The reason Hayoon answered that way wasn’t purely emotional.
Of course, that doesn’t mean emotions weren’t a factor.
If the reasons were listed and ranked, emotions would undoubtedly hold a significant place.
However, Hayoon also had her own reasons beyond emotions.
Hayoon… fought for justice.
She wasn’t naive enough to believe in the existence of perfect, flawless justice.
But even so, she believed in the possibility of a better alternative.
To confront injustice, to strive to correct the wrongs of the world—this was her goal.
Even with such power, it was impossible to make the world completely righteous.
But she always worked tirelessly to move forward.
However, the organization known as the Federation wasn’t something she could consider as the “better alternative.”
“I’d like your help with my revenge,” Jieun said.
Her face was so close that Hayoon could feel her breath with each word.
Her dark eyes seemed like bottomless pits.
Hayoon had seen Jieun’s eyes after she transformed into a magical girl.
Her pupils bore stars.
They weren’t brightly shining stars, but they still seemed to gaze upon a light.
A black hole is also a celestial body.
Even though it forms from the death of a star, it too shines.
It might not shine by itself but rather gathers light from elsewhere—yet if that’s not considered shining, then the moon too couldn’t be said to shine.
Hope is a power that exists because it isn’t abandoned.
Even if Jieun’s power didn’t stem from hope, she hadn’t given up.
That was what mattered.
After a while of holding her gaze without looking away, Jieun was the first to leave.
She turned and walked away from the house.
Should I follow her further?
Hayoon hesitated briefly but soon turned back.
Not yet, not now.
Time was needed.
They could talk.
At the very least, Jieun didn’t hate Hayoon.
So there was still hope.
The people who had followed them—Hayoon needed to explain things properly.
At the very least, Jieun shouldn’t feel uncomfortable knowing others were there.
Standing outside for a while to get some fresh air, Hayoon felt a chill running through her body.
Especially the wind seeping through the torn parts of her clothes.
Eventually, unable to endure the cold, she returned home.
How would they manage to endure tonight?
Although she had managed to block out some of the wind by wrapping plastic around the house, it wasn’t a complete solution against the cold.
The children didn’t have proper blankets, nor were they wearing thick clothes.
She didn’t want to worry, but she also didn’t want to wake up to find someone had frozen to death.
Again, she wasn’t a murderer.
Thinking of ways to drive them away, she returned home and was slightly startled to feel the heat radiating from her room.
“Jieun!”
Hearing the sound of the poorly managed sliding door opening, Hayoon poked her head out from the kitchen.
Had she started a fire?
Well, I had made one too.
Although there had been smoke, no one had caught on yet.
Iris entered the house shortly after me.
The other three were nervously waiting in the room.
Sure, there was no need for all five to move around for the fire, but in this situation, staying still would’ve felt awkward.
I looked at the children before speaking.
“Have you eaten?”
No answer came back.
They had impulsively followed along and clearly had no idea what to do next.
They hadn’t brought anything either.
Forget meals; they didn’t even have spare underwear for tomorrow.
I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths.
Fine.
Clenching my teeth, I entered the tent and opened my bag.
There was emergency food.
I picked up a half-eaten can of Spam but silently put it back down.
I hesitated.
Canned food was the most edible of what I had.
Whether tuna or pork, at least it could be called “meat.”
And it was heavy and relatively expensive, so I hadn’t been able to pack much.
Instead, I had brought things like hardtack.
In truth, these weren’t meant as staples but to stave off hunger when there was absolutely nothing else to eat—or when I got tired of just eating canned food.
Dried crackers, hardtack, nuts…
“Hm.”
Seeing me seriously contemplating, James let out a mocking laugh.
“So, you’re unwilling to share even your food, I see.”
I glared silently at James for a moment.
Yeah, I knew it.
I knew it was selfish.
But still, wasn’t this originally meant for me alone?
The disruption of my plans was frustrating.
But… what else could I do?
In the end, I picked up the bag of hardtack.
It was a large bag full of barley crackers that didn’t look particularly appetizing.
When I went outside and set it down, the children’s eyes turned toward me.
“This is all I can give you,” I said as I plopped down onto the ground.
“Make do with this for today, and from tomorrow, think about what you’re going to do.”
Placing a lantern in the center, I looked around at their faces.
Illuminated from below, their pale faces looked even more ghostly.
What, were they already regretting their decisions?
I tore open the bag of crackers, pushed it toward them, and popped one into my mouth.
Hard and dry.
Honestly, it was tough to eat without water, but I didn’t have any boiled water ready at the moment.
I’d gotten used to this over time, but they hadn’t.
Until just yesterday, they’d probably been sleeping in soft beds in a palace-like house.
The meal was silent.
The children didn’t eat much of the crackers, even though they must’ve been hungry after all the fighting without a proper meal.
But what could they do? There was nothing else to eat.
I silently hoped they’d decide to leave after today.
If they did, I could just drop them off somewhere else and be done with it.
Then I’d move on.
And while I was at it, I’d restock on supplies with the little money I had left.
Even after the meal, and until I went into my tent, the children exchanged uneasy glances without much conversation.
“Goodnight, Jieun,” Hayoon’s voice finally broke the silence just before I entered the tent.
I paused briefly but entered without responding.
Even with the zipper closed, the tent couldn’t completely block out sounds from outside.
Still, as I lay there, no conversation reached my ears.
Were they conscious of me overhearing?
Don’t think about it.
Despite having napped earlier, I was still tired.
It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep.
For a while, there were sounds of someone tossing and turning in the tent, then only the sound of deep, regular breathing remained.
It was almost a snore—heavy breathing as if someone was completely drained.
Listening to that, Rose cradled her head in her hands.
“What should we do?” Iris asked, her face full of worry.
“It’s… much worse than I imagined,” Dahlia muttered in a groan.
Delphinium silently looked around the house once more before gazing toward the tent.
The light inside had gone out, leaving no way to tell who was in there.
Only the sound of breathing confirmed Jieun was still alive.
So, she’s been…
Living here like this…?
The conclusion was enough to shock the girls.
They knew Jieun was being hunted by the government, corporations, and the Federation.
But none of them had imagined she was living like this.
How long had it been? Over a month.
The days were a bit warmer now, but until recently, the weather had still been close to winter.
“She wouldn’t have stayed in one place,” Hayoon said.
“She must’ve been hiding in places no one could see, moving around to avoid being caught…”
A heavy silence followed.
Some of the things Hayoon had shared while convincing the magical girls had hinted at this.
But none of them had expected “this kind of life.”
They’d assumed she was hiding her identity and moving between bathhouses, internet cafes, or lodgings.
“…So that’s why she hasn’t shown up on any CCTV,” Rose said with a sigh, her voice tinged with regret.
“She’s only been moving through places that don’t have cameras.”
“Oh, my…”
Delphinium and Dahlia added brief remarks.
Her tattered clothes—of course.
The magical girls had only seen Jieun in her transformed state.
No matter what she wore, once she enveloped herself in magic, her appearance would naturally reset to a pristine state.
It would get torn and damaged during battles, but it always looked fine the next time they met.
But when the fighting was over, when she was exhausted and wounded, this was where she returned.
Or maybe to somewhere even worse than this—a ruined, wind-swept shell of a place, barely shielded by a single tent that served as her supposed shelter.
If someone passing by had harbored ill intentions, Jieun could have faced something horrible.
That thought weighed heavily on Hayoon’s heart.
It was also the reason none of them left.
It was guilt.
If they hadn’t been swept up in the situation, if any one of them had stepped forward back then to defend Jieun, saying she wasn’t at fault, she wouldn’t have to endure this now.
She could still have been a fighter, or even if she had been dismissed, she could have lived a normal life, attending school and being properly protected.
It was the five of them here who had driven her into this corner.
Hayoon placed a hand on her chest, her face reflecting the torment she couldn’t show in front of Jieun.
Yes, there was hope.
They could talk to Jieun.
She hadn’t given up on everything yet.
That fact gave Hayoon relief.
At the same time—
—perhaps there was another way.
Jieun was beautiful, her figure far surpassing that of others her age.
That could have been a card she played.
Of course, Hayoon didn’t want that.
It would undoubtedly be immoral and a violation of multiple laws.
But it might have been far more comfortable than her current situation—at least physically.
Why hadn’t Jieun chosen that option?
Maybe she despised it.
Or perhaps she couldn’t trust anyone she’d meet along the way.
Jieun was smart.
She might have thought ahead.
Perhaps she believed living like this would cause fewer complications.
Still, Hayoon was grateful to Jieun.
For not giving up, even in such a dire situation.
Iris silently reached out, picked up one of the remaining crackers, and tried it.
It was her first time eating something like this.
It was dry and somewhat nutty in flavor, but it couldn’t compare to cookies made with butter.
While some might enjoy it or even be fans of it, Iris doubted Jieun had chosen it because she liked it.
“My goodness,” Iris muttered again.
Living off something like this as a staple for over a month—it was terrifyingly tenacious.
And—
“What can we… even do?” Rose murmured.
“Jieun told us, didn’t she? She wants help with her revenge,” Iris replied.
“Do you really plan to do it?” Dahlia asked, her voice slightly trembling this time.
“I will. If we leave Jieun in this situation, it could truly spiral into something irreversible.”
That statement brought silence among them.
It was true.
If this way of living continued, Jieun’s resentment toward those who had driven her here would only grow.
And among those responsible for her situation were all five of them.
Jieun’s combat methods had already been growing more extreme.
She showed no mercy when fighting her enemies, especially those who opposed her.
If she were to meet those who had driven her to this state face-to-face, what would she think?
“…It’s my responsibility,” Hayoon said quietly.
Things had escalated to this point because Hayoon had known everything and done nothing.
There was no excuse of ignorance.
The situation had already reached this point.
As Jieun had said, it was too late.
They’d come too far.
So, before it got any later, before things got any worse—
Hayoon would do what she could.
“…If any of you don’t want to stay, you can go back. I just hope you’ll understand what I’m trying to do,” she said, lifting her head with a somewhat resolute expression as she looked around at the other girls.
“Jieun has said it multiple times. Just don’t get in the way of what I’m trying to do—”
“You really know how to make someone feel unappreciated,” Rose said with a frown.
“After coming this far, there’s no way I can just turn a blind eye.”
Hayoon looked at Rose.
“Well, not that I’m one to talk, considering I was the one saying maintaining the status quo was best until now…” Rose looked up at the ceiling.
Even with plenty of plastic, there wasn’t enough to cover the ceiling.
Without the right tools, it had been left as it was, revealing bare concrete that gave off an oppressive atmosphere.
“I don’t have the conscience to just walk away after seeing this.”
Iris nodded as well.
She didn’t say anything, but it seemed she had no intention of leaving.
Delphinium and Dahlia, their faces pale, also nodded.
“Thank you.”
Though they didn’t yet know what they could do—
“What a tear-jerking display of friendship,” came a voice interjecting into their conversation.
It was James.
Sauntering out of the darkness, he slowly approached and sat beside Hayoon, looking up at her.
“If I could be of any help at all,” James said.
“You…”
“Why the hostility? Surely you don’t believe that girl survived this world alone under these circumstances. Without proper technical support, she would have long resorted to… alternative means. Or, if not her, someone else might have stepped in to ‘help’ her.”
Hayoon glared down at James, but his expression remained unfazed.
“That voice… I’ve heard it before,” Hayoon said.
“You’re one of the executives, aren’t you? From the organization Jieun was part of.”
“Well, it’s an honor to be recognized,” James said with a slight bow.
“As unfortunate as this situation is, Jieun and I share a certain… give-and-take relationship. While not exactly harmonious, we’ve managed to maintain a semblance of cooperation.”
“In that sense, I could also be of help to you.”
“Help?”
“Yes. At the very least, if you could use magic, you could make your lives a bit easier, couldn’t you? Jieun, after all, has avoided using firewood too much for fear of drawing attention with smoke.”
Hayoon’s shoulders flinched slightly at those words.
The room was warm now, and Jieun hadn’t reacted negatively to the firewood Hayoon had used.
Or…had she merely turned a blind eye to it?
Seeing Hayoon’s subtle reaction, James seemed pleased and rubbed his small hands together.
“Your circuits are too complex for me to fix immediately, but I do have spares of the circuits Jieun used. They’re not as good as the ones she uses, but for drawing from her energy source, they should suffice.”
The children’s eyes turned toward James.
“Eventually, I can provide circuits with all tracking systems completely removed,” he continued.
“So you trust me?” Hayoon asked.
“Well, let’s just say I trust magical girls,” James replied with amusement.
“Or rather, it might be better to say I trust you as a magical girl.”
Looking up at Hayoon, James added,
“I think you have some idea of what the government wanted to do with Jieun.”
Hayoon pressed her lips together and glared at him, but James remained fearless.
“I am the only one who can properly empower Jieun. So, what’s your plan? To hand her over to the Federation’s engineers? Or to the corporation?”
“At least you, as someone who considers Jieun a friend—or more—can’t abandon her. And I certainly won’t. My presence gives Jieun an edge. Now tell me—do you think Jieun would trust you more, or me?”
Hayoon couldn’t answer that.
She bit her lip.
“There’s no need to worry too much. I’ve already thought of ways to help you survive here. If you cooperate, I can help you hold out a little longer.”
Hayoon thought for a moment, then looked at the magical girls.
Rose finally nodded, and the others followed suit, albeit hesitantly.
“Fine,” Hayoon said.
James smiled, but it left a lingering sense of unease.
For now, though, there didn’t seem to be a better option.