It took me quite a while to grasp the situation.
No, that’s not right. In terms of time, it might have been just a fleeting moment.
But considering that I barely managed to stop the fall right before hitting the ground, it felt like an eternity when measured by the “situation.”
Thud.
I was only able to halt the fall at the very last moment, and immediately after, crashing to the ground was unavoidable.
That much focus was difficult to maintain.
“Hayoon!”
The first thing I shouted was that name.
I called out to Hayoon.
There was no response.
I carefully held the limp Hayoon in my arms and sat up.
My hands were damp.
What clung to them wasn’t Hayoon’s sweat.
Red.
Blood.
We must not have escaped the 50-meter radius of the bomb’s blast range.
Or perhaps the problem worsened because I detonated it in the sky.
Matter doesn’t just disappear so easily.
The core components might have evaporated due to the intense heat, but the surrounding parts would have become “shrapnel,” scattering in all directions.
In my urgency, I hadn’t confirmed that.
I should have created a black hole and thrown it inside instead.
After confirming that red color, my hands started to tremble.
My breathing grew ragged.
Hayoon still lay unconscious, eyes closed.
Did Hayoon surround herself with magic at the last moment?
Was she able to block the shrapnel sufficiently?
Judging by the fact that her body wasn’t completely torn apart, it seemed so.
But she remained unconscious, with shards embedded in her back and legs, bleeding.
She might have suffered burns as well.
My own skin burned; Hayoon must have been hurt even worse.
Footsteps approached.
It wasn’t Iris.
It sounded like multiple people.
We had soared into the sky and fallen freely.
It wasn’t likely we landed where we started.
“They’re falling!”
I heard someone shout as people raised riot shields over their heads.
Their gazes turned to the sky where we had been.
Their faces were pale as if in disbelief over the existence of such a bomb—or perhaps because I had thrown it into the sky to deal with it somehow—and the result left Hayoon unconscious.
No, perhaps none of those reasons mattered.
If shrapnel was falling over their heads, of course, they’d look like that.
But they didn’t need to worry about the debris.
Slowly, dark clouds loomed over our heads.
I lifted my gaze.
Light was converging into a single point.
Defying the laws of physics, sunlight, which had previously split and filled the world, flowed like a meteor shower and then like rivers toward a black hole.
It wasn’t… a positive sight.
No rain of shrapnel poured down.
A black hole that had been floating small above us before my fall must have pulled in everything with an even greater force.
Since the moment Hayoon grabbed me and pulled me toward her, constantly.
In the end, though, it didn’t stop shrapnel from hitting Hayoon’s body—
“It’s sucking us in!”
The people’s concerns had completely shifted.
Those who had worried about something falling now bent their bodies as close to the ground as possible.
Their clothes fluttered in the turbulent air, as if caught in a vortex.
All the air around us was being drawn upward.
The black hole, which had initially been smaller than a fist, had grown larger than any I had created before.
Floating more than 50 meters above, or possibly far higher, it nearly filled a corner of my vision.
My left wrist burned as if scorched, trembling uncontrollably.
I slowly stood up.
Unlike others, my body seemed to defy the laws of physics here.
Even as I held Hayoon in my arms and slowly floated up, I wasn’t sucked into the black hole.
“Blossom!”
A voice called out from below.
When I looked down, Iris, James, and Cherry were coming up.
James was on his drone, and Cherry was in Iris’s hand.
The drone Cherry had been riding was already destroyed.
Iris was holding my hammer in one hand.
No gun—had she stored it in a subspace?
And then, there were the many people below, clad in black, holding shields.
Some of them were gradually moving with the wind.
A few cars wobbled.
Still, no one had been sucked in yet.
“Jeong Jieun.”
Iris looked at me in surprise.
When she saw Hayoon in my arms, she was momentarily speechless.
Hayoon’s clothes were reverting to what she’d originally been wearing.
The parts torn apart by the blast were clearly visible.
More of her body was exposed than in her magical girl outfit, making her red wounds even more apparent.
“We need to go.”
“To where we were staying?”
Iris quietly asked in response.
Wasn’t she worried about Hayoon?
No, that wasn’t it.
She was trying to stay calm, but Cherry, perched in her hand, was trembling slightly.
“To a place where we can heal.”
So was I.
My voice was calm.
Much calmer than it had been earlier when arguing over how to handle the bomb.
But in truth, I was anything but calm.
Emotions surged within me so violently that I couldn’t even articulate them.
That’s probably why my voice sounded so flat—because I didn’t know what emotion to put into it.
Yet, even in the midst of this turmoil, there was one thing I was certain of.
That massive black hole.
That abyss of despair, created solely by my own hopelessness, was larger than any I had ever made before.
Even at this altitude, the sky was obscured.
Everyone around must have seen it.
After the explosion echoed in the sky, this thing appeared.
…The aftermath? I couldn’t bring myself to think about it.
“Let’s go. Together.”
That’s what Iris said.
There was no need for me to reply.
At the clinic, they were horrified to see us.
Of course, they were.
For these people, it must have felt like a lightning bolt out of a clear sky.
Normally, one would have to wait in a long line to get in, but as soon as I carried Hayoon inside, the medical staff hurriedly guided me to the emergency room.
At least these people didn’t reject me despite knowing who I was.
I had expected James to say something about me coming to a place like this, but he remained silent.
Clinics here rarely performed surgeries.
Unless someone had completely lost a limb, they usually just set broken bones and healed them with magic—no need for pins or plates.
And Hayoon’s condition was far better than that.
Even though I could see the fear in the surrounding patients, I stayed by Hayoon’s bedside.
I was still wearing my magical girl outfit.
Just a few months ago, if someone had handed me this outfit and told me to wear it, I would have reacted with extreme aversion.
I wouldn’t have worn it, not even if they paid me.
But now, it didn’t matter.
No, if anything, I had to stay like this.
Someone might come and cause a scene trying to take me away.
Iris had already reverted to her original attire and carefully set my hammer down next to me.
Powerless.
I felt utterly powerless.
I couldn’t do anything for Hayoon.
She lay there unconscious because of me.
All of this was my fault.
I should have just left.
The explosion was inevitable, and it wasn’t even my fault.
The police had evacuated the surrounding area.
I should have trusted them and left.
If I had, Hayoon wouldn’t be hurt.
I was… I was stupid.
Iris, who was pacing nearby, clenched and unclenched her fists.
She seemed unsure whether to place her hand on my shoulder.
I looked up at her with an expressionless face.
“Go back. I’ll send you. Take Cherry and James with you.”
Though I called Cherry’s name, she remained seated by Hayoon’s bedside, her expression filled with concern.
She didn’t even react.
Was that silent agreement?
“I’ll stay here,” Iris replied quietly.
I didn’t bother to argue with her.
A few minutes later, the police entered the emergency room.
But no one said a word.
Was my presence that intimidating?
Or perhaps they were afraid of the hammer lying beside me.
If I caused a commotion here, the patients and medical staff would all be in danger.
I said nothing.
Iris looked slightly worried but didn’t say anything either.
After sitting there for a long time, I stopped one of the medical staff who came to check on Hayoon.
“Eek!”
They recoiled in fear, startled to be grabbed by someone who was likely considered the most dangerous wanted criminal, not just in Korea but perhaps the entire world.
“Her condition?” I asked curtly.
Swallowing hard, they responded.
“No major injuries. We’ve done everything we can… If there are no complications, she should wake up in a few hours.”
“Got it.”
I spoke briefly and stood up.
Since Hayoon wasn’t hooked up to an IV or anything, I simply lifted her from the bed.
As her arm drooped limply, Iris caught it and placed it back onto her stomach.
I turned and walked toward the clinic’s exit.
If they were planning to arrest me, now would have been the perfect time.
But instead, people cautiously stepped aside to let us through.
The way they looked at me and Hayoon, who I was carrying, was different.
All of them were police officers, yet a few had already removed their hats.
I noticed their changed demeanor, but my mind was so consumed with thoughts of Hayoon that I couldn’t dwell on it.
All I wanted was to get back quickly, to protect Hayoon.
I wanted to lay her down in the warmest, safest place I could find.
The warmth of Hayoon’s body against my arms reassured me.
Her chest still rose and fell steadily, so the medical staff’s words were likely true.
I tried not to worry.
I didn’t want to worry.
I didn’t want to blame myself.
On the way back, the black hole I had created loomed large once again.
I had been trying to deny it all along.
I used to think I liked Hayoon, that we were close friends, but I never considered her to be a goal or purpose in my life—or so I thought.
But now…
Depending on Hayoon’s condition, what she said to me, or how I felt about her, my mental state shifted drastically.
I couldn’t deny it any longer.
In the end, Hayoon’s existence was my hope.
Simply having her by my side kept me from falling further.
I had merely been jealous of that hope, denying its very existence.
I realized it far too late.
When Hayoon opened her eyes… even she couldn’t quite tell how long she had been unconscious.
But judging by the fact that all the kids were asleep, it had been quite a while.
The last thing she remembered was fainting high in the sky.
When she opened her eyes, what greeted her was a somewhat unfamiliar orange fabric.
A tent?
She recognized the color—it was the same as the tent Jieun used to sleep in.
Startled, she tried to sit up but quickly realized her body was oddly restrained.
No, not restrained… she was inside something like a sack.
Looking again, it wasn’t a sack but Jieun’s sleeping bag.
Someone had zipped her inside, all the way up to her neck.
The inside of the sleeping bag was a bit damp and admittedly warm.
While the night was still chilly, the bag blocked out the cold so well that it made her sweat slightly.
Fumbling with the zipper, Hayoon suddenly noticed how cramped the tent felt.
It was strange.
While Jieun’s tent wasn’t particularly large, it was big enough to comfortably fit one person.
Yet now, her shoulders were brushing against both sides of the tent.
One side was clearly the fabric wall of the tent—its tension was palpable when pressed.
The other side, however, was something firmer, warmer, almost like…
A person’s back.
Hayoon drew a short breath.
She had no proof, but she instinctively knew whose back it was.
Slowly, she sat up in the sleeping bag and turned to look at the person lying beside her.
It was Jieun.
Jieun was sleeping beside her, facing away but pressed close.
It couldn’t be helped.
The tent wasn’t large enough for two people to sleep comfortably, so Jieun must have crammed Hayoon inside first, then squeezed herself in afterward, lying awkwardly on her side.
Jieun’s dark, smooth hair glistened faintly.
Though the ends were slightly frayed, it was remarkably well-kept considering everything they had been through.
Her exposed shoulder rose and fell gently with each breath.
Jieun’s loose T-shirt had a stretched neckline that left one shoulder nearly bare.
Below the shirt, her pale legs extended from a pair of short pants.
Hayoon couldn’t see any visible injuries.
Perhaps Jieun had injuries on the front of her body, which Hayoon couldn’t see, as she had been held tightly during the blast.
Still, Hayoon herself felt no pain.
Had she been healed somehow? Touching various parts of her body, she found no sign of wounds.
Though there was no solid evidence, she couldn’t shake the thought that this was thanks to Jieun’s care.
Everyone was asleep.
It was silent inside the tent.
She assumed the others were asleep outside as well, though she couldn’t see them with the tent closed.
Hayoon slowly slipped out of the sleeping bag.
Jieun’s uncovered form looked pitiable.
After some hesitation, Hayoon flipped the sleeping bag and draped it over both of them like a blanket.
It was a bit tight, but it was enough to cover them both.
Still, they had to stay close.
With her still slightly damp body, Hayoon pressed herself gently against Jieun’s back.
Jieun was warm.
Holding her from behind, Hayoon thought to herself.
Jieun had let her sleep inside this tent, but leaving Jieun uncovered was too unfair.
Yet if Hayoon didn’t cover herself, Jieun might feel guilty.
This was the best solution for now.
To create a bit more space, Hayoon cautiously wrapped her arms around Jieun’s waist.
Jieun didn’t wake, likely exhausted from everything they had been through.
A faint scent lingered in Jieun’s hair.
Hayoon couldn’t identify it, but it felt vaguely comforting.
Reassured by Jieun’s warmth, Hayoon soon fell asleep again.
The next morning, when Jieun woke up, panicked, and screamed at the situation, Hayoon was still deeply and peacefully asleep.
In a wealthy neighborhood, an explosion had occurred.
At first, people assumed it was a terrorist attack.
However, after several smartphone videos from the area were uploaded online, the story shifted.
A black-clad magical girl had flown into the sky, carrying a massive object.
High above, the girl hurled the object upward with all her strength.
Blossom, following closely behind, wrapped herself protectively around the girl.
Then came the massive explosion—so bright that the videos turned completely white for a moment.
Where the explosion occurred, a gigantic black hole appeared, absorbing all the debris.
As a result, no fragments rained down below.
If it had been an attempted terrorist act, the black-clad magical girl’s actions had inadvertently thwarted it.
It was not the kind of thing a terrorist would have done themselves.
Experts analyzing the videos estimated the explosion’s radius to be just over 50 meters.
Thanks to the magical girls’ warning, nearby police had retreated, and residents were evacuated relatively quickly.
Within that 50-meter radius, however, an elderly couple with mobility issues and two police officers assisting them had remained.
If the bomb had exploded on the ground, they would undoubtedly have been caught in the blast, with no chance of survival.
Thanks to the girls’ desperate efforts to hurl the bomb into the sky, the only damages were shattered windows and structural harm to uninhabited buildings.
No lives were lost.
No one called their actions “terrorism.”
How the girls had discovered the bomb in the first place was unknown.
But one thing was clear—whatever their intent, they had succeeded.
It was, at the very least, a rebuttal to the baseless rumors surrounding them.