Chapter 28 : False Accusation (2) Part-1

What should I do?

While I didn’t have any conversation with Ji-hye, I was deep in thought.

Even under the blanket, my hand was still holding the circuit.

I had no idea how powerful it was.

Every circuit I had received so far had been different in performance.

For now, I fidgeted and placed the circuit on my wrist.

From the outside, it looked no different from a smartwatch, so I hoped no one would notice it was a circuit unless they looked closely.

But considering how easily I had recognized it, there was a good chance others would as well.

If I stay here, will someone eventually come to capture me?

What will happen then? Since I’m still a minor, would I end up in a juvenile detention center? Or prison?

It felt unfair.

What I was doing… it should have been legal, right?

Noir Corporation’s activities were “for now” legal, and so, the work I was doing shouldn’t have been something that would land me in jail.

But would the police even arrest me for a terrorist incident?

I heard people had died.

More than just a few.

And even more had been injured.

The building collapsed.

It was one of Noir Corporation’s key structures.

It would probably be unusable unless the entire complex was rebuilt, because the central part had completely caved in.

And they were saying… it happened because I lost control?

What happens then?

Even if it wasn’t intentional, if people had died, wouldn’t that mean I was guilty of some crime that involved manslaughter?

What if Noir Corporation sues me?

What if the court orders compensation for the massive damages?

My life would be over.

Even if I worked forever, I could never repay it all.

And then there’s the circuit I have now.

How did I even get this? Could it be that James—?

“Jieun.”

“Huh?”

“Are you okay?”

I could finally stop thinking when I heard Ji-hye’s voice.

Ji-hye was staring at me, her eyes wide in surprise.

Your face is completely pale.”

“Ah…”

My fingertips were cold.

I was scared.

I was scared, but I couldn’t talk to anyone else.

Ji-hye didn’t know yet that she almost got involved because of me.

What would the news say?

Would they say I destroyed the building?

Would they show my photo, or would they make it obvious it was me even without the photo, speaking in a tone that clearly pointed to my actions?

But I didn’t do it.

I’m not… that perfect of a person, but I didn’t intentionally destroy a building.

The explosion had been planned in advance.

Would I be condemned for a crime I didn’t commit?

Or is this just the consequence of everything I’ve done until now?

“…You must be really exhausted.”

Ji-hye said this and stood up from her seat.

“Well, it makes sense. You were unconscious for so long. You’re not feeling well either, right?”

Ji-hye looked at me with a worried expression, and then came over to gently place her hand on my shoulder.

“Get some rest. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Ah…”

“I was thinking of staying, but they said I couldn’t. It looks like you still have some treatment left.”

I didn’t want to be alone.

If I was alone, it felt like someone else would come and blame everything on me.

But I couldn’t ask Ji-hye to stay.

She didn’t know anything yet.

She might have figured out that I was a soldier.

She might also know that Noir Corporation had been donating regularly to the orphanage because of me.

But she didn’t know what would happen if she got involved with me.

I didn’t know that either.

“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”

When I replied, Ji-hye tightened her grip on my shoulder slightly.

“Should I call the doctor?”

“No, it’s not that bad.”

“Okay.”

Ji-hye picked up her bag from near the bed and placed it on the bed, pulling out various items.

“They said you could drink something, so I brought a few things.”

I had woken up today, and the bag had been under the bed since I woke up.

Ji-hye might have bought it every time she visited me.

Or maybe she just asked when she went out for a bit earlier.

She might have even looked up online to get drinks that were safe to consume right now.

“Thanks.”

“…”

Ji-hye’s expression grew slightly dim.

“Are you really sure it’s okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright.”

After my response, Ji-hye nodded slowly.

“I’ll come by again tomorrow. See you then.”

I nodded.

Even though it felt like my neck would creak, I was still able to smile as Ji-hye left.

After watching the door close, I exhaled deeply.

Okay, calm down.

None of this is happening right now.

James came to warn me, and I’m still in the hospital.

At least I have time before I leave the hospital.

I moved my fingers.

My joints still creaked, and it hurt like needles poking me.

Was it a side effect of the circuit? I didn’t think the magical girls had any side effects like this.

…If there was good energy and bad energy, the bad side always came with side effects.

That was practically a rule.

The fact that it hadn’t been mentioned in webtoons before just made it more frustrating.

I lay down on the bed.

The drinks on the bed were still visible.

Most of them were sports drinks—caffeine-free hydration.

She really is thorough.

I reached out and grabbed one of them.

Maybe it was because it was still in the bag, but it was still a little cool.

I opened the bottle and was about to take a sip when I heard a knock on the hospital room door.

Before I could respond, the door opened.

It was the doctor and some nurses.

“Jieun.”

When I heard my name, I closed the bottle again.

“Actually, we should have come as soon as you woke up, but we thought you might have something urgent to attend to, so we waited a bit before coming. Is it okay if we do a quick checkup?”

I nodded.

I set the drink back down on the table.

“Alright then… Since you were unconscious for a long time, there might be some lingering issues. If anything hurts, could you tell us where first?”

“Ah, that’s—”

Both the doctor and the nurse had calm expressions.

I felt a little relieved and started describing my symptoms.

*

“Hayoon! Hayoon!”

The creature that woke Hayoon, who had been asleep with her head resting on the desk, looked like a giant hamster.

Actually, it only looked like one; it wasn’t an actual animal.

If anything, it would be classified as an “alien.”

Its lifespan wasn’t short like other rodents, either.

It wasn’t much like a hamster at all, aside from its appearance.

Imagine a cat that had been shrunk down, made a little chubbier, and then designed to walk on two legs.

Its ears and tail, though, resembled those of a desert fox more than a cat.

“Cherry?”

Hayoon rubbed her eyes as she sat up and called out to the strange creature.

The window in front of the desk was slightly open.

The chilly breeze from outside made Hayoon shiver a little.

“What’s going on?”

Cherry was their “mascot.”

In reality, that wasn’t its real name.

The actual name was something too difficult for humans to pronounce, a squeaky sound more akin to an actual rodent.

Cherry wore a collar, like a pet, which had a star-shaped device symbolizing the Galactic Federation.

This device served as a translation tool.

Without it, communication with Cherry would have been impossible.

Aside from its looks and sounds, Cherry came from a planet with highly developed engineering technologies.

The circuits used by magical girls were also products from this species.

And, as many suspected, so were the technologies of Noir Corporation.

Anyway, not long after Blossom started working as a magical girl, Cherry became an unintended mascot, constantly tagging along in a support role.

But its actual job was more specialized than that.

These days, unless Cherry needed to go to headquarters, it was rare for them to run into it.

However, Cherry’s expression wasn’t one of excitement or fondness.

If there was something urgent, it would have contacted them via the emergency network, so Cherry must have come all the way here to relay a message that the Galactic Federation needed to hear without anyone else knowing.

“It’s bad. It’s really bad.”

Cherry said, its paws—no, its hands—fidgeting rapidly.

To anyone who didn’t know, it might have just looked cute.

But when Cherry acted this way, it usually meant that extremely dangerous individuals from the Galactic Federation were involved.

“Why? Calm down and tell me slowly.”

Despite Blossom’s words, Cherry seemed restless for a long time, as if it was worried about whether it was okay to speak here.

“Is it something you shouldn’t be telling someone else?”

“No, no, that’s not it… It’s just that we might need all the other magical girls’ powers for this.”

“I’m listening.”

Blossom adjusted her posture and sat up straighter.

The cold air from the window actually helped clear her mind.

A few pieces of paper were spread out on the desk.

Cherry froze upon seeing them.

Blossom carefully moved Cherry aside and gathered the papers, stuffing them quickly into the drawer.

The papers contained words she had written down for someone.

It wasn’t exactly something she’d consider showing to others, but it was a bit too embarrassing to present openly.

“…”

“Cherry?”

After seeing Blossom’s notes, Cherry remained frozen in place.

“Blossom. No, Hayoon-ah.”

Cherry spoke.

“Hmm?”

“Who is that Jieun person to you?”

“Hmm?”

When Cherry asked that, Hayoon froze.

In truth, Cherry already knew about Jieun’s existence.

Of course, it wasn’t just about her being a combatant, but Jieun was the friend Hayoon spent the most time with, so it was only natural for her to talk about her often in front of Cherry.

Though they didn’t delve into overly personal matters, Cherry probably had some understanding of who Jieun was to Hayoon.

It wasn’t until Hayoon had this realization that she noticed something odd in Cherry’s words.

“Why? Is what you’re about to say related to Jieun?”

“…….”

Cherry looked up at Hayoon, its nose twitching nervously.