I watched a magical girl animation while happily eating chicken, lost in thought.
Even though two people rushed at one chicken, half was left uneaten, unable to fill the fragile stomach of an elementary school student.
The remaining chicken was for the mascots before it got cold.
“Oh.”
The refreshing combination of greasy chicken and soda flowed out as a cool shout from deep within.
Using that refreshing sound as a signal, Shiyeon’s mascot, resembling a sea serpent, and the bearcub slowly approached the chicken box.
The reason I ordered it as boneless was to make it easier for these two to eat.
They looked like they could survive on air alone, yet they were undoubtedly strange beings who coveted human food.
“I’m having fried chicken.”
“Wow, you left so much…”
They were the world’s first dolls eating chicken.
Broadly speaking, I could say that’s a leftover processor too, right?
‘It is practical.’
It doesn’t consume electricity and doesn’t need batteries.
As I gazed at the bearcub’s back, Shiyeon’s mascot fixed its eyes on me.
Following that gaze, the bearcub, busy stuffing chicken into its mouth, turned to look at me and said.
“Are you asking me?”
“No. It’s nothing, just thought it would be perfect to sell as a leftover processor.”
“Really?!”
It might very well become a must-have item for homemakers.
No food waste, and it can also keep you company—how great is that?
When they finish eating all the leftovers, they would neatly fold the greasy chicken box and pour the chicken radish soup down the sink.
I suppose it’s because of their chunky bodies; staying up all night is impossible.
“Yawn.”
How long has it been since I ate chicken? I let out a big yawn as drowsiness threatened to overwhelm me.
Shiyeon, sleeping with her pillow shaped like a sea serpent on the lower bunk of the bunk bed, let out shallow breaths.
Looking at that scene, I stepped onto the stairs leading to the upper bunk.
The bearcub, sprawled out taking up the center of the bed, was a sight to behold.
With disinterest, I grabbed it by one hand and tossed it outside the stairs.
“Gwaek!”
‘What’s a wild beast doing in a place where people sleep….’
After climbing the stairs, I collapsed onto the soft bed.
I had barely closed my eyes for a few minutes.
The night that felt endless was shattered by the basic alarm sound ringing from my smartphone.
I swiped the alarm on my smartphone, which had been resting next to my pillow, and closed my eyes again for just a brief moment to let out a short sigh.
“Oh.”
As I squirmed in bed, an unintentional sigh escaped my lips.
The meaning of that sigh was so clear that it didn’t need any explanation.
‘…I don’t want to go to school.’
“Yawn.”
Thus began the trek to elementary school, kicked off with Shiyeon’s yawn.
Starting again from here.
How many more years do I have to wake up early in the morning?
Once I arrive at school, I sit at my desk and hang my bag beside it.
In this setting where there are no mom or dad as a magical girl, I just happen to have the surname Kim.
Because of the unreasonable rule of alphabetical order, I can’t even lay down comfortably in the front row.
And it’s the front row right next to the teacher’s desk.
‘What terrible luck I have.’
With a load of complaints, I managed to accumulate a bit of freedom by lying on my desk before the class started.
Without mom and dad, can’t I change my surname too?
After all, this is such a nonsense world.
Can’t they just let this slide?
“Hey! Kim Mari! Where’s the tteokbokki?!”
“Kim Mari! Kim Mari!”
‘Ugh, you bastards.’
The daily life of an elementary school.
Teasing with a name.
It seems like they never get tired of the same subject day after day.
The boys in my class, more troublesome than monsters.
It’s easy to beat up a monster until it releases stress, but these kids don’t let you do that, making it all the more frustrating.
If I beat them up and their parents come, it becomes a bigger hassle.
‘These things don’t need to be realistic.’
“Yawn.”
Muttering such complaints, I let out another yawn, as they called me Kim Mari and shrimp fry.
It seems that the corrections in the magical girl universe have their limits.
Was it in kindergarten when I once hit a kid who teased with names, only to get in trouble with a troublesome mom?
I still vividly remember that conversation from back then.
The woman, oblivious to her failure of parenting, demanded I call in my parents right away.
In response, I asked why to look for something you don’t have, and that nearly turned the kindergarten upside down.
I also added that it was because of kids like her that the no-kids zones were established.
Thinking back, that wasn’t something a child of that age should be saying.
At that time, I was just starting to figure out how to behave appropriately for my age, so I couldn’t be blamed too much….
‘It was a bit too much.’
I never imagined their parents would really be gone.
Looking back, it was essentially a grand argument between someone who didn’t exist and someone who was lost.
In any case, I learned my lesson and now live without causing issues.
Of course, if I were sure their parents wouldn’t come, there would be plenty of kids I’d want to knock out right away.
Still, dealing with name teasing, an adult in my heart would endure for me.
But sometimes, the pure malice of children can break even the strongest will of an adult.
After school, during cleaning time.
Following the assigned numbers, we grab brooms and dustpans or mops to start cleaning.
If you run away, your number will just be left on the board.
While squatting down to pick up large pieces of trash, a prepared mop walks into the classroom.
Splash, the mop, dripping with too little squeezed water, sweeps across the floor.
“Yay!”
What could be so exciting? The little ones zooming between desks and chairs.
If they are eager, it finishes quickly, which is good.
While thinking this, staring at my smartphone…
Splash, I felt dampness on my head alongside a dull thud.
“Oh.”
The kid who, excitedly, had lifted the mop high in the air couldn’t control its weight and ended up it grazing my head instead.
With the mop that was already damp, bits of sandy dust fell from my hair.
‘…??’
Wait a minute, my rational thoughts disappeared.
Despite that, my mind was still clear.
Right, they’re just kids, mistakes will happen sometimes.
But would this fist forgive you?
The fist of my body, not understanding, started to trace a clean arc.
In that moment, my lost reason returned to where it should be and connected to my head.
I commanded myself to steer clear of delivering a knockout punch.
“Ah!”
Fortunately, my fist connected with the right side of the chest, and I didn’t deal with the trash-covered hair and stepped out of the classroom first.
As soon as I entered the bathroom, I barely managed to wash off the sandy trash stuck to my head in a school bathroom far from cleanliness.
The long hair I had avoided cutting because I was too lazy to deal with was a nuisance in moments like this.
‘I messed up.’
Regret came a bit late.
I hoped that kid’s mom wasn’t an unreasonable person.
My insides felt heavy and bitter.
I should grab a candy on my way back.
Shiyeon, from another class, waited at the school gate until the cleaning finished.
Of course, Shiyeon asked why my hair was wet, and I recounted what happened during cleaning to justify it.
“So, did you hit him?”
“Uh-huh.”
I responded nonchalantly as I popped a strawberry-flavored lollipop I bought at a nearby stationery store into my mouth.
It was all in the past now.
A man doesn’t regret trivial matters from the past.
…Or maybe I can this time?
Shiyeon, hearing my nonchalant response, took on a troubled expression.
“What should I do then….”
“When I came to my senses, my fist was already out there.”
Looking at my tightly clenched right fist, I couldn’t help but smile a little, raising one corner of my mouth, as if trying to excuse myself.
Shiyeon’s expression, once troubled, now manifested a near-disgusted look as she muttered a futile lecture directed at something that wouldn’t improve.
“You shouldn’t say that proudly….”
Ah, the candy tastes sweet.
Strawberry flavor after all.
“Mari, you’re not listening, are you?”
“Of course, I’m not.”
“Phew….”
Making an elementary school student sigh—what an accomplishment for me.
After returning to the apartment, nothing seemed different from usual.
Other elementary students might fuss about sending their kids to after-school programs, taekwondo classes, and such…
But for us, that’s not applicable.
We’re a high-end workforce who has to deal with monsters, right?
Even high-end workers have their days off.
A day when monsters don’t appear is a holiday.
“Today, there’s no monster.”
As I lay with my legs crossed on the lower bunk, I heard Shiyeon murmuring.
“Don’t speak such ominous words; it’s not that kind of thing.”
I chastised Shiyeon, who spoke those foreboding words, quoting a proverb.
Savoring the stick of candy that was left, I expressed gratitude for a day without monsters.
…Until that night, at least.
“Mari! Mari!”
“Ah… oh no, you crazy bastard.”
With the voice of that damn bearcub ringing in my ears, light blazed in front of my eyes.
This lunatic bearcub shone a flashlight right in my face.
No matter how pathetic they are, I never expected them to shine a flashlight in someone’s eyes.
Yet, this damn bearcub has done it.
“A monster has appeared…chicken?!”
The bearcub’s voice was twisted by fingers wrapped around its neck.
I could barely hold back the choking.
“Monster or whatever, do you want to go rafting on the Styx River with Charon?”
