After spitting out that traditional word that even a Chinese person could understand, I was hit with a barrage of angry Chinese words just as I had anticipated.
That clueless little brat was soon brought back to their seat by the Chinese interpreter, who had returned from the bathroom.
While they kept bowing their head, to be honest, it didn’t feel like they were doing so out of consideration or concern for us…
“Look at that disdainful gaze.”
I felt a bit scared that this could turn into an international issue, as if I had taken a step back, dragging my clueless child with me.
Thinking back, I realized that while I might remember magical girl news from the United States or Japan, I didn’t recall much about it from China.
Korea has names, Japan has colors, and America has all sorts of objects.
I had a vague understanding along those lines, but as for China… well…
As that question grew in my mind, I subtly asked the interpreter sitting next to me, even if we were in an awkward relationship.
“By the way, what do magical girls in China go by?”
“Licensed magical girls are named directly by the Chinese Public Security. That one is called Huangjin Nyu in China, which translates roughly to Golden Girl in Hangul.”
“What a name.”
Even after hearing the explanation, I couldn’t understand the naming sense, and the term ‘license’ felt a bit unnatural for a magical girl story.
Wait, does that mean there are illegal magical girls without licenses?
And why is it that this bizarre name ‘Golden Girl’ has been given?
That question was soon answered.
“Well, Chinese people really like the color gold, and there’s the Golden Shield as well.”
According to the interpreter, yellow—gold—is something that Chinese people love.
On top of that, the Golden Shield symbolizes the information censorship and surveillance policies that China uses to monitor its citizens.
To be honest, how things happen in another country is none of my business, and I had just learned that from the interpreter.
From their perspective, it seemed like the name Golden Girl might carry a lot of good meanings mixed in.
Honestly, though, it didn’t sound like a nickname one would typically assign to a girl.
As expected of China, everything from the magical girl’s name to the hidden story behind it felt thick with the red madness of communism.
However, the interpreter’s explanation didn’t end there. They continued with an uneasy expression, muttering a few significant words.
“Well, the magical girl from before is evaluated as the strongest among the licensed magical girls in China, among the ‘licensed’ ones…”
Reiterating the significance of ‘licensed magical girls’ like it was important.
Interpreting the hidden meaning in those words, it could be understood that at least there was a stronger magical girl who was operating without a license hiding out there somewhere.
“Ah…”
A deep sigh of understanding escaped me.
With that brief exchange and some help from search engines, I quickly grasped the situation regarding magical girls in China.
A sudden emergence of individuals with overwhelming power is unwelcome in China.
Sure enough, news had recently reported on how the authorities were cracking down on non-governmental magical girls, branding them as anti-communist.
What a state of affairs.
“By the way, how do they expect us to go find and catch monsters?”
“Um, I’m not sure? I’m just here for translation.”
‘This isn’t going to be easy…’
From the interpreter’s response, it sounded like the upcoming two-week stay in the Arctic wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. With that, I gently squeezed my eyes shut, frowning during the 15-hour flight.
The next day during that trip, while one magical girl was taking a day off in Moscow…
“Ughhh-!”
Another magical girl was quietly waking up in her room, blinking away sleep.
The time was 11:31 AM.
There was no one to scold her for sleeping in since she had gone to bed at 2 AM.
As soon as she woke up, Shiyeon stretched her arms up high and let out a sleepy yawn.
After dozing off while drawing until dawn, she had crawled into bed and fallen asleep right where she was.
Due to her late-night doodling, her small shoulders felt unusually heavy.
Shiyeon’s mascot, dubbed Baemi, was sleeping under the cushion beneath the bed. Upon hearing the mixed sounds of stretching and a deep sigh, it adjusted its height and asked,
“Are you awake?”
“Yeah…”
She nodded in response to the familiar voice.
The house felt even quieter than usual.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she stepped out of her room and mumbled toward Mary’s room.
“Mary, where’s the massager?”
About fifteen steps away was Mary’s room.
It looked a little emptier than yesterday, with a hollow atmosphere indicating that no one had stayed there for the day.
“Mary went out yesterday, remember?”
Upon hearing that exclamation, Baemi stepped out of the room and subtly remarked,
“Oh, right, she said she was heading towards the Arctic…”
Still half-asleep, I thought to myself, taking slow steps toward the kitchen.
Since no one was around to scold her for getting up late, why had she assumed Mary would be there?
Calling out loudly in an empty house like that was so embarrassing…
“I…I totally forgot… Ah, what should I eat for breakfast?!”
To shake off the embarrassment, she hurriedly changed the subject and opened the fridge.
Inside was sliced ham and Vienna sausages that could be wrapped in rice.
Additionally, there were quail eggs preserved in a glass container, sticky chapchae, and curry in a small pot.
All of it was food Mary had prepared right after winter break.
She made it so they wouldn’t have to rely on cup ramen or delivery.
“Hehe.”
Although there were lots of accumulated foods, she crouched down and crawled under the table, where she grabbed something cylindrical from the darkness.
That was one of the various types of big cup noodles.
If Mary saw her, she would probably question, “Why eat that when you have rice and side dishes?” but she couldn’t help it; it’s what she craved.
Starting her first meal of the day with cup ramen.
Though it wasn’t out of the ordinary for her home life, it felt kind of sinful to eat like this.
First, she poured filtered water into the coffee pot and pressed down the button until it clicked.
With a loud noise, the coffee pot began to boil, prompting her to trot back into her room to power on her computer.
Buzzing and beeping as it turned on, the computer booted up.
What should I draw today?
While it’s nice to draw something new, I need to practice coloring more; my shadow rendering isn’t perfect yet.
As she pondered what her first drawing of the day would be, a thud sounded from the kitchen.
The heavy shout of the coffee pot indicated that the water had boiled.
Pouring the hot water into the curled noodles, she tilted the kettle over to the marked line.
Just as she bowed the lid of the cup noodles and tucked it into place…
“Shiyeon, have you poured the water already?”
“Uh? Yeah.”
Suddenly, Baemi had started talking to her, looking like he had something to ask with a troubled expression.
A short gasp fell out involuntarily.
Given that look, the next words were all too predictable.
“I think a monster might show up…”
“Uh? R-Right now?”
Her voice trembled as she glanced at the bubbling cup noodles she had just poured water into, feeling uneasy.
With disheveled hair poking out in various directions, she found herself in a situation that was nothing short of chaos.
With Mary not around, monsters in Incheon were up for grabs.
Without being able to eat or wash up, she hurriedly threw on the clothes that had been strewn about with her socks from yesterday, getting ready to leave.
Pressing down her unruly hair with her coat’s hood, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes with her thumb.
She pulled out her sneakers from the shoe rack, nearly tossing them aside, stepping into them, and adjusting her feet with a few twists.
‘If I take too long, the noodles will become mushy…!’
Though she was hurrying, the noodle cooking time usually takes around 2 to 3 minutes.
No matter how skilled an instructor… no, how magical a girl Sun was, even her average monster handling time appeared to be between 3 to 4 minutes.
Unless it was a deliberate slowdown, the astonishing record of under 5 minutes was logged.
As for Mun, the magical girl, the actions leading up to the outcome inevitably took longer.
The total time it took her to defeat and return from a monster was 7 minutes and 39 seconds.
That was ample time for the typical noodle to swell like those in Gokjeong Noodles.
Throwing them away seemed wasteful, and eating them would be unappetizing…
Reluctantly, she mixed the swollen cup noodles with some rice.
After that, she piled on the quail eggs preserved in soy sauce and pushed the mixture into her mouth, blending the blandness and the distinct flavor of the ramen soup.
Thus, Shiyeon was eating what was possibly the most unappetizing breakfast in the world.
Seeing this, her mascot Baemi seemed to feel a tinge of guilt and briefly apologized.
“I’m sorry, I should’ve realized it sooner…”
“It’s not your fault, Baemi…”
The thought of “if only I had caught on earlier” was meaningless now that it had already happened.
Assertively believing it wasn’t the mascot’s fault, she nodded while taking a spoonful of swollen noodles and rice.
Then, she picked a quail egg, which had soaked up the soy sauce’s dark color, placing it atop the food-laden spoon, and popped it into her mouth, chewing slowly.
With each bite, the act of chewing grew increasingly sluggish.
“Ugh, I really hate monsters at times like this.”
Shiyeon’s resentful mumble echoed in the emptiness, lamenting the ruined first meal she had expected to be tasty.
