Shiyeon.
“What do you want to eat here?”
“Yay!”
Her immediate response sounded as if asking the question itself had been impolite.
It brought back memories of when, as a child in my past life, I was dragged to the supermarket by my family and would eagerly ask to eat here without considering the price or quantity.
After realizing the value performance, I seldom visited food courts in supermarkets anymore.
From various stews and soups to fried foods, even Chinese, noodles, and snacks.
It was practically a comprehensive dining experience with nothing missing. Now, deciding what to order became a dilemma.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Um….”
Though I asked what she wanted to eat, in reality, the options for kids at this food court were pretty limited.
The best choices would be pork cutlet or a special assorted katsu, omurice, something like that.
“Omurice!”
“Then, I’ll have the special assorted katsu.”
Nowadays, such food courts have become automated, with kiosks standing in place of people.
And here’s the problem.
There were no kiosks made for kids.
‘The height….’
The screens of the kiosks were endlessly high for Shiyeon and me.
Two girls standing dumbfounded in front of the kiosk.
Ultimately, in a food court that seemed to have a low order count.
“What are you trying to order?”
A lady came out from inside the food court to assist us.
I had once thought about how much it must hurt to be a little short, but right now, I felt that sorrow in a situation where I couldn’t order anything by myself.
“Um, one omurice and, um….”
“Special assorted katsu.”
As I stretched out my card, the lady took it and managed our payment through the kiosk.
Coincidentally, she was the same lady who had been there when we ordered our food, so we didn’t even need to stare blankly at the number ticket.
Immediately after taking our ticket, she even directed us to a nearby table and seated us.
“Sit here; I’ll bring it over when it’s done.”
“Thank you!”
“Thanks a lot.”
Her kindness went beyond a simple courtesy.
Feeling grateful, I bowed my head with Shiyeon and expressed our thanks.
It seemed like the world was still worth living in, thanks to kind people like her.
With quick preparations, steaming omurice, pork cutlet, fish cutlet, and shrimp tempura, all nestled in the special assorted katsu were brought out.
Along with that came a small soup and corn salad, with a piece of rice.
Despite the price slightly exceeding ten thousand won and the meager portion, it was enough to fill me given what I have.
The sweet and sour sauce, glistening like it was about to overflow from the dish, delighted my palate.
After finishing a satisfying meal, aside from the price, the sweltering heat outside made me want to retreat back inside.
On a day where walking felt unbearable.
In the end, I got into the taxi waiting first in line at the supermarket, giving the driver my address to return home.
Even after returning home, the nightmare of the heat was not over.
Little beads of sweat rolled down my pale skin.
Sweat that had begun to soak my clothes turned dark around my neck area as if I had just come out of the water.
“Let’s last just a few days with a fan….”
“I want to take a shower….”
The lonely battle of just the two of us before the air conditioner arrived had begun.
During this time, it was double the showers, double the laundry.
In the suffocating heat and the cycle of showering and washing, we were battling while waiting for the air conditioner.
Suddenly, having that thought in my mind, I posed a question to the two stuffed animals sprawled out on the cushion.
“Aren’t you hot?”
“…….”
“?”
Not receiving any response, I felt something odd and turned my gaze toward the cushion.
Shiyeon’s mascot, usually curled up, and Gomtaengi, who would be matching hands and crossing their legs, were sprawled out on the cushion in unusual positions, sticking their tongues out like dead bodies.
‘So they’re feeling the heat too.’
I picked up both mascots in each hand, and a damp, sticky liquid was running down their surfaces.
Is this a kind of sweat?
What I thought was a lonely battle between two had turned out to be four.
