LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 9
“Why? Is the atmosphere peculiar?”
No, it’s just a busy street that doesn’t seem much different from any other place.
Well, comparing it to the familiar Gwanghwamun area, the vibe was completely different. They’ve developed the unused railway area into a park with a certain aesthetic, and it felt like there were relatively more young people wandering the streets.
However, the reason I was looking around wasn’t because of that.
I’ve never had a job like a reporter, so I’m not sure, but do reporters get flustered when the expected location changes?
At that moment, the reporter who had taken a picture of me entering the convenience store with Ha-yoon was nowhere to be found in my sight.
That means, at the very least, he wasn’t taking photos from “nearby.”
I don’t own a camera, but one thing I do know: the better the camera’s performance, the larger it is, and the further it can capture, the bigger the lens.
…Well, if he really took the picture from “far away,” it’s understandable that I wouldn’t see him.
“But… what do we do now?”
Anyway, it’s good that we got off the subway and made it to a crowded place. It’s great and all.
But what should we do here?
Since I was reborn in this world, one of the things I haven’t done is “fangirl.” I was an otaku in my past life, but not in this one.
Actually, it was semi-forceful. After all, to collect something, you need money. Having a ton of stuff in the orphanage is a bit awkward. Once we become adults, we have to move out, and having too much stuff would be a hassle.
So, I don’t have plans to visit the “hangout for otakus” in Hongdae. I don’t intend to take these kids there. Ji-hye might play with it for half a day, but Ha-yoon, maybe not so much.
“Um… how about…”
Ji-hye rolled her eyes when my words trailed off.
“Should we buy some clothes?”
She suggested in a somewhat hesitant voice.
“Clothes!”
But the one who responded was Ha-yoon.
When I turned to look at her with surprise, she was looking up at me with sparkling eyes.
Hmm…
Ha-yoon likes cute clothes.
It was mentioned in the introduction of the webtoon characters, and I, having grown up with her as a childhood friend, knew it well.
Though she usually dresses modestly and shies away, her magical girl outfit was quite cute. In the story, her magical girl design changes quite often.
It seems that rather than having a fixed transformation form, Ha-yoon transforms based on the outfits she imagines at the moment.
“…”
The problem is, I’m a bit scared about that. Seeing Ha-yoon’s sparkling eyes looking at me.
For some reason, I feel like she would pick an extremely pink outfit.
No, it’s not that I hate it, but—
“…you don’t like it?”
With my brief silence, Ha-yoon’s spirits dropped a bit.
“…”
After thinking for a moment, I said, “Then let’s go check it out.”
Ha-yoon’s face brightened again, and Ji-hye’s followed suit.
*
Ha-yoon… well.
She didn’t pick as pink an outfit as I feared.
But it was definitely more pink than I had worried.
It wasn’t outright hot pink with frills or lace everywhere.
But in the end, it was light pink. Luckily, it was a long-sleeved t-shirt that wasn’t too flashy. Additionally, Ha-yoon had changed my pants into a white skirt. It was wrinkled, so it wouldn’t be too cold, but…
“…”
Wearing a pink outfit felt a bit… overwhelming, but—
Ha-yoon was standing in front of me, clasping her hands together with her eyes sparkling, making it hard for me to refuse.
Ji-hye was a step back behind Ha-yoon, laughing openly at me. I clenched my fists and held back my anger.
When we go back, I’ll smack her at least once.
Fortunately, since things like coats can’t be bought there, I merely changed into the inner clothing and stepped out of the store.
A black coat, a pink t-shirt, and a white skirt.
It was brighter than what I usually wear, which is mostly black.
“Pretty!”
Surprisingly, Ha-yoon, who was dressed modestly, said that and clung to my arm.
Maybe after changing clothes once, some of the embarrassment had faded?
Click.
“Ah, sorry.”
I turned sharply at the camera sound, and Ji-hye seemed a bit flustered.
“Is it not okay to take pictures?”
“Ah… no. I just got startled by the sudden sound.”
I responded like that to Ji-hye’s question.
I seemed to be overly sensitive about it. I shook my head slightly to clear my mind.
Whatever my company had said, I had come out to have some fun after all.
“Then, I’ll send you the pictures.”
Ji-hye said with a devilish grin.
Ha-yoon looked delighted, but it seemed that she had every intention of keeping my ‘pink outfit’ photo permanently and showing it off whenever.
I sneaked a glance down at Ha-yoon, who was sticking to my side.
Ha-yoon, slightly shorter than me, looked up at me.
Our eyes met, and she smiled brightly.
…
I wasn’t particularly angry.
But even if I had any anger in my mind, I wondered if I could maintain it after seeing that expression.
*
For a place I was visiting for the first time, we were having quite a bit of fun.
Of course, how could I not have fun with two friends along?
It seemed Ha-yoon was still feeling a bit awkward, but she was much better than at first.
It wasn’t particularly cold today, but it was winter weather, so we decided to warm up somewhere cozy for a moment.
“I need to go to the bathroom.”
After successfully ordering beverages and claiming a seat, Ji-hye said this and stood up.
“Be back soon.”
“You two have a nice date.”
It seemed Ji-hye had developed a taste for teasing Ha-yoon a bit.
Ha-yoon’s face flushed a little, and Ji-hye waved her hand at me while looking at me. She quickly headed to the restroom.
“……”
“……”
We had a moment of silence.
Hmm.
Ha-yoon usually talks quite a lot when she’s with me.
Could it be that she’s feeling awkward since she suddenly brought a friend along? I was pondering this.
Click.
Suddenly, the sound of a camera clicked from beside me.
I turned my head with a question mark above my head, and there was Ha-yoon smiling at me with her smartphone camera pointed in my direction.
“You guys really match well.”
Look at that.
Her tone of voice changes when her friend is beside her compared to when Ji-hye is around.
What should I call this? Friend zone?
“Really?”
I pouted my lips.
“Yep. You always wear only black clothes.”
“I wear it because it suits me. I have black hair, after all.”
I guess it must be because Ha-yoon is alone with me that her mood lightens up, and I couldn’t help but complain like that.
“How can you only go with the same vibe every day? Sometimes you can change it up a bit, right?”
“……”
I rested my chin on my hand and looked out the window.
“Why? What, are you sulking?”
“That’s not it.”
“Is it just because I dressed you up in something cute?”
“That’s not it either.”
When I said that in a grumpy voice, Ha-yoon burst into giggles.
Ji-ee-ing.
“Ah, the drinks must be ready.”
As the buzzer went off, Ha-yoon grabbed it immediately.
“I’ll get it.”
Before I could get up, Ha-yoon stood up first, and I decided to just wait here.
However, I kept my eyes on the back of Ha-yoon’s head, just in case some weirdo might try to talk to her.
…It happens occasionally.
After confirming that she made it safely to the beverage area, I thought it would be alright and pulled out my phone to check.
On the internet site I opened out of habit were articles like:
[Is Blossom really in a relationship??]
It wasn’t a main article. Since Ha-yoon was the protagonist of the webtoon I was reading, I had been checking the entertainment section of the online newspaper habitually ever since she became a magical girl.
I found some information that was helpful to me.
And this article was one of those I looked at.
This article was more like a singular photo than an article.
The content of the photo was of Ha-yoon picking out pink clothes for someone.
I quickly looked up to scan the surroundings.
…Fortunately, those looking this way were all engaged in pleasant conversations with their own group. Many couples were present, and naturally, those couples didn’t pay attention to their surroundings.
Was it taken with a telephoto lens?
There were quite a few people in the clothing store. Trying to take a picture from far away would be hard to make it look natural. Not to mention a smartphone…
“What’s wrong?”
Suddenly, Ha-yoon’s face popped into my view, and I nearly stumbled backward off my chair.
“Why are you so surprised?”
Ha-yoon laughed as she caught my body.
The tray with the drinks we ordered was already sitting on the table.
“Are you looking at something strange on your phone—ah.”
“Ah.”
I didn’t even have time to think about hiding my phone when I panicked.
At a glance, it might seem a bit silly, but Ha-yoon is Blossom. She holds a position among the magical girls active in Korea.
Her physical abilities are definitely not lacking.
And she also has good reflexes.
…Now that she has seen my phone, there’s no way to hide it.
“This is… me.”
“…Yeah.”
While Ha-yoon was looking at my phone, I accelerated my brain’s processing speed to the max.
“And this is from today.”
Ha-yoon frowned slightly.
Her expression didn’t seem angry but appeared a bit serious. She doesn’t usually put on a serious expression, so when she does, it seems ‘super serious.’
“Wow, the coffee is here.”
And just at that moment, Ji-hye, who had come back from the restroom, said cheerfully.
That voice quickly turned serious.
“…Why? Did something happen in between?”
Though her facial muscles were somewhat limited in movement, Ha-yoon’s expression did show signs of shifting, and I can’t hide my expressions well either. To borrow Ji-hye’s words, especially negative emotions seem to come across quite evidently.
“Uh, um…”
I hesitated, wanting to say something but went silent.
Do I need to tell Ji-hye about this too?
Since she had seen the article last time, it might not matter, but—
“Stalking.”
“Stalk—”
Ha-yoon suddenly said this in a firm voice, causing me to instinctively cut off mid-response.
Stalking… stalking… oh right.
No matter how you look at it, secretly trailing behind and taking photos like that constitutes stalking, even if they call it paparazzi.
“…Stalking?”
Ji-hye tilted her head at this, and Ha-yoon shoved my phone towards her.
“Huh? This…?”
Ji-hye shifted her gaze between my attire and the phone.
My clothing was pink, and the clothing in the picture was also pink. Of course, the ‘me’ part in the photo was out of focus, so they couldn’t tell if I’m male or female.
Moreover, Ha-yoon had clicked the picture before dressing me up, so at the time we were holding up clothes to see, my body wasn’t present in the frame. It could easily look like her playfully offering pink clothes to her boyfriend.
While the location was a bit vague, I don’t usually wear pink outfits, so I couldn’t even argue saying, “Aren’t those from before?”
Cold sweat was running down my back. It probably wasn’t just because of the indoor heating being turned up too high.
“So, so we’re being chased right now?”
Ha-yoon had completely forgotten the awkwardness from when she first met Ji-hye and nodded seriously.
“Yes.”
No, wait.
What is this?
The reporter is…
“What should we do? Should we report it to the police?”
Ji-hye was saying this, possibly a bit scared now that someone was following her when she had been curious about the article.
That…
This is still an official newspaper, right?
“…I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”
“Ah, no, it’s fine. You didn’t want this, so it’s not your fault…”
Ji-hye waved her hands in panic.
Could a reporter even get arrested for stalking? I wondered, and it felt kind of ambiguous. If an ordinary person snapped pictures of passersby with a big camera, it would be a big deal.
“We need to find out who took this picture first.”
Ha-yoon suggested.
It seems she doesn’t think there would be considerable legal issues. There might be moral responsibility for following a minor and taking pictures, but…
“And if there are photos of you, I’ll request to have those deleted.”
Ha-yoon looked back and forth between Ji-hye and me with serious eyes.
I was sweating profusely. The short-sleeved t-shirt I was wearing inside was sticky with sweat.
“So for now…”
“Let’s just pretend we didn’t notice anything.”
Ha-yoon said.
Her expression was extremely serious, and I couldn’t possibly interject. Furthermore, I couldn’t admit that I was involved in this situation either. Both Ha-yoon and Ji-hye would definitely look at me like I am trash.
…Should I have said something from the start?
It might have been better that way, right?
If I said it, I would have to mention that I was a combatant affiliated with the Noir Corporation, fighting against the threats…
“…”
In the end, while Ha-yoon drank her beverage, scanning the area seriously, I hadn’t even managed to drink half of the Americano I ordered.
*
Since we were sitting in a café, looking at each other, perhaps that’s why no additional articles were written.
That was a relief.
Perhaps they only thought of posting one article a day?
If the reporter doesn’t post anything new throughout the day, it would naturally turn into a non-issue, so I could just relax, have fun, and go home.
However, whenever I have such hopeful expectations, I tend to face betrayal.
“We’re not far from it.”
I had already received my phone.
Since the article is from an online e-newspaper, it’s only natural that Ha-yoon could monitor it too.
Considering the article views are high or perhaps the reporter simply went out for a while, maybe it’s thought that they wouldn’t be caught?
I much prefer if they didn’t find out until the end of today.
[Blossom with a serious expression.]
The photo showed Ha-yoon looking up at me with a very serious face.
At first glance, it might look like we were arguing and she was angry.
…
And at this point, I realized something.
Ha-yoon… most often shows her expressions with me.
She doesn’t show such a variety of expressions in front of her other friends. Before this whole situation began, Ha-yoon was just as shy as when she was with other kids, even when she felt awkward with Ji-hye.
When it’s just the two of us, she smiles brightly and lets her guard down to enjoy herself only in front of me.
We’ve known each other since childhood. We know each other well enough not to get in each other’s way.
…That’s why James assigned me this mission…
My heart began to ache intensely.
“…It seems like a setup.”
Ha-yoon said.
She didn’t turn around at all. Is she thinking that if we stay cautious, the opponent will run away?
“This company, I briefly mentioned it before, but it’s a subsidiary of the Noir Corporation.”
Is that so?
Well, I guess they do somewhat engage in the entertainment business publicly.
“Wait a moment.”
Once Ha-yoon switched into an expert mode, she started tapping on her phone.
While I blinked, she glanced back at me and gave a slight smile.
That smile looked a bit… sad.
“Don’t worry too much. I won’t let Ji-eun’s photo show up in the news.”
Ha-yoon addressed me by my name as she said this.
No, that’s not the issue…
I clenched and unclenched my hands. Was it my imagination, or did I feel like my blood wasn’t circulating well?
Ha-yoon rummaged through her bag and pulled out what looked like a wristwatch.
“Ah, that.”
Ji-hye reacted but then quickly covered her mouth.
“…Can we transform here?”
“It’s fine.”
Ha-yoon confirmed.
“I won’t transform right here. I’ll go somewhere a bit less visible.”
Ha-yoon whispered quietly.
Since it didn’t seem like anyone would be out here watching entertainment news, nobody seems to have recognized that Ha-yoon is Blossom.
“If any aliens come out, I can handle it.”
Ha-yoon made a fist as she confidently declared this, putting her circuit back in her bag.
That… well.
Even if that newspaper is legal, hitting a reporter isn’t a good thing, is it?
I felt that my presence here has made her even more excited, yet I couldn’t think of what to say.
I was worried that if I made even a minor mistake, I might make an irreversible blunder.
…I don’t want to become hated by my only childhood friend and the few friends I already have.
I quickly looked around again.
I still couldn’t tell who might be holding a camera in the vicinity.
“Um, Ha-yoon.”
“Don’t worry too much—”
“Ah, no, that’s not it.”
Usually, I’d be in a flustered situation if anyone is feeling awkward— it would be Ha-yoon, and I’d be the one who’d respond with ease.
But it was completely the opposite this time.
Ha-yoon believed that the new photo of us would lead to this reaction from me.
“I… need to go to the bathroom for a moment.”
“Ah.”
Ha-yoon chuckled at my words.
“Okay.”
Then she assured me to calm down.
“Let’s just go into a nearby building for now.”
Ha-yoon’s suggestion prompted both Ji-hye and I to nod as we stepped into a building nearby.
*
As soon as I entered the bathroom, I closed the toilet lid and sat on it.
Then I struck a ‘thinking person’ pose.
…
But I had no idea what to think about.
My head was so cluttered that I couldn’t come up with an answer.
Dammit.
Even when facing off against Blossom, I hadn’t been this flustered.
…Though that might be debatable.
In the end, I released my thinking pose and clutched my head.
That didn’t bring about any ideas either, so all that ended up happening was that I wasted time.