Chapter 59 : What You Can Do (6)

Only after inhaling the musty smell unique to the abandoned house did I snap back to reality.

The body of Hayoon, who was embracing me from behind, carried a fragrant scent.

Perhaps it was because of her magic, or maybe it was the peculiar staff she held in her hands.

Or, perhaps, it was just my imagination.

Although we had known each other for a long time, physical contact between us was rare.

If anything, Ji-hye had always been more forward than Hayoon.

She would link arms with me even if I didn’t initiate, and occasionally hug me lightly when she was in a good mood.

As for Hayoon and me… how should I put it?

We had been close for years, but there was always a certain boundary between us.

Part of it was my own hesitance.

Not because I disliked Hayoon—on the contrary, objectively speaking, she was an incredibly charming person.

Like everyone else drawn to her, I too felt a certain pull toward her as a human being.

But at the same time, we were friends.

I didn’t want to hurt Hayoon by crossing a line and becoming someone I didn’t recognize within myself.

More than anything, Hayoon had an uncanny ability to sense when someone approached her with hidden intentions.

So I had always kept a bit of distance.

It was only after smelling the damp, moldy air of the house that I could clear my head.

Startled, I quickly freed myself from Hayoon’s arms.

To my surprise, she wasn’t holding on tightly.

As I pushed her hands away, they fell from my side almost too easily.

When I turned around, Hayoon stood there with a slightly shocked expression.

Was it because I had shaken her off?

Judging by the direction of her gaze, it didn’t seem to be the case.

Over the past week, I had tried my best to make this place somewhat livable.

No, that’s not it—I wasn’t trying to make it livable.

I had merely removed things that were unbearable to look at.

No matter how much I worked, this place would never look like a home fit for people.

I had torn down the moldy, sagging wallpaper, thrown it into the hearth, and burned it all.

What remained were patches of mold-covered concrete walls, where the wallpaper had been stripped away.

Even though it looked worse before, to Hayoon—who had never seen its previous state—this must have appeared like the absolute worst.

Most of the windows were broken.

Perhaps someone had come here before, or maybe hailstones had smashed through while the place was left unattended.

It could have been animals, too. In any case, only a few windows were intact.

Still, I figured pitching a tent here was better than sleeping out in the open, fully exposed to the night’s cold wind.

At least this place had a roof.

I swept the floors as best I could, but the cleaning tools I found were all old and battered.

The rags were filthy, making them useless, and the brooms were missing bristles, leaving them ineffective.

Without a dustpan, I had to sweep the dust out the open door, leaving some of it stuck in the grooves of the sliding door’s threshold.

For someone like Hayoon, who likely had never seen even a run-down dormitory, this must have been a shocking sight.

Honestly, even to me, it didn’t look like a place fit for human habitation.

“What are you thinking?” I asked her.

Hayoon still appeared as a magical girl.

The pink light blade that had once emanated from her staff was gone, and her magically created outfit was now torn in several places.

Her face bore faint scratches.

Yet, even in her tattered state, the fragile expression she wore gave her an air of nobility.

Was this, like the fragrance I thought I smelled, just my imagination?

“Jieun,” Hayoon called my name.

As I stepped back, I suddenly realized I could hear footsteps behind me.

Looking around, I noticed we weren’t alone.

The other magical girls had followed us.

Every single one of them wore a shocked expression.

They didn’t seem to have any intention of attacking me, but their looks alone felt like an assault.

Their pitying gazes, as they looked at the abandoned house and then back at me, disgusted me.

I hated it.

“What are you doing…!”

I shouted without thinking, then quickly shut my mouth.

I could feel my circuits vibrating.

My heart raced, and my breath grew uneven.

I didn’t know how to process this situation.

Would Hayoon have been this shocked if I had taken her to the orphanage instead?

The fact that she was shocked shocked me even more.

Since coming to this world, I had thought of myself as someone without shame.

Sure, there were plenty of things I was embarrassed about, but I thought I had accepted myself—flaws and all.

But Hayoon stepping into this place shattered all of that.

Just as I had never allowed her into the orphanage, I had subconsciously built a mental wall around this place.

I had promised myself:

Someday, I’ll leave this place.

Everything will be okay.

But now, the orphanage and this abandoned house—it didn’t matter anymore.

Everything had been exposed.

My strength drained from my body.

The hammer slipped from my hand, clattering to the floor.

My magical girl outfit faded back into my everyday clothes, tattered and worn as they were—my only set of clothing.

I had no thoughts left.

Becoming a magical girl required compromise.

Stripping down and wearing only a dress made of magic felt like too much.

I had achieved my dream of becoming a magical girl, yet I still felt miserable.

Perhaps it was seeing myself return to my original state.

Hayoon, too, shimmered briefly before reverting to her normal appearance.

Her clothes were slightly worn but still far better than my own.

I had brought some spare clothes with me, but I looked disheveled, like someone who had just woken up.

My hair was a mess, tangled in knots, and my clothes were far more unkempt than Hayoon’s.

I hadn’t properly bathed in days.

Where would I even do that here?

I had found a small stream and washed my face, hands, and feet in its cold water, but that was the extent of it.

Stripping down to bathe in a stream felt like something out of the Joseon era—not something I could bring myself to do.

“…I’m sorry.”

Hayoon’s voice, soft and trembling, broke the silence.

She lowered her head as if ashamed, as though apologizing for something deeply humiliating.

“I’m sorry…”

I echoed her words in a murmur.

What was I supposed to say?

What should I say?

My mind couldn’t process the situation.

My throat felt tight, choked by emotions welling up inside me.

Too many feelings collided, suffocating and preventing any from escaping.

“Alright, alright.”

Someone else spoke before I could.

James had climbed out of his drone and onto my shoulder, his usual smug tone cutting through the tension.

“I must say, I’m delighted we have this opportunity to talk.”

He spoke as though presiding over a meeting.

“Now, if I may, could you all hand over your circuits? My device will keep us hidden for a few minutes, but if you continue to wear them, the Federation will locate this place shortly. Surely you’d prefer not to relocate to somewhere even worse?”

The magical girls exchanged uneasy glances.

“We…”

Rose was the first to speak, but before she could finish, Hayoon moved.

She removed the circuit from her wrist and handed it to me without hesitation.

Her expression was blank, devoid of emotion.

“As you said, please take it,” James urged.

I extended my hand numbly and took the circuit.

“Hayoon…”

Rose began, but Hayoon cut her off, her gaze fixed on me.

“Please, do as he says.”

“Yes, I would recommend you follow through,” James added smoothly.

“Otherwise, we might be forced to reconsider welcoming you here.”

He paused, looking around. I could feel his tiny feet shift as he turned a full circle on my shoulder.

“Of course, you could try overwhelming us with force,” he continued, his voice laced with mockery.

“But I doubt you came here just to hand over a captured girl to the Federation, did you?”

Rose fell silent, unable to respond.

“Hayoon…”

Hayoon didn’t plead for safety or ask for surrender.

She simply seemed to express her intent to stay here, no matter what.

Why? What could she, or anyone else here, possibly achieve?

Without their circuits, these girls would just be ordinary minors.

Though humans could generate magic through emotions, circuits were necessary as intermediaries.

Without them, they were powerless.

They would be nothing but fragile bodies, easily crushed under the finger of a monster.

There was only one tent, barely large enough for two people.

I had no intention of giving it up, so the rest would have to find sleep in this damp, grimy ruin.

And yet.

Click.

Iris removed her circuit.

“…!”

The other magical girls turned their gazes toward Iris.

They shifted between looking at her, Hayoon, and me.

Hesitant but resolute, Iris stepped forward and handed me her circuit. I accepted it.

Next came Rose, her expression conflicted, as though unsure if this was the right decision.

Yet, she handed over her circuit too, perhaps because she trusted Hayoon.

One by one, Delphinium and Dahlia followed, surrendering their circuits.

I ended up holding five circuits in total.

“Excellent,” James said, his tone jubilant.

“There’s a shielding device in the bag—a thick aluminum container, like a lunchbox. Place them inside, and the Federation won’t be able to track this location.”

Nodding, I brushed past Hayoon and entered the tent.

The bag was already packed, and I had checked its contents earlier.

Inside the thick aluminum box were random items I had stuffed in for space.

I removed the clutter, making room for the circuits.

Then, sealing the box tightly, I placed it back in the bag.

I tossed the circuits into the aluminum box carelessly, as though discarding trash.

After closing the lid, I exhaled lightly.

“Did you anticipate this?”

“No, I didn’t,” James replied.

“I knew the magical girls might make contact, but I didn’t expect them to follow us here in this way. Perhaps you were more important to Blossom than we realized.”

His words weren’t meant to comfort me.

They were just an observation—a statement of how my connection with Blossom had proven useful.

“The box was originally meant to temporarily store communication devices before putting them back in use. I hadn’t expected to use it like this.”

“Will it block magic-based communication as well?”

“It’s not just material that blocks radio waves. Don’t worry, I am, after all, a proud native of Chirp-Chirp Planet. I come from the same world that created these circuits. How could I not understand their fundamental principles?”

James’s pronunciation of “chirp-chirp” had a distinct tonal variation, though it wasn’t quite the same as human intonation.

Perhaps it was unique to his species—a difference in how sounds were made, which to human ears merely resembled the onomatopoeic “chirp-chirp.”

I closed my eyes and let out a long breath.

I couldn’t help it; I kept wanting to retreat.

I didn’t want to leave the tent.

I didn’t know how to face the five people waiting outside.

Especially Hayoon.

Now that she and the others were here—and I had taken their circuits—they couldn’t leave unless I let them.

Should I create a black hole and drop them somewhere random in Seoul?

I probably could.

The circuits were running at full capacity since Hayoon’s arrival, generating enough energy.

“If you’re thinking of sending them back, don’t,” James interjected.

“They’ve seen this location. Even without circuits, they might be able to find it again.”

This abandoned house? Even I didn’t know exactly where it was—it was deep inside a secluded area, far from the main road.

The path here was barely accessible by car and would likely disappear under wild overgrowth come spring.

“You usually overestimate magical girls, but now you’re underestimating them. There are experts who can identify a location just from the shape of the mountains in a photo. Combine that with five witnesses cross-referencing their stories, and they’ll figure it out.”

“So what do you suggest I do?”

“Don’t hide in here. Go outside and give them orders. This is your territory. You’re the only one with food, water, and a semblance of shelter. You also hold all the circuits.”

James lowered his voice conspiratorially.

“And most importantly, you’re the only one with power. Do you think five ordinary girls can overpower you?”

As if to emphasize his point, a clicking sound came from the aluminum box.

The lid locked itself. I hadn’t noticed any locking mechanism before.

“It’s not just a box,” James remarked.

“It was designed to secure communication devices. What if someone came snooping while you were away? Better safe than sorry.”

When I didn’t respond, James sighed audibly and continued.

“If you’re unsure what to do, let me give you some advice. Start by searching them. Even without circuits, they might have tracking devices—phones, pagers, or other gadgets based on Earth technology. Those won’t work here but could reveal their location if taken outside this zone.”

James paused, his large ears twitching as if listening intently.

“Good. No one has left yet,” he said, confirming with a glance outside.

“Go. Show them you’re in charge. Make it clear, especially to Blossom.”

James’s suggestion stirred something in me.

To say it didn’t tempt me at all would be a lie.

But even so, I didn’t want to win this way.

If I told James my thoughts, he would likely dismiss me as soft-hearted and overly sentimental.

But I couldn’t help it.

I hated them as much as I cared for them.

Perhaps James was right—I couldn’t be entirely cold and detached.

I wanted to tear my hair out in frustration.

But…

He’s not entirely wrong.

Even if I stayed in the tent, nothing would resolve itself.

Gritting my teeth, I stepped outside.

The girls were still standing there, their expressions uncertain.

They looked pitiful, as though they didn’t know what to expect or what orders I might give.

Though the sun was high in the sky, the inside of this place was dim and damp, the air still thick with an unpleasant odor.

It felt like something grotesque might crawl out at any moment.

Perhaps they were overwhelmed by it.

Only Hayoon was looking at me, her gaze steady, as if she’d made up her mind.

I’ll do anything…

That’s what her expression seemed to say, and it made me grit my teeth harder.

So, that’s how it is?

You’ll do anything, huh?

That’s why you came here, right?

“…You said you’re sorry, didn’t you?”

I finally broke the silence, addressing Hayoon.

She nodded faintly.

“Then at least, follow my orders while you’re here.”

This place was nothing.

It wasn’t even mine.

It probably wasn’t abandoned land either—there was no such thing left in this world.

But even so, the rightful owner wasn’t here, wasn’t coming to stake their claim.

So.

“First, hand over your phones. I don’t want this location to be discovered.”

I said it bluntly.

“And the pagers too.”

“The phones and pagers will be returned later,” James chimed in from beside me, elaborating.

“Of course, the communication functions will be removed, so they’ll be little more than useless trinkets.”

This land wasn’t mine.

But I was still going to claim it.

Because, after all, there was nothing else here.

Pathetic self-justification, but…

Watching Hayoon comply with my words stirred something deep inside me.

It was a dangerous feeling, one that shouldn’t be left unchecked.

But for now, I let it be.

When she handed over her phone, her trembling fingertips brushed against mine for a moment.

She was afraid of me.

I turned my gaze away and looked at the other magical girls.

Their hesitation was obvious.

One by one, they began to comply, handing over their devices.

As they did, a faint sense of control settled over me, like holding pieces of a fragile world in my hands.