NOVEL NEXT Episode 22 – Public Enemy (3)
“Everyone, say hello. These friends are the new students transferring today.”
During the morning assembly, Yoon Sun-ho introduced us to our classmates.
At that moment, I completely zoned out. I want to go home. No, even if I go back to where I live now, it would still be the same situation under control. I couldn’t for the life of me remember why I had come back to school in the first place.
“This is Kim Soo-jung, and this is Lee Jin-ah. For now, shall we find a spot in the back there? It might be a little dusty, but a quick wipe should do it.”
Yoon Sun-ho, being considerate, skipped the usual self-introductions. If I recalled the memories of 20 years ago, it was only natural that people’s eyes would be glued to new students.
I took Kim Soo-jung, who was stiff as a board and staring at the ground, and walked through the gaze of the other students toward the back.
Having seen plenty of eyes filled with genuine desire to kill, hate, and resentment, I hardly noticed the stares of these kids.
“?”
“…Tch.”
At that moment, my eyes met someone else’s. It was a female student sitting in the back, clearly radiating hostility, which slightly caught me off guard. Her name tag read Kim Soo-han.
“So, shall we start with the announcements?”
We didn’t have time to argue about it.
Immediately, Yoon Sun-ho began discussing class matters, and it seemed he had a grip on the situation because the students started to pay attention.
But Kim Soo-han, that girl from earlier, did not take her glare away.
“That girl is really staring at us.”
Flustered, Kim Soo-jung whispered this to me, but I couldn’t bring myself to say that it wasn’t us she was glaring at; it was me.
“Just in case, you stay quiet.”
The assembly was winding down. I crossed my legs and leaned back in my chair, absorbing all the prickly looks directed at me.
For now, Yoon Sun-ho was the teacher, so there was no guarantee the stares would end when the assembly did. So I warned Kim Soo-jung.
“There’s definitely some misunderstanding going on. You’re not seriously going to… kill her, right? Right?”
Ren, who was invisible to others, climbed onto my desk and grabbed my arm.
[Yes.]
After a moment’s thought, I nodded. It seemed like I was already involved, but I absolutely detested being dragged into useless matters.
If being a nuisance meant death, that was certainly a rule in the Demon Realm, but since demons and humans were different, I thought I’d give this teenager’s mistake a pass… at least once or twice.
Of course, that was assuming they quickly figured out the situation and became aware of their surroundings.
“Hey, transfer student.”
As soon as Yoon Sun-ho left, she stood up as if she had been waiting.
It seemed my predictions were spot on. Her shortened school uniform, youthful face with a hint of makeup… this kid was headed down the wrong path.
“Why?”
“You’re so cocky…”
“Hey, stop it.”
Just as she was about to pick a fight, someone intervened and stopped her. A nearby male student.
“Are you crazy?”
“I just want to talk for a second.”
The guy, who looked quite friendly with her, took her hand and pulled her out. Like a small storm that had just blown through.
That storm was enough to make the other kids, who were curious to approach us, hesitate. Thanks to that, we avoided a real mess. Maybe it was a deliberate move.
“Kids these days are so mature.”
“…Is that something you should say?”
Ren clicked his tongue at my comment, appearing incredulous.
“Classes are about to start, and you’re not going in… looks like you’ve already been marked by our delinquent crew.”
“Stop worrying about unnecessary things and focus on your studies. You’re going to struggle to catch up after slacking off and not attending school properly.”
“…Aren’t you doing the same? You’re in the same boat.”
“Me?”
I snorted at Kim Soo-jung’s remark. I never had any intention or need to study. Especially not middle school material? I didn’t even need to open a book.
“But not you. You’ve got all your foundations here, and you plan to live here going forward. So you should be more worried about yourself. These days, having a good education is crucial if you want to do anything.”
At that moment, the bell rang. As the noisily chatting kids took their seats, the pair of troublemaker delinquents who had stormed out earlier returned to the classroom.
Kim Soo-han went back to her seat with a stiff expression.
“Hi?”
“…Yeah.”
This boy boldly walked up to me and greeted me. His name tag said Park Tae-jun, and he was a tall, handsome kid for someone his age.
“Let’s be friends from now on. I’ll introduce you to other people too.”
“Really? Why? I just transferred today.”
“Because you’re pretty.”
There was no hesitation in his answer. As I tried to figure out why he was picking a fight, I was momentarily dumbfounded by his unexpected response.
I was starting to get a sense of his style.
“It’ll be fun if we hang out together.”
He grinned mischievously. I wiped my expression clean and stared into his eyes. For a kid, he knew how to hide his true intentions pretty well.
However, that deep-seated malice couldn’t be concealed from the eyes of a Magical Girl.
“Stop it!”
Ren exclaimed, startled, and blocked the space between him and me.
[What misunderstanding are you having since earlier?]
“Because I think you’re going to kill him! Think again. Being young means you have plenty of opportunities.”
[…It’s okay; I won’t kill someone that young.]
As the English teacher started the class by writing on the board, I couldn’t help but smile at Ren’s panicked words.
[But you know it’s weird, right? Isn’t there a saying among you guys that the ends justify the means? There’s no such rule among Magical Girls.]
“There’s a certain unwritten rule. No matter how obsessed you are with results, you don’t mess with kids who could be future hopes. That’s the very foundation of being a Magical Girl.”
Ren murmured as if relieved, as he placed a hand over his heart.
For now, I wasn’t lying. The truth was, I didn’t plan to touch the kids unless absolutely necessary.
[But you know, Ren, that kid is just young in age; underneath, he’s pure darkness. If left alone, he’s not going to cut ties with me easily. He’s already set his sights on me.]
“What are you thinking to do…?”
[Well, I guess I’ll just have to play along a bit.]
The corners of my mouth turned up slightly. I wasn’t particularly interested in childish games, but I couldn’t ignore it since I wasn’t alone in this either.
And who knows, this might be a good opportunity. A chance for the escapades I hadn’t been able to indulge in due to various reasons.
“…”
Did Kim Soo-jung sense my train of thought? She glanced back at me with a worried look.
I quickly scribbled her a note saying not to be surprised by whatever Park Tae-jun said or did towards me, and that she should keep her cool.
Also, I wrote for her not to overthink things and to make some friends quickly.
“I wonder what kind of weirdo he is. I’m really curious about what he’ll do. After all, he’s just a middle school kid, so how bad could it be?”
The class bell rang. As the surrounding noise began to rise and the teacher started packing his things, the boy rose from his seat and approached me.
*
“Facility kid?”
In the painfully dull English class, not many people were fully focused on the lesson.
The boy, Park Tae-jun, sitting in the middle, was no exception. Right now, he was stealing glances at one particular female student.
The new transfer student today, her name is Lee Jin-ah. Of course, the other girl, Kim Soo-jung, was there too, but his eyes were solely on Lee Jin-ah.
There was another reason for his attraction.
Although she didn’t realize it herself until now, the truth was that from the beginning, her exterior had been created with the body of a Magical Girl, and it was quite striking.
Her mature aura, which didn’t match her age, combined with her beautiful features, had sparked Kim Soo-han’s ire and caught Park Tae-jun’s interest.
“It’d be fun to play with her.”
Plus, Lee Jin-ah was nothing like the other students.
She interacted with her surroundings without a hint of hesitation or wariness. That ease, unbeknownst to him, was the type of aura strong enough to crush everything in its path, and he simply wanted to shatter that ease.
“If you say no one more time, I can’t let it slide.”
Class ended. He stood up from his seat.
On his phone was a message indicating that the two female students who transferred today were from the Management Bureau facility.
Having such a weapon in hand, there was no reason not to use it.
“Have you thought about it?”
“Are you asking me to only take you?”
“Yeah.”
“…Sure.”
But without needing to pull out that weapon, Lee Jin-ah accepted his proposal. He chuckled slightly.
Kim Soo-jung’s face turned pale, startled by her friend’s decision, but neither Lee Jin-ah nor Park Tae-jun cared at all.
“I can guarantee it’ll be fun. We can do anything.”
This wasn’t his first rodeo.
Coming from a family of medium-sized company owners and a local political figure, his uncle was a Member of Parliament, and his cousin was a former prosecutor, he had been close to real power from a young age.
From the moment he had known what kind of power he possessed, he realized that he could crush any child, no matter how haughty or dignified, without breaking a sweat.
“Hey.”
“Huh…?”
“But do you guys have any drinks? What do kids do these days for fun?”
However, Park Tae-jun couldn’t even begin to imagine that this beautiful girl he had set his sights on was, in fact, an existence that went beyond human norms.