Chapter 160

As September approached, it was as if the chill of autumn was stepping right in front of me.

When you think of September, you think of the fringes of autumn, and the fringes of autumn bring to mind Chuseok.

And with Chuseok comes festivals, and with festivals come festive foods.

Thinking of festival foods…

I first imagined the scene of middle-aged civil servant uncles occupying a corner of the restaurant kitchen, cooking.

Um, this isn’t quite right, is it?

This imagery of Chuseok and Seol, watching those scenes, was more familiar to me than seeing relatives gathered together flipping pancakes in the living room.

What I thought would last only a year or two, that plan for the Magical Girl festival meetup, turned out to have lasted longer than expected, slowly nearing the milestone of ten years.

It had started when we were in first grade, so it was already our 7th anniversary.

This Chuseok, it seemed the Minister was a bit less busy, as we were able to see her at that restaurant we visited every festival, like a homecoming.

The uncles who slowly started to appear began to disappear again, while others who had been unseen started to show up.

“Isn’t it that Seong-woong brother? He retired about two months ago.”

“Oh, really….”

He was one of the uncles who had taken us to Sokcho during elementary school.

I heard that the uncle who appeared every festival had retired about two months ago.

Although we weren’t particularly close, the thought of not seeing him again left a strange sense of regret in a corner of my heart.

With familiar faces gone, new faces began to emerge.

In the Magical Girl world, as well as among the civil servant uncles, a welcome party for newcomers began in different atmospheres.

It felt like nothing more than a regular meetup.

From Cheorwon, there was Eun-ju, the middle school second-year who was in charge.

Thanks to deeply rooted Confucian values, even someone just one year older was suddenly an “older sister” in my mouth.

Given the nature of the venue, some people had missed each other during the meetup, creating the atmosphere of a belated welcome party for newcomers.

“There must be a lot of soldiers there, right?”

“Yeah, we see them often.”

“There are some handsome soldiers, right?”

“Uh, well, I’m not sure. They all have shaved heads, so…”

The girls’ conversation flowed, creating an atmosphere akin to a flower garden on a traditional mat.

In contrast…

“Oh my, you! Who made this Songpyeon like this!”

“Ow!”

The Minister’s nagging voice, now thickened with years, echoed through the kitchen.

In a different sense than ours, a harsh initiation ceremony for the newcomers was taking place.

I wondered how the uncles in their forties and fifties felt getting scolded.

Before long, the Minister’s hair was showing more white than black.

Her back had slightly hunched, making it seem like this wasn’t the time for her to be sitting and working.

Nevertheless, according to the rhythm of the Minister’s thick nagging, the dishes gradually filled up.

The quality of the food, which was passable seven years ago, had increased with each passing year, now on par with what one would find at popular markets.

Stir-fried glass noodles glistening as if drenched in oil, thick brown pork ribs that would be a rice thief even mixed with just sauce.

Various types of jellyfish salad dressed in a reddish sauce, delicious soy sauce marinated crabs and seasoned crabs.

Various pancakes well-coated with egg, a pot full of dumpling soup.

And for dessert, even Songpyeon, there were more side dishes than ordinary festival households.

“All done—”

With a bang, the sound of the ladle hitting the pot and the uncle’s shout drew our eyes to the kitchen.

“Let’s eat!”

Everyone got up from the mat, beginning to gather one by one near the food containers to get large bowls.

Gathering around their favorite dishes, they filled wide bowls with steaming white rice and the foods they loved, clustering around the large dining table.

First, a bite of glistening stir-fried glass noodles.

Slightly firmer than ramen, the noodles and ingredients slipped into my mouth.

They had a texture that felt slippery yet sticky.

The salty taste, unique to Korean cuisine created by the harmony of soy sauce and sesame oil, naturally led me to scoop a piece of white rice with my chopsticks to eat.

I just can’t resist this combination…

“How’s the taste, everyone?”

The Minister aunt, leaning against the table and groaning, subtly joined us.

This restaurant had become the go-to place for Magical Girls during festivals.

The food that was once made with the uncles’ inexperienced hands seven years ago was now delicious enough that I could confidently say it was good without any disagreement or preference.

“It’s delicious.”

“Wow, if even Mary thinks so… it really improved a lot!”

After I gave a simple compliment about the taste, the Minister suddenly remarked that she had improved a lot, patting herself on the back.

No, my standards aren’t that high!

I felt like she was simply trying to tease me, so I gruffly shot back at her with a mouthful of chopsticks.

“What about me?”

“Look at you… saying the glass noodles were too salty or something.”

“That was what others said too…”

The Minister aunt seemed to imply that I was picky about my taste.

But back then, everyone had said it at least once, and I merely told her on behalf of everyone…

But wait, when was that?

It was a mistake when some uncle accidentally used soy sauce in the water boiling the glass noodles.

“No, and when was that? It was three years ago.”

And it was a full three years ago.

The Minister aunt, hearing this stream of excuses, tilted her head and said,

“Three years? Has it been that long…?”

“Why do you make me sound like the odd one out?”

“Sorry, with my age, I tend to get forgetful.”

With my assertive tone of questioning, the Minister aunt lowered herself in apology.

In many ways, she seemed to have mellowed a lot compared to before.

Gone was the stingy aunt who used to save every single penny; now, there was only a kind older woman across the table.

These days, with her openly apologizing like that, banter or verbal battles just wouldn’t hold.

A sense of emptiness washed over me, and, speaking as if it hadn’t been this way a few years ago, I asked the Minister,

“Why have you become so gentle?”

“…This is probably the last time I’m seeing you like this this year.”

With a clink as she dropped her spoon onto the table, the Minister made a bombshell statement.

“Excuse me?!”

Some Magical Girls who had built inner intimacy with the Minister opened their eyes wide in shock.

While we had somewhat been expecting it, hearing it actually left us just as dumbfounded.

The winds of change brought on by the passage of time began to affect our everyday lives.

The restaurant, which had been filled with warmth, suddenly became solemn.

Most of all, the thought of our long-time acquaintance, the Minister, leaving, raised a fuss among the now fully-grown Magical Girls.

“What should we do…?”

“What do you mean what should we do? Just keep doing what we’ve been doing.”

Patting the backs of the twenty-something-year-old women who were on the verge of tears, the Minister smiled kindly, saying it was just a matter of changing people.

While I held some resentment, ultimately, I reflected on how much help I had received and decided to send her off with a smile as well.

As we exchanged farewells one by one, I noticed the glances the Minister was sending my way.

“Mary, you shouldn’t give the next Minister a hard time, okay?”

Still sharp perhaps, the Minister aunt made her cheeky remark, poking fun from her side.

In this warm atmosphere, I couldn’t respond with anything openly aggressive, so I returned a shy comeback.

“I always repay what I receive.”

“Sure, sure. It’s nice to have that consistency.”

A night surrounded by the fragrance of festival food in the restaurant.

As I lay this way and that, the situation led me to sleep close to the Minister.

Next to me was Shiyeon, as expected, and on the other side was Eun-ju, the Cheorwon Magical Girl.

It was a somewhat emotional night.

In the dimly lit restaurant, I spoke to the Minister.

“Either way, thank you for the hard work.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

The Minister aunt’s hand that gently stroked my head was unusually warm that day.

After about three times of the comforting gesture, her hand fell away…

The Minister herself seemed to be quite sentimental as well, quietly murmuring.

“Oddly enough, it’s the troublemakers like you, Mary, who stick in my memory more than the obedient ones.”

Actually, school teachers have said similar things.

Troublemakers and those who cause headaches are remembered more than those who are well-behaved.

Wait, does that mean I’m a troublemaker?

I’ve been living pretty quietly lately.

‘But maybe not?’

Well, with that event where I crashed the Animal Protection Society protest with a monster, it really was big news.

As I was deep in thought, reflecting on my actions…

“Who will the next Minister be?”

Shiyeon, unable to fall asleep, seemed curious too, as she turned to the Minister and asked.

The Minister paused, letting out a long “Um…” then summarized too briefly without any distinctive features to mention.

“Young.”

“Not in terms of age, please…”

“Younger, like me when I was young.”

When I pressed her for other characteristics aside from age, yet another bombshell came out unexpectedly.

Should I call it reflexive? She tossed out a joke that seemed half-hearted but held some truth.

“Wow, that’s a big issue.”

“Hahaha.”

As soon as she finished speaking, from across the room, a chuckle rang out from the sleeping area.

The statement that the next Minister would be like her when she was young elicited a laugh from me in return.

“Who just laughed?”

The Minister, raising her upper body while still lying down, searched for the source of the laughter.