Chapter 75: The Transformation Spell That Time Forgot

I quietly admired the manager’s resourcefulness and took a sip of milk.

In a world where milk costs 7,000 to 8,000 won for 2.3 liters, it’s kind of a burden to buy.

But sometimes, when I’m munching on bread like this, it makes me think maybe I should buy some.

An hour of stuffing bread and milk into my mouth while waiting for the other magical girls to arrive.

“What do you two want to drink, Sun and Moon?”

By the time the actual meetup started, we were already full from the snacks the manager had kindly provided in advance.

The bread had been so warm and tempting that I ended up eating too much without thinking.

I gently patted my rounded belly and muttered a short thought to myself.

“I’m so full…”

And I had even eaten a good amount of those sweet breads, too.

I figured ordering a large hot chocolate would end up being too heavy, so I turned my attention toward the fruit ades and ordered one of those instead.

“Green grape ade, please.”

“I’ll have a hot chocolate!”

Even though she’s technically my senior, we’re both just fourth graders.

There were also high schoolers and adult seniors around.

For now, Siyeon and I were far removed from the concept of paying — we were still in the stage of getting treated.

Being young really is the best.

Meanwhile, at the table that had drawn everyone to Daejeon today — the one with the new magical girl.

When I glanced over, sure enough, a few experienced magical girls were bombarding her with all sorts of curious questions.

“How did you decide on your transformation spell, Mercury?”

Despite being the youngest by age, Mercury was the center of attention, skipping past us younger ones.

That’s the question that literally nine out of ten new magical girls get asked at their first meetup.

She said she’s in sixth grade, but at that age, you’re still pretty much in full-on elementary school mode.

Just like Siyeon, she cheerfully recited her transformation spell.

“In the name of love and justice, I will not forgive you! Magical Girl Mercury, transform!”

“…Oh.”

The unexpectedly long and dramatic transformation phrase left the senior magical girls at her table with frozen expressions.

“Yeah… she’s screwed…”

Even I, sitting all the way at another table, had my expression go stiff from the sheer intensity of it.

I let out a silent sigh of sympathy for the Mercury of the future.

For the record, once you pick a transformation spell, you can’t change it.

That’s actually one of the top reasons why some magical girls retire — because saying that cringy line at their age is just too embarrassing.

If you started your magical girl career in middle or high school, it’s not as bad.

But if you began in late elementary or early middle school, still holding on to your kiddie instincts —

Yeah, for eight out of ten girls like that, their transformation spell ends up being a source of deep shame.

“Compared to that, Siyeon and I got off pretty easy.”

We do have to be cautious in everyday conversation, sure, but our transformation spells are simple — mine is just one syllable: “Sun.”

I looked at Siyeon, who also had a short transformation spell, and rested my chin on my hand while watching her.

“…What’s with the look?”

Siyeon noticed my intense stare and asked mid-sip of her hot chocolate.

“Nothing, it’s nothing.”

I gave a vague reply and turned my gaze to the ceiling.

Siyeon had once wanted to copy a transformation spell from a magical girl anime, and I’d had to talk her out of it hard.

She insisted on keeping the phrase “Moon Power” in there, so we ended up making a compromise.

I don’t know if you’ll remember it later, but by the time you start feeling embarrassed and ashamed, you should be thankful to me.

The snacks for this meetup were famous breads from Daejeon.

Maybe that’s why the owner of the Byeolnim Café just laid out the bread she brought and focused solely on making coffee and drinks.

‘Well, since she doesn’t have to make anything from scratch, she must be a little less busy.’

Thinking that, I took a sip of the sweet and tangy green grape ade through the straw, swallowing it down without even savoring it.

With my stomach just full enough, this was the kind of drink that went down easier than something overly sweet like hot chocolate.

“I really envy those who have short transformation chants.”

The conversation among the seniors started just as I was only drinking my ade without touching the bread.

“Tell me about it. I shouldn’t have watched those Japanese animations…”

“What was your transformation chant again?”

“It’s kind of short… but I don’t want to say it.”

“Was it ‘Pluto, Transform! Brace yourself!’ or something?”

“Ughghghghh…!”

Hearing her own transformation chant coming from someone else’s mouth, Pluto—one of the magical girls—gripped her well-styled hair and messed it up in agony.

You’d think that doing it every day would make her used to it… but as you get older, the shame and resistance just grow stronger.

If you were an adult, maybe you could endure it for money, but for a high schooler just beginning to understand what humiliation feels like, it’s mentally devastating.

Most of the people here probably resent their childhood selves.

“Come to think of it, Sun and Moon have super short transformation chants, right?”

“Sun’s is literally just one syllable, her magical girl name…”

“We do have to be careful not to say it accidentally.”

While listening to those two, who seemed to think having a short chant was all good, I murmured my own grievances and took another sip of the ade.

I had simply thought, “Short is better,” and went with a single-word chant.

But if I ever blurted it out during English class when we’re asked what “sun” is in English… I’d basically be outing myself as a magical girl right there.

Not that the government says “Never let anyone know you’re a magical girl”…

‘But there’s nothing good about being found out…’

At the very least, not getting exposed is the norm.

Even as a teenager, being a magical girl is basically a public humiliation waiting to happen.

If everyone around you found out you’re a magical girl?

Maybe in elementary school you’d get starry-eyed admiration.

There are innocent girls who truly dream of becoming magical girls, after all.

But in middle school, if someone comes up during break like, “Hey, I heard you’re a magical girl,” and starts chanting your transformation phrase?

You’d destroy not just the kid who teased you, but the entire classroom—and end up on the front page of the news.

And no, that’s not just a joke.

“Oh, I see… so short chants aren’t always a good thing.”

“I only realized that after I picked mine.”

After hearing my explanation, the senior gave a sympathetic hum, seemingly understanding my unique dilemma.

Feeling the comfort of that empathy, I took another sip and admitted my belated realization.

The conversation about transformation chants ended there, and the topic naturally shifted to the near-adult students.

“You’re taking the college entrance exam this year, right? Planning to go to university?”

“Hmm, yeah. Even if it’s just for a year, I think I want to try going like everyone else.”

“Be really careful with alcohol when you go to MT (membership training). It can get bad…”

College comes after the college entrance exam. MT comes after college. And MT means alcohol.

A topic that’s linked like a chain — alcohol.

“Do they really force you to drink and stuff?”

“It depends, case by case. But you know, that incident…”

A conversation between two people, exchanging thoughts about college life.

That thing. That incident.

An incident often referred to among magical girls.

What they’re talking about is a notorious case from around two years ago.

It happened during a university MT. A magical girl, completely drunk, confessed at some college that she was a magical girl. She transformed on the spot — and instantly sobered up. Then she promptly disappeared from the MT scene.

She’d felt this before when she got sick: after transformation, her body wasn’t the same as before.

Only the memories were shared — physically, it was basically an entirely different body.

So when she transformed, the alcohol vanished from her system.

She bolted from the building where the MT was being held, and that story became a legend at that university.

Anyway, that’s the tale.

Because things like that happen more often than you’d think…

Some magical girls, despite the exhaustion of life leading them to smoke from time to time, tend to avoid alcohol altogether.

Even those who enjoy drinking alone at home have shared that they stash their smartphones in places they won’t remember — just in case they drunkenly transform by accident.

“Thanks to everyone for coming to the meetup today. Let’s do this again next time.”

A voice casually announcing the end of the gathering, after lots of eating and drinking.

Checking the time on a smartphone — 3 p.m.

That’s actually pretty early for things to wrap up.

Those who live nearby continue hanging out.

Those from farther away say brief goodbyes and head off.

One of them books a spot on a soon-departing bullet train, blending into the crowd of subway passengers on the way home.

“Huaaam…”

“Tired? You can’t fall asleep now.”

Siyeon, curled up in a quiet corner seat, lets out a long yawn.

The one hour nap on the train hadn’t been enough — she kept nodding off.

The problem was that, after the meal and now seated comfortably in a secluded corner, sleep was sneaking up on this side, too.

‘Can’t fall asleep… not now…’