The instinct of women to take photos of their food.
I thought that this might remain the same even after several centuries.
After a few minutes of photo time, it was finally time to eat.
The savory and rich flavor of the creamy pasta.
I tried a spoonful of the creamy soup, which felt like it was missing the bread, while balancing it with some carbonated drink.
Soft, almost disintegrating broccoli and pieces of bacon.
I also took a portion of the thick pizza, modified in the Korean style, onto a small plate, and ended up consuming quite a large amount for lunch.
“Phew, I’m so full.”
Shiyeon gasped, pleading about her fullness.
Considering the meetup ended satisfactorily and with full bellies, we climbed back onto the bus heading towards the terminal in Seoul.
Right before the meetup wrapped up, New Jupiter, the youngest Magical Girl, persistently asked for my contact info.
I had thought it was annoying, but I didn’t give it to her, cleverly putting to use the parts of the security and communication network that had bothered me. She was an older sister one year my senior, which was quite troublesome in many ways.
Well, it can’t be helped if you’re a fan who has been following my news since childhood and somewhat grew up similarly around the same time…
“Even so, it’s a bit burdensome.”
If it were other adults looking at me like I was a strange kid, it might be different, but I’m not used to the pure gazes of younger kids.
Right now she’s one year older, but I have my own age accumulated mentally.
When middle school students look at you with admiration, it creates a strange sense of pressure.
It’s not like I’m someone worth admiring that much anyway.
I’m just trying to make money; I have a sense of responsibility for the money I receive.
Moreover, being a fan? I’m not an idol, what’s that about?
“Ugh!”
Just as those thoughts continued, Shiyeon threw herself into the seat right next to the window.
Naturally, I sat down right next to her.
“That was more pizza than I expected.”
“Yeah…”
We naturally began talking about lunch just now.
I finished the pasta earlier than expected, but the real challenge was the pizza.
At least I ordered a variety of flavors, so it was fortunate; considering the cheesy pizza that was relatively rich, I was almost in panic thinking about how it was the last thing remaining.
“Now, what time is it…?”
Pushing aside the memory of my overly full stomach from the restaurant, I looked at my smart phone, which had only 22 percent battery left.
It was 3:03 PM; considering the bus had just departed, it would take at least two hours.
Plus, there were two subway transfers waiting at the terminal, so no matter how early I returned, I guessed it would be around 7 PM.
Ah, I wish another new Magical Girl would show up soon.
I’d prefer it if I could travel on just one means of transportation, even if it took longer.
Transit with subway transfers and a round trip of seven to eight hours with an express bus, isn’t that too much?
Just as I was muttering such complaints inwardly…
A weight landed on my shoulder, Shiyeon’s head gently resting there.
There was no real tension, but she seemed tired from the long public transport ride.
Thinking back, it was rare that I had sat on a bus for this long.
I slipped my arm through the gap between my back and the seat, laid it down, and pulled the black strap around my waist.
“You need to wear your seatbelt.”
“Hmm…”
After adjusting and pulling it tight, I clicked Shiyeon’s seatbelt into place, somewhat loosely.
Shiyeon, having just closed her eyes, began to rub them noisily.
Since there was no one behind us, and while it wasn’t as comfortable as a business class seat on an airplane, the seat reclined pretty well.
This time it was my turn; I also aligned my seatbelt with the red button and clicked it in soundly.
Then I reclined my seat back fully.
Full and at a comfortable temperature, although it was still a chair, I felt relaxed enough to drift off to sleep immediately.
“Yawn…”
In the end, my body couldn’t resist and let out a long yawn.
I completely let myself fall back into the seat, but for some reason, it was hard to actually fall asleep in the chair.
With my eyes still closed, I tossed and turned.
Whether I was asleep or awake, two hours passed in that state.
I didn’t remember sleeping at all, but strangely, just having my eyes closed made me feel quite refreshed.
I unfastened my seatbelt and pulled my chair together, giving Shiyeon’s thigh a light slap.
“Shiyeon, wake up.”
“Ughhh…!”
Shaking and stretching, Shiyeon groggily woke up.
It was 5 PM; even if my stomach was full, it was snack time.
The aroma wafted through the air.
We, like sparrows, couldn’t pass by that bakery.
Even while knowing it wasn’t that delicious, I once again fell for the scent and bought ten thousand won worth of Del X Manju, clutching it tightly in my hand.
This time it wasn’t the ones that had been cooked and displayed, but the fresh, warm ones I received in a bag.
I tore one off carefully, taking bites to let it cool down enough so my palate would survive.
In the end, it was too hot, and I couldn’t finish it at the spot, so I boarded the subway with it.
Inside the enclosed space of the subway, the oddly spreading scent of freshly made Del X Manju…
For an entire 20 subway stops, the smell persisted until the manju was completely cool and odorless.
That was nearly a terrorist act.
After an excruciatingly stealthy subway ride, I finally arrived back home.
“Arrived!”
Shiyeon jumped over the threshold of the open front door.
So cute.
Checking my smart phone, which had only 3 percent battery left, I saw the time.
Including the walking time, I had returned at around 7:32 PM.
It didn’t feel like I had walked that much, but there was a weight pressing down on me.
No matter how you look at it, home is the best.
Then, lying down on the mat, I noticed…
“Oh, right… laundry.”
The clothes inside the laundry basket.
It was the weekend, which meant I had recycling to do and cleaning…
This wasn’t the time to be sprawled out.
“Ugh.”
A short groan that anyone could tell meant I didn’t want to work escaped my lips as I forced my body up.
I headed straight to the recycling bin in the boiler room.
Separating paper boxes from cans or plastic waste.
While I didn’t need to sort them early, it made things easier when throwing it all out at once.
Though the amount was enough to need to take two trips, the annoyance was through the roof.
If I didn’t throw it out, it would just pile up frightfully…
“I have to do it…”
Realizing reality after being sprawled out, I had no choice but to start moving busily.
Leaving a basket of recyclable waste at the front door, I first emptied the laundry basket containing only towels into the washing machine.
I hugged the lightweight yet annoyingly large cardboard boxes, headed down to the first floor to toss them out, and then took down the basket of plastic and cans, sorting them before recycling them.
As I focused on housework, that drowsy feeling and everything that had previously annoyed me faded somewhere along the way.
When I hung the towels neatly on the dryer and started vacuuming, the housework was soon wrapped up.
With the tension released, my body began to melt onto the floor like liquid.
Even so, it wasn’t right to fall asleep on the living room mat without washing up.
I made an effort to get up and called into Shiyeon’s slightly open room with a lazy voice.
“I’m going to sleep first.”
“Oh, okay!”
Shiyeon replied with an energetic voice in response to my lethargic tone.
I hadn’t even eaten dinner yet; I worried whether Shiyeon would be hungry.
“Mumble if you get hungry and fry something in the air fryer…”
With that as my last word, I finished my shower while blinking sleepily and collapsed into the softness of my bed.
Let’s relax on Sunday; that’s all it takes.
Wrapped up in the comforting scent of myself, I closed my eyes.
By the time I regained my senses, strangely, the smell of food was wafting through the house.
“…?”
With my brain slowly coming back, I noticed the aroma of food.
Feeling something was odd, I blinked my eyes open.
What time is it? Did Shiyeon wake up first?
It’s uncommon for her to wake up before my alarm goes off on a Sunday.
As I fiddled with my smart phone, the screen wouldn’t come on no matter how many times I tapped it.
…Ah, the battery died.
Thank goodness it was Sunday; if it were a weekday, it would have been a big problem.
“Yawn…”
I connected my phone to the charger next to my head and walked out, yawning deeply as my feet slapped against the floor.
Even though I had set the morning alarm for 10 AM on weekends to keep my bio-rhythm in check, today it was useless.
Stepping out from my room, which was almost connected to the kitchen, I checked the time, which was roughly 10:29 AM.
At this point, since I hadn’t set an alarm, Shiyeon should also be getting up on her own.
“Are you up? Let’s eat!”
As I walked into the kitchen, Shiyeon immediately pulled out a chair, urging me to sit and eat.
“Hey, did you make my portion too?”
I was still half asleep, rubbing my eyes with the tips of my fingers while mumbling in a drowsy tone.
A proud sigh mixed with a sense of commendation.
On top of a deep bowl of rice sat a fried egg that was completely overcooked.
The side dish was a piece of canned ham that had been grilled until almost burned, cut unevenly.
The memories of when I couldn’t even crack an egg or control the flame reminded me of my clumsy cooking skills.
Perhaps because she felt nervous about not doing well as I once didn’t, Shiyeon looked down with a bit of apprehension.
“I made a mistake…”
“It’s okay; you just need to not make that mistake next time.”
I reassured Shiyeon, who was blaming herself for the mistake.
There’s a saying that failure is the mother of success after all.
“And besides, eggs and ham are pretty much the same…”
You can’t do everything perfectly from the beginning.
Wrapping around every possible failure, I dunked the almost burned ham piece into ketchup before eating it.
At least the flavors from the eggs and ham, together with the fire, weren’t such a huge variation.
Personally, I also liked the crispy texture of the burned canned ham.
At that moment, between breakfast and lunch, we were having brunch.
“By the way…”
“Hmm?”
Shiyeon, with a curious look and a hint that she wanted to ask something, waiting for my response.
As I looked at Shiyeon, who opened her eyes wide, she finally voiced her curiosity.
“Other Magical Girls are like Venus, or they used to be Jupiter, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Then, what about us?”
“Hmm? Ah… I guess you don’t remember?”
