Chapter 16
Hong-ryeon ground her teeth furiously in her room.
“Damn it, damn it, damn it…!”
What a disgrace. She had rushed at the Black Knight, hoping to take him down, only to be utterly defeated.
Yes, she admits it. She hadn’t cared much about the risks; her focus was solely on the benefits she’d gain from defeating the Black Knight.
She had wanted to bask in the superiority of being the one who could defeat the Black Knight, someone even Bing Seol Hwa couldn’t take down.
But that was wrong. When she heard that ‘even Bing Seol Hwa’ hadn’t been able to defeat the Black Knight, she should have realized then that this was no ordinary opponent.
She clawed at her hair, replaying her humiliating failure over and over in her head.
“Idiot, idiot…! Rushing in without thinking…!”
Sure, she was angry at the Black Knight, but more than anything, she was furious with herself. She could have done better—she should have done better. But instead, she recklessly charged in and made a fool of herself.
Hong-ryeon harbored a fierce rivalry with Bing Seol Hwa.
Perhaps it was because Bing Seol Hwa had stolen the spotlight that had always belonged to her. Or maybe it was because she was always the number one, while Hong-ryeon was stuck being second. But those reasons didn’t matter.
What mattered was that Hong-ryeon’s obsession and jealousy toward Bing Seol Hwa were beyond measure.
That was why she had wanted to be the one to defeat the Black Knight, to claim a victory over Bing Seol Hwa.
But the result was a disastrous failure. It was so pathetic that it wasn’t even worth being ridiculed for.
Suddenly, she stood up and opened the door to her room.
Sitting idly here would achieve nothing. It was better to do something—anything—to clear her mind. With that thought, she stepped outside.
And then, she saw a man.
She recognized him. He was tall, with muscular arms, and handsome—more so than anyone she had ever seen.
But despite his outwardly likable appearance, Hong-ryeon couldn’t help but scowl.
It was Reina’s manager. The man who had stood up to her the previous day.
Of course, technically, he wasn’t her subordinate, so maybe “stood up to” wasn’t the right phrase. But who cared about that? The only thing that mattered was that she didn’t like him.
Sure, that newcomer Reina seemed more competent than expected, but that didn’t matter right now. She was already in a foul mood, and now he had the misfortune of crossing her path.
With that thought, she strode towards him, but his reaction was completely unexpected.
“Oh, hello. We’re neighbours, it seems.”
What?
Hong-ryeon’s mind blanked for a moment at his casual greeting. She had expected him to either act aggressively or shrink in fear, but here he was, calmly saying, “We’re neighbours”?
“What’s with you?”
Hong-ryeon snapped out of her daze and shot the man a glare. He let out a questioning hum and replied.
“What’s with me? I live next door, I’m a manager.”
“No, I mean… don’t you feel anything about me? Like you messed with the wrong person or something.”
“Why would I feel that? You’re not my boss. I only have to worry about my own magical girl.”
“What the…”
Hong-ryeon was speechless. This man clearly had no idea how much power an A-rank magical girl wielded. Glaring at him, she spoke in a low voice.
“Watch your mouth. With just one word from me, I could send your entire family to hell.”
“I don’t have a family.”
“Uh?”
The man continued nonchalantly, as if it was nothing.
“I’m an orphan, a high school graduate with no one to know, so there’s nothing more to lose in this screwed-up life. I don’t care much.”
“What…?”
She thought he might be crazy, but it turned out he was just someone who had nothing left to lose. No family? How was she supposed to predict something like that? This made her feel like a complete piece of trash (which she was).
“Hmm, ahem. Fine, I’ll apologize for speaking carelessly about your family.”
Hong-ryeon said, struggling to maintain her composure. But the man seemed completely uninterested in her apology as he continued.
“No, it’s fine. I don’t even remember them, so it’s not like I feel sad or anything. Anyway, can I leave now?”
Seriously? This had to be the first time someone had reacted this way to her apology, which was a rare occurrence in itself.
And now he was saying what? “Can I leave now?”
Hong-ryeon sighed deeply before asking, “Where exactly are you going?”
“I heard there’s a local market nearby, run by the surviving residents. I thought I’d go take a look and see if there’s anything useful.”
Hong-ryeon was aware of the market’s existence. She had heard that it was run by residents who survived the collapse of the North Korean regime and now traded goods between the North and South. Since deliveries from the South Korean regions took a long time and were inconvenient, many people used the market.
Of course, she had never gone to such a market. Why would she bother going herself when she could just send her manager? It was too much of a hassle.
But hearing about it now made her realize how many things she hadn’t paid attention to during her long stay at the frontlines.
The man looked at her and spoke.
“Want to come along? I’ve heard it’s actually kind of fun, and it doesn’t look like you have anything else to do.”
“Did you just imply that I have nothing to do?!”
Did he see her as some kind of jobless loser? An A-rank magical girl like her, being treated like this—no, even before becoming an A-rank, she’d always been recognized as a top-tier prospect. So yes, this was definitely a first.
“Well, do you have anything pressing to do? Your outfit doesn’t really suggest you’re busy.”
At those words, Hong-ryeon finally noticed what she was wearing. A shabby tracksuit that clearly screamed “comfortable at home” rather than “busy with important matters.”
“…Ah.”
Her face instantly flushed red. What kind of embarrassing display was this? Wearing something like this and then trying to act all serious—it was ridiculous.
The man, however, just chuckled quietly, not even bothering to mock her.
“Well, when you’re relaxing alone, tracksuits are the best. So, are you coming? If you’re going to the market, tracksuits are more than enough.”
“I’m an A-rank magical girl. You think I’d show myself to others like this?”
“Are A-rank magical girls not people or something? Why worry about other people’s gazes just to visit a nearby marketplace? Even Bing Seol Hwa probably scratches her belly when no one’s looking at home.”
“W-What…!”
Unbelievable. This guy dared to talk like that, not just about her but about Bing Seol Hwa too?
Though she hated to admit it, Bing Seol Hwa’s stature in South Korea was absolute. In a country constantly pushed around on the international stage, at least in the realm of magical girls, South Korea was never seen as inferior to other nations.
Very few would dare to speak that way about Bing Seol Hwa. Sure, there were probably people who disliked her, but saying that out loud in real life would get someone buried alive.
Yet, this man spoke as if Bing Seol Hwa was nothing. At first, Hong-ryeon was dumbfounded… but soon, her mood lifted slightly.
Yeah, if this guy could spout nonsense like that to her face, then it made sense that he would treat Bing Seol Hwa the same way.
Feeling somewhat better, Hong-ryeon let out a breath and said,
“…Fine, I’ll go with you. Leaving a regular guy who’s just arrived in this area to wander around alone could be dangerous, after all.”
Hong-ryeon pulled out a hair tie and began gathering her long, flowing hair into a ponytail. The man glanced at her and let out a small laugh.
“Let’s put it that way, then. I was actually a bit uneasy, but with an A-rank magical girl by my side, I guess there won’t be any danger now.”
“Consider yourself lucky. Not many people get to exchange words with me.”
As the man began walking again, he suddenly stopped, turned to her, and said,
“I’m Baek Seung-hyun.”
“Huh?”
Before she could ask what he was on about, he continued,
“My name. Instead of calling me ‘hey’ or ‘you,’ just use my name. By the way, what’s your name, Hong-ryeon?”
Unbelievable. He was just dragging the conversation wherever he pleased.
Suppressing her annoyance, Hong-ryeon closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again.
“Hong Yeon-hwa. Call me Yeon-hwa-nim*.”
*(In Korean, nim is an honorific that is used to show respect and is often roughly translated as “Mr.” or “Ms./Mrs.”)
“Got it, Yeon-hwa-ssi*.”
*(Ssi is the most commonly used honorific used amongst people of approximately equal speech level.)
…Yep, she really didn’t like this guy.
Regardless, the two began walking together.
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