Still, it’s not polite to cut off here.
Well, since the location has been decided that way, there’s nothing I can do.
Anyway, the meetup schedule has been announced, so I quickly got up to inform Shiyeon and walked over to her room.
Since we’re comfortable with each other, I burst in without knocking.
Shiyeon, who was just lying on her bed and looking at her phone, lifted her head like a puppy at the sound of the door swinging open and looked towards me.
Without hesitation, I threw a question her way.
“I heard the meetup is in two weeks, are you going?”
“Where is it this time?”
It’s natural for the location of the magical girl meetups to change every time.
Curious about where we’ll be gathering, Shiyeon completely took her eyes off her smartphone and asked.
“Cheorwon in Gangwon Province, but it’s going to take a few hours by bus.”
“Hmm, I’ll go!”
After hearing Shiyeon’s response, I nodded in understanding and returned to my room.
I began looking up transportation options without much thought.
When going to a place I’m not familiar with, a map app is essential.
It provides information on transportation and the total cost, making the world feel truly convenient.
At most, I’ll just need to take an express bus from the main terminal.
…or so I thought, which turned out to be a mistake.
The travel time was displaying oddly.
‘3 hours 46 minutes?’
Didn’t it take about that long to get to Sokcho as well?
Feeling something was off, I searched the distance.
The distance from Incheon to Cheorwon is 96.5 km.
The distance from Incheon to Sokcho is 190 km.
Despite the almost double distance difference, the map app indicated it would take the same 3 to 4 hours.
As I examined the route, I pondered, ‘What the heck, why is the transportation like this?’
There was a reasonable explanation for it.
While there’s a direct express bus to Sokcho from Incheon, Cheorwon is like a graveyard for soldiers, and even the transportation is unfriendly.
The bus itself only takes two hours, but it’s a local bus instead of an express one.
Moreover, I need to take the subway for an hour and a half just to get to Seoul first.
‘Damn.’
I never imagined the transport situation would be like this.
Amid various worries, time flowed equally.
After walking hand in hand to school, it was class time as usual.
Classes where you listen with one ear and let it slip out the other and a lunchtime enjoyed with delicious side dishes.
Then, after a seemingly eternal lunch hour, the scheming among close friends begins.
“Are we going to the PC room today?”
“Of course, Nara and Mary are going… Is Shiyeon going too?”
Dongha subtly interjected into Seonhyuk’s suggestion, trying to include Shiyeon and me as well.
“Who said I was going for sure?”
The only places middle schoolers really go are their own houses or karaoke rooms, or just casually the PC room.
It seems the casual PC room has been chosen.
Rather, I expressed my displeasure towards the decision that was already apparently made by the others.
Of course, I would go, but it felt weird to think they had me figured out.
“Well, no…? Mary, I’ll go first?”
Shiyeon, who was planning to attend an art academy starting today, flusteredly refused the offer, waving her hand at me with a bewildered expression.
“Eh-”
She responded nonchalantly with a stretched-out affirmation.
We were usually inseparable, like needles and thread.
“Where’s Shiyeon going?”
But unlike usual, as Shiyeon stepped out of the school through the corridor first, Taehyun was the first to notice and asked.
I thought if I casually said she was going to an academy, they’d understand.
“I’m starting to go to an academy today.”
“An academy for studying?”
Dongha, curious about what kind of academy it was this time, asked.
I had no reason to hide it, so I straightforwardly answered.
“No, an art academy.”
“Aren’t you going?”
“Why would I go?”
Finally, a remark from Seonhyuk.
What does Shiyeon going to an art academy have to do with me?
After rebutting why I should go, I resumed my stride.
While we bantered, we arrived at the PC room.
Strangely, the spaghetti cooked at home always feels about 20% less tasty than the one from the PC room.
After finishing a few rounds of games while socializing, we had a brief moment of rest.
Checking my smartphone, I saw that the tablet PC I ordered had arrived at my house.
I felt like I could just go home and bring the delivery box in after I was done.
After school ended, I was hoping to welcome Shiyeon back with the tablet PC, which would give me a perfect day… or so I thought.
‘What? Why is it empty?’
At the entrance after leaving the PC room, I found it completely deserted.
Could it be that Shiyeon stopped by before heading to the academy and brought it inside?
Then I wouldn’t be able to pull off a surprise, I thought as I entered the house.
Nothing on the dining table, nothing in Shiyeon’s room, and nothing in mine.
Not even in the living room or kitchen was there anything.
The delivery completion text message sat there emptily.
At this point, I was starting to realize something was wrong.
‘Could it be…’
I cast my gaze towards the CCTV that illuminated the entrance corridor.
If there was a bad premonition, I acted quickly.
I headed straight to the security office and requested the security guard to review the CCTV from the time the delivery notification came until now.
After explaining the situation and providing the exact time, he mentioned that he couldn’t show it directly to me, but he could look at it for me.
A moment later, it seemed there was a figure loitering in front of room 402.
“Uh, wait… Who took it? Was it an expensive delivery?”
‘Damn, you fucking miserable life.’
With the guard’s question, my suspicion finally turned into certainty.
Why can’t I even present a surprise gift comfortably?
And although I couldn’t see the video myself, the security guard’s testimony, who seemed oddly enthusiastic, led me to understand that it was indeed someone from the same apartment.
“No way, to steal with the CCTV right there…”
Even the security guard was amazed, albeit in a different sense, by the bold theft by the resident.
If it were a planned theft, it would be one thing, but it was just a lady who had come out of her house rummaging through other floors and casually took her delivery as if it was hers.
So what now?
What do you think? I called the police right away.
The police officers who responded to the theft incident headed straight to room 701 with me, the owner of the missing items, after hearing it was a delivery theft and watching the indisputable security footage.
Knock, knock, knock, the sound of the police knocking on the metal door.
Soon after, a woman’s voice with a nasal tone could be heard from inside.
“Who is it?”
“It’s the police, please open the door.”
Scared at the sound of the police, the woman opened the door without hesitation.
It looked like she lived alone, as there was only one pair of shoes at the entrance, but the inside was simply a pigsty.
Trash was piled up everywhere, leaving no place to step.
The smell of food wafting from inside; could it be that she also stole delivery food?
“You took someone else’s package and brought it home.”
“Oh, no! What kind of person do you think I am…!”
“We have everything checked by the security office.”
As the police officers began to enter the house one by one, I quietly followed behind, scanning the area for my package.
In fact, even though the police came, they don’t have the right to examine the house.
As I learned from a previous incident regarding noise complaints, if you don’t want them to, you can simply tell them to go and send them on their way.
However, most people are not aware of this aspect.
At the sight of the police authority, they often get intimidated and let them in.
What the ignorant fear most is public authority.
Even at the bottom level, they can still follow procedures to apprehend someone.
“There it is.”
“Is that your package?”
“Yes, that’s it.”
Thankfully, it was still unopened.
Holding the precious tablet PC close, I stayed hidden behind the authority for the time being.
Out of curiosity, I checked and found that the food actually belonged to room 501, not 701.
Perhaps the police officers shared the same thought, as they confirmed the receipt attached to the plastic bag.
The numerous delivery boxes stacked up could obviously not belong to their house.
The police officers exchanged a few remarks.
“This lady is in trouble.”
Typically, searching a house without a warrant is not allowed.
The officers were offering consolation by saying, “You must have gone through a tough time,” while I overheard two officers discussing that they would need to issue a warrant soon.
‘Oh, right, before that…’
It was an unnecessary concern, but I went upstairs and knocked on the door of room 501.
A young man who seemed to just have come of age stepped outside.
Understandably, he didn’t look too pleased since he was on the losing side of the delivery situation.
Confronted by the man from the fifth floor with the tablet PC clutched in my hands.
“Who are you?”
The man who flung the door wide opened quickly scanned my school uniform and wore a baffled expression, like ‘who are you and why are you at my house?’
Naturally, anyone would react this way if a girl they didn’t know suddenly knocked on their door.
“Did you order delivery food at all?”
“Yes…”
His eyes widened in surprise.
His expression clearly reflected the question of how I knew that. I immediately got to the point.
“That lady from room 701 is eating it.”
“Excuse me?”
“I just came from the security office after checking the CCTV because she stole my package too.”
As soon as I mentioned the words of room 701, the bewilderment on the man’s face grew, and to emphasize that we were both victims, I raised the package I was holding.
Realizing I wasn’t just joking, the man rushed out in his slippers.
“Damn it…! What kind of bastard would do this!”
Filled with rage, the man stomped down the corridor.
Since our house is just one floor below, he casually walked down the stairs instead of using the elevator.
As we descended to our fifth floor through the staircase…
“Hey you delivery thief, get your ass out here!”
The voice of the man from the seventh floor echoed to our floor.
Even with a three-floor gap, his furious shout was clear and resonated.
Looks like it’s going to be a noisy night.
