Chapter 2: Interrupted Feast: The Monster’s Interference

Whether it’s called a monster, a beast, or a creature, the name varies depending on the media.

Somehow, once they are subdued, these monsters, beasts, or creatures scatter into the sky, accompanied by a cloud of magical dust.

“Ugh, I’ll get you next time!”

This is the most prominent feature of magical girl cartoons or anime targeted at children: The enemies never actually die.

The black-furred beast that had been trembling in fear just moments ago, realizing that it won’t die, becomes confident again just as it’s about to disappear.

It might try to talk tough even though it’s too weak to get up, squashed down and becoming a makeshift chair, but it doesn’t pose any threat at all.

“Yeah, sure, come and try…”

Her face mostly covered by a mask, you could hardly see her expression as she nonchalantly crossed her legs and spoke with a tone full of ambiguous meaning—like “Who knows what I’ll do next?”—letting the end of her sentence trail off as she got up before the fur-chair completely vanished.

As the monster finally disappeared, the shadows of the citizens, who had been nowhere to be seen, started to appear.

“Sun! Let’s get out of here, quick!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Following Siyeon’s voice, she lightly tapped the ground with the front of her shoe and made a big leap.

It’s an unspoken rule of magical girl stories: You must escape before you’re surrounded by citizens bombarding you with questions.

In a modern society where every street is filled with CCTV cameras, if someone really wanted to investigate, there would be no way they couldn’t find out who and where you are…

But that’s just one of the inevitable loopholes of this world, right?

Thinking too deeply about it would only be a loss.

After stumbling back home,

She trudged towards the dark corner of the room where the bunk bed was.

“Ugh, I’m so tired.”

A complaint that had become a habit.

Too lazy to climb up the stairs, she simply flopped onto Siyeon’s bed on the first floor.

She picked up the smartphone that had been left plugged into the charger, and with a feeling of ending her day, she immersed herself in the flood of information.

The frequency of monsters appearing ranges from 0 to 2 times a day.

Fortunately, since the number of appearances is somewhat fixed, if she hunts at least one monster a day, she can generally expect to rest comfortably for the remainder of the day.

What she usually looks at on her smartphone are a few entertaining webtoons that are updated on specific days.

And then, some casual browsing of various online communities.

‘Magical Girl Gallery…’

There are plenty of places to visit, but the one she finds herself frequenting the most is a place called “Gallery.”

Most of the users are just regular people.

The main topic of conversation is usually about magical girls.

All in all, it’s just a place where people with a common interest gather to talk.

“How is it that with all the CCTV in South Korea, no one knows who the magical girls are? ”

“I saw a magical girl in real life, post thread. ”

“The monsters are definitely aliens, I’m telling you. ”

Watching these people feels like looking at animals in a zoo through the bars.

She never writes posts or leaves comments.

The people here are pretty aggressive, so it’s best to just watch from a distance.

“Honestly, it’s probably possible to get to the moon, right?”

“Huh?”

It’s hard to resist a catchy title, so I hover my thumb over it for a moment. After a brief loading screen filled with spinning white circles, the result appears…

[The post does not exist or has been deleted.]

“What could have been written there…”

Naturally, my fingers move toward the gallery management history.

The title was something like “Honestly, isn’t it possible to get at least a door?”

The reason for the deletion was…

[Pedophilic bastard whose mother is dead.]

“Idiot.”

The content is easy to guess just from the reason, so I stare at the black text with a jaded look.

On the right side of the general posts, there’s a section called ‘Noteworthy Posts’.

These are posts that received a lot of upvotes, typically because people could relate to them or found them funny.

[Saw a real magical girl, please upvote. (18+)]

A post I saw earlier in the general section.

It must have received a lot of upvotes quickly.

Could there really be a magical girl who got discovered in such a careless world? Curious, I click on the post…

A photo of a man in a bank robber’s mask was plastered all over it.

Judging by the looks, it seems to be a photo from overseas.

“What the heck is this?”

With a puzzled expression, I scroll down with my thumb to the bottom of the photo…

[Doesn’t this look like Sun? Just saying.]

“You damn piece of trash.”

A delicate, youthful voice that didn’t match the harsh words slipped out of my mouth.

Apparently, Siyeon, who was in the kitchen, heard the faint voice and peeked out, asking:

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Nothing-”

“Heh, pfft…”

A disagreeable laugh, as if trying to stifle a chuckle.

The stupid bear who, at some point, had started peeking at the screen alongside me.

It knew it shouldn’t laugh, but it was struggling to hold it in.

The unpleasant sound of it made my mood sour instantly.

“Hey, you think this is funny?”

“huh”

“Let me have a laugh too.”

I grabbed the top of the bear’s head with my hand, which was smaller than expected, and got up from the bed, pressing its head against a familiar height where the wallpaper had peeled off.

I’m sure it feels a chill on its back right about now.

“Please, anything but that!”

“Blame your loose-lipped mouth.”

Beneath the peeled wallpaper, the gray cement was exposed.

Without any mercy, I rubbed its head hard against the spot.

“Aaaaaah-!”

A pitiful scream, something that shouldn’t come from a cute magical girl’s mascot, came out as its fluffy limbs flailed desperately…

There’s a saying in a game, isn’t there? The effect seems to be minimal.

The head of the bear, which had been rubbing against the cement wall, felt a bit looser.

Judging by the way the bear had gone limp, the stitches on the back of its head must have torn open.

I casually tossed it onto the living room floor and lay back down on the bed.

“Finally, some peace and quiet.”

“That’s so mean…”

Siyeon, who seemed quite shocked by the sight, mumbled to herself as she stared blankly at the back of the bear, its fur poking out.

No matter what happens, in no time, it’ll go back to how it was, as if nothing happened.

It’s not something to worry about.

If it can even be called a living creature.

“Oh.”

A gurgling sound came from Siyeon’s stomach.

Unable to hide the undeniable sound of hunger, I lay down on the bed and turned on my smartphone.

The delivery app I rely on almost every day.

No matter how well-equipped the facilities are, they’re just two elementary school kids.

Even if there’s a kitchen, what can you possibly cook with these underdeveloped hands?

“What do you want to eat?”

“Chicken…?”

“What flavor?”

“Soy sauce….”

“Then let’s get half boneless fried chicken and half soy sauce.”

With practiced ease, I added the tempting order to the cart.

The taste is secondary; a single chicken, plus the boneless option, the soy sauce chicken, and even the delivery fee all add up to a total of 26,000 won.

Nearly 30,000 won just for a single chicken?

A sigh and a curse slipped out on their own.

“Sigh, what a damn world….”

Muttering complaints, I completed the order.

As I waited for the arrival of the sacred chicken, I rummaged through the fridge.

“Oh.”

Then, with a short sigh, I realized something important was missing from the fridge.

As soon as I opened the fridge, I let out a sigh, and Siyeon approached me to ask.

“What’s wrong?”

“We’re out of cola….”

I didn’t order a set menu, so while the radish might come, the soda will only be in cans.

Even though we both have small appetites fitting our little bodies…

‘But still, at least one can….’

“I’m going out to buy some. Make sure you get the chicken when it arrives.”

“Okay!”

Hearing Siyeon’s confident reply, I slipped on my sandals and dragged my feet outside.

The convenience store was about a 5-minute walk from the apartment.

Of course, compared to a big supermarket, it’s ridiculously expensive, but with no suitable supermarket nearby, this is the best option in a pinch.

‘Still expensive as always….’

A mere 1.25-liter bottle of cola costs 3,200 won.

At this price, it would have been cheaper to add it to the delivery order.

By now, the delivery rider has probably already left, so there’s no other choice.

“3,200 won, please.”

“Three thousand two hundred won….”

I handed the wrinkled bills from my wallet and the exact change from the coin section to the part-timer.

Cradling the cola bottle that fit snugly in my arms, I carefully made my way back, ensuring it didn’t shake too much.

I barely managed to carry the cola back to the room.

The chicken didn’t seem to have arrived yet, as there was no strong smell of oil in the air.

“Is it here yet?”

“…”

The sullen expression on Siyeon’s face made my heart ache.

Chicken isn’t something that should take this long.

Could something have gone wrong during delivery?

With that thought, I unconsciously glanced at my smartphone screen, which was lit up.

Had there been a notification? I pressed the blunt button on the right side to turn on the screen.

Several missed calls.

Was it when I was carrying the cola bottle?

“Um…”

“Shh, shut up, you filthy beast.”

I decided to listen to the bear’s story later, and focus on the urgent matter at hand.

When I called back to the number that had left the missed calls, it was the chicken place.

“Hello.”

“Oh, yes. Are you the one who ordered the chicken?”

The voice on the other end sounded young and uncertain, asking again to confirm.

“Yes, that’s me.”

I replied firmly to reassure them. Then the owner started explaining the reason for the missed calls.

“Well… there’s been a bit of an issue during delivery, and the rider is unable to get to your location.”

“Apparently, there’s a monster that appeared nearby…”

The bear’s voice overlapped with the voice coming from the smartphone, making me pinch my forehead in frustration.

I had just started to relax after hunting down one, thinking I could finally rest.

But now another one has shown up? Not just anything, but something that’s disrupting this precious time.

“The delivery will come once it’s resolved, right?”

“Yes… I believe so.”

I hung up the phone and clicked my tongue, my face twisted in annoyance.

“Damn it.”

“What should we do?”

“Just get ready to receive the chicken. I’ll handle this alone.”

I said to Siyeon as I pulled out a mask from the closet and put it on.

No matter what, I won’t let that thing that interrupted our peaceful afternoon chicken time get away with it.