After finishing the mock test through such a cycle of flow…
“Did you not sleep because you were studying?”
Pretending to be concerned, my friends gathered around to poke at my cheeks.
Like glutinous rice cakes being made, my cheeks spin round and round at the tips of others’ fingers.
Now tired of telling them to stop, I just passively accept it.
“I didn’t really stay up late studying…”
As I answer their casual question meant to greet, I grab their forearms that are touching my cheeks with both hands.
There’s no particular meaning; it’s just a response to the stimuli of being touched.
It’s the second day of finishing school early.
Although it’s just a mock exam, my classmates, high on the feeling of being done with the test, momentarily escape from studying.
“Did anyone feel the earthquake yesterday?”
“I did, I woke up surprised!”
“Earthquake? What earthquake?”
“I heard it was caused by a magical girl!”
Today’s topic of conversation is the encounter with the monster that happened in the early hours.
Having made a bit of a scene, a few lines of news with the nuance of “I thought it was an earthquake, but it was a monster defeat” have come out.
Kids these days, who can’t detach themselves from their smartphones, share their experiences while feeling the tremors of the earth.
That was all caused by me, you guys.
“Did Mary feel it?”
“Nope.”
Shaking my head at the question that barges in nonchalantly, I answer no.
I was at the epicenter, but I was floating high in the sky…
I could roughly hear what the earth rumbling sounded like, but since my body wasn’t even touching the ground, I couldn’t say I experienced it.
The conversation sparked by the earthquake seamlessly flows into talking about magical girls.
Without a clue that the cheeks they’re touching belong to a magical girl, I begin to speak as if talking about someone else.
“How much does a magical girl earn?”
“Probably at least a thousand a month, right?”
‘Unless they’re on assignment somewhere, they won’t make that much.’
“I’m so jealous. They must just fly wherever they want while traveling, right?”
‘They use public transport.’
“Even work from home; they just have to watch their smartphone at home and then step out.”
‘I want to try being on standby for five minutes for just two weeks.’
As I rebut the fantasies about the job of a magical girl that the female students hold, I ponder the gap between ideals and reality.
A magical girl doesn’t look easy at all.
Do you know how anxious I am right now, thinking about whether a monster will appear?
Even so, the magical girl, who doesn’t want to reveal her identity, couldn’t do anything.
Suppressing my unmentionable anger, I just put on an uncomfortable expression.
At that moment, while I felt the tactile sensation of my cheeks about to sag.
“Mary, do you want to go to karaoke with us?”
“Uh? I’m not sure…”
Even though it was a mock exam, the suggestion to go to karaoke came at the feeling that the test was over.
Unlike a PC room, I wasn’t too keen on going to karaoke…
As I hesitated to give a clear answer, the teacher happened to come in.
“Sit down!”
Since I had subtly avoided giving a response, it seemed like the conversation was skipped over…
“Hey? Let’s go together!”
Right after the closing ceremony, the karaoke expedition persistently pressed me again.
When I had just been asked, there were about three of them; but after the ceremony ended, somehow the group had doubled to six.
Look at their teamwork. Do they have telepathic abilities?
The very student that could provide a valid reason for rejecting their invitation, Shiyeon, seemed to be delayed, as she wasn’t even at the front of Class 1.
For a moment, among the students passing through the corridor, a familiar figure stops in front of the back door.
“Mary, what are you doing? Are you not going?”
“Uh, I’ll go!”
Hearing Shiyeon’s voice, I hurriedly moved a few steps forward, like holding onto a lifeline coming down from the sky.
I thought I had survived, holding onto hope for a moment.
However, a classmate who was closer to the back door than I was spoke to Shiyeon.
“We’re going to karaoke with Mary; would you like to come too, Shiyeon?”
I hadn’t even answered yet, but my schedule was already confirmed to include going together.
What is this? Who decided we’re going together?
“I’m fine with it; are you going?”
Shiyeon tilted her head as if karaoke wasn’t really her thing and said she was okay, then looked directly at me, asking if I’d go.
I was trying to use Shiyeon as an excuse to pull out, but now I was in a situation where I had to make a clear decision.
My brain went blank, and as I hesitated to answer.
“I’m fine; have fun!”
‘Oh please.’
As Shiyeon presumed, the lifeline I was holding suddenly snapped.
Like in a fairy tale where a sibling grabs a rotten rope that chases after them and falls, was that how the tiger felt?
Sure, I was supposed to be the antagonist in the fairy tale, but understanding this feeling didn’t seem right…
Shiyeon disappeared beyond the corridor with a refreshing expression.
After being discarded without self-awareness, I found myself being dragged along to a coin karaoke place.
One might say I could simply refuse, but the atmosphere doesn’t easily permit that.
You know, it’s like when the company decides on Jajangmyeon for lunch, and if I said, “I want Jjamppong,” I’d instantly be labeled as the crazy one in the chilly atmosphere.
Yeah, it feels like that.
“What songs do you like, Mary?”
As the songs passing by are all ones I don’t know, I find myself avoiding and dodging my turn.
Regardless, I had to sing something, but I couldn’t think of an appropriate song.
Not knowing many female songs either, I ended up selecting an old animation song that touches the hearts of men.
“One more time, for me!”
As my turn comes around, I sing like I’m making a pilgrimage, recalling old memories through animation songs.
The others, despite thinking, “When was this song out?” still reacted by clapping along since the songs were good.
I miss you, Tuxedo Mask.
“See you tomorrow!”
“Bye!”
After enjoying some nostalgia loudly, we each headed back home.
Seeing friends being pulled by parents’ calls or messages not to come back too late, I waved my hand gently with the thought of enduring just three more years.
Although with adult’s wealth, I might have been able to treat them to lunch, since everyone was heading home to eat, I couldn’t easily say that.
Thinking about whether to eat alone or not, I texted Shiyeon.
If she said she ate lunch, I’d go back alone; if not, I planned to go back and eat with her.
Tap, tap, my smartphone keyboard was pressed quickly, capable of being input even with my eyes closed.
[Did you eat lunch?]
[Not yet]
After sending the message, I received a reply almost instantly after the numbers disappeared.
It’s almost 1 PM, and she hasn’t eaten lunch yet?
Just as I was about to send a probing message asking why she hadn’t eaten, a reply came back.
[Ji-un is at home.]
“Uh?”
Wondering what was going on, I hurried home.
As soon as I opened the front door, I heard the voices of two women chattering inside, so I hurried toward the living room.
The first to greet was Shiyeon, who was talking to Ji-un.
“Did you come back?”
“Mary, hi!”
Then, Ji-un, leaning in from the inside, waved her hand.
I waved back in greeting and asked, wondering why she was at home when normally she would be with Juwon and Uncle Dae Han.
“Why are you here?”
“I took Juwon to kindergarten, and since I finished all the housework, I came out to take a breather.”
My face probably showed surprise, wide-eyed and betraying that I wasn’t expecting this.
Perhaps displeased by my reaction, Ji-un playfully continued with a pout.
“Why, can’t I come without a reason?”
“No, it’s not like that…”
Even as I answered her sharp question, I trailed off.
I refrained from saying it was surprising to see someone who usually moved in a family unit wandering around alone, and scratched the back of my head.
It’s like ordering hamburgers and being surprised when fries and cola don’t come together.
In short, it just feels awkward.
As I continued scratching the back of my head, they moved on to the next question as if they hadn’t expected an answer.
“Mary, it was a mock exam, right? Where have you been with Shiyeon?”
When Ji-un came over, Shiyeon had been the only one at home.
As if still regarding us as elementary school students who stuck together, she asked with a puzzled expression.
“Didn’t you hear? I went to karaoke with friends.”
Of course, she must have heard that already from Shiyeon.
But when I asked back with a similarly puzzled face, Ji-un continued with her questions.
“What about Shiyeon? Why didn’t she go with you?”
‘Exactly.’
Looking at Shiyeon while Ji-un asked the question, I internally resonated with her sentiment.
Yeah, I wish she would have joined to balance things out a bit.
When Ji-un subtly questioned why she didn’t go together, I glanced at Shiyeon, and she answered without hesitation.
“The kids from Class 1 were going together, and I’d feel weird joining in.”
“Ah, I get that.”
Only then did Shiyeon reveal her reason for not joining the karaoke expedition.
Hearing the reason, Ji-un could relate to some extent.
So, that’s what she was thinking.
Regardless, Ji-un’s next question was about my song selection for karaoke.
“What songs did you sing there?”
“‘The Wind is Blowing’, ‘The Declaration of Departure’, ‘Goodbye’, ‘Don’t Stop Me’…”
“Wow, those are really old songs, right? I feel like I’ve heard them on TV before…”
Listening to my response, Ji-un was impressed by the selection of ancient songs, saying they were also in her memory.
…It has been a while since they came out.
